Choosing a Faction for Starcraft the Board Game

• RockoRobotics(Jan 03 2008):
  What is your favorite faction and why?

First thing you must do in Starcraft The Board Game is pick a faction. Chances are you are coming to this game from years of playing Starcraft the Computer game. Your first instinct is probably to pick the faction you liked the best. Personally, that is what I like do and everyone knows that the Tyrani....I mean Zerg are the best race ever. But if you're not sure what race you want to use or you just want to try out a new one, there are some important things to consider.

For this article, I am going to take in consideration the number of players in the game and therefore the number of planets in the galaxy. Also, each race has a few special abilities which give them an edge is specific situations. In most games, the stronger players will almost always have complete control of two planets and incursions on one or two other planets. The question is, can the faction of your choice win under these circumstances? If you have played Starcraft before, then you know there are two ways to win the game. Normally, the standard victory condition is to collect 15 conquest points. In addition, each faction has its own unique victory condition. From the start of game its best to decide on which route you want to take. While some factions, such as the Queen of Blades and Aldaris, can potentially work towards both at the same time because of their special victory, splitting up forces to achieve two separate goals can prove fatal to an army.

Is it possible to achieve standard victory with only two planets? If you conqueror the right planets, then it certainly is possible. Of the twelve planets included in the base game, Three have two control points, Seven have one control point, and two have no control points. Therefore, if it is possible for you to have access to the two strongest planets in terms of control points, it may be a good idea to work towards standard victory. Otherwise, you may want to get the game into stage three as quickly as possible and shoot for your faction's special victory condition.

The next question is can your faction achieve its special victory condition by controlling only two different planets? Let us examine each of the factions in detail:
1.Aldaris – Not really, your goal as Aldaris is to deny your opponents victory and bring on stage three as quickly as possible. Sitting tight on two planets is not the best way to go about this.
2.Tassadar – It is possible if you control the two largest planets, but capturing more then just two planets will only increase your chances of winning.
3.Jim Raynor – This is possible, but not a guarantee. Some combinations of two planets can grant Jim Raynor victory, but not all of them will. Therefore, do not count on controlling two planets for victory.
4.The Queen of Blades – Probably not. In a rare occurrence, two planets will provide enough control points for victory, but often times getting access to these control points will be difficult.
5.Arcturus Mengsk – Yes it is possible.
6.The Overmind – Nope

As I mentioned earlier, the stronger players in the game will not only control two planets, but will probably have an incursion on one or two more planets. Factoring in this situation, how does this affect the special victory conditions of the various factions?
1.Aldaris – The more areas Aldaris controls, then the fewer areas your opponents control. Therefore, the better chance you have of keeping your opponent from winning the game.
2.Tassadar – More areas are always better. This will only increase your chances of winning the game.
3.Jim Raynor – This situation will also increase you chances of victory as most combinations of two planets will only leave you one or two areas short of victory.
4.The Queen of Blades – This extra area of control could easily make the difference between victory and defeat.
5.Arcturus Mengsk – This is the one faction which will not benefit in terms of special victory by attacking a third planet.
6.The Overmind – An incursion on a third planet is required for victory.

In addition to considering the number of planets, each race has it owns special abilities that can give it advantages in certain situations. The Terran Races (Raynor and Mengsk) get to have larger hands of combat cards. This will make they better defenders against early turn attacks. Also, the ability to move a base around a planet can be useful if your priorities shift later in the game. If you want to play a more defensive race, the Protoss factions(Aldaris and Tassadar) may be the way to go because their race ability will give them equal footing in attacking and defending in terms of number of combat cards. The Zerg have two advantages. The first is that they do not need to build special buildings to increase their military unit build limit. Therefore, their resources can be spent with greater efficiency. Also, they get to add combat cards at the end of each battle making them the best race for battling multiple times in one turn.

We all would like an edge in every game, but like the computer game, Starcraft the Board Game brings a balanced game to the table. Each faction/race does have an edge with certain situations and actions, so try to pick a faction with the advantages you will use the most. Of course, you can just have fun and pick your favorite faction – like the Zerg!!!