To see the cards themselves, check out this Card list for the Premiere set.
Some of the cards have been corrected in the Beta Set.

PICTURE: The pretty one indeed, and while I appreciate the beauty of this particular Klingon female (oh, get your minds outta the gutter) and the way she and Lursa are similarly positioned, the pic's pretty straightforward and boring. A 3.2.

LORE: Not much here to cheer about. The first two sentences are fairly unimaginative. The last is cute and perhaps a bit rude to Lursa. But you have to admit... a 3.1.

TREK SENSE: As a member of the House of Duras, she's a VIP alright. The command icon is there because she and Lursa are the heads of the house. The skills: Treachery is a given among these traitors to the Empire; Leadership is just like the command icon; Youth because she is the "younger" of the two sisters; Greed fits in well with the power-hungry women; Physics... Physics? I imagine this has something to do with the events of "Past Prologue" from which the mission Acquire Illicit Explosives is taken. If these explosives require Physics to transport (probably unstable), then it goes to reason that one of the Duras sisters has that skill. The attributes are fine, with the Integrity being naturally low, the Cunning high (oh, these plans they hatch) and the Strength Klingon. A lot of sense all around. A 4.6.

STOCKABILITY: One of the few Klingons with five skills and a female to boot, she'll find her way into a number of Klingon decks. Of course, her skills aren't all useful for mission solving, and Physics can't even get you through any dilemmas yet. At least her Leadership lets you attack with her. And she is a matching commander for the Cha'Joh. Bring Lursa in, and you get double matching commander bonuses on that ship, and you can swap the two sisters for their dual-personnel card version. More on that when I actually go through Sisters of Duras, but I'll give you this tip: go through dilemmas with the sisters separated, but join them together for personnel battles. A good personnel that scores a 3.7.

TOTAL: 14.6 (73%) Not bad at all, not bad at all.

PICTURE: Classic headshot, too much in shadow. Reveals nothing special, not that Decipher had much airtime to work with. I like the pride he shows, the cool pip on his collar, and the red background though. A 2.9.

LORE: Here, Decipher DID have more to work with and didn't use it. From the lore, you can't really tell from which episode he was pulled. The "Redemption" story arc? "Reunion"? Nope, it's from "Unification" a story Gowron never even appears in (he is mentioned). B'iJik is the minor bureaucrat that had to relay Picard's request for a bird-of-prey to go to Romulus. A low score: a 1.2.

TREK SENSE: As a bureaucrat, VIP should probably have been his classification, no matter what the lore says. "Trained as an officer"? Yeah, right. And why Navigation? He doesn't do anything to do with a ship. Leadership, maybe. Diplomacy, more likely. A K'Vort download, could have been nice (I know the concept didn't exist yet). Navigation, no evidence of it, much less of his being a specialist. Universality isn't mentioned in the lore ("Representative of..."). The stats are pretty arbitrary, but okay. Lower Integrity for not wanting to help Picard, just enough Cunning to push a pencil, not enough Strength to be anything but a pencil pusher. As part of Gowron's staff, he deserves the staff icon. Almost all invention, and invention that goes against the show. A 1.3.

STOCKABILITY: How much need is there for a Klingon Navigation specialist? 10 missions with Navigation are currently available to the Klingon player, most of them pretty easy, and some able to accomodate two B'iJiks. That's not bad. His being an officer with a staff icon makes him an ideal choice to play in multiples to drive around your K'Vort armada. His single skill is more useful than most. I am concerned though that he is essentially the same as Klag. Klag has the same classification and skills, is universal as well, and has better stats and the more versatile command icon. He's also the same as the unique Konmel who can score you points if he dies under the right conditions. Not bad until you realize that Klag outclasses him in all ways, and isn't any less common. A 1.9.

TOTAL: 7.3 (36.5%) Youch! As far as I'm concerned, he's one of the mistakes Decipher made in its first try at the game. Not the worst though.

PICTURE: Pretty good. The trapped animal look in her eyes is a nice look for a prison camp inmate, and the weaponry on the wall works well for a Klingon. The green moss growing towards her in the lower left-hand corner speak of her Romulan half. Great design, even if possibly due to serendipity. A clean 4.4.

LORE: Not as good. We get species (always do) and a little back story. Strange that her parents' names aren't mentioned. All in all... yawn... a 2.8.

TREK SENSE: Clearly a Civilian, and turned towards her Klingon heritage enough not to be either fully or partly Romulan. She undeniably has Youth. The attributes work, I agree she was a pretty average character is all respects. My only real problem is Anthropology. Where does this come from? How would someone who's lived all her life cut off from the universe be an expert in anthropology? Even the Romulan and Klingon cultures she knows are partial fabrications on her father's part. A 2.1.

STOCKABILITY: I admit the Klingons don't have many Civilians, but she's the very worse one (except maybe her mom, Gi'ral). She's one of only two Klingon anthropologists, but again, not the better of the two. I'll give her this: she'll breeze a small Klingon away team through Primitive Culture. Not a big boost though. She's also one of few Klingon youths, one of few females... she's a rare one, but never even close to the best in any category. And since there are no Romulan-species support cards (like there are Klingon), her split heritage serves little purpose. A 2.

