This is Space Cats Peace Turtles, the unofficial podcast for Fantasy Flights Twilight Imperium,

featuring Matt Martins and Hunter Donaldson. Music by Ben Prunty.

Here's a story of courage, luck, and unforgivable treason.

So there's this friend I've never beaten at TI3.

When he was there, about a third of the games I played, either he won or the game just fizzled out without a clear winner.

But this time, in a four-player game, I had my shot.

He was playing the Necrow Virus on my right while I had the Mentak Coalition.

Somewhere in the fourth or fifth round, he was a bit overextended attacking the Emirates on his right,

while my left was currently secure as the win who had had a very subpar early game to my left,

so I saw an opportunity to kneecap my nemesis. He had already activated his home system in a poorly time transfer action and only left a single

cruiser in it, but the only way I could reach this home system to destroy him was through

his flagship, as a supernova blocked the alternate route.

So I had to beat his bomb flagship, and a dreadnought, another cruiser, and a fighter, losing

the whole fleet I sent there, then send another fleet able to beat his cruiser 2 PDS and

some ground forces in his home system.

That was a lot, especially since I needed to ensure victory against his flagship, but

not send too much. So I devised a strategy using my own flagship, which nullifies the enemy's sustained damage

in the system, and an action card, target their flagship, maybe, which gave me a single

pre-combat role, which I could assign to any ship of my choosing, if successful.

You see where I'm going with this?

Surprising everyone, I send my flagship alone into four enemy ships and played this card.

I only needed a five plus to blow up the whole system, so, of course, I got a four on my role. Now things weren't going that great anymore, except I also had a beacon of hope, I think,

...