To see the cards themselves, check out this Card list for the Q-Continuum expansion set.

PICTURE: Man, those early Admiral uniforms were gaudy! Q looks like some sort of Roman senator with that haircut, and the background is plain old beige. The look on his face is classic Q, but otherwise, an average pic at 2.9.

LORE: The Q-uote is short, but okay. Does its best to somehow convey the game text's reasoning, but not that well. Again, a 2.9.

TREK SENSE: Not much. I think it stems from Mortal Q being a Non-Aligned Civilian. Then, he turns into a Federation Officer (though Admirals are sometimes VIPs). Is that it? As an "Admiral", he's not really an Officer (or Fed). And as a Q-Event, he isn't really ever a Civilian to start with. This one's pretty much conceptual. Q never turned any number of Officers into Civilians or vice-versa. It DOES make Mortal Q an OFFICER though. Conceptual, and not especially inspired. A 1.9.

STOCKABILITY: Well, for maximum effect, you have to hope your opponent is playing Federation or lots of Non-Aligneds. Then it turns semi-useful OFFICERs (leaders) into less useful CIVILIANs. It's reversed for the CIVILIANs who become a little more useful. The Feds have lots of OFFICERs, and few CIVILIANs. The NAs have lots of CIVILIANs and fewer OFFICERs. So basically, this card helps NAs and hurts Feds. Not that useful offensively unless you're running a battle deck and want to remove some leaders from your opponent's ships. Defensively, it affects both players' cards, so you might use it to turn your load of NA Civies into battle-ready OFFICERs. Of course, it has to come up in the Q-Flash, and only lasts until the next. Not a great justification for using the Q-Continuum side-deck, though someone using Kits might be caught with much fewer classifications that they were expecting. A 2.9 here.

TOTAL: 10.6 (53%) An annoyance for your opponent, maybe, but an annoyance for you too.

PICTURE: A little dark, but you could say she's coming out of the darkness, towards the light of knowledge of extra-Malcorian beings, as represented by the white screen with writing on it. Is this kind of thing thought-out over at Decipher? Or are they happy coincidences? A 3.6.

LORE: Real short. Tells the story, but we're far from literature here. A plain ol' 2.5.

TREK SENSE: Because she wasn't, at the start, aware of the wide universe with all its space-faring cultures, she may only come into play at Malcor III. Further, unless you initiate First Contact there (attempt the mission), she never finds out about that other world and so doesn't come into play. Once she does though, she immediately joins the Away Team and may leave with it, as per the show. Her Federation affiliation matches that of the people she left with, and that of the attemptability icon on First Contact, but it may have been better to make her Non-Aligned, since a problem arises when somebody spies on the mission. If the Romulans do it, why would she become Federation? Even if the Romulan ideal doesn't interest her, she would at the very least be a Non-Aligned. The upside is that, as Federation, she becomes under house arrest when she's encountered by spies, which makes more sense that having her join an "evil" Away Team. So, there's good and there's bad. As for the skills, she's very much a SCIENtists and Physics and Astrophysics all make sense in the context of the episode. She helped develop warp drive technology on her homeworld, something for which both skills would be necessary. As Minister of Science, she could have been VIP too, but when she became part of the Federation, she lost any status associated with her former home. The bonus points are a little mystifying though. She should represent a goal of some sort to be this tiny 5-point "mission". Maybe she's the only part of First Contact that worked, since the rest of the planet was deemed too paranoid to be alerted to the presence of other space-faring cultures. As such, she makes First Contact be worth 35 points (in a way). 30 points for making First Contact, 35 if it works a little bit. Yeah, maybe. The attributes are fine except for the Cunning. While her society may be technologically inferior to the mainstream species', there's no way someone with Astrophysics should have something as low as a 5. Just look at Zefram Cochrane and friends. Like them, she has a Staff icon, so she can't be that clueless about "our" technology. All in all, a good effort, with a lot of thought put into it. 3.7.

SEEDABILITY: Well, if you're planning on using First Contact, why not include an extra 5 points and some pretty useful skills?  I know, the points are "killable", and those skills won't help with the current mission. But once you're through that, you have a SCIENCE personnel with cool Astrophysics and not as cool Physics for your space deck. May be a bit much just to report a personnel. There are plenty like her who just report normally. Attributes are pretty lame too. Only hits a 3.

TOTAL: 12.8 (64%) Lots to say on Trek Sense, not much on Binder Escape.

PICTURE: Can I really criticize one of the Renaissance's greatest masterpieces? Well, while I have, in real life, been an art critic (not an easy job, let me assure you), I won't touch something like the Mona Lisa. Of course, the way it's been presented on the card is another story: a little dark on top, and the sides of the frame are really intrusive. Maybe a close-up of the famous smile? Decipher (not Da Vinci) gets a 3 on this not-so-engaging pic. The tiny shuttlecraft by her shoulder adds a little something but doesn't quite jump at you. It looks nothing like Da Vinci's flying machines ;-).

LORE: A brief introduction, then the details given in Star Trek about the painting. Odd that Da Vinci is named as a scientist (which he was) on a card about one of his works of ART. Another 3.

TREK SENSE: "Equipment" may not be the right word, but that clause makes the painting a physical object than must be carried around by Away Teams and crews, which is better for Trek Sense than making it some conceptual Event. As a unique object, it's not duplicatable (though again, "unique" might have been a better word, since fakes could be produced by "duplicating" the painting). Semantics aside, the idea behind the card is that a player who destroys such a "priceless" work of art, pays the price at the cost of 25 points - roughly equal to another (small) mission. Any affiliation destroying the Mona Lisa would be held accountable for it, and would be penalized by other affiliations (or at least, humanity). That penalty has to come in some form. Maybe we could say they have to work harder (that extra mission) to get on our good side again, whether it be diplomatically, or even getting their own resources or medicines (being under some sort of embargo). Many missions would be covered. But we're almost in conceptual territory here. All in all, I'd have to give it a 3.1.

SEEDABILITY: In most cases, Mona Lisa has a purely defensive nature. It's a deterrent for any parties who would destroy your ship with the painting aboard. -25 points??? That could be fatal. Would it even stop a ship from retaliating to your own attack? Yes, it might very well do that. It'll also protect your Equipment stores from Disruptor Overload. Since it's vulnerable to that interrupt, would your opponent risk randomly hitting Mona Lisa while trying to take out your Ketracel-White? Of course, INDIRECT destruction through dilemmas doesn't incur a penalty, so your opponent can always get you that way. Not perfect, but worth at least 3.4 as a defensive card, but is it really worth acquiring? Good thing Starry Night can grab it.

TOTAL: 12.5 (62.5%) Is this the first time anyone has called the Mona Lisa... average? ;-)

PICTURE: A lot of pastel blues here (sweater, skin and background) provides some unity for the card, but with the already blue card design, the picture gets a little lost. Not bad, just not very interesting. A 3.

