The Death of the Gold Magnate and other short stories.

There are some ships in New Eden that are so rare they have become the stuff of legends. Play toys of the mega-rich, spawned from blueprint prizes at tournaments and other unique events, most are now collector's items that will rarely see the docking ramp of a station. Some have seen combat and have been subsequently lost to the void, some have been stolen and some have even seen use in Alliance Tournaments. Spotting one of these rare ships in space is likely to never happen to the average capsuleer, such is their rarity.

In this blog post we will take a look at these rare ships and some of the stories behind them.


The Death of the Gold Magnate.

There was only ever one Gold Magnate produced, a prize for winning the Amarr Championships back in 2003. The winner of this prestigious event, Ecliptical, later sold the prized frigate for 1 Billion ISK to Tyrrax Thorrk, the current CEO of Guiding Hand Social Club.

Tyrrax was kind enough to offer some words on how he came to own and lose this powerhouse of a frigate. In a time where tech II ships were but a distant dream and the killmail system as we know it today was non-existent, all we have left is a few screenshots and fading memories.


I didn't take part in the Amarr Championships myself, I just bought the ship later from Ecliptical, the winning team's captain, for a billion ISK (about half of which I had to borrow).
There were 5 teams, MASS, BIG, Evolution and I forget the other two corps, 4v4 frigate fights, the winners (MASS) flew Punishers.
1st place got 4 Imperial Issue Apocalypses, 3 Silver Magnates and a Gold Magnate, the losing teams got 1 Imperial Issue Armageddon and 4 Silver Magnates each.

Then I went through a kinda bored with EVE phase where I pvped semi-suicidally in all my ships, including the Gold Magnate, had some pretty awesome fights in 0.0 in it including one where I fought 5 other frigates/interceptors in a running battle and blew up a Crow before escaping.
Then I died fighting a m0o gate camp in A2-V which consisted of a Raven and 3 cruise missile Rifters, I made a mistake and got in web range of one of the Rifters.

Stats.

The trade.

So there we have it, the infamous m0o pirates, who I am told are one of the main reasons we have CONCORD as they are today, took the life of the unique starship the Gold Magnate.

Inside the safety of the station.

The last flight?

The Silver Magnate lives on!

Nineteen Silver Magnates were given out as runner-up prizes in the Amarr Championship event. As no more have entered the game since their release, their price has steadily risen and they have become collector's items. In addition, some have been destroyed, further increasing their value. At the time of their release, they were nearly the most powerful frigate in the game, second only to the even rarer Gold Magnate. The advent of Tech II frigates, however, made the Silver Magnate less notable as a combat ship.

At the last known count there were sixteen of these magnificent spaceships remaining, two Silver Magnates had been lost in combat and one was removed through the banning of an account.

The majestic Silver Magnate.

Opux Luxury Yacht.

"The Opux Luxury Yachts are normally used by the entertainment industry for pleasure tours for wealthy Gallente citizens. These Opux Luxury Yacht cruisers are rarely seen outside of Gallente controlled space, but are extremely popular within the Federation."

Perhaps the ultimate in hangar ornaments for the rich and famous, there are only three of these cruisers known to exist in the game and only two of them are player-controlled. One was acquired during an event, during which Iece Quaan boarded it after an actor ejected from it. This ship was then sold to Voogru, the now current owner. The second was given out by CCP to a couple from New Zealand known in-game as Caytlyn Rose and Ramius Monteagne, who got engaged on the stage at the 2005 Fanfest and are now married.



Apocalypse Imperial Issue.

A rare glimpse of the Apocalypse Imperial Issue.

Originally four of these ships existed in EVE, but three have since been destroyed. These vessels were given out as part of the Amarr Championships. The only remaining ship was last known to belong to the player DigitalCommunist. However, a fifth edition briefly existed; one Apocalypse Imperial Issue was given out as a prize from the BIG Lottery. It was flown by a player named Clone 0, and while moving the ship from one station to another, an attempt was made to destroy it by a group of Minmatar roleplay corporations. It was defended successfully by a group of Amarr roleplayers. CCP took the Apocalypse Imperial Issue back as part of a roleplaying event on the request of the player receiving the ship.

Grikl's ship was destroyed by m0o Corp in DSS-EZ (Stain Region) on December 1st 2003 during a battle and that kill was much contested due to the alleged use of an exploit.

Another of the first four issued ships fell into the hands of Tyrrax Thorrk, with reports suggesting this was lost in battle in December 2006.

Raem Civrie's ship was destroyed by Cult of War during the December 2006 Alliance Tournament, with DeddyMassive striking the final blow. The accuracy of the killmail and the mods fitted may be questionable.

The remaining ship is superior to the Apocalypse Navy Issue, due to her much better powergrid and CPU. Her value comes both from her rarity and the fact that the current owner seems unwilling to ever part with her at any price.



Armageddon Imperial Issue.

Designed and constructed by the most skilled starship engineers and architects of the Empire, the imperial issue of the mighty Armageddon class is an upgraded version of the most-used warship of the Amarr. Its heavy armaments and strong front are specially designed to crash into any battle like a juggernaut and deliver swift justice in the name of the Emperor.