TOTAL: 11.3 (56.5%) I'm even surprised she went as high as this.

PICTURE: A pretty straightforward head shot, not very interesting and with a slightly distracting background. Can't go over 2.4.

LORE: Eeeech. Couldn't think up any more? Bare bones lore that doesn't cover a whole lot of ground. At least, it makes him a matching commander for the Mercenary Ship (which mentions him as well). Still, an inferior 2.3.

TREK SENSE: Works pretty well. He's obviously a non-aligned officer (commands a ship). He's Greedy and only looks out for number one. His search for the Stone of Gol makes him an Archeologist. Computer Skill is needed to run the analyses he had Galen/Picard working on. He must've taken care of them before he took on an extra crew member. Exobiology was needed to implant and work the neural servo devices each of his crew has. Too bad he can't download the thing. Integrity is low, but still shows a certain squeemishness for killing unnecessarily (let Galen and Riker live). The Cunning makes sense for a science-type person. The Strength is high average, and that's okay. A pretty close match, scoring a 4.6.

STOCKABILITY: For the longest time, the Mercenary Ship was one of the better Non-Aligned vessels available (at least, attribute-wise), and Baran can act as matching commander on it. Four skills can't be sneered at either, though Greed sees little use (for now, watch out for the Ferengi expansion). Archeology and Exobiology are great skills to have, more and more in demand. And Computer Skill is probably on more personnel that any other skill, but is still good. He'll be killed by Firestorm, but has okay attributes otherwise, and he can be used by any affiliation. A good support personnel. A 3.8.

TOTAL: 13.1 (65.5%) He could almost be Romulan...

PICTURE: What was only a flash in the episode is freeze-framed here, showing off the half-spider make-up effect devised for Barclay. While they could have shown any number of de-evolved personnel, it suits the card's title that Reg is on here. In any case, he suffers from the most drastic of de-evolutions. A fairly good 3.9.

LORE: Not much here. It's missing the now crucial "DNA-related" clause that makes androids immune to it, requiring that to be mentioned in the game text, and resulting in a slew of questions regarding other similar dilemmas. The second sentence is fairly obvious from the card's title, and there's room left for more information. Plus, the "Disease" is actually called a "Syndrome" on the show. Scores a lowly 2.4.

TREK SENSE: Well, for such an imaginative dilemma (on the show, I mean), it's been translated in less than imaginative fashion. Crew de-evolves and dies unless a MEDICAL (a doctor), SCIENCE (a scientist) and SECURITY (someone to keep the beasts at bay) are present. Oh yeah? What about the delay between the time of infection and that of a ship's life support being shut down by the chaos? How do Away Teams die? (Hunted by the natives?) In effect, this should have been played on a planet or ship and have a cure come in, like in the episode. Even the cure leaves something to be desired as Picard and Data administrered it WITHOUT EVEN ONE of the dilemma's requirements! At least androids aren't affect (it's DNA-related). The 10 bonus points stem from this being a mini-mission of sorts, as it took an entire episode to resolve. A terrible 1.4.

SEEDABILITY: This is Barclay's saving grace. As a dilemma, its requirements, while easy (all classifications), are badly represented in some affiliations. Most affiliations are low on MEDICAL and/or SCIENCE, while the Federation was, until recently, low on SECURITY. These classifications can be filtered out as well. Meanwhile, the effect is devastating, killing the entire crew or Away Team! The downside? If your opponent has all the personnel necessary (admittedly not difficult unless using filters, which will reduce the death toll incidently), he or she gets 10 bonus points. That's a lot. That's why most people use Barclay's as a self-seed, passing it themselves at their own missions, scoring the extra 10 points. Seeded last, it is encountered first (no filters). Hey, it's one of the reasons behind Altonian Brain Teaser... a 4.8.

TOTAL: 12.5 (62.5%) If it wasn't for my review of the "less tangible qualities" of cards, this one would have scored much higher.

PICTURE: While the pose is new and innovative, bat'leth held high, the picture suffers in other departments. It's a little blurry, so much so I can't find a beard on him. A Klingon without a beard is either a woman or a youth. Since he's playing out events in the Kahless myth (from "Firstborn"), we have reason to believe he's male. And there's no way a mere boy commands an entire outpost. From the same scene, Kitrik's picture is very clear. Not so for Batrell who will only score 2.6 here.

LORE: Not much to cheer about. Nothing about the performance/opera he was in, and the invented backstory isn't as interesting as many of the other universal Klingons. Universality isn't mentioned either. The one interesting thing is the name. It's an invention and seems to be based on the word bat'leth. Maybe. Still lame at 2.5.

TREK SENSE: Always hard to argue with nameless background characters, but I will in this case. All we know is what we get from the lore and his one scene on the show. His scene, involving a performance/opera is explained on Kitrik, but not here. I believe he gets his Honor from there, as I see that skill at least partly representing knowledge of Klingon culture and beliefs. He would have to understand these things to play the part of Kalhess. But why no Music? Kitrik gets some. His role at the outpost (from the lore) might have merited a little Leadership too, on top of being an officer. I do accept his role as an Honor mission specialist, I do, but he seems to be missing a few things. I can't disagree with Integrity and Strength either, but Cunning is ludicrously low! How can this guy run an outpost? How can he play the part of Kahless? Less than average - a 2.6.

