To see the cards themselves, check out this Card list for the Energize! set.

#2165-Emergency Treatment, Interrupt /Ener/

-When your unique personnel is about to be killed by a dilemma, if your Medical personnel is present, that unique personnel is stopped instead. That dilemma's owner may draw three cards.

"There was a sudden disruption in his hippocampus. Luckily, he was in Sickbay, or he'd be in a coma right now."

PICTURE: Tuvok's brain from "Flashback" manages to be better than the standard graphics shot by virtue of the angle, and the Doctor's face reflected in the glass. Nice effect, even if some of the graphics are a tad blurry. A likeable 3.6.

LORE: Specific to Tuvok's case, but it gets the point across. Nothing truly interesting though, not even the title. A 3.

TREK SENSE: First off, I like that it pays hommage to the redshirt factor, allowing non-unique personnel to die from ailments and wounds. Main characters and guest stars (unique personnel) however, CAN be saved by the ship's doctor (their main function dramatically). The personnel that could have died is instead stopped while he or she gets Emergency Treatment. He or she may even be fixed up a bit quickly, far more than if it were sent to hand or draw deck instead (as we've seen on other cards, like Sickbay). Depends on the problem, I suppose. The three card draws then awared to your opponent are meant to be a "cost", but since the opposing affiliation who will benefit is not related to the dilemmas, this is rather absurd. A thin justification would be to say that the time spent in Sickbay gives the opponent time to assemble more resources. Thin, because other personnel around the victim, including the Medical, are NOT stopped. Simple at its core, the mechanics surrounding it are flawed. A 2.3.

STOCKABILITY: One of a few cards that use Medicals to save personnel from death at the hands of dilemmas, it has advantages and drawbacks over Sickbay. The saved personnel stays in play and is merely stopped (filtered out), not sent back to the top of the draw deck, but it's a one-shot deal (an Interrupt). The requirements are a bit different, requiring the Medical to still be present, but no ship necessarily in orbit (which it would probably have been anyway). The real hitch, however, is those 3 free card draws your opponent gets. You can't even use it to overload an opponent's hand in the hopes he'll have to discard down, because they only "may" draw 3 cards. So this is really for those emergencies (good title, then) when you can't afford to lose a specific unique personnel. Some affiliations (Bajorans, Borg and Cardassians, for example) have some personnel with special abilities that are similar to this and don't cost as much, so these are also less "costly". A 3 when I take it all into account.

TOTAL: 11.9 (59.5%) Yep, an emergency card.

#2179-Enabran Tain - Retired Mastermind, Personnel, Cardassian, Cost: 3, unique, BC /Ener/

-Cardassian; 2 Intelligence, Programming, Security, 2 Treachery; Command icon

-When this personnel is about to be stopped, you may kill one of your other [Car] personnel present to prevent that.

"Everyone has reason to fear the Order."

-INTEGRITY: 2, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 3

PICTURE: On the blurry side through lack of contrast in his face, but a shifty look and a stark but effective background. An ok 3.2.

LORE: I like the subtitle, and the quote comments on the special ability, as even your own Cardassians should worry. A brief, but efficient 3.7.

TREK SENSE: Though retired, Tain still holds a lot of power, and retains the Command icon if not the Leadership. All that information shows up as 2 Intelligence, plus means to protect and retrieve it, Security and Programming. And you don't get in his way, since he's willing to kill even his own son to keep his secrets. 2 Treachery and very low Integrity are a testament to that. The special ability ties into that very well too. If he's about to be stopped, he can insure another Cardassian present dies instead (one of his own allies!). On the show, he tried (mostly succeeding) to get rid of his former Obsidian Order operatives so that nothing could come back to haunt him. In the game, however, the link between what's stopping Tain and the ally killed is tenuous at best. Thematically sound, though. To finish off with a few numbers, Cunning could have been higher, but that would have been giving him too much credit perhaps (see his coming-out-of-retirement party for an explanation). Strength is low because he's an old man now, and out of shape. As for Cost, it's 1 less than the unretired version, which makes sense. A strong 4.

1E TREK SENSE: The usual cuts into the score from lack of a proper classification (no VIPs in 2E) and lower-than-normal attributes. The latter isn't too bad this time around, though Cunning's a bit low (perhaps Strength too). Otherwise, reads pretty much the same. A 3.5.

STOCKABILITY: There are two Tains, and Head of the Obsidian Order has a couple more skills and a special ability that works best for engagement-themed decks. Retired Mastermind is a bit cheaper, with fewer skills, and yet he's probably the better personnel for solving missions. If his skills are truly needed and he's about to be filtered out of the attempt, you can sacrifice a weenie present to keep him going. With two doubled skills, he'll come in handy in a number of spots. Dilemmas he'll overcome include A Klingon Matter, Primitive Culture, Damaged Reputation and Inside Collaborators. As for missions, how about Evacuate Colony and Intercept Renegade? The latter is really attuned to his skills. With the Intel, he can also use "Observer", Torture and the Keldon Advanced. There isn't a skill here that's rare for Cardassians though, and despite the Cunning, the attributes are on the low side, so he's not all good. Won't be stopped, but can still be killed, etc. And it DOES cost you another Cardassian present (not just stopped either). The Tain you choose will be based on what you want to accomplish of course. I'll give this version a 3.5, but the other one is no doubt more powerful (and thus worth the extra Cost).

1E STOCKABILITY: As a version of the Enabran Tain persona, Retired Mastermind loses in all three attributes and the Leadership skill (not to mention VIP). In exchange, there's an extra Treachery and the special skill. That extra Treachery is actually useful for Protection Racket and I Do Not Take Orders From You!, and protects him from Sabotaged Negotiations. I wish his attributes were higher because the Treachery/Computer Skill combination gives him access to Airlock (seems like he's more hands-on in 1E), useful when reporting to Garak's. The usual tricks are, of course, still possible, from Holding Cells to Plans to Advanced Keldons. The special skill should work just as well as in 2E, with cheap support personnel being Assigned to die, or whatever. Despite the losses, probably more useful than the 1E Tain overall. A 4.4.

TOTAL: 14.4 (72%) A favorite score for Cardassian personnel.

1E TOTAL: 14.8 (74%) I don't want to get him angry.

#2193-Evek - Harsh Interrogator, Personnel, Cardassian, Cost: 2, unique, BC /Ener/

-Cardassian; Diplomacy, Leadership, Officer, Security; Command icon

-Commander: Vetar; Gul; While you have a captive, this personnel gains Biology and Law.

"...we have the confession of the Federation terrorist responsible for the destruction of the Bok'Nor at your station, Commander."

-INTEGRITY: 4, CUNNING: 5, STRENGTH: 6

PICTURE: I think it's a little strange that both versions of Evek were pulled from the same episode and practically the same scene, but this one IS harsher than the other, which I guess is the point. Shadows are a bit strong however, and there isn't much of a background to discuss. Manages 3.2.

LORE: From the subtitle, we know he's an Interrogator, and his quote gives us some of his results. Another competent 3.2, but still no flash.

TREK SENSE: Cardassians are pretty serious about interrogations, and here, Evek abandons the frivolous Anthropology of his Attaché self to concentrate on other matters. Also gone is the policeman's Law, replaced by the Interrogator's. If you have a captive, Evek uses the skill then, as well as Biology, which is often associated with torture. In 2E, the captive's location is nebulous, but the skills are sensical. He retains the Diplomacy he used to negotiate with Sisko (and play "good cop" with his captives). He's still a Gul and Commander of the Vetar, so Leadership, Officer and the Command icon shouldn't be a surprise. Security is of course the Interrogator's choice skill. That sense of security has him looking out for his people's interests without much mind to others' rights, which explains the level of Integrity here. Something of a brute, he's only got average Cunning but above average Strength. Because he lets go of his more important tasks to get his hands dirty, I'll accept the lowered Cost. This is a good, focused effort, and a 4.

1E TREK SENSE: In 1E, captives are at locations, and it's too bad Evek need not be present with one to acquire his extra skills. That, and the fact he can't use his classification (Officer) to normal effect, nor are his attributes at the right levels (Cunning and Strength). The rest reads the same. Puts us at 3.

