This page is the archive of all player written articles. I plan to have all articles indexed by race eventually, but for now it's just the basics.

Remember: I will pay 2 Months Support for any article published on this site, send articles to articles@kitsdb.com

New Player Articles

The Weather Gauge by doctoryes, Jun 6, 2009 -- No comments

This article attempts to explain a tactical aspect which is extremely prominent in several SC maps. I believe it applies to all of the maps to varying extents.

What to Expect (and What to Run) by Doctor Yes, Mar 30, 2008 -- 4 comments

Knowing what cards to expect from your opponent (and preparing for them before they happen) is a key skill in SC. It is a very good idea to keep your opponent's tech window open at all times during a match. If you know where they're at, you know what to fear.

One Good Idea Too Many by Melonhedjed, Dec 15, 2007 -- 2 comments

I have discussed building decks occasionally with new players and I often ask What is the goal of your deck - how do you want to win the game?. By this I am interested in getting the player to consider the theme or focus of their deck.

Rebuilding the Human Starter by Black Dawn, Nov 23, 2007 -- 1 comment

I was asked recently (I believe by doctoryes) if I had a modified Human starter deck similar to the modified Kej deck I made awhile back. I took this as an indication that people are still interested in that kind of thing, and got working. I’ve done the same thing as last time: any card I take out will be replaced by a common. First, let’s look at the original Human starter.

The Basics of Drafting by Wuppin, Oct 19, 2007 -- 1 comment

I am by no means the master of drafting but am fairly experienced. Since no one else has put the effort into it, I've decided to write an article that will help new players get introduced to the draft format. My hope is that this article will also provide other more seasoned players some new ideas.

Your First Six Turns by AlienProbe, Sep 8, 2007 -- 4 comments

The first six turns in a Star Chamber match can be the most critical of the entire game. Brilliant moves or costly mistakes during these early rounds can make or break a match. Before you send that first scout on its way, there are a few things you need to do.

Top 10 Zhik Uncommon Cards by Wuppin and Cowboybeb17, Jul 27, 2007 -- 1 comment

I got two separate Submissions for the top 10 Zhik Uncommons list. Rather than picking one as better than the other, I figured I just just include both lists in this article and let you all decide for yourselves which one you liked best.

The Silica Question by Armand, Jul 6, 2007 -- 5 comments

So, in true Silica fashion, 'The Silica Question' will quickly fragment into dozens of other questions coming at you in a slow but steady stream until you are totally overwhelmed.

Top 10 Mono Tech Uncommons by Black Dawn, Jun 25, 2007 -- No comments

In this next article in the series Black Dawn brings us his picks for the top 10 mono tech Uncommon cards.

War: An Android's Best Friend by AlienProbe, Jun 18, 2007 -- 1 comment

The Droids are the mightiest military race at the Star Chamber. They can deploy uber ships then stack them with tons of offensive and defensive mods. They fear no one except maybe the splodacious Clave. They have free reign over the galaxy yet they still can succumb to an opponent who has overwhelming influence. What can be done about this atrocious dilemma? Declare War!

Top 10 Ferrier Uncommon Cards by Black Dawn, Jun 1, 2007 -- 2 comments

This continues the series of top uncommons for each race, this time with a non-Entropy race, the Ferrier.

Top 10 Android Uncommon Cards by AlienProbe, Jun 1, 2007 -- 1 comment

The Androids have a great pool of uncommon cards to choose from. The mono entropy and cyber cards should probably make up at least half of the uncommons included in an Andy deck. Because there are so many good cards to choose from, I separated the list into top ten mono tech cards and the top ten purely Droid cards.

My First Week in the Star Chamber by Xinua, May 25, 2007 -- 12 comments

So there I was sitting at work, feeling particularity bored surfing the web while waiting for an extensive test suite to finish. When I started thinking what was the name of that other card game, hmmm star something, maybe chamber?

Read about one user's first week in the Star Chamber -- Editor

Top 10 Thrass Uncommon Cards by Zorro, May 18, 2007 -- 3 comments

Melonhedjed wrote an excellent article on the top ten Clave uncommon cards. We discussed his article idea in the mezz, and he told me I should write one for Thrass.

Top 10 Clave Uncommon Cards by Melonhedjed, May 5, 2007 -- 2 comments

Everyone craves power rares, but the back bone of a good deck, and often a killer combo, is the uncommon card. Uncommon cards are readily available on the ptrade list and are an excellent way for a player to become familiar with trading with cards.

