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: Ugly puss, like a lot of Ferengi, but not unlikeable as a pic. The coat matches the color of the affiliation (and may even have helped settle what color the NAs would be, perhaps), and he's looking toward his experiment adding a little dynamism. A 3.4.

LORE: All the elements are there. No mistakes, but nothing special either. Well written at 3.2.

TREK SENSE: A Scientist, must assuredly. An Engineer, well, yes, as his project is APPLIED science, applied to ships even. The two other skills certainly help in his work since metaphasic shielding is supposed to protect you even in the corona of a star. Astrophysics was needed to determine this, and Stellar Cartography... to find the correct star? It all starts to break down after this. What I won't fail to mention is that in better days (THESE days), Reyga would have been quite Ferengi, not Non-Aligned, and that a special download of Metaphasic Shields would have been imperative, and useful! None of that here, and so, not much innovation. (I know, I know, in Premiere, it was innovation enough not to have to "tap" your cards for "mana".) The attributes make some sense however, with Integrity high for a Ferengi, and Cunning a good high for a scientist. I do have reservations about the Strength though. It's a little high for a guy who bit the big one at the earliest opportunity (not to mention he's a scientist AND a Ferengi). Staff icon? Ah, at last we agree ;-). Ends up at about 2.1.

STOCKABILITY: Well, if Rules of Acquisition had truly come up with cards that affect Ferengi who DON'T have Acquisition, Greed or Treachery, he might have become a little better for non-Ferengi affiliations hoping to use Rule cards to manage their Gold-Pressed Latinum. As it is, there are still a few. The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition (the equipment) can be used by Reyga for limited card management, that kind of thing. Otherwise, he's basically a support card for space mission decks, with all the right skills to do the job. He was in a lot of my early decks, simply because of the two useful classifications. Fair attributes too. But when it comes to the new playing environment, you'd really have to wonder why you couldn't use one of your own guys (of your root affiliation, I mean). Still a good backup card, but not as necessary. A 3.6.

TOTAL: 12.3 (61.5%) A lot has happened since Premiere, and it's cast a shadow over this card.

PICTURE: Well, the brown background has distracting features and kinda blends the whole image together, but Selar is her cold self which does count for something. Kinda average at 3.

LORE: Yeech, not much meat on those bones! Though she was only seen once, Selar's name was mentioned on a number of occasions across TNG's run, so the "many years" line makes sense and is a nice tip of the hat to that. Otherwise, it's pretty shabby lore. What, no in-joke about the actress also playing K'Ehleyr? Maybe something like "Never liked Worf much". A boring ol' 2.7.

TREK SENSE: As a Vulcan doctor, she obviously gets MEDICAL and Mindmeld (that darn racial skill really keeps Vulcans from ever being worthy mission specialists). The staff icon corresponds to her relatively low rank, and she certainly wasn't CMO at the time. The Computer Skill is reasonable though not entirely medical-related (where are those other medical skills here?) and would presumably help her use a tricorder and run simulations. It's okay. The Integrity is on the low end for a Federation doctor, but she had no bedside manner to speak of. Cunning is naturally high, and Strength is indicative of her species. Not very interesting at 3.1.

STOCKABILITY: Only two skills, including one that's almost worthless in passing dilemmas and solving missions... it doesn't look good for this fan favorite (fans of New Frontier at least). While "Vulcan" is practically a skill unto itself (with Nerve Pinches, Lander staffing and Mindmelds to name but a few possibilities), most Vulcans are more useful than Selar. And even if MEDICAL and Computer Skill are both good skills, it's just not enough to save our gal from the dreaded binder. A lowly 2.4.

TOTAL: 11.2 (56%) I'd love to see a new Selar in Enhanced Premiere.

PICTURE: Only reds, oranges and blacks on this card which really unites the design (especially the black border edition). No real indication from the picture that this guy is Science, but then again, Klingons are all warriors, no matter their specialty. An ok 3.4 for this fiery image.

LORE: Universality isn't acknowledged here, but the sparse details kind of give it away anyway. The middle sentence is pure invention. His field of study looks REALLY boring. Not something you imagine a Klingon doing. The last sentence gives us an easy episode reference. Not so hot at 2.8.

TREK SENSE: First, universality isn't mentioned in the lore, but we can still believe it, given his caliber. As Science officer aboard the Pagh, he deserves the classification and Staff icon. And while Archaeology is a good mission specialty (that is to say, makes more sense than Youth), what does THAT have to do with plants and Berthold rays? Unless his technique is used for some sort of carbon dating, it has nothing to do with it. Biology and/or Physics seem more appropriate. As for the attributes, they seem fair enough. Hard to tell from such a marginal character. CUNNING 6 is dumb enough to study the effects of Berthold rays on plant life I guess ;-). Sunk by its made-up lore. A 2.4.

STOCKABILITY: Obviously, he'll work in Assign Mission Specialists decks, so we have to check how many Klingon missions require Archaeology. That's half a dozen by my count, which could be your contribution to the spaceline if you don't fear playing all planets. Since Hunt for DNA Program requires 3 Archaeologists and Sarthong Plunder 2, your universal Dukaths could make those two missions pretty lucrative. Together, they could be your ticket to 100 points quite easily. And while the attributes are lackluster, at least the STRENGTH isn't an insipid liability. One of the useful mission specialists at 4.1.

TOTAL: 12.7 (63.5%) Some mistakes were made, but AMS makes up for it a little.

PICTURE: A little hazy, and the background is strangely washed color-wise. As for Duras himself, at least it's not another headshot, but it's really strange to see a Klingon with a sword, which hasn't been seen much as a traditional Klingon weapon. Of course, Duras is something of an anti-Klingon, more of a Romulan really, and that could be inferred by the choice of picture. Too blurry to reach higher than a 3.2.

