To see the cards themselves, check out this Card list for the Blaze of Glory expansion set.

PICTURE: By all accounts, a good shot of the Akira class, with fair detailing, minimal blur and a good dynamic angle as it bears down on the Borg Cube. The Jupiter does a better job of showing us the real length of the class (the Thunderchild is a little stumpy), but it's still quite good. A 3.5.

LORE: Akiras must have been around for a while before we ever saw them, because the Thunderchild's registry number (also on the model) makes it older than either Voyager or the Defiant. Second sentence places the ship in context (though the First Contact logo in the corner pretty much made that a given). And the last gives us a matching commander, which, while useful, is a little silly and boringly attributed. Not much to recommend, really, so it levels off at 3.

TREK SENSE: When we get a real look at the Thunderchild (and Akira-class) in FC, it's firing mucho torpedos, so many fans' impression was that it was a powerful fighting ship. Imagine my surprise to find only a 7 in Weapons. Named after a warship in H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds, it could have tougher Shields, no? Well, it does, in a sense. That's what the +4 bonus against Borg ships (including the dilemma) are all about. Seems that the Akira could have been especially equipped to handle the Borg threat (in the same initiative that designed the Defiant, post-"Best of Both Worlds"). That's why it's on the front lines in First Contact. I'm guessing that due to its size, which seems to be about that of a Galaxy-class cruiser from the staffing and special equipment, it's normally an explorer ship, just like the Enterprise. It is (retroactively) based on the first Starfleet exploration ship of that name after all. That makes Range the actual priority, and the Thunderchild has that in spades. Must be a post-"Force of Nature" design (could be from the angle of the nacelles). One last point, and it's about the matching commander: Ludicrous. "Briefly" commanded, and only for the "shakedown cruise"? Man, I dunno. While doing the shakedown could make a commander learn every bug in the systems, the ship's since fallen into other hands, no doubt getting modified by its version of Geordi... You gotta make up a lot of the context for these ideas to make them work, so I couldn't go above 3.3.

STOCKABILITY: A very fast ship, it can use a matching commander to make it even faster. Fleet Admiral Shanti, which is easy to report thanks to (take your pick) Ready Room Door, Office of the President, Going to the Top and Assign Support Personnel, can Plaque and Log this sucker to 12-10-11 strength. Ah, but against the Borg, that rises to 12-10-15! (Even without her aboard, it would still be 10-7-12.) With those kinds of attributes, it can survive a hit from a Borg Cube or the Borg Ship dilemma. Great for surviving THAT nasty space dilemma. Also note that in the Federation stable, only the USS Prometheus is as fast without requiring special staffing icons. That gives you a little more options, though of course, it can't use Crew Reassignment. Speaking of the Prometheus, it's a better overall design, but with that matching commander and squaring off against the Borg, the Thunderchild gets the upper hand. A 3.6 here.

TOTAL: 13.4 (67%) Kanada! Tetsuo! Kanada! Tetsuo! Kanada!...

PICTURE: This particular scene has had a lot of mileage. It's been used for Dominion PADD, Talak'talan, and now this, probably with a single frame's difference. That said, it's an appropriate scene for this card, though the Jem'Hadar is overpowered by shadows, and that red bar unbalances the composition. Too bad they couldn't find something other than a bust shot for this concept, as it looks like a personnel card. Can't go above 2.4.

LORE: N/A (score will be adjusted accordingly)