A Hitchhiker's Guide to Star Chamber Maps - Rival Twins by XchokeholdX, Apr 27, 2007 -- No comments

Next installment of Xchoke's Hitchhiking series, this one looks at the map Rival Twins, the same map used in Kit and Wuppin's Comment Game.

A Hitchhiker's guide to Star Chamber Maps by XchokeholdX, Apr 6, 2007 -- 2 comments

Welcome to the first of these Hitchhiking series, where I will run over, dissect, break apart and hopefully give you some insights into the different Maps of Star Chamber.

Reasons to Fortify by yoda, Mar 23, 2007 -- 2 comments

In my prior article about how to build a conqueror deck, the sample deck I included for Thrass had a card that could be ditched to fortify, namely Frenzied Changeling. Another card with fortify that I included in the Zhik deck was Field Delegates. With Maelstrom comes the addition of many more cards that can be ditched to fortify, and if I was able to convince some of the newer players to build with the intent of conquering, perhaps I can add some reasons for them to experiment with fortify.

Kit vs Wuppin - A Commented Game by Kit and Wuppin, Mar 16, 2007 -- 13 comments

A few days ago Wuppin and I played a game with no timer where we wrote down our thoughts each turn. Describing our thoughts and strategy as the game progressed. We invite you to join us as we play a commons only game on the Map Rival twins.

The Value of Spoilage by mattness, Mar 9, 2007 -- 6 comments

I wanted to talk briefly about 2 common cards that seem underused in the Star Chamber community. The two cards are Spoilage and Overtime. Wuppin and Zorro recommend trimming the card Spoilage from the Clave Starter deck in their article Making the Jump from NOOB to New Player. I disagree. In fact, I auto include 4 of them in most of my decks that include either order, or entropy. I usually auto include both if playing Ixa! Here's why.

A Blueprint for Building Conqueror Decks by yoda, Mar 2, 2007 -- No comments

As much of the game that has changed with the addition of conqueror and flag mechanics, and realizing Sony is bringing on more and more newer players that will not want to chose a race before they have played with these races, I wanted to describe a race-generic method of deck building. This method can be used to get players started on their way toward building their own decks and discovering which race they like most.

Release Events by LarsSonofGowron, Feb 16, 2007 -- No comments

Release events are some of the most exciting times in StarChamber. There is always a buzz when something new is being revealed and even more so when it is new cards. Nothing brings players out of the woodwork like a new set. This was true even pre Sony Online Entertainment (SOE). In the most recent releases something new was added to releases of new sets. True to form, this new thing is very exciting.

Rebuilding the Kej Starter by Black_Dawn, Feb 2, 2007 -- No comments

OK, I’ve decided to create another deck for new players, based on the Kej starter plus commons. The Kej starter is a great deck, with a nice mix of influence and ship mods. It could be better, however. It’s much too defensive as it is.
I will be taking the basic deck and replacing certain cards with commons. Common cards are available for free through the Fellowship (see the forums) or from anyone who has spares in the casual lobby.

Player Run Tournies by Leto, Jan 26, 2007 -- No comments

This article covers a brief history of past events, tips on how to find and join other players tournies, and some thoughts on starting your own tourney. I talk about the future of player run tournaments, and at the end I describe a tourney I'm planning to run in the near future.

Tips For New Players 2: Understanding Combat by Wuppin, Jan 19, 2007 -- No comments

Since I have gotten fairly good responses from my first article Tips for Brand New Players and I enjoyed writing it, I decided to try my hand at it again. As it before, I am writing this for those new to the Chamber. As the title suggests this article will specifically talk about combat. I think I was a bit vague in my last article when talking about weapon types and so I will revisit the subject in greater detail. As always, comments, questions, and additions from other players is appreciated.

Off The Board by Armand, Jan 12, 2007 -- 1 comment

Wuppin has written an excellent article outlining the basics of boardplay in StarChamber. I feel there is also need for an explanation of the other main aspect of the game; that which takes place off the gameboard: management of your collection. The emphasis in this article is on becoming a competitive player without spending a fortune. Even if you decide to commit the big dollars to your collection the advice below will still help you get the most out of the money you spend.

Making the Jump from NOOB to New Player by Zorro and Wuppin, Jan 5, 2007 -- No comments

Rather than watch our community lose new players, we thought a series of articles on how to modify the starter decks into something more competitive would be both useful and fun. Fun or us, and hopefully useful and fun for new players.

Tips for Brand New Players by Wuppin, Dec 29, 2006 -- No comments

As I write this, I am about to reach the one-year mark of playing Star Chamber. I remember he misconceptions I had when I first started and the simple tricks that I was able to learn easily. Anyone who has been playing Star Chamber for a month or two will probably have already learned most of the information in this article. Still, it is a fairly quick read and I imagine that players who are only sort of new might still gain something.

Articles for the Vets

Wisdom of the Ancients by Zorro, Feb 2, 2008 -- 3 comments

How Kit, Leto, Dimitri and Jmart can improve your game in four easy steps.

Actual Tech by Dimitri, Feb 1, 2008 -- 3 comments

This is a reprint of a great article written by Dimitri a two time Galaxy Cup Champion on what he calls Actual Tech.

The Big List of Competitive Decks by Tsai, Jan 12, 2008 -- 3 comments

About a year ago, to help newbies get acquainted with what to expect in tourneys, I posted a list of (what were IMHO) competitive decks to complement the list of combos that was on the old forums. (The combo list has since been more than replicated here on KitsDB.) The post came up in conversation in the Mezz over the holidays, and I realized that many of the decks on it are quite outmoded. We have had a lot more time to digest the Maelstrom cards, and the meta-game is quite different now.

Clave No Rares by XchokeholdX, Sep 22, 2007 -- 3 comments

Since Zorro was so kind enough to give us a nice big look into the hellish kitchen of his brain with his high Entropy Thrass deck, I can’t stay behind. Be prepared for a long ride into No Rare Clave.

Bending Technology by Tech Bender Tsai, Aug 25, 2007 -- 2 comments

It might appear at first glance that there are 10 different play styles in Star Chamber – one for each Star Chamber race. However, vets know that there are at least 20 more, even without bringing tech splashes into the picture. For each race, there are at least 3 distinct play styles, a classic balanced-tech, and 2 more heavily-skewed tech styles – when decks are heavily skewed towards one tech or the other.

My Best Deck (So Far) by Zorro, Aug 11, 2007 -- 5 comments

It is within this context of learning and growth that I’d decided to share my deck from the tourney, and discuss its origins and evolution. I must admit that I am somewhat hesitant to do so. Obviously publishing what I believe to be my best deck may strike some players as absurd – why should I give away secrets I’ve worked hard on uncovering, especially to potential future opponents?

The Saga of Emperor Powent by ShadowXavier , Aug 4, 2007 -- 6 comments

The Saga of Emperor Powent are a series of novels, where each chapter (novel) are based on the outcome of a match. Kind of like a campaign story, only the next matches, and the story itself are directly influenced by the outcome of each match.

The Build Point Index by Leto, Apr 13, 2007 -- 2 comments

Most of you have been playing for some time, and you know which cards are better than others. Yet, there are probably many cards you are not sure about, or races you haven't fully explored yet. In this article I will try to provide some tips to evaluate the power of cards by comparing them using a common currency - the almighty build point.

How The Star Chamber Rating System Works by AlienProbe, Mar 16, 2007 -- 3 comments

Before you make that meteoric rise to Admiralship there are a few things you need to know about the Star Chamber rating system.

The Highlander Ladder Tournament by Kit, Jan 31, 2007 -- No comments

This article announces a new ladder tournament I will be running. For now I'll be managing the tourney by hand. If the format in fun and successful I may consider building an automated system for kitsdb.com.

Battle Avoidance and You by Black_Dawn, Jan 2, 2007 -- No comments

So you’ve got a scout with lot of citizens one jump away from an Android armada. What do you do? The answer: drop a battle avoidance card like Phased Out on the scout and walk right past them! Battle avoidance is a great strategy in Star Chamber, and I’m going to tell you how to use it and how to counter it.

Running With Scissors by Zorro, Feb 25, 2006 -- No comments

"I never use Hit and Run in any of my Thrass Decks," said tsai. What? Not use Hit and Run in a Thrass Deck? I couldn’t believe I’d read that sentence correctly. For me, Hit and Run (H&R) is the perfect card to describe the Thrass military philosophy of never accepting a fair fight. It is the quintessential Thrass card.

On Cardflow and Deck Building by Kit, Aug 30, 2004 -- No comments

One of the important properties of a winning is to make certain that you are adding to your advantage from the moment the game starts.  The best way to do this in Star Chamber is to make sure that you are getting your cards into play.  If you are not using most of your available tech each turn and you opponent is you will be at a significant disavantage.