STOCKABILITY: There are worse Klingon mission specialties than Honor, but there are better classifications than OFFICER. The personnel still comes out on top as a cheap battle leader usable with AMS. Cheaper than his unique clone Korris in any case. An ok 3.

TOTAL: 10.6 (53%) A low average card, not uncommon in the Premiere set. I'm not sure I understand the amount of duplication on Premiere Klingons.

PICTURE: While I praise the attempt at something more than a headshot here, I'm not sure the picture is all that appropriate. The look on the captain's face is fine, sure, slightly beaten and heartsick. But the painting of the Enterprise is really misplaced. Every time I look at the card, my brain somehow reconstructs the USS Phoenix in place of the Enterprise. THAT is what should be on there. A marginal thumbs down: 3.

LORE: One sentence? Too brief for a good score though it does make Maxwell matching commander for the Nebula-class Phoenix. A 2.

TREK SENSE: Can't argue with Leadership and OFFICER of course, but there are other problems. Ben shouldn't be able to work with Cardassians for example. Or even better, he should allow the Federation to attack the Cardies. Unfortunate that the card was made before special skills and restrictions really made the scene. And what's with the sky-high INTEGRITY? Like Picard in Insurrection, he had greater morality than the Federation and saw beyond regulations? I don't dispute that he did what he thought was right, but he seems to be on the wrong side of the argument here. Insurrection was about protecting people. Ben Maxwell attacks and destroys. Ends, means, the whole thing is pretty complex. But I can't see Maxwell with a 9. A 2.7.

STOCKABILITY: Good stats, but nothing much in way of skills, he's still a Mission specialist and matching commander. Leadership happens to be required for 12 missions the Federation may attempt, including the Assign Mission Specialist extravaganza, Hunt for DNA Program. He's slightly better than the Feds' two other Leadership specialists, Norah Satie and Sirna Kolrami too. With Captain's Log, he can boost the USS Phoenix to a comfortable 10/11, but there are arguably better ship/commander combos available to the Federation. With AMS, fine. But otherwise, he won't help with much. An average 3.

TOTAL: 10.7 (53.5%) One of those cards that really needs to be updated.

PICTURE: Armin Shimmerman's first Star Trek appearance should get notice, but the box itself isn't very clear. We're just seeing the head piece. There's also something dreadfully wrong with the purple shades in Premiere, they often go from their original deep blue to fushia. 2.9 here.

LORE: All the elements are there without really linking it to the episode it came from ("Haven") or to Betazed for that matter. Nothing particularly good or bad, thus a 3.

TREK SENSE: First, I'm not sure the Gift Box is an artifact per se. Artifacts are found, often by archeologists (see The Charybdis for confirmation), not given. The word "traditional" in the lore doesn't really convince me that these things are somehow ancient. They are probably manufactured on present day Betazed. It will lose points for being the wrong card type. As for the effect, pretty much downloading three cards to your hand upon acquiring (opening) the Box, it makes some measure of sense. The gift is represented by three resources you may play later. Of course, I hardly see how most cards could fit in the box. Ships are too big (the keys maybe?), personnel would be too uncomfortable, etc. And why does the box have to be opened immediately? What's the emergency? None of this is reflected on the show. A 1.8.

SEEDABILITY: While the cheesy strategy of Palor Toffing and re-using your Betazoid Gift Box ad infinitum has been destroyed by new rulings (good thing), the artifact retains some of its appeal. When you find it, you immediately download three cards you really need. With deck management at a premium, this can be useful as it doesn't depend on specific card downloads from cards already in play. No limits. Of course, you've got to acquire it first, which limits every Artifact in the game, but that can usually be done early enough. Take appraisal of your opponent's strategy before getting the gift, and you stand a better chance of making the right choices. Still stands somwhere around 4.1.

TOTAL: 11.8 (59%) Shows off Premiere's problems, not with usefulness, but with lore, Trek sense and sometimes picture.

PICTURE: A fairly well chosen shot of the good doctor. I too would have chosen something where she wears the lab coat. It's just more doctorly. It was taken from "Homeward" as she surgically alters Worf, unfortunately no real insight into her character there. The pic's a little blurry too. A 3 nonetheless.

LORE: While this one could have been pretty good (why not "dancing doctor" instead of the less interesting form used here?), it gets clogged up with genealogy. Family relationships better affect the game soon, or else this kind of stuff is just boring. With that and lost space on her more than obvious posting, there's no room for real color. A 1.9.

TREK SENSE: The Premiere version of Bev lacks a little inspiration, but is hard to argue with. The chief medical officer deserves the extra MEDICAL, and both Medical-related skills, Biology and Exobiology. She commands her department, thus the Command icon, and attribute-wise, has high levels of intelligence and integrity. Her Strength of 5 is perhaps more than lab types usually get, but she has been in the field, like that covert operation in "Chain of Command". As a side note, in First Contact, she says she has sworn NEVER to use an EMH and gains a restriction when dealing with them. Is it a bit odd that her earlier self doesn't mind? When did she swear exactly? But like I said, can't really argue. No more than 4.1 because she could have been more.