LORE: The elements are there, including a familial relationship. The Klingon High Council is likewise mentioned, making him reportable to The Great Hall, so bonus points there. Otherwise, the lore is lackluster. Where's his enmity with Worf, or mention of ANY of his duplicitous plans? A little boring at 3.2.

TREK SENSE: As the leader of an important Klingon family, the VIP and Leadership (and Command icon) seem warranted. Treachery and Greed are likewise in his very unKlingon-like character. And the Computer Skill would have to have been used to manufacture evidence against Mogh pertaining to the Khitomer Massacre. The Integrity is low, but not too low (he is still loyal to his family), the Cunning not that hot (no mental giant this guy, though clever) and the Strength a healthy Klingon 8. Makes sense. But imagine if this card had been made today? Dual-affiliation? A Nemesis icon against Worf? Something to boost the rest of the family? Who knows? Not too inspired as it stands. A 3.7.

STOCKABILITY: While he used to be a "main" in the old days, he kinda pales in comparison to newer personnel. In any case, Duras was never that great in the first place, because he lacks the skills that allow for maximum redundancy in a Klingon deck: Honor. Treachery just isn't in demand as much, but it can serve some purpose. In fact, Duras has all the skills required of Cargo Rendezvous, and helps out with everything but the Honor on Khitomer Research. He'll also do well at Compromised Mission and Pegasus Search. Most of these missions being Romulan/Klingon, he'll do well in a Treaty deck, or a Treachery-themed Klingon deck. He is one of 6 Klingon Greed personnel if you want to run Latinum-based strategies. Computer Skill is never a waste, and Leadership allows him to initiate battle, plus he reports to The Great Hall for free. The STRENGTH is high enough (and he has all the skills necessary to throw someone out an Airlock), but the other attributes are terrible, especially the INTEGRITY. Too bad he isn't the matching commander of the Vorn. Eclipsed by newer personnel, he still has some use at 3.5.

TOTAL: 13.6 (68%) Ah Premiere... ever average.

PICTURE: On the show, this was a very difficult to see phenomenon, we could only catch glimpses of the monster. This card shows us a little more... at least, we see some kind of demonic head. So that's cool. Unfortunately, the card is very improperly balanced both color-wise and composition-wise. The palette is extremely limited, with the monster, Dathon and the landscape sharing the same colors. And what's Dathon's prone body even doing there? A close-up of the monster would have been better than this, as Dathon's head and body seem to be part of the landscape (due to coloring) and are distracting. A 2.2.

LORE: First sentence gives a name to the creature. The second tells us Picard and Dathon faced this dilemma "first". Well, for one thing, given that the Tamarians brought both captains to this planet to face it, I'd say others encountered it before they did. Maybe the Tamarians even used El-Adrel for other such meetings of the minds. Aside from what I believe to be a mistake, the lore isn't too interesting. A poor showing at 2.4.

TREK SENSE: The problem is, that while the dilemma does mimic the episode "Darmok" by having two personnel face the Creature, there's no reason the situation would be reproduced when attempting a planet mission with multiple personnel. In "Darmok", the dilemma actually starts aboard ship, as two personnel are whisked away to a planet to face the second part of the dilemma, the Creature. In a normal visit to El-Adrel (note that the title of the card makes it strange to encounter this card anywhere else, and there's no El-Adrel IV to visit yet), an Away Team of 5 would face the creature with 5 personnel. So if I continue the review with the idea that I only beamed down 2 personnel (my strongest, though Picard is far from the strongest personnel in the Enterprise bridge crew), or that 2 personnel get seperated from the rest of the Away Team somehow, one of the two is killed (as per the episode) unless they are strong enough. Dathon/Picard total Strength? 12. Well below the required 16. And all they had were knives, so it's possible to kill the creature of drive it away with two strong or well-armed personnel. But it's hard to get past all the nonsense. A 2.

SEEDABILITY: A chance to get rid of one of your opponent's strongest personnel? What if she was two very strong personnel? Then it won't work. Consider: the presence of even one android, Jem'Hadar or Fek'lhr (or other strong Klingon) will probably pass the dilemma. I mean, is the personnel that is second in STRENGTH accompanying that STRENGTH 12 personnel really only at less than 4? Doubtful. If hand weapons are thrown in, even middle-of-the-road personnel will be able to achieve the required STRENGTH. Redshirts and very small Away Teams might be better targets, as your lone redshirt probably WON'T have more than 16 STRENGTH, and small Away Teams might not have more than one strong personnel. I recommend leading this one with filters to reduce the size of the team, equipment hosers to get rid of those persky hand weapons, and maybe Armus-Sticky Situation to get rid of the strongest personnel right here and now. Of course, that'a a lot of work just to kill one personnel. Plus, STRENGTH requirements aside, Dathon nullifies this dilemma. Hits no higher than 2.9.

TOTAL: 9.5 (47.5%) Eeeech... and from my favorite TNG episode too.

PICTURE: Simple composition on this prop shot. The colors are fairly attractive (and again, simple), but there's just not much interest here. A 2.7.

LORE: Short and to the point, they certainly didn't waste time with this one. There's room for an example of use, but it's not used. Fair lore (what's there), but it's not enough to go higher than 2.9.

TREK SENSE: In case of emergency, beam personnel back up! Basically what the card does, but it does more (and less) than actual armbands would. For one thing, ETAs are rarely used from your ship to a planet. Why would they be? They're a control device that the beamee can use him-or-herself. On your ship, you have access to your transporters. In any case, the ETAs won't let you escape just anything. Seems to me a number of dilemmas are just like personnel battles (Ferengi Attack, Rebel Encounter, Nausicaans, and the list goes on) and should be just as escapable. Really, the ETAs should have been Equipment. As an Interrupt, it suddenly reveals that your Away Team had armbands all along and zap, they're up. Instead of allowing for greater ease of beaming by being with an Away Team in the first place. (All ideas on how to make a common card rare, but that's Trek Sense for ya.) At least, it won't work to or from a ship without transporters, and your Barclay with Phobia won't be pressing the button that sends him home. All these restrictions remain in place. Both overshoots and undershoots the mark at 2.4.

