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.

#2171-Nu'Daq, Personnel, Klingon

"Captain of the IKC Maht-H'a. Pursued DNA program in 2369."

-OFFICER, Archaeology, Navigation, Exobiology; Command icon

-INTEGRITY: 8, CUNNING: 5, STRENGTH: 8

PICTURE: Nu'Daq looks fat and bloated in this shot, since we don't see his arms and he's blowing air. He's not in the best possible light, and the background is pretty much null. A just ok 2.9.

LORE: Matching commander status and a very brief description of his mission... Wow, this should have been more. We met the guy. Data played the Klignon version of arm-wrestling with him. These are very, very bare bones. A 2.1.

TREK SENSE: As captain of the Maht-H'a, he's of course an Officer with a Command icon. Leadership isn't really necessary, but would have been nice (it IS a Vor'Cha-class cruiser, after all). To follow the DNA program, he's got Archaeology (it's ancient), Exobiology (it's alien) and Navigation (you sort of have to follow the Enterprise around). That's ok, though his Cunning is quite low for all that. He acted stupidly arrogant with Data, but who would expect an android? Integrity, on the other hand, is well over what it should be. I don't think dogging the Enterprise to get to some fabled secret weapon is all that honorable (in fact, he doesn't have Honor). If 2E's interpretation saw fit to give him Treachery, you know there's a problem here. Strength's a natural Klingon 8, certainly not matching Data's Strength by any means. Only warrants a 2.3.

STOCKABILITY: Sorry, but he's been outclassed in almost every way by the backwards-compatible Tenancious Rival. INTEGRITY and STRENGTH are higher here, sure, but you can get lots of that with many Honorable Klingons. The rest can all be found on the 2E version, plus Treachery, Leadership and a special skill (and CUNNING that's a bit more decent). The 2E version is even matching commander of the Maht-H'a (either 1E or 2E version) increasing its attributes as needed, etc. What's worse is that there's no way to download this Nu'Daq to later switch to the other version (3 skills don't give you access to Assign cards). So while his skills and attributes are generally good, there's no call to really use him. 2E's dropped him to a 1.8.

TOTAL: 9.1 (45.5%) Squeezed out... by himself!

#2185-Null Space, Dilemma, space, 5 points

"A rare, invisible pocket of space caused by turbulence during star formation. Absorbs all energy."

-Ship hits null space turbulence and is damaged unless 2 Navigation aboard. Discard dilemma.

PICTURE: The blobby shuttle enters a patch of darkness, with a thin blue effect to highlight the passage. The stark lighting at the back emphasizes the darkness, but with the size of the ship, it's just not very dynamic. A bit of a yawner at 2.8.

LORE: Nothing like lore telling us that an uncommon card is "rare" somehow, eh? ;-) Invisible? Not so much, since we don't see the stars through it. The technobabble suffers from its syntax too. Not a stellar effort at 2.5.

TREK SENSE: The energy drain damages a ship unless you can spot the patch of turbulence and avoid it, or else ride it out somehow. 2 Navigation will help you do that. Sure, ok, though not as satisfying as if it'd been spaceline pollution à la Subspace Warp Rift. I'm not even sure it should simply damage a ship and be discarded. A ship would normally be stuck inside, losing attributes until it found a way out. Since the phenomenon was the main danger in a romance episode, it may act as a mini-mission, allowing for bonus points, and yet, it's not like they truly solve the problem here. They merely avoid it or survive it. Ehh... how 'bout a 2?

SEEDABILITY: It's pretty much a self-seed with those too-easy requirements. Heck, not only is Navigation very common, 2 Navigation isn't even that hard to find on a single personnel. Damage to a ship will rarely occur except maybe in sealed deck format (where you probably won't have a Battle Bridge side-deck to add to that damage), and you're pretty much handing those bonus points to your opponent. So you seed this under your own mission and grab the points yourself. No more than 15 points can be picked up this way because of Writ's influence, but Null Space could be one of the 3 dilemmas you use. For space missions, I'd say Nanites was easier for the same risk, and for less risk, Arms Deal. Puts Null Space at 2.5.

TOTAL: 9.8 (49%) A lot of Premiere dilemmas have passed in the "null" category.

#2199-Nutational Shields, Event

"Nutation adjusts the shield frequency phase rotation, thereby increasing shield efficiency. Used against the Borg in 2367."

-Plays on table. New technology enhances each of your ship's SHIELDS +2 for each ENGINEER aboard. (Cumulative.)

PICTURE: The picture on the website looks a little better than the real thing on account of blues coming out purple thanks to Premiere's printing methods. A lot of the depth is lost, the nacelles look fuzzy, and that green wash that is meant to be the shields looks a little silly. Wasn't so bad without the technical flaw, though shot at a stiff angle. A 2.5.

LORE: A piece of technobabble, and then a context that isn't much more than an opponent and a date. Yawns aplenty, so only a 2.

TREK SENSE: The event represents the installation of Nutational Shields on all your ships (or discovery of how you can rotate shield frequencies). It's your Engineer's task to do this rotation, and the show agrees with that. A +2 from EACH of your Engineers aboard is overkill however, and it's silly to think that all Engineers aboard a ship would be rotating Shields together for greater and greater effect. That a double-Engineer could give a +4 bonus, I'll grant, but once an Engineer rotates the shield frequency, that's it, isn't it? Further rotations don't boost the Shields further. And how can the card be cumulative on top of that?!? Nope, all wrong, and I also think it's lame there isn't specifically a bonus against Borg. Basic idea good, execution terrible: a 1.9.

STOCKABILITY: If you have more SCIENCE than ENGINEER, you can use Metaphasic Shields, but there's really nothing preventing you from using both cards to add to your ships' SHIELDS. ENGINEER is usually more common anyway, and the Federation in particular can protect their ships a heck of a lot with each of their double-ENGINEERs being worth +4 SHIELDS. The Delta Quadrant Feds can certainly benefit, with their many ENGINEER-related missions and powerful enemy ships (the Borg being the biggest). It doesn't take a whole lot to protect your ship from destruction at the hands of the Borg Ship dilemma or those of a Borg Cube (you'll probably still get damaged though). The ENGINEERs take care of themselves, and you can always double the bonus by playing another copy of Nutational Shields. Not too handy in armadas, since your personnel are too thinned out, but on a mission-solving ship? Protects from a lot of interference. The Borg can also interlink the skill to protect their smaller ships. A strong 4.5, a bit more than its Metaphasic cousin.

