To see the cards themselves, check out this Card list for The Dominion expansion set.

PICTURE: Superb detail on this tiny artifact. The colors are nice and the hands seem to glow eerily where they become out of focus. I give it a 4.1.

LORE: A fair description with a story tagged to it. The story in question doesn't really help us understand the game function though. And the title isn't really the artifact's name, since Croden is, in Trek Sense, the "acquirer" of the object, not its progenitor. A 2.9.

TREK SENSE: Little. Its Gamma quadrant-specificity is unique among Artifacts, and well deserved. Its use as Equipment stands unchallenged by me given its size and use. The game function itself though, is another matter entirely. In the series, the key allows access to a stasis chamber. How does that translate to doing the same thing on ships and facilities? It doesn't. Even if we accept that the "key" morphs to fit any lock, ships don't need keys to dock at facilities, nor do most doors in the future have any kind of keyhole. The key was Croden's way out of Deep Space 9 through Odo's fascination with it. Well, not even Odo is going to let intruders aboard your property. Cool conceptual use, but falters in this category at 2.6.

SEEDABILITY: Really depends on your strategy. It's fun for battling, that's for sure. With the key, you can gain access to your opponent's Nor or Outpost and simply jump ships, carrying all the ammo you can get your hands onto. Bring personnel battles to space. No waiting for stranded Away Teams or for a second Open Diplomatic Relations to come into your hand. Of course, you'll need to seed a Gamma Quadrant to even use this. Difficult, but note that the Dominion usually starts in the Gamma quad anyway and Jem'Hadar make great battlers. Also note that they have Invasive Beam-In for this kind of thing. Nors can be docked at in other ways too (a VIP or Computer Skill personnel, etc. at the right Site), but you won't have as many options once you're aboard the station. And this doesn't exempt outposts from the list of targets. A single reported personnel sitting at an outpost would be out of luck before your unruly cadre of Klingon warriors. As useful as personnel battle, which is good at slowing someone down, but won't give you the speed you really need to pull this off. And it passes Founder Secret, but please don't include it just in case your opponent seeded it. A 3.4.

TOTAL: 13 (65%) A cool artifact, but one best exploited by experienced players.

PICTURE: What a beautiful ship! Extra detailed, extra shiny, a great view of the "inside" of the wing section... even the running lights are cooler. This is indeed an advanced D'deridex. A very cool 4.5.

LORE: Shortened lore boxes are rarely good for this score. They got the facts straight here, but it's lacking in flavor. And there's an "in" missing before the date. That's what I call a screw-up. And is it just me or is the title a little backwards? A 2.5.

TREK SENSE: Basically a faster, stronger, tougher breed of D'deridex, but only if your Tal Shiar is aboard. I've been trying to figure that one out for a couple days. Okay, the Tal Shiar made the advances, so they are uniquely skilled to run the ship, they may even have put their unique command codes on some of the advances so that their presence woud be required. But it seems a little extreme that the ship would drop BELOW regular D'deridex specs without a Tal Shiar aboard. I'm not saying it's impossible, but a Tal Shiar-less ship will be a slow, weak and vulnerable 6-7-6. Eeech, hardly that advanced. Maybe that's what happened to the big Advanced fleet: the changelings replaced all the Tal Shiar (like Lovok) and everything just fell apart. Personnally, I would have put Tal Shiar in the staffing requirements and be done with it. I still question the logic here. A 2.9.

STOCKABILITY: I've heard all the raving about how, for the same staffing, we're getting a better D'deridex that's still a D'deridex (yay, Romulan Ambush, he said sarcastically) and universal. With Tactic cards, this thing becomes quite risky actually. With a number of regular damage counters ordering the death of a random crewmember, your Tal Shiar are at risk. Lose that personnel, and your ship suddenly drops -3 in all attributes in addition to any minuses it suffers as damage from the Tactic. Not pleasant. And before you tell me that it's no worse than losing your matching commander (which the regular D'deridex and its unique cousins all have), realize that it is. Ships are upgraded by Captain's Log, so losing a bonus still keeps your ship at its own respectable stats. Losing a Tal Shiar here results in a severe downgrade of your ship. And if you didn't have a Tal Shiar out right away, your ship is vulnerable until you get one. Yes, the Tal Shiar personnel are all good personnel, so it's not a big sacrifice, and you could keep a back-up on the same ship just in case. Still risky. On the upside, it's got great stats if it is properly staffed, and all the usual Romulan ship trimmings. It's somewhat Commandeer-proof, because other affiliations (except the Dominion, through Lovok Founder) won't be running it at maximum capacity. But not worth the buzz at 2.5.

TOTAL: 12.4 (62%) This is what I would call overrated.

PICTURE: Damar is appropriately located in the Cardassian command center where we've seen him so many times. His look of toadying fear and restrained suspicion also captures the essence of the early Damar. He's not front and center enough for my tastes, but it's a good card on the compositional level. Those speed lines rushing away from his head on the right add intensity to the pic. A 3.9

LORE: Note that two of the statements are about Dukat. That's spot on. Dukat made up the whole of Damar's life for a time, and while he's "ambitious", he's also totally devoted the the great leader he beileves Dukat to be. "Reports to Dukat" is an odd one though, since it's almost told in game terms and IS in the game text itself. The last sentence is a less remembered fact that helps explain some of the skills. I guess "Enjoys kanar" will only appear on a later persona. ;-) A 4.

TREK SENSE: An Officer who might have had a Command icon, even by this time. I mean, he was still almost second in command of the entire Cardassian Union! His Engineering skills, while not legendary, are discussed in the lore. I suppose Physics is an offshoot of that, and probably go to his efforts to deactivate the replicating mine field surrounding the Wormhole during the last DS9 occupation. Treachery, he killed Ziyal didn't he? Computer Skill, he's always at some console, and has been shown sending secret transmissions and such. He can report wherever Dukat is present, because at this stage of his career, he followed his leader like a loyal lapdog. Makes sense. The Integrity is slightly high, but he does have a code of honor and, as shown in the last season of DS9, he truly cares for his people. Cunning also seems a little high for this era in the character's life, but appropriate in retrospect. And the Strength is wholely adequate for a military man. So aside from the staffing icon, I'd have to say this one is a success at 4.2.

STOCKABILITY: He's not necessarily the best Cardassian main, but he has his uses. The ENGINEER is always useful to Ore Processing strategies, while the Computer Skill allows for commandeering of stations that can process that ore (among other things). He's got a nice selection for passing dilemmas, all except Physics which can still be used on three Cardassian missions. Incidently, Cardassian missions are rather heavy on ENGINEER and Computer Skill, so our boy Damar might find his way into a number of decks. More important is his special ability to report to Dukat's side. If you have Dukat in play (and he's a good personnel), you can send your Damar to his location. Maybe you need to replace a dead Engineer in the Away Team, or you ship left port before you drew him from the draw pile. In any case, a fine back-up card with well-rounded attributes to boot. A 4 here.

