Since it was unoccupied at the time, it was relatively simple to bring back a ghost ship; the:
The Husnock Ship's uses:
"Do You Hear The People Sing..." : ...well, no, not on this ship--and that is quite the advantage. Many ships, such as the Future Enterprise, seem like they would fit better with a different affiliation which would be more capable of taking advantage of its frills and attributes. The Husnock Ship, however, can be deployed by anyone but the Borg, which allows anyone to take advantage of its unusual abilities.
"...This Is A Song Of Angry Men..." : The Husnock Ship's attributes scream "*Battle*!" in a way that few others do. Weapons 9 matches even the strongest Klingon ships, and is sufficient to punch through the protection of a great many ships. The real prize, though, is protection second only to that of a Borg Cube (and, arguably, the Edo Vessel)--Shielding of 12. Such shielding allows the Husnock Ship to absorb even the mighty blows of Borg Ships and come away beaten but unbowed. Such attributes are superb for striking fear into the hearts of one's foes.
"...Who Will Not Be Slaves Again..." : The Husnock Ship's frills are also deserving of special mention. The Husnock Ship has the usual Holodeck-Tractor Beam combination found on many Federation ships. Despite being standard, these frills are still useful. What better way to beat back Assault Drones than with holographic Fek'lhrs?
A Pox On Specialization: Standard CCG wisdom dictates that one select a single strategy and devote the entire deck to forwarding that strategy. However, the Husnock Ship offers Federation players a chance to break the mold--and, quite possibly, their opponents as well.
Often, the Federation seems to be the affiliation most in need of specialization, since its restrictive rules of engagement generally necessitate that one concentrate entirely on mission-completion. However, the Husnock Ship allows Federation decks to evade these unpleasant rules. Simply load up the ship with Non-Aligned crew members (say, Tallera, Bok, and Dr. Farek) and then look for blood. When you have finished with the opponent's ships, try using Tallera to steal your own missions!
Unfortunately, it is here that everything comes apart...
No Michael Johnson, This: The Husnock Ship's great limiter is its truly miserable Range of 6. The weakness of its engines all but destroys the Husnock Ship's usefulness. In battle decks, it can be outrun. In mission-completion decks, it limps across the spaceline while other ships soar from star to star. As with the I.K.C. K'Ratak, it *is* possible to make up for deficiencies in Range--but unlike the K'Ratak, the Husnock Ship requires three crew members. The time spent deploying crew could be spent deploying more of the armada, which would probably result in more net Weapons anyway.
Final Analysis: The Husnock Ship is yet one more vessel that starts off strong, but is brought down in the end by some glaring flaw. In the Husnock Ship's case, that flaw is a low Range attribute which keeps it from using its other abilities to full potential. In all, the Husnock Ship winds up being a superb Tent vessel for use when playing against Borg or a combat deck.
Next time: The U.S.S. Sutherland, damaged fighting against the Dominion, pulls into port.
The Spacedock would like to pay its respects to Les Miserables.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Feel free to e-mail Phalanx
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