TREK SENSE: I had to wrap my head around this one. The card isn't so much an Ultimatum as it is the results of calling the Dominion's bluff. Basically, the card could have been called Alpha Quadrant Invasion. In response to intrusion in their space (which, in this scenario, requires the Bajoran Wormhole, so it's downloaded... a bit backwards perhaps, but makes the situation possible), they start building Supply Depots in the Alpha Quadrant and blowing holes through your ships. The details: Building Remote Supply Depots requires an Engineer, as per the usual outpost building, and I don't know if it's any more palatable because we know Depots to be relatively small (after all, other outposts might be small too). The Dominion IS highly productive when it comes to this sort of thing. The equipment cards are also the responsibility of the Engineer. Now, this being a download makes sense because building Depots has become an imperative for the Dominion. They also have a good incentive (i.e. points) for destroying opposing ships. Destroyed ships are worth what Dominion tacticians decide is a fair number of points, equal in this case to their highest attribute. A bit mechanical, but it works, since any given high attribute could be what is dangerous about a particular vessel (it's fast, strong, tough). Giving Ultimatums to every ship may be tedious, but it's required here because you have to discard the Incident to get the points. It's unfortunate that it doesn't have to be an Alpha Quadrant ship that must be destroyed, but I bet if the Dominion were to travel to the Delta Quadrant, they'd be giving Ultimatums to the Kazon too. Not perfect by any means, but it puts the pieces in the right positions on the board. A 4.

STOCKABILITY: Ultimatum is a must for Dominion players. First, it jump-starts your incursion into the Alpha Quadrant. One of the Dominion's weaknesses is a slow start from the Gamma Quadrant. Sure, they have enough Alpha cards to make a decent early showing on the frontier, but Vorta are all Gammas, and so are Founders (though of course, some might be reported as infiltrators). Ultimatum can be seeded and immediately downloads the Bajoran Wormhole so that you're not stuck behind a "wall". A Dominion ENGINEER can later download a Remote Supply Depot and 2 Equipment cards (Ketracel-White or hand weapons are always nice, but the Birthing Chamber might also be in order) to an Alpha Quadrant mission attemptable by the Dominion. There are a few Alphan ENGINEERs, so that should be easy, though they'd have to start somewhere like a Neutral Outpost. Remote Depots can't be seeded, you see, so building them as fast as possible gives you a real foothold in enemy territory. Once all that is in place, you're free to discard the Incident in exchange for some points. The card allows the Dominion to do what it does best: destroy ships. The affiliation has more than decent firepower, and most ships have a high attribute between 7 and 9, some much more. Great targets include fast freighters and shuttles (consider that Quark's Treasure would be worth 9 points), and if your Dominion Battleship is really jacked up, how about adding 24 or 25 points to the a Borg Cube's usually 45-50 points? Talak'talan (another ENGINEER) can download the card for a second run, even as you destroy a ship. Pow! I'd say the Dominion can hardly do without this one. Well, it can, but probably shouldn't. A consequential 4.8.

TOTAL: 14.93 (74.65%) Or else what?

PICTURE: A bad one. Umat'Adan is very blurry and almost monochrome. He looks paranoid and scared, and the background's colors seem to be off. Won't go over 1.2.

LORE: His rank, his team leader, the fact he's an alpha, a little backstory, that's all fine. But the part about the Wormhole, besides being a little hard to swallow (the Wormhole was off-limits to the Dominion around this time), isn't written very well. Versed in an anomaly? Eeech. I like that it's called that from a Dominion perspective, but the way it's used... not really. Another bust at 1.7.

TREK SENSE: Let me mention it again. It's very hard for me to believe that an relatively young alpha Jem'Hadar would know anything about the Wormhole, especially enough to be able to download Wormhole Navigation Schematic every darn turn, when at this point in the series, the Dominion is closed off from using it. Even if I'd believe it was genetically bred into him, why would it be? He's not heading for "the anomaly" any time soon, that's for sure. Dominion hoping for it to re-open? Maybe, but I wouldn't dump important knowledge on a Jem'Hadar Fifth. And that's where the problem lies, because you have to believe that stuff to get into the rest of the skills (except for the sensible Security). Even the Cunning derives from it. Strength and Integrity make sense for an alpha Jemmie. Makes sense if you accept his specialty, but I have a hard time with it, so only 2.5. (And I'm being generous.)