STOCKABILITY: So, is this one worth it? Well, depends on your fears and needs I suppose. Scared of Jem'Hadar attack parties? Beam out your personnel at the first sign of trouble. Same thing when the Borg come after a counterpart. Low on INTEGRITY? Firestorm is just about the only dilemma that can be escaped this way. Romulans might find it a necessary precaution. Quantum Singularity Lifeforms can be cured with the Interrupt, so it could be a way to release your Romulans who set it off (as part of a trap, once you have the means to destroy or board your opponent's vessel present). If playing Borg, it can beam down an entire Away Team of drones, superceding the need to scout one-by-one. Indeed, for the Borg, the card becomes a time-saver, and not a bad one. They can enjoy the same benefits as other large Away Teams, like use of a Genetronic Replicator, sharing skills and bonuses, etc. Useful for some affiliations more than others, it's not the prefect card since it won't beam up stopped personnel (though it works at the start of your opponent's turn, when they are unstopped again) or work through various interference cards, but it does deserve its 3.5.

TOTAL: 12.5 (62.5%) Almost didn't make the average!

PICTURE: Too much purple is one of the graphic problems of the basic set (or, more accurately, that the printed purple isn't as rich as the onscreen purple), but the Enterprise is reasonably cute at this size. A somewhat dramatic card, if the fx hadn't been so blotchy... A 3.3.

LORE: The energy vortex is what was seen in the episode "Time Squared", right? Now, though it DID almost destroy the ship, it also had some strange temporal effects (i.e. the extra Picard). That isn't really mentioned and, according to the game text, it's the crux of the card! Couldn't go above 2.2 here.

TREK SENSE: Well, let's call this one semi-conceptual. If it were purely Trek sensical, it would probably be played on the spaceline, would probably vortex in some cards there (if a ship, destroyed), etc. But it really doesn't work like that, or like a dilemma, which would also have been adequate. What it does is, it gobbles up just-played cards, appearing out of nowhere (just like in the show), and later going back to nothingness, but apparently not before it lets go of whatever resource it has absorbed, since you can play that resource once again. That's the temporal effect I was speaking about earlier, where the card spends time in limbo, but is not destroyed. Semi-conceptual because the Vortex works in some cases - ships, some spaceline events like Calamarain... but not personnel (a small vortex inside an outpost?), events like Red Alert and Captain's Log (non-sense), time locations, etc. And the fact that "a different card must be played" is not really explained (the time distortion again?). Convoluted and abstract, this one only gets a 2.5.

STOCKABILITY: A flexible little card you might want to include just in case you can screw up your opponent's timing and/or strategy, Energy Vortex unfortunately won't keep anyone from downloading a card, or from revealing a hidden agenda, but it can be nasty to actual card plays. For one thing, there's the choice of target card. It usually slows things down for your opponent, especially later in the game, after the initial slew of reporting (when reporting one personnel instead of another really doesn't matter). It also gives you an idea of what your opponent plans to do next, so that you can react beforehand (ahhh, time distortions). If it means playing Telepathic Alien Kidnappers, so be it. Rarer card types like Doorways, Incidents, Time Locations or Artifacts (to be played from hand) are not only easier to single out, but powerful to boot. Alien Probe is another card that will help here, since you can see what other cards your opponent will have to play if she doesn't play this one. (Of course, she'll also see you have an Energy Vortex, but what can she do about that?) That's an important facet of Energy Vortex: your opponent MUST play another card if possible. What if only one of them has a legitimate target? It could mean wasting a Kevin Uxbridge on an unimportant Event (or one of opponent's own), or just tipping one's hand to the next step in one's strategy. Cards that give you specific card plays are more or less invalidated if you then can't play that card. Think of Space-Time Portal... you discard to play a ship, but then the ship gets Vortexed. Sorry, but that Portal stays discarded. Other fine uses: Vortex a Computer Skill personnel who just reported to your Nor (no commandeering attempt until I get my SECURITY aboard); cards dependent on specific conditions which might later change (like Dial M for Martok or Immortal Again) become prime targets for the card; and of course, forestall any non-interrupt effect that could hurt you right now (anything from Q-Nets to Retasks). There are clearly as many possibilities as there are target cards, but a lot of this hinges on luck (what will be played instead, for one thing). Don't Energy Vortex the replacement card though, that only makes the original playable again (but maybe you made a mistake and it would have been better that way). If your opponent has no legal cards she can play, you may verify that fact by looking through her hand. So even that's not bad. Risky and low-powered, but still a 3.6.

TOTAL: 11.6 (58%) If Premiere was such a lame set, how is it that we all still play the game? Answer: It was just so much better than Magic! ;-)

PICTURE: Not bad for a prop shot. The warp core is visible in the background, which truly makes this an engineering-related equipment. And an open Kit is way better than a closed one - look at all those doodads (including an Engineering PADD). Good colors too... a 3.6.

LORE: Eeech... not as good. The second sentence is standard for this kind of card so that it may be used by any affiliation even if it's obviously a Federation model in the picture. The first is pretty vague... but what else could you say about something like this? Maybe a short list of the equipment inside (spanners and isometers and so on)? A lameduck 2.

