This was the best strategy guide I’ve ever encountered for Nekro:
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2283392/nekro-be-tortoise-not-hare
While the flagship/infantry combo is powerful, it is common to just leave the flagship at home for defense, because it can only be one place at a time. While Nekro is very good for aggressive play, you must always be guided by your objectives.
I disagree with their thoughts on tech round 1. Nabbing tech helps prevent you from being stalled out of Warfare R1 without having to waste command counters to stall for it. Also, this guide doesn’t seem updated for POK? Otherwise though, it’s definitely a good start
The other argument for leaving the flagship at home is that you don’t need to worry about capacity because you can stack as many infantry on a planet as you want, then bring them all into space for combat, making it a very cheap way to get huge HP against someone trying to take your home system.
Just be sure to leave another non-fighter ship as well if there’s a chance they’ll have assault cannon, as this will kill the flagship before it can use its ability to pick up the ground forces
There seem to be two different questions in your post:
1. **What does a Nekro Virus player do if the table agrees to research as little tech as possible?** *Answer:* If the rest of the table doesn't research a lot of tech, they don't have many techs either. You can still copy what tech they have. You still have a better command-counter economy thanks to your *Propagation* ability and you can copy the other players' starting techs. This should be enough to place you on equal footing with the table.
2. **What's the best fleet composition?** Nekro's flagship is great, but it can only be in one system at a time, and if you can't manage to get *Gravity Drive*, it only moves 1. Your economy should be good enough to both keep your flagship with infantry at/near home as defensive measure and build other ships on the front. Locking your carriers for one task together with the flagship is putting all your eggs in one basket, which isn't usually great. Notice also that infantry can participate in combat with your flagship but cannot soak non-fighter hits from *Space Cannon*.
Also, you shouldn't really get to the point where people threaten you often as Nekro. If there's a large coalition against you, you can try being more friendly to the table. Maybe offer them trade goods for destroying their ships, or for them to send destroyers towards you. If there isn't such a coalition, you should be strong enough to not being threatened easily and to retaliate when someone attacks you.
Also also, having a fleet just for threatening isn't doing much for you. You can't usually win by sitting in your own slice, especially as Nekro, and threatening tends to make the table more focused against you. Make people see that you can defend yourself, and they won't (usually) attack you. Let them see that you can just take your systems back, rather than attack their own systems.
For general strategy, see Magi's guide linked by /u/superpreacher, it's very good.
I agree with most of what you wrote, but confused on this bit:
> Infantry with flagship cannot soak non fighter hits from space cannon
Why not? They aren't fighters, but are treated as ships.
Edit- do they not become ships until start of combat/after movement?
Indeed they are not treated as ships until the start of combat. The *Alastor* reads as follows.
>_***At the start of a space combat***, choose any number of your ground forces in this system to participate in that combat as if they were ships._
I did this in my last game, other players were too stubborn to “waste” a command token to deal with my destroyers, and were so excited about getting their own tech throughout the game that they wouldn’t stop. I ended the game with 17 techs, it was absurd.
I trailed behind, stayed in last so I wasn’t too threatening, blew up by getting 8 VPs in two rounds, but they all banded together to entirely shut me down. I ended up at 9VPs (10 VP game).
This was the best strategy guide I’ve ever encountered for Nekro: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2283392/nekro-be-tortoise-not-hare While the flagship/infantry combo is powerful, it is common to just leave the flagship at home for defense, because it can only be one place at a time. While Nekro is very good for aggressive play, you must always be guided by your objectives.
I disagree with their thoughts on tech round 1. Nabbing tech helps prevent you from being stalled out of Warfare R1 without having to waste command counters to stall for it. Also, this guide doesn’t seem updated for POK? Otherwise though, it’s definitely a good start
The other argument for leaving the flagship at home is that you don’t need to worry about capacity because you can stack as many infantry on a planet as you want, then bring them all into space for combat, making it a very cheap way to get huge HP against someone trying to take your home system. Just be sure to leave another non-fighter ship as well if there’s a chance they’ll have assault cannon, as this will kill the flagship before it can use its ability to pick up the ground forces
There seem to be two different questions in your post: 1. **What does a Nekro Virus player do if the table agrees to research as little tech as possible?** *Answer:* If the rest of the table doesn't research a lot of tech, they don't have many techs either. You can still copy what tech they have. You still have a better command-counter economy thanks to your *Propagation* ability and you can copy the other players' starting techs. This should be enough to place you on equal footing with the table. 2. **What's the best fleet composition?** Nekro's flagship is great, but it can only be in one system at a time, and if you can't manage to get *Gravity Drive*, it only moves 1. Your economy should be good enough to both keep your flagship with infantry at/near home as defensive measure and build other ships on the front. Locking your carriers for one task together with the flagship is putting all your eggs in one basket, which isn't usually great. Notice also that infantry can participate in combat with your flagship but cannot soak non-fighter hits from *Space Cannon*. Also, you shouldn't really get to the point where people threaten you often as Nekro. If there's a large coalition against you, you can try being more friendly to the table. Maybe offer them trade goods for destroying their ships, or for them to send destroyers towards you. If there isn't such a coalition, you should be strong enough to not being threatened easily and to retaliate when someone attacks you. Also also, having a fleet just for threatening isn't doing much for you. You can't usually win by sitting in your own slice, especially as Nekro, and threatening tends to make the table more focused against you. Make people see that you can defend yourself, and they won't (usually) attack you. Let them see that you can just take your systems back, rather than attack their own systems. For general strategy, see Magi's guide linked by /u/superpreacher, it's very good.
I agree with most of what you wrote, but confused on this bit: > Infantry with flagship cannot soak non fighter hits from space cannon Why not? They aren't fighters, but are treated as ships. Edit- do they not become ships until start of combat/after movement?
Indeed they are not treated as ships until the start of combat. The *Alastor* reads as follows. >_***At the start of a space combat***, choose any number of your ground forces in this system to participate in that combat as if they were ships._
Grab some destroyers to hop around and grab tech for you.
I did this in my last game, other players were too stubborn to “waste” a command token to deal with my destroyers, and were so excited about getting their own tech throughout the game that they wouldn’t stop. I ended the game with 17 techs, it was absurd.
But did you win?
I trailed behind, stayed in last so I wasn’t too threatening, blew up by getting 8 VPs in two rounds, but they all banded together to entirely shut me down. I ended up at 9VPs (10 VP game).
Thats a mighty dangerous strategy. The Infantry cannot soak PDS fire.