TOTAL: 16.1 (80.5%) I'd really like to see a persona for this guy.

PICTURE: Fun to see an early Cardassian uniform, though they look very silly. Now, I'd like to see one where they have those funky helmets. As for Daro in particular, it's a pretty standard image, where, I believe, he's being adressed by chief O'Brien. It's his moment. A 3.1.

LORE: Rank is there (still waiting for a use to this) as is his allegiance to Macet. Throw in a colorful anecdote and you've got decent lore, though universality really should be paid hommage to. A 3.

TREK SENSE: We don't know much about Daro, but the fact he was interested in the Enterprise's technology may belie his Engineering specialty, and in particular, his Transporter Skill. Astrophysics is total invention, but not impossible for an Engineer (though more of a Science-related skill). The Staff icon is sometimes found on Glinns, though some are Command personnel. I guess Daro's apparent youth makes him of lesser rank. Integrity is a little high even if Miles was out of line. They WERE snooping around. Cunning, on the other hand, is a little low for a technically-minded personnel. Strength will do. And I've already mentioned how universality doesn't fit. Daro gets a fair 3.3 here.

STOCKABILITY: The Cardassians really need a universal ENGINEER (heck, any kind of ENGINEER) to take true advantage of Ore Processing. Daro can report to the Ore Processing Unit (in unlimited number no less) and do his thing. The Cardies have quite a few fake ENGINEERs, but only a couple of true ENGINEER-classification personnel, and Daro is the universal one. ENGINEER-related equipment si no longer off-limits to this affilitaion. ENGINEER is a of great use whether you're trying pass a dilemma, solve a mission, build an outpost or use a Tractor Beam. His other skills are rather rare, and can be used on a number of dilemmas (including enabling the Nor-specific cure for Subspace Seaweed), as well as on some missions (he can more than half-solve Study Plasma Storm). Good INTEGRITY even if the other stats are a little weak. Really, the Daro's strength is allowing for more speed and flexibility in Ore Processing decks. Decipher has a nice card extra (from the Major) about reporting him to the OPU and locking him up with Automated Security System, thereby insuring a secure place for him to process ore. And hey, he's universal. Not bad at 3.9.

TOTAL: 13.3 (66.5%) Something the Cardassians needed.

PICTURE: Never the most attractive of Cardassian females (even her spoon make-up looks badly applied), Dejar is taken here in an uninspired pose. Sure, she looks unlikeable, but there's no hint of her more treacherous nature or her role as a "viper". Add to that the fact that the card is tottaly bottom heavy, unbalanced by those dark panels on the lower left, and it tips the score even lower than before. An arid 1.7.

LORE: Tells her story without fun or fanfare. It's at least decent at 3.

TREK SENSE: Obviously, she's going to have Obsidian Order, and her sabotage earns her both ENGINEER and Treachery. Stellar Cartography is there to reflect her taking part in the scientific project. She had to have the expertise to pass herself off as a real scientist. I'm a little disappointed that there's no ability to lower WEAPONS when aboard your opponent's ship, but not that much. I'll live through it. The staffing icon is supported by the episode, showing her manning a console on the bridge. As far as attributes go, I don't understand the Integrity. Again, Integrity seems to mean the person is loyal to its government. But there are plenty of other cards that suggest that Integrity is relative to the Federation's moral values. So which is it? She certainly doesn't qualify as a saint in our system. The Cunning is a little low for someone who had to sabotage the Defiant, but then again, she did get caught. And I've got no qualms about her Strength, but is she really any stronger than your average scientist? You win some, you lose some. A 2.9.

STOCKABILITY: Cardassians have very few true ENGINEERs, and this one's as good as any. Not universal like Daro, a female is nonetheless usually better than a male (Matriarchal Society, Assimilate Counterpart, etc.). You always need ENGINEERs. Her Obsidian Order-Treachery combination will let you report her to Garak's Tailor Shop where you can glance at your opponent's draw deck's top card at your leisure. The secret agent skill will also help your Espionnage strategies with Plans, as well as supply a necessary skill to five Cardassian missions. And you'll need to do some spying if you want to take advantage of that third skill, Stellar Cartography. It's not in big demand for the Cardies to say the least. Her lackluster stats don't do much for her, but she's still a useful personnel at 3.4.

TOTAL: 11 (55%) I think I pinned it right when I used the word "lackluster" just then.

PICTURE: Little did I realize when I started this project that the landmark number 300 would be a crapcard, but there you have it. In any case, it's often more fun to tear something apart than to praise it. Let me start by saying the picture is terrible. Basically a detail from Ultimatum (same scene), the strange shadows playing over the Jem'Hadar's hand gives the illusion that it (the hand) and the PADD have a cartoon kitten silouette. Finger and thumb as teddy bear arms, and those little points on the PADD being the ears. Colorwise, it's just a green splash on a very dark background, and according to the lore, that's not even a Dominion issue PADD! What the--?!? More on that later... a 0.5 here.

LORE: All the PADDs seem doomed to have the same basic lore, and I was happy to see another sentence tacked on there. Unfortunately, it shows off the fact that the "Dominion PADD" is actually some kind of Bajoran deal. It was taken by Jem'Hadar at a destroyed Colony site. At least, Decipher's being honest about its fudging. A 2.

TREK SENSE: Here we go again. PADDs still have the same eternal problem here - they are woefully uninspired. I guess PADDs do increase the availble knowledge, computing power and memory of a group of people, but really, does that boost their intelligence all that much? I still say skill-sharing was the way to go, à la Mindmeld. If at least the PADD here was really Dominion-issue, we could say "Dominion use only" made sense. After all, they do come from another quadrant, and their interfaces are vastly different (though a Federation team can apparently fly a Jem'Hadar fighter). But it's not! It's a Bajoran issue PADD, and still the Bajorans can't use it. Neither can anyone else unless a Dominion employee is present. And I'd just love to see the cumulative nature of the card in an episode. People walking around with 3 or 4 PADDs, using all of them to get the most out of their computing power (+8 CUNNING right?). Since this one is a little worse than the others, I'll give it the lower score of 1.4.