TREK SENSE: An Engineering Kit would obviously give you the skill of ENGINEER, right? Well, technically, but it doesn't work so well. For example, why give that skill only to OFFICERs? What is it about that group that makes them better able to use kits than say, tricorders or PADDs (because you'll notice - and this is something I like about Equipment design - Kits always give their skill to OFFICERs)? In fact, haven't we always seen Engineers use Engineering Kits? Maybe it should give extra levels of the skill to personnel who are already ENGINEERs. That wouldn't be half as useful, but hey, I don't care about that here. OFFICERs have taken extension courses in engineering I'm sure, it's just that, so have others, so it's all very arbitrary. And what about that PADD right there in the Kit, why isn't its skill bonus factored in? Plus, there's always the question about how many pieces of Equipment there are. If you have 5 OFFICERs, then it looks like there are 5 Kits, but one OFFICER can't leave with one of them unless a seperate card comes into play. With Kits, I'm less concerned about that, since one Kit is actually multiple pieces of Equipment all in one tidy briefcase. So... that leaves us with a 2.1.

STOCKABILITY: A staple of many decks, this is the kind of Equipment that doesn't go out in style. For one thing, ENGINEER is too useful a skill. It's on a pile of dilemmas and missions. And since OFFICERs are plenty in most affiliations, often more numerous than ENGINEERs, a good Kit can supplement your crew or Away Team easily. ENGINEER is often asked for in multiple (from 3 to 6!), you really can't have enough. The Kit will be most useful to the Cardassians who could leave one at the Ore Processing Unit so that even an OFFICER now can Process Ore, to the Dominion who can make most any OFFICER Jem'Hadar use Ultimatum, or to the Federation who, in addition to being quite able to run ENGINEER mission-solving decks, have plenty of human OFFICERs who can Visit Cochrane Memorial as ENGINEERs. Of course, the Feds already have plenty of ENGINEERs, but you want them on mission attempts! Non-Aligned help for the Memorial was always possible through human ENGINEERs like Lily and Zefram (unfortunately AU), but also through the Maquis Amaros. The Kit will add Kalita to that short list (which also includes Soong and Brianon). I'd say one of the better pieces of Equipment out there, especially since it puts more incentive for using OFFICERs, so you won't be caught with your pants down when you hit a Maglock. A good 3.8.

TOTAL: 11.5 (57.5%) The *most* useful skill-adding equipment? We'll have to see.

PICTURE: A simple - and quite boring - prop shot. So dull, I've got nothing to say. A 1.2.

LORE: It's not going too well for this card... The lore combines the boring lore of regular PADDs and the equally boring phrase about having been developped by many races. Bla bla bla. Another yawner at 2.1.

TREK SENSE: Since the PADD is geared toward engineering duties, it makes some measure of sense that it would give the ENGINEER skill. Some. Like all similar equipment cards, there's no reason personnel other than SCIENCE couldn't use it, and at the same time, no reason why Engineering PADDs shouldn't actually give further levels of ENGINEER to Engineers! It's something THEY use right? Maybe SCIENCE personnel are adept at using PADDs to corelate data or something, and that enables them to bridge the admittedly small gap between SCIENCE and ENGINEER. Those two classifications are close to each other. It all seems pretty arbitrary anyway. The other problem is one shared by most Equipment cards: that one card helps ALL personnel present, so that it seems to represent multiple PADDs. But it can't be so, because when a Scientist leaves the group, he doesn't bring his PADD with him. I'm afraid this one's worth only a 1.7.

STOCKABILITY: The only place a card like this can shine is under Stockability. Indeed, turning your Science personnel into Engineers as well is a double-whammy to a lot of dilemma combos. SCIENCE is getting to be more and more in demand, and ENGINEER has always been so, so crossing the two skills over isn't a bad idea. Of course, it's just a reverse-Tricorder, so whether you use one or the other kinda depends on the number of SCIENCE and ENGINEER you're actually using, and which ones you're missing. In that respect, maybe you're better off with an Engineering Kit, since there is no reverse, and you can't get OFFICERs any other way. The Tricorder is useful with some dilemmas, and the PADD isn't. That's another point. The PADD can be downloaded by Paul Porter, but he's already an ENGINEER. It can report to your SCIENCE personnel at the Science Lab, and that's a plus. About half a dozen missions require both SCIENCE and ENGINEER, so this piece of equipment will help reduce Away Team sizes there (doubling up helps with a few dilemmas as well). The main thing going against this card though is that most affiliations have very few SCIENCE personnel (or in the case of the Dominion, none), usually three. Only the older races are actually loaded up on those, and the Federation really isn't missing any ENGINEERs. The Klingons will find this PADD most useful, seeing as they have plenty of SCIENCE, but few ENGINEERs. Ends up at 3.4.

TOTAL: 8.4 (42%) It's got everything going against it.

PICTURE: Adequate, with a cool Starfleet insignia in the background, and a shadow across Pressman's face (the dark side of Starfleet). Looks a little too sympathetic though (check out Leyton for the same type of character, but better done). A 3.4.

LORE: This is gonna be ugly. The problem is basically that the lore omits Pressman's admiralty (robbing him of reporting to the Office of the President) in favor of a captaincy of a ship not in the cards. If this is meant to be Pressman while he was captain, then the picture doesn't match. The admiral pips are quite visible. In any case, that was ages ago when Riker was hardly more than a kid. Nothing about more recent events... a wash at 1.2.

