The Lizard Alliance

The Lizard Alliance race icon from VGA Planets Nu

The Lizard Alliance also known as Lizards are based on the Gorn Hegemony, from the "Star Trek" universe. It's a reptilian species, which showed in the Episodes TOS: "Arena", Enterprise: "In a Mirror, Darkly Part II" and in some books/games.

Race Characteristics

The Lizards are a cloaking, sneaky race with extremely powerful ground troops and relatively weak ships. The Lizard player lives by sneak attacks, and only engages in direct combat when unavoidable and when victory is assured.

Strategy Guides

From Donovan's VGA Planets site: It Ain't Easy Being Green The Lizards Guide to the Echo Cluster

Racial Abilities

• Ground Combat: 30:1 (offensive); 15:1 (defensive) - strongest in the game (at fully defended planets it can go down to 5:1)
• can capture starbases through ground attack (along with the Evil Empire and its Super Star Destroyer)
• 2x faster mining
• "Hiss" mission - ships with beam weapons can threaten colonists and natives on a planet to increase happiness by 5 points per ship per turn
• Cloaking device on some ships - Reptile, Saurian, and Lizard
• can take 150% damage on their ships (ships will explode after combat if damage is above 100% and if they are in orbit of a planet)

Ship List

See The master ship list for a list of The Lizard Alliance ships.

Strategy

Overall Strategy

The Lizard is the ultimate early race, it fits well with very aggressive players. As the Lizard player, the first 30 turns is your show, squeeze the most out of it. Ideally by turn 20-30, you should be sending freighters to the neighbor clusters/HWs you just annihilated. Here are the main steps for a strong start:

Early Game

• Build a LDSF at turn 1, the following turns are gonna be heavily millitary oriented so better get your economy going fast. Note: Also think that your LDSF+HW is basically a starbase-construction-kit.
• Build LCC on at least turn 2 3 and 4 at your HW, then the strategy would change depending on you starting conditions.
• LCC typical build at the start: disruptors/Mark IV and 12 torps and filled with clans, put more torps if opponent is immune to ground attack. Send all 3 of them in the same general direction, cloaked when either in deep space or dangerously far from your HW.
• Build a second starbase from turn 4 to 8 at the latest. If you got a great cluster, build more.
• Great native planet= Starbase ->>> build lots of hissers (Serpents) with junk engines/beams on top of your new starbases. You may want to put better engines on a couple of them later on to move cash around. Then Tax the natives to death. Never tax your own clans besides on your HW, which you should empty fast.
• From turn 8-10, start building TRex's. If you feel your cluster is not so great, build more LDSFs to make it happen faster. You need only 2-4 LDSF + the medium freighter you get at the begining for a long while. Don't think too much about building freighers, but make sure you have what it takes to build average tech Trex's: Mark IV, Heavy blaster (if you can).
• The LCC's should synchronize their ground attacks to make the enemy panic. If you find an enemy planet with lots of clans on it, it could mean a second starbase, which you can capture intact with ground attack if you do well.
• Aim for the HW with your Trex's, don't waste time taking their other planets, aim straight at it. A falling HW will probably make the player resign/lose motivation.
• Depending on how well you do with the first neighbor, aim also at the other neighbor, ally with the next neighbor and gang on him.
• If you fail to find both your neighbor by turn 10, be aware of cloaking races: Build Lokis to escort your freighters/protect your important SBs.

Midgame

The mid-game strategy is different. Move in to whavever cluster you took in your first turns and make more and more use of your diplomatic relations. You will rely on your allies more and more in terms of military because your Trex's can't cut it anymore.

Endgame

The end game is tough for the Lizards, and your game is the economic one. You *must* outproduce your opponents two to one. Economic development must continue. Every planet that CAN have a starbase, MUST have a starbase. You will continue to need all the hiss ships you can pump out.

Keep a stock of minerals and money on every planet, and use the surplus to develop new starbases. Always have a few upcoming starbases in the queue. Dedicate LDSFs to do nothing but build them.

In the early to late endgame, a Merlin can produce enough minerals to supply as many starbases as it can reach. I recommend a Merlin and a Fuel Refinery for every ten to thirteen planets, fewer if one or two of those planets are Bovinoid. With 100-200+ starbases in the game, any given starbase will only produce every ten to fifteen turns, which is ample for a Lizard starbase to generate enough supplies to build another of your cheap ships all by itself. LDSFs can thus focus almost entirely on the establishment of new starbases, of which you should aim to have twice as many as your opponent. You WILL lose two (or more!) ships for every heavy ship or planet you kill.