TOTAL: 10.9 (54.5%) Couldn't protect itself from me.

#2213-Ocett, Personnel, Non-Aligned

"Gul Ocett, Cardassian female officer. Commander of a Galor-class warship. Pursuer of DNA program."

-OFFICER, Archaeology, Navigation, Honor, Command icon

-INTEGRITY: 6, CUNNING: 8, STRENGTH: 6

PICTURE: Ocett looks a little stiff in the mannish military uniform, though I appreciate the Cardassian tresses that seem to be military tradition for them. Background's a beige surface, common to many TNG pics, though it somewhat reminds me of the Vasquez Rocks striations. The color palette's ordinary too, but at least the idea of Archaeology is there. A 3.1.

LORE: Not very good and with room to spare. First, there's the odd punctuation of the first phrase, with an atypical comma. the phrase itself is rather uninspired too. The second part created problems when Captain's Log came out, and it's not until later that the designers finally decided to allow her, yes, to command the universal Galor. They didn't know then that this phrase would be so vague and misleading. (Still, it's now a helpful bit, as is her rank of Gul.) An all-around dull effort at 1.8.

TREK SENSE: The main problem, of course, is that she's Non-Aligned and not Cardassian in affiliation. There's no reconciling it (which could be done with someone more roguish like Bok, or even Madred). As a Gul, she is an Officer with a Command icon. Latter-day decisions to make her matching commander of the universal Galor is less than satisfying, since that's a whole class of ships, not her specific one (the Bralek, according to 2E). Her pursuit of the DNA program gives her Archaeology and Navigation, and her reaction to it all once found indicates some Honor. Integrity's still not too high (hey, she's still brandishing a weapon). Cunning's high to go with her archaeological pursuits, while Strength, I suppose, is in line with species and gender. Bah, there's nothing too innovative here, and the wrong affiliation hurts a great deal. Only a 2.

STOCKABILITY: If she had one less skill, she might be interesting to download to only then switch for 2E's much, much better version. With 3 skills, you can't do much of that, so Ocett/Dogged Rival remains the better choice from the start, though a Spacedoored Galor could allow you to Ready Room Door Ocett on turn one. The fact that this Ocett can be used with any affiliation is small comfort when you find that Central Command (which reports her for free) is a Cardassian facility, not great for NAs working with other affiliations, and that the universal Galor is a Cardassian ship. If I'm not using the Bralek, and have the aforementioned universal Galor in play (or more than one), then Ocett can boost that ship to (Plaque/Log) 10-10-10 (less than the Bralek, mind you), although she needs other Cardassians to staff it with her. Skillwise, she's nothing special. Ok, but not great. No flaw in the attributes, it's the only element better than in 2E. Realistically, I can't go higher than 2.

TOTAL: 8.9 (44.5%) Well, she's not a true Cardassian, is she?

#2226-Palor Toff - Alien Trader, Interrupt

"Rich merchant and trader from an unknown race. Friend of Kivas Fajo. Snappy dresser."

-Exchange this card for any non-Personnel card in your discard pile.

PICTURE: An interesting pic, with Palor Toff looking right at us and evaluating our worth with his magnifying glass. His weird piece of jewelry adds motion to the composition, but the green and pink color palette is a bit sickly. Overall, a better printing process might have helped, but the originality of the pic makes it rise above all of that to reach a 3.6.

LORE: It's written as personnel lore, and as such would have been brief, but at least fun ("snappy dresser" and all that). It doesn't do that much to represent the Interrupt's game text however. Snaps it back to 2.5.

TREK SENSE: This Alien Trader is a pretty strange individual. He'll only trade you something you have and lost, for example, never something you never had. He's super-quick, doing his work at Interrupt speeds (with Q being part of Res-Q, you'd think THAT rescue card would be an Interrupt and this one an Event). Oh, and he never asks for anything, since you exchange HIM for the resource you want. It's even debatable that you can't snap up a personnel, since not all discarded personnel are dead. Androids and holograms seem especially tradable. The only thing that actually works is that you're traded something. No higher than 1.2.

STOCKABILITY: This is one of those cards that's so powerful, the designers started making specific counters to it. See, aside from Personnel, any card in your discard pile can be picked up at Interrupt speeds, even during your opponent's turn. Ships, Events, Objectives, Doorways, Incidents, Dilemmas (for Q's Planet, for example), and other Interrupts. Nothing you use or lose is above this card, except Personnel, and without costing you a card play. So what ARE its counters (aside from Amanda Rogers and Quinn, of course)? Well, there's Kivas Fajo, the personnel card, but that doesn't stop Palor Toff, it merely mirrors its effect for your opponent's use. Even so, Kivas Fajo is a pricey card from the Fajo Collection, not often encountered. Countermanda can remove cards from the discard pile just as you'd Palor Toff them, so that's a consideration, but your opponent would have to think you'll use it to stock it, and have it in hand at the right moment (it's not a Referee card). The best counter is the 47th Rule of Acquisition, which prevents the play of Palor Toff, period (or nullifies the card as soon as it is played). Of course, the personnel it is played on can be killed, or the Event nullified. And if your opponent herself wants to use Palor Toff, so wouldn't use it at all. And then there are the Changeling Sweeps, Fire Sculptors, etc. With these counters and the number of other cards that, in more limited fashion, rescue cards from your discard pile (including cycle strategies like Ore Processing), the card goes down to a 4. But 4 is still excellent.

TOTAL: 11.3 (56.5%) A staple for as long as it's existed.

#2238-Palteth, Personnel, Romulan, universal

"Romulan trained in the field of engineering. A specialist in artificial quantum singularity. Served aboard the Khazara in 2369."

-ENGINEER, Computer Skill; Staff icon

-INTEGRITY: 3, CUNNING: 8, STRENGTH: 7

PICTURE: A simple bust shot of a very minor character. We get good detail on the uniform. Background has some Romulan green in it. Well done, but ultimately holds little interest. A 3.1.

