Klingon garbagemen have procured an...interesting...vessel:
The Combat Vessel's uses:
High Range allows Mission Completion: The Combat Vessel has a Range of 8, as good as some of the ships-of-the-line. This Range allows the Combat Vessel to get around the spaceline with admirable speed, and such maneuverability is vital to any mission-completion deck.
High Weapons allows Use in Combat: The Combat Vessel has Weapons equal to the I.K.C. Vor'cha, and can deliver a serious pounding--it is capable of damaging the "average" Klingon and Romulan ships-of-the-line without assistance from additional vessels.
Low Staff Requirements Useful in both Mission-Completion and Combat: Needing only two staff stars to crew, the Combat Vessel is difficult to stall. This offers the confidence that even if personnel are lost to dilemmas, Investigate Legend, or opposing away teams, the Combat Vessel will be able to make it home--unlike the bigger, more crew-intensive vessels. In addition, the low crew requirements mean that the ship can be used as part of an armada, perhaps has the flagship of a fleet of K'Vorts.
However, the Combat Vessel is *far* from being a broken card:
Feeble Shielding: The Combat Vessel's Shields of 6 prevent the ship from shining either as a battle ship or a mission-completer. As a battle ship, the Combat Vessel turns out to be a paper tiger; although it can do significant damage, it cannot absorb any real punishment. The enemy can easily score a "direct hit"--and since there are two personnel, rather than the one needed to run other armada vessels, the loss is worse than usual. As a mission-completion ship, the Combat Vessel presents the ongoing threat that any vessel with even average weapons can be deadly.
Not Much of an Armada Vessel: The Combat Vessel requires few crewmembers, but is inefficient in comparison to other armada vessels. In particular, the K'Vort (the classic armada vessel) offers 6 Weapons per personnel, while the Combat Vessel provides only 4. Combined with the relative vulnerability of those personnel (each ship lost costs one two personnel, rather than one), the Combat Vessel is a poor candidate for an armada deck.
Final Analysis: The Combat Vessel, in its bid to be the jack of all trades, ultimately masters none. Its shielding is too weak for it to be useful for mission-completion or as a man of war, and its crew requirement is too high for it to serve effectively as an armada vessel.
As an interesting note, it might be possible to construct a deck which takes advantage of the Combat Vessel's variety of potential uses; such a deck could complete missions and harrass its opponents on an as-needed basis. However, such as deck would be almost entirely reactive, and probably ultimately a lost cause. All in all, the Combat Vessel is best left at the Spacedock.
Next week: The Spacedock discovers the Science Vessel.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Feel free to e-mail Phalanx