STOCKABILITY: The Dominion's main weakness is speed, or lack thereof. They start in another Quadrant, one that's accessible through a Doorway that stops your ships, and are dependent on those shipping lanes for most of their personnel. There are fixes however. Ultimatum gets said Doorway into play quickly, alpha Jem'hadar can report to the Alpha Quadrant, and one of these, Umat'Adan, can download, once per turn, Wormhole Navigation Schematic every turn to get the ship through the Bajoran Wormhole without stopping. He even has the prerequiste skills to use the card. It'll only pass one ship, so Engage Shuttle Operations: Dominion is a must for crossing over armadas. In a pinch, he might even download the card to nullify The Three Vipers. Nothing wrong with that. When he's not flying through the Wormhole, he's an excellent mission solver, with 2 classifications and 2 other skills, all in high demand on both missions and dilemmas. Excellent attributes too. Note that getting that GQ fleet though the anomaly first requires Umat'Adan to get TO the Gamma Quadrant. A short delay in most cases. Ok, going up for a very good 4.

TOTAL: 9.4 (47%) Lowest Dominion score. And not because of Stockability.

PICTURE: You can see that's really Bashir running from mortar fire, not a stuntman. The image has real direction and energy too. The gumby-like distorted Bashir is kinda funny, but the action wins over that. A good, clean 3.5.

LORE: Yeah, not bad, but seems like they could have done with that empty line. Hate wasted space, so just a 3 before moving on.

TREK SENSE: If you'll believe any planet has a war zone, you're ready to take the next step. Even if you don't believe it (seems unlikely on Earth or Risa, for example), it's possible that enemies are throwing mortar fire at you, they don't have to be embroiled in a war. The card works better with your Away Team simply trapped in the crossfire of a conflict though, because the probe represents the chaos of the situation (as do the random selections). Note that this is quite close in concept to Artillery Attack, but it did come first. The effects are totally different, of course. The only two outcomes are that either 2 personnel die, or 1 is stopped in trying to evade the weapons fire. That's all a bit pat for me, an incomplete picture is you will, but there's no real problem with either of the selected outcomes, though I'd tend to stop if two of my friends just bit the big one. Then again, I'm no Starfleet officer - I'd probably run. The "killer" probe icons aren't particularly great, but they're not bad either. The Doorway could be an opening in the firer's line of sight; getting killed is certainly an Interruption; the download LOOKS like a dropping bomb, and "comes out of nowhere", just like that bomb; and the Borg are known to bombard planets (of course, this would affect the Borg themselves in this case, maybe because they are so feared and hated, they would always be fired upon). A 3 because of the shallow focus.

SEEDABILITY: Unless your opponent has no draw deck left (unlikely), this dillema hits automatically. Either it kills 2 personnel, or else it stops one. Now, a totally random filter isn't much of an effect, but with the right probe result, you get 2 deaths. That's a lot. How likely is it? Doorways are rather rare, though someone with a Q's Tent is certainly vulnerable. Interrupts are more likely. Special download icons are fairly common on personnel (and sometimes found on other cards). Finally, the Borg should make prime targets for Under Fire, and some Borg-fighting cards also have the icon. Depending on the affiliation, it should kill fairly frequently or most of the time (for the Borg). If it does, or perhaps especially when it doesn't, a random selection manipulator (like Elim) would be helpful. Speaking of manipulators, it may also be profitable to rig your opponent's probe before his personnel head into the mission attempt. A good one, though risky. But if the desired effect fails to happen, you get a consolation prize. How about 3.7?

TOTAL: 13.2 (66%) Now my turn to be under fire.

PICTURE: We get Omet'iklan giving his speech to his assembled Jem'Hadar, but it's not as interesting as actual victory would have been, is it? All things considered, a pretty dull 2.

LORE: Omet'iklan's speech of duplicated here, and it's a great one. It says a lot about the psychology of Jem'Hadar too, why they fight, etc. Great stuff, and an early example of a quote as lore for a non-Q card. I give it a 4.5.

TREK SENSE: The card is basically recompense for victory. What is victory? Well, it's either winning a personnel battle (space battles should also have been considered, in my opinion) or solving a mission. Jem'Hadar that help do this feel an extra sense of accomplishment represented by the interrupt's bonus points. As for the Equipment card download, it may be a more tangible reward, but you gotta wonder where it comes from. Ketracel-White might be a natural reward from yout Vorta, or that Vorta may award hand weapons, etc. Perhaps Founder or Vorta Bob, invisible personnel, are distributing this stuff to successful troops in the absence of actual authoritarian personnel. Hits 4.

STOCKABILITY: Hey, your Dominion's Jem'Hadar are going to use their formidable STRENGTH in personnel battle no matter what, right? Why not rack up some bonus points while you're doing it? With enough of these cards, you could theoretically get yourself 5 points once per turn for a nice number of turns. And not just by battling. Helping solve missions (including those you play Subjugate Planet on, which automatically require your Jemmies' participation) can also get you the points (kind of like mission specialist points). The way the card is written though, the points are just a side-effect to actually downloading an Equipment card. So those victories also allow you to rack up MORE victories, with hand weapons, or Ketracel-White, or whatever else you need. It can be an easy way to get a VR Headset into play, or counter White Deprivation. And the interrupt itself is easy to get at. Kudak'Etan has it as a special download, but Obedience Brings Victory also allows you to download Victory Is Life in place of one of its card draws. Certainly helps the Dominion live off battle and boosts the worth of those missions you decide to Subjugate. Let's call it a nice little 3.9.

TOTAL: 14.4 (72%) Life, then.

PICTURE: While the armor looks interesing enough from this angle, and I respect that another Klingon was digitally removed from the image, Voktak's expression is a little over-the-top and bucktoothed, and the perspective keeps us from really seeing the disruptor. Plus the entrance through the cave wall keeps attracting attention to itself for no good reason. At least it's an action shot. Only 1.9.

LORE: Well described as a universal officer on the front lines of a Klingon-Federation conflict, the matching commander status is helpful, but tenuous at best. It'll cost him points in Trek Sense. Here, it just sounds forced. 3 for a good effort though.

TREK SENSE: First let me say that I don't particularly like these improvised matching commanders. Not only is there no canonical proof of their ever being aboard the named ship, but it seems they were only on it "once" and replacing its true commander. In this case, we've got a universal taking the job, so I guess it's part of the "typical officer"'s training to have taken the K'Ratak's center seat. Plus, there's no thematic link between this non-descript Klingon from "Nor the Battle to the Strong" and a made-up bird-of-prey with a TNG series logo. This guy doesn't even have the Command icon necessary to command a ship. As a field Officer (Staff level), he makes more sense, though his skills are entirely too much about space and not enough about planetside tactics. I mean, we get lots of space action in Star Trek (quite naturally), and finally we had an episode about ground troops, and the representative Klingon warrior has Navigation and Stellar Cartography. I imagine they had to get to Ajilon Prime, but it scarcely seems appropriate. Treachery and low Integrity go with his attacking a hospital, that's fine. The Cunning and Strength can't be argued for or against given the episode, but they're fine anyhow for a universal personnel. A lot of mistakes still put this one at a simple 1.

STOCKABILITY: Though 3-skill personnel are often lamer than 2 or 1-skill personnel due to a lack of Assign card for them, Voktak's exact skill list fits a number of universal missions, and his matching commander status for the K'Ratak makes him reportable without such an Assign card. Ready Room Door gets him to his ship (Log and Plaque make it an 8-11-9 that overcomes its initial slowness and fits well into your armada) over and over again. As a universal, you can keep pumping copies of him onto the bird-of-prey with multiple Ready Room Doors. Those missions I'm talking about? Search for Weapons, which isn't just a natural because Voktak has all the requirements, it's also a cache for your hand weapons. Since it's universal, Voktak(s) can solve it again and again. Study Badlands is another one. If you're using that region, 2 Voktaks can solve it alone (barring any dilemma problems) and 3 of them would protect the ship from Plasma Storms. In the Gamma Quadrant, allow me to suggest the once again universal Survey Star System. Voktak covers half the requirements. Lose one? Get another one. They're cheap. His skills are pretty good against space dilemmas in general as well. More of a niche personnel, yes, but still useful at 3.6.

TOTAL: 9.5 (47.5%) Hard to overcome a 1.