It is vital that you deny ship slots to your enemy.

Ground attack is still vital in the endgame. Establish bucket chains using cloakers to transfer clans over longer distances into enemy territory. In the end game you will likely have large clan sources near the front lines.

Your alliances or treaties will make or break you in the endgame. See Alliances section.

Notes

• Build an Eros starbase early on to pump out HISS-er ships. Every large cluster of planets should have one HISS starbase. Eros ships are 100mc each (ish) even if you outfit them with t5 engines (nice but not necessary).
• Some players build tons of small deep space freighters late in the game to fill up the build queue, then recycle them for priority build points. The Lizards can do one better - build Serpents with tech-1 engines and beams and use them to HISSS! until you want to recycle them.
• starbase-inna-can ships are extremely valuable for getting starbases up and running fast. Null-tech starbases can still pump out HISS ships, and you may not get the chance to make them later.
• The T-Rex is a midrange attack ship, and is extremely cheap for its armament. Don't treat it like a heavy warship - it's in fact the least powerful tech-10 ship in the game. (Nevertheless it is superior to Fascists/Crystals (Diamond Flame)/Privateer and Fed (Missouri) main warship if you have a Lizard crew on board). T-Rex Classes often are one-way-ships when it comes to fighting carriers.
• LCCs are awesome but they're heavy and they suck up fuel. Make lots, but be aware that scavenging for fuel in enemy territory is hard, particularly if you're gravid with troops.
• Lizard players can win alliances by offering to HISSSS! other players' planets - have them tow a Serpent with tech-1 engines and beams to the planet of their choice. Note that you can't give your ships to them - you must be in control of them in order to HISSSS!
• The Lizard Alliance is the race with the strongest economy in the whole game. Infrastructure is their backbone, and therefore all ships improving that (hypers, fireclouds, freighters) are most desirable.
• The Lizards are very versatile on both the offense and the defense, but definetely an aggressive race. While on the offense they "colonize" already developed spaces, they should treat their own territory as soft matter on the defense. With cloakers and ground attack, they can just lift one leg, as soon as a strong battlegroup appears to be attacking. And put it back on, as soon as the enemy has left this planet.
• The main weapon of the Lizards are their colonists. So every single one should be treated and fed properly.
• Never underestimate the psychologic effect of cloaking devices. You see everything in your turn while your opponent often believes that there is a little or nothing.

Alliances

The Solar Federation

• Refitting of ships
• You can provide cloakers, which they can make pretty good use of (immune to Lokis)
• Can HISS his planets
• Madonzilla benefits highly from Fed ship bonus (extra bays)
• Economies: they have double taxes, you have double mining - trade-off (hissing a fed planet will make it a cash cow)

The Empire of Birds

What you can give

• Economic power: Hiss his planets for more cash-flow
• Terraforming with Eros Classes
• Decloaking with Loki Classes

-write more-

What you can get

• Darkwings are stronger than T-Rex Class Battleships
• The Resolute Class is the big brother of the Lizard Class
• Superspy to control nasty minefields

The Cyborg

• HISSSS! their planets! The Borg need fighters for their deadly Biocides, and for those they need a TON of cash.
• An amazing strategy to try:
  • Put a cloaker (Reptile, Lizard, or Saurian) on an enemy planet where there is also in orbit a very strong enemy ship (say, a Colonial Virgo). Make sure the ship is cloaked.
  • Have the Cyborg player move a Firecloud about 80 lightyears away from the planet - enough to reach in one turn.
  • When you are both ready, have your cloaker tow the enemy ship to the Firecloud.
  • The same turn, the Cyborg should chunnel that Firecloud (and, by extension, the enemy ship) to one of his worlds, where he has a low-ID Biocide waiting, mission set to "Kill!".
  • When the enemy ship comes through the chunnel, its shields will be down. Because the Biocide has the lowest ship ID, it will attack the enemy ship first, easily destroying it.
  • If the friendly code of your cloaker is different from that of the Firecloud, you can stay around and do it again!
• Cool any hot planets they may have (above 50) using Eros Researchers. This increases not only the rate at which their colonists grow, but also increases the maximum colonist population. Essential when combined with assimilation.
• Borg colonists are deadly when given to LCCs. Capture enemy planets (and even starbases) with those clans via ground combat.
• Probes, Firecloud Classes and Biocide Class Carriers are very desirable ships for the Lizard.