LORE: The second sentence takes care of his role in his single episode (and gives a good laugh to the Wesley haters out there), but it's the rest that's fun. First, the "Mordock Strategy" has become the name of the strategy you have to utilize with this card - no battling. It was something totally different in the episode, but it makes for good lore. The last part, about him looking like Mendon, is pretty funny, as the opposite is found in Mendon's lore. Both Benzites were played by the same actor, and there was even a line about all Benzites from the same continent looking the same. It's all in the details people. A healthy 4.3 here.

TREK SENSE: His forte seems to have been Science, and he was even better than Wesley at it. So Physics and Computer Skill seem like naturals. I'm a little surprised he didn't get Youth, but there's no reason to believe he didn't try out for the Academy late in life. It's hard to say with these aliens, even when they appear a little naive. His load of skills could have been better and so could his Cunning, since he was considered a better Academy candidate than was Wesley, but maybe Wes was a little young still in "Coming of Age". As for the Mordock Strategy, other than tying in with the lore, it's complete fabrication. That the Federation could be rewarded for not battling given they pacifist tendencies makes sense. But that it all depends on a potential cadet? Nope. Would have worked better as an Event card. As is, Mordock only gets 2.5 from me.

STOCKABILITY: The Mordock Strategy only gets you +5 points per mission, which will only cover the spread if you're playing with 30-pointers only, or losing points due to dilemmas and such, so it's not a big point gain for so difficult a strategy. Not battling isn't hard for the Federation, you say? Well, it's no battling EVER, either before or after Mordock has been in play. And your opponent can attack you, involving you in a battle, and that's all she wrote regarding those bonus points. Against other Feds or Borg not using any personnel assimilation startegies, it'll work, but even a pacifist opponent can send you a Rogue Borg Mercenary or Borg Ship dilemma and poof, points gone. Even not retaliating won't work according to the Glossary. And with lots of battle-friendly cards out these days (including many that allow for the Federation to attack), I'm guessing no one will be able to use the Mordock Strategy for a whole game. An opponent will quickly attack you if you show Mordock, so as to keep those points out of your hands. And there's the thing: Mordock is your bait. Push your opponent to attack you, then slap down Wartime Conditions which is more flexible than the Feds' current attack cards that allow for only one ship to attack, or only one affiliation to be attacked. Here, it won't work against a Fed or Borg opponent, but that still leaves plenty of targettable decks. Otherwise, Mordock is an okay SCIENCE personnel, with two good skills. The STRENGTH is a liability, but overall, he cuts the mustard. A 3.3.

TOTAL: 13.1 (65.5%) As I look down on him in my binder, I still see some uses in him.

PICTURE: Cute pose. Q is sulking and uncooperative, much like his game text would have him be (he handicaps the player that controls him). The chairs behind him make for an interesting background too. A 4 even.

LORE: Short, but with lots of piquant. A couple of words jump out at the reader. One is "mortalized" which I wasn't really aware was a word. I like it. The second is "evicted" - sounds like the Continuum is really more of a Condominium! Not so appropriate here, but funny. And finally, the whole joke about retaining his fine qualities (which includes selfishness) is well put. They used the limited space they had to good effect. A 4.5.

TREK SENSE: Mortal Q really has no place aboard a starship, so is relegated to Civilian status. He kept most of the knowledge he had as an immortal, so that's what all those x10s are there for. Though every single scientific skill could be here, there's no room for them, so Decipher went with the skills that were required of his during that episode - though they don't match Restore Errant Moon (which was the mission), that's that mission's problem, I think. Good enough. The Leadership is -1 because Q is very disruptive and takes up too much of the captain's time. His other ability is to discard the Q dilemma when it is encountered (anywhere), which makes sense since he can't be an immortal handing out dilemmas AND a mortal facing them. A problem arises when you remember that your opponent may still face the Q dilemma, but maybe we shouldn't think in such three-dimensional terms. The restriction works in the same way (except reversed) since having Q on our side closes your Q-Continuum side-deck. Since Q is mortal, he can't be throwing these Q-Flashes around, right? Except the player that controls Mortal Q may still face Q-Flashes since you always encounter your opponent's side-deck, not your own. It's a good restriction - Q is pretty much responsible for all the hijinks represented on the Q-cards, even, though more indirectly, the Amanda Rogers ones. Other problem: Q-cards seeded through Beware of Q are still encountered. Hmm. As for the attributes, Q's selfishness and disrespect for mortals earns him an easy 2 Integrity, though he does sacrifice himself at the end. Could have been a good choice for an X = this or that, like Quark's. The Strength is fine for someone an El-Aurian with a fork can send screaming out of a room. As for the Cunning, while I understand that his intellect remains close to godhood, the undefined attribute "Q" is less than satisfying. After all, he lost his omnipotence. Maybe they could have given him very high Cunning, but still limited it by his mortality (accumulation of knowledge isn't the only measure of intelligence). Right now, he's so smart, his smarts don't count at all. In effect, he's CUNNING 0, and that's just not right. While I think the whole Q Cunning is interesting, I'm afraid it doesn't cover every situation. Perhaps Q should have equaled something (like 20) when he was alone, but 0 with other personnel. That could have been a way to go. Not a big problem since, smart or no, he wasn't very much help at all ("changing the universal constant", my foot). This is one of those cards that is really original in execution and does a lot for story-telling, but it does have some problems. A 4.1 here.

STOCKABILITY: Mortal Q is mentioned on The Naked Truth for a reason - he can be detrimental to a crew and a player. Ship him out and your opponent will lose one Leadership skill present, close his Q-Continuum side-deck, making you immune to Q-Flashes, and stop any attempts at Q-bypass by getting rid of the dilemma that started it all. Of course, it gives him a free personnel, but that personnel has some of the worst stats known to man, two skills in great multiple, but not that useful (though Geology is on a lot of cards these days), and the least useful classification in the game. Is it worth it to stock Mortal Q and attempt to foist it on your opponent through The Naked Truth? Well, he's no infiltrator. He really IS controled by your opponent, so there's no reason he can't redshirt Q at the earliest opportunity. With those attributes, you really think he'll survive your dilemmas? An easier way of getting rid of Mortal Q than Immortal Again or Calamarain, though it won't restore a Q-Continuum. And really, if you opponent isn't running a Q-bypass strategy (scared of Writ perhaps) or doesn't have a Q-Continuum side-deck (very possible), Mortal Q has less of an effect. So, is he any good if played for yourself? Well, Q is still a dangerous dilemma when not self-seeded. Q/Sheliak is always a nasty surprise. Your Mortal Q snug at your outpost discards the Q part anywhere. As for the skills, Physics is never required in multiple and doesn't show up on any dilemmas yet. Geology however, is a different matter. The universal Geological Survey is worth its full 30 points if 3 Geology is present. Mortal Q is your one-man geology team! Not much else to be done though. Attributes are ultra-lame, but some dilemmas are now requiring low attributes. All in all, whether you use it one way or the other, a 3.6.

TOTAL: 16.2 (81%) A cool card, though not always useable.

PICTURE: All the blues on this card, from the border, to the costume, to Homn's chalky puss, work well to give it unity, with splashes of yellow for contrast. The background is just dark enough not to be distracting. Along with that, we get a fun and unintrusive easter egg. In the flowers on his shirt, you'll find the words "You rang", the reason being that the same actor played Lurch in the Addams Family movies. Lurch's usual line (albeit from the tv series only) was "You rang?" That said, the "rang" part is visible enough, but it's real hard to see "You" at this resolution. A 3.6 here.

