Blaze
of Glory expansion, 130 card expansion (40 common, 40 uncommon,
50 rare) sold in 9-card booster packs (5 common, 3 uncommon, 1 rare) +
foil versions of 18 rare cards
Average Picture Score: 2.6
Average Lore Score: 3.71
Average Trek Sense Score: 3.36
Average Stockability Score: 3.76
(No 5's in any category)
PRODUCT CONCEPT: An expansion devoted to battle? Sounds cool, though the crux of the game had to remain mission solving. One of the things we'd expect (especially given the box and booster images) is a lot of Klingons, the warrior race. And we do: More personnel and ships than any other affiliation, in fact, and a number of other goodies like the Sword of Kahless, Bat'leth Tournament, and a large number of hand weapons. There are, in fact, 7 hand weapons in this set, 4 of them of Klingon origin. To support new space battle rules, 21 card slots are taken up by Tactics (with their attendent Doorway making 22). The Klingons again get quite a few, but so do the Dominion and Federation. The set does a very good job of mixing battle and capture (which is also aggressive), with relatively few cards that don't follow the theme. The personnel generally saw combat of one kind or another (though we could have used more Borg), the ships are for the most part battle-worthy, and the verb cards rarely drop out of the set's aggressive stance. The Big Picture might be one of those - though it does stem from a Borg threat - but I'll get less of an arguement about Chart Interstellar Cluster, Ambassador Tomalak and a couple of Romulan underground members. The dilemmas are a mixed bag, but do follow a war theme in a couple of instances (Under Fire and Hazardous Duty, for example). I'd guess less than 10% wouldn't really fit the concept, so this is a very, very tight set. As much as 4.9.
PACKAGING/LOOK: The booster pack shows Koloth holding up a Bat'leth, with a red firestorm behind him. Very simple, and very cool, without the need to paste a lot of extra heads and ships on there. It's a painted representation, not a photo, and certainly not the shot from the Bat'leth pic. The box uses the same image, making for a striking pop-up cut-out. The front edge of the box features a few headshots, but no Feds or really, any mains. There's Wo'Din and Kang on one side, and Ixtana'Rax, Gul Madred and R'Mal on the other. A couple of luminaries from the more aggressive affiliations, but I'd have used more instead of the lesser lights (where are Tomalak, Kor and Worf Son of Mogh?). The sides and back of the box go for ships instead of faces, flying in that firery red background. Quite cool, and here the Feds get their due with the Thunderchild, the Defiant (from both Primary Energy Weapon with the Borg Cube and Pulse Phaser Cannons), and the Enterprise-D (from Full Phaser Spead). The Cardassians have the Kraxon (with complete right wing), the Romulans their Shuttle, and the Klingons the Negh'Var. The Blaze of Glory rules supplement inserted in each box is in full color (not expecting that after The Dominion!) featuring clear examples of how to use damage markers and Tactics, and a few other cards used as examples or where clarifications were needed. The Sword of Kahless sans template is put at the end because there was room. It looks good there. The very top of the document combines Blood Oath and Stellar Flare more or less successfully (orange and purple aren't really complementary), for dramatic effect (the star bursts when hit by a bat'leth). A handy card list is of course included, and it goes into detail as to the various rarities, especially of the foils. As for the cards themselves, they are the same high quality we've come to expect, though the average for pics is under average (I blame the static prop and set shots). The foils I've seen look good, and the cards chosen for the process are nice to start with. A high 4.1.
DISTRIBUTION: The usual 40/40/50 formula is used, but instead of preview cards, we get 18 possible diffraction foil versions of cards from the set. According to the rules sheet, you're supposed to get on average 1 foil in every 9 booster packs (in the rare slot, but then they're all rares anyway). These also have their rarities: 8 Very Rares (1:106), 6 Super-Rares (1:225), and 4 Ultra-Rares (1:450). As far as chase cards go, this isn't too bad a scheme. If you don't get them, you're not missing any game effects, nor even any pictures, just alternative inks. There a more "common" foils than there are "rare" ones, though if you're a completist, this may seem like a lot of cards to buy to find everything. The normal set isn't too difficult to complete, about the same as The Dominion was, and it features 2 black-bordered Preview cards from the First Anthology (Quark Son of Keldar) and The Dominion (Worf Son of Mogh). The one problem with Blaze of Glory is probably that it sold out so totally, with many players still looking for boxes many years later (for battle bridge cards, no doubt), somewhat prefiguring the situation that now exists with 2E. In other words, too good a set for the amount of product printed. A 4.