LORE: No mention of his universality, which would have been a simple matter. His specialty doesn't match his actual skill, and to boot, is strangely phrased. Should "singularity" be plural here? Maybe a word should be added somewhere. I understand it to be a reference to the cloaking device, but that's not real clear here. Fails on a couple of fronts, dropping it to 1.6.

TREK SENSE: Typical of Engineers serving about cloakable Romulan ships, Palteth has a Staff icon in addition to his classification. And he IS a mission specialist, as stated in the lore, but while Computer Skill is a fine specialty for any crewmember, the whole thing about the singularity should have given him Physics or Astrophysics. No doubt he controls the singularity with a computer, but that's not really the same thing. Out of focus at best. Integrity is a little low for a guy who didn't really do anything wrong. The Romulans are bad guys, sure, but a typical Engineer is hardly your villain. This makes him less than loyal to the Empire, and we have no proof of that. Cunning and Strength are high, totally in the species' vein. No problem there, though a universal should probably have taken a dip in Cunning here. Really out of focus. A 1.9 will have to do.

STOCKABILITY: The main reason to use Palteth is as a Computer Skill mission specialist, adding 5 points to many Romulan missions. The Computer Skill x2 missions can get further help from the Non-Aligned Narik, who reads like a lesser version of Palteth. Computer Skill is otherwise quite common. ENGINEER is nice too, and Assign Mission Specialists can get you one of this strong classification in play early and easily. He's not Firestorm-proof, but play Lower Decks and he is. With that high CUNNING, he now becomes a 5-10-9 universal, which is quite good for attribute requirements. The standard score for a solid mission specialist is 3.5.

TOTAL: 10.1 (50.5%) I'm coming to the Premiere reviews as the ones where I get to give really low scores.

#2250-Pardek, Personnel, Romulan

"Male senator from the Krocton segment of Romulus. Delegate of the 2293 Khitomer conference. Betrayer of Spock."

-VIP, Diplomacy x2, Treachery

-INTEGRITY: 4, CUNNING: 8, STRENGTH: 6

PICTURE: Bit of a brown pic, though a bit of Romulan green peeks out, and Premiere had, let's face it, weaker reproduction methods, which make this card look less than sharp. Pardek's pauper look goes beyond the sober and he just melts into the background. It's not a strength. Scores 2.8.

LORE: Getting Pardek's riding is only mildly interesting. The link to Star Trek VI a bit more so. Being a senator has a use these days. Otherwise, this is all pretty average, and I don't much like the layout, which creates a blank on the right side of the lore box. Manages a 3.

TREK SENSE: A senator would be a VIP, and though he has little authority (no staffing icon), he was versed in Diplomacy. It's how he came to know Spock, and why he would have been working with him (at least at first). He was also at Khitomer, which supports the idea. x2? According to his reputation, this would be correct. Maybe the Treacherous element should have dropped it, but then again, it makes the betrayal all the more important. Treachery should be there of course, since he did betray Spock, basically infiltrating the unificationists. He was doing it for Romulus, which fits right in the 4 Integrity. 2E also gave him Anthropology, which would have been good here, for his understanding of Vulcans and their shared history with the Romulans. Law would have been nice too, as an easter egg or not. He's got the Cunning to be a good Diplomat and undercover agent, though his Strength is perhaps a bit high. Romulans are stronger biologically, but it seems like a politician of his age and shape would have less. Maybe I'm wrong. Still, this less-than-grabbing effort can't get much higher than 3.2.

STOCKABILITY: As a senator, he reports for free at the Office of the Proconsul, or you can report/download him to a ship with Assign Support Personnel anywhere on the spaceline. He's got the Treachery that all Romulans love, but also a great deal of Diplomacy, which you don't see as much. Pass Q-Nets like they were cobwebs, and supplies all skills required of Shaka. Romulan missions aren't big on Diplomacy, but might offer an alternative means to solve Wormhole Negotiations (other Diplomats do report for free to the Office). Nothing bad, but not exactly a necessity in any Romulan deck. I'll offer 3.3.

TOTAL: 12.3 (61.5%) Must've sat in the back at Khitomer.

#2262-Parem, Personnel, Romulan

"Romulan officer accidently phased by interphase generator experiment."

-OFFICER, Treachery; Staff icon

-INTEGRITY: 4, CUNNING: 8, STRENGTH: 9

PICTURE: A creepy Romulan in an action pose, his uniform comes off a little purplish, but he's way more fun than most. More action shots please! A 3.6.

LORE: Eeech. Though the lore makes it very easy to figure out which episode he's from, there's a line and a half of wasted space that could have gone toward making Parem interesting. A boring 2.

TREK SENSE: We don't really know what position Parem had on the Apnex, so he may well be an Officer of a lower level (Staff icon). With all the skulking and shooting, I'd have made him Security myself, but there's no real proof of that either (2E decided to do so). I'll endorse Treachery, no problem, and as a sort of spy aboard the Enterprise, we may well accept him as a Treachery mission specialist. Of course, had he been made later, he'd have some kind of phasing special skill. Come on! As long as you're gonna mention it in the lore, make him a ghost full-time. None of that here, he's devoid of any real distinctiveness. Might as well have been universal. Integrity makes him loyal to the Empire, which is fine. His high Cunning is part of his Romulan nature. He did manage to get to the Enterprise while phased, etc., so he's smart enough. Not sure he's an 8, but there you go. He's pictured with a gun and has that Romulan biology, so the high Strength fits fine. So he's less than he should've been, but for the most part can be sold as a personnel in the 1E Premiere style. A 3.4.

STOCKABILITY: The Romulans have several Treachery mission specialists (he's joined by Tagus and Selok), but they also have missions that require multiples instances of Treachery, so it's possible to use Assign Mission Specialists to score 5 points per different Treachery present. Parem also offers high CUNNING and STRENGTH, which is good, especially the latter when involved in combat. He can hold his own against most Klingons. With the advent of 2E, we've gotten another Parem, backwards-compatible. He's got more skills that way, and a minor special skill that boosts generally lower attributes during dilemmas. Persona replacement could be an idea when you need extra skills (especially since you can alternate between Stellar Cartography and Astrophysics each time you put his Astrometrics into play), especially since he can be played/downloaded easily with AMS. Fits the usual Romulan theme and gets a 3.5 here.

TOTAL: 12.5 (62.5%) Suffers from the Premiere design ethic.

#2274-Particle Fountain, Interrupt, 5 points

"Experimental orbital station built by Dr. Farallon for mining a planet from space. Rumored to be effective for atmospheric depletion."

-If 2 ENGINEER present in Away Team, play particle fountain (maximum of one) on just completed planet mission for bonus points.

PICTURE: A good little model shot, with a simple effect, but it works. It's not too wondrous, but it's well lit, in focus, etc. A 3.4.

LORE: Ok, though I'm not really sure what the second sentence has to do with anything. I can manage a rather dull 2.6.

TREK SENSE: There are many things wrong with this card's concept. First, you have a whole facility built at interrupt speed (note that is not a Facility). It's an "experimental" station, but there is no limit on the number you might build on the spaceline. It requires one more Engineer than an Outpost, which is better I suppose (I have a big problem with that aspect of Outpost cards), but what are they doing on the planet surface? The Fountain is in orbit. Furthermore, they were probably busy completing the mission. The Fountain would then exploit the planet's mineral resources, acting as a kind of side-mission worth an extra 5 points. Well, are all planets ready for exploitation? What would the Cardassians think of the Bajorans setting up a Particle Fountain above their homeworld? And would it really yield any mineral wealth on the "hardscrabble" world? Or does the Fountain there help with "atmospheric depletion"? A muddled idea that doesn't really respect Trek Sense. It'll work better in some cases, but usually? Not so much. A 1.6.

STOCKABILITY: 5 bonus points after finishing a mission, and for bringing along skills you would have brought along anyway. It's an Interrupt that doesn't cost a card play, and 2 ENGINEER is really easy to come up with. It's one of the most important classifications/skills! Combine with lots of ENGINEER-related missions (like many Delta Quadrant decks are using), and there's no reason not to use the card. Add Dr. Farallon (either stranded in the Alpha Quadrant, or even brought over, if you're in the DQ) and those Particle Fountains are worth 10 points instead. If you're already heavily using bonus point strategies (like mission specialists), you might watch out for Intermix Ratio. In most cases, Particle Fountain is a quick, cheap 5-10 points for your one or two planet missions. A way to download them would be helpful (perhaps Tent one?), but even without that ability, I give it a 3.9.

TOTAL: 11.5 (57.5%) Trek Sense trouble is common in Premiere.

#2286-Pattern Enhancers, Event

"Devices which amplify transporter signals to enhance transporter beam power in hazardous areas."

-Plays on table. Allows your personnel and equipment unlimited beaming through atmospheric ionization or distortion fields.

PICTURE: Pieces of equipment can be deadly boring, but showing them in action really helps. In this case, there's also a nice triangular set-up inspired by the 3 required Enhancers, with 3 sets of tables and chairs and some angled architecture. I do think the beaming-out silhouettes look a little silly and/or unclear, and let's not forget that Premiere printing shifts blues into purples. A 3.3 should do.

LORE: Short and technical, I think it could have been a little more entertaining if it gave at least one example of such "hazardous areas" (though I guess the game text serves that purpose to a certain extent). An ordinary 3.

TREK SENSE: Equipment-type concepts played as events on table are representative of a technology apparently accessible to all your ships. Tech development can be considered an Event, yes, though they would work better AS Equipment. After all, Away Teams aren't considered to have these on a planet unless they specifically bring them. Anywho, the Pattern Enhancers do things they actually did on the show too, like beaming through any type of atmospheric barrier between a planet and a ship. While the effects here are sound, they aren't all-inclusive. What about other anti-beaming cards? Or plain old Shields? Or other tricks as seen in "Time's Arrow" and "Ship in a Bottle"? The lack of foresight forces specific cards to reference Pattern Enhancers, which isn't very efficient (nor is the lack of capitalization on the card titles). Except they never are! Particle Scattering Field doesn't have such a reference, to name a pertinent example. So no lies in the game text, but it's incomplete. Another average 3.

STOCKABILITY: Rather limited, Pattern Enhancers help escape two pollution cards only. Atmospheric Ionization limits beaming to 3 personnel per turn, and Distortion Field prevents beaming on one turn out of two. Both are attempts at slowing down mission attempts and trapping personnel on planets for whatever ambush you have prepared (playing Thine Own Self, for example). Are they that common that you'd stock an Event just to counter them? Well, Scanner Interference gives both cards a boost that may necessitate a counter. Still, it costs a card play, and you don't know if your opponent will use any of the pollution cards. B.G. Robinson's download helps in that department, perhaps getting it out of a Tent. More proactively, you could use Patter Enhancers AND Atmospheric Ionization together to reduce opposing Away Teams and attacking them with full numbers since you're immune to anti-beaming cards. A couple of strategies might call for it, but it's not a hot item. A 2.5.

TOTAL: 11.8 (59%) Didn't expect much.

#2298-Pegasus Search, Mission, space, Federation/Klingon/Romulan

Devlin System Asteroid Belt: Search for USS Pegasus, reported lost in this sector.

-Navigation + Diplomacy + Leadership + Treachery + INTEGRITY>40 OR Interphase Generator

-Span: 4; 50 points

PICTURE: One of the first fun missions we ever got, with a great mix of asteroids, the big one containing the hulk of the Pegasus. Some of them are a bit blurry because they're in motion, possibly suggesting the image of tiny flying horses, but that would probably be stretching it. A classic mission pic from Premiere, I'm giving it a 3.5.

LORE: Pretty ordinary, though it dips under average by placing it in a system, and then telling us to search a sector. Which one is it? And as it sometimes happened with Season 7 material when Premiere came out, "Devlin" is a mispelling. It should be "Devolin". Scores no more than 2.3.

TREK SENSE: We know the Federation and Romulans were in play to find the Pegasus and its phase cloak. Both powers have an interest in a ship that could destroy the treaty they have between one another. The Devolin system is said to be in neutral space (far from affiliated territories, according to the Span), so there's no reason why the Klingons couldn't swing by, but there's no real reason why they would either. If it makes sense that they'd want the technology, well, what about the Ferengi, the Cardassians, etc.? Because of the political implications as well as the technological windfall, the 50 points are quite justifyable. The requirements themselves are hit-and-miss. Navigation helps you search is some kind of pattern. Leadership gives you clearance to even know about the Pegasus. Treachery is useful to hide the fact you're looking for this thing, as it is an illegal piece of equipment. Diplomacy seems to indicate that whoever you are, the other side is always nearby, so you have to explain your presence using the skill. I don't really have a problem with that. As for the Integrity requirement, I don't quite understand it. If Treachery is useful, why would high morals be required? The Federation might need to do the right thing and destroy the phase cloak, but the Romulans would have no such qualms. It's just a very odd requirement. Missing, in my opinion, is Geology, and once you find the ship, Engineer. For 50 points, more skills should be required anyway. The alternative to these requirements is an Interphase Generator. If you have that Artifact, I suppose you can fly your ship inside the asteroid and find the Pegasus easily. After all, the Generator is very similar in function to the Phase Cloak. But why would the rest of the requirement fall away? You still need to locate the ship, still need to deal with hostiles in the region, etc. I suppose the biggest blow against Trek Sense here is that the 2E version is so different from it. For the elements that do work, we can manage a 1.8.

SEEDABILITY: Though the INTEGRITY requirement can be a little harder for the Romulans to come up with, the Feds should have no such trouble, and Klingon Honor decks shouldn't either. Once you've figured that aspect out (and it still not an overwhelming total to achieve), the skills are reeeeal easy. All of them are super-common, and though Treachery isn't as prevalent in the Federation (though there are plenty once you count the Mirror Quadrant personnel), Non-Aligned personnel can certainly brought in. And 50 points is a huge bounty! In the Zone may tell you to be content with the 50 points, but if that's not an obstacle, mission specialists can give you even more. There's nothing else stopping the Feds from bringing this puppy up to 70 points, for example. You don't have to be greedy to get more out of this mission: you can seed Phased Cloaking Device here, which is an excellent Artifact to acquire (though it's much easier to download it via the USS Pegasus itself). A strong mission still, it's worth its 4.2.

TOTAL: 11.8 (59%) Won't get its wings until 2E, I gather.

#2310-Phased Matter, Dilemma, planet

"Phased personnel vibrate out of sync with normal matter, rendering them undetectable. Phased people cannot interact with non-phased people."

-Away Team is split into two Away Teams (owner's choice). Larger team is phased and cannot beam until cured by ENGINEER and SCIENCE in an other Away Team on planet.

PICTURE: A neat "phasing" pic, on the pink end of the color scale, but the effect still works. Boring, stiff background and composition though. I'd say the near fx are worth 3.6.

LORE: The first sentence explains the phenomenon quite well. What doesn't work as well is the second sentence. Eeech. "Non-phased people?" That's unimaginative Orwellian vocabulary, and doesn't quite explain the game text (even if it sorta reads like game text). The title isn't great either. A 2.5.

TREK SENSE: Should this really be a planet dilemma? How does the phasing occur exactly? "The Next Phase" was ship-bound, and it was an Interphase Generator malfunction that did it. The dilemma also strays from the episode by making the larger of two Away Teams phased. Geordi and Ro can hardly be called a "large" Away Team, can they? Any Star Trek story structure would have a smaller group of characters be affected, I should think. Furthermore, in the episode, it was possible for Geordi and Ro to be beamed. I'm not sure how, but they piggybacked someone else's transport. They can't beam here, or do anything else (like attempt missions or battle) due to being phased (as per that term's definition). The cure comes from the outside, I agree, and the 2 listed classifications make sense. Science figures it out and Engineer dephases the Away Team practically. There's no way for the phased team to help in that process, even if Geordi and Ro did so (by bringing attention to themselves by interacting with normal matter). Quite far from the episode's events, it gets a sorry 1.5.

SEEDABILITY: Here's the thing. If you can get rid of either all SCIENCE or all ENGINEER or both, then you have a very potent dilemma. If you can't, it's a lame duck. Your opponent divides the Away Team in two, so she can make sure she has the two required skills in the smaller Away Team, curing the dilemma immediately, recombining the two teams. If it works out though (toward the end of the right combo), it's more potent. Your opponent first has the difficult decision of how to split the Away Team. She'll try to make them as even as possible (though not actually equal, for fear of one of them randomly being phased) to make the larger team still as small as possible. The smaller team continues the mission attempt, running smack dab into the next dilemma. The larger team can't do much of anything (and is trapped on the planet) until the requirements are brought there. Of course, they're quite easy to get hold of. This dilemma is costly both upfront (its home combo) and (to use the card's own vocabulary) non-upfront (how to keep the requirements from getting there). There's a way to make it work, but indeed, that way is probably card-heavy. Almost forgot to mention the I.P. Scanner that nullifies it, but do you blame me? Anyway, I'm mentioning it now. Oh yeah, and the Interphase Generator that does the same. Like we needed help countering this card. Manages 2.8.

TOTAL: 10.4 (52%) Like many Premiere dilemmas, can't really stand up to later-designed, inflated personnel.

#2322-Pi, Ship, Romulan

"Ship suspected of attempting a covert mission to Galorndon Core in Federation territory."

-Scout Class[]

-RANGE: 9, WEAPONS: 4, SHIELDS: 4

PICTURE: Cool and flying in your face, you can't say much about the color palette, but it's certainly dynamic, especially by Premiere standards. Contrast could be a bit better, but that's Premiere printing for ya. The Pi was actually never seen in "The Enemy", so this stand-in from "The Defector" will have to do. A nice enough 3.8.

LORE: Not much, since even the short historical note here is clouded in suspicion. Amusing mathematical name, but that's it. A dull 2.

TREK SENSE: Again, not very much to work with. A scout ship should have very high Range, and the Pi's 9 doesn't disappoint in that regard. Weapons and Shields are much lower, having been sacrificed for engines, and besides, this is a very small craft, only slightly bigger than a Runabout, I'd imagine. A bit higher than the universal model, which is to be expected of a craft that went behind enemy lines. No problems, but of course, nothing innovative either. A 3.8.

STOCKABILITY: The Romulan Scout Vessel's attributes are nothing great, seeing as the Science Vessel has the same high RANGE and a point more in both WEAPONS and SHIELDS. The Pi has the universal Science Vessel's attributes wholesale, and more: a matching commander. Patahk is a relatively recent addition that can not only benefit from Captain's Log and Dedication Plaque, but also from an extra bonus if Bochra is present. The total attributes of the Pi using all these cards is 13-9-9 - not bad! Download the Pi to a planet with Hidden Fighter, then Patahk with Ready Room Door, and finally Bochra simply with Assign Support Personnel, and you've got them all. Launch Portal (if Strategema isn't in play) could also download the Pi aboard a D'deridex. Scout Encounter might also be used to get the Pi in play, with up to 2 universal crew members. Fun things, those scout ships. Very fast and easy to staff, the Pi can also get its attributes to fighting levels. Could get you to those missions earlier than a warship. Hits 3.5.

TOTAL: 13.1 (65.5%) A common score for Romulan ships, it seems.

#2334-Plasma Fire, Event

"Intensely hot combustion of ionized plasma gas. Dangerous fire which can destroy a ship."

-Plays on any ship except Borg ship. Fire damages ship at end of next turn and continues damaging each turn. SECURITY puts it out. Discard after use.

PICTURE: A burning green square isn't that great a pic, folks, because it looks so unnatural. The big bulkheads on either side box it in further. A bright splash in the Premiere set, but otherwise, a little dull. A 2.8.

LORE: Part I features a scientific explanation of the phenomenon. Part II gives a layman's description with a look ahead to the card's effects. Part III, there is no Part III. Part IV: Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. A 2.5.

TREK SENSE: Plasma Fire erupts here without the need for a trigger. No damage, battle, etc. required. That it wouldn't affect Borg ships is fine, at least, for the larger Cubes, because those ships are so big. Even the smaller ones don't have dedicated sections, so Plasma Fire wouldn't cripple any vital systems. There's always a backup. So as with "Disaster", the Fire isn't an immediate threat, but if left burning, it could damage the ship a great deal. At the end of a turn, damage is done, and so it is every turn until the conflagration is put out. How Security can be the fireman here is beyond me. Not an Engineer instead? I understand that fire safety is a security concern, but it just doesn't seem to stick to the classification's skill set. Gets as far as 2 before being drowned in problems.

STOCKABILITY: As is, this is a pretty common from Premiere. It's a slow event that only damages at the end of a turn, and though the damage can recur more than once, a simple SECURITY personnel nullifies it. That's a single skill, and it can even be brought aboard before the end of the next turn if it wasn't there in the first place. If a ship is unlucky enough to not have that SECURITY, Tactic cards could give the damage more bite, and playing it on a quarantined ship (perhaps flying towards Cytherians) has merit. But otherwise... That's why the creators have tried to give us some extras when it comes to Plasma Fire. Fire Sculptor moves it from ship to ship, which would be nice if every single ship didn't have Security aboard, frankly. The Picard and Riker Maneuvers may download the event as part of their damage marker, which at least makes it free. In combination with SECURITY-killing Tactics like Photon Torpedo. Unfortunately, they also made it more nullifiable: Did we really need Thermal Deflectors to nip Plasma Fire in the bud? It wasn't really a power card, was it? Ah well, the few extra tricks don't amount to much, but get us to 1.8.

TOTAL: 9.1 (45.5%) Do I even remember a time when these at least SEEMED powerful? (Maybe sealed deck format.)

#2346-Plunder Site, Mission, planet, Klingon/Romulan

Barradas III: Search ancient civilization site for treasures or artifacts.

-Treachery + Archaeology + STRENGTH>30

-Span: 2; 30 points

PICTURE: Just an ordinary, sandy planet. It looks like a good location for an Archaeology mission but is otherwise rather blah. An average 3.

LORE: Again, an average effort, though an "ancient civilization site" is a clumsy phrase. And treasures? Are we playing pirates? A 2.5.

TREK SENSE: The ultimate grave-robbing mission, it's a mix of Treachery and Archaeology, with Strength thrown in to fight off any locals. The Klingons and Romulans MIGHT do this sort of thing, but on the show, it was Non-Aligneds. Ferengi would also be better suited, as would Cardassians. Since the Fortune was jumping from planet to planet in its quest, I agree with the close Span, and I've no problem with the points. Something to do with Artifacts would have made nice game text, since there's currently no guarantee you'll find what you're looking for (not as a card anyway). The lack of vision isn't surprising in Premiere, the card is of its time, but that means I can't go higher than 2.5 here too.

SEEDABILITY: If your Romulans are going for a classic Archaeology deck, Plunder Site is certainly among the selected missions. Both required skills are to be found in abundance, and 31 STRENGTH should be easy for them to accumulate. Same for the Klingons, really, though they perhaps have fewer available Archaeology missions in the same quadrant. 30 points is ok, not great, but the Romulans can at least use mission specialists to get that up to 40 (R'Mal and either Selok, Parem or Tagus). As for the Klingons, they get to 40 with Kell and Dukath. Short span for quick mission access too. A simple little design, but effective at 3.4.

TOTAL: 11.4 (57%) And an artifact seeded here is at least worth an attempt at Parallax Arguers.

#2358-Portal Guard, Dilemma, planet

"Portal 63 is the last remaining protector of the Tkon Empire, which went extinct 600,000 years ago. Challenges those who awaken him."

-Unless at least one Away Team member has CUNNING>7 OR Honor, the entire Away Team must abort mission and beam up or die.

PICTURE: Another purple-pink picture from Premiere, and I do so love that color combination... NOT! Otherwise, it's not that bad, with the swirling mists giving the bodiless head a kind of neckline, a bit as if the hills were its shoulders. The structure at the bottom provides distraction, but overall, an ok 3.2.

LORE: The dilemma is explained in dilemma terms, which is fine, and the information on the Tkon Empire is likewise ok, but I do find issue with the lore explicitly stating that Portal 63 is the last of its kind. Gonna cause Trek Sense problems, I can feel it. A 3.

TREK SENSE: Since the dilemma can be encountered again and again, we're just gonna have to imagine that #63 wasn't the last of its kind after all. Furthermore, we'll have to imagine him as a little more generic than described, because as a specific Tkon protector, he would be out of place on Earth, for example, or indeed, most planets we presume never to have been part of that ancient empire. Or do legends of Atlantis stem from that? The challenge probes for some kind of worthiness on the part of the challenged party, which can be proven by high moral fiber, i.e. Honor, or intellectually with high Cunning. Seems like a limited view. Why not high Integrity or Diplomacy? It's ok, but not stellar. Now, once you've proven your intentions or outwitted the Guard, you can stay and complete your mission. If you haven't, the Portal gives you an ultimatum: Beam up immediately or die. Don't test him, he can do it! Has some interesting features, though it's lack of universality and weak requirements are an issue. Still, I think I can manage a good 3.4 here.

SEEDABILITY: Portal Guard's effects are interesting to say the least. If you don't come up with the requirements, the mission is effectively over (the dilemma remains as a wall). Either everyone beams up to the ship, or, if there is no ship or if beaming is impaired, the Away Team is killed. Good place to put Distortion Fields and the like, eh? But here's the thing: Those requirements are much too easy. A single Honor personnel will overcome it, and barring that, any personnel with CUNNING of at least 8. Though a combo could weed out these personnel in CERTAIN decks (some will be too loaded with the requirements to be vulnerable), there's no way to make sure it will. Most of the time, it won't work. You might make sure of getting rid of androids, for example, but Worf spoils it for you. That kind of thing. Maybe in sealed deck format, and effective against redshirts, but usually? Not potent enough. A 2.5 for effort.

TOTAL: 12.1 (60.5%) I'm surprised at the affection I sort of have for this concept.

#2370-Q, Dilemma, space/planet

"Incorrigible, extra-dimensional member of the Q Continuum, a race of omnipotent beings. Q exhibits a child-like petulance and sense of playfulness."

-If 2 Leadership and INTEGRITY>60, discard all dilemmas here. Otherwise, Q allows opponent to rearrange spaceline locations. Discard dilemma.

PICTURE: A smug Q as a post-atomic judge, this is a classic image from Premiere. He's cool, but the gargoyles make things look a bit off-center. Composition trouble aside, however, this is a cool 3.7.

LORE: Lore that's just about Q and not the card's effects, it's a fun read, though it makes the mistake of not hyphenating Q-Continuum. Just a question of consistency. Evens out at 3.

TREK SENSE: Q can do anything. That's why a side-deck of effects was eventually created for him. This effect, though titled after him alone, can't possibly cover it all, but it cover some important aspects of his appearances. First, the requirements: This is Q's test, started in "Encounter at Farpoint" and ended (?) in "All Good Things...". Is your affiliation worthy to keep trekking through the stars? Integrity will tell (always funny to see Q have us meet standards he doesn't adhere to himself). 2 Leadership is there to deal with Q. He doesn't care to deal with underlings, that's always been plain. If you pass the test, Q destroys all dilemmas left. In other words, they were created by him, or at least brought together with the crew by him (like the Borg in "Q Who?"). If you don't, he rearranges the spaceline. Has he done this on the show? Yes and no. Aside from the creation of Q's Planet, he hasn't gone that far, but you have to think of the spaceline in terms of missions. In actuality, space isn't a straight line (something 2E captures well), so the spaceline is more or less a distance between missions, whether you calculate that in distance or time relative to the ship. That's more or less true. So changing the ship's position should change all relative distances, so this is a little like "Q Who?" in that sense (except that the effect can't go cross-quadrant). His promise to Janeway to bring the ship home is similar (again, quadrant rules negate that). The time travel stuff ("Tapestry" and "All Good Things") might be another example of rearranging the spaceline. Rather conceptual, but has some roots in the stories. Some really interesting ideas that manage 3.7.

SEEDABILITY: A dilemma so powerful as a self-seed, it had to eventually get curbed. After all, you get your mega-Away Team together and pass this dilemma first, and you do away with all of your opponent's dilemmas seeded after it. A major, major effect. How has it been curbed? Well, Q2 and Mortal Q nullify it. Hide and Seek is a hoser, allowing an opponent to seed up to 4 cards there to replace the missing dilemmas, but the near-final nail in the coffin comes from Writ of Accountability, making you lose the game if you ever use your Q to discard dilemmas. Ouch. The Borg can't use that, but for them, there's Feedback Surge that nullifies the effect and makes you pay a hefty point loss. There's the end of that. As a dilemma against an opponent (the only avenue left), it has high requirements, especially for non-Feds (the Klingons and Bajorans might do ok, depending on personnel selection). This might be quite a wall for Treacherous affiliations, especially if your other dilemmas go after mega-Away Teams/crews. INTEGRITY is notoriously difficult to boost too. But only a wall for that turn, since the dilemma is then discarded. Of course, make sure to seed it first so that it is encountered last, or else your other dilemmas will be lost if they manage to pass the dilemma. The effect, aside from stopping personnel, is to allow you to rearrange the spaceline to your tastes. Various strategies may be used, of course. One good way to go about it is to bunch up your own missions together as a region, put the attempting ship on one end of the spaceline, then your new region, then all of their missions with the outpost on the other end. Should slow down your opponent considerably, while speeding you up. Because the "spaceline" here includes only the present quadrant, this will have a much reduced impact on multi-quadrant games however. You can also use the effect to disrupt opposing regions, shuffle pollution around, get someone real close to a Black Hole, etc. The Borg can't Adapt to this one, but Transwarp Gateways can lessen the dilemma's impact once again. Still has its uses, but no the powerful card it once was. A 3.7.

TOTAL: 14.1 (70.5%) Could have gotten much more before the hosing began.

#2382-Q-Net, Event

"Q used an enormous forcefield grid in space to stop the USS Enterprise in 2364."

-Plays between two adjacent spaceline locations. No ship may pass the Q-Net unless 2 Diplomacy aboard.

PICTURE: I've always liked that chain-link fence effect, and showing a tiny Enterprise next to it as a wave of movement goes through the Net was definitely the way to go. A cool 4.

LORE: Boooooooooooring. Nothing untrue, but early 1E's overreliance on dates and the short copy it gets don't do it justice. A 2.

TREK SENSE: Q can do anything he wants, we've been through that already. Unfortunately, this isn't on par with his power level. That it is a barrier between 2 spaceline locations is just about the only thing that's fine about it. I can't fault it too much about not being a true Q-card since Q-Continuum was 2 expansions away, but it has to be said nonetheless. 2 Diplomacy goes through it because Q must be dealt with, but the Net was always a precursor to more tests. 2 Diplomacy was never enough, and at the very least, coming up on the barrier should stop you for a turn or something, or draw out a Q-Continuum card, SOMEthing. As is, it sits permanently on the spaceline as a natural barrier to all comers. Does that sound right? It really doesn't. Good thing there are cards that use and affect Q-Net (like Drag Net), but as this card stands, a low 1.5.

STOCKABILITY: Early pollution decks featured Q-Net for sure, but Diplomacy has since become one of the most common skills in the game. It may still annoy the Borg (unless they have Queen or Counterpart), but rarely anyone else, or not for very long. An Alternate Universe Door can get a ship through in any case, as if a counter was really necessary. Drag Net gives it mobility, but doesn't make it harder to get through unfortunately. Still troublesome in sealed deck format, though, especially between an outpost and relevant missions once a ship has left home. At this point, a mere 2, though it used to be higher.

TOTAL: 9.5 (47.5%) Sad to see an old standard falter so.

#2394-Q2, Interrupt

"Member of the Q who observed Q's act of self-sacrifice and re-instated him in the Q continuum."

-Nullifies any Amanda Rogers OR Kevin Uxbridge just played OR nullifies any Q-related dilemma.

PICTURE: Funny, but it's too bad you don't really see him coming out of the wall. The drab gray TNG aesthetic is in full force, so it's a good thing Corbin Bernsen is so dynamic. The manic pose should be worth a 3.5.

LORE: A lot of Qs, which is fine for this type of card, and it's written ok, though it's not stellar or anything. One odd thing is that Q-continuum isn't hyphenated, which would be the norm later. A small flaw which drops the card to 2.9.

TREK SENSE: The Q can do anything, but do they want to? Except for a few notable exceptions, they're not keen on interfering. Q2 then represents that part of the Continuum, stopping various godlike beings from interfering. Policing space-time, if you will. They were worried about Amanda (as a fledgling Q) so I can see their interest there. Kevin is another matter, since he's got nothing to do with the Q. Would they also stop the Metrons, Apollo, Trelaine or any of the dozens of godlike characters and races that populate Star Trek? Seems convenient. Finally, they'll shut down Q (great job with that guys), but only in dilemma form. Yeah, that's also a bit arbitrary. Why his Vicious Animal Things, but not Scottish Setter? Dilemmas are meant to be a bit rougher, I guess. Going on a case-by-case basis will cause problems. And the concept as illustrated seems to go more for Immortal Again, but that's neither here nor there. Manages a weak 2.3.

STOCKABILITY: Q2 is the third "magic bullet" in the set, most useful for nullifying the other 2 nullifiers, Amanda and Kevin (no effect on Quinn) to protect your own events and interrupts from nullification. It also dispels some dilemmas, most notably Q, the amazing re-seeding Q's Vicious Animal Things, Q Gets the Point, and then all Q-dilemmas that would be in a Q-Flash or seeded through Beware of Q (except Rhetorical Question, the High Sheriff, and Fightin' Words). Some of the capture-related ones can be annoying, as are the relocation powers of Go Back Whence Thou Camest. Could come in handy, but the main function remains the elimination of Kevin and Amanda. It's unfortunate that Q2 can be hosed by The Line Must Be Drawn Here. The hoser becoming the hosed. Really cramps the card's style. Note that you can play it even with Goddess of Empathy in play, and Immortal Again can fish it out of the discard pile (though Oof! prevents that by placing it out of play. Defanged as it is now, it may still warrant inclusion. Just be careful with those Hidden Agendas. Remains at 3.5.

TOTAL: 12.2 (61%) Those magic bullets were a bit too broad for their own good.

#2407-Radioactive Garbage Scow, Dilemma, space

"Barges containing dangerous waste can be adrift for centuries. One such barge threatened Gamelon V in 2367."

-Place atop spaceline here. Mission cannot be done where present. Ships with tractor beams and 2 ENGINEER can tow barge to a different location.

PICTURE: It's an ugly "ship", but it's meant to be. I guess I could comment on the weak color palette and the blurriness that often accompanies Premiere printing. Ordinary, I guess, but what else could it be? A 3.

LORE: From the generic to the specific, but those specifics are pretty lame. Just a place and a date. And with a line to spare? Can't go above 2.5.

TREK SENSE: What's missing is the Medical element that makes the Scow so dangerous, but it's a fun idea nonetheless. You put it on a spaceline location, and as long as it's there, you can't attempt the mission. You have to address this direct threat to ship and crew security first. No option to destroy it (the waste would linger) except by throwing it into the sun, but that requires another card (which is a weakness of this one), but you can tow out of the way. This is done with a Tractor Beam (obviously), but also a couple of Engineers to keep the Scow stable, the Shields effective, etc. A bit of a cheat without Medical or even Navigation requirements. Aside from no detrimental effects on health, there's also the question of why you need to tow the thing so far from where you found it. Outside a system should be enough, but the game would make you tow it from the Denorios Belt to Earth if these two missions were adjacent. Better than the Voyager version since it really was originally inspired by this Scow, but not without its problems. A 3.1.

SEEDABILITY: Used to be a lot better before they started hosing Destroy Radioactive Garbage Scow with Containment Field (certainly beating out the small hose from Thermal Deflectors). You used to be able to tow the thing to any missing and blow it up to kill personnel AND lower the mission's points. Now you stand to lose points yourself from even trying to use it (and not getting an effect at all). So the Scow is back to its pre-DRGS state, a simple but often effective pollution card. It's not hard to get rid of, but will make you lose time and Range. You can even trigger it yourself, only to bring it to an opponent's mission. Of course, you always have to worry about an opponent bringing the Scow back to you, so it probably works best in a split quadrants game, or when an opponent is playing with a Region. That way, your missions are in their own corner, and less likely to find a Scow in the way. At least it's a guaranteed stopper. Why would I score it differently than the Voyager version which I reviewed only a couple weeks ago? Stays at 3.7.

TOTAL: 12.3 (61.5%) Voyager's got up to 63% thanks to better Lore, mostly.

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