LORE: Note, once again, the mention of "lurching". Funny. The rest is pretty tongue-in-cheek too. The lore refers to his excessive drinking and eating during "Haven", and his famous only lines in that same episode. Without going over the top, the text has enough flavor to be worth a 4.2.

TREK SENSE: Ehhhh. Let's see. Yes, he's a Civilian, and Federation to boot. His Strength is very high because he could lift those heavy bags of Lwaxana's (though I wonder how good he is in battle - does he double as a bodyguard?). Integrity as a measure of loyalty could be this high, yes, but seems excessive. He hasn't proved he was in the Picard-Guinan range. As for the Cunning, wow it's low! The message: you'd have to be stupid to do everything Lwaxana tells you to do. I don't know about that, but though he seemed a bit slow, I don't think he was an idiot. But I can accept all that since there's no real proof either way. The skills are another matter entirely. First, no regular skills. Too dumb to have any? How about Music for the Betazoid gong? (I'm half-kidding here, since it didn't seem to require too much skill.) Or even Barbering to take care of his mistress's wigs? Okay okay, seriously, the two special skills are off the track. Empaths can report to his location. Why? I should think he could report to Lwaxana's location, but that's it. If he's so loyal to her, why would he conjure up Maques or Devinoni Ral? There's absolutely no reason for this. The second ability nullifies Empathic Echo. Again, why? Does he have a psychic power we're not aware of? The theme is respected - he protects Empaths from a dilemma - but that's about it. Again, no reason for this. I'll have to give a low score, all things considered: 1.9.

STOCKABILITY: I don't see him played very often, and it's no wonder. CIVILIAN is the lamest classification (outside of ANIMAL). His CUNNING's for the birds. He's part of an affiliation that really isn't lacking in personnel. He has no staffing icon and no regular skill (not even a lame one we could Reflection Therapy). His Empath-reporting ability isn't "for free", so it's closer to The Emissary's than Cybernetics', though much more limited. And Empathic Echo isn't your most common dilemma. So, what are his saving graces? High INTEGRITY and STRENGTH, the latter which can always help in a battle, especially with the weaker Feds. If you're running a theme deck using lots of Empaths, you can report them anywhere Mr. Homn is. He becomes a mini-mini-outpost. And if you ARE using lots of Empaths, nullifying Empathic Echo could save a life (what, you're not packing SECURITY and MEDICAL?). Well, the cool lore could be worth a Parallax Arguers, then the easter egg another... but that's pretty much it. A 2.

TOTAL: 11.7 (58.5%) A collector card if I ever saw one. In fact, with the same philosophy in mind, I've been thinking of collecting the Star Wars Easter Eggs just cuz they're neat. (I don't play the game.)

PICTURE: Lame. Of all the nebulas available, they left this usually beautiful cosmic phenomenon to this particular patch of purple (arrgh, purple) gas. A dull ol' 2.

LORE: Well, universality is mentioned ("representative") like on no other universal mission, but naming the Alpha Quadrant is a little clunky since, as a mission with no point box, it may seed in either quadrant (Alpha or Gamma, for now). It probably shouldn't even have mentioned an actual nebula either. An actual mission for the Cardassians can't occur here now, and it just leads to mechanic confusion. None of the other universal missions actually name a place. A 2.4.

TREK SENSE: Just a non-descript place, which is a fun idea. I'm still waiting for an asteroid field. You can't solve it, but you can use it to hide from enemies, just like in the show. It takes a Scan to detect a ship and attack it, which is cool. Of course, Long-Range Scan has game text more attuned to ships (Scan works on dilemmas), but it could be argued that the ship is *under* the Nebula, like a dilemma. The other thing about nebulas, is that there's always a dilemma hiding inside the clouds (see innumerable episodes). You can't attempt this mission, but you can accidentally stumble upon its hidden dangers. The way to do this is an unsatisfying game mechanic (when opponent scores points) which has no relevance to the "real world". As for the rest, the universal icon works despite the lore, and the Span is as good as anything. Some nice ideas, playing fast and loose at times, for a cool 3.8.

SEEDABILITY: You can't score any points from it, so what's the point? Well, were you really going to complete all six of your missions? I dearly hope not! There are a couple of good reasons to use this card. If you want to hide from armadas, it'll cost your opponent an all-important Scan card to initiate anything. On a more offensive tack, lead your opponent here (through any number of ways, including Wormholes, Paxan "Wormhole", and set off a dilemma. You'll have to score points to do this, but that's where Parallax Arguers can shine. Either your opponent agrees to face a dilemma (you get 5 points), or he agrees to let you play a free event. Which will it be? Dilemma combos are pretty useless here since it's one dilemma at a time, so make it deadly. Damagers are only worth so much, but if the ship is already damaged (Anti-Matter Pod really is a better card than we think), they can destroy a ship. And hey, your opponent probably wasn't ready for the dilemma, not being in "mission attempt mode". Ships on cargo runs, for example, should be pretty easy pickings if you can make them stop here. Never play a "stopper" or "filter" here, but some cards will do well, including the ever-useful Cytherians, or the nasty Tarellian Plague Ship. Since it can be played in any quadrant, it's not a bad choice for getting SOMETHING in your opponent's Gamma quadrant (you need a presence there at least!). It's a good place to hide a low-SHIELDS Neutral Outpost. And of course, it has its place in a nebula strategy where you'll be using Isabella to no good end. A surprising 3.5. Don't get trapped at your own Nebula though!

TOTAL: 11.7 (58.5%) Doesn't pass, but that because of the esthetic categories.

PICTURE: The original Tom Paris card features a united color palette, between the cranberry uniform and deep shades in the background (as well as his flesh tone). Nothing overly exciting here. A good 3.3.

LORE: Shortened because of the restriction box, we're left with the story, but not many of the details. An okay 3.

TREK SENSE: Well... first off, there's a problem with making him Non-Aligned, and an even bigger one with making him incapable of even working with his former affiliation, the Feds. The problem is this: isn't Nick still a Federation citizen? So he was drummed out of Starfleet, so what? The Civilians aren't normally in Starfleet are they? If he's gone completely rogue, that hasn't been seen on any episode. Even if he decided to leave Federation space, I doubt there would be a reason for him to refuse to work with Federation citizens, or be excluded when he has such good abilities. That said, Nick is now a Civilian, but still a darn good pilot (Navigation x2!). His time at the Academy taught him Computer Skill (everyone's favorite course) and Transporter Skill (for beaming out of a doomed flight maneuver). His Leadership talent is acknowledged in his lore, and he led Nova Squadron. As a cadet, he deserves the Youth. I don't mind that a cadet has so many skills, since he was part of the Academy's elite (look at Crusher's stats), but I do object to his getting a Command icon. Yes, he led Nova Squadron, but next year, he would have just been an ensign with Staff. A cadet just doesn't have the skill to command real officers. No Treachery? No biggie, but it was his idea to do the proscribed maneuver and then lie about it. The Integrity thus seems a bit high, but it could be argued that he protected his teammates when the chips were down and stuck to his ideals. The Cunning's good, and I haven't seen any evidence for or against his relatively high Strength. Problems bump this one down to a 1.8.