STOCKABILITY: What can I say about Premiere Beverly that hasn't been said hundeds of times since 1994 when the game came out? Not much. She's got good stats, useful skills (though not that many) and is a double MEDICAL who can, at the very least, operate a Genetronic Replicator by herself. Her skill package makes her able to solve Evaluate Terraforming all by her lonesome. The only new thing in the past couple years is the appearance of her First Contact persona. They're pretty close to one another, with the new one trading her Command icon for an Enterprise-E icon, and a point of STRENGTH and the ability to work normally with an EMH for a special download. If you're not using an EMH though, and have more than enough normal staffing icons, FC Bev totally replaces Premiere Bev, and does her one better with the download, and she doesn't even lose her extra MEDICAL when hit with Rascals. I certainly wouldn't put both in the deck, that's for sure. A little less useful than FC Bev at 3.4.

TOTAL: 12.4 (62%) Thanks to Trek Sense, the original gets half a point more.

PICTURE: Junior would have been better utilized if he (I'm guessing on gender here) would have been portrayed on the Enterprise's back rather than coming out of his mother's womb. But as the card is called Birth of "Junior", I suppose the designers had little choice. It's not a bad pic, but looks a little fake, thanks to the extreme close-up and starless background. A 2.9.

LORE: Odd that Decipher would use language on its cards that they don't allow on their BBS. Namely, the use of the word "sucking". The word itself is inocuous enough. I don't see a problem with it. Other than that, the lore holds little interest, giving just enough information, but nothing special. A 3.

TREK SENSE: Nitpicking first, I don't think the card is aptly named. A dilemma involving the actual birth of Junior would require a combination of WEAPONS and MEDICAL and possibly some point loss. Birth of "Junior" is a better sounding name than just "Junior", but the latter would have been more relevant. The life-form (card) attaches itself to the ship and starts draining energy, here represented as Range. Why can't it be all three attributes? After all, it probably takes more energy to go into battle than to just cruise along. And when Range drops to 0, the ship blows up... how? Well, the structural integrity field that keeps the ship from being torn apart at high speeds stops working because of lack of power. But waitaminit, at this point the ship can't even move. Meanwhile, the cure of 3 Engineers is an obvious one, but on the show, it was resolved by Geordi LaForge and Leah Brahms. That's 4 ENGINEER altogether. And the episode suggests that Geordi wouldn't have come upon the solution with just any Engineer on staff. Asking for 4 ENGINEER would have made the dilemma much tougher, but of course, too tough for Premiere Klingons and Romulans. This is one of those cards that seems to make perfect sense, but falters once we start digging a little deeper. A 2.3.

SEEDABILITY: Still quite seedable, this is one of those precious RANGE-reducers that'll let Abandon Ship! hit its mark. Just make sure you put a wall or stopper just after Birth so as to give it time to have effect before hitting Abandon Ship. The best use for it though is in a Cytherians combo. Filter out an ENGINEER or two, hit the crew with Junior, then follow up with Cytherians (or Conundrum, or any field trip dilemma, but Cytherians is the best one here). The crew heads off to the far end of the spaceline, but probably never reaches it as the ship's RANGE dwindles down. This way, you can guarantee that your opponent not only loses use of his ship for a little while, but permanently, without a chance to score bonus points from Cytherians. Make sure you weed out the ENGINEERs though, since for many affiliations they are fairly common. For others, this card is murder. A 4.1.

TOTAL: 12.3 (61.5%) Total coincidence: same score as that other card that sucks.

PICTURE: Pretty plain overall. Bochra looks worn and beaten after having been marooned. No particular insight or anything to especially attract the eye. A 2.4.

LORE: Again, pretty plain. The story's told in usual Premiere brevity and almost sounds like that of a universal personnel. A boring 2.5.

TREK SENSE: One problem is that of the Centurion's role in Romulan hierarchy. The Star Trek Enclopedia places it approximately equivalent to a captain in Starfleet, but it is anything but. A Centurion in the Roman army was likewise high-ranking (having 100 men under him). In actuality, the only other Centurion ever seen (in TOS) was definitely under someone else. In TNG, we've learned that Commander is equivalent to captain, and Subcommander to 1st officer. So is Centurion under that? I don't know, but I suppose I have to be satisfied that it is, explaining both the Staff icon and Youth. In any case, the fault wouldn't be Decipher's. He's an Officer, fine. His looks might or might not belie his age. One can rarely tell with long-lived races. As for Navigation, Bochra crash landed on Galorndon Core! I guess it follows the FC Troi philosophy. How about Honor instead for having cooperated with Geordi? His Integrity is pretty high because of it; Cunning, regular for Romulans; and Strength a little low, but we've only seen him in weakened condition, so it's hard to say. Not the best at 2.7.

STOCKABILITY: Decipher took care of one-skill personnel with Assign Mission Specialists, but what about the two-skill personnel? AMS just made THEM the new bottom of the barrel. Bochra in particular adds little to a Romulan deck. Youth isn't very useful to them (with better personnel providing it) and Navigation is a common skill. Integrity makes him Firestorm proof, but other than that, nothing to go "oooh" or "aaah" about. Maybe Blaze of Glory will introduce advantages for Centurions, though I wouldn't count on it. A 2.

TOTAL: 9.6 (48%) Dreadful Premiere personnel are pretty common, though you might get them in your uncommon or rare slot.

PICTURE: I've never liked this in-your-face shot, probably because I much liked the first actor who played Bok over this guy. He looked more Ferengi for one thing. This face goes more with the lore, sure, but it just doesn't work. A 2.5 for the hate in his eyes.

LORE: Much too short. The "seeks revenge" part is dreadfully boring compared with what could have been written. What about the Thought Maker? Or faking Picard's lineage? All better avenues than this. The lore actually helps with his Trek Sense as you'll soon see, but it's not enough to bring this one above a 2.

TREK SENSE: Of course, everyone wishes this guy could be Ferengi-affiliation right? Well, here's why Non-Aligned works in his case: He's a FORMER Ferengi DaiMon, discharged from the service, and he no longer works with the Ferengi military. Problem here is that Klingons are always Klingons even if outcasts or criminals, as are Bajorans, and everybody except humans who can somehow dissociate themselved from the Federation. So it doesn't work entirely. His Command icon still belies his former rank. Grumble. He's still an Officer too, not a Civilian who used to be an Officer. Maybe it would have been easier to place him at an earlier point in his career for the purposes of the card. His skills are competently arrived at, however. Greed seems to be a Ferengi constant, ENGINEER is necessary to work the Thought Maker and send a signal probe to Picard, Treachery is a given, and Computer Skill was used to doctor Jason Vigo's DNA program. There would have been evidence to include Transporter Skill and something Medical as well. The Integrity could have been lower, but he IS seeking revenge for a loved one so 4 is okay. Cunning has to be high to hatch such schemes. And Strength, while perhaps Ferengi-ish, is a bit low for someone who has risen to the rank of DaiMon in the military. An uneven 3.2.

STOCKABILITY: Non-Aligned personnel are intrinsicly more useful since they can work with anyone except the Borg (even with the Dominion, though with more difficulty). Bok makes for a good dual-classification NA, having the OFFICER necessary to lead others into battle, and the ENGINEER useful for so many dilemmas and missions. Computer Skill is also useful, and the Cunning is great. Treachery and Greed are more vices than skills, but they will supplement Romulan decks. Being a Ferengi currently has no advantage except making him downloadable through Hire Mercenaries, but he would be anyway as a Non-Aligned. Watch out too for Firestorms and personnel battles where he'll easily get creamed. Note that he can complete Qualor II Rendezvous alone in case you've got personnel stuck under there. Really, it's a good thing he has two classifications, because he's totally unglamorous at 3.2.

TOTAL: 10.9 (54.5%) At four skills, he seems more attractive than he really is. Still, for Ferengi theme decks...

PICTURE: Far from the visuals offered by the First Contact Borg ships, the photo's a bit too dark, and where it's bright, it's too bright. The top of the Cube is a bit odd, almost looks like it's a little bent, or like it's been hit by a meteor. Still inspires fear into the hearts of players though, so a 3.1.

LORE: A little dry, this is fairly weak lore. It also causes a discrepency with today's Current Rulings. It says it's a ship from the Collective, but the rulings say it's a ROGUE ship. Hmm. The game text is also a mess by today's standards. A 2.4.

TREK SENSE: The dilemma somewhat mimics the rampage of a Borg ship through space. It attacks everything (perhaps assimilating personnel, we don't know) with very high weapons. It doesn't make much sense that the ship doesn't move any faster (it's investigating?) or that it never sticks around when it finds a society/homeworld, just goes off the spaceline. Of course, there's the thing about the Borg also being an affiliation. The ship corresponds to an affiliated cube, with the same WEAPONS and SHIELDS, but very different RANGE. The bonus points for destroying the cube are the same, 45. The major difference is that it attacks everything, whereas the "real" Borg can only attack when a certain objective is in play. Are we to assume that this cube is under that objective? Or should we believe the Rogue Ship story, contradicted by the lore (and everything we've seen on the show)? And there's a multiplexor drone aboard to boot since it attacks everything with full weapons. Other differences include it being impossible for people to beam aboard, and the Borg being unable to interact normally with it (thus the Rogue theory). I'm not against the ship making an appearance as a dilemma, since the Cardassians sort of appear in Cardassian Trap, etc. Basically works at 3.9.