NEW ICONS, CARD TYPES & MECHANICS: The new card type is the Tactic, which actually has two parts, the Tactic and the damage marker. I'll still cover it under the one heading, and I'll also talk about the [flip] and [down] icons there, and not give them their own space. They're just too intimately linked. While that should take care of the new space battle rules, I'll use the Brig to discuss the new capturing rules introduced in the set. Jem'Hadar Alphas, though introduced in this set, are basically Dominion cards WITHOUT the usual Quadrant icon, so I don't see the need to talk about it.
Brigs (new capturing rules)
Trek Sense: Finally a little meat on those bones. The entire
idea of having an abstract "captive area" always disturbed me since personnel
simply disappeared from their capture location. From Blaze of Glory on,
captives are escorted by an actual crew or Away Team. You're SOMEBODY's
prisoner. If no personnel are there to take possession of the captives,
they are held in the trap, where they can be picked up later. If left unattended
(as the rule sheet says, "tied up and left behind"), they can be rescued
by their teammates without as much as a card play. Just like on the show,
they can be brought to a Brig (represented by Security Holding Cell and
Holding Cell Door), which acts as a trap of sorts where personnel are held
(never "unattended"). Just the fact that the personnel are never taken
out of the space-time continuum, for me, is a great success, but it's really
good beyond that. Even the little details, such as needing transporters
to get your captives from a space location trap, or releasing personnel
from a Brig on a ship or station you've commandeered, they're all excellent.
Made capture come alive, and definitely a 5.
Usefulness: The old way was simpler, and much less hands-on.
Capture, dump on table somewhere. That was it. The new rules do require
you to pick up captives (in particular in the case of dilemmas) before
they are picked up by opposing personnel. Escorted captives can also be
left "unattended" if your escorting Away Team is eliminated, making personnel
battle a kind of rescue strategy. On the upside, cards that rescue captives
(Rescue Captives, Prisoner Exchange and the like) now only work on one
location/Brig. So you can disperse your captives, even hide them from your
opponent as you would a ship (just a Cloaking Device will do it). In the
Alternate Universe Extra, I scored pre-BoG capturing a 3.7, but there have
been a lot more capture-related cards published since then. Torture finally
joins the other "punishment" cards, Interrogation and Brainwash. More ways
to capture personnel, like Captured, Outgunned, Satan's Robot, Transporter
Drone, Hostage Trade, Intruder Alert, etc. (including many personnel's
special skills). And more ways to benefit from it, including Fajo's Gallery,
Impersonate Captive, and the two "Brig" cards. Prepare the Prisoner lets
you manage all those cards rather well. Leaves capturing at a better place
than before despite some of the hassle, at 3.9.
[Average total: 4.45]
Expansion icon
Graphics: A white D'k Tagh on a red background, I've long thought
this was the worst expansion icon we ever got. Not that it isn't appropriate,
or appropriately iconic even, but it's just so ugly. Just looks like a
dinky little sword without any kind of depth. A 1.8.
Usefulness: The usual score for these is 1, given strictly because
they helps collectors order and identify their cards in a way that's more
fun than simple numbers. [Average total: 1.4.]
Tactic
(damage markers, battle bridge side-deck)
Graphics: Templates that "bleed" like missions look really nice,
especially when effects can reach the very bottom of the frame. The text
is arranged clearly, with the Tactic text in the usual box, and the damage
marker on a black (charred) background at the very bottom, where it can
peek out from under a ship, and where attributes can be matched to attributes
with the glance of an eye for easy arithmetic. As for the icon, it either
features some kind of ship phaser going off from the left, or a glowing
torpedo coming from the right. The ambiguity is something to praise. The
usual circle found in card type icons is there, but off-center instead
of concentric. Nice orange and black scheme too. Not the best icon ever,
but certainly appropriate. The other icons that appear on Tactics is the
[flip] and [down] arrows that tell you which and how many damage markers
to place on the losing ship. Simple and to the point, I mean, they're just
arrows, but do note they are an aggressive red color (appropriate as well
as being easy to spot). And arrows ARE weapons, you know. Bottom line,
Tactics look nice and are easy to read. A 4.5.
Trek Sense: What bugs me most about Tactics is that they are
too often named after ship weapons. They can be used by ships that don't
have those exact weapons (though usually without the extra bonus), and
well, just aren't "Tactics". Seen as a new kind of ship battle, however,
they're much better. Above the combined Weapons of ships firing, there's
the Attack bonus the Tactic provides, and the ship being fired upon would
get a Defense bonus to its Shields (without actually modifying the Shields,
you understand). It makes battle more than just a factor of who's got the
biggest ship. Our heroes on the show are often out-gunned, but win through
strategy. Hits and direct hits work the same as before, but make a little
more sense. A "direct hit" on the show isn't an "overwhelming hit" like
the one in the game. That is, you don't score a direct hit because you've
got twice the Weapons, you get a direct hit because you're more accurate.
If you're brought over the top by the Attack bonus, then it's your aiming
strategy that has paid off, justifying the direct hit much better. There's
a second part to each Tactic, and that's the damage marker. We've really
got two card types in one, because they're not always connected. Sometimes,
if there's a [down] icon on the Tactic, one'll be caused by the other.
More often, one will simply balance out the other, giving high damage to
weak Tactics, and vice-versa. Nothing wrong with that, especially when
you divorce the two types (elegantly put together to make the battle bridge
side-deck work). Damage markers are a great way to recreate the chaotic
effects of a space battle. Casualties, failing systems, and damage to more
than the Range of a ship. Much better than it used to be. Damage markers
add another concept, that of the ship's Hull. Replacing the old "twice-damaged,
you're dead" scheme, it gives the ship an actual structural integrity score.
Interesting, and the grainier the game gets, the more Trek Sense it tends
to make. After all, even without Shields ("Shields are gone, Kiptin.")
a ship may not be destroyed. It also makes sure you can eventually destroy
a facility, even if reductions to Shields are relatively paltry (same for
Borg Cubes). Repairs are made on one damage marker at a time, which is
sensible: the attribute repairs give us a sense of work being done all
over the ship. The way Tactics are used also works fairly well, with 2
options usually being given to the captain for consideration (by his crew
or his own tactical judgement), or he might just jump on the first strategy
proposed. Other successes: Damage is damage, and dilemmas that damage a
ship also use damage markers (except the Borg Ship dilemma, which is perhaps
unfortunately treated differently); and multiplexing Borg damage is well
handled. One big anomaly is that you can't do ANY damage if you run out
of damage markers, not even the old school "rotation" damage. What gives?
This shouldn't happen much, and it's a small sore point to an otherwise
very good card type. Between that and my very first caveat (Tactics as
weapon systems), and the fact that opposing decks who don't both use the
side-deck mix rather uneasily, it scores 4.4.
Usefulness: With Tactics, it may take up to 3 battles to destroy
an opponent's ship, or as little as one, depending on the mix in your Battle
Bridge side-deck, compared to no more than 2 in the traditional way. But
Tactics offer so much more, including Attack and Defense bonuses that could
help you win the battle, and the damage markers offer customizable damage
that may or may not include casualties. Casualties! Now you can slow down
a ship, bring down its Weapons, kill its personnel (perhaps stop it dead
that way for tiny crews), take out its special equipment, and more. Totally
worth the trade-off. The damage is also more difficult to repair, taking
as much as twice the time it used to. Additionally, damage markers make
dilemmas that damage ships more interesting, causing lots of secondary
effects (IF you can get them to hit). Some battles will remain one-sided
(with armadas, for example), but Tactics do add some uncertainty to what
used to be very obvious battles. So your Battle Bridge is as much as deterrent
as it is an offensive weapon. Battling still isn't the main object of the
game, but Tactics do make them strategically more viable and deadly, so
a 4 from me.
[Average total: 4.3]
(Average score for new mechanics: 3.38.)
OVERALL USEFULNESS: There's probably a reason this set sold out so completely. If you want to build a Battle Bridge, you're gonna need BoG cards. There just aren't enough Tactics in other sets, and besides, this is where you'll find the proper Doorway. Capture decks would also like to get their hands on the cards that provide Brigs, which also can't be found elsewhere. Other important cards include Outgunned, Fajo's Gallery, and Captured, and few true disappointments (mixed dilemmas perhaps, and some of the common personnel). Referee-icon cards usually make an important splash, and here include Access Denied, Intruder Alert, Scanner Interference, The Big Picture (which came back in Voyager) and The Wake of the Borg. The Klingons get one of the biggest boosts, with lots of new hand weapons (like the popular and useful Bat'leth), and personnel aplenty, as well as Blood Oath and the Sword of Kahless. The Dominion also gets lots (they were the new kids on the block, after all), with many personnel (including new Alpha Quadrant capabilities), the Dominion version of Engage Shuttle Operations, the very important Ultimatum, and loads of impersonation and shape-shifting cards. All other affiliations get a little something, even the Borg (Locutus' Borg Cube, Long Live the Queen, etc.), though they get no personnel. A strong expansion, certainly, even if it technically focuses on activities other than mission solving. A 4.3.
TOTAL: 20.68 (82.72%) Still fondly remember the title we tentatively called it, "BaH!". Sigh.