TREK SENSE: Well, the missing admiral status certainly hurts here. Blatant error. Otherwise, he fits the Officer profile since he's a hands-on guy, rather than a pure bureaucrat. Engineering makes perfect sense for someone involved in cloak research, and Treachery for a character heading for a court-martial, having done strictly illegal research. The Integrity might be on the high side, but I'm sure everything he did, he did in the Federation's best interests. The Cunning is very low, and though there's no huge evidence of high intelligence here, no one gets to admiral on a 6. Especially not when they have to cover their rather ugly tracks. The Strength could also have been higher. He seemed tougher than that. The main problem is a lack of vision: A high-ranking member of Starfleet deserves more in the way of skills. Heck, SECURITY wouldn't have been out of place. Even Leadership (gotten it SINCE the mutiny, of course). In better days, I'm sure some skill relating to the phase cloak would have made its way here. How about an Admiral Pressman persona, Decipher? For now, a 2.3.

STOCKABILITY: Don't you just hate the 2-skill Premiere personnel? Pressman really only has the ENGINEER going for him. It's a good classification (dual, in his case). Treachery isn't very useful in a Federation deck, though rare. He's one of the only 8 personnel that can pass In the Pale Moonlight for the Federation (if that option is chosen). Guess what? He's the worst of the bunch. His matching commander status may become important in the future, especially since we now have phase cloaking, but not right now. Add to that some incredibly lame attributes - what is this, a universal? - and you have high-ranking binder fodder at an even 3 (still has his uses, if you don't have a lot of other cards).

TOTAL: 9.9 (49.5%) I got the Premiere blues...

PICTURE: Now that we've seen a lot more escape pod material (in First Contact, DS9 and Voyager), it's just too bad this one's an Angosian pod. Ango-who? It's not a bad picture, nicely detailed and colored, but we've since seen more appropriate images. Nevertheless, a 3.1.

LORE: First the specifics from the pic, then the more general application of the card. All's in order, but nothing really sets this one apart. A 3.2, no more.

TREK SENSE: So simple they practically couldn't screw this one up. Basically, your personnel all jump into a pod (I'm guessing the card represents a great number of escape pods, as many as a crew might need) and get off the ship as it is destroyed. Another ship can rescue the personnel in the pods later (let's hope it's not a shuttle making a Galaxy-size pick-up). That it remains unseen by enemy ships is only true as far as rules of war state that you shouldn't attack escape pods, since ships all have sensors. The shows, however, present a different story - that sometimes the forces of evil are willing to break the rules, and that capturing a pod is entirely possible. Despite those concerns, Escape Pod hits a 4.

STOCKABILITY: All your key personnel on the same ship? That ship run afoul of an armada? Let's hope you're packing an Escape Pod. A good back-up is made better by its being downloadable through Launch Portal or Emergency Evacuation. The latter in particular is seedable and extends the powers of your Pod to any destroyed facility. In the extreme case you lose a Nor full of people unable to get to any ships before it's too late, you'll be glad for Emergency Evac. Yes, other options are open to you such as launching a shuttle, scout ship or sphere to escape your ship's destruction, but those small ships might become target practice for the same ships that destroyed your larger vessel in the first place. Escape Pod is undetectable and so, a safer haven. With battle decks all the rage these days, militarily weaker players might be stocking this one, but will it matter when your rescue ship can get destroyed by the same armada? Somewhere around a 3.

TOTAL: 13.3 (66.5%) Unfortunately not as useful as it seems.

PICTURE: Picard might be an odd choice for a spy, but he was meeting a sympathetic informant in this picture, so it counts. The disguise, shadows and distance all help make this card more "covert", which is a good thing, boosting it to a 3.6.

LORE: Federation espionage methods sound pretty benign (in the true spirit of the UFP), and while the general lore works in so far as this in the only Federation Espionage card, I might have liked to see some details on any spying done on the Klingons. A well-put 3.5 nonetheless.

TREK SENSE: Espionage cards all have the same problem, namely that spying is not equivalent to attempting other people's missions. For example, would the Feds actually "Force the Federation to forfeit claim to planet relinquished a century ago by the Klingon Empire", the mission objectives on Archanis Dispute? Sure, "Studies" and "Investigations" can be made in foreign space, and planets can be plundered, that kind of thing. But a lot of missions are really ethno-centric and make no sense to an opposing party. Spies seem to actually be helping the other side! If Espionage somehow changed the mission requirements, or stole points from it, or something, that would be a step up on the Sense-meter. And no, I have no problem with the Federation doing some spying. In fact, where are the other Espionage cards? We've seen them spy on the Romulans (Bashir and Sloan), the Cardassians (in "Chain of Command") and the Dominion (behind the lines on a stolen fighter). Waiting for the Secion 31 expansion? In the meantime, the standard 2 here.

STOCKABILITY: Bah. The Federation has plenty of missions all its own, no way to play this for free, and already a LOT of crossover with Klingon missions. Cute in a theme deck where you send Worf and family to Bat'leth Tournaments. Easy Cloaked Mission with a number of Federation one-man Away Teams (it houses the Romulan HQ so has a fair chance of showing up). Major AMS points on Investigate Alien Probe. Easy Fever Emergency, Medical Emergency (with just Bev), etc. What, like your Feds don't have enough missions like this that they need to waste turns playing Espionage events? Possibly the least useful Espionage card at 1.7.

TOTAL: 10.8 (54%) I don't think it's the Klingons we need to worry about the most.

PICTURE: Dark, murky and hazy, this would usually kill the score, but on Espionage cards, it's welcome. Here, the limited palette is interesting, but a little too pink (a consequence of an earlier printing process). The composition isn't as strong as it could be (too many objects to the right), though the Klingon figure in the red circle is a strong image. I also like the rays of shining light in the upper right quadrant of that circle. Composition and the pink hues keep this one at 3.1.

LORE: Not very good. They give an example, but there's nothing defining Klingon espionage practices in any meaningful way. Plus, the sentence is asymmetrical. Data is not espionage, data THEFT might be. Just a 2.

