Coward
Alert
Resource
Type
Power to Flee
Escapes Encounters
As a leader, after approach, you may use this power to escape from the encounter. Both primed drivers are scrapped, and you gain boons equal to your rebounded ships.
Legacy: All primed distress pods transform into escape pods.
The Cowards are considered a laughingstock on the Cosmic stage, with many questioning the Federation’s decision to admit them as a recognized alien race. Their tendency to flee before combat even begins is considered dishonorable by many, though few can argue that it’s proven effective at keeping them alive.
Leader: Approach
Optional
Wild Flare
As an invader, after approach, you may discharge this flare to escape from the encounter. Scrap the opponent’s primed driver and gift your primed driver to your opponent.
Invader: Approach
Super Flare
When using your power, you may discharge this flare to probe both primed drivers and kickers and add any or all to your cache instead of scrapping them.
Leader: Approach
Modifications
- Coward’s legacy effectively removes reinforcement and other distress pods from the match, replacing them with distress pods. While few alien powers make use of distress pods, this power can be rather punishing against Reserve and Vox. Reserve’s legacy also synergizes with this legacy, allowing 06 or less attack pods to convert into escape pods. With this legacy on its own, aliens become more capable of protecting their ships, punishing aliens like Warpish and Sadist that like many ships in the warp. Original Cosmic has no legacies.
Tips
- It can be a waste to play a strong driver against Coward, since it might just retreat for an auto-win. However, Coward can take advantage of this aspect in order to simply win with a moderately strong pod. This strategy is especially effective as a defender, since that is when other aliens will be most expecting Coward to flee.
- Coward doesn’t lose its flagship if retreating, allowing it to get a second invasion during its campaign after retreating. If lacking strong pods, Coward can retreat to reinforce its cache. Retreating as a defender is generally more valuable since it can retain its home base.
- Since Coward’s boons are determined by its committed ship count, aliens can look to the number of Coward’s committed ships to gauge if it will retreat. Coward is less likely to retreat if only committing one ship. Coward can play with this information to bait out a stronger attack pod.
- Since Coward can protect its ships by fleeing and revive them with boons, it has little reason to commit fewer than four ships as a leader. Most of its lost ships will be lost when committing ships as a sponsor, the one time it cannot flee.
- After gaining boons via fleeing, opponents will be likely to use N pods against Coward, especially an invading Coward. This strategy allows either burning an N from their cache or gaining compensation, both of which can be considered acceptable outcomes.
- Since Coward can retreat from its own encounters, it can effectively protect its home bases as a defender. Usually one retreat is enough to protect its power, since it will often not be worth it to seize a planet that already has been conquered.
Development Notes
- Since Coward’s power is based around being afraid and cautious, it would be fitting for it to have some special advantage or disadvantage against Nightmare. While most of Nightmare’s horrors affect Coward normally, it is notable that Coward can effectively negate the encounter destroying aspect of Missing Keys through its cowardice.
- Original FFG Cosmic introduced the retreat pod during the Eon expansion alongside Coward. My Cosmic uses a retreat distress pod instead, which works slightly differently. FFG’s retreat pod converts into an N pod if opposed by another N pod. Otherwise, it results in a retreat, which allows the user to escape without losing any ships. My version of the retreat allows the user and allies to mitigate loss after losing an encounter, though the opposing leader will get to snipe one ship in the fleet for every 10 might they have. Coward is distinguished from both of these pods by activating before drivers are discharged and protecting all of its ships. It also gains rewards for using its power, which neither retreat pod grants.
- As the first alien themed around the retreat mechanic, no other alien released at the time occupies the same design space as Coward. The ability to throw an encounter in exchange for rewards would be most comparable to compensation-based powers like Hacker and Ethic. Those aliens have to lose ships in order to gain their compensation, in contrast to Coward who gets to preserve all of its ships. However, Coward surrenders its right to even participate in encounters by retreating. Even if the opponent played an N pod, Coward will still retreat, resulting in a technical win that doesn’t grant any foreign bases. The boons Coward gains are also not compensation, meaning it will not be depriving the opponent of resources while gaining its own. This factor can be a double-edged sword, as the resources it would have taken might have been strong or weak. It also gains no diplomacy advantage, letting it make more deals. At the very least, it is safe to say this power is not strictly superior to one based on compensation.
- Though Coward’s primary benefit is gaining boons from its power, it also has the small combat advantage since its power wastes encounter pods. Opposing aliens expecting Coward to retreat will want to prime their least valuable encounter pod. If Coward doesn’t retreat, it could potentially get an easy victory against it. Oracle has an advantage against Coward by getting to see what Coward will play, though it will not be able to see if Coward will retreat. Coward could potentially burn one of its own strong pods to trick Oracle into using its own, counting on gaining another strong pod from its retreating boons.
- One question regarding this power is why Coward gains boons from retreating. Mechanically it is for the purpose of the power accomplishing something other than wasting resources and time, but what is Coward doing in-universe to grant it boons? Super Coward uses the time it spends retreating to probe the drivers and snatch one, so I imagine their base retreat is doing something similar. If their power is something like gaining super speed when running away, they could use that speed to quickly snatch pods from the forge on their way back to home base.
- Coward’s theme is both simple and solid. As a timid and fearful alien, the coward has the ability to prematurely flee from combat. By fleeing before the fighting starts, it is immune to the typical ship destruction that could result from escape pods. The power of a Coward comes from its survivability, as running away allows them to live to fight another day.