STOCKABILITY: Though he can't be used with the Federation, Nick Locarno can be used by most everyone else, and to good effect too. His skills are pretty nice. A double dose of Navigation is great against the Badlands and all sorts of other cards. The Computer Skill is never a waste, especially of your opponent's playing with a Nor. Leadership makes him able to initiate battle. And Transporter Skill is a rare and progressively useful skill that only the Dominion has in more than 3 examples. Only Youth is less useful, but by no means detrimental to your deck. High attributes too. He most complements the Romulans, especially the quite powerful space decks. As support to such luminaries as Dr. Telek R'Mor, he can solve many missions with just once Scientist (preferably one with Astrophysics). Secret Salvage can be completed by him alone. A great mission solver worth his 4.

TOTAL: 12.1 (60.5%) Same score as his body double, Thomas Paris.

PICTURE: A shot of Data's hand, close up, since we've really never seen the switch itself (in any case, it's under and android's skin). There's unity in the colors, but beyond that, it's not a very interesting pic. A simple 2.7.

LORE: The lore would have done well to include all androids in that statement, so as to go along with the game text. The little story here is interesting enough. A 2.9.

TREK SENSE: All androids have an Off Switch. Well, all Soong-Type Androids anyway, and I'm sure Exocomps have one too. Flicking the switch places that android into stasis. I really think the word "disabled" should have been used here, since stasis doesn't include the ability to beam that personnel. Why couldn't you beam or move an android body on "off"? Data's Body starts off "disabled". That it only lasts until the end of the turn brings up a few questions. First, can an android wake itself up? (I say, there should be some kind of routine that would allow this after a "sleep period".) Or are we to assume someone simply flicks it back to "on" at the end of the turn? What if the android is alone? And who turned it off in the first place? The card doesn't require an opposing personnel or anything, thereby making moot the point that not everyone knows about the Switch, though I would have explained that by the fact Riker went and gave it away in "The Measure of a Man". While in stasis, the android becomes immune to a number of cards. Of course, an android couldn't Die in Bed. It's not a "living" being per se. It can't get itself trapped in a Chinese Finger Puzzle either. And can't kill anyone while dreaming. Fine. The second function of the card, to nullify another Off Switch, makes perfect sense. After all, an Off Switch is also an On Switch. All things considered,  this one's a 2.5.

STOCKABILITY: Are you afraid of androids coming in an destroying your dilemma combos with their superhuman abilities? Or are you running scared from android-targeting dilemmas? This card could be for you. (Of course, anyone who plays out of fear has got some strategy problems.) Offensively, this card will place an android in stasis until the end of a turn. Hit one of these powerful personnel just before a mission attempt and that Away Team or crew doesn't get a ton of skills and attribute units. You may want to play it anywhere you've seeded a dilemma that can be passed by an android too. Most of these are walls that the android can pass on the next turn, so it's just a delaying tactic. Worthy, but not that much. The card may be better played at the start of a personnel battle, taking out those STRENGTH 10-12 personnel and any chance of being Headlocked. Probably the best reason to stock the card as it may take that Federation party by surprise. Defensively, you may use it to either nullify that Off Switch, turning the tables on your opponent in case she does just that. You might also use it on your own android to avoid Android Nightmares or Chinese Finger Puzzle, both of which affect personnel present with your android. Of course, you need to have Scanned for those, and why not just attempt the mission WITHOUT an android altogether? That would make more sense. The personnel battle strategy remains the best one here. And if your opponent isn't using androids? Totally useless. An even 3.

TOTAL: 11.1 (55.5%) An android counter, but not a very efficient one.

PICTURE: Though the wigs are incredibly dorky, the card has a competent mirror composition and a color palette pleasant to the eye. The immense green leaves in the background compliment well the yellow and green of the Arguers' costumes. Better than average at 3.4.

LORE: Everything's there that should be since, after all, we don't know much more than that about these characters. The lore almost presents a puzzle about how everything in the game text connects to Trek Sense. Not sure I can make it out though. A 3.2 here.

TREK SENSE: It's all on a conceptual level because the card involves the players, who don't actually exist in Trek Sense. Basically, the card creates a condition where the players may argue. The choice of arguement - if that was cool or not - really has nothing to do with the Arguers themselves, it's just a device to enable the card. If you do argue, you get to play an event. If not, you score some points. I wish I had an explanation. I tried to fit "the higher... the fewer" into the equation, but I can't to any satisfying degree. One Arguer can also nullify another which does work: it probably brings a counter-arguement to the discussion. Fine. And there's merit in getting your opponent's points since you just destroyed his arguement. Too immersed in game mechanics to make much of a splash here, though it is creative. A simple 2.5.

STOCKABILITY: A popular card in some circles, I wouldn't recommend playing it strictly for the points. Always have an event ready and play it as an excuse to argue. Your opponent should have a difficult decision on his hands: 5 points or a free event, and hey, that event can even be played during your opponent's turn, at interrupt speed. Anything from throwing pollution at his ships, to sending away a well-dressed attacking personnel with the 47th Rule, multiple Baryon Buildups each one cooler than the next, Tox Uthat/Supernova on the same turn... Only examples of what kind of havoc you can wreak. Of course, you have to argue to do this. If you don't argue, well there's always the 5 point compensation. Watch out, if your opponent doesn't argue, he may snap his own Arguers on the table to steal your points and add his own. If you're running a multiple Arguers game, you can do the same to him for even more points. And if you don't have an event to play and are just looking for points? No biggie, you don't lose your card. You don't HAVE to play it for the event function. If that "wasn't cool", then you can just replace it in your hand and use it again later. While strategically, nothing need be cool for you to say it, accept it, or argue about it, the thing about this card is that it features an undeniable human element. Players will want to create cool situations, or, while recognizing the need to strategically refuse a situation's coolness, have to agree that such and such an occurence is very cool. Like humanity, this one's adds a little chaos to your game. There's no set response. With this one, know your opponent, know your strategy and watch out for Plexing (yeah... right). A cool 4.1.

TOTAL: 13.2 (66%) Any arguments?

PICTURE: Theoretically not that bad, this wisp of purple smoke has a distinctive hole in the middle of it (the "wormhole"), but look at your copy, and then go check out the gif on Decipher's website. HUGE difference. This basically due to the fact that anything resembling purple (oh, most hated color of the rainbow!) is badly reproduced on the older, pre-FC, card stock. It could have been quite a sight, but it turned out quite bland. A 2.8.

LORE: The mention of being a nebula is always good for Isabella, Ensign Tuvok, Hawk, etc. Otherwise, nice little mission lore. These never attain any kind of grandeur, but it's at least, appropriate and correct. A 3.3.

TREK SENSE: This is the mission you complete, then promptly forget you've completed, but somehow think you've completed anyway. Let me explain. It has to do with the android. The Paxans are so reclusive (and powerful), they knock out everybody on a ship that comes here and send it away. This is the special game text: relocation of the offending ship. Now thinking a wormhole is there, crews may return again and again (get relocated again and again) since there's a mystery (and a mission) to be solved. If an android IS there however, it can't be knocked out by the Paxans, so the mission gets done either because a) the android manufactures evidence to settle the mystery, or b) it doesn't, leading to the crew using Diplomacy with the Paxans and letting themselves be memory-wiped and settling the mystery together. The latter is probably the true mission, since while Diplomacy may have been used by the android, it can't achieve the CUNNING alone. So now, the ship goes merrily on its way, having totally forgotten the Paxans, but believing they have investigate the "wormhole" fully. Ta-daa! Problems: Relocation is a little too wide to be believable. From the wording, it would seem possible to send a ship to another quadrant. Don't forget there's no real wormhole, it was Data who flew the Enterprise out of there. Which brings us to another point: how do the Paxan send away a ship without an able pilot aboard? Here, the answer may lie in their possession of Troi. They would inhabit the body of a crewman and fly the ship away. In any case, the ship can't be sent TOO far away (maybe an adjacent location?). Otherwise, I think this card makes good use of storytelling, and I have no problems with either the Span, the points or the attempting affiliations. A good, even 4.

SEEDABILITY: Field trip fever! While an easy mission for your android and his friends (especially for the Feds who have more and better androids), it can be used against your opponent to whisk away his ships at this location. Well, if your opponent doesn't have an android, it'll perhaps slow him down some, as he stops at an adjacent mission before continuing on. SO it's just glorified pollution then? Not quite. If your opponent DOES have an android, he might try to steal the mission from under your nose, or just fly in the face of danger and stop there. That's what Off Switch is for (finally found a use for it). An android in stasis does NOT meet the requirement here and cannot stop the ship's relocation. Zoom, see ya in the Gamma quadrant. While some apt counters exist for Wormholes, this isn't a Wormhole - it's a "Wormhole" ;-). You can field trip without fear. And while Operate Wormhole Relays can put a pinch on your field trip stategies by establish a two-way connection between your holes, if you send someone HERE, and bounce him out, that someone loses their link to their original location. Just make sure to stop the ship by either reducing its RANGE at least below 3 so that it doesn't fly out. A sort of way-station for the lost, but difficult to pull off. As a mission, watch out for android-targeting dilemmas this one'll attract, since you too are affected by the game text. Otherwise, an easy 35 points. And not scoutable by the Borg unless they brainwashed an android first. It's also a nebula, which'll work with your killer Isabellas, your cowardly Ensign Tuvok or your fast-flying Hawk. Specialized, but worth a good 4.1.

TOTAL: 14.2 (71%) When the missions started getting more interesting...

PICTURE: It's true that the Penalty Box on the show looked like nothing at all (or could look like anything), but this CGI representation is excellent! There's a lot of craft that went into this one. The base is based (can I say that?) on Q's courtroom chair, with the same gargoyles and all. The cage itself is the familiar Q-net chain links, but shaped like we've never seen them before. Another excellent display of design. The background is the black void, and Tasha is in an appropriately penitent pose. While I can't give full points because the image doesn't match the actual events of the show, I can go as high as 4.7 for bringing all those elements together so adroitly.

LORE: The Q-uote helps explain the game text quite well, and the last phrase has Q's usual poetic flair, putting this one in the successful pile. Perhaps mentioning Tasha is too specific, but she IS in the pic. Ok, a good 3.8 here.

TREK SENSE: Works just like in the show (or almost). When somebody gets put in the box, it is merely in suspension, unuseable. But since there's only room for one in the box, anyone that gets put here after the first sends the former occupant to out-of-play land (nothingness). The random selections are fine since there's no real method to Q's madness. He's like an Armus with one-liners. The only less than satisfying feature is that, if nullfied, the occupant goes back to hand. This is not what happened on the show, since Tasha didn't have to re-report to an outpost. And the only real problem has more to do with the way Q-Flashes work than how this card does. Namely, that the "game" with the Penalty Box should entirely occur on the same Q-Flash (or else the joke or threat isn't as good), but duplicate Q-cards encoutered during the same Flash are discarded, so... no go. Still hits an easy 4.2.

STOCKABILITY: Certainly one of the most powerful Q-cards available (especially outside the Dilemmas), this one has an effect no matter what. You place a personnel (unfortunately at random) effectively out-of-play (in the Box, though still, technically, in play). Unuseable. When another Q-Flash is encountered, hopefully you've peppered the side-deck with enough Boxes that that first target gets out of the game permanently, and another personnel is now incommunicado. Even if your opponent decides to Kevin the Penalty Box, he'll still have to re-report the personnel normally. Real killer as far as Q-cards go. A 4.

TOTAL: 16.7 (83.5%) Card gets penalized very little, actually.

PICTURE: It's not like we've never seen brown planets before, but at least it looks diseased, which is in keeping with the mission's theme. Still, not too attractive. A plain, if appropriate, 3.1.

LORE: "Plague Planet" doesn't sound like a mission title, but it certainly has imagery and alliteration! "Famous deadly plague" isn't very good however. "Infamous"? Stone cold 3.

TREK SENSE: This mission is partially invention, and I'm not sure it knows where it's going. On the one hand, the lore and requirements make this an investigation. On the other, the special game text seems to cure it. The first possibility is the better one since the Tarellian plague was something apparently incurable. MEDICAL/Biology is there to protect the Away Team from contamination and study the virus. Archaeology is required to study the remains of the Tarellian civilization. And odd combination, but possible. Your game text automatically nullifies Plague Ships, which either means your research has led you to a cure, or perhaps (and I'm straining here), to a cultural understanding that allows you to pass the dilemma diplomatically. If your opponent solves it, she gets a different result. Everyone still has to send a doctor over to the Plague Ship, but no longer get the bonus points. Here, the reasoning is that you've solved the problem once, and shouldn't get more points for solving it again. Of course, encountering multiple Plague Ships in the same game doesn't produce that result. And why the different outcomes? Both are out of place on an investigation. The affiliations and points are not, but would be if this were a cure mission. Works thematically, but can't pass the test. A 2.4.

SEEDABILITY: Koroth and Richard Galen come close to solving it alone (and can, with the right equipment to make them MEDICAL), but let's face it - Archaeology isn't really a Med skill. In any case, not too hard for any of the listed affiliations and will fit in well in Federation or Klingon MEDICAL decks and Romulan Archaeology decks. The points can even be brought to 40 with the right mission specialists. As for the special game text, it's a double-edged sword. Tarellian Plague Ship is a very nasty dilemma when encountered, as it makes you lose a MEDICAL at best, and an entire crew at worst. If your opponent's fond of that particular dilemma (as I am), you can avoid it entirely by solving this mission early. Of course, if it gets stolen from under your nose (and it would be relatively easy to do so, barring Fair Play), the 5 points you would have gotten from those Plague Ships as compensation for losing that MEDICAL are null and void. Since Tarellian Plague Ship isn't really number one on the list of self-seeds (because you'd still lose the doc), your opponent probably wouldn't balk at attempting this one hoping 1) to prevent you from invalidating her Plague Ships and 2) to keep those bonus points out of your hands if you do pass the dilemma. A good special text if you're worried about the usual combos, but I'd put my outpost here, AMS for Archaeology and a MEDICAL with only Biology, AND seed Fair Play, just to make sure you do this one first. But you gotta be really scared of the Plague! A simple 3.4.

TOTAL: 11.9 (59.5%) At least it's more original than your usual mission.

PICTURE: What I find impressive about this effect is that the chain links actually cast a shadow on the ground. Otherwise, the Q-effect is pretty banal, the pig-men have really bad make-up (good thing they're so far away) and the green sky seems taken from an old TOS soundstage. Not a whole lot going for it at 2.4.

LORE: Not a bad pun for the title, but I never know how to pronounce it. "Planet" is already a card. "Pleh-net"? "Play-net"? The Q-uote itself is not from Q, but rather from Riker when he had Q's powers ("RiQer"). It's what he said when he erected the force field. Potty mouth. Far from witty at 2.1.

TREK SENSE: Heavy on the game mechanics, it's not always easy to draw Trek Sense from it. It represents Q giving Q-power to one of your personnel temporarily. That personnel is then confronted with another dilemma and may choose to use its Q-powers to eliminate it. This is cheating, so -5 points as the mission gets easier. Picard did tell Riker not to use the powers. If the initiate Q doesn't use the ability, and somebody gets bogged down in the dilemma, well, then, it's a real waste and you lose the points as further punishment. I can't really justify that last point loss as it has very little to do with a "mission objective" (completing it which is the Trek representation of scoring points). Indeed, check out all the plot holes: If I'm right about the the way we're supposed to understand this, why can the new Q only use his or her powers in that specific fashion? Why would the affected affiliation necessarily forbid the character from using them (like Picard did)? Why can't you see the next seed card before nullifying it? It makes no sense that you would nullify something you didn't see. Why is a stop/disable/stasis result penalized when a kill would have been more disastrous to the personnel (I could have saved Deanna, snif snif)? The dilemma that gets nullified in the picture is Q's Vicious Animal Things. That's a killer, not a stopper. I can't reconcile most of the card though I understand the initial thinking behind it. A 2.3.

STOCKABILITY: As part of a Q-Flash, this card's not that powerful. It's better off as a seeded dilemma with Beware of Q. Either way, the strategies are the same, but you have more control on the situation when you don't have to wait to see if it'll pop up. It doesn't really affect the rest of the Q-Flash, only the following seed card, anyway. Basically, and this isn't bad, it can guarantee a 5 point loss to your opponent. Whether it's because he decided to nullify the seed card (so never front part of a combo here) or it stopped, disabled or put in stasis a personnel, -5 points. A few dilemmas do this reasonably well. Parallel Romance in particular, automatically hits if the Away Team has personnel of both genders (and leading with Matriarchal Society will make sure of that). Plenty of filters will stop personnel while others go on. The ones that initiate battles, like Borg Ship, Sleeper Trap and Scout Encounter also stop a crew or Away Team. If your aim is to keep your opponent's points low, this card makes a good addition to your seed deck. If you know your opponent is on the confused side, seed it just after his self-seeded artifact to see if he'll nullify it, but I'm not suggesting it's anywhere near that useful. And if you're thinking of self-seeding this puppy in order to pay the toll and get out of a dilemma, don't forget there's Writ out there, which'll make you lose the game over it. Not worth it. A regular 3.4.

TOTAL: 10.2 (51%) Unimpressively designed.

PICTURE: Do you see it? Do you? PURPLE!!! Arghhhh! And matched with the other Hulk color, green. And not a pretty green either. My color preferences aside, the composition (and the prop) is a little clunky. The color palette (regardless) is insipid. Not that uninteresting, but just a 2.7.

LORE: What does Wesley know anyway? Lots of technobabble is mitigated by the insertion of well-known characters to the backstory. Though I have to wonder why the equipment's obsolescence is mentioned. Isn't this a useful gadget? A semi-lame 2.8 here.

TREK SENSE: Plugged into the engines, it should obviously boost Range, but Shields too? I understand that the warp core produces energy for all ship's systems, but then, wouldn't Weapons be affected too? If power efficiency (drawing all the juice you can out of the core with minimal waste) translates as attribute power, then all 3 attributes should be affected. There should probably be a limit to the amount of Range you can add to a ship though, no matter how efficient its engines are. With enough Relays, you can easily exceed those safety limits we keep hearing about. On a station or outpost, no Range boost (though they can be given Range), but a better Shields boost. Facilities have some kind of power core (not a "warp" core though), and I suppose it's ok to imagine these Relays could be adapted to work on those power sources, but I'm not sure there's any evidence to that effect. After all, the Relay is designed to "improve warp engine efficiency". Engines, it says, not core. So simple, yet so also simple to pick apart. Just does too much to be an accurate representation of what we saw on the show. A 2.4.

STOCKABILITY: Boosting ship attributes is always good, and a way to do it without the need for matching commanders is even more useful. As equipment, you can even transfer them to other ships (including your shuttles), boosting the total RANGE of your ship chain. Plus, let's not forget it boosts SHIELDS, and in these armada-filled days, that's always good. Facilities will benefit from them too, again to counter armadas. And since the equipment is cumulative, there's really no upper limit to the amount of RANGE and SHIELDS you can get. Facilities that report or seed equipment (like the Dominion's Depots) will be instantly protected and in a great position to transfer bonuses to your ships as you report them. And it's great in cargo runs, since it acts as the necessary equipment AND a way to "run" faster. Always a nice reward for Establishing a Trade Route or Dominion Foothold, I give this one a resounding 3.7.

TOTAL: 11.6 (58%) Well, you can't just be making them USEFUL.

PICTURE: That's one plain background, but you can't fault Barclay's silly expression here. It's pretty funny. Just enough to give the card a 3.2 in this category.

LORE: Barclay's appearance in the pic, despite the Betazoid origins of the technique, is explained, as is the technique itself. There's not much more to it. A competent 3.3.

TREK SENSE: This card's Trek Sense is a little tongue-in-cheek, but being a Barclay card, I can forgive some of it. Basically, Plexing (and its mention on other cards supports this) sends out a big "RELAX" to affected cards, curing any psychological disorder they might have. Among the psycho-instability it counters, we find Empathic Echo (empath doesn't know what's real anymore and tries to commit suicide... RELAX!) and Frame of Mind (personnel also doesn't know what's real anymore... just RELAX and we'll help you sort it out!). Parallax Arguers got you stressed? RELAX! Thought Maker-generated headaches? Please, just RELAX! Note that the Thought Maker also makes a person confused about what's real or not (at least in the show), following the same theme. System-Wide Cascade Failure is the only one I'm truly opposed to (even though some of the others are a little far-fetched... I don't think Riker had it THAT easy in "Frame of Mind"). Do androids have the same nerve clusters as flesh-and-blood humanoids? Surely not. Nor does what happened to Lal appear to be that easy to counter. In fact, I could say here that androids shouldn't be able to use this card in any way, nor should changelings, and probably Jem'Hadar and Borg. These either don't have nerves, or never relax. The other cards Plexing nullifies are all due to stress (Nightmare, Drumhead and Barclay Transporter Phobia) and fit in well here. Isn't it odd though that while Plexing was used against Transporter Phobia on the show, it doesn't make an appearance here? Plexing does show up on that card, but it seems backwards to me. That thing about not being nullified? Pure hogwash, since it's much easier to stop someone from rubbing the back of their ear, than prevent a Q-like Amanda Rogers from exercising her powers. More thematic than actual, really, at 3. And that's mostly cuz I find it humorous.

STOCKABILITY: Lacking the more general nature of an Amanda Rogers or a Kevin Uxbridge, Plexing nonetheless may nullify more than one card type. Dilemmas and Incidents, for example, don't have a generic counter. Unfortunately, whenever a counter-card only works on specific, NAMED cards, it's value goes immediately down. After all, how can you ever be sure your opponent will be stocking said cards. So... is Plexing worth using, at least as a Tent card? Let's see... It nullifies Empathic Echo, a dilemma that often leads in before Cardassian Trap, so that could be a way to protect your precious Empaths, though MEDICAL/SECURITY isn't that hard to get. Nullifying Parallax Arguers can cancel the need to choose to argue or not. This card is sometimes abused to get multiple Events into play, or get bonus points, but this isn't very common. And bonus points can be countered in other ways. Frame of Mind is a nasty and relatively common dilemma, and one you might have a hard time to cure if you just don't have the Empathy (i.e. aren't playing Feds). Alternatively, you could counter your opponent's use of the card in combination with Reflection Therapy to avoid capture. System-Wide Cascade Failure is a very rarely used dilemma (because not all players use androids), but if you ARE using androids and fear this happens to you, the requirements to save the android are pretty steep... well, why don't you just use Ira Graves and/or Dr. Soong instead? Thought Maker has lost a lot of punch since probing was introduced, so I probably wouldn't be using Plexing to negate its effects. Just downloading Plexing with FC Barclay fixes the problem! And that brings me to Plexing's hidden assets - it's one of the most cross-indexed cards in the game, naming 5 cards and being named specifically on 4 others. One of these is FC Barclay, one of those personnel you might actually use both personae of. Report the Premiere version with AMS, then later switch to the more skilled FC version, especially if using Visit Cochrane Memorial. He can download Plexing to his location, nullifying the right card at the right time (especially the dilemmas I guess). Plexing will also cure Barclay Transporter Phobia (which can be an extremely annoying interrupt in the wrong hands), Nightmare (again, very annoying, but, to my knowledge, seldom used) and Drumhead (a very tough dilemma indeed). And I'm expecting Plexing to crop up on other cards too. So as a backup, or if your opponent is known to make use of the cross-indexed cards, this could easily fill the 13th spot in your Q's Tent. Then again, you might find that you never have need of it. In some instances, you'll ask yourself why you couldn't use good ol' Amanda. When Hidden Agendas are peppered all over your opponent's side of the table, you might not, fearing The Line Must Be Drawn Here. And hey, it can't be nullified by Q2 (or anything at all). Variable, depending on opponent, this interrupt goes for the middle. A 3.

TOTAL: 12.5 (62.5%) What's the record for largest cross-indexing of a card?

PICTURE: While the zombie look is both interesting and original, there's entirely too much gray on this card: gray wall, gray pillow, gray shirt, gray beard... Still, it's more representative of the personnel than most headshots. A 3.5.

LORE: While the lore is mostly likeable, using a cool quote for example, there's something a little bumpy about the syntax. It might have said "TO which words paled". Dropped to 3.3 right there.

TREK SENSE: I always have trouble with essentially friendly humans turning up as Non-Aligned. The Manheims may have exiled themselves from society, they were still born Federation citizens. And if all Bajorans are Bajoran, Cardassians all Cardassians, even if criminals or exiles, humans and Vulcans, etc., should always be Federation. Aside from that, Paul Manheim should be Science (I think that should come before any Civilian ideas when a character has devoted its life to the pursuit of science), and the Staff icon suits him. Astrophysics though, might not. That skill should be reserved for the study and manipulation of stellar phenomena (stars, nebulae, balck holes). The Manheim Effect smacks more of Physics, which would better account for the study of other dimensions, time travel, et al. Of course, Astrophysics also includes the study of spacebound singularities, and this may be the power harnessed by Manheim. Iffy. A x2 is a natural though - he manipulated time itself! As for the special skill, it is of course related to Manheim's Dimensional Door. As its creator, he can manipulate it (as he would continue to have had he not suffered a "dimensional breakdown". Closing it and doubling its effect seem like solid effects. Not very inspired, but okay. The attributes - Integrity might be too high for a man who played with such forces with little regard for the fabric of reality (even though he did settle in a far corner of the galaxy); Cunning is appropriately high as, at any higher, the experiment would have been more under control; and Strength is a science/elder gentleman low which is good. Not impressed at 2.7.

STOCKABILITY: As a Non-Aligned SCIENCE personnel with a double dose of Astrophysics and good CUNNING, you might find him useful in most any space mission-based deck (and the relatively high INTEGRITY will especially make the Romulans attracted to him). But that's all he really has to offer most of the time. His special skill works with a doorway that is far from being a staple card, but if you are using Manheim's Dimensional Door for some reason, Paul Manheim should be in your deck, giving you more flexibility with its use. You can double your card plays when a hiccup occurs, but you need Paul to be at the same planet. Since that doorway is risky to use (affects both players), you can nullify it with Paul at any time you realize your opponent is getting the best of you with the given deck configurations. Still, the card combinations here are so confusing, this isn't going to be a very common occurence. Jenice Manheim present can make Paul an 11-13-6 personnel, almost overcoming his major STRENGTH weakness, but again, you'd have to use a lame card (Jenice - unless you're THAT scared of Ressikan decks) to create this effect. Hardly worth it. No, his main use will be as an Astrophysics support personnel. There are plenty of missions that require the skill (sometimes in multiple) and more and more dilemmas that do too (including a double dose from Gravimetric Distortion). That alone keeps him at a 3.

TOTAL: 12.5 (62.5%) A relatively weak card supported by even worse ones.

PICTURE: You know what this is, don't you? It a shot of the Enterprise going to warp in the opening sequence of the show. By eliminating the starfield, Decipher has turned it into Q's extremely similar effect. Despite the borrowed source, it's appropriate in looking like an opening (a doorway). A simple (and a little boring) 2.9.

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

TREK SENSE: Playing a Q-Flash is like playing the Q "affiliation". The doorway enables the Q-Continuum cards to come into play (whether seeded as dilemmas or on top of the side-deck), or nullifies Q-cards as members of the Continuum have often done when Q had gone too far. I guess I should delve into the way Q-Flashes work as dilemma experiences. When Q-Flash is uncovered under a mission, Q appears (sometimes accompanied by Amanda Rogers or other friends) and inflicts a Q-episode on the crew or Away Team. I say episode because how else can I call it when the number of Q-cards is equal to the number of personnel present (minus any duplicate Q-cards drawn)? Q usually sticks to bugging one person (habitually a captain), and while the cards brought into play during a Q-Flash really don't happen to any specific personnel that might have added to their number, the multiplication of Q-cards would probably take longer than your usual single dilemma. Is this particularly disturbing? No, because Q has been know to suspend time while he played his antics on the unwary crew, resetting chronometers at the end of the episode. No, it's a good little mechanic, the number of cards encountered balanced by their relative weakness. A neat 4.5.

SEEDABILITY: The Q-Continuum side-deck has long been both criticized and lauded, but, whoever you believe, it's undeniably fun. The idea has always been to stock your side-deck carefully, with cards that would have an impact on the rest of your strategy. Some Q-cards, like Fightin' Words and Penalty Box have more power than the others and have become standards, but how could you be sure you weren't wasting your Q-cards if you stocked only a few different card titles? A large Away Team would quickly send your entire collection of Penalty Boxes to the discard pile. Newer rulings have fixed this, discarding all Q-cards to the bottom of the side-deck. So you CAN play with a smaller selection and not run out. Beware of Q has also made Q-Flash more desirable - now, you can exchange a bad dilemma for one (if your opponent isn't playing what you thought he would), or add a Q-Flash to any mission (restocking a space location with a "multiple" dilemma so that the Borg can't scout it free of charge, for example). A Q-Continuum becomes worth it when you assure yourself some hits with these methods (they also might act as deterrents, especially when there's already someone in the Penalty Box). The Q-Flash can be "jumped around" by other methods as well, like Incoming Message - The Continuum which lets you end the Q-Flash and reseed it elsewhere. Not bad when your selection has gone off in its entirety. One warning: playing more than one Q-Flash multiplies the hits (and is certainly warranted when working with Penalty Box), but it'll discard all those Q-Events enabled by the first one. All depends on your strategy. I wouldn't use the Q-Flash as a Q-card nullifier, but if you have one in hand (for Beware of Q) and something bad happens, there's always that. From small dilemmas, to redshirt hosers, to stunt decks like Gift of the Tormentor's, there's something in there for many players. A 4. That's right, you heard me, a 4.

TOTAL: 15.2 (76%) Here's hoping TwT makes it even better.

PICTURE: While I appreciate Decipher's extrapolation of what the planet might look like from space based on what we saw of its ground and sky, the end product looks like a big ball of lint (or, more generously, yarn). The moons are okay, but Q's planet itself doesn't look very good. A 2.5.

LORE: The quote is what finally convinced me to put this one with the Q-cards instead of the Missions in my collection. An interesting difference from your regular mission lore. Not as boring, and its mention of a "game" is a fun wink at the CCG itself. A superior 3.9.

TREK SENSE: Q's Planet is an unreal place created (as far as we know) by Q where he forces an Away Team to attempt a mission he has engineered himself. Such a mission has no real purpose, except Q's enjoyment. Is this what we have here? Well, they've done a pretty good job of it, especially for what is basically a "game mechanic" card. First off, it comes out of the Q-Continuum and appears anywhere on any spaceline. After all, it doesn't have a fixed location in the universe. The Span of 0 is unique in the game, an represents how Q probably whisks ships passing by the adjacent systems to this Q-location. The Planet probably isn't even there for real. That you can also pick it out of your Q's Tent is fine too. After all, it's Q's. Q, who I often imagine as the instigator of "the game" ("let's see how the Klingons do against the Ferengi, hehehe"), changes the conditions of victory as soon as his Planet comes into play. 40 more points? More or less forces players to either accept his challenge or work harder for the rest of the game. The mission itself isn't actually worth anything except the lifting of this extra obstacle. It's basically a worthless mission, with no real goal, and no positive fallout. You're just playing Q's little game. He doesn't really reward you, he just stops punishing you. To make it a challenge, players may of course seed cards here. This is where it gets bumpy: dilemmas will all be things that have been encountered before unless brand new ones were stocked in Q's Tent, and the fact that both players can play seed cards here means Q doesn't have total control over what happens there. Of course, Q doesn't really belong to any one player, so I'll let that slide. Finally, the only requirement is a unique personnel. What's that all about? Well, does Q put forth his challenges for the McKnights of this world? No, he goes after the Picards, the Rikers and the Janeways. In fact, Q's Planet was a game he played with Will. The only requirement is thus someone he would want to play with. Remarkably well designed at 4.7.

STOCKABILITY: There are two big reasons to use Q's Planet. One is to block your opponent from winning from fast mission solving by raising the points required for victory. The other is to solve it yourself thereby getting at an Artifact you kept in your Q's Tent for just this purpose. Option one will be especially useful againt the Borg who cannot solve the mission except with a brainwashed individual. They'll just have to complete another objective, maybe two, unless you yourself don't decide to do it yourself or the Collective was smart enough to play Resistance Is Futile. You won't really have to if you seed missions with a lot of points, or that can be solved by your mission specialists for extra ones. A tip: you can insert the mission into any spaceline, even one that doesn't exist yet (still limited to the Alpha and Gamma quadrants of course). That means that if you aren't using a Gamma quadrant (and any attendent wormholes), you can put Q's Planet where your opponent will have a hard time attempting it. That, and it creates a quadrant where you can field trip opponent's cards, mid-way through the game. Or you can protect it with Fair Play so that you're opponent cannot attempt it at all! If you're planning on using it as an artifact warehouse, you better be first on it, or else your opponent might try to do it first to 1) get the prize and 2) get the extra 40 points off his back. Another tip: to restrict the amount or quality of dilemmas your opponent will seed here, either Tent for this before you pass dilemmas at any other location, or barring that, only attempt space missions, so that only space/planet dilemmas will be on hand in opponent's discard pile. Since any unique personnel will do, you'll always be able to solve the mission (unless Lower Deck intensive), it's just a matter of passing those dilemmas, or not allowing any to be seeded. If, on the other hand, you're protecting Q's Planet from solving (option one), you might choose your dilemma selection with that in mind, using lots of space/planet and planet ones and making sure the Planet isn't used until AFTER a mission or two have been solved. In any case, that's when you know you'll know if you need it to stall your opponent. This is why stocking the card in Q's Tent is superior to having it come out in a Q-Flash. Control is important. Enough flexibility to be worth your while, though depending on your strategy, you might not need to add the 40 points OR the artifact. A cute use: a free (as in, spanless) mission for cargo runs. A 4.1.

TOTAL: 15.2 (76%) The special Q-stuff is usually quite imaginative and point-worthy.

PICTURE: Up front, I'll tell you this doorway's as ugly as they come. Sure, the Tent has an opening in the front (the doorway itself), but also one in the back and on the sides, though the rock in the back creates a faux-wall. There's just too much Q's Planet here: styrofoam rocks and fake soundstage skies. The banner on the right unbalances the picture further. The only thing keeping my attention is the easter egg. For those who don't know, it's the word "Déchiffrer" in the the top of the tent. Now, what fascