Klingon infiltrators have appropiated a Federation vessel for examination, the
The uses for the U.S.S. Oberth:
Easy to crew: The Federation has many top-notch ships--U.S.S. Enterprise, Future Enterprise, U.S.S. Yamato, and more. However, all of these vessels have a critical handicap--they require a large crew (especially in the case of Future Enterprise). The U.S.S. Oberth, on the other hand, can be operated by a single crewmember. Aside from the self-evident advantage of making it difficult to stall the ship, this low crew requirement offers another advantage, a whole strategy that revolves around the much-maligned U.S.S. Oberth...
Redshirting in Space: Redshirting is a common and effective tactic for planet missions. However, it is rarely used in space deck--after all, one would need a crew (usually 3 personnel minimum) and a ship to send them in. Hence, in a "tight" deck, there just is not room for several "redshirt" crews and "redshirt" ships. However, the U.S.S. Oberth is excellent for this strategy. Include a few of these marvelous little vessels and some universal crew members (also handy for the highly unpleasant Dixon Hill's Business Card), and clear out those nasty dilemmas. Just let Captain Gibson and the U.S.S. Oberth take the heat from those irritating Yutas, FOMs, and Borg Ships, and then come in with your "real" crew to complete the mission. Of course, this also allows yet another interesting strategy...
Seed-Related Strategy Harrassment:Certain strategies--particularly Borg Hunting and Q--require the presence of certain seed cards to be effective. However, the U.S.S. Oberth offers an unparalleled opportunity to completely decimate these decks. If one's opponent has seeded one card under several missions, it is reasonable to assume that they are using Qs to rid themselves of dilemmas, Borg Ships to earn points, or dilemmas such as Barclay's Protomorphosis Disease to earn the last 10 points they need after completing two missions. How does one stop these vastly irritating decks? Simple: Deny them their seeded cards.
However, this is a risky business. A BPD will annihilate an unprepared crew. A Borg Ship will not only destroy the crew, it will also destroy the ship. And Q is just plain annoying. However, there is hope--the U.S.S. Oberth! Simply have Captain Gibson and the good ship Oberth run over to where you think the opponent has placed a Borg Ship and have her attempt. The ship and crew will be lost, but your opponent will have to hurry to get the Borg Ship before it escapes from the table (particularly a problem if your opponent is using the Armada Borg-hunting method, since all of the ships will have Ranges of approximately 8 and so will have to set out right away to ensure that they catch the ship). In conjuction with cards such as Dixon Hill's Business Card, Klim Dokachin, and Yellow Alert, this can devastate a Borg-hunter deck. Similarly, a Q deck will find itself in trouble without its Qs--very few Q decks can pass even the most common dilemmas, so if one can bereft the Q deck of its Qs, that deck will be left high and dry. A deck that relies on BPD will suddenly have to attempt yet another mission, putting their ship and crew at risk yet again.
A Good Ship for New Players: Short on personnel? In need of a couple more command stars? Then the trusty U.S.S. Oberth is for you!
Of course, the U.S.S. Oberth has its problems:
Horrendous Attributes: 6 Range is bad, but other ships (the Husnock Ship and Edo Vessel) have similar Ranges and are still useful. However, both of those ships have excellent Weapons and superb protection to redeem them. U.S.S. Oberth has no such advantage, with agonizingly pathetic Weapons and unimpressive-at-best Shields. Of course, the Federation cannot attack as a matter of course, but with the Borg affiliation forthcoming, Weapons are likely to become far more useful, and the relatively weak Shielding far more exploitable.
No Frills:Certain extras--a Holodeck and a Tractor Beam, in particular--have come to be expected of Federation vessels. However, the U.S.S. Oberth lacks the valuable Holodeck, making it impossible to use holograms as redshirts or to complete missions. The U.S.S. Oberth also lacks Captain's Log benefits, which means that the uninspired combat attributes cannot be easily raised.
Final Analysis:The U.S.S. Oberth will never be mistaken for the Future Enterprise. However, it can have important uses for you, and be a critical problem for your opponent, if one is willing to build a deck specifically to take advantage of the U.S.S. Oberth's particular advantages.
Next week: The Spacedock analyzes (by the request of Not A Soong-Type Android) the U.S.S.Brittain.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Feel free to e-mail Phalanx
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