How to Host a Ship Battle: Part 1 - Basic Ship Battles
10/99 - Kathy McCracken

The new battle rules and Battle Bridge side decks in Blaze of Glory have shaken up the battle scene, not least because of some uncertainty about how battles work now. How many ships can I fire at? Can I use more than one current tactic? When do I use damage markers and when can I use "rotation damage"? Doesn't a direct hit instantly destroy a ship? Let's work through these questions, and more, with some sample battles. In a series of articles, we'll look at one on one battles, multiple ship battles, battles involving facilities, battles with and without Battle Bridge side decks and more.

First, a few basics:
- Forget everything you knew about ship battles. Ships aren't destroyed by a "direct hit" or two successive "damages" any more, at least not directly; what destroys a ship is total (100%) loss of HULL integrity. Also, you don't compare WEAPONS and SHIELDS any more; you compare ATTACK and DEFENSE totals.

- You choose one target for your attack, no matter how many ships you have firing. If you want to attack a second ship, it will be a separate battle. (The only exception is when a card explicitly says you can fire on multiple targets, such as the Multiplexor Drone. I'll talk about multiple targets in a later article.)

- Your opponent can choose one target to return fire against. That target must be one of the ships that will be targeting his ship initially. - Each of you gets to use, at most, one current tactic for the battle, no matter how many ships you have firing and no matter how many Tactic cards you're allowed to draw. You don't have to use a current tactic at all. - Any facility can participate in a battle, either as a target or (if it has WEAPONS) as an attacker. Treat it exactly as though it were a ship.

- The Rulebook and Glossary explain the requirements for initiating battles and firing WEAPONS. For these articles, I'm going to assume that we have no affiliation restrictions on battling, and that we have leaders and matching-affiliation personnel aboard all our ships and facilities.

- Ship stats will be given as (W7 S9), meaning WEAPONS=7, SHIELDS=9. Tactic card bonuses will be given as (A1 D2), meaning ATTACK bonus 1, DEFENSE bonus 2.

Simple Ship Battle
I have the Goraxus (W8 S8) and the Terix (W7 S9) at the location of your I.K.C. Chang (W9 S9) and I.K.C. Bortas (W9 S7). Sela is aboard Goraxus and I have Captain's Log (W +3 S +3) in play. I announce an attack and choose my target and attacking ship: the Goraxus will fire on the I.K.C. Chang. You must decide now if you're going to return fire, and if so, choose a target and the firing ship(s): you can target only the Goraxus, because the Terix is not participating in the attack, and you choose to return fire with just the Chang (the Bortas could help, but you choose not to use it now).

We each draw two Tactic cards from our Battle Bridge side decks, choose one current tactic to use for the battle and place the other face up beneath the side deck. We both reveal our current tactics simultaneously. I chose Plasma Torpedo (A1 D2, ATTACK bonus +2 if you have a Romulan ship firing). You chose Attack Wing (A1 D2, ATTACK bonus +1 for each of your ships firing).

First we resolve my attack
- My ATTACK total is 8 (Goraxus WEAPONS) + 3 (Captain's Log) + 3 (ATTACK bonus, with a Romulan ship firing) = 14.
- Your DEFENSE total is 9 (Chang SHIELDS) + 2 (DEFENSE bonus) = 11. ATTACK is greater than DEFENSE, so I score a hit on your ship.

Next we resolve your return fire
- Your ATTACK total is 9 (Chang WEAPONS) + 2 (ATTACK bonus, with one ship firing) = 11.
- My DEFENSE total is 8 (Goraxus SHIELDS ) + 3 (Captain's Log) + 2 (DEFENSE bonus) = 13.
ATTACK is not greater than DEFENSE, so you do not score a hit.

Now we place damage markers. Plasma Torpedo says a hit is two "flip" arrows, so I flip two cards off my side deck and place them on the Chang. The damage markers are Quantum Torpedo (W -2 S -2 Hull -15%) and Target Weapons (W -2 Hull -25%). The Chang has lost 40% of its HULL integrity, and its WEAPONS have been reduced by 4 and its SHIELDS by 2 (to W5 S7). In addition, the Chang's sensors are offline (Quantum Torpedo) so the crew cannot attempt space missions, and if it had any WEAPONS enhancements, they would also be offline (Target Weapons).