TREK SENSE: Same as with other Espionage cards, it plays like your Klingons are actually helping the Federation (in this case) complete their mission objectives. Spying just requires very different skills than does completing a mission. And while I'm not against "studies" and "investigations" being perpetrated on the other side of the border, would First Contact actually be something the Klingons could or would do? How about helping the Feds by completing their Diplomacy missions for them? Since the Klingons and Feds are friends, there's plenty of leeway here, but the game doesn't hold you to specific treaties. Most Espionage cards get a 2, and this one's no different. Especially with no Klingon Intelligence free plays.

STOCKABILITY: Much like the reverse card (Federation on Klingon), there's a LOT of crossover between Federation and Klingon missions, so if (and I do say if) your opponent slaps down some Federation missions, they might very well already have a Klingon attemptability icon. And while you might want the Federation missions to supplement your DipHoLes, as far as skill redundancy goes, you're better off with your own Honor missions. Federation missions also often require skills rare or absent in other affiliations (like Empathy, Cantankerousness, good thing there are no Mindmeld missions) or ask for things like androids or specific personnel. Those are hardest to steal, though the Klingons do have K'chiQ, which I recommend for any Klingon espionage deck. Klingon espionage deck?!? What are we talking about? These guys are fighters, not spies, and so their talents lie elsewhere. Not even any Klingon Intelligence or Plans cards for these guys. There's always Earth and its Espionage mission, and you'll need this card to get Atul to boost it further. Some good points there. Gets it to 2.5.

TOTAL: 9.6 (48%) Ah espionage... I think it probably should have been done in conjunction with a different list of skills on the opponent's end of the missions.

PICTURE: The Romulan soup lady gets her own card! Sorta... Anyway, the furtive look behind her fits with the card, though the color palette is oddly un-Romulan and the large arms in the foreground distract from the composition. Not bad, but has some visual problems. A 3.2.

LORE: Simple, to the point, and hilarious. Why go into long-winded speeches when this is all you need to know. It's what Romulans are bred for - espionage. Nobody suspects the soup lady. Or the kindergarden teacher. Or your mom. They are everywhere. A stroke of zen genius. Yes, a 5. I love it! (But maybe I'm with THEM. ;-)

TREK SENSE: Same review as usual with different examples. Espionage isn't equivalent to mission theft, and this card makes it seem many times like the Romulans are actually helping the Federation. You're not collecting information, you're completing missions. The Federation, for example, is big on helping planets and handing out diplomatic solutions. Romulans are not. There's no real problems with Studies and Investigations in the other affiliation's space, but some mission objectives or requirements need to be changed if they are suvberted by espionage. With no special Tal Shiar connection on this card, it'll have to stay at the standard 2.

STOCKABILITY: The Romulans being great spies, this card should be useful, right? Well, it is. There are more Federation missions than any other type, and though some also allow the Romulans to attempt it, it's not as widespread as the Klingon/Federation combo. Romulans will be especially good at stealing Archaeology and/or scientific space missions, and also have enough Diplomacy to take advantage of those missions. And even missions with Empathy, difficult to steal from the Feds, aren't so hard with Major Rakal present. See, it's not just a question of there being targets, it's also about card management. The Romulans have plans of the Tal Shiar to help them. With that objective, anywhere you have Tal Shiar present (including the aforementioned Empath), you can play the event for free, and it can't be nullified. You don't even have to use them since with Plans, you can discard them to get a card draw. And if you really do need one, Plans will discard to download one. The problem with Espionage cards is that they are slowly played and don't always have targets. Plans reduces this risk considerably. Also note that Espionage Mission, the high-point homeworld, is attemptable through use of this card. The Romulans have Selok, sure, but since Tal Shiar is required, play the card for free (under Plans) and complete it with just Koval or Vreenak if possible. Especially if you self-seeded everything at the mission ;-). As high as a 4.

TOTAL: 14.2 (71%) High scores and low scores so you don't know on which side I'm on. ;-)

PICTURE: Sela's appearance in the first part of "Redemption" (which isn't her first appearance ever, that's "The Mind's Eye") has the right colors - green for Romulan, and red for Klingon. The split-screen effect isn't very strong composition-wise, but the shadows are adequate. The red comes off as too pink though, a common Premiere printing flaw, and the red lines behind it make it look smeared. A 3.1.

LORE: Good information, including Sela's two plans (she was responsible for the whole Geordi brainwashing thing remember?), so it's at least average. A little better in fact at 3.3.

TREK SENSE: I've said it before, do I have to say it again? Espionage does NOT equal mission theft. Even the lore is more about infiltrator-type activity than about solving other people's missions. Study missions and investigations are fine to spy on because they are already about intelligence-gathering. Unfortunately, the Romulans seem to actually help the Klingons do Krios Suppression! And would they go up against their own homeworld with Cloaked Mission? Tal Shiar once more not invited on this card, so it's the standard 2 all over again.

STOCKABILITY: There aren't as many Klingon missions as Federation ones, but the Romulans can always make use of Espionage cards - it's their forte. And I dare say that since Romulan capture decks are pretty viable, you could even Brainwash Klingons with Honor (even specific ones like Kor) to attempt the normally thief-proof A Good Place to Die or Bat'leth Tournament. Otherwise, a couple of pure Klingon scientific missions could be easy for your R'Mor deck. I don't think Klingon Archaeology is viable enough for you to expect those kinds of missions to crop up though. One thing about the Klingons is that they often have to share missions with other affiliations. That means your Espionage card could be used against more than just the Klingons. Unfortunately, there is a LOT of crossover between the Klingons and Romulans, so you often don't even need Espionage to steal them (unless those darn referee cards get in the way), limiting the usefulness of this particular card. It's not so bad thanks to Plans of the Tal Shiar however, which turns your Tal Shiar personnel into reporting engines for your Espionage cards, making them free plays, downloads or conversions into other cards depending on the situation. Makes the Espionage cards more user-friendly. Gets this card up to a 3.6.