SEEDABILITY: The scourge of the early game, it's always packed quite a wallop. Whenever an opponent's Borg Ship is uncovered, chances are, the ship doing the uncovering will soon become debris. Any ships at the same location will too. And after that, it's a cat and mouse game as all ships must overshoot the Borg to stay alive. Stop your opponent's ships at any cost, perhaps while yours are protected by modified shields, or wormhole them to the wrong place at the wrong time, and you can devastate an enemy before he has the chance to score any points. Another way to use the Borg Ship is to self-seed and self-activate. Those 45 points are great, but difficult to get since the Borg Ship will attack everything in sight. Are you willing to lose a fleet for those points? Well, maybe you are. But this is also the basis for Kurlan Naiskos decks. Boost a ship to incredible strength (or weapons and shields, really) and blast that cube into its component model kits. Hey, do it twice and you have a nice victory. Running a Borg Cube deck? Self-activate and watch opposing ships scatter while you remain very safe behind your SHIELDS 24. When you're done with your fun, play Retask and download yourself a completely staffed Borg Cube to replace it. This card is STILL the scourge of the game. Only the risk involved (opponent destroys for points, you get caught in its line of sight, etc.) keeps it at 4.8.

TOTAL: 14.2 (71%) Too bad many of the elements left something to be desired, eh?

PICTURE: A pair of Bynars just standing there is not very evocative of a weapons enhancement and plays more like a close-up of 10 and 01 (though these are different Bynars). So unless that panel behind them is somehow linked to the weapons systems, this one's a miss. Just 1.8.

LORE: The card reads like something called "Bynars" instead of "Bynars Weapon Enhancement". Only in the third sentence do we get to business, and even there, not quite. Out to lunch on this one: 1.

TREK SENSE: Plain and simple. The Bynars refit the entire fleet with better (stronger? more accurate? more responsive?) weapons systems, corresponding to an overall +2 boost. Any problems? Well, how about how these ships all get the upgrade without returning to a facility? Or that ALL ships owned by the same player but by different affiliations are covered. I understand that the Bynars are non-aligned, but still... it's hard to believe they would service every government's fleet at the same time, plus any mercenary ship and Edo Vessel in sight. Also, while I don't mind even cumulative effects on starships, shuttles really shouldn't be getting all these bonuses. Too much WEAPONS on a shuttle and there's no room to sit down. Comes to a 2.8.

STOCKABILITY: Well, a +2 boost to WEAPONS, cumulative to boot, can help a LOT if you're planning on battle. And with armada decks, you win big. That's not a +2 WEAPONS total (like with Tactic cards), it's a +2 PER ship. I don't know how big your armadas are, but depending, that's anywhere from +4 to +10 or more. Play two and we're up to +8 to +20 or more! 3? Fuggetaboutit. No one's surviving that one. For more peaceful mission-solving decks, it can be a good deterrent against would-be attackers. Add that it's downloadable by 10 and 01, and it's even friendlier. So, do I stock this card every time? Not really. Sometimes you just don't care about your ships or battling with them. A 4.1.

TOTAL: 9.7 (48.5%) Some bad design brings this one down.

PICTURE: Umm... 'scuse me, nurse? Certainly one of the oddest poses of any personnel card, her expression is also strange and takes away from her attractiveness. At least the console's colors match her blouse. A 2.2.

LORE: Yow! Could there be LESS information? We get her rank and from what season she comes from (7th) and almost nothing else. Her universality is acknowledged, I always appreciate that, but they still could have given a little backstory on her. Why do storyless Klingons get fancy "studied tribbles"-type lore, while someone who's actually done something in an episode gets nothing? Her full name is Maddy Calloway, by the way. I'm not holding that against Decipher as when Premiere came out, there was no published background information on TNG's last season and her name hadn't been released. A lame 1.2.

TREK SENSE: She's a "representative", so universal. She's not even a nurse, so she isn't getting any medical skill beyond her classification. She's young, sure. Perhaps because of this Youth, she isn't able to staff a ship. I would have thought that an ensign corresponded with Staff, whereas a simple crewman had no staffing icon. Hmm. Her single skill also raises a question: Is there such a thing as a Youth mission specialist? Well, in the game there is, but in reality? I suppose we could say her specialty lies in her youthful idealism and energy. Right. No problems with her attributes, they're fairly standard MEDICAL high Integrity and low Strength, with middling Cunning to show she didn't go to medical school for long. A 3 here.

STOCKABILITY: Relatively bad stats, no staffing icon, and little in the way of skills, who cares if you can report as many as you want? Her MEDICAL classification is ultra-useful, but is found on plenty of better personnel. It all boils down to one thing: how useful is a Youth mission specialist? Well, the Federation has 6 missions with Youth (most asking for it in multiple) available. You can actually, with AMS and a couple more Calloways (add a Simon Tarses in there too), bring Distress Mission to 50 points, or Investigate Legend to a whopping 55 points. And she can be worth extra cards to you thanks to Ooby Dooby. In a tightly focused deck, she'll do well. So, her or Simon Tarses? Female personnel still have the advantage over males right now, so I'll say her (though not by much). And look at it this way, if you lose Calloway to the Tarellian Plague Ship, so what? A surprising 3.6.

TOTAL: 10 (50%) You didn't really think she was going to get a passing grade, did you?

PICTURE: This close-up of a Chalnoth shows off some pretty scary make-up. I'm surprised we never really saw any Chalnoths after their first appearance in "Allegiance". An effective 3.1.

LORE: A little too scientific (especially toward the end), but pretty good. "Violent responses", eh? A 3.1 as well.

