My Space Fleet is Invincible! — Let's Play Twilight Imperium Third Edition

I draw action card 1 and place two CCs in my command pool.

CONSUMABLES
Action Cards: 2
Political Cards: 0
Trade Goods: 2

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 3/3
Strategy Allocation: 2/2
Fleet Supply: 3
Activations: 3
Total in play: 9/16

PLANETS (Resources/Influence)
Moll Primus 4/1 - 2 GF, Spacedock
Tequ'ran 2/0 - Red Tech - 2 GF, 1 Carrier, 1 Fighter
Torkan 0/3 – Blue Tech - 1 GF, 1 PDS
Saudor 2/2 – 1 GF, 1 Cruiser
Dal Bootha 0/2 – Red Tech - 1 GF, 3 Cruisers
Xxehan 1/1 – Green Tech - 1 GF
Lodor 3/1 - Green Tech



TECHNOLOGIES OWNED
Hylar V Assault Laser
Enviro Compensator
Stasis Capsules
Micro Technology

UNITS (Deployed/Total)
Space Docks: 1/3
Ground Forces: 9
Shock Troops: 0
PDS: 1/6
Fighters: 1
Carriers: 1/4
Destroyers: 0/8
Cruisers: 4/8
Dreadnoughts: 0/5
War Suns: 0/2

TRADE CONTRACTS
Yin 1
Sardak Norr 1

VICTORY POINTS: 1

Strategy phase is when we're picking strategy cards, right? How do I play actions then?

Yeah. If you have an Action Card that says it's played during the Strategy Phase, just announce that you're playing it and what it does. If someone wants to Sabotage it, they will. If you're talking about your Trade Good stealing ability, I believe you can simply announce who you're stealing from at any time.

You could post it along with your Strategy Card choice, or by itself. I could see situations where you might want to wait and see who takes which SC before deciding who to steal from, though I think only the L1Z1X have enough Trade Goods for you to steal from this time around.

We're still waiting for people to finish their strategy phases, right?

Status rather. Strategy Phase is the picking of new strategy cards.

Yeah, `Hrist has yet to post for the Status Phase. I've sent her a note, but figure she must be busy. If she doesn't post soon (like, tonight) we'll move on to the Strategy Phase and she can post her status stuff along with her SC choice.

All right, let's move on the Strategy Phase for Round 3! Here are the cards:







Warfare has a bonus counter worth 1 Trade Good.

Choosing order is as follows:

1. Egarwaen (SPEAKER) — Warfare II
2. Epithet — Technology II
3. Lucas — Leadership
4. `Hrist — Production
5. Sarcasmorator — Warfare I
6. Googleshng — Diplomacy II
7. Severian — Trade II
8. L1Z1X Mindnet — Bureaucracy

Egarwaen is up!

The Embers of Muaat shall undertake Warfare II.

Epithet is up.

Taking Technology II.

Lucas is up.

I'll take the Leadership strategy card and steal a trade good from the Mindnet.

Time for `Hrist.

So... what determines the order for picking strategy cards exactly? Is it always just, clockwise from the current speaker... who is in turn determined by taking a strategy card, allowing 2 people to just pass it back and forth indefinitely?

Clockwise from Speaker, except the L1Z1X go last because otherwise I could totally abuse their SC pick. Anyone who takes Assembly can claim or pass the Speaker token to another player. If the Speaker token ends up shuttling between two players, it'll be because everyone else is allowing it to (and a pair of players who just send Speaker back and forth would be short-changing themselves on a lot of useful abilities).

Anyway, I don't imagine the same two players will be taking Assembly for the whole game. As it is we've had two rounds and three Speakers, so it hasn't been a problem yet.

Sure they can. Player in seat 3 consistently takes Assembly, appoints player in seat 2 Speaker. There's no real direct benefit to doing this for player in seat 3, but there's other ways to return the favor, and if both really want to $@#% over whoever's in seat 1, he can't do squat about it.

Admittedly, this is only really a potential issue if you have enough players to thin the cards out, but it's weird that the wording doesn't keep you from making the current speaker speaker, unless they're the one who's playing the card.

I get your point, but honestly, if you're going to make someone besides yourself Speaker, it makes the most sense to pick the person to your left, not the person who already has it or who had it before you did. That way you get second choice of Strategy Card. And concentrating so hard on sending the Speaker token back and forth would mean neglecting other stuff. Like earning VP with Bureaucracy.

I will check the FAQ and other rulings and make sure it is in fact OK to simply re-Speaker the current token holder if you're using option b).

In any case, Egarwaen has already passed Assembly up and there are several people who could nab the card before severian's turn comes around (including you), so I don't see it being an issue this round.

Er... That's what I just described. Every round, one particular person takes assembly, and uses it to give speaker to the person right before them. They don't directly benefit, but you still have the ability to lock the selection order for the whole game, with the only person able to break it being the primary benefactor... and the person maintaining the lock can screw the primary benefactor over with a last place pick by grabbing it personally.

But yeah, I wasn't pointing that out as a concern for this game we're playing, it just seems like such a potential game breaker I figured I was seriously misinterpreting things.

Housekeeping: All planets refreshed. Hope's End gets a Shock Trooper, while Primor gets a Ground Trooper. 1 CC for Command Pool and 1 for Strategy Allocation.

There was a problem earlier with me getting too many Carriers. I'll replace the one Carrier with a Cruiser.