TOTAL: 12 (60%) A just-passing grade for a card that usually gets the Romulans over the fence ;-).

PICTURE: An attractive picture in so far as the extreme close-up isn't very common. Her demeanor is far from the villain we know she is by the end of the episode (she's just Riker's girlfriend here), but at the same time, it says something about playing games - they're meant to be fun! There's something unsettling about the make-up ('nuff said), but altogether, a good card at 3.4.

LORE: The story's there and reads like a short synopsis of the episode. Gender and species there too. Some space left. How about making her a matching commander for that ship of hers? Or maybe linking her to Riker? And was the entire Federation meant to fall because of that game (the show only made mention of Starfleet, and only really attacked the Enterprise)? Lame at 2.3.

TREK SENSE: The Ktarians are easily a Non-Aligned power, and Etana Jol did command a ship (and the project), so deserves both icons. Science and Biology? There's nothing that proves she invented the game (or helped, since it would also take Computer Skill and Engineer to complete), but nothing that says she had nothing to do with it either. She seemed more like an Officer to me though (sitting in "the chair" on her ship). The Treachery, of course, is obvious. Then the skill box has all that empty space which could have supported any number of Game-related special skills. Seize Wesley might not have be as lame if she could download it. (I'm kidding - it still would have.) But doubling Ktarian Game would have been great. Ah well. The attributes all make sense, except for the Strength which should have been a tad higher. Nymph or no, she seemed pretty militarily-minded on that ship of hers. Not too original, and even lacking, at 2.8.

STOCKABILITY: 2 skills? That's just terrible. Too strong to be a mission specialist, and too weak to be taken out of the binder. Not to say SCIENCE isn't a nice classification. Or that Biology isn't a nice skill. They are. The Treachery has presence on a number of "evil" missions. I hear she's good at passing the Aphasia Device, Scientific Method, and Unscientific Method dilemma combo. But hey! You can find all this on other personnel, and those personnel probably have better INTEGRITY and STRENGTH, both of which are outrageously low. Her few skill dots will be ideal for Recruit Mercenaries though, getting those skills quite fast. The score thus won't be too close to zero, because she has a use in sealed deck play and for players with much smaller collections, but it's not gonna be very high. About time someone makes an Etana enhancer! (Coming in TwT, I hear.) About a 2.3.

TOTAL: 10.8 (54%) Even the Golds can have the Premiere blues...

PICTURE: There's something going on this picture. You know the "man on the moon"? Well, there seems to be a man on Dorvan V as well. The blue and brown patches create eyes, a nose and mouth, and those colors have something that smacks of a totem pole. Accidental? On purpose? Whichever, it adds a little something to the planet that houses a Native American colony, picturing the world with an animist esthetic. A 3.7.

LORE: Is this the shortest lore of any mission card? There's not much here, and I'm surprised the less politically correct "American Indian" was used. No gusto at a simple 2.

TREK SENSE: The evolution of the game has dealt a number of blows to this card's Trek Sense. Foremost on my mind is the fact that it doesn't sit in the Demilitarized Zone, but should. And while I recognize the Federation's efforts to evacuate their colony, this would have made a perfect Cardassian mission too, perhaps with Treachery instead of Diplomacy. No such thing here. The Federation for their part require lots of Diplomacy (3) since the natives were not inclined to leave their homes, and some Strength too, to force them off-planet. Well, are we forcing them, or being diplomatic? They seem mutually exclusive to me. Either you use one or other. Other skills which would have fit well are Anthropology and Honor, but no go. Span 3... 30 points... by this point, I've already decided on a 1.3.

SEEDABILITY: Federation Diplomacy decks might very well be using this mission. For one thing, it's covered by Fair Play (it only shows the Federation attemptability icon, protecting it from mission theft even without it) and immune to Assimilate Planet. Secondly, the 3 Diplomacy can be supplied by a single personnel (Sarek) or any number of combos featuring a Diplomacy x1 and a Diplomacy x2. The Feds have plenty of the skill to work with, and can just fulfill the STRENGTH requirement with anyone. Riva doesn't just cover two thirds of the Diplomacy, using AMS, he can jack up to the points to 35. A very straight-forward mission, it gets a 3.6 here.

TOTAL: 10.6 (53%) If there ever was a mission up for revising, this would be it.

PICTURE: A simple planet's dark side, it is still distinguised by its uncommon russet color. Soft on the eye, without really going for anything spectacular. A 3.3.

LORE: As simple as they come. Where else would you go with this? (Well, I would have been partial to a mention of "ugly bags of mostly water", but it's not a perfect world.) Your usual, average 3.

TREK SENSE: Two possibilities here. The first has both Biology and Exobiology which is nice since you're essentially changing a planet's exo-environment into your own. I'm nost sure what the Medical is doing there exactly that the two other skills aren't, but it lays the groundwork for the general feel of the mission - checking for unforseen viruses created by man's unnatural manipulations, etc. The other possibility has a specific Engineer - Geordi Laforge - check out the station itself, accompanied by, this time, two Meds. This one is much less satisfying. Why only Geordi (as per the episode, I understand) and not just any other Engineer? Something to do with the VISOR? Detecting those micro-organisms with it? Here, the less-important Medical from the first possibility is doubled. I'm sure among them, they'll often have Bio/Exo, but not necessarily. It's almost as if this were two missions: Evaluate Terraforming and Evaluate Terraforming Station and its Personnel (and tend to their wounds, if any). One is the mission the Enterprise was ordered to complete, the other is the one they wound up doing. No Geology (except through Geordi), no card relationship with Terraforming Station... that's not so good. As a Federation project, limiting the affiliations to just Fed is fine. The points may be a little high however, for a mission that's just evaluation. Not terraforming mind you, simply checking up on terraformers. A split personality on this one makes me give it a mere 2.8.