The Crystal Confederation

• Give them LCCs with good torpedo tubes (Mark VII). The LCC has a very decent cargo space, which is great to lay big webmine fields.
• The Crystals have a terraformer to raise the planet temperature, combine them with the Eros to keep the temperature at 50 degrees.
• You are poor on the defensive, and have a hard time dealing with large enemy fleets of heavy ships. Getting two dozen assorted T-Rexes and Madonzillas together is much harder than your opponent getting together ~5-10 assorted (say) Golems and Automas. Web mines give you the tools to run them out of fuel, split them up, and deal with them separately. If you can fight fighter ships separately, you stand to have a Madonzilla left over at the end of the battle instead of having it die to the next ship.
• The Lizards and the Crystals are natural allies, both having light ships and complementary abilities. You can provide the money and mining they need to crank out webmines, and they can provide the webmines you need to keep your territory secure and break up enemy fleets.
• Crystal ships in Lizard hands have 150% more oomph. If you trust each other enough, have the Crystals hand over their ships to the Lizards for all large fleet engagements.
• Low-concentration mineral planets should be handed over to the Lizards for extraction.
• Webmines can't be counter-mined except by other Crystal players. They are an excellent shield for your cloakers.

The Robotic Imperium

What you can give:

• Hiss mission boosts his torpedo production.
• Mining rate boosts his fighter production.
• Your cloaking ability shows robotic carriers where to strike.
• The Lizard Class is a very good robotic minelayer and -producer, due to his great cargo hold.
• The Saurian Class is a very good offensive minelayer due to his large cargo hold and low fuel consumption.
• Be careful with giving cloaking minelayers away. They are gold.
• The T-Rex is an ideal shield-killer against all carriers.

What you can get

• Huge mine-covers destroying the last weapon your opponent has against your cloakers.
• Carriers and fighters making your weak combat groups the strongest in the game.

Enemies

The Solar Federation

Offense

• Feds have a rough time getting minerals; hit their laden freighters.
• Their Nova can easily take out two T-Rexes in a row. Be careful.
• Your ships are immune to the Loki Class, so ground attacking his bases is fairly easy.
• A captured starbase will destroy (or take over) all non-refitted ship-hulls.
• The Solar Federation is your natural prey, ground attack them until they are ruined.
• The Fed becomes strong in the mid-game, when he can refit his empty ship hulls. So try to attack him as early as possible.

Defense

• The most federal ships have small fuel tanks. Beam up all fuel, most colonists and one torpedo-relevant mineral from the planet and take it back as soon as it has been captured.
• The Federation has a hard time to destroy starbases.. build and guard defensive bases with a torper or a small freighter, so that an attacking torpedo ship will discharge it's tubes and beams before attacking the base.
• Counterattack immediately and ruin his economy and his supply lines.
• Lay mines in the beginning to provoke him to put the most (mineral-) expensive beams into his ships.

The Empire of Birds

Offense

• Always move under mine cover, because cloaked bird ships don't see minefields
• Ground attack if nothing else
• Try to touch planets with your battle ships as little as possible.
• Always fly in Battlepairs
• Refuel your battle ships with cloakers

-write more-

Defense

• Darkwings have a small fuel tank
• Strip your border planets from fuel
• Counterattack as soon as possible
• Lay mine belts
• Loki Class Destroyers will not decloak birdman ships
• Max out planetary defenses to prevent him from superspying you minefields
• Set the minefield-code on the highest id planet which is far away from bird ships.

-write more-

The Privateer Bands

Offense

• Groundattack if nothing else.
• Do not tow-kill privateer ships,
• Especially not from places where lady royale classes are stationed. They will rob you dry.
• Bring highly equipped Lokis Class Destroyers with your Battlegroups. Not only one.
• The Privateer most likely has weird stolen ships he will throw at you. Expect everything.
• Be aware of intercepts on your Lokis. Tow them fuel-less with your Trex's so that they don't get attacked in deep space. Move fuel to the Lokis when your ready to attack their starbases.

Defense

• Loki are towed by your freighters
• Minefields
• Set Starbases NUK.

