Last week, @exodenews announced a new contest to build a deck to launch an evacuation and colonization of a specific fictional planet, H24, in an attempt to motivate eXode Captains to get their feet wet in the strategies of Deck Building. I dove right into the fray from day one but found the experience more challenging than I had anticipated. As it turns out, despite spending nearly all of my free time over the past month or so reading every piece of information I get my hands on about eXode, there was still a lot I didn't know about how different cards were played and interacted with other cards.
To be honest, I'm not sure I have everything down pat even now; there's bound to be a mistake or two lurking in the build below, but with the deadline to submit fast approaching and several dozen hours already invested in theorycrafting the build, it's time to set aside my obsession with perfection and accept that no matter what the results of the contest, this was still a successful endeavor. My feet are definitely wet!
While the scenario left the deck composition up to each Captain, I decided to limit my deck to cards that I already have. Though granted, that's not as much of a sacrifice for me as it might be for other Captains, as I have a lot of cards.
The other goal I set for myself from the onset was to build a deck with people, equipment, and supplies that a Captain might actually choose if this was a real-life scenario. To accomplish that goal, I chose the theme of a group of Rebels fighting against the evil (from their eyes) Federation.
The Secret Agent seemed like the perfect fit to lead this budding rebellion and keep the aliens from discovering my colony. With her bonus to Stealth and Radar, I'll be able to keep my movements quiet and have advanced notice if I am discovered.
The Drachian Republic has already had a successful split from the Federation...why wouldn't they help another budding Rebellion win independence for themselves? Add to that that a fully upgraded Mantis (8 Crew, 4 Equip, 8 Cargo, 6 Pass) is comparable in power to an Archeon, and the Ship selection became a no brainer.
I chose the Rare Plants for its potential food and ecosystem value. The Medical Bay is always a good choice, the Federal Database fits with the Secret Agent's theme, and the Eisen Suits are a just-in-case measure since none of my Crew is specialized in Science. Might come in handy in a pinch.
I believe these choices speak for themselves. Norah is perfect for keeping the colony running smoothly, Shen adds some medical expertise in addition to being otherwise well rounded, and the Tactical Officer keeps the troops from any FUBAR.
Putting together this lineup was a lot of fun. The stories seem to write themselves. The Hacker that uses his skills to free his people, the Drachian Trooper that left his unit to fight for others' freedom, the Federation Spy that works with the Rebellion while secretly sending updates to her superiors...
Edit: The Battle-Trained Socialite listed in the lineup above is actually an Officer, not Crew. She does not have the Officer tag listed on her card, which is why I made the mistake, but I have confirmed with @elindos that she is indeed an Officer. If you decide to use this build, keep this in mind, and make the appropriate changes.
I needed a Commissar to include the Assault Trooper in the previous section, and with one Drachian slot left, I gave him a set of Scarab armor. The Rebel General is a must for a rebellion themed game. The Unstable Genius seemed to be the best choice of the generated passengers for this game. That leaves 3 slots open for saving citizens on Starbase Aramea.
The bulk of my theorycrafting for this Scenario was spent in this section, and despite that, I still understand it the least. I added the Foodie-Moodie and Soup and Cook cards to combat H24's lack of natural food, as well as the Biodome to hopefully grow food to supplement it. The Underground prefab will help keep the colony from the nearby aliens' eyes. The drill was added to take advantage of the planet's natural resources. The Radar Array will give advanced notice to Alien activity, as well as give all the Signals and Radar experts from the Origin's inspire bonus something to do. Vehicle choices were picked with Stealth rating in mind, again to keep from being noticed by the Aliens.
With this setup, 2 cargo slots remain open for loading cargo at the Starbase. I'm hoping for some great supplies to fill in any holes I wasn't able to address with prefabs.
I think this will be my standard Escort build for most decks. Given the amount of preloaded Cargo and Passengers, it isn't likely that I will need them, but it doesn't hurt to have them on call just in case.
And that wraps up my build. What do you think? Did I miss anything? Would you have done anything differently?