My Favorite Class in Lifeship (The Best one as well)

It was a rainy evening in October. I sat down at my PC andmade the first character (Ireland) and the first equipment (Ancient Timepiece, Hand Sewn Backpack). But a character needs a class. So of course, I made the two most obvious classes for a sci fi skirmish game...Warp Tech and Comms Tech. I know, wouldn't things like Soldier, Medic, or even Mechanic be more obvious? Apparently not. But I am not here to talk about Warp Tech or any of those others. I want to tell you what I love so much about Comms Tech.

First, lets take a look at their cards. Keep in mind, that the design on these may change and they will certainly have ART on them before going to print. Comms Tech is the ultimate Support Class. With a direct line to Sasha and the Captain, they help the team "Do better than they are currently doing."

Delayed Comms is unique in how it can mess with enemy AI. Changing the order that enemies perform their actions can make it much easier for players to avoid attacks and take advantage of low defenses.

Coordinated Strikes is an easy way to punch through highbarrier enemies, as well as just adding extra damage to the table.

Stronger Together provides defense where it is needed most.

The last two cards are both Commands. In that, they both have the Command tag. This is important as it triggers the Comms Tech special ability of performing a basic action when they resolve a Command. But that is not the coolest part about these cards.

Orders from Sasha: KILL does exactly what you would expect an order from Sasha to do. Put you (and the enemy) in harm's way with no regard to your safety. Any players (or non-player allies) who follow the order get to Charge (Movement in a straight line that adds +1 to your next attack for each hex moved) then Attack +2, applying 3 Disadvantage if they hit. This puts whoever takes the command in the thick of battle on a very early initiative WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO INCREASE THEIR DEFENSE DIE. Sasha doesn't care who gets killed, as long as someone does.

Captain's Orders: Try to Win is one of the most powerful search and play cards in the game and one of the primary ways the Comms Tech generates Captain's credits.

So here it is, my favorite Bounty (Method by which a class earns Captain's Credits) in the entire game. A Comms Tech earns a Captain's Credit every time they help another player earn a Captain's Credit. For example, if you have a Scout on the team (Scout Bounty: Gain a CK when you become adjacent to an enemy and deal damage to it in the same round) and you target them with Orders from Sasha: Kill and they deal damage with their charge attack...they get a CK, so you do too! Or, let's say you play Captain's Orders: Try to Win, targetting your Paramedic (Paramedic Bounty: Gain a CK when you Cure a negative condition or give any amount of energy to anally) and they search their deck for On the Juice to give you 2 energy, they get a CK, and so do you.

This even applies to very silly situations like corpse retrieval. In Lifeship, players die. If their bodies are not retrieved, they lose any non-character equipment they have purchased. To incentivize retrieval, the Captain pays 2CK to any Super Team member who brings a body back. You see where this is going? If the Comms Tech dies, and someone retrieves their body, they technically helped that Player get a CK...so they get one as well.

Yes, Comms Tech requires not a small amount of negotiation. A common sentence we say when playing as a Comms Tech "I am playing Captain's Orders, who can get a card that will get them a CK?". So you end up being a sort of play organizer...in other words, a Comms Tech.

It is super fun and very helpful to the team. At least, being helpful to the team is how you get paid. But that about wraps it up for today. Until next time, Fly Safe!

Chris