St.Ives Compact

Attention defenders and allies of St. Ives!

Our beloved homeland has been invaded by the rapacious forces of House Liao. Sun-Tzu Liao, capitalizing on his position as First Lord of the reformed Star League, has used SLDF troops to spearhead an assault on the Compact. The Star League forces have been withdrawn but House Liao's regular forces remain. St. Ives needs any possible help from its friends and allies in order to retain our freedom. Please, challenge House Liao's occupation of our planets, and together we can triumph.

Sincerely,
Duchess Candance Liao

House Overview:

St.Ives is a pretty cool realm. Formed from 17 star systems that broke away from the House Liao's Capellan Confederation at the end of the Fourth Succession War, St. Ives' economic development since that time is a testament to the dedication of its people.

Although there are few cards specific to this faction, they are potent. Candace and Kai tend to form the backbone of any St.Ives deck. Candace Liao has the ability to scrap all revealed subterfuge cards with no effect. Her son, Kai Allard-Liao, is arguably the best pilot the Inner Sphere has to offer. Another Kai, this one the Champion of Solaris, will can really give your opponents' mechs a good whacking due to the massive amounts of damage he can dish out. Kai's suped-up Centurion, named Yen-Lo-Wang, is also a card now. Several other cards, such as St. Ives Salvage Crew, St. Ives Operations Officer, and Dropship Intercept are also available now. The most interesting one is definitely Work Stoppage which forces both you and your opponent to pay the full construction costs for a specific resource type.

Ok, now you're all psyched and ready to kill with a St.Ives deck, right? Good, but there are some limitations of which you should be aware. There are no mechs (other than the unique Yen-Lo-Wang) specific to this house. We hope to see some in the future, however. Creating a good deck for this faction takes a great deal of thought and balancing. Here are some elements to consider in building a St. Ives deck:

Candace Liao

With Candace in play you don't have to worry about Inside Jobs, Misrouted Commands, or even the vaunted Death Commando Strikes. You also fall victim to her nullifying effects, so don't shoot yourself in the foot by relying heavily on subterfuge. Protect Candace very well.

Kai Allard-Liao and Kai, Champion of Solaris

He's not just the "heir designate" of the Compact and the reigning Solaris champ, he's the king of any St.Ives or Davion deck and can win games if brought out at the right time.

Mission Cards

Stock up on these, especially damage enhancers (Risky Combat Jump and Pushing the Envelope are great!). Often opponents see Kai coming and say, 'Good Lord, what can I throw in front of Kai to hold on for another round?' Overrun and Forged Mission Orders give you the option to either untap that one paltry defender or mash him to heck and then untap for some more stomping. You should rely on these inplace of any subterfuge.

Black Market Connections/Salvage Strike Crew

If you lose a Kai or Candace the tables can turn quickly. Use one of these cards to retrieve them in the event that they are killed.

With that advice I feel that you're now ready to go out and kill some Capellans. May Candace be with you. Remember, St.Ives might not be big, but they're small!

Black Venom Comments:

Steve Brooks:

Technically speaking, a Pheonix Hawk can take out the entire St.Ives military.

Lloyd Flemming:

Damn that Candace Liao! If she hadn't succeeded from the Capellan Confederation, House Liao might be more than a third-rate power!

Jim Gates:

Jaime Wolf says: only you can prevent forest fires.

Trevor McNabb:

I don't have much of a problem with St.Ives so long as they continue to lend Kai and Yen-Lo-Wang to the Davionistas every once in a while.

Alan Powell:

St.Ives? That's left at the lights, then two blocks down from Hesperus, right?

Dave Stevenson:

Kai Allard? Oh yeah, we're real close. He once let me give Yen-Lo-Wang a lube job, if you know what I mean ;-)

One of Samantha's Fav St.Ives Decks: