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The Frycutus Maneuver
(author unknown)

and

The Sharkman Counter-Frycutus Technique
by Sharkman


The Frycutus Maneuver is a very effective strategy for dealing with those players who are infamous for using little ships to tow big carriers around, thus conserving fuel and engine costs. They then throw the towed ship at you first in combat - the "sacrificial lamb" tactic. The Frycutus Maneuver shoots this strategy to hell.

The Frycutus Maneuver involves the use of a "firecloud booby-trap". To set it up, first hit the enemy with a couple Biocides near his sector. Do just enough damage to make him mad, but pull off before he can really hit you back with his big carriers. If he was unprepared, you'll soon see a few big carriers being towed by smaller (or other big) ships. In essence, he didn't have the cash to spend on big engines, but that's ok because revenge (for attacking him) is worth it.

Once you verify that he's towing his big carriers (warp setting of 0), fall back, but leave a single firecloud behind. Make sure you leave at least 50 kt of fuel aboard. Timing is very important...on the turn that his Death Fleet hits the planet with the lone firecloud, open a chunnel back to a world deep within your space - not just any world, mind you, but one with one or two fully stocked Biocides waiting, set to KILL.

What will happen is this...your firecloud will open the chunnel and travel through it. The chunnel will not affect any enemy ships that are moving under their own power, but it WILL suck in the towed ships. The big, fully loaded, crap-engine carriers will be ripped from their tractor-beam moorings, sucked through a sub-space conduit, and appear half-way across the Cluster with NO shields and their beam weapons uncharged. Sacrificial Lambs now become Sitting Ducks. Heh heh heh.

A word of caution - make sure you use Biocides to attack his sitting ducks. I accidentally sent an Annihilation Class Cruiser against two Virgos that I had captured with the Frycutus Maneuver. It wasn't pretty....


The Sharkman Counter-Frycutus Technique

I read the article on this new maneuver and have to admit it does sound pretty good. Although having never played the Borg in an internet game before, there is such an obvious countermeasure it's not funny.

Firstly, I don't tow ALL my huge carriers. Sure I tow most, since they need six or eight engines, so yes it is a good idea to build them with novas or the even crappier stardrives, but not all. I have a couple of transwarp carriers for emergencies. What is more, I use my transwarp Rushes, Gorbies or whatever as the quick-response defence system against such invasions as detailed above, so these won't fall for the chunnel as they will be travelling at warp 9. I tow my carriers into battle when I'm invading, not defending.

Even if MC is rare and I have to build crappy engine carriers and tow them with a Tranquility for example, the Frycutus Maneuver is easily defeated. Simply set the crap engined carrier to warp 1 and the same waypoint as the towing ship. The chunnel rules are interpreted literally, ie. the ship MUST have a warp setting of 0 to get chunnelled away. If it has warp 1, yes it still gets overpowered by the tractor beam (towing ships move before normal movement in hostrun) but quelle surprise, it's not going at warp 0 - this should make his Firecloud back off right away (of course, you'll have the PE set to Borg so if it doesn't back off you cream it :-)

Another useful tactic would be to try would be to bluff him, ie. Your towing ship and crap-engine carrier is 75 ly from his Firecloud booby-trap*, travelling at warp 9. Suddenly change the waypoint to say, a point 5 ly from the planet (avoids gravity wells)...or, slow the fleet down to warp 8, or whatever, you get the idea - ie. So that it doesn't arrive when he expects it to. Then listen to the cries of frustration as he chunnels back...nothing!

Still, it was a well-thought out tactic and must have had a huge surprise impact, but now that fighter race players have learnt about its use and know a couple of countermeasures, as a Borg commander don't be too surprised when you fail to pull it off...


*Of course, this means you have to know or suspect where his Firecloud Booby Trap is. Most likely you will not be sure where he plans to ambush your carrier, so if you adopt this counter-tactic you'll probably have to use it on all your fleets which means they will all get there one turn later than usual. That shouldn't be too much trouble anyway, as if the planet could suddenly develop a 200 defence 60 fighter base in one turn :-P

If you use the warp 1 setting counter-tactic (think of this as the prevention rather than the cure :-) this won't be necessary - he won't see the warp 0 carriers he wants to see and will either back off, or use his Biocides with whatever fighters they have left against you...well, he's the one paying 100 creds for each one, not you ;-)


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