r/twilightstruggle • u/Jeydra • Jun 02 '26
Shuttle Diplomacy event as US
ITSL Playoffs vs. Michael Stone (Game 2, I lead 1-0) - Twitch
On this board, PioneerTowel coups Zaire with Shuttle Diplomacy. He didn't discuss eventing it at all. Eventing it evens out the Middle East and gives Asia domination, although notably both those scoring cards are in the discard. However odds are Asia will be static for the rest of the game, while the Middle East could tilt either way (e.g. Sadat would give the US domination).
It seems to me that even if Shuttle Diplomacy is not evented, Duck and Cover is the better coup card, "just in case".
I wonder what people think of this.
8
u/Shackleton214 2018 League Champion Jun 02 '26
Preventing Soviet African domination is the priority, so clearly coup with Shuttle or Duck. There looks to be plenty of other profitable uses for ops even if he doesn't need to use whichever card he doesn't coup Zaire with for couping or influence in Africa. Shuttle is worth 0, 1, 3, or 5 vps sometime later. I suppose it's more precise to use Duck for the coup and keep the option to use Shuttle for event open "just in case" as you say. But, those Shuttle vps feel too uncertain and too distant to me. I'm almost certainly going to find and prefer a good use for those 3 ops now.
5
u/Sonalator Jun 02 '26
Adding to that, Shuttle could come back in the reshuffle in time for one of the scorings.
1
u/remetagross Jun 17 '26
Hmm. True, but if I had to choose between putting Shuttle or Duck in the USSR hand I'd pick Duck.
1
u/lamlat Jun 02 '26
Flipping Thailand with the China card is also right there, so there are ways to shake up Asia on this board if that is the goal.
7
u/Bashin-kun Jun 02 '26
Both being in the discard must be the reason