SEEDABILITY: A staple of many Federation decks, it's great for many reasons, but mostly because it's easy to complete. Beverly Crusher, Alyssa Ogawa (FC), Julian Bashir and Dr. McCoy all have what it takes to solve the mission alone, and they're not even the only ones with a Bio/Exo combo, so you could just send any doctor with Keiko for example to solve it. Or a couple of doctors with Geordi for that matter, though I bet that option will be used much less. Why bother? Other than that, the mission is not so easy to steal with its single affiliation attemptability icon, and still covered by Fair Play. It IS targetable by Assimilate Planet however. Still, not too much risk for 35 points, and it's not like you weren't gonna use those great doctors, right? A 4.

TOTAL: 13.1 (65.5%) Well, I always liked this one anyway - Arguer points for playing Terraforming Station here. ;-)

PICTURE: This one's proud and arrogant, as anyone can plainly see. A good shot overall, though the background doesn't do much for me. A simple 3.2 for being in character.

LORE: Couldn't they have filled the lore box? Well, if they actually thought "Cardassian male officer" was interesting, maybe it's best they left it at that. At least he's a Cardassian Gul, which has some bearing on the game. The last sentence is a little unspecific, but basically okay. Having appeared in three series and a total of 6 episodes, you'd think they'd have more on him (of course, Decipher only had the rights to 2 of those episodes when the card came out). What I find interesting here, and it's not really Decipher's doing, is the name of the character. I may be looking at it too deeply (it's in my nature to do so), but the name is a homonym of the french word "évêque" which means "bishop". And, without landing in political hot water here, the Church was partly responsible for the destruction and/or assimilation of Native American cultures. And Evek's episode was an unashamed allegory of those very events. On purpose? Probably not, "Evek" just sounded Cardassian. A happy coincidence then. One of these days, ask me to reveal why Cardie officers are called "Guls". In the meantime, only a 2.9 here.

TREK SENSE: Of course, Evek's gonna lose a ton of points simply because he's not Cardassian affiliation. Especially a hard-liner like him! He probably would never sell his services to any other affiliation. He's due for a persona. The Officer, Command icon and Leadership are all naturals though. Diplomacy was exhibited in his dealings with Picard, and Anthropology was probably a result of trying to understand human cultures under his directorial umbrella. Okay stuff, though other skills might have been appropriate, such as Security for example. It was unfortunately too early to see any Maquis-related special skill. Ah well. Integrity's too high in my opinion - this guy's just another Dukat who sees himself as a "good guy", but is really a fascist. The Cunning seems a little low for a Gul. I'll give 'em the Strength. So nothing great here... a 1.8.

STOCKABILITY: The original Non-Aligned personnel were meant to be support for the original affiliations, taking care of Anthropology for pretty much everyone and Diplomacy perhaps for the Romulans. And while Anthropology is still a rare skill, it's much easier to find than it was. Diplomacy and Leadership are common skills, and OFFICER is a little redundant here, as Leadership already allows him to initiate battle. Not to say those skills are useless, not at all, but they may not be worth stocking Evek for them. Where he gets interesting is in the fact that despite his affiliation (or lack thereof), he's still a Cardassian Gul. That means that not only can he report for free at your Central Command, he can also report for free at your OPPONENT's! What's that good for? Well, it gets your non-Cardie Evek reported at your opponent's HQ, where he'll promptly oppose any personnel present. He can't infiltrate though, so it might not be a good idea, and it's not like there aren't ways to report to your Cardassian opponent's Nor more effectively. Free report though (if he doesn't immediately get killed). As a Cardassian, he'll be protected from Cardassian Trap, but also from Automated Security Systems. Too bad he doesn't have Computer Skill , he won't be that much help commandeering a Nor. I tried, I really tried to find his hidden talents, but he just doesn't have any good ones. High INTEGRITY's not bad, I suppose. A rather obsolete 2.8.

TOTAL: 10.7 (53.5%) Didn't think he'd make it.

PICTURE: A distinctive mission from the original set, the Hulk-style green 'n' purple is okay, if a little messy in its execution. You have to like the star coming up over the horizon. Nothing particularly interesting otherwise. A 3.

LORE: Is this the shortest mission lore ever or what? Goes with the game text and all, so I shouldn't complain. Another 3 since this is really average.

TREK SENSE: When you look at this one and compare it to other Archaeology missions, it looks real easy. Well, consider that your task is to ASSIST, not to excavate. The title may be a little too broad, but the lore makes it easy to believe this would only require one assisting Archaeologist OR plenty of smart personnel that can follow the resident archaeologist (small "a")'s directions. The simpleness of the task certainly warrants a low point box. And the Feds and Romulans as potential diggers? They've both shown more interest in archaeology than any other affiliations (especially pre-DS9). Flawless? Sure, but far from innovative. Hits the ceiling at 4.

SEEDABILITY: Easily seedable, especially if you're using an Archaeology deck, as the Romulans and Feds are wont to do. At the very least, keep it as a back-up for your bigger Archaeology missions, perhaps in case you lost some points here and there and have failed to make a 100 points with your solved missions. Archaeology mission specialists (R'Mal and Dr. Royce) will jack those points to a more respectable 30 points anyway. It's super-easy once you clear the dilemmas. Plus, it's immune to assimilation AND covered by Fair Play. Just a little mission, but it fits an extra slot quite well, even when not playing a theme deck - you probably have one Archaeology anyway, or if you don't, CUNNING is a trait shared by all personnel. A 3.5.

TOTAL: 13.5 (67.5%) One of the building blocks of many of our early decks.

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