TAC Cards - Ouch!

[Stephan]

Played my first game with TAC cards last night against Greg.  That mechanic is definitely something to think about.  We had to stop the game before it fully played out due to the store closing, but I had a lead in the VPs until we added in the TAC card VPs, which brought it to a an exact tie.  Granted, I went a little crazy with the TAC cards, and between what I played and what I used to cancel Greg's I gave him somewhere around 120 points worth of VPs (my cruiser squadron was worth 150 pts). 

[Dakkar]

Are those cards available separately from the box set(s)? I kinda missed the whole TAC revision happening in DW...

[Andrewchristlieb]

It sounds like the DW TACs are a little more in depth then the FA cards. I don't play DW so I never worked on their testing, but we tried to keep the FA cards pretty simple.

[Ruckdog]

During the first editions of both games, the DW cards could have much more impact on the course of a game than the cards in FA could. This led to many players simply refusing to use TAC cards in their games, as it made an already heavily luck-based system feel even more so. Cards like the "Activate Two Squadrons in a Row!" card (Tally Ho) and the "My ship is now all fixed!" card (Pass the Tools) seem to have been two of the biggest offenders from what I've seen. Given the draw mechanic, where you always had a hand and could discard/redraw at will led to cards such as these being used quite often in a game.

The cards in DW 2.0 are roughly the same in their effects, although the whole system has been tamped down by eliminating the draw mechanic (you now only have a fixed number of cards to play) and by making it so that the more powerful cards give victory points to your opponent. 

What I find most interesting is the built-in deck building "mini-game" that the DW 2.0 rules have. When and if Spartan ever gets around to releasing faction-specific decks like they are promising to do, this could be a very interesting aspect to the game.

[Andrewchristlieb]

I see, FA 1.5 had the STAR cards which sound really similar to what you're talking about. They were very unpopular so the new TACs were worked to be much simpler and made a less then optional part of the game. Thats why each race got two racial cards then the main factions each got two and there is only a handful of generic cards. The new objective deck adds some pretty interesting odd balls to the mix though, at the cost of needing to track them down in the game and running the risk of getting a 'bad' card .

[Ruckdog]

Yeah, I guess I should specify...in DW 1.0 and 1.1, they were called STAR cards as well. When it went to DW 2.0, the cards chanted to TACs just like in FA 2.0.

Same basic concept, but different names!

Spartan really seems wedded to the basic concept of this card mechanic, with custom cards for factions. It has been a feature of their games since the first edition of Uncharted Seas IIRC.

[CDR-G]

For Dalekunz, the Tac cards come in the new box sets. You can buy them direct.
I don't know where you are , but I have like seven of them.  If it it is easy I can sell you one (or two) cheap. I got them for demo games- You don't use TAC cards in demo games that I have seen.
I carry two with me in case an opponent does not have one and we wish to use them. I have not used them yet. I ma not sold on the mechanic and the dimension it adds takes away for ship tactics and strategy. The card play becomes a whole new level of complexity. I don't think I would be happy if I lost  a clear victory due to TAC points.
Ruckdog, They may make a nice cheap prize for a mini-tournamnt.