STOCKABILITY: Except for the rare 6 (and one 5) from some universal Jem'Hadar, all CUNNING in the Dominion is between 7 and 10. That's a lot. Won't really be needing PADDed help, now will they? Their few missions that require CUNNING never go over 35 which is easily gotten. And what about the dangers of "Crimson Forcefield"? Well, they already have two OFFICERS with the required high CUNNING (Lovok Founder and Ixtana’Rax), but only one needs more than a +2 to be in the clear. Here's an idea: play HQ: War Room on your Homeworld. All your OFFICERs get the +2 to CUNNING and no need to lug around useless equipment. Going as low as 0.5 on this one.

TOTAL: 4.4 (22%) Happy 300! Real landmark issue: #365.

Empok Nor, Neutral, DOM (commandeered)
"Abandoned mining station recently repaired and activated."
-When first switched over, each player may download to station any number of different compatible Site and Equipment cards. Normal reporting now allowed. (Not duplicatable.)
-WEAPONS: 6, SHIELDS: 34

PICTURES: Design-wise, I love two-sided cards. They're a great idea and really fun. As for the Empok Nor pics themselves, I always thought it was funny how the Star Trek creators always showed us Empok tipped on its side. After all, there is no up or down in space, and the orientation of any object in space is based on the direction from which you approach it. On the show, the effect gave the impression that the station was derelict and adrift, while also visually differenciating it from the upright Deep Space 9 (after all, it's the same "actress" who plays both). Decipher compounds the mistake by not changing the orientation of the blue dust clouds (who look great, by the way, nice color scheme) on the two sides. So it appears the working station *does* right itself (aligning itself with the ore deposit to be processed?). Also note the running lights added to the commandeered version. Too bad the station is blurry on both sides. Looks like an old Star Wars model. Great idea, but some weaknesses. A 2.8.

LORES: Two short little lores. The abandoned side only tells us a relevant date, the other actualizes the station in the game context. Interesting way of doing it, but the long game text doesn't allow for much meat on these bones. A 2.9 here.

TREK SENSE: Empok Nor starts off as a derelict abandoned station with minimal shields (but certainly enough to keep meteors at bay) and no weapons. It's probably been gutted like Terok Nor was at the start of "Emissary". It seeds at any universal mission. Why? Because those places are "out there". It wouldn't do to have an abandoned station in the Cardassian system, for example. We don't really know where Empok Nor floats, just that it's a little out of the way. Universal missions are those unnamed sectors of space that could be anywhere. It can also seed at Mining Survey, which is most probably its real location. Some dilemmas may be seeded here to slow down commandeering attempts, and I find this to be a great innovation. From the first Empok Nor episode, this place has thrown one danger after another at our heroes and anti-heroes alike. In fact, Sleeper Trap and Garak Has Some Issues are truly native to the Empok Nor environment, while Friendly Fire, being more universal, still gives you more options as to what to play here. There's no real way to do this, but Trek Sense would dictate that other dilemmas could and should be able to seed here: Impassable Door, Malfunctioning Door, Mission Fatigue, etc. These all could be problems aboard an abandoned mining station. You cannot report aboard, again because it is abandoned. You'll have to dock there. And once the dilemmas are cleared, you may commandeer the station and make it alive again. I love this mechanic, because it applies the same rules that are at work on mission attempts and scouting. Once the facility is commandeered, new Sites may be brought in, as if in a new seed phase, as, no doubt, your personnel are flicking on the lights in different parts of the facility. Equipment is also found in those newly-lighted rooms, and dusted off. Maybe they should have been available when the station was abandoned? Were they there or not? Finally, the stats go up to Deep Space 9 levels, with some combat ability and Shields higher than your regular outpost. Just a couple of things wrong, but highly original too. It gets a 4.2.

SEEDABILITY: Ore Processing. Ore Processing. Ore Processing. That powerful Cardassian strategy can now be brought to a bunch of other affiliations thanks to Empok Nor. See, the limit before was that there were only Nors for the Cardassians and Bajorans, and that the Bajorans (and Federation) are specifically forbidden to use the Ore Processing Unit. Now, if you were sure that your opponent was using a Nor, you could include Process Ore in your deck and hope to commandeer it. But you can never be sure. With Empok Nor, you can seed your own Nor and go commandeer it yourself. Result: Klingons, Romulans, Ferengi and Dominion who can manage their decks as well as the Cardies can. There are risks, but they're not that bad. Your opponent would have to expect an Empok Nor strategy. For example, he could seed the three Empok dilemmas (two kill and slow you down, the other actually sends an Away Team od Cardassians that could ultimately commandeer the station for themselves), but is he even packing them? And any dilemma seeded here dilutes the dilemmas elsewhere. Who prepares 7 combos insead of 6? The other thing is that he could play unwanted sites on your Nor (the ones that allow his personnel to report there). Again, not many people keep Sites in their draw decks. Another danger is that he could try to commandeer before you do. Make sure it doesn't happen, by getting your personnel there as fast as possible. Don't forget, firstly, to seed an Ops and a docking site during the seed phase, just so you can get on the station and actually commandeer it. I'd even put down the Ore Processing Unit now, so that Computer Crash doesn't cancel my Site downloads (really disastrous). The Klingons are in a good position to make this work out if you set up a universal planet (or Mining Survey) on the end of the spaceline, and get a staffed T'Ong on the table quickly enough (maybe Tent for it). The Romulans currently have the best shot at Empok Nor. They are the only affiliation that can use just their own cards, and be guaranteed a chance at Empok on the first turn, (AMS for Computer Skill, Spacedoor for a universal ship with no staffing) and can prevent decks not aimed at Empok from having an easy time (Docking Pads, since the other "major" affiliation that can use it has no universal staffless ships). Do what you can to commandeer in the first few turns, and then benefit from extra reporting ability (including immediate access to Equipment) as well as enhanced deck management. Those abilities will compensate you for the turns lost on this maneuver. Risky, but not that much... a good 4.3.

TOTAL: 14.2 (71%) Useful for an old space hulk. ;-)

PICTURE: Stock footage we've seen often enough is this one of a bird-of-prey cloaking while making a turn. Given the movement options afforded by the card, it's a better choice than a ship standing still while cloaking, but the picture is incredibly drab. It's something disappearing, so it probably can't help being so, but I think it's one of the ugliest objectives we have. A nice joke would have been to show empty space (maybe with a slight distortion in the stars). Why not go all the way? Somwehere between well-chosen and not aesthetic - a 2.8.

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

TREK SENSE: Finally something that fixes the Trek Sense problem with every cloaking device. Before Engage Cloak, we were saddled with technology that hid your ships, but really didn't. Your opponent always knew where the ship was even if his personnel couldn't interact with it. But now, we've got the capacity to actually disappear from the spaceline and reappear on it somewhere else. Where? Your opponent certainly doesn't know. Great stuff. It does, however, turn your crew into psychics because you can relocate the ship after a number of turns rather than having to every turn. Your new location is thus based on things that happened since you cloaked and took off, not necessarily on the new orders. Imagine you cloaked and wanted to go in one direction, but something happens that you wish you could go in the other. Zoom, it can be done, with no one the wiser. The only other problem has to do with terminology. This sounds neither like an Objective to me, or a Hidden Agenda, though it's both. I see why it would play as such, but it might have been an Incident instead, and though I see the "Hidden" in there, I really don't think the Feds aren't aware that Klingons and Romulans have cloaks. That's what a Hidden Agenda is, no? Something you don't know your opponent has? These are of course minor points, and I rather like how the cloak has been amended by this card. A 4.1.

STOCKABILITY: It's certainly put some life into the Cloaking Device! Before, we were stuck with ships that could cloak or decloak once per turn and, though safe from battles, could be seen by your opponent. And since cloaks mostly belong to Klingons and Romulans, why wouldn't you want to fight with them? Engage Cloak changes all that. Now, your opponent can't tell where your ship is and so can't blockade your ship, or throw pollution in its way, or what have you. Well, he can, but not as effectively. The card doesn't just hide your ship, it hides your intentions. Are you heading for a wounded ship? A lucrative mission? Who knows? Only you do. And guess what, you can change that objective at any time. If your RANGE 8 ship has been on Engage Cloak for 3 turns, you have 24 RANGE to play with (though you must make 3 seperate moves of 8, so actual RANGE may vary). So when decloaking, you'll have a lot of options open to you. Keeping ships cloaked for a long time gives them unlimited range! It's more than a cloaking card, it's a relocation card as well. Though you're using the natural RANGE of the ship to accomplish it, it's a little like Devidian Door in a sense. The ship goes where you need it without having to know you'll need it there some turns in advance. Add to that the ability to seed it as a hidden agenda, and you've got quite a winner. It also makes your ships immune to the binderrific LaForge Maneuver. Of course, it holds only one ship, so armadas will need a bunch of these to cloak together. And did everyone notice the word "phases" in there? Prophecies of something cool. For now, a 4.6.

TOTAL: 15.33 (76.67%) A good card despite the ugly pic.

PICTURE: A big knot-head on too-slim shoulders, the first Vorta isn't pictured too interestingly. That large salt shaker in the background is especially distracting. A 2.7.

LORE: So many leads not followed up on, but that's not the lore's fault, which is quite complete. Her role, species and actions in the episode are well delineated, even cleverly put. No mention of her psionic abilities, I see, or of the card's universality. A 3.5 here.

TREK SENSE: Vorta are going to invariably be Command personnel, and most of them will be VIPs. As the ones who control the Jem'Hadar and are bred for Diplomacy (no matter how vicious that diplomacy is), they require that high standing in the Dominion's hierarchy. Eris seemed to be a minor Vorta, but she shares those traits. Since she spied on Sisko and friends, duplicitously making like she was a victim of the Dominion, she deserves the Treachery, along with the (no doubt genetic) Diplomacy for having lulled everyone into a false sense of security. The Medical is total invention though, there mostly because the Dominion needed at least one cheap doctor. The genetically-engineered attributes make some sense, though she didn't seem all that low on Integrity (or have *I* been lulled into a false sense of security?). I really don't appreciate how her telekinetic abilities have been swept under the rug by Paramount, by the way. Neither this card, nor the Encyclopedia, nor any other episode supports the fact that Vorta might have mental abilities. Ok, so the creators changed their minds about giving the Dominion that ability, but they could have made Eris a fluke, one in a million. Here, we might have seen a special download for some TK action! Too bad. Not the closest of matches at 2.7.

STOCKABILITY: Necessary to your Dominion deck as your number one source of MEDICAL. Borath and Gelnon are the only other two Domininon (and thus, Gamma Quadrant) personnel with the skill and they aren't universal. Eris is quite probably your expendable medic, keeping the supply of Ketracel-White steady and saving your personnel's butts from a number of dilemmas. The common Diplomacy/Treachery found on many Vorta (and on Impose Order) will allow you access to a few missions (especially Rescue Founder with her MEDICAL) plus Subjugate Planet, as well as covering a few dilemmas, Q-Nets, etc. Attributes are sort of lame, especially the Strength. Thanks to the universal MEDICAL, goes as far as 3.5.

TOTAL: 12.4 (62%) Average is pretty good for a universal personnel.

PICTURE: A little lacking. That shade of pink may be a color found on Jem'Hadar attack ships, but it's far from intimidating in this context. The shadowed figure looks more Romulan than Dominion (I guess it's the shoulder pads), though as good as any shadowed spy on these cards. What really kills it for me is the large dark frame around the colored image. There's just too much shadow for the composition to be salvageable. A poor 1.9.

LORE: Great at giving examples, not something we find on all the Espionage cards. There's the Dominion's first recorded act of treachery (Eris), the events from "The Search" (Borath) and the changeling infiltration of Earth. Cool stuff, and it even points to the infiltration icon in the card's game text. A hardy 3.8.

TREK SENSE: The basis for all Espionage missions has a flaw in it, namely, that spying on a mission/location is not the same as attempting and solving that mission in lieu of its rightful owner. In some cases, it works. The Dominion could be Evaluating Terraforming for themselves, trying to see how far the Federation has come in that field. Most of the Study and Investigate missions could be attempted by a crew in enemy territory. But why would the Founders want to Avert Danger at Moab IV? Or Cure a Blight of their own design? Or Access their own Relay Station? Notice I didn't go very far in the collection of missions, and already, these anomalies crop up. I'm not saying the Dominion would have nothing to do at these locations, but the mission requirements and titles just don't match up. But how do you realistically change Repair Mission into Download Sensor Records and Diplomacy Mission into Subversive Mission? You can't do it with only one card. A true Espionage card would allow infiltrators to come along on missions, but that's already not excluded. Perhaps steal some of the points from that mission? Too late now. The only new thing on this latecomer in the spy game, is the plays-for-free action if a Federation infiltrator is present. This is great and more Espionage cards should have had a little flavor thrown in like this one from Premiere onward. A step up from your regular Espionage, but still a low 2.4 (from a basic 2).

STOCKABILITY: This is an especially useful Espionage card since the Dominion, being the newcomers in the game, have the fewest missions, while the Federation, on which the show is based, have the most. Dominion players can thus pad out their spacelines with more variety, not counting the possibilities for mission theft. What's more, the Dominion is well-equipped to solve many Federation missions. ENGINEER isn't in short supply and neither is the Vorta standby, Diplomacy. The Feds have more than enough missions requiring multiples of those skills. Dominion players not wishing to leave their quadrant just added 4 missions to that part of the galaxy with the use of Espionage. With two different Federation infiltrators to allow free plays of Espionage, and maybe a third one eventually (Bashir Founder), it should be easy to patrol the spaceline and drop free cards on the missions you need to attempt. Also, Espionage on Federation cards will also be a little more useful because they allow for an attempt at, what else, Espionage Mission, Earth itself. Those 40 points may be an easy score for the Dominion. They can report Leyton Founder directly there as per its game text, Shape-Shift it into a different Founder, rereport Leyton, play Espionage for free thanks to the infiltration icon, and, with the two Founders necessary, solve it ASAP. You don't even need to get a ship through the wormhole. Probably the best Espionage card out there at 4.3.

TOTAL: 12.4 (62%) Don't expect the other cards of this type to get as high.

PICTURE: Martok Founder a seen through prison bars... I guess. This card is so blurry and shadowed as to make it a chaotic mess. It's not even a shot of any kind of espionage per se. As Mr. Horse of Ren & Stimpy fame would say: "No sir, I don't like it." Only a 1.

LORE: A nice explanation of how the Martok Founder affected Klingon (and Alpha quadrant) politics, but sounds like something written for some infiltration card, instead of this. Goes with the picture, but not all that much with the actual Espionage concept. A middling 2.9.

TREK SENSE: Here's the part where I get to repeat myself a bit, so I'll just cut and paste parts of the last Espionage review, changing the examples to Klingon ones in the process. The basis for all Espionage missions has a flaw in it, namely, that spying on a mission/location is not the same as attempting and solving that mission in lieu of its rightful owner. In some cases, it works. The Dominion could be Investigating Disturbance for themselves, trying to see how Klingon mysticism works. Indeed, most of the Study and Investigate missions could be attempted by a crew in enemy territory. But why would the Founders want to attend a Bat'leth Tournament? Or suppress Kriosian rebels with Brute Force, thereby creating stability in the Empire? Or Access their own Relay Station? I'm not saying the Dominion would have nothing to do at these locations, but the mission requirements and titles just don't match up. But how do you realistically change Krios Suppression into Observe Klingon Tactics and A Good Place to Die into A Good Place to Watch People Die? You can't do it with only one card. A true Espionage card would allow infiltrators to come along on missions, but that's already not excluded. Perhaps steal some of the points from that mission? Too late now. The only new thing on this latecomer in the spy game, is the plays-for-free action if a Klingon infiltrator is present. This is great and more Espionage cards should have had a little flavor thrown in like this one from Premiere onward. I'll admit Klingon missions are a little less affiliation-specific making the problems lighter. A step up from your regular Espionage, but still a low 2.5 (from a basic 2).

STOCKABILITY: The Dominion, having very few missions, stands to win a great deal from Espionage. The Dominion player certainly gets more flexibility in choosing missions, and in stealing them. Are Klingon missions juicy targets? Well, what's a Jem'Hadar if not a Klingon who can't have fun? (Also the answer to what Worf is.) High STRENGTH is a Klingon requirement easily achieved with Jemmies (Brute Force should be a sinch). The Physics/Honor combo of A Good Place to Die appears whole on Remata'Klan (two skills common on both Klingon missions and Jem'Hadar personnel). As long as the Ketracel-White is in stock, your Dominion should have no problems attempting and completing Klingon missions. And with Martok Founder, a great personnel in its own right, you can play the Espionage card for free! Best score here: 3.9.

TOTAL: 10.3 (51.5%) Despite being useful, the card has too many problems to make the grade in the Rolodex arena.

PICTURE: I actually like the look of the card. The lighted table in the front makes that alcove with the Jem'Hadar in it all the darker, and the orange lines behind the figure help to highlight it interestingly. However. Jem'Hadar? Since when are they spies? Shrouded invisibility aside, these guys stick out like sore thumbs and don't have the subtlety required for espionage. A shot of Lovok would have been the way to go, or something. Mixed review here, but I can't gve it more than 2.9.

LORE: I like this! The Romulans are the greatest, the best, the toughest, second to none -- NOT!!!!! Heheheh. A great way of telling us, without using game terms, that this is the first "on Romulan" espionage card. A nifty 4.3.

TREK SENSE: Again I get to repeat myself a bit, so again I'll just cut and paste parts of the two last Espionage reviews, changing the examples to Romulan ones in the process. Hem, hem. The basis for all Espionage missions has a flaw in it, namely, that spying on a mission/location is not the same as attempting and solving that mission in lieu of its rightful owner. In some cases, it works. The Dominion could be Plundering Sarthong for themselves, for example. Indeed, most of the Study and Investigate missions could be attempted by a crew in enemy territory. But why would the Founders want to attend a Quash a unificationist Conspiracy? Or build a Romulan Covert Installation? Or Access their own Relay Station? I'm not saying the Dominion would have nothing to do at these locations, but the mission requirements and titles just don't match up. But how do you realistically change Covert Rescue into Capture Stranded Officer and the aforementioned Quash Conspiracy into Stabilize for Unknown Purposes? You can't do it with only one card. A true Espionage card would allow infiltrators to come along on missions, but that's already not excluded. Perhaps steal some of the points from that mission? Too late now. The only new thing on this latecomer in the spy game, is the plays-for-free action if a Romulan infiltrator is present. This is great and more Espionage cards should have had a little flavor thrown in like this one from Premiere onward. I'll admit Romulan missions, like their Klingon cousins, are a little less affiliation-specific making the problems lighter. And I like how there is no other "on Romulan" Espionage card, as indeed the Romulans as so isolationist and paranoid that spying on them is almost unknown. Unless you're a changeling, that is. A step up from your regular Espionage, but still a low 2.6 (from a basic 2).

STOCKABILITY: The newcomer Dominion affiliation naturally has less missions than do the orginal three and gets many more options (not to mention variety) with Espionage. You'll find Vorta Treachery to be very compatible with Romulan missions. Too bad they're poor at Archeology (only Kilana and Zyree have the skill, though the latter is universal). It's also great that there's finally an affiliation that can spy on the Rommies. Players using that affiliation were much less concerned with mission theft than others because it had to come from a similarly Romulan opponent (if the missions were Romulan-only). I think Romulans are probably less likely to seed or play Fair Play because of this. A hole in their defenses? Add the possibility of playing the Event for free at Lovok Founder's location and you've got an easy score of Quash Conspiracy, which "Lovok" can complete alone. Or fly L.F. around the spaceline dropping Espionage events everywhere you need them. Could provide a good way to build a Jem'hadar-less mission solving deck. But leave the Archeology missions at home. A 3.7.

TOTAL: 13.5 (67.5%) May be a little less useful than its two cousins, but somehow scores higher.

PICTURE: I'm not impressed, quite frankly. The ships are too small to make any impact, the Wormhole looks painted open, and its colors simply overwhelm the armada coming through it. Too bad it's not a doorway, cuz a bleed effect would have been terrific and have added a grander scale to the card. Just a 2.3.

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

TREK SENSE: So what's the objective here? The Dominion attempts to get a foothold in another quadrant. Obviously, the Gamma quadrant is excluded because they always start the game with a foothold there. The Beta quadrant is also excluded because everything we know of the Beta is so close to known Alpha space, it wouldn't make sense for it to be a separate spaceline. (Love the mention of the Delta quadrant, makes me lick my lips in anticipation.) So how do they do this? By taking a planet or space location and making it their new base of operations, even going as far as building an outpost there and setting up shop (as evidenced by the equipment reported there). Something off: taking a location and solving a mission may be very different things. Sure, Betazed Invasion and Impose Order work great here, but the mission lore on some others don't (like Archanis Dispute). It's not so bad actually, since the Dominion's missions are very much geared towards either the war effort or purely scientific missions in uninhabited systems. Espionage cards throw in some impossibilities, but other than that... Points are scored because this is a game goal. And the once per quadrant limitation makes sense too - once you have a foothold, jumping in with both feet is a totally different ballgame. The other limitation, that there be no Dominion cards in the quadrant already, follows the same logic. Not many problems, I'll admit. A 4.6.

STOCKABILITY: That's a +10 points on one mission per game (at least, until we get a workable Delta quadrant), and for an affiliation without any mission specialists, they've gotta maximize their mission points another way. And it's not just the extra points, it also downloads a Remote Supply Depot and all the White, weapons and Birth Chambers you might need to go on the offensive from within the Alpha quadrant. The limitation about not having Dominion cards in the quadrant already is easy to beat since the Objective is seedable, though you may wish to keep it as a surprise to stop your opponent from somehow solving the mission before you do (play it on a Dominion only mission) or worse, make it unattemptable with pollution cards. It's a little something extra if you're going to the Alpha quadrant anyway, and may speed up your game a little, but not absolutely necessary. A 3.9.

TOTAL: 14.4 (72%) A lesser Dominion tool, but an effective one nonetheless.

PICTURE: Rich in color and more than a little busy, the card is very interesting visually. What attracts is mostly the orange window panes in Quark's, and not the darkened Quark himself. The large screen is cool, and the images on it strangely distorted (especially the rear view of Bashir). It's also probably our last chance to see future racquetball on a card. It's VERY busy. A 3.4.

LORE: Tells the story of the picture, and may give us some clues as to how to interpret the game text's Trek sense. Also, makes it pretty easy to figure out from which episode the pic came from. A plain, simple 3.

TREK SENSE: The cards function and the picture/lore description aren't really related, except as to how Miles plays a game, as well as how we card players do. So, we'll have to look at it conceptually. Fair Play, a Hidden Agenda? If I'm playing fairly, I'd like others to know. Unless it actually gives me an advantage to let them think I might be cheating (i.e. so they don't exploit my weakness), but then how fairly would I be playing? The Referee icon, however, while currently meaningless, is great to have on a sports card like this. Now, the card states that it isn't fair play to solve an opponent's mission. True enough, you're stealing a mission your opponent was planning to use, stealing those points from under his nose, so to speak. Some are, hem, fair game: universals (should be everybody's), missions your opponent also tried to seed (fair is fair), and missions worth 40 points or more (ah? we're not so moral when there's a lot of moolah involved, are we?). Nice little code of conduct, but is a Romulan or Dominion player really that scrupulous about spy operations? There are dishonorable villains in this century, you know. Maybe a Treachery/"no Honor" component could have allowed mission solving regardless? Strictly a game tool, not very related to the game world. A 2.4 for its better conceptual ideas.

STOCKABILITY: Purely defensive, but strikes a blow at a common strategy. Whether your opponent is stealing or spying (basically the same thing, but one requires an Espionage card), as long as you keep your missions in the 35 or less point range, your missions are your own, and yours alone. Keep them even below that number, and you're also stopping a lot of Borg scouting attempts as well. Combine with a good pollution strategy, blocking locations with Distortion Fields and Post Garrisons for example, to make your opponent's missions difficult to attempt as well as your own for loads of fun (for you, and you only). The language of the game text is interesting too: it says solve, not attempt. That means your opponent can still attempt a mission, clearing all the dilemmas, but just come short of solving the mission itself. Use the Hidden Agenda icon to only reveal Fair Play once those dilemmas are out of there, and you just bought yourself a free mission attempt. Of course, if your opponent was planning a mission theft, he probably made the dilemmas either easy or point-heavy or both, but you don't know that until the theft is in progress. Use a combination of strategies listed here to make your own missions more appetizing than his own (maybe self-seed what looks like Artifacts, or actual Artifacts since you only acquire upon solving) and get some dilemmas cleared. Will only work once though. Depends on your opponent's strategy, but you can force his hand a little. Wonder why some players keep talking about this one in distaste? It's because mission theft a powerful and common strategy. 4.2 here.

TOTAL: 13 (65%) I think it's a fair score (okayyyyyyy, enough with the Fair jokes).

PICTURE: The shape-shifting bird isn't all that clear, but the landscape is thematically linked to Caught Red-Handed (also mentioned in the lore), so I'd have to say this one passes the average mark. A 3.2.

LORE: First, the movie-referring card title is an excellent one. "Intruder" is a game-related term, and you can return your shape-shifting intruder to your hand with the card. "Flight" means both the action of flying and escape, which ties in beautifully with the escaping bird image. As for the lore itself, it's a fairly standard retelling of the episode's events, but with a built-in reference to the previous scene, pictured on Caught Red-Handed. Cool! Going as high as 4.1 on this one.

TREK SENSE: While your shape-shifter can't possibly escape the destruction of a ship, planet or facility, it can escape personnel battles, dilemmas, discovery and the unbearable lightness of being by simply turning into a bird and just flying away. It can do this singly or as part of a flock. Escaping to your hand though, is something that goes against Trek Sense. It might be acceptable when escaping from a planet, but if you're on a ship or facility, you really should still be aboard that structure after you turn into a bird. Yes, the shifter can hide itself, but it's still there. You could always say it becomes a bulkhead and, at the earliest opportunity, slips off the ship or facility. Later, it re-reports where it's gotten to. But what if it morphs just before a ship is destroyed? You gotta shuffle logic around a bit for this one. A 3.1.

STOCKABILITY: Founders are some of your most important personnel when playing Dominion (Odo and Salia aren't bad either, of course). You really want to lose as few as possible. Flight of the Intruder will let them escape dilemmas (say you sniff a rather nasty combo) and battles (say you sniff a rather nasty Klingon), including ship battles in which you are on the losing side. You can't escape the destruction of a ship, but you can escape it if you see it coming. You can also get back an infiltator that has been exposed and can't do much of anything anymore except wait to be captured. Maybe plan a hit and run? Strike Three, then get out of there. Spring your shifter from jail before it gets brainwashed. Yes, you can Res-Q, Regenerate, etc. personnel in the discard pile, but it's much faster to already have them in hand to report again, and there are fates worse than death. Red Alert! will get a group of Founders back en masse, and The Walls Have Ears will get your infiltrator right back where he was exposed. And once again, the crew is befuddled and thinks he's the real the deal. Hehehehe. There is such a thing as over-protecting your personnel, but there are ways to use this card offensively. A 3.8.

TOTAL: 14.2 (71%) A good Dominion support card.

PICTURE: Yewww-gly. It's basically a cut-and-paste job using a non-descript Founder and the picture used on The Great Link. They tried to get the lighting right, but I think it's off by a touch. Should be darker on the left. Either that, or the proportions are wrong. And the matchstick figure of the changeling is geeky. What's with the elongated arms? A disappointing 2.2.

LORE: I've never been real convinced of a changeling's gender one way or the other. Someone like Odo might "choose" to live his life as a male, but a generic Founder who doesn't spend much time as a solid at all hasn't made a choice. Femaleness and maleness seem pretty interchangeable to them. More under Trek Sense I suppose. The lore is your standard universal card's text. An average 3.

TREK SENSE: To resolve the gender issue, Star Trek has never actually made it clear that changelings have predetermined genders. Founder Leader was often referred to as the "female" changeling. Nothing's stopping "her" from turning into a male though. For the universal Founder, I think it would have been fun to say it can switch from one to the other (or to androgynous) at will. Ah well. Founders are universally VIPs. They are in fact gods to the rest of the Dominion. They all command, and they all come from the Gamma quadrant. The two skills are dead on, since the Founders collectively created at least two bio-engineered races. SCIENCE and Exobiology are the required skills. The Exobiology probably helps in morphing into other lifeforms too. Its built-in Shape-Shift is quite nice, since changelings aren't really individuals, any of them could become Kira Founder or Martok Founder. Built-in powers like this are closer to Trek Sense than depending on specialty Interrupts. (I'll dissect the entire process of morphing when I do Shape-Shift. It's quite problematic actually.) As for the stats, the Integrity may seem a little high, but the generic Founder isn't the one that's on the covert missions. Theirs is a task of creation. Creation of a new species, and of an empire. Cunning is high enough for the task ahead, and Strength is fine. Despite the changelings' deceptively demure appearance, their shape-shifting powers give them an advantage in battle. Well done, and with some nice asides for a universal personnel. A 4.1.

STOCKABILITY: Well, the Dominion has LOTS of VIPs, Exobiology and SCIENCE personnel. Sure, these are great dilemma solvers (well, the last two), but they haven't found their way on too many Dominion missions. A Founder is always good for some shapeshifting tricks, like Strike Three or Install Autonomic Parasite, etc., but why use the universal when the unique Founders have a much greater (and better!) selection of skills? The big reason is that morphing ability. It gives you flexibility without having to use Shape-Shift. Have your universal Founders come to the Alpha quadrant (with The Walls Have Ears even) and replace them with another Founder later on, based on what requirements you suddenly face. You'll also not usually want to waste a unique Founder on Impersonate Captive. The universal Founder is perfect for that one. Its VIP classification will make it allow Jem'Hadar soldiers to dock at a Nor if it's on the ship. The Integrity is just high enough to survive Firestorm, and her gender counteracts the testosterone in your Jem'Hadar Away Team. Still reasons to use the generic, but still doesn't compare to the unique Founders. A 3.8.

TOTAL: 14.1 (70.5%) Not a main, but always wanted to be one.

PICTURE: A lot of visual stimuli, including that blue orchid design to her left, and orange-pink mood lighting. Basically just a headshot, but there's something about the possibilities of shape-shifting that seems to be suggested. A 3.3.

LORE: Fair enough. I'm wondering at the semi-colon's use in the last sentence (why not just a period?), but it's otherwise okay. A 3.

TREK SENSE: Like all basic Founders (that is, unshapeshifted), she's a Gamma quadrant Command level VIP (leaders of the Dominion) with SCIENCE and Exobiology (responsible for bio-engineering Vorta and Jem'Hadar minions). Add to that, Leadership (she's the Founder LEADER, people!), Law (she explained the Dominion to Odo, and judged him fit to be a solid), and Treachery x2 (she's pure evil). No Diplomacy? While all Founders can shape-shift, thereby making Shape-Shift a natural download, she turned out to be Kira Founder, so she deserves the special download perhaps most of all. Brings me to a minor point: what's the deal with personae and changelings? Why isn't Kira Founder a persona of Founder Leader? More when I get to that card. As for the attributes, when I compare her to the universal baseline Founder, I find her to be -2 to Integrity (all that Treachery), +1 to Cunning (she's the brains of the operation) and +1 to Strength (as a unique personnel, probably deserves to be stronger). Mostly good at an even 4.

STOCKABILITY: She's all about flexibility. First, she's got lots of skills including two classifications (and the more important SCIENCE). Her Exobiology and Law can pass a number of dilemmas (she's one the few Law personnel the Dominion have access to). Leadership allows her to lead a battle (and her STRENGTH is pretty good for personnel battle). The double Treachery isn't that useful yet, but it's a component of Subjugate Planet and a couple of other missions. Good for spying on the Romulans anyway. The Shape-Shift download is probably the best thing here (though only useable once per game) since she can download it, so that it then downloads any other Founder to replace her. She can turn into an infiltrator, or just somebody whose skills you need. Or play the download chain game, by immediately downloading the new Founder's special download. In effect, you can make Founder Leader download Flight of the Intruder, Dial Martok for Murder or Issue Secret Orders (more to come, including Homefront, eventually) by becoming the appropriate Founder. I'm not even metioning the fact that, like all Founders, she can report for free to The Great Link, solve Espionage Mission among others, and use a number of shape-shifting cards. One of the Dominion's "mains". A 4.1.

TOTAL: 14.4 (72%) A flexible card with some nice design elements.

PICTURE: The cave colors are nice, and the door surface itself is rich, acting like a fuzzy mirror and somehow suggesting a changeling's natural state. But what's that strange lighting on Kira? That stripe of white light? A light next to the door? It's really distracting. At least, Kira's nullifying the dilemma with a tricorder (well, not really, but it certainly looks like it). That's okay. Overall, a 3.2.

LORE: Tells the story plainly, and makes it clear that it's not an easy door to open. The title might have had Door in it, but Founder Secret is a little more evocative, I suppose. A 3.1.

TREK SENSE: Okay, so this door can't be opened by conventional means. Still, there are plenty of ways to do so. A changeling obviously passes right through (opening the door), as would a phased team (thanks to Interphase Generator). Croden's Key seems to be made of changeling-like morphing material and is, after all, a key. Lots of brains and a tricorder (any kind) will let you find the right frequency to fool the door into opening. Lots of Strength will do it, which makes sense if the Away Team is packing androids and/or weapons. If not though, I don't care how many admirals are pushing on that door, it's not going to open. Four Defense drones can apparently also break the door down, maybe thanks to cybernetic implants (à la the tricorder solution). Finally, we get another brawny solution: simply blow the door wide open with a CRM114. Blam! A bunch of possibilities, and none really forgotten. Minor problems keep the score at 4.2.

SEEDABILITY: Well, in preparation for this review, I naturally went to see the card extra included on Decipher's website to see what the strategy expert (Major Rakal in this case) had to say on the subject. Well, she goes on and on about how just EVERYBODY will find a way to pass it, so much so that I was wondering for whom the strategy tip was meant. And it's true too. The Dominion have their changelings, the Bajorans have one. A couple of Artifacts (and not the bad ones) will get you through, as will the probably popular by now Breen CRM114 (of course, you'll need an arms dealer to get this one). Any crowd with a tricorder can do the same (probably the Federation solution), and the Klingons and Romulans can always look forward to bashing the door down. Even the Borg are included, with their easy to get Defense drones. So what's the point? The point, my friends, is to attract (as Rakal's article will later suggest, though not forcefully) certain personnel to this mission. If they get through with high STRENGTH, have a STRENGTH hoser on the other side. If with the tricorder, go for an ENGINEER/SCIENCE killer. But how can you tell which solution will be used? Difficult, I know. You can pair down the solutions, or make this into a tougher wall, by preceding it with Equipment-destroying dilemmas (The Gatherers, Common Thief, etc.) and Disruptor Overload so that tricorders, the CRM and artifacts won't be there to unlock the door. Not entirely efficient, I must admit. A 3.3.

TOTAL: 14.1 (70.5%) Does pretty well for itself. Why? That's the secret.

PICTURE: A lot of interesting things going on here. Your eye of course goes directly to the flash-fried Keevan, creating a great light show (the pattern on the door helps). Good color balance thanks to the orange Ferengi and the Cardassian logo-ed tank behind him. A fun 3.8.

LORE: Describes the scene adequately while pointing to practically everything in the game text. A more than adequate 3.5.

TREK SENSE: Friendly Fire would be caused by too many people who aren't trained to use weapons correctly. Since leaders allow personnel to battle, these, along with trained Security, are the ones who can handle side-arms and prevent this dilemma. The lore also gives an alternate explanation for Leadership: lack of leadership results in mistakes. It takes at least two of each type, since even one leader can't check everybody's safeties. The effect is immediate: somebody is killed by mistake. This creates complications (at the very least, an investigation) that result in the loss of a turn on that mission attempt (countdown's worth). Of course, the card's not perfect. Away Teams and crews without hand weapons are not going to fall victim to this too easily. If killed some other way, then what's SECURITY doing here rather than some other classification (like ENGINEER, if we're talking plasma conduit accidents)? Even with hand weapons, Federation ships are known to limit a phaser's efficiency if fired aboard. Goes great with the events mentioned in the lore, but unequal otherwise. A good 4 nevertheless.

SEEDABILITY: Two Leadership AND two SECURITY? A demanding dilemma, or so it would seem. Leadership is a very common skill, and SECURITY is a classification. A classification, might I add, that has few lead-in dilemmas (Angry Mob and some non-random selections, for example). Sure, it takes two of each, which makes the card better than binder fodder. And the Borg will often succumb to it due to lack of Leadership. The effect is good, a random killing PLUS a countdown icon to when the mission attempt may resume. Redshirts will delay mission attempts considerably. Also, add points for being an Empok Nor dilemma which can seed under the station to protect it from commandeering attempts. You could conceivably buy yourself some time by encountering this one yourself with a sacrificial lamb, playing it on the station or mission until you can bring the appropriate personnel over without getting it stolen from you. Its flexibility makes it rise to a 3.5.

TOTAL: 14.8 (74%) A friendly score.

PICTURE: Not bad, with the color scheme working with the card's own magenta. The diagonal lines in the background add some energy to an otherwise static picture. The uneven lighting on the earring makes it distracting though. And the uniform makes Hazar look too fat. A 3.3.

LORE: Respects the fact that he's a universal, and tries to give reasons for his special ability. His part in the Skrreean matter is discussed, but not at length. A little better than average at 3.2.

TREK SENSE: The Officer/Leadership/Command icon combo is a natural one for a General, of course. As a "typical" General, he gets to be universal. The rest is pure invention. Astrophysics? Obviously arbitrary, as there's nothing in the character's make-up that would warrant it, especially being a non-Science militia member. The special ability is at least alluded to in the lore: his familiarity with defense technology allows him to boost a Tactical Console's power by 1, and only on an Assault Vessel at that (it's Bajoran defense technology). Nicely done. As for the attributes, his refusal to allow any Skrreean refugees on planet drops him to a 5, sure. The Cunning is appropriate for someone with Astrophysics, and the Strength for a high-ranking militia member. Sheer and unsupported invention takes this score down to a 3.4.

STOCKABILITY: While he's one of only three Bajorans with Astrophysics, the skill's appearance on Bajoran missions is rare. Ok, you might need it for some dilemmas like The Three Vipers, but you don't need Hazar specifically for those. Leadership may be more common on missions, but it's real common on personnel. I'm surprised he doesn't help more on Refuse Immigration too. That leaves us with his special skill which isn't bad in armada decks. Assault Vessels with Tactical Consoles are now WEAPONS +4 where he is present. Unfortunately, he doesn't supply the SECURITY needed to activate it (how smart is that?), and the Tac Console has its own drawbacks (like being an event and having to be installed while docked). Makes Assault Vessels a little better in an environment that prizes Interceptors most of all, but that's about it. Attributes are okay... scores only a 3.2 despite the bells and whistles.

TOTAL: 13.1 (65.5%) Sometimes, you can't expect much from a universal.

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