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

Activating Technology II's secondary, playing Corporate Sponsorship (which lets you purchase 1 green tech for 4 less than it's normal price), and tapping Vefut II to research Cybernetics.

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 2
Strategy Allocation: 0
Fleet Supply: 4

CONSUMABLES
Action Cards: 1
Political Cards: 1
Trade Goods: 0

TECHNOLOGY
Hylar V Assault Laser
Deep Space Cannons
Antimass Deflectors
XRD Transporters
Cybernetics

PLANETS
Quinarra – 3/1
Tren’lak – 1/0
Ashtroth 2/0
Abbadon 1/0 (red tech specialty)
Loki 1/2
Perimeter 2/2
Abyz 3/0
Fria 2/0 (Blue tech specialty)
Vefut II 2/0 (red tech specialty)

I'll spend a strategy CC and tap my last two planets (one of which has a green tech specialty) for five resources to also get Gen Synthesis.

"Soh-cah-toa... Bilbo Balboa... Moa-coa-loa. I just don't get this!" "It's all right, sir. We think we'll be able to bribe some of our professors into letting us pass the exams." "Well, what are we waiting for, then!"

Spending a CC from Strategic Allocation to activate the secondary ability of this card, and exhausting Muaat and Resculon for 6 resources. With this, I shall research Deep Space Cannon. Then I shall employ Googleshng's racial ability, which I borrowed for the turn, and research Micro Technology for free!

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 1
Strategy Allocation: 2
Fleet Supply: 3
Activations: 2
Total in play: 8/16

PLANETS (Resources/Influence)
Muaat (4/1)
Lesab (2/1, Green Tech Spec)
Resculon (2/0)
Coorneeq (1/2, Red Tech Spec)
El'Nath (2/0, Blue Tech Spec)

TECHNOLOGIES OWNED
Enviro Compensator (Yellow): Space Docks gain +1 to production capacity
Sarween Tools (Yellow): When building with a Space Dock, you gain 1 additional resource
Hylar V Assault Laser (Red): Cruisers and Destroyers gain +1 on combat rolls
War Sun (Red): Can now build War Suns
Deep Space Cannon (Red): PDS can fire at adjacent systems
Micro Technology (Yellow): When receiving trade goods from your trade agreements, receive 1 extra trade good for each active trade agreement.

The L1Z1X Mindnet will pass on the Tech II secondary.

For its action, the Mindnet will activate Quann and exhaust [0.0.0.] to build a Space Dock there.

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 1
Strategy Allocation: 1
Fleet Supply: 5
Activations: 2
Total in play: 9/16

And for the Federation's action, I spend a CC from Strategy Allocation to plop a couple new GF units right onto Mecatol Rex, for a total of 5 stationed there.

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 2
Strategy Allocation: 1
Fleet Supply: 6
Activations: 1
Total in play: 10/16

Egarwaen is up.

I pass. Googleshng is up.

"Hello everyone, we seem to have an extra big class load this semester... let's begin by continuing our work on overclocking the Jol-Narian brain as it were... hey, you there in the back. Yes, the new student. There is no smoking in this class! And what are all these doodles in your notebook, hmm? Oh, how mature. A war sun vaporizing my blackboard very funny. I'll just be confiscating that now."

Activating Tech II secondary, and showing a little restraint for once. Depleting, let's say... Starpoint and Lor to keep the list sorted, to research Neural Motivator and War Sun.

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 3
Strategy Allocation: 3
Fleet Supply: 2
Activations: 0

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)
Tsion 2/2 (Trade Goods)
Bellatrix 0/1 (Red Tech Specialty)
Wellon 1/2

TECHNOLOGIES OWNED
Hylar V Assault Laser
Deep Space Cannons
Magen Defense Grid
War Sun
Antimass Deflectors
XRD Transporters
Cybernetics
Gen Synthesis
Hypermetabolism
Neural Motivator
Enviro Compensator
Sarween Tools
Microtechnology

Oh hey, and it's actually my turn now too? I guess I'll just go right ahead, activate Jol/Nar, and build me one of these puppies. Exhausting all remaining planets gives me 8, which is 2 short of what I need. Fortunately, I have 2 trade goods to make up the difference. Actually, heck, I have 3. Let's get a couple more fighters to go with it, they can carry 4 right?

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 2
Strategy Allocation: 3
Fleet Supply: 2
Activations: 1

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)
Tsion 2/2 (Trade Goods)
Bellatrix 0/1 (Red Tech Specialty)
Wellon 1/2

CONSUMABLES
Action Cards: 4
Political Cards: 1
Trade Goods: 0

UNITS
Jol/Nar - Space Dock x1, War Sun x1, Fighter x4, Ground Forces x2 (1 on each)
Starpoint/New Albion - PDS x1 (Starpoint), Dreadnought x1
Mehar Xull - PDS x1, Ground Forces x3, Carrier x1, Fighter x1, Dreadnought x1
Tsion/Bellatrix - Carrier x1, Ground Forces x1

Uh... War Suns cost 12 resources, not 10, unless I'm reading this wrong? Sarween Tools gets you 1, but I'm not sure where your remaining resource is coming from?