Another of the prizes from the Amarr Championships, four were only ever commissioned for service. Three now remain, two of which belong to spaceship collector Entity. The one that was lost during battle belonged to Tyrrax Thorrk, his Imperial Issue Armageddon lost to the vacuum of space on July 24th 2007.



Guardian-Vexor.

It is not currently known how many Guardian-Vexors actually remain in the game today, it could be as few as twenty. Originally there were rumours that 55 of these ships existed, fifty of these given out as prizes from an in-game event.

At first glance the Guardian-Vexor is a slightly improved standard Vexor. Their value came not from the ability of the ship, but solely from the rarity of this limited edition ship. However, when changes in the game mechanics removed from ships special abilities to control more than five combat drones, this ship was not changed, and its ability to control up to five extra drones made it extremely powerful.

Unfortunately, its high price tag ensures that even those who own one will most likely not use it in combat. The last reported sale price for one of these rare ships was reported to be close to 30 billion ISK.



The Theft of the Megathron Federate Issue.

Fedathron.

The Megathron Federate Issue (or 'Fedathron') is without a doubt one of the rarest ships in the game. There is only one in existence, and it is unlikely another will ever be handed out.

It was originally given to 'Doc Brown' by the Gallente Federation as a reward for killing Fatal, one of the two founders of the Guristas pirates as part of the Crielere event. Doc Brown kept the ship for around two years before selling it to DigitalCommunist for 15 Billion ISK.

The current owner of the ship, the avid spaceship collector Entity, acquired the vessel in deceptive circumstances. Entity was kind enough to talk about how he came into the possession of arguably one of his most-prized items.


Madcap Magician was angry with his friend DigitalCommunist and talked to me about it, saying he intended to steal his Malediction and Ishtar BPOs because of it. So I said "Screw the blueprints, get the Fedathron!" I provided him with some officer modules to come up with a plausible excuse for Madcap to "borrow" the ship, and ~2 weeks later, the evil deed was done and Madcap donated the ship to my collection :)
I even received some RL threats from his (very very angry) buddies, but I actually met one of the people that made the threats later on at one of the Fanfests and he turned out to be a nice guy.

Up close and personal.

A rare outing for this rarest of the rare.

Raven State Issue.

Raven State Issue.

The Raven State Issue (originally named the Corvus) was designed by CCP as the top prize in the 3rd Caldari Alliance Tournament in December of 2006. Four were awarded to the winning team from Band of Brothers at the end of the tournament, of which one was sold on to wealthy item collector Entity (Entity's item collection) for a very large sum of ISK. It is one of the most coveted ships in EVE and as such, it commanded a hefty price-tag of approximately 240 billion ISK in the most recent auction held in 2010.

Like most unique event ships, it is unlikely that any more will ever be handed out. The Raven State Issue (sometimes referred to as the State Raven) is -like most special issue ships- vastly more powerful than the standard Raven, and even its faction counterparts the Raven Navy Issue and the Rattlesnake. Its greatly improved fitting and 8 launcher hardpoints give it a definite damage advantage over its lesser counterparts, and an extra low slot can be used to further fortify its defences.

All four Raven State Issues are known to be still intact and safely tucked away in private hangars. Seeing one out in the spacelanes is very rare, although rumours have circulated in the past that one of the owners has been known to use his Estamel fit State Raven with a Falcon buddy in close company.



Tribal Issue Tempest.

Commissioned by the four ruling tribes of the Republic, the Tribal Issue of their Fleet's key vessel is presented only to those who have displayed unyielding valor in the Republic's interest, and a tireless commitment to maintaince of the Tribes' precious freedom. Given the ship's status as a badge of honour, it is not uncommon for pilots or ship crew to add special tattoos to their anatomy, celebrating both the gift of the ship and the honour of piloting it.

The Tribal Issue Tempests were presented as alliance tournament prizes. There are currently thought to be only four Tempest Tribal Issues in existence, at least one of which is owned by Entity, the avid collector of rare ships and other curiosities. As with all unique battleships, the Tempest Tribal Issue is vastly superior to its brethren.



Mimir.

These near-unique ships were the 1st place prizes of Alliance Tournament VII. The winning team were given enough blueprints to make 50 such ships.

Rupture on steroids--the Mimir.

A highly experimental prototype created by Minmatar scientists, intended to combine the qualities of their front line heavy assault ships. Heavily plated and sporting additional thrusters, this ship is not to be taken lightly.


Freki.

These near-unique ships were the 2nd place prizes of Alliance Tournament VII. As with the Mimir, 50 blueprint copies were handed out.

Freki.

Developed along with the first wave of Minmatar Assault Ships but later abandoned due to cost, the Freki is known for its extremely well designed warp core that enables it to arrive first on the scene to snare and eliminate its target.

It is rarely seen on the battlefield, as only a limited number have ever gone into production. It is usually given to pilots as a reward for their excellence in combat.


It is not known for certain how many Frekis remain, Circle-Of-Two fielded a handful in Alliance Tournament  matches and it was thought that three were destroyed. Here is one of the lossmails.



Adrestia.

