In this final installment of the Antarctica strategy series I will share some of the "gimmick" deck concepts I hinted at in the previous columns. Gimmick decks are decks that use an unusual win strategy or an unorthodox play style. A good gimmick deck in Chron X can almost insure a win even before you've damaged your opponent's Headquarters (HQ). The only problem is staying alive long enough to get the winning combo into play.

Mobile HQ and Ascension

In the late game players, using Mobile HQ have many options. One of my favorites is the "Ascension track" (the interventions Birth Cry, Sentience, and Ascension). The cards that make up this track reduce the Firepower of your opponent's assets, increase the Firepower of your assets, and ultimately allow you to take control of your opponent's assets. The drawback is that the first two interventions (Birth Cry and Sentience) only affect assets in your own HQ city. However, with Mobile HQ you can take the fight to your opponent and use the benefits of this track for both offense and defense.

Hive HQ and Underground Bases

Hive HQ is also seldom used. This HQ only has 12 Hit Points and has the same limitations on other maps that the Antarctica map imposes on all HQs; all bases must be able to trace an unbroken line to your HQ in order to be deployed. In addition, your opponent may not play bases where you already have a base. The first part is undeniably a disadvantage, however since both players are already forced to play bases in this way, the disadvantage is neutralized. The inability to have your bases and your opponent's bases in the same city can be a huge advantage—if you come prepared.

That's 4 to 8 points of damage because you used an underground base

Just like the Mobile HQ, Hive HQ has many strategies that can lead to victory. One strategy that may not seem obvious is to combine underground bases with Hive HQ. Many players would never use underground bases with a Hive HQ because the opponent's inability to place a base in a seemingly empty city is a sure giveaway that an underground base of some type is present. While this seems like a reason to not use underground bases with a Hive HQ, consider this: on the Antarctica map, assets that are in a city without a friendly base take 2 to 4 points of damage at the start of each turn. With a Hive HQ and underground bases, your opponent will be forced to walk their assets into your cities without the protection of friendly bases. If they want to destroy one of your underground bases in order to deploy one of their own, they'll need to take an extra turn (and 2 to 4 points of damage) to search before they can attack. The turn after they search they can attack, but they'll take yet another take 2 to 4 points of damage. That's 4 to 8 points of damage just because you used an underground base. This is only one example of how to use the map to your advantage.

Power Play

Power Play is a feasible strategy for Antarctica because it is a difficult map on which to move around. This makes base hunting slow and difficult, especially if the bases are being actively defended. The map trait to take advantage of with this strategy is simply the fact that the map is round. Generally you will only need to defend three cities to defend all of your bases—those being your opponent's HQ city and the cities on each side. Cards such as Quarantine and Closed Borders can buy you the time you need to get ready for Power Play. Usually your opponent will try to ruin your strategy by concentrating their Firepower on removing your bases in one or two cities. In that situation a Peacekeeping Force can be more valuable than any number of defenders.

Conclusion

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