Match four of round 1 pits the Gorn Heavy Cruiser "C. S. S. Reptilicon" against the Klingon D7 BattleCruiser "I. K. V. Fire". This is a match of brawn against finesse, with a slower, more damage resistant Gorn packing a heavy Plasma Torpedo punch against a more maneuverable and fragile Klingon ship which depends on the every turn fire of the Disruptor.

In Star Trek, the Gorns only appear in the episode "Arena", which pits Captain Kirk against the Gorn captain over a mistaken matter of colonial rights. Captain Kirk wins the battle, yet refuses to kill the Gorn captain. From such fruits have derived, in the SFB Universe, the only alliance not based on mutual defense or a mutual enemy, but on trust and the shared interest in knowledge that both nations have.

The Gorns are bordered by the Federation on the West, the Romulans on the South, and the ISC on the East. Like the other Eastern races, the Gorn use the Plasma Torpedo as their primary heavy weapon. Unlike the Romulans, who have their cloaking device to help their often inferior ships, the Gorns rely on superior hulls that can withstand punishment.

Gorns have few habitable planets in their large domain, second only to the Romulans in sparseness. They have a few good ships, which patterns them somewhat along the lines of current day Germany. Gorn ships are not very maneuverable, relying on a good all-around phaser suite, good shields, and more power than other ships. They also carry more shuttles than most comparable ship types, and a good amount of Center Hull to absorb internal damage.

Drawbacks are its slow turn mode and narrow Plasma Torpedo arcs. Both Plasma Torpedos can only fire on the same target if it's in the front row of hexes.

The Klingon Empire is the primary opposition in the SFB Universe. They have the second largest nation and the largest fleet at the start of the General War. Klingon ships are characterized by their maneuverability, somewhat poor rear shields, fragile hulls, second class phasers, and Disruptors. With all those negatives it's hard to imagine how the Klingons could be a major power.

The secret is the Disruptor. A weapon that requires finesse to use. Able to do more overall damage than a Photon Torpedo at close range, and with better to-hit numbers than many weapons at all ranges, the thing it lacks is crunch power. It can fire every turn, but each firing does half the damage of a comparable heavy weapon. So the key is to maneuver such as to be able to fire every turn at a favorable range. And that's something that a Klingon ship can do.

The key for the Klingon will be to stay at a range of 9 to 15 hexes, the Glory Zone for a Klingon ship, where the Disruptors will do an average of 8 points of damage a turn. Especially important against the Gorn, since the Klingon has to stay out of Plasma Torpedo range. Use your maneuverability to keep up a high speed while still being able to out-corner the Gorn. Note that you also have a drone rack, which can at least take a Gorn phaser out of the equation each turn. Your phasers have too short a range and maybe better saved for whittling down a Plasma Torpedo.

The Gorn strategy is simple: run the Klingon to a corner and blast him with at least one Plasma Torpedo. Since your Torpedo arcs are bad, it's unlikely you'll be able to fire both Torpedos quickly. Fire one then chase the Klingon. Use your better phasers to supplement your damage. Cycle the Torpedos so you have a heavy weapon two turns out of three. Your six shuttles can pack quite a wallop and can be used to cover one of the corners.