TREK SENSE: The Chalnoth's violent responses leads to an Away Team member's death, though there's no real reason for the opponent to choose who the victim is. After all, anarchy dictates that it should be random. 3 Security or a combined Strength of 41 or more will overcome the monster's own Strength. They're pretty tough. Almost as tough as three Nausicaans apparently. Too tough for a lone humanoid? Fighting the Chalnoth and winning is worth 5 points. Where there are points, I'm looking for some sort of mini-mission, a goal that must be achieved. Very often, dilemmas with point boxes represent an entire episode. This one falls a little short of that though. That's my only real complaint, so I give this one a 3.9.

SEEDABILITY: When a dilemma allows you to choose who its victim will be, you're in the money. The dilemma does have two possible requirements, and neither are all that easy to obtain (unless you're the Dominion). The 3 SECURITY is getting easier and easier these days, and the STRENGTH is easy or hard depending on the affiliation. And do you really want to risk your opponent to get those 5 points? That's why this one makes a nice self-seed for the Dominion and other super-strengthers (maybe the Klingons and Romulans, Feds and Ferengi need not apply). An easy 5 points for a cadre of Jem'Hadar. It's also a good follow-up to Armus-Sticky Situation. Still useful at 3.5.

TOTAL: 13.6 (68%) Is it me, or are Premiere reviews shorter than the others? The game was a lot simpler back then.

PICTURE: Not terrible, but not great. I've always had a perception problem with this card because of the lighting. For some reason, because of the colors on the card and the fact that we almost can't see the color of his shirt, I'm always surprised when I watch the episode and see that it's red. I always figure him for a gold or a blue. There's also an out-of-focus effect that makes his pips look like he's a full commander (which would mean he was of higher rank than Data), and creates a cozy plasma fire in the background. The battle-ready lighting is otherwise unique. A 2.9.

LORE: Bleh. How boring. Okay, they acknowledge his universality by making him a "representative", but the use of the word "staff" for a Command icon personnel is confusing. And where's the one thing that made him memorable, mainly that he hated serving under an android? No, this one is far off at 1.2.

TREK SENSE: An Officer yes. Command icon, sure. Universal representative, supported by the lore. But I really wish they hadn't made him into a universal. Seems like they voided Premiere's #1 jerk of everything that made him interesting. I would have liked to see a restriction box that gave him attributes -2 if an android present ("Does not work  with androids" is going too far since he did work with Data after all). With a restriction, he would have deserved more usefulness or been relegated to the binder. Since we don't know very much about him, he could have had any number of skills. Either that or stuff relating to the blockade, like a Tachyon Detection Grid download, or something to do with Scans. Who knows? For the time being, he's a Computer Skill mission specialist, a very plausible specialization. He sure knew how to work a console, I guess. And as for his stats, they make sense too. A 6 Integrity is a little low for a high-ranking Fed, because he didn't accept Data as a true sentient. The others can't be disputed either. Uninspired like a lot of Premiere cards: a 2.9.

STOCKABILITY: Computer Skill is a VERY common skill, but it's a useful one, required of a number of dilemmas and missions. It's also necessary for commandeering attempts and used to dock at stations. There's always something to do for a computer nerd. The fact that he's a mission specialist will make him able to score 5 points for about a dozen Federation missions, including the AMS-friendly Hunt for DNA Program. Some missions even ask for the skill in double doses, which could encourage you to use more than one Hobson (he's universal after all). There's another computer specialist out there and it's Premiere Reginald Barclay. Which is better? Well, Barclay's ENGINEER is better than Hobson's OFFICER, but Hobson can act as a leader in a battle (not a priority for the Federation, I know). So, not great, but he's a flexible mission specialist anyway. And since AMS only downloads two different specialists, get both Barclay and Hobson and go do some early commandeering. A 3.7.

TOTAL: 10.7 (53.5%) He wasn't much liked on the show either. ;-)

PICTURE: I think Decipher has a pretty good track record of giving us all the mysterious worlds in eclipse. Great idea. With Romulus here, since it's an undercover mission, we see as if we were approaching it from the "back". It's too bad a homeworld looks so indistinct though, but since it's the Romulans, it does make a lot of sense. A 4.

LORE: The lore excludes the Federation in this case (which would have been a Trek Sense issue) and does mention the planet as a homeworld. Pretty basic other than that. A 3.

TREK SENSE: Too bad only the Klingons can attempt this mission. You'd think they could have worded it so that Picard and Data could do the mission too. Sure, the Feds have plenty of available missions, but still. As is, Navigation is required to get there undetected (and REMAIN undetected). As for the rest, I don't know. Maybe Diplomacy and Honor are required to get along with the "covert operatives", but it looks more like what those operatives (in the show, they were Feds) need to complete their own mission. This mission is supposed to be an escort. Why is it even a planet mission then? Like, what's the Navigator doing on the surface? Add to that the fact that Cloaked Mission does not require a Cloaking Device, and you've got a card which was begging for errata in the Beta set. (Sure, all undamaged Klingon ships have a Cloak, but that's besides the point). Romulus only 3 Span away? A homeworld mission only worth 30 points? And this easy? I'm dumping this one. A 1.5.