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 2
Strategy Allocation: 2
Fleet Supply: 3 (+1)
Activations: 0

PLANETS (Resources/Influence)
Arc Prime – 4/0
Wren Terra – 2/1
Qucen'n -- 1/2
Primor -- 2/1 (Ground Troop Refresh)
Rarron -- 0/3 (Green Tech Spec)
Hope's End -- 3/0 (Shock Troopers)

UNITS (Deployed/Total)
Arc Prime/Wren Terra -- Space Dockx2, Dreadnoughtx1, Carrierx2, Ground Forcex1, Fighterx2,Cruiserx1
Qucen'n -- Ground Forcesx2,
Rarron -- Carriersx1, Ground Forcesx1
Primor -- Ground Troopx2
Hope's End -- Carrierx1, Fightersx3, Destroyerx1, Ground Troopx1, Shock Troopx2

TECHNOLOGIES OWNED
Hylar V Assault Laser
Antimass Deflectors
XRD Transporters – +1 Carrier movement

TRADE CONTRACTS
Terran 2
Egarwen 2

Trade Goods: 0

VICTORY POINTS: 2

I select Production

Actually, you get two Shock Troops and two Ground Forces, respectively, for Hope's End and Primor's refresh abilities! So that's even better. But the downside is that when you use their refresh ability (like I did for Sumerian) those planets start the round exhausted as a result. Just remember not to leave the Shock Troops alone; they need to travel with a standard GF "figure."

The Federation of Sol will take Warfare and its attendant Trade Good bonus counter.

Googleshng is up!

EDIT: While I'm thinking of it: Is it working for all of you that I'm now posting a large map every day or two, and not the individual moves anymore? Any other procedural changes that would make things flow more smoothly, for playing or reading along?

Yeah, big map beats close-up any day. Also while I'm sure I'll come to regret it, I'll take Diplomacy II.

Also- When do you actually pick up new political cards again?

You can get new Political Cards by executing the primary of Assembly or the secondary of Bureaucracy. I think certain Action Cards let you draw them, too.

A note on Diplomacy II, just in case anyone tries this: It cannot be used to annex Mecatol Rex.

The Yin will take Trade 2.

The L1z1x Mindset is up!

The L1Z1X Mindnet will take Bureaucracy. And that makes our play order for this round:

1. Lucas — Leadership
2. Googleshng — Diplomacy II
3. `Hrist — Production
4. Severian — Trade II
5. Egarwaen (SPEAKER) — Warfare II
6. Sarcasmorator — Warfare I
7. Epithet — Technology II
8. L1Z1X Mindnet — Bureaucracy

Assembly gains a bonus counter.

Here's the Round 3 starting map:



Here's the large version.

And the reference map.

Lucas is up!

The Coalition peoples are clamoring for more defense spending, so Chamberlain Shvass consents. The Mentak will spend a CC from the command pool to activate the Moll Primus system, exhaust Moll Primus and Tequ'ran and spend one trade good for seven resources total, and build three cruisers and two ground forces at Moll Primus.

CONSUMABLES
Trade Goods: 2

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 2/3
Activations: 1

PLANETS (Resources/Influence)
Moll Primus 4/1 - 3 Cruisers, 4 GF, Spacedock
Tequ'ran 2/0 - Red Tech - 2 GF, 1 Carrier, 1 Fighter

The Mentak are running out of Cruisers =(

You're crazy for Cruisers, man.

Googleshng is up.

Well, it's now or never really. Activating Diplomacy II...



... and immediately using the primary, to use the secondary, exhausting Nar to annex Mirage. I believe everyone else who still has a valid target picks clockwise from me, and we kinda have to go in order on this one, because pickings are getting slim.

PLANETS (Resources/Influence)
Jol – 1/2
Nar – 2/3
Capha – 3/0
Arnor 2/1
Lor 1/2 (Red Tech Specialty)
Starpoint 3/1
New Albion 1/1 (Green Tech Specialty)
Mehar Xull 1/3 (Blue Tech Specialty)
Mirage – 1/2 (Fighters?)

I don't have anything I can take, so I pass.

The Embers of Muaat are insufficiently strategically deft at the moment to take advantage of this opportunity. They're still hung over from the party they funded with the sale of Cokeworld.

Passing on Diplomacy's secondary.

Pass on the Diplomacy secondary

Yep, Fighters. I put icons for all the refresh-ability planets on the reference map showing what you get.

The L1Z1X Mindnet has no CCs to spend and must pass.

In the interest of maintaining peaceful relations with their neighbors, The Federation of Sol will also pass.

There are no planets within The Brotherhood of Yin's range to annex, which means an automatic pass for severian.

`Hrist is up.

Tap Arc Prime for four resources and build a Space Dock on Hope's End.

That costs a CC right?

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 1
Strategy Allocation: 2
Fleet Supply: 3 (+1)
Activations: 0

PLANETS (Resources/Influence)
Arc Prime – 4/0
Wren Terra – 2/1
Qucen'n -- 1/2
Primor -- 2/1 (Ground Troop Refresh)
Rarron -- 0/3 (Green Tech Spec)
Hope's End -- 3/0 (Shock Troopers)

UNITS (Deployed/Total)
Arc Prime/Wren Terra -- Space Dockx2, Dreadnoughtx1, Carrierx2, Ground Forcex1, Fighterx2,Cruiserx1
Qucen'n -- Ground Forcesx2,
Rarron -- Carriersx1, Ground Forcesx1
Primor -- Ground Troopx2
Hope's End -- Carrierx1, Fightersx3, Destroyerx1, Ground Troopx1, Shock Troopx2, Space Dockx1

TECHNOLOGIES OWNED
Hylar V Assault Laser
Antimass Deflectors
XRD Transporters – +1 Carrier movement

TRADE CONTRACTS
Terran 2
Egarwen 2

Trade Goods: 3

VICTORY POINTS: 1

It does; under normal circumstances (like this) you have to activate a system to build anything there, including a Space Dock. Also, I think I mentioned it before, but you can't produce units with a Space Dock in the same round it is built by any means.

severian is up.