Dirty tricks

[AdrianH]

Anyone have any sneaky tricks for ACTA? Not necessarily something you'd actually use in a game unless you want to win at any cost and don't mind your opponent questioning your parentage, but things which could fit the definition of gamesmanship - the art of winning without actually cheating. :twisted:

Putting a Sharlin in an asteroid field, or sending a Blue Star through Blockade Run on All Power To Engines, are already well-known tricks.

You can win Recon Run before a shot is fired using just one Patrol level ship. The normal table is 48" across, meaning any ship is within 24" of the nearest long table edge. Pick a Patrol ship with a speed of at least 12", move straight in at your choice of ship of Raid level or better, and scan it. You've just scored half VP for a Raid ship, while the best your opponent can score is full VP for a Patrol ship. (Of course, if you fail the scan roll, your opponent gets to laugh at you.)

It is possible to capture an enemy ship and use it against him in a campaign. Well, sort of. Board and capture an enemy ship, buy your own ship of the same type, then give it the same name as the ship you captured. For game rule purposes all you've done is buy a new ship, but for the campaign narrative the enemy's ship is now yours; you spent the RR points to repair the ship, fix whatever sabotage the crew did before surrendering, and clean up the mess caused by numerous gunfights. This will only work if the enemy ship is legal for purchase within your fleet. An Earth Civil War campaign would work; so would a campaign between a mixed fleet (League of Non-Aligned Worlds or Army of Light) versus one of its components. (Optional house rule: allow the captured ship to be repaired at the full RR cost of buying a new one regardless of whether it's legal to buy otherwise. That way both sides can capture each other's ships and it doesn't matter which fleets you're using.)

 

[Burger]

Your recon run cheat won't work... if they destroy your patrol ship then they get the VPs, plus 5 for holding ground. You need to take another patrol ship or a fighter, sit it in the corner out of range to prevent them getting this 5 VPs.

Another one is using fighters to claim squares in Space Superiority. Play normally until the last turn, then just send a fast fighter whizzing off into each empty square. Or if you're Shadows, bring them out of hyperspace directly into the squares.

 

[TGT]

Use an Ashinta (or 5) whilst on intensify defensive firepower to give (via the escort trait) AAF to Nial or flyer flights (fighters are treated as ships) to intercept fighters within 2". Effects happen as soon as an enemy moves within 2" (i'm unsure if the wording prevents you going after them). I know this works if they fly to you.

 

[Democratus]

The best Recon "dirty trick" I've seen is for the defender to place only fighters on the table. The mission ends on turn 1 since there are no ships left to scan. This will force a tie unless the defender can manage to cripple a recon ship on turn 1.

 

[Da Boss]

Using Minbari is a dirty trick :shock: :wink:

Lending fighters AF or AAF who have jumped enemy fighters is just plain nasty

 

[Burger]

The best Recon "dirty trick" I've seen is for the defender to place only fighters on the table. The mission ends on turn 1 since there are no ships left to scan. This will force a tie unless the defender can manage to cripple a recon ship on turn 1.

If the attacker takes NArn you're screwed... since defender only has fighters, one e-mine is all it takes to win!

 

[Digger]

10 Saggi's!!! Need we say more!! :twisted:

 

[Greg Smith]

I am sure Kenny will point this one out: for space superiority start with only fighters on the board. Keep them away from enemy ships and fighters a much as possible. Open a jump points on the penultimate turn, bringing your ships out wherever they are needed.

Works well against races with not many ships/fighters, eg low level games against Minbari.

 

[McKickaha]

10 Saggi's!!! Need we say more!! :twisted:

Or their equivalent ......................1 ......................Supersaggi :twisted: :twisted:

 

[No. 1 Bear]

No a super saggi will be critted to death.

 

[AdrianH]

Not by what I have in mind.

1 Shrutaa plus 3 Shaakak. Splatter the Saggis with energy mines, meanwhile launch a load of breaching pods and a swarm of fighters.

Should work well against Minbari, too. :twisted:

 

[McKickaha]

No a super saggi will be critted to death.

No - No - Your forgetting its unique invulnerabilty trait.