Yeah, Egarwaen will be able to build them for 10 if ever he gets his racial tech, but you're stuck paying 12 like the rest of us scrubs. I think you'll have to forgo Neural Motivator to afford one this round.

He can't; if he forgoes Neural Motivator, he doesn't get the War Sun tech.

EDIT: Also, were we playing this from round 1 again, I'd probably grab Technology first round and burn a political card to get my racial tech first thing.

Er, how so? I could take War Sun as the freebie, I've had all the requirements for it forever and all. Or, I could skip the fighters, or, since I just noticed I jotted my political card count wrong there, I could (and will) discard Veto Power here and tada. Cost is covered (11 resources, -1 to the base cost of 12 from Sarween Tools, which I thought was -2 for some reason at first), and I don't even need to correct quantities in that last post.

Ah, no. See, you don't get the freebie unless you actually activate the tech 2 secondary. Which costs you 6 resources. So skipping Neural Motivators gets you nothing; you're still paying 6 resources for the War Sun tech, getting a free tech from your racial ability, and are left with fewer than 12 resources.

Edit: However, looks like you balanced it out with that political card. So as long as you've got the 11 for the War Sun + 6 for the Tech II Secondary, you should be good.

I can't remember which and I'm away from my files at the moment, but if I recall correctly either the FAQ or the rulebook entry for Tech II says the Universities can activate the secondary and take only the free tech, without paying for the secondary tech, if they wish. Basically the only way to deprive the Universities of the chance to buy tech (aside from Scientist Assassination and such) is to wait until they're out of CCs in Strategy to play it.

EDIT: Forgot I actually have the Shattered Empire rulebook with me! It's in there.

All squaresies now, in any case.

Oh, and a minor point: Sarween Tools doesn't give a discount, it gives +1 resources when building. Not sure how many situations could arise where the distinction matters, but it might somewhere.

Oh, wow. That's really powerful. I don't think I'd have changed my plans, but yeah, I think I picked a good one to copy.

Even better is that you can pay for the cheaper one first. So it goes: free tech, 6 resources, 8 resources.

The only situation I could see is if all of your planets are exhausted, and you want to buy a 1 resource unit, you would still be able to do so. If you have a CC burning a hole in your pocket and you really need that Destroyer, you would be able to do it.

I believe that Lucas is up!

Their racial ability is really terribly written, then. Though that should hardly surprise me at this point.

The Coalition passes. Epithet?

Activating home space, and tapping Abyz and Abaddon to build a Cruiser and Fighter x2.

COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 1
Strategy Allocation: 0
Fleet Supply: 4

UNITS
Home space - Fighter x3, Cruiser x2, Dreadnought x1, Destroyer x1,
Quinarra - PDS x1, GF x3, Space Dock x1
Perimeter - GF x1
Vefut II - GF x1
A/L/A space - Cruiser x1
Abyz/Fria - Cruiser x1, Carrier x2, Fighter x3, Dreadnought x1, High Alert Token
Abyz - GF x2, PDS x1, Space Dock x1
Fria - GF x1

PLANETS
Quinarra – 3/1
Tren’lak – 1/0
Ashtroth 2/0
Abbadon 1/0 (red tech specialty)
Loki 1/2
Perimeter 2/2
Abyz 3/0
Fria 2/0 (Blue tech specialty)
Vefut II 2/0 (red tech specialty)

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

Severian is up.

Well, when it was written there was no Tech II card (with original Tech, you could get a free tech with primary and an 8-resource tech with secondary, and that was it), so the Tech II section has its own Universities section to explain how it works.

Does that really change how poorly-written it is? Looking at the text of the original Technology card, it says "Spend 1 CC from SA and 8 resources..." So presumably the same logic applies - they can "activate" the secondary by spending a CC and then get the free tech, even though the plain meaning of the text on the card is that it requires 1 CC and 8 resources to activate.

We believe that all this peace stuff is getting boring. It's time for...



To a complete shock to everyone, we pick up the Command Counter from Mirage and place it back in the Command Pool.


COMMAND COUNTERS
Command Pool: 3
Strategy Allocation: 0
Fleet Supply: 4
Activations: 1
Total in play: 8/16

Everyone who wants to execute Patrols can do so, then 'Hrist is up!

1. Sarcasmorator — ?
2. Egarwaen - PASS
3. Googleshng — ?
4. Lucas — ?
5. Epithet — ?
6. Severian — PRIMARY
7. `Hrist — ?
8. L1Z1X Mindnet — ?

I'mma Pass.

Passing on warfare.

Sol and L1Z1X both pass on Warfare secondary.

Can't use it anyway, so I pass.

Warfare pass

Some news: SilentSnake will be taking over for the L1Z1X. We're closing in on the end of the round, so I think it'd be smoothest for him to start as the next round begins.

Pass.

Great, and welcome!!! Although now we've got a real contender right out of the chute. Someone with experience.

With Lucas passing, that's everybody. 'Hrist is up!