STOCKABILITY: If you're gonna use capture as a tool in your Cardassian deck, this version of Evek will yield a 6-skill personnel for a Cost of only 2. The other one costs one more, and has the 6 skills naturally (Anthropology instead of Biology), but he's also good in Capture decks because of his download of Capture cards. So which is better? Both are Commanders of the Vetar, with all the bonuses that entails, and both are Guls. If you need to get Capture cards in hand quickly and efficiently, then Attaché is for you. If you need to save on Cost and have another way to get captives, Harsh Interrogator may be more your cup of tea. I'm just not sure the trade-off is worth it, not with Biology being more common than Anthropology. Still, in either Evek, you get a solid skill-horse that plays into Cardassian themes, and the Commander of a ship that helps there too. So while I wouldn't recommend this Evek over the other, I still wouldn't call him useless. 3.5, in fact.

1E STOCKABILITY: Both 2E Eveks are backwards-compatible (as is the Vetar, which could be Plaqued and Logged to 10-11-11 levels), though here, the possibility of switching versions exists. But would you? Attaché gets you some capture cards, but once you have a captive, switching to Harsh Interrogator only really removes the Attaché's special skill and replaces Anthropology with Biology. There's another version of Evek, a Non-Aligned from Premiere with only 3 skills. Either Evek is better than he is, though they don't have attributes as high, or a true OFFICER classification. Again, we have an Evek outclassed by himself, but not useless by any means, especially with Law being relatively rare, and two skills counting as important classifications. Cost is no longer an incentive, so a bit less at 3.4.

TOTAL: 13.9 (69.5%) I'm more attached to the other one.

1E TOTAL: 12.8 (64%) Not too harsh.

#2207-Exposed Power Relay, Dilemma, space/planet, Cost: 3, BC /Ener/

-Randomly select a personnel to be stopped. If you still have nine personnel remaining, that personnel is killed instead, then randomly select a second personnel to be killed. If you still have ten personnel remaining, your opponent chooses a third personnel to be killed.

"If the energy flowing through this arc were interrupted by a non-conductive material, it is likely that the circuit would be broken."

PICTURE: Though the background is turned to mush by the effect, I like the symetrical composition, and the electric discharge in the center sort of creates a screaming, Munch-like, face. I even surprise myself with this 3.5.

LORE: Technical, but not techno-babble. Its dangers are only hinted at, but it's good to be subtle sometimes. A 3.

TREK SENSE: There are a number of dilemmas that read like this, so how do they work? Well basically, they are prejudiced against large crews, so that must mean that there is an extra danger to being in a large group. In this case, the Exposed Power Relay's energy discharge stops your personnel. It is a barrier of some kind. And yet, it doesn't stop everyone, only one personnel. That's the personnel in charge of breaking the circuit with an inanimate object (or itself if it's an android). There's no mention of how this can be done, but if you had at least 10 personnel to start with, the personnel is killed instead of stopped. This is because there's little room to maneuver near the Relay in the first place, and being too many pushes the personnel into the discharge, plus the guy who pushed him. If you're were 12 to start with, yet another personnel is zapped. A bit glib as to the stopping, but the overcrowding concept works. Should androids be victims of this? This is a space/planet dilemma, but some missions may not have facilities where such Power Relays are possible. That also works against the card. As for the Danger Factor, a 3 is ok for a death-dealing dilemma that can still be avoided. The card gets a 3.3 all in all.

1E TREK SENSE: The same goes here, and the lack of Cost isn't really an issue. Still 3.3.

STOCKABILITY: It's very tempting to wait 'til you have a ton of personnel before attempting missions, by then having everything you need to pass most any dilemma. This kind of dilemma is meant to curtail that. No matter what, you filter out a personnel. If the crew had 10 personnel going in, that personnel is killed instead, plus another. If they were 12 or more going in, a third personnel is killed as well. In other words, the safe size for a crew is 9. It's good to have access to some of these when dealing with mega-crews to wittle down their numbers as the head of the dilemma combo. Explosive Decompression and Pursuit Just Behind are somewhat superior in this regard since they insure a kill for smaller crews, but they are more costly at 4, and can only be played either at space or planet missions. Exposed Power Relay costs only 3 and can play at both types. And the two possible kills makes it more toothy than Pinned Down. Capture decks may enjoy Restricted Area instead. It's a risky, almost meta-game, kind of card, since all you might get is a stopped personnel, but it's up to you to know if an opponent's crew is large enough to warrant the expenditure. You're in control. A strong 4.

1E STOCKABILITY: On the one hand, the more powerful Explosive Decompression and Pursuit Just Behind don't cost more in 1E, but on the other, you don't have control over when to use your dilemmas and not. Something like Exposed Power Relay should be seeded under a mission that requires a lot of skills and or attributes, like Hunt for DNA Program or the never-seen Symbiont Diagnosis, but other than that, you might be seeding it for nought. And yet, I've lost too many times to mega-Away Teams to dismiss this card. It's space/planet, so still a surer bet than the previous two mentioned, but thanks to The Big Picture, I know I'll be able to use the others if I want. That drops the usefulness of EPR to 3.4.

TOTAL: 13.8 (69%) Not the worst of this dilemma type, but not the best.

1E TOTAL: 13.2 (66%) The kind of thing that should've been in 1E, but wasn't due to text length.

#2221-Ezri Dax - Station Counselor, Personnel, Federation, Cost: 2, unique /Ener/

-Trill; Anthropology, Diplomacy, Geology; Staff icon; DS9 icon

-Host; If you command Jadzia Dax, place this personnel in her owner's discard pile. While this personnel is facing a dilemma, you may discard a card from hand to make her gain Engineer, Law, or Science until the end of that dilemma.

"I laid down on that operating table one person and I woke up a completely different person. Well, I should say eight different people."

-INTEGRITY: 6, CUNNING: 6, STRENGTH: 4

PICTURE: Ezri is very cute on the show, but seems doomed to have pics that distract from that on her cards somehow. In this case, the contrast is off on her face, giving it an odd painterly look. Did it come out wrong and get computer-corrected or something? Maybe the pinched expression isn't helping. At least, it's taken from an appropriate place, as she's visiting her family home in "Prodigal Daughter", one of the few Ezri-based episodes (the only one if we eliminate any Dax-based ones). I say appropriate, but it doesn't mesh with her subtitle, as this isn't the station. A 2.8, sorry.

LORE: A great explanation of Ezri's situation. Very well done. Subtitle's just ok, in the style Deanna Troi/Ship's Counselor, but uninspired. A 3.5.

TREK SENSE: Though the Dax symbiont is full of skills, Ezri has trouble accessing them all in her confused state. She was never meant to be a Host. This is reflected well in the card. Her main skills are Ezri's, symbiont or no, with Geology being the family business, and Anthropology and Diplomacy deriving from her counselor's duties (the latter no doubt made sharper thanks to Curzon). When she's facing a dilemma, Ezri can access some other part of herselves, and that's where Engineer (Tobin), Law (Lela) and Science (Jadzia) come from. We saw her exhibit these skills on some occasions, so they work. Others could have been possible, of course. It's hard for her though, so only one at a time, and a resource must be discarded (effort expended) for her to do so. Because Ezri Dax is not the same as Jadzia Dax, they are not the same persona, and yet, they cannot coexist. They don't let you have the two of them in play together, but they've got it backwards, having Ezri be discarded if Jadzia is in play. I believe this game text would also prevent you from playing Ezri if jadzia was already in play. The Staff icon can derive from any number of Hosts, but she was also an ensign aboard a ship and is now a lieutenant. No problem there (nor is the DS9 icon). She's got the same set of morals Jadzia did (will break a rule for honorable reasons), but has a point less Cunning (the confusion reigns, and she had less to start with probably). As for Strength, 4 is a sensible level for someone her size and age, with some Starfleet combat training. We never saw her do the Klingon stuff. And Cost? Well, she's a junior officer, so is less "costly" than a high-ranking one, and was basically "what was there" as far as picking the new Host for the Dax symbiont. A 2 is fine then, though the symbiont itself should be more Costly. No way to really represent that, is there? Overall, a nice representation of this latecomer to DS9, with an odd timeline discrepency holding back the score to a still good 3.6.

STOCKABILITY: It's a battle with the Jadzias, 2 possible variations of which can be used in a DS9 deck. Ezri is cheaper by 1 or 2 counters, but has far fewer skills than Science Officer, and one less than Problem Solver. Well, for the price of a discard, for the length of a dilemma, Ezri has exactly as many, and of a totally different order. And her attributes are lower than Jadzia's. So why use her? Well, she's a weenie, for one thing, if saving on counters is your thing. In a pinch, you can get one of 3 possible skills to add to her pool during a dilemma, including the pretty rare Law (it's on no other Fed/DS9 personnel, though it's on non-Feds and Earth personnel). Science and Engineer are frequently required and never wasted. An optional skill means she can't be targeted by dilemmas like Console Overload or DNA Analysis, for example. Her 3 regular skills are fine too, especially for planet missions. You might even use Ezri early in a game and later replace her with a Jadzia, but if you don't pull her first, she's a wasted slot. Might as well slot in 2 Jadzias. I'm not convinced she's a better Host at all, so just a 3.

TOTAL: 12.9 (64.5%) She WAS a lesser host, after all.

#2234-Face to Face, Dilemma, space, Cost: 4, BC /Ener/

-Your opponent names a skill. Randomly select two personnel. Each of those personnel that has that skill is killed.

"The duplicate atoms couldn't occupy the same point in space-time for very long before..." "Mutual annihilation."

PICTURE: Part of the long Star Trek tradition to have characters meet themselves, started way back in "The Enemy Within", it's now Janeway's turn. Lighting's interesting, and I like the contrast between the two situations (good/bad). Even the background goes from lighter to darker. A cool 3.8.

LORE: Good title (especially with Head to Head being the planet version), and certainly evocative lore, evocative of extreme danger. Hits 3.6.

TREK SENSE: Here's where it falls apart. Just because 2 personnel have the same skill, it doesn't mean that they would be "mutually annihilated". In fact, it's currently impossible to have 2 unique personnel with the same title together, even from 2 different universes. The only time this might make sense is by randomly selecting the same 2 universals. So there's no question of putting personnel through a Scission, or some other duplicating event, and then creating trouble. I don't dispute the Cost, since this is a killer dilemma, and what seems to be a rare occurrence. It's in space, as the picture incident was, but really, it could have been either. But I'm just not sure what the occurrence is. A 0.8 for what thematics can be gleaned from it.

1E TREK SENSE: In 1E, there's a better chance of the same root personnel meeting itself, since a personnel might have AU and Mirror versions of itself running around, and even the same exact personnel through Delta Quadrant Spatial Scission. That helps matters, but not by much, since it's still a random selection. Up to 1.2.

STOCKABILITY: Costly, yes, but you might very well kill 2 personnel. You choose the skill, and if 2 randomly selected personnel from the crew have that skill, they're mutually annihilated. If you know the personnel cards well, you can increase your chances of naming the most common skill there. The mission might dictate what skills are present, or some affiliations might be high on certain skills (Diplomacy on TNG Feds, Treachery on Romulans, Honor on Klingons, Acquisition on Ferengi, etc.). As part of your dilemma combo, you can name a skill required of the next dilemma, and try to weed out those personnel, but that's harder to do. Better to hit the common skills and get the kills. A strong 4.2.

1E STOCKABILITY: Cost is no longer an issue, and it could be powerful against the smaller DQ affiliations, where more skills are on each personnel in tighter skill pools. The above principles all apply here to. A slightly better 4.4.

TOTAL: 12.4 (62%) Faced with such a low Trek Sense score...

1 TOTAL: 13 (65%) Better, but not by much. Stay tuned for a review of Head to Head eventually.

#2245-Ferocity, Event, Cost: 1, unique, BC /Ener/

-Assault; Maneuver; Plays in your core. When you win combat or an engagement involving your [Kli] personnel, you may destroy this event to randomly kill an opponent's personnel involved.

"The skill of a Klingon warrior is feared only slightly more than the fury of the Klingon temper."

PICTURE: While B'Etor's growling is certainly nasty (and not an opening move for mating), it wasn't followed here by killing. Not battle-related enough, in my opinion, though it's a good angry shot. The blue dress on the side is a bit distracting given the rest's palette. Ends up at an even 3.

LORE: Not a quote, but what could almost be a saying or proverb in the Star Trek universe. A quite likeable 3.5.

TREK SENSE: An Assault/Maneuver, but not an attack permission slip. That's ok, Ferocity is still an element of battle, though a lot like the Jem'Hadar-related Battle Lust, I'm not sure the emotion is as credible in engagements as they are in combat. Be that as it may, the Klingons do fight just as aggressively in space, so it's more acceptable than Battle Lust's effects. When you add Ferocity to a Klingon battle, you get an extra kill. Simple and to the point. Battles may have all sorts of results, but angry Klingons may not be satisfied with just earning 10 points or damaging a ship. They want blood. Ferocity gives them that. It's not hard to anger them either, so the Cost is on the nose, and unique? You can't count Ferocity, it's like water or sugar. I would say an excellent 4.4.

1E TREK SENSE: Similar, though Cost isn't an issue. The mechanics aren't all that different otherwise. 4.3 here.

STOCKABILITY: Cheap and as downloadable via Coordinated Attack (and other Assault/Maneuver downloads) as any battle permission slip, Ferocity adds a kill to any combat or engagement won by your Klingons. And why not? Piggy-backing a kill off A Chance for Glory is the icing on a 10-point cake, for example, and how about getting 4 kills with All-Out War (at only 3 total Cost). The Klingons have many opportunities for killing already, so they may not need Ferocity, but at that price, it should be considered. It's not cumulative, but it hardly needs to be. A strong 4.

1E STOCKABILITY: 1E battles usually kill a lot more personnel than 2E battles, so adding one is a natural. Or is it? Consider that you could use Phaser Burns at Interrupt speeds to get 2 extra kills (in a battle as yet unwon), and now ask yourself if an Event that kills one extra personnel is that valuable. Even with backwards-compatible battle permissions that offer alternative rewards to winning battles, you'll always get your rules-mandated kills. Because it's an Event (a standard card play), Ferocity is actually much more costly here than it is in 2E! A minor effect then, at 3.3.

TOTAL: 14.9 (74.5%) Shouldn't get them mad at me.

1E TOTAL: 14.1 (70.5%) This might though.

#2257-Flim-Flam Artist, Dilemma, planet, Cost: 3, BC /Ener/

-Unless you have Diplomacy and 2 Programming or Law and Cunning>32, all your personnel are stopped, your opponent may draw a card, and this dilemma is returned to its owner's dilemma pile.

"Although I consider this woman's claim upon my ship to be an empty threat, it has further inspired my determination to expose her for the fraud she is."

PICTURE: Ardra looks quite commanding with her finger up like that, and the devilish lines on her forehead can be part of the act if you like. Background's simple, with that light perhaps looking a flame projected from the devil's finger, but overall, this picture has good presence. A well-chosen pose that gets my 3.7.

LORE: Interesting title (from Picard, just like the quote), and the lore gives an unusual reason for there being a dilemma - choice! Yep, Picard was so peeved at Ardra, he actually took the time to overcome her. Some people just rub you the wrong way, I guess. A fun 3.5.

TREK SENSE: So you're prevented from doing your mission by a con artist using some of the same tricks Ardra was (it may be Ardra herself, or the copycat Voyager crew, for example). By prevented, I mean that the crew would be stopped, of course. There's more here, with the card draw to the dilemma's owner, since your Flim-Flam Artist succeeds at its con game and steals a resource from the planet's inhabitants. Note that that doesn't really translate as a resource for that player's AFFILIATION, as dilemmas work separately from it. And the con artist can return later (returns to its pile), just as Ardra moved around from planet to planet. Just a planet dilemma? Yes, because her con depends on beaming and other transmissions from her ship, where another ship might be shielded from those. Overcoming the dilemma can be done in two ways, neither of which, it follows, use help from an orbiting ship. A necessary conceit, but it doesn't follow the episode's events. In the first possibility, the crew uses Diplomacy to convince the inhabitants of your claim (that she's not a real god) and plenty of Programming to get sensors to prove it. The second follows the episode more closely, using a trial (Law) to catch Ardra into a lie (with Cunning). Figuring out the con is the most satisfying resolution. As for the Cost, I guess a whole culture hangs in the balance, but they're just being fleeced, not destroyed. It's all ok, but it's sad that an entire episode should be encompassed by a single card. A relatively fun 3.9.
1E TREK SENSE: Similar, though Ardra doesn't leave. She remains as a wall. That's a pretty dangerous thing for her to do considering a starship's resources and the fact she's basically bluffing. A small drop to 3.7.

STOCKABILITY: If it hits, the dilemma not only stops the crew, but also gives you a card draw, and then returns to the dilemma pile to possibly be used again. That's a nice little extra, since card draws cost counters, but it's not overwhelmingly good. But does it hit easily? At Cost 3 it sorta better! Well, the Law option would be hardest, requiring the most personnel because of the Cunning total, and a rather rare skill. Unfortunately, Diplomacy and Programming are very common, and are likely to be present. It's possible to weed some of those out (with Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, or Picking Up the Pieces, or use some combo with Overwhelmed), but it'll be hard to really get rid of enough of them in most decks. The Borg might be in trouble though. A nice effect and all, but perhaps a little too easy still. A 3.4.
1E STOCKABILITY: The one annoying thing about backwards-compatible 2E dilemmas is that they usually offer two options for overcoming. Most affiliations have access to enough skill horses to overcome at least one of them. So while the Law option would have been difficult by 1E standards, the Diplomacy/Computer Skill option is incredibly easy. Again, better against the Borg, but there's even a specific call for Computer Skill x2 (because of Ferengi Intuition and Quark's Isolinear Rods). Thankfully, only the out-of-Alpha-Quadrant Mr. Quark, Minnis, and B'Elanna Daughter of Miral also have Diplomacy, but it's not hard to come up with that Diplomacy. Too bad, because the effect is fine. She's a wall with a card draw attached. In 1E, you normally get only one per turn, so extra card draws are useful and speed up your game. And if you can stop the Away Team more than once somehow (perhaps by having an infiltrator or Alien Parasites take control of a mission attempt), you can get more than one card draw. Here's a way to use the card as a self-seed: Redshirt your crew one by one, giving a bunch of card draws to your opponent, and when their hand reaches 12, Scorch it! Might screw with their deck some. To recap: A bit easy, but an effect you can use in more than one way. I say a 3.1.

TOTAL: 14.5 (72.5%) Not a con.

1E TOTAL: 14 (70%) A little more flam to this one.

#2269-For the Cause, Event, Cost: 3 /Ener/

-Plays on Athos IV. You may attempt and complete Region: Demilitarized Zone missions using your [Maquis] personnel with these requirements: Leadership, Security, Treachery, and Strength>36.

"Those people, they were colonists... And then one day, the Federation signed a Treaty and handed their world over to the Cardassians. ...they made these people refugees overnight."

PICTURE: A beautiful matte painting of a Maquis settlement, though I always found the moving characters in the foreground distracting. The matte-in is pretty artificial, like there's a stage in the middle of that suburb. That said, it's still very nice, good colors and fun details. A subtle way to show what the Cause is visually. A 4.

LORE: The origin of the Maquis in a nutshell. Well done, and again, explains what the Cause is. Another strong 4.

TREK SENSE: This is a Maquis "objective", a lot more appropriate than most Federation missions. So since it grows from the Maquis leadership, it must be played on the Maquis HQ, Athos IV. That's fine, since that world has been designated as such. (In reality, the Maquis might operate from any world within the DMZ or the Badlands.) Their target is the DMZ, the territory they inhabit and that now belongs to the Cardassians. But instead of doing whatever mission might be attemptable there, they fight For the Cause. In any case, DMZ mission implicitly say you can't complete them with Maquis! Why would they investigate their own activity anyway? So instead, they do a little guerilla fighting, trying to gain independence from the Cardassians (and the Feds, for that matter). The requirements are pretty straightforward. Leadership rallies the population (these guys are mostly civilians). Security and Strength represent armed action. And Treachery is needed to commit acts of terrorism. The Cost is reasonably high, since the Maquis would not have the kind of resources available to more formally organized affiliations. A sensible solution to the "Maquis problem". An excellent 4.5.

STOCKABILITY: Face it - the Maquis don't really have the same mission solving power that the other Feds do, since even Earth personnel must have Treachery to report to their HQ. Non-Aligned help is fine, but not as efficient (NAs can't trigger the mission attempt at Federation locations). For the Cause solves this problem rather nicely, and Athos IV can even download the copies you need. Leadership, Security and Treachery are common Maquis skills (and common NA skills too, for that matter) though they need a little help with Strength. Tamal could help boost it, but since no Maquis has more than 6 Strength at the moment, they probably need more than that. In any case, For the Cause puts those requirements on a number of missions, a number of missions in the same Region. Hey, that's cool, since Maquis ships are a bit slower than other Federation ships. With that skill redundancy (you'll find all three skills on Thomas Riker, Ro Laren and Eddington), the Maquis should have an easier time of completing missions. The DMZ happily supplies both planet and space missions, and using all 3 missions gives Shankar use of his special skill. Speaking of special skills, Macius can be discarded to rescue For the Cause from the discard pile, if it got nullified somehow. You're covered on all bases. So it's all about overcoming that Strength requirement. Unfortunately, that's enough to lower the score to a (still respectable) 4.

TOTAL: 16.5 (82.5%) A definite staple of Maquis decks.

#2281-For the Sisko, Event, Cost: 2, BC /Ener/

-Prophet; Plays in your core.

-Order: If you command three [Baj] personnel, discard a non-personnel card from hand to place two [Baj] personnel from your discard pile on top of your deck in any order.

"If the D'jarras belong in the past, why did you send me into the future?"

PICTURE: Quite a distinctive pic, with its thick filter and orange glows. It has a very nice composition, the Prophets usually being presented in rather theatrical fashion. Here, their positions and the circle arcing around them are quite marking. A strong 3.7.

LORE: A bit weird, in that the title is an answer to the lore, so reverses the usual reading order. I shouldn't expect a sequence from a Prophet card, of course ;-). Not much of a context here for the D'jarras, but there's an attempt at explaining the game text. A solid 3.3.

TREK SENSE: This would represent Akorem Laan being sent to the future to test the Emissary's resolve. Unfortunately, the Past icon hadn't been invented yet, because the game text could have made use of it. Instead, the personnel are saved from death (pulled just before they died, I imagine) and sent to the future (i.e. from the discard pile to the top of the draw deck). Thematically sound up to a point, I don't see why the Prophets should bring in 2 personnel, when they only brought one in the episode. I don't think it's beyond their power, of course, but as long as we're talking thematics. There's also the matter of how and where these personnel are pulled. In the show, Akorem entered the Wormhole and was whisked away. In the game, you could die in a phaser fight in the Delta Quadrant and still get pulled. Discarding a non-personnel card to activate the effect is an ok cost, but irrelevant to the storyline (is it Akorem's ship? His last poem?), and though you need Bajorans in play to use this, you don't need The Emissary. Is the Sisko supposed to be in play anyway? Emissary Bob? As for the counter Cost, I guess it works: The Prophets are powerful enough to do it cheaply, but it's not something they'd do very often. A 2's ok. As for the score here, the card's conceptual nature relegates it to a 2 as well.

1E TREK SENSE: Though Cost is irrelevant, there are no real differences concerning Trek Sense. The AU or Orb icons could have been used and aren't, etc. Still a 2.

STOCKABILITY: Bajoran can use personnel in their discard pile with the likes of Ties of Blood and Water and Vision of Violence, but losing personnel is still losing personnel. You need those guys to complete missions. Perhaps that's why the Bajorans have tons of ways to get their personnel out of the discard pile and back into the game. On the one hand, this makes them very resilient. On the other, it means that cards like this one have limited use, since there are similar effects to choose from. For the Sisko costs 2, which is quite affordable, and the discard of a non-personnel card from hand. 2 personnel are saved, but they must be redrawn and replayed. Now consider the alternatives: Invocation of Kosst Amojan sends 2 personnel to hand, but you have to discard a unique personnel and destroy the event itself; Peldar Joi costs more, saves only one personnel, but puts it directly into play, then allows opponents to do the same; Steeled by Loss offers simple replacement of a personnel in play with a discarded personnel; Lasting Peace gets personnel to the top of the draw deck provided you're running a multi-affiliation deck (like DS9 or Terok Nor) for free; Souls of the Dead can place one personnel (or any card) on top of the draw deck for free; The Prophet's Guidance is an interrupt that places that same personnel in hand instead; and that's not counting The Text of the Kosst Amojan and Straying from the Path, which could also rescue personnel in some way. For the Sisko might be used for when you'd rather get rid of a non-personnel card, in pure Bajoran decks, and when you can stand to wait to redraw and replay the chosen personnel. The interrupts are generally better, but will only get back a single personnel. For the Sisko is definitely better than Peldar Joi unless you're in a real hurry. Its advantage over Invocation is that it isn't discarded and can be reused as often as you need it. No advantage to being a Prophet card as yet, the keyword simply prevents The Text of the Kosst Amojan from rescue it itself from the discard pile. Useful, but not the only available trick, it scores 3.5 here. Do watch out for Romulan decks using Security Sweep and Getting Under Your Skin. These cards are deadly to personnel returned to the top of the draw deck.

1E STOCKABILITY: A Bajoran-specific Res-Q-type event, For the Sisko doesn't really beat out that card, not when the discard pile can be managed via Bajoran Shrine. Re-drawing personnel is more of a chore in 1E too, as is replaying them. It all comes down to your drawing/reporting engines. Still, if you have the engines for it, it could be an ok deal. Probably not fast enough to be worth it, however. The only probe manipulation opportunities I see are Omega Directive (not quite a fit for the Bajorans), Orbital Bombardment and Dabo. Maybe Protection Racket. A 2.9 that just doesn't quite cut it.

TOTAL: 12.5 (62.5%) There's no real prophet in it. ;-)

1E TOTAL: 11.9 (59.5%) Oops, almost made it.

#2293-Fortune, Ship, Non-Aligned, Cost: 6, unique /Ener/

-Virayllan Class [3 Staff] When you play this ship, you may download a [NA] Archaeology personnel.

"Starfleet Intelligence confirms that a ship matching this configuration has been linked to raids on several other planets in this sector."

-RANGE: 8, WEAPONS: 7, SHIELDS: 7

PICTURE: This is the best picture of the "Mercenary Ship" we have, with a gorgeous golden planet in the background that really matches the NA template well. Good angle on the ship too, showing off its insect-like attributes. A gorgeous 4.5.

LORE: Lack of foresight is apparently responsible for the missing subtitle here - I guess they didn't figure on a second version of this ship (Raider for Hire). The quote itself is simple enough, but descriptive of the ship and its mission. Still no clue as to the origin of the ship's class. A fair 3.

TREK SENSE: Small ship, small crew, so the 3 Staff icons may seem a bit much, though I totally agree with the lack of a Command icon. Baran ran the ship on terror, not loyalty. The Cost also makes it out to be a bigger ship than it is, but it featured an odd configuration, and was able to go after the Enterprise-D. I guess it's not easy to get ahold of a ship like this. In "Gambit", we're told that it's very fast, as supported by high Range here. Weapons and Shields are enough to stand up to the Enterprise, but not enough to win a full-on battle with it. The special ability would have you download a personnel that should be on the ship, pushing the storyline in the right direction. Of course, it would help if the Non-Aligned Archaeologist was reported aboard. It isn't. A mechanical flaw on an otherwise adequate design. Hits 3.5.

STOCKABILITY: The Fortune is an easy-to-staff ship with pretty good attributes. It is in direct competition with itself, or rather the Raider for Hire version. That ship has an Artifact-related attribute-boosting ability that's actually pretty sweet. This Fortune has a simple personnel download that can be achieved with Trip to Romulus instead. After all, the Fortune's Commanders have Archaeology. Of course, you could use both cards, grabbing some other Archaeologist (like Vash) and then using Trip to Romulus to get a Commander. Or use the download for one Commander, and Trip to Romulus for a backup Commander. They're not all Barans. We recently got a Galen as well. Unfortunately, both Baran/Treasure Seeker and Galen have Artifact-related abilities that work better with Raider for Hire, and Baran/Mercenary Captain doesn't offer any better a combo using either Fortune. A Vash/Galen combo might be interesting, or the download could be used to get quick access to Daniels or Kamala, for example, but it's not a big thing. Still manages 3.5.

TOTAL: 14.5 (72.5%) Way better than Raider for Hire, but not in Stockability per se.

#2305-Fresh Tactic, Interrupt /Ener/

-To play this interrupt, you must command three Guls.

-Order: Download a Capture or Punishment card.

"Is this what's kept you from breaking? Images of happier times? Memories of home and hearth? ...I must congratulate you, you're remarkably strong willed. I see no point in holding you further. ...We will get what we need from the human female..."

PICTURE: Seems incredibly busy to me, and all in monochrome, making matters worse. For example, my eye keeps seeing Madred's leg as a pillar in the background. Picard's strange smile goes with his not being broken, but looks really odd as well. The whole thing is seen through a mesh screen (or the shadow of a mesh screen) as well. A rather weak 2.3.

LORE: If you'll permit me a few words on the title itself, I think the words Tactic brings space battles to mind rather than capture strategies, and that doesn't help the card any. On the other hand, there's a subtle link to another of Madred's strategies: the rotten egg from Shared Delicacy. Rotten/fresh... get it? As for the quote, it includes a change in tactic and a reason for making that change. Pretty complete. Overall, I think a 3.7.

TREK SENSE: The Cardassians are well known for their capturing and punishment strategies, so Fresh Tactic is a normal "A Change of Plans"-type card for them. To play it, you need 3 Guls in play, which is questionable. It takes the place of the usual 3 Cardassians requirement, which I wouldn't have a problem with (it's "proof" that you're playing that affiliation), but Guls... I agree that they are the thinkers of the lot, most apt of thinking up the Fresh Tactic, perhaps more than Security personnel, but 3 of them? Madred seemed to be working more or less alone, for example. As for the effect, it's pretty simple. When your Gul(s) think up the new Tactic, you download it. On the show, the Cardies have shown great variety when it comes to what can be done with captives, so this is quite believable. The harsh requirement keeps this at 3.5.

STOCKABILITY: Capture is one of the Cardassian themes, and Fresh Tactic is an interrupt that helps you get relevant cards (both Capture and Punishment) into your hand, ready for play. In the case of other interrupts, this can make for a nice chain of events (as with Well-Crafted Lure, for example, or Shared Delicacy). It's not like you won't use 3 Guls during the game - there are enough of them (including many that work well in capture strategies), though they're all unique for now. Simple, effective support for the Cardies. A 4.

TOTAL: 13.5 (67.5%) I hate to pan a pic from such a good episode, but there you go.

#2317-Galathon - Steadfast Rival, Personnel, Romulan, Cost: 3, unique /Ener/

-Romulan; Archaeology, Geology, Law, Leadership, Officer; Command icon

-Commander: Trolarak; When you play this personnel, you may take Engage Cloak or a Pursuit card from your discard pile into hand.

"Well, it was quite a chase, wasn't it, my friends?"

-INTEGRITY: 5, CUNNING: 6, STRENGTH: 6

PICTURE: They did well to change Galathon's pic, because aside from some of the usual TNG blurriness, this is a really cool shot of him. He looks huge in wide-shouldered close-up, and so does the Star Empire emblem in the background. Plus, there's that cool and unusual Romulan headrest. It's all a bit busy, I admit, but way more interesting than the beige standard we got in 1E. A 4.

LORE: First, I like that the word "Rival" appears on each of the commanders from "The Chase", kinda reminds me of the ol' Borg designations that would help you spot from which episode each drone was. Second, that "chase" is mentioned in the quote! Nice, unusually gracious, and manages to link to his special ability at the same time. Amounts to another 4.

TREK SENSE: Interesting how you can spin a character different ways. Back when I reviewed the 1E version, I found Treachery to be a sound choice given that he was trying to grab the DNA program's secret for the Empire alone, stating that Romulans don't really need an excuse. I'm glad we have higher standards for that now, since a truly Treacherous character would have been a little more ruthless at the end, instead of just going home. We still have the Officer/Leadership/Command icon triad, of course, and this time, the name of his ship: the Trolarak (never mentioned by name on the show, but then, neither was the Romulan commander's name). Archaeology and Geology both help in the chase for an artifact, while Law is plausible, but less immediate to the show. Galathon only appeared briefly, so we don't know much about him, except that he was secretly following his other "Rivals". His special ability relates to that, since Pursuit and Engage Cloak both describe his mission. You didn't know he was there until the very end, so it's like he has a "hidden agenda"-type deal when reporting. He surprises you with something. Not sure it should come from the discard pile though, as that would have been more acceptable if he could manage the recycling after his reporting, on the basis of his steadfast pursuit. Integrity is average, i.e. a Romulan that doesn't go out of his way to be treacherous, but is still sneaky. Cunning and Strength are both above average, as per his species, but not overly so, since he was a minor player. Minor, yet he still costs 3 counters. He IS a ship commander, and his Cost should reflect that. Overall, while you can't prove everything here, he's still cut from the right cloth. Going with 3.8.

STOCKABILITY: Ship Commanders are inherently useful, since a number of cards give them extra abilities. Galathon is no different, and he can boost his ship, the Trolarak (including downloading it), and its crew in a variety of ways, not to mention affect dilemmas, etc. When you report him, you further get to rescue either Engage Cloak or a Pursuit card from the discard pile, which is cool on the one hand, but means you might want to hold off playing Galathon until you've lost one of these cards to get the most bang for those 3 counters. I think it's a rather weak ability because of that, perhaps not worth the personnel's Cost, though Engage Cloak may well attract the attention of event destroyers. You could also regain an event discarded as "cost", since a few Romulans can do this to save them from being stopped by dilemmas. Since the Trolarak forces an opponent to discard 2 cards to attempt a mission where that ship is present, Engage Cloak may be used to make sure the ship is considered present, or you could take back Blind Spot or Pursuit Course to follow it there. Stealth Mission and Sensor Sweep are the other rescue possibilities. And of course the personnel has skills for mission attempts, though none are particularly rare for Romulans, even Law. Good and solid, without being spectacular, just like his attributes. If the Romulans had fewer Commanders, he might be more interesting, but as things stand, he's a bit pricey. For certain strategies, he's tightly focused though. A 3.5.

TOTAL: 15.3 (76.5%) From lowly universal to costly commander.

#2329-Guingouin, Ship, Federation, Cost: 5, unique, BC /Ener/

-Condor Class [1 Command] When you win an engagement you began involving this ship, if each ship you command is a [Maquis] ship, score 10 points; Maquis icon

"You know what your problem is, captain? You've made this personal. It didn't have to be. It wasn't with me. I have no animosity, no harsh feelings toward you."

-RANGE: 6, WEAPONS: 6, SHIELDS: 6

PICTURE: The close-up of the Condor class looks good, if a bit dark. Actually, that oily darkness has a certain style, but that bright patch overpowers the image. Does seem a bit too big as well. An ok 3.

LORE: A good quote from Eddington, but I'm not sure what it has to do with the ship. In fact, its battle-related ability flies in the face of it. As for the invented ship name, it plays with the French revolutionary theme inherent in the Maquis name, referring to French militant philosopher Georges Guingouin who started the historical Maquis. Makes it back up to 3.

TREK SENSE: A unique example of the Maquis Raider, it's a small ship with conservative attributes, low Cost and small staffing requirements. Those attributes are around the levels set for smaller Bajoran vessels and Ferengi Personal Transports, and that's fine. A single staffing icon works for such a small craft, of course, and that it be a Command icon, that's to give some structure to the essentially civilian Maquis. The special ability creates a round-the-corner strategy, which would mean that the Maquis have a vested interest in attacking other ships. Do they? Well, it really depends. They would certainly go after Cardassians, for example, but what about, I dunno, Romulans? Other Feds would also be unlikely targets unless THEY started the engagement (see the lore). The one nuance I like here is the incentive to use only Maquis ships for the ability to work. In other words, it's telling us Earth icon ships should be less likely to work with the Maquis, especially if that affiliation is going to act so warlike. Leaves us at... 3.3?

1E TREK SENSE: I guess the only ship we can compare it to is the Liberty, and aside from that ship's rather high Range, the attributes appear to be pretty similar. Instead of a Maquis icon for staffing, we have a Command icon. Equivalent and I think a bit better. I wouldn't change anything about the rest of the review, so still 3.3.

STOCKABILITY: Just 1 counter more than the already cheap Maquis Raider, and with a built-in round-the-corner strategy that should help the Maquis score points elsewhere than with For the Cause or whatever mission you've scrounged the skills for. Now, the Maquis don't have access to any Maneuver cards specifically, but Cry Havok, Disable Sensors, Power to the Weapons, Pierce Their Defenses, Precise Attack and Point Blank Strike should be more than enough. The last four all add to ship Weapons, which should help this small ship win the engagement. Face it, with Weapons and Shields rated at 6, you need the extra juice for this to be at all viable. Eddington/Noble Hero can prevent the use of Interrupts that would give an opponent an advantage during an engagement, but that's not equivalent to a boost. Help from a second ship, thanks to Amaros' Render Assistance-like ability would be an immense help, and is probably the key here. Add to all that any bonuses you could get from Eddington/Noble Hero's Command of the Guingouin, including a couple of other round-the-corner possibilities. Barring a Trip to Romulus, Cal Hudson could also download the ship. And you can't beat the Cost. Save those counters for Maneuvers, since there's no limit to the number of times the Guingouin can score its points. Making it work shouldn't be that hard, and the score reaches 3.8.

1E STOCKABILITY: The problem in 1E would probably be the restriction to have only Maquis ships in play, since 1E only has one, and only two are backwards-compatible in 2E. There's not a whole lot of variety when it comes to attributes either, leaving only the Liberty and the Guingouin with matching commanders. The good news is, the ships are way more boostable, Captain's Log making the Guingouin's WEAPONS and SHIELDS 9 each. Add B'Elanna to make them 11 instead. No need for an extra card to form an armada either, and [Fed] Tactics will work. Of course, the Feds are already great mission solvers, and a round-the-corner strategy predicated on battling may seem both unnecessary and difficult to implement. Backwards-compatible Maneuvers will have to be used, or else Captain Kirk (to name a single example) could join the ship's crew. Has promise, and may provide an interesting Maquis theme, but really isn't a must-have. Drops to a 3.5.

TOTAL: 13.1 (65.5%) No points lost for being had to pronounce either.

1E TOTAL: 12.8 (64%) Ok, maybe a decimal or two ;-).

#2341-Harana, Personnel, Non-Aligned, Cost: 2 /Ener/

-Human; Anthropology, Geology, Medical, Physics; Maquis icon

-When this personnel is killed by a dilemma, in combat, or in an engagement, you may destroy a non-Maneuver event.

"Though the leadership of the Dorvan V colony submitted willingly to Cardassian rule, many of its citizens took the first available chance to join up with the Maquis."

-INTEGRITY: 4, CUNNING: 6, STRENGTH: 5

PICTURE: A background character from "The Maquis", Amaros was removed from the image to put Harana here into better focus. He seam is kinda visible, and it doesn't stop Cal Hudson from being distracting, but otherwise, a fair, if a bit dark, pic. A slightly junky 2.7.

LORE: The DS9 creators were smart enough to include some Native Americans in the background as a wink to TNG's "Journey's End", so the CCG creators had to follow up. Great explanation and "unseen history" of the Trek universe, and "universal" to boot. I'm thinking it was Evan's doing. A jolly good 3.7.

TREK SENSE: A background extra, we know nothing of this character, or any group of characters he might represent, except that they were Maquis. Well, being Maquis gives us the loyal-to-the-cause-but-otherwise-treacherous 4 Integrity. Thematically, I think Anthropology and Medical can be tied to his Native heritage. Anthropology because we can see him as a Chakotay redux. Medical might point to the medicine bundle, etc. Geology? Lived off the land? The Maquis hide in some caves? Physics? Familiarity with explosive? You can make sense of it, though it doesn't all gel together into one. The Cost seems right for someone from a usually non-participating colony. Cunning is above average to allow for some Native wisdom and his varied skills. Strength is merely average, maybe because he comes from an essentially peaceful culture, and has only recently taken up arms. The special ability destroys an event when he is killed by whatever means (except assassination, no doubt to make sure your opponent had a sure hand in it). Why? No real reason, though thematically, you could see his people's agreement with the Cardassians as an event, an event destroyed when one of the Dorvan V Natives dies. I don't know why Maneuvers are exempt, except that it might be related to the Maquis' weak air power. Very fuzzy, dropping the ok score to a lower 2.3.

STOCKABILITY: More sabotage for the Maquis! Harana is a non-unique weenie with a varied skill list and average attributes, that when killed by an opponent, destroys an event (most probably that opponent's event). Would that be enough to discourage that opponent to attack Harana's crew with anything but an Assassin? Would that make your opponent limit himself to non-lethal dilemmas? Maybe. In the meantime, he'll be able to use those skills in mission attempts well enough. Though Maquis, he can be played with any non-Borg affiliation that'll allow NAs to report, so that ability can be used by anyone, along with non-Fed Maquis-related cards. With all the importance given to events now, including effects keyed to the number of events a player has in play, a relatively cheap nullifier definitely has a use. Hits 3.8.

TOTAL: 12.5 (62.5%) And I'd never even noticed him on the show before.

#2353-Head to Head, Dilemma, planet, Cost: 4, BC /Ener/

-Your opponent names a skill. Randomly select two personnel. Each of those personnel that has that skill is killed.

"Kill him! He's the one!" "Not me, you idiot! Him!"

PICTURE: The visual relationship to Face to Face isn't lost on us, though the two Kirks here are at odds rather than collaborating. Kik is a good subject for the concept, since he was many times duplicated ("The Enemy Within" "Whom Gods Destroy", and ST VI, for example) and because Martia-as-Kirk headbutted McCoy, a link to the title. A nice blue on that background finishes up a cool package. Hits 3.7.

LORE: Again, that relationship to Face to Face generates interest, and the simple exchange used for lore has direct bearing on the game text. A good 3.4.

TREK SENSE: This is how the card is supposed to translate... In Star Trek VI, Martia had shape-shifted into Kirk, causing some confusion as to who was the real Kirk as the Klingons showed up. Through misdirection, Kirk had her shot instead of him, though that was the plan all along ("No witnesses!"). The card follows that theme by having 2 personnel targeted, and by having one of them killed. I guess being planet-only also has bearing on the actual events depicted. The buck stops there, however. What it actually does, is have the unseen, local antagonists grab a couple of personnel, and kill any of them that have a certain skill they just can't stand. Not much to do with the image and lore, but has some merit. Honorable locals might kill any Treachery or Intelligence they find, or the bad guys might just be trying to stop the mission by killing off necessary Science personnel. I can get behind that, and this type of grab, search and execute job definitely carries a high Danger Factor. A 3.8 held back by the card's concept.

1E TREK SENSE: The same can be said here, even there's no Danger Factor to speak of. Just as sad that there is no connection to infiltrators or shape-shifters, for example. Still 3.8.

STOCKABILITY: Costly, but you can reasonably get at least one, if not two, kills by naming a common enough skill. Programming and Navigation are common throughout the galaxy. Romulans might be hard put to hide their Treachery. Klingon Honor decks are an obvious target. There's something each affiliation or deck is good at, and that should be the skill you name, especially against strategies that require a high level of skill redundancy (For the Cause, for example). Sure, you could risk it all and name that one skill you want weeded out, even if it's rare, on the off chance you could derail a mission attempt by taking out Intelligence or Transporters. Since you name the skill, you can tailor your demand to the next dilemma's requirements as well. Of course, the bigger the crew, the harder it'll be to knock out some of those skills. Cost is a little prohibitive to making powerful combos, but with dilemma cost reducers, it's not that big an issue. A strong 4.5.

1E STOCKABILITY: There's the matter here of there being a greater variety of skills to choose from, and personnel having fewer of them, making it harder to hit. At the same time, there's no Cost issue, so Head to Head will insert itself no problem into any combo. A guy like Elim would be great at this location, since you could choose 2 personnel with the right skill, making it very specific. You could also break out all those copies of Mot's Advice to give target personnel Barbering, though that takes some time to implement and isn't really worth it. Interlinked Borg, of course, will probably lose both personnel no matter what, though they'll tend to be drones. The Queen and Counterparts most often remain aboard ship, safe and sound. Evens out, I think. Again 4.5.

TOTAL: 15.4 (77%) A strong showing for a card from one of my favorite movies.

1E TOTAL: 15.4 (77%) Well, it's all about being identical, isn't it?

#2365-Heart of Glory, Event, Cost: 4, BC /Ener/

-Assault; Maneuver; Plays in your core.

-Order: Destroy this event to begin combat or an engagement involving your [Kli] personnel. If you win, randomly kill two opponent's personnel involved.

"Do not deny the challenge of your destiny. Get off your knees and soar. Open your eyes and let the dream take flight."

PICTURE: Two roguish Klingons about to ambush someone... Very good for this card (even the two Klingons to two kills result, though there isn't much of a Maneuver feel if you're heading that way). I think they were caught in a cool pose. Interesting angle, though the usual boring TNG color palette. Overall, a 3.5.

LORE: Great, poetic speech, and the title is that of the pictured episode. The card's violent nature isn't evident, however, so maybe it's all a bit too veiled. Still, a pretty inspirational 3.6.

TREK SENSE: The Klingons are warlike. We know that. So we shouldn't be surprised at the number of Assault and Maneuver cards they have. In this case, the "battle permission slip" can be used for both personnel and ship battles, since it gives Klingons license to "embrace their destiny", which is fighting. Inspired by Kahless' great deeds, or whatever, they charge in and take no prisoners. Two deaths may result. All in a day's work for Klingons, but the death toll points to a glorious battle, reflected in the event's high Cost. A strong 4.5.

1E TREK SENSE: In 1E, it's more of a battle goal, with 2 extra kills at the end of that battle. There's no problem with that, and here, the death toll may indeed be higher. No need for a leader? Klingons don't need them anyway. This is their life. Loses some of the nuance (with Cost and the true permission slip aspect), but still a high 4.3.

STOCKABILITY: The Klingons have no dearth of battle permission slips. Heart of Glory is a costly entry in the genre, but it's very flexible, being both Assault and Maneuver. At Cost 4, it's a prime candidate for Standing Your Ground, saving on counters by discarding that card rather than Heart of Glory. The result of a win is 2 kills, which is excellent. Yes, All-Out War gets you 3, but it also costs you 5 points. If your deck isn't built to recoup those points (with further battle cards like BaH! or A Chance for Glory, for example), HoG may be more your speed. Besides, with a limit on copies of a card per deck, there's always room for similar-but-not-quite-the-same events. All-Out War remains a better card, but Heart of Glory does the job too. A 4.2.

1E STOCKABILITY: In 1E, permission isn't really necessary, so long as you have a leader. Heart of Glory removes that requirement, but it would rarely be an issue. The card is especially useful for space battles if you're not using a Battle Bridge side-deck, getting you the casualties you're missing out on. Of course, in standard personnel battle, or in a space battle WITH casualties, Heart of Glory can simply finish off what's left of the losing Away Team or crew. Think about it: You win a personnel battle with your high-STRENGTH Klingons, so you know there are mortally wounded personnel lying there. They die, and one extra personnel dies as a result of your winning, and then on top of that, HoG kills another 2 personnel. What's left? It's like a built-in Phaser Burns (but feel free to play that too). A powerful 4.4.

TOTAL: 15.8 (79%) Those events are well tuned to the Klingons' theme.

1E TOTAL: 15.8 (79%) Took a little from here, put it back there... Turned out the same.

#2377-Hired Muscle, Dilemma, space/planet, Cost: 2, BC /Ener/

-Unless you have 2 Acquisition or choose to discard three cards from hand, your opponent chooses a [NA] personnel to be placed on top of his or her owner's deck.

"The FCA's involved now. And those Nausicaans working for Brunt aren't just for show."

PICTURE: The reddish light makes this picture rather dark, but the backlighting helps make the Nausicaans intimidating, as does Brunt's height, I suppose. Clarity issues keep it at an even 3.1.

LORE: The lore would seem to imply that the FCA is necessarily behind the Muscle, but Trek Sense doesn't require it. The bit about Brunt turns out pretty well. Not for show indeed. A 3.5.

TREK SENSE: Whether you have the actual FCA after you or just meet a couple of native goons, I think the dilemma can be made to work about the same. Being encountered in space is a bit odd, however, since ship security really should be tighter. I also wonder why only a Non-Aligned personnel can be sent to the hospital/top of draw deck. The victim of this dilemma on the show was Quark, clearly [Fer] affiliation. In the FCA scenario, they might try to muscle a Non-Aligned competitor out of business... Is that part of their function? Maybe the local "businessman" wouldn't go up against an aligned personnel in fear of retaliation from the personnel's organization. The requirements are good, in any case: 2 Acquisition bargains a deal with the Muscle's master, and the discard is a bribe or payment of debt. Either option works. The personal but non-lethal danger to a single personnel warrants a Danger Factor set at 2. The score, for its part, reaches 3.4.

1E TREK SENSE: No real difference aside from the absence of Cost. Since it all stands, how about the same 3.4?

STOCKABILITY: Hoses decks that make use of Non-Aligned personnel to supplement their root affiliation's weaknesses, or just because they want or need some of those guys' special abilities, Hired Muscle could also cause problems for Maquis decks, since their personnel may well be NA. If there's more than one in the lot, you get to choose which one you want out of play. It isn't lethal, but your opponent will need to pay to draw and play the personnel again. You might even see it as a way of setting things up for Kotra if your opponent is discarding cards from top of draw deck for effects, but it's probably hard to plan for this. Staunch Determination or Insult can instead discard that new deck top. There might not be any NAs, but then, that's easy to keep track of when making your combo. Fortunately, the requirements are rather nasty. Only the Ferengi (and by extension, DS9 and Terok Nor) will ever have an easy time of overcoming with Acquisition, so most players will have to opt for discard cards from hand. Three is a fair number to lose, but since everyone probably has at least three cards in hand, you won't often send the NA packing. You'll probably get an effect here, it's just hard to see which one exactly. The Cost is right for this kind of risk. A 3.4.

1E STOCKABILITY: In 1E, you can't really switch gears once the dilemma combos have been seeded, so if a player doesn't use NAs, you have no leverage for forcing discards. Then again, at space missions, you have a fair chance of bumping off a special FX hologram, DQ decks make more use of NAs, or can just drop Memory Wipe on the ship. Frame of Mind would also work, but sending the personnel to the top of draw deck would be a waste of that dilemma. Here, the dilemma DOES stop the Away Team or crew if the requirements aren't met, so an NA isn't required to have an effect. If an NA reaches the top of the draw deck, various deck manipulation cards can hide the personnel deeper into the deck or have it discarded. I'd say that overall, Hired Muscle has a little more teeth in 1E. A 3.5.

TOTAL: 13.4 (67%) Who hired 'em? Why, you did of course.

1E TOTAL: 13.5 (67.5%) A touch more useful.

#2389-Honorable Death, Interrupt /Ener/

-To play this interrupt, you must command a unique [Kli] personnel present with an opponent's personnel.

-Order: Kill that [Kli] personnel to destroy an opponent's event.

"...every Klingon hopes to die in the line of duty..."

PICTURE: Wow. Sparkly. An impressive death, if slightly silly-looking. Background's a bit dull, but the foreground has a lot of energy. I'm all for a 3.4.

LORE: A Klingon truism, appropriate to the card's concept. A 3.5.

TREK SENSE: Basically, your Klingon sacrifices itself to destroy an opponent's event. There's a conceptual conceit here, namely that the event in question is being guarded by an opposing personnel who kills the Klingon. It's a fair conceit, though the event need not be at that location, or even related to that location in any way. Note also that, in a multi-player game, you can have one opponent's personnel "guarding" another opponent's event. There's also a question as to whether being unique has anything to do with being Honorable, as opposed to, say, having the Honor skill! But as the lore says, all Klingons want their deaths to have meaning, even if we don't find the cause to be exactly Honorable. The card has the right flavor, but is mechanically a little out there. No more than a 2.

STOCKABILITY: Events don't just offer a variety of useful effects, some players may be using a lot of them to trigger or affect other effects that are dependent on the number of events in play. Destroying an event, then, is always a useful ability. There's always Kevin Uxbridge, but he costs you 5 points per use. It may be cheaper then to kill a unique Klingon present with an opposing personnel (like anytime you mount an Assault) to get rid of an offending event. There's a ton of good targets, from battle cards to dilemma manipulators to round-the-corner strategies. How are the Maquis going to function if they keep losing For the Cause, for example? All it costs you is a unique personnel, which could be a Cost: 2 personnel you stock in multiples just to have die and come back to life (there are plenty of Cost: 2 personnel that give you card draws when played, so playing them often pays). And despite the title, it's not just for Honor decks. A good 3.8.

TOTAL: 12.7 (63.5%) It's still Death ;-).

#2401-Houdini Mines, Dilemma, planet, Cost: 4 /Ener/

-Unless you have 2 Engineer and 2 Science or 2 Programming and 3 Security, randomly select a personnel to be killed, then this dilemma returns to its owner's dilemma pile.

"You can walk by the same place a hundred times and nothing happens. And then... bang."

PICTURE: More than a little dark, at least the Mine has some extreme contrast on it with those red lights. The guy in the background is worried, that for sure, but since he's blurry, I don't know if it would have been better to sacrifice a close-up expression for a shot with dozens of Mines. Those were pretty cool too, and you'd get a real minefield that way. Ah well, an iffy 3 with this.

LORE: Describes the danger adequately, but is on the understated side. If the bang was in all caps, maybe it would actually be startling. Again, a pretty average 3.

TREK SENSE: This is a pretty nasty minefield, which explains the Danger Factor/Cost, and it's hard to get through without losing a personnel (bang). The Dax-Kellin solution is to deactivate the mines remotely with a tricorder: 2 Engineer and 2 Science. In the show it required the Tricorder and a large amount of time, which isn't on here, but you have to remember they were also moving the mines. The dilemma only covers passing through without getting blown up. The other set of requirements uses a combination of Programming and Security to essentially do the same thing, figuring that mines are military hardware and that Security should be able to counter the Mines with the right codes. One thing that doesn't always work with dilemmas, but works great here, is the idea of going back to the dilemma pile to be reused. Too often, you wonder where the dilemma went, as you can't really call it staying power. Here, you just never know when the Mines will hit again, or if they will at all. A bit glib in its execution, it's nonetheless pretty potable. A 3.8.

STOCKABILITY: Just one kill, but more difficult to avoid than most, though it doesn't come cheap. Worth it? Well, the first set of requirements is probably the one to go with, requiring fewer skills/personnel, but either option can have some of its requirements filtered out beforehand (though that tends to cost even more), or else filter out plenty of personnel by letting itself be solved just before Overwhelmed. With 8 Cost already spent, you could finish up with A Bad End to get that kill after all, but it doesn't leave you with much leeway. Lowering the Cost or giving yourself more counters (Complications, Endangered, More Than Meets the Eye, etc.) of course gives you more combo options. Construct your deck well, and this can be a nice little firecracker. Another 3.8.

TOTAL: 13.6 (68%) Aesthetically average, but fairly well designed otherwise.

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