(apart from its weakness to Bull****inite)

Kinda makes it a one sided game tho. :lol


or it would be, but its weakness turns out to be quite commonly found......................... see it's even in this post

 

[Triggy]

Using fighters to claim "sectors" in Space Superiority.

Forcing a game of Annihilation into stalemate because your opponent can't physically get into range and arc of one of your fighter flights.

Making odd-shaped bases for your fighters (extreme example would be a table-sized base with some holes for your ships - if you win the deployment roll then this makes it impossible for the enemy to deploy at all and you automatically win the game, if you lose the roll then you only lose one fighter flight!)

I'm sure I can think of more... :twisted:

 

[lastbesthope]

Anyone have any sneaky tricks for ACTA?

There are no 'sneaky' tricks, only things you're opponent is annoyed at because you thought of them before they did :twisted:

:lol:

LBH

 

[M1ndr1d3rs]

Anyone have any sneaky tricks for ACTA?

There are no 'sneaky' tricks, only things you're opponent is annoyed at because you thought of them before they did :twisted:

:lol:

LBH

I sure like to think so.

Besides, Digger's signature says it all..

 

[Misiolak]

Shadows have a bag of dirty tricks called hyperspace mastery. For example, they can wait for the last turn in the 12 turn scenario, jump out and do as much damage as possible, while the enemy struggles to do any signifcant harm (need to turn, shadows have full shields...).

For Shadows and Vorlons, you can sit your ships in the corner, so that enemy can't out-manouver you. Works only if you have better range that he.

 

[AdrianH]

That's certainly the Vorlons' trick - park a cruiser right on the corner so nothing can get behind it, "All Stop" as soon as it gets there, "All Stop and Pivot" on all subsequent turns. Shadows prefer to use their super manoeuvrability and initiative to get in close to an enemy's side or rear as their weapons are relatively short range.

Hyperspace mastery only works if the scenario allows hyperspace reserves, which most don't. Waiting until turn 12 is a bit of a gamble; you're relying on one turn's worth of decent dice rolls to do significant damage. (Not to mention relying on one turn's worth of stealth rolls if the enemy is Minbari!) But there is a certain satisfaction to bringing two Scouts out of hyperspace next to a White Star which has just moved. :twisted:

Two Scouts face each other, about 6" apart. Super manoeuvrability means they can go sideways 10". Accurate weapons mean any fighter which comes within 2" of them dies.

 

[Burger]

Waiting until turn 12 is a bit of a gamble; you're relying on one turn's worth of decent dice rolls to do significant damage. (Not to mention relying on one turn's worth of stealth rolls if the enemy is Minbari!) But there is a certain satisfaction to bringing two Scouts out of hyperspace next to a White Star which has just moved. :twisted:

Yes, it's a bit of a gamble. But you can predict it fairly well, if you take Scouts. Even against Minbari, you'll likely get +3 bonus against stealth so usually rolling against 2+ for the first attack, and automatic pass for subsequent ships. SAP weapons with scout redirects make your number of hits fairly predictable, against hull 6 is the biggest gamble but you'll still likely get 75% hits. Of course it's still a gamble, you could roll all 1's... but the stats of the Scout combine to make it a good bet. As long as you pick your targets and don't rely on getting crits to make kills, you can fairly safely predict a win. And yeah if you're against White Stars it's easy... well actually if you're against WS's you might as well charge on in turn 1 and have some fun

 

[AdrianH]

Except that the Minbari has had 11 turns to get all his ships into an asteroid field, and one of them is a Leshath. So he gets +2 to his stealth 5, and if he makes his scouting roll, you get +2 to your stealth 1.

Incidentally, what's the rule for emerging from hyperspace straight into an asteroid field? Assuming you're a Shadow emerging right where you want to be, next to the enemy ship in the asteroid field, you don't need to move when you arrive, so even if you fail your CQ vs. asteroids roll, does that mean your speed is 0 and you take no damage?

White Stars have to be one of my favourite ships. They're fun when I'm playing Army of Light, and they're fun when I'm playing Shadows too.

 

[Burger]

True... if there are asteroid fields it might be a little more challenging.
Hyperspacing into an asteroid field, yep your speed is 0 so no damage...