SEEDABILITY: For the Klingons, it's pretty easy. The Klingons have plenty of all three required skills, on mission specialists even. The points aren't great, but can be boosted with AMS. For the Federation, Picard can solve it alone. Maybe with a Treaty? For the Borg, it's a juicy homeworld to assimilate and cripple the Romulans. For the Romulans themselves, it's a place to set their HQ and perhaps Secure Homeworld and other HQ cards. If facing the Klingons, they would do well to Secure Romulus as soon as possible, because this one's going to be a piece of Rokeg Blood Pie for the burly affiliation. Perhaps more dangerous to use than other homeworlds, but provides the same basic advantages as the rest. As a straight mission, would maybe have scored a 3.4. As a homeworld, it goes up to 4.4.

TOTAL: 12.9 (64.5%) Trek Sense blew this one away.

PICTURE: I've always thought it was a great looking ship that would even have been worthy of being tagged to a recurring affiliation on the show. Gunmetal, shiny and dark at the same time. That plow-shaped fin on the underside that looks like it can be used to ram enemy ships. A cool line of turrets. Sure, the picture is a little dark, but that's really part of the appeal. A dark and deadly 4.5.

LORE: The story is told without much fanfare. No real insight or information of interest. A plain 2.5 here.

TREK SENSE: Combat class? What a terrible name. The lore itself suggests this should have been, like many others, an Unknown class ship. Other than that, it IS Non-Aligned and obviously for hire. Its universality is fine. The staffing makes it comparable to an Excelsior class starship, so it must be fairly big, but no Tractor Beam. I'm not saying there's evidence to the contrary, but this also means the Combat Vessel can't carry shuttles. And if it's big enough to do so, maybe it should. Now, as a purely combat-specific ship, it may not have shuttles, or even shuttle bays, so it's not a big point of contention. The attributes are okay. A high Range makes it zip in and out of the Surplus Depot, the high Weapons go well with a war machine, and the lower Shields work within the context of the episode where the Enterprise was inexplicably able to destroy it with one shot. Well, they might have upped the Shields a bit given the armored look of the vessel, and simply chalked it off as foul play in the episode. After all, who would use a combat vessel that couldn't take a hit? A 3.

STOCKABILITY: Remember that question I just asked? That's the problem here. The Combat Vessel has been outclassed every which way by the ships that have come out since. It has no matching commander, no special equipment and ridiculous SHIELDS. You can also get better RANGE and WEAPONS on some other universal NA ships. So unless you're in some sort of structured tournament (Sealed Deck, or Commons only, for example), this one stays in the graveyard. A 1.5.

TOTAL: 11.5 (57.5%) Cool looking, but that's pretty much it.

PICTURE: Yet another gaseous spatial phenomenon from the makers of so many gaseous spatial phenomena. As far as these things go, it looks pretty good. The gases are roiling and the cosmic string is very close to us, as if it was imminent that our ship was going to slam right into it. A good 3.5.

LORE: The textbook definition. Sometimes I pick apart the lores that only give a rundown of a particular episode, but neglect to mention a more generic danger. After all, I want to feel that a dilemma is as dangerous to my Bajoran Interceptor as it is to the Enterprise-D. Here, it's all generic, and there's room left for more. Why not tell us the Enterprise was once steered toward one by two-dimensional creatures? A plain 3.

TREK SENSE: Cute usage of the word "sucked". It's banned on the web site, but quite in vogue on the cards themselves, eh? Aside from the color, there are three ways around the Fragment. One is Navigation, which helps you go around its gravitational forces. Another is Astrophysics, which demonstrates a certain understanding of what these things are. The ENGINEER, I'm not sure. Making the engine give a little extra to get out of the Fragment's field? Sounds about right. I think a combination of these should have been the requirement though. Like Astrophysics + (Navigation OR ENGINEER), for example. It would have helped with Seedability, but also with Trek Sense. You see, there's a point box on there, which signals to me that passing the dilemma is somehow akin to solving a mini-mission (points = accomplishing a goal). Dilemmas with bonus points attached were often episodes unto themselves. And this one played a big part in "The Loss", but without the 2D critters, it seems pretty harmless. Maybe if the 5 points were only given if Astrophysics were present, a sort of mini-Study Cosmic String Fragment mission, then, it'd make more sense. No real objections to any of this, but it's missing something. A 2.9.

SEEDABILITY: A self-seed if I ever saw one, because it's practically useless as a dilemma. Sure, it's got a great effect, not damaging, but destroying a ship! But you'll rarely make it hit, and if you don't, your opponent takes home 5 points. Astrophysics may be a specialty skill not found in every crew, but I'm ready to bet ENGINEER will be there, and Navigation too. These are very common skills, and important to boot. You'll really need a NUMBER of Brain Drains and skill-sapping dilemmas (Frame of Mind, etc.) to get anywhere. A bit much just to destroy a ship? Depend on your point of view. So seed it to give yourself the 5 points when you encounter it. There isn't that much more strategy for this card. A 2.6.

TOTAL: 12 (60%) A passing grade after all for a card that's at once overpowered and underpowered, like Warp Core Breach.

< Previous 20.....................................................................................................................Next 20 >