Part 4 - The Narn
The Narn characters include a variety of faces, familiar and not. The fixed characters you receive in a starter deck include G'kar, both of his assistants (Ko'Dath and Na'Toth), Ja'Doc, Kha'mok, Na'Kal, Ta'Lon, and a Narn Aide, Agent, and Captain. Other characters include Du'Rog, G'Drog, Du'Nar, Na'Far, G'Sten, and the dread Tu'Pari.
There is no distinct special attributes to these characters. Several are members of the Kha'ri. However, there is currently no card that gives you a benefit based on this (unlike, say, Approval of the Gray for the Minbari). There are no Narn telepaths, nor is there any intent to make a Narn a telepath. Cards such as Latent Telepath are worded to prevent a Narn from gaining telepathy.
The Narn characters' primary strength is Leadership. However, they are no slouches at Diplomacy, either. G'Kar has the second highest Diplomacy of the starting Ambassadors. There are several other high-Diplomacy characters as well.
Ko'Dath is a remarkably weak assistant. However, you are allowed to have multiple Assistants in play. Rather than replace her, keep her in play and bring out Na'Toth separately. Or start with Na'Toth and bring out Ko'Dath when you draw her.
Where the Narn are weak is in Intrigue. However, they have some inherent defenses that help here. G'Kar receives an Intrigue bonus when he is the target of Intrigue, and Ta'Lon can provide a bonus as well.
G'Kar is also the only starting Ambassador without a Destiny mark. However, he makes up for this by having a Strife mark. In fact, Strife marks are relatively prevalent among the Narn. Na'Toth, Ta'Lon, and Tu'Pari have them. Cards like Concealed Weapon and Thenta Makur can provide even more.
This gives the Narn a strong advantage by dissuading characters from assisting in Conflicts. G'Kar can do severe damage, base, if he attacks someone contributing Diplomacy to a Conflict. Give him a Concealed Weapon and put the Thenta Makur in play, and he does eleven. Keep G'Kar ready and he can be quite the threat. Use a card like Hour of the Wolf to have him rotate and contribute in a Diplomatic Conflict, then ready him and rotate him to attack.
The Narn have their homeworld, the standard starting Location (rotate to gain one influence). The Narn also have Quadrants 14 and 37, which are fleet/attack oriented.
The Narn have no connection to the Vorlons, the Shadows, or the Babylon 5. What they do have are fleets. Lots and lots of fleets. Well, actually they have no greater a variety of fleets than the other races. However, since their fleets are cheaper, you'll probably see more of them.
Fleets are the key to the Narn's strength. In the Babylon 5 game, you typically get what you pay for. If the fleets are cheap that is because they are relatively weak. However, their low cost means they can mobilize quickly, before other races can bring their stronger fleets to bear. The Narn also have cards that reduce the cost of Fleet sponsorship even further.
So what strategy should Narn players follow? They can do okay in Diplomacy, but their strength is in Military Conflicts. Their high starting tension with the Centauri give them a ready target for a war conflict. While the Centauri are still mobilizing their fleets and/or building their contacts with the Shadows, the Narn can already be moving on Centauri Prime. Their fleets may be small, but enough of them, each with a Narn character providing Leadership, are quite capable of generating the 20+ points necessary to take the homeworld or wipe out individual fleets.
Conflicts like Border Raid, Limited Strike, and Gunboat Diplomacy can also give the Narn Influence. The first two Conflicts limit the fleets that can be used to oppose you, giving you an additional edge. The Centauri are still your best target: they have less strong Leaders than the Humans, and their ships are weaker than the Minbari.
Agenda-wise, Revenge is your best choice. Slap this down and you get a +4 Power almost automatically (from Narn/Centauri tension). Take the Centauri Locations if they're foolish enough to put them out, particularly Ragesh III and Immolan V. This will give you Influence during a War Conflict even when you're capturing a Location. Keep the Diplomatic types from lowering tensions with your own Diplomacy, or the threat of attacking their Diplomats.
The Narn can get a very quick win using this strategy. Raise Influence to 10, get out the Narn homeworld, raise your tensions with the Centauri to 5, win a Border Raid or two, and play your Revenge Agenda. You now have 14 Influence and 19 power.
Overall, the Narn can win with a quick brutal approach. Their cheap Military and their threats of attack are their major strengths. Pick an opponent, probably the Centauri, and go for it.
Next week: The Neutrals...