PICTURE: In "Apocalypse Rising", I thought the Klingon hall felt like something out of a Norse Saga, and it may be fitting that this Klingon from that scene has a Norse-sounding name. Odin, the Allfather of the Norse gods, was also called Woden. See the resemblence? The cup in his hand and matching statue next to him both have something of those Halls of Valhalla (i.e. Sto-Vo-Kor). I do not like his hair in the back though. What's with all the static kling there? Ok, an inspirational 3.7.

LORE: All invention, of course, but it's not bad. Universality is acknowledged, making him your typical Klingon Science personnel during or after the Dominion War. The off-classification Diplomacy gets a reason, and it's about family, a Klingon theme. Plus, given the pic, good invented name. A 3.6 here.

TREK SENSE: We don't have much to go on because he's all invention, but being in "Apocalypse Rising", we might surmise he deserves Honor. Weren't they all there to be welcomed into the Order of the Bat'leth? Honor, or Security, or some other applicable skill would have been nice. Still, Stellar Cartography goes with Science, and the Diplomacy is a familial trait. He just doesn't feel like a Science personnel in the first place, y'know? Integrity's way too low for a Klingon so inspired by glorious battle. Cunning and Strength are fine. Not stellar, but fine. I don't know, just leaves me a little cold. 2.6 on this one.

STOCKABILITY: When he came out, Wo'Din was the only tangible universal source of Stellar Cartography among Klingons, and certainly their only universal Diplomat. The first is no longer true, but the second certainly is. Of course, the Klingon have lots of other Diplomacy support personnel, as easily obtainable as he is (if unique). It's the opposite for Stellar Cartography support personnel. There are much fewer, and T'Vor is at least universal. Useful skills? Sure, for both missions and dilemmas, and where one is clearly better at space missions (guess which one), the other may be used in many situations. Best mission is without a doubt the equally universal Survey Star System, which requires not only his two skills, but his classification too. All you need is the very easy to obtain Navigation. With Assign Support Personnel, you can even report the required Wo'Din(s) to the Gamma Quadrant, and a Navigation guy too (a mission specialist here would give you a cheap 3-mission win). Easy to replace too! That brings the core up to 3.5.

TOTAL: 13.4 (67%) Some thought went into the design.

PICTURE: Zetal comes in sharp focus at the forefront of a blurry, yet busy, bridge scene. She looks like she's operating a console, though she was just strolling by the camera here. The colors are a fun alternative to the usual red and black Klingon cards, and I like her arm insignia. Rest of the armor comes off a little muddled, but that's a small nitpick compared to an otherwise fine effort. A 3.5.

LORE: They invented her name, but not her story. She indeed was seen on a Klingon ship during "Return to Grace". Making her typical of skilled (read: Science, I guess) Klingons during this time comes off as natural. A 3.3.

TREK SENSE: Typical = universal, and in this case, the Staff icon too. Zetal looks like she works a console here, and even if it isn't true in the picture, what else is she gonna do on the bridge? Science/Biology then could have been used to confirm that all life had been eliminated on Korma. A bit of a waste of her mission specialty, but hey, these are Klingons. The war against Cardassia was an unjust war (though like the present crisis in the Middle East, that's debatable) so her Integrity isn't too high. Cunning is in line with her job, as is Strength, though it may also be a bit lower than the Klingon average by virtue of her being a female. I still wouldn't want to be on the sharp end of a Klingon female's ire, you'll note. A reasonable 3.5.

STOCKABILITY: The Klingons don't have any other Biology specialist, yet it comes up often enough on their missions. Zetal's +5 bonuses are certainly welcome, and she's easily downloadable to boot just for the always good SCIENCE/Biology combo. Favorites would include Colony Preparations, a universal GQ mission, A Good Place to Die, which fits in Honor decks well, and that old favorite Medical Relief. Of course, top prize goes to Hunt for DNA Program, which can be brought up to 70 points(!!!) with Zetal, Dukath and Kamok. Reason enough to include her, since completing such a big mission gives you more time to attack your opponent. Giving her a 3.7.

TOTAL: 14 (70%) A good finish to this expansion.

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