Welcome to the Spacedock!

Long hours of hard work have paid off; the Spacedock is safe, thanks to the tireless efforts of ships like the:

The I.K.C. Vor'Cha's uses:

Float Like A Butterfly, Sting Like A Bee: The I.K.C. Vor'Cha offers power and speed in one handy-dandy package. Weapons 8 is unspectacular, but with small ships becoming more and more prevalent (in Armada decks and decks relying on small Bajoran ships such as the Bajoran Raider), it could be enough to do significant damage. Shields of 7 is disappointing, but then again, this is a Klingon ship--it is designed to crush its foes, not hide from their assaults. Range 9 is endlessly useful--the I.K.C. Vor'Cha is quick enough to reach its foes from a significant distance.

Muhammed Ali It's Not, But Pernell Whittaker Ain't Bad: So, the I.K.C. Vor'Cha is reasonably powerful, quite speedy, and rather vulnerable. That's not such a terrible mixture. However, the same crew that runs the mediocre I.K.C. Vor'Cha could be in control of a bigger, nastier ship (the I.K.C. Bortas comes to mind). So, why bother with a generic ship when the name-brand version has bigger numbers?

Simple: Speed

As anyone who has been to an ST:CCG tournament will tell you, speed is the key to victory. Every turn spent building towards a complete mission is a turn not spent scoring the points from that mission. In the meantime, your opponent may well be getting points from a mission or objective--points that represent a barrier you will have to overcome.

So, you need speed to win. Well, the I.K.C. Vor'Cha and the I.K.C. Bortas have equal Ranges. However, the I.K.C. Vor'Cha provides a more subtle, but more important, speed advantage; it can be downloaded via Spacedoor. With a Spacedoor, a seeded AMS, and a suitable third personnel, you can have a fully-crewed ship of the line ready to complete a mission on *turn two*. That's faster than most decks will be able to manage if they get a bad draw (and probably faster than a Borg deck will be able to manage regardless). But you don't care much about the card draws. You are fast *and* reliable--now isn't that nice?

Try this, in your next game: Seed an AMS and use it to download Kromm and B'Ijik. Seed a Spacedoor. On your first turn, close the Spacedoor to download an I.K.C. Vor'Cha. Then use a Q's Tent (you *did* include enough Tents in the deck to ensure that you drew one in your opening hand, didn't you? ;) ) to retrieve Dathon. Next turn, play Dathon. Move the I.K.C. Vor'Cha over to Test Propulsion System. If successful, you will have:

A. Scored 25 points on turn two (and if something went wrong, Tent again next turn to get what you need, so you'll probably have these benefits by turn three at the latest, so long as you're careful about how you approach the dilemmas).

B. Increased the Range of your already-speedy Klingon vessels by 2.

Both of these are "good things." Hence, because you chose to use the I.K.C. Vor'Cha instead of the I.K.C. Bortas, you are now 25 points and 2 Range on each ship richer. Now, doesn't that sound like a solid deal to you?

Bargained well and done.

Of course, if it were the quick and easy path, it wouldn't be Klingon:

We Didn't Start The Fire--But The Vor'Cha Is Burning: Due to its less-than-awe inspiring attributes, I.K.C. Vor'Cha declines in value as the game goes on. As turns pass and a fully-staffed Future Enterprise hits the table, the I.K.C. Vor'Cha starts to show its nature as a second-rate vessel. Put simply, the I.K.C. Vor'Cha cannot stand against bigger, stronger ships.

Final Analysis: The I.K.C. Vor'Cha is, in many ways, like a car's brake pad--it functions wonderfully in the beginning, but it becomes less and less effective as time goes on. However, the easy advantage in speed it provides makes the I.K.C. Vor'Cha a worthwhile addition to most mission-based Klingon decks.

Next Week: The Spacedock takes a spin in the I.K.C. Qu'Vat.