Finally, we both recycle our current tactics under our side decks. All cards involved in the battle are "stopped" until the start of the next turn.

Not-So-Simple Ship Battle
It's now your turn, and you decide to counter-attack. (This is a completely new battle, not a "continuation" of the first one.) You target the Goraxus, firing with both the Chang and the Bortas. (You can't fire on both ships in one battle; if you want to fire at the Terix too, you have a few choices: wait till your next turn; bring another ship to the location to start a separate battle with the Terix; or fire on the Goraxus with only one of your ships, using the other to battle the Terix in a separate battle.) I will return fire on the Bortas with both the Goraxus and the Terix.

With the battle initiation complete, you play Attack Pattern Delta, which allows you to draw up to two additional Tactic cards (because you have two ships in the battle). You draw a total of four Tactic cards, and choose one for your current tactic, placing the other three face up under your side deck. I draw two Tactic cards, but decide to use neither; I place both of them face up under my side deck. You reveal your current tactic, Maximum Firepower (A6 D -3). Goraxus may be in trouble.

First we resolve your attack
- Your ATTACK total is 5 (Chang WEAPONS, reduced by previous damage) + 9 (Bortas WEAPONS) + 6 (ATTACK bonus) = 20. (You only add the ATTACK bonus once, to the WEAPONS total, not to each ship.)
- My DEFENSE total is 8 (Goraxus SHIELDS) + 3 (Captain's Log) = 11. I have no DEFENSE bonus because I have no current tactic, but it's still a DEFENSE total. ATTACK is greater than DEFENSE (but not more than twice), so you score a hit on the Goraxus.

Next we resolve my return fire
- My ATTACK total is 8 (Goraxus WEAPONS) + 3 (Captain's Log) + 7 (Terix WEAPONS) = 18.
- Your DEFENSE total is 7 (Bortas SHIELDS) -3 (DEFENSE bonus) = 4. (A negative "bonus" lowers your DEFENSE total.)
ATTACK is more than twice DEFENSE, so I score a direct hit on the Bortas.

Now we place damage markers. Maximum Firepower says a hit is three flip arrows if the I.K.C. Chang (among others) is firing in the battle. You flip three damage markers off your side deck and place them on the Goraxus: two Photon Torpedos (each Hull -35%) and one Pulse Disruptor (Hull -30%). That reduces the HULL integrity by 100%, destroying the Goraxus. (The Goraxus' stats would also be reduced as noted on the damage markers, but it's irrelevant because the ship has been destroyed.)

Now, what about my direct hit on the Bortas? Because I have no current tactic to tell me how many markers to place, I place default damage markers on your ship. Default damage is two markers for a hit, four for a direct hit. I flip four markers off my side deck and place them on the Bortas: two Quantum Torpedos (each W -2 S -2 Hull -15%) and two Plasma Torpedos (each R -1 W -1 S -2 Hull -30%). This yields total stat and HULL integrity reductions of R -2 W -6 S -8 Hull -90%. In addition, the Bortas' sensors are offline (can't attempt space missions) and the Plasma Torpedo markers each take a random casualty from the crew.

Wait a minute... you scored a hit on the Goraxus, and destroyed it, while I scored a direct hit on the Bortas, and it survived (although badly damaged). Sounds backwards, doesn't it? Remember what I said at the beginning: total loss of HULL integrity is what destroys a ship. And loss of HULL integrity depends on damage markers (if you're using a Battle Bridge side deck). You can place 20 damage markers on a ship, but if they're all Target Shields (which has no HULL integrity reduction), it won't destroy the ship.

Next time, we'll look at a battle involving a facility.

Jolan tru!

Related Links:
Blaze of Glory card list
Star Trek CCG Discussion Message Board