Strategy: Low, Mid, High grade attacks

One player made some great observations about the tactical thinking behind attacks. The idea is about the meta game aspect of attacking, using different attacks for different purposes. The ATTACK cards themselves already have their own purposes, but the meta game is about harmonizing your ship build.

In this idea there are basically 3 different "factors" of attacks:

• low grade
• mid grade
• high grade

The low grade attack is not statistically significant (possibly only enough to cause up to 3 or 4 Hull damage); it's purpose is not to inflict much damage but only to force a player to make a decision, to test the defenses of that opponent.

Many players use one or more of the various Armor cards, which utilize armor counters. "Polarized Hull" is immune to this decision making process because it does not state the player "may" use an armor counter. The effect of Polarized Hull is mandatory and the player must use one (and only one) armor counter from this card for each attack.

But the other Armor cards allow the controller to choose. Using Armor counters for these attacks may help you assess how your opponent plays. On the other hand, your opponent may have numerous other defenses prepared, which reveals something else about that player's deck.

The mid grade attack is significant, inflicting approximately 5 to 10 Hull damage. This type of attack is enough to almost guarantee the defender will use their defenses. You may or may not end up inflicting substantial damage. The purpose of the mid grade attack is to use up the opponent's armor counters and/or other resources.

Low grade and mid grade attacks are mainly intended to make small progress toward eliminating an opponent. They are also both very useful for gathering intelligence on the enemy vessel.

High grade attacks are usually game changing hits. These attacks could be merely to force a player to use a lot of their defensive resources, making it very expensive for them to avoid massive damage. Or these attacks could alter the way an opponent plays the game. Many times in our test groups we've seen aggression turn tail and run, and we've seen defensive players let it all out and go for broke.

What constitutes a low, mid, or high grade attack can also change through out the game. Early in the game both low and mid grade attacks may serve as low grade, assessing hits. But near the end of the game, with low Hull, any attack may suffice for a high grade hit.

Factors like these can not only change the way players engage during the game but also in how they build their decks from the ground up.

THE CODE OF ADM SEBASTIAN