The Cyborg

Offense

• Kill them early if you can! The Cyborg are at their strongest later in the game, while the Lizards are strongest earliest in the game. If you are playing as the Lizards and you come across a fledgling Cyborg player, don't hesitate to destroy them - you probably won't get another chance.
• Don't make the mistake of building only T-Rexes. A single Biocide well-stocked with fighters can destroy four, maybe five T-rexes depending on their torpedo tech. A Rex-Mad-Rex or Rex-Mad-Mad combo will usually do the trick. Annihilations are somewhat easier to destroy (as they are torp ships), but they can still destroy several of your ships, so be careful.
• Don't overestimate the Cyborg, although they are your natural enemy. Cubes and starbases are hard to destroy, but all other ships are weaker than your Lizard Class Cruiser. Without his large-scale economy the Cyborg cannot produce enough fighters for the deadly Biocides, so go for fireclouds, probes and freighters.

Defense

• Take out all Firecloud Classes as soon as possible (immediately and by any means) to cut the connection to his main space, and to stop offensive minefields. Then take out all Annihilation Classes. Then the carriers.
• Beam up all fuel, supplies and colonists, and take back the planet via ground attack, as soon as it has fallen.
• Cubes have a very high fuel consumption, so their range is pretty limited without Firecloud Classes. Just let them run dry, and then gather the battlegroup that will destroy them.
• Guard starbases with torpers.

The Crystal Confederation

• Don't send cloakers at them!
• A big tight pack of Trex's with at least heavy blaster and filled up with fuel is the best strategy. Group them by pairs, the lowest beam tech towing the higher beam tech, fill the towed ship with fuel and keep the minimum necessary to move. The towed ship sweep.
• Avoid to fight them if you don't really have to, they are very tough to beat. If you do attack them, the earliest the better.

The Robotic Imperium

The Robots have very scary minefields, dealing with them is extremely expensive and depends on the tools you have at hand. Your best friend is your economy; you alone among the cloaker races have the ability to match the Robots on equal terms by shipping in tens and tens of thousands of megacredits and extract enough minerals to simply lay four times as many mines as the Robots. A high-ID minelayer will have the last word and help immensely in maintaining air superiority. A low-ID minelayer will help destroy his stock of torpedoes but will not do much to clear space.

Take out their minelayers. The Robots will tend to only have a few minelayers mixed amongst their ships, and sacrificing an LCC or three to get rid of them will in the long run be far cheaper than attempting to out-minelay them. An LCC or Saurian taking out a Cat's Paw full of 300 mk7 torpedoes will save you about 30,000 megacredits in countermining. Lay traps.

Unfortunately the Robots will be much easier to handle on territory that you used to control; attacking them on their territory is more difficult because your supply lines are hard to maintain and you will not be able to easily set ambushes for torpedo ships.

Ships should all have reasonably high-quality beams. T-Rexes with Heavy Blasters should be the minimum, but higher than that will cost you too much molybdenum for a ship that will usually end its lifespan firing 20 torps and dying, and Madonzillas can have Heavy Phasers because they need more bang for the beam, and have a better shot at re-use. If any ship will survive a battle it will be a Madonzilla.

The Robots' critical difficulty is fuel. Make that harder by sniping Q Tankers and forcing him to make digressions. Since Robot fuel capacities are very high, this will force him to use warships to ferry fuel, which costs more for him, but in general makes it harder to deny him that fuel. Again, it's easier to fight him in your territory because you can ensure that the planets he conquers are tapped out of fuel. Beaming up your clans while your at it is helpful as it forces him to set mission to "beam up" fuel.

Remember: avoid strength; attack weakness.

The Missing Colonies of Man

Offense

• Go for the ships supporting the Virgo Class Battlestars, like the Cobol Class, Gemini Class and Sagittarius Class.
• Always try to keep the Colonial Player on the defense, fight in his space, destroy his freighters and his economy.
• Hang around cloaked over his main bases and tow off any ship that can be destroyed. Like this you gain control over a base that is maybe (still) too hard to take.
• Only fight Virgo Classes if you have to. Do so with a T-Rex Class / Madonnzilla Class combination and a torpedo ship as backup.
• Use Mid-Tec beamed T-Rex Classes for Minesweeping.
• Never forget the main aim to colonize enemy territory, especially his starbases.

Defense

• Take out intruding Cobol Classes by any means, because they are the legs of the colonial battlegroup. Then all other supporters. Then the carriers.
• Beam up all fuel and fighter-relevant minerals from planets. Beam up colonists and take it back by ground attack, as soon as one planet has fallen.
• Guard starbases with a torper.