Another Alliance Tournament 1st placed prize, this time from AT8. The winning team were given enough blueprints to make 50 such ships.

Adrestia.

The Adrestia is a high-powered blaster platform specially commissioned for the 8th Alliance Tournament. While similar to its sister vessel the Deimos (on which its design was based), this ship nonetheless differs in some very important ways. Utilizing lightweight alloys and a prototype form of ion thruster, the Adrestia is capable of reaching truely mind-boggling speeds for a heavy assault vessel. While this makes it less sturdy than its predecessor, the lack of defensive plating is compensated for by state-of-the-art targeting systems, thoroughly optimized weapon hardpoints and upgraded warp scrambling capability. Don't let the lack of defense fool you; very few vessels out there can stand against the Adrestia toe to toe.

There have been a few high profile Adrestia lossmails. Perhaps this one by the famous pvper Garmon one of the most well known losses. Tinkerhell of Muppet Ninja's lost her Adrestia in Agoze solar system and HooKz, also once of Muppet Ninja's has also had his name to many killmails in his Adrestia, although I do believe that Adrestia is still in one piece. A quick sweep of his killboard would suggest no losses of an Adrestia to date.



The Story of the Utu Killer.

These near-unique ships were the 2nd place prizes of Alliance Tournament VIII. The successful team were given enough blueprints to make 50 such ships.

Utu.

The Utu is a highly advanced drone platform specially commissioned for the 8th Alliance Tournament. While based on the Ishkur's design, this ship featured design elements that go above and beyond the original blueprint.

In addition to revolutionary heat dispersion field projectors, the Utu is equiped with cutting edge hardwired drone protocols and upgraded warp scrambling capability. Combined with the sturdy armor plating, these qualities make the Utu a powerful ally in any combat encounter.

News of the auctioning off of some of the Utu blueprints had become common knowledge as reported in this article. It was also understood that one of the Utu class ships belonging to Morel Nova had already been lost in combat.

The pilot in question, CTPAHHUK UKC spoke to me regarding how the events unfolded. He also has another toon that also attempted to kill the Utu, known as UKC. It was a case of third time lucky as he explains in this interview.


One day I remember I logged in and saw the Utu in space! In that time I couldn't autolink his ship, but I could show ship info from the overview. Mmm, what a tasty ship!! In total there were 3 fights:

First, as I remember, I came alone for my first attempt using UKC in my stupid/special arty Dramiel with 1 point disruptor. He couldn't web or point me and in the end he warped off, and then I figured out that he was indeed stabbed.

Second try I made with both my characters (as you say in some of your old blogposts if someone sees one of my characters and then the second it usually means a trap ;)). I warped to him in my Ishkur with tech2 scram, but again he got away as soon as my second character landed. Okay I thought, 2 stabs at the minimum =\

Next day I moved to Rens (with very little hope that Morel would play with me again) to build a special Daredevil (TS scram, tech2 scram and a web, no props: Utu has 4 lowslots, I had to be sure in that time he would not warp off again). It was a very long waiting game of getting into position (I was without prop and needed for him to land on me at 0), he was sitting in the 2/10 plex and I just flew around the Lulm area in my DD for something like 3 hours waiting for the right moment. Finally he left the plex, so I warped in and waited for him to land on top of me at 0, as soon as he did I killed him, it was an easy fight.

The Utu Killer.

Vangel.


The Vangel is a heavy assault ship design exclusively commissioned as a reward in the ninth Alliance Tournament. Like its smaller sibling the Malice, it possesses greatly enhanced energy destabilization systems. Though it was primarily conceived as a combat vessel for the solitary pilot, the Vangel‘s great stores of capacitor power and top-of-the-line armor plating make it no less effective in small fleets. A sleek, deadly triumph of both form and function.

Vangel.

Perhaps the most famous Vangel lossmail to date was this killmail of Count MonteCarlo's (Garmon) Vangel which was destroyed in February 2012.




Malice.

The Malice is an assault frigate design exclusively commissioned as a reward in the ninth Alliance Tournament. Sporting custom metal alloys in its plated carapace, it is one of the most expensive ships ever produced in its class. Far from being a mere ornament, though, the Malice features quality armament systems, strong defensive plating and a massive capacitor, and its vastly augmented facility for energy destabilization makes it a formidable adversary in any engagement.

The Malice.

At the time of writing I have no records of any killmails or lossmails involving the Malice. Maybe its time will come?


Final thoughts.

My own thoughts on rare ships are probably not shared by the vast majority of EVE's player base, but if I was ever in any position to own and fly such a ship (anybody want to sell a Freki?), I would do just that and it would probably be a brief ownership. I would fly it until it burned and then let it live out its legendary status as a shiny lossmail. Of course, I'd hope to take some people down with me first but I imagine such ships do attract a lot of attention.

So what are your thoughts on rare and unique ships? Have you ever seen any of the above ships in combat? Do you own one yourself or know of a friend who does? Do you know of any other interesting stories relating to the above ships? Would you also fly it like you stole it or spin it until you were dizzy?


I would like to thank Entity, UKC/CTPAHHUK UKC and Tyrrax Thorrk for the valuable feedback, the links and screenshots they provided for this article.




MB.