Although relations between the Romulan and Klingon Empires are tense, one subcommander was willing to share the technical specifications of her ship with us: the :
The Haakona's uses:
Mess With The Best, Die With The Rest: Above all else, the Haakona is a combat ship. Weapons of 9 is superb, sufficient to crash through the shielding of most non-Federation vessels. Shields of 8 is also effective, sufficient to protect the ship from most attacks. Range 8, while slower than one might like, is enough to at least keep up with most prey.
Last One Off: The Haakona also benefits from a marvelous matching commander. Although it is not the Spacedock's place to offer a review of Taris' service record, it can and should be said that Taris has skills useful to a variety of Romulan decks (Treachery/Archeology not the least of them). As with the Terix, the Haakona has a matching commander worth including for more than just the Weapons and Shields bonuses granted by Captain's Log. Not only that, but the Haakona also allows one to download this superb personnel.
You Don't Have To Be Invisible To Be Cloaked: If the Haakona is such a superb combat vessel, why put it in any other deck?
Simple: Because it's a good combat vessel.
When the Haakona comes into play, the natural thought is "that ship's gonna come after me." After all, why not use the Terix, with its superior Range and Shields, to complete missions?
Well, this is where a little strategy comes in. Since your opponent expects the Haakona's first priority to be battle, you want to put a spanner in the works by doing something unexpected. Hence, you use the Haakona to complete missions. This is especially effective if the Terix is in play; move the Haakona at full tilt towards the opponent's ship...and then stop and complete a mission. Your opponent will, hopefully, have gone out of their way to avoid you--and now you have a significant jump on your opponent.
"Come On! Come On! Yeah, That's Right! Come On!": Of course, since your opponent expects you to fight with the Haakona, why not be...different? As before, put the Haakona and the Terix into play. Send both ships toward a) the enemy and b) a decent mission. When your opponent sends Rogue Borg Mercenaries to stop the Haakona, deploy (or download) Captain's Log, and then attack with the now-Weapons-10 Terix. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!
All This And Frills, Too: Just in case that was not enough, the Haakona also includes the standard-issue Romulan Cloaking Device and Tractor Beam. Although not exactly unusual, these frills are among the more generally useful ones.
Of course, not all is rosy:
The Price Of Versatility: Unfortunately, the Premiere-set Haakona does not evince the specialized abilities of other, later ships. The Haakona is slower than the newer mission-completion ships, and lacks the speed/punch/protection combination of the Voodieh-class Klingon warships. Hence, while the Haakona is good at many things, it is somewhat eclipsed by newer ships.
Final Analysis: Like the Terix, the Haakona is a highly useful ship. In addition to its own abilities, the Haakona also makes a superb team with other ships. Although it is not as effective as some newer vessels, the Haakona is worth serious consideration in any Romulan deck.
Next Week: The Spacedock goes toe-to-toe with the Husnock Ship.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Feel free to e-mail Phalanx
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