Major Rakal's Romulan Review #78: D'deridex Advanced

(06/09/1999)

Aefvadh! My reviews haven't included very many ships, only the T’Pau and the Cha’Joh for Romulans. That's because the standard warbirds are all pretty much alike (except for the Decius), with a stat +1 or -1 here and there. But The Dominion presented us with something a little different. Still a warbird, but with a little something extra...

D'DERIDEX ADVANCED
Ship, Romulan, Rare, Universal, Modified D'deridex Class
RANGE 9, WEAPONS 10, SHIELDS 9, [C][S][S]
Cloaking Device, Tractor Beam
Attributes all -3 unless Tal Shiar in crew.
"Upgraded by the Tal Shiar near Orias III. Used in Tal Shiar/Obsidian Order attack of the Dominion 2371."

While the staffing requirements are identical to those of the universal and unique "standard" D'deridexes, the advanced version has +1 RANGE, +1 WEAPONS and +2 SHIELDS compared to the standard universal warbird. That's a substantial edge in ship movement and firepower, especially for a universal ship.

To maintain peak performance, you do need a Tal Shiar aboard, but with five such personnel available, and so many other reasons to have Tal Shiar in your decks, it's unlikely that you will be lacking in this skill. With the exception of Senator Vreenak, the Tal Shiar are all able to fulfill one of the staffing icon requirements as well.

While you can get even better performance from a unique warbird with its matching commander, that requires both matching up the correct ship and commander (if you're anything like me, you'll always draw Sirol and the Haakona (Prem), or Taris and the Devoras--not useful at all!) and playing extra cards (Captain’s Log and/or Defiant Dedication Plaque). The stats of the D'deridex Advanced are quite reasonable when you consider that you can use them in multiple and staff them with interchangeable Tal Shiar personnel, all without worrying about Kevin Uxbridge taking out your Captain's Log.

And because it's universal, you can even download it with a Spacedoor. Have one of the most powerful ships in the game sitting at your outpost on your first turn.

The Major's Combos:

• D'deridex Advanced + Reflection Therapy: If you're really stuck for a Tal Shiar, just turn a superfluous Treachery into an instant Tal Shiar agent and your ship is back in business.
• D'deridex Advanced + Romulan Ambush: Works just as well as any of the plain-vanilla D'deridexes to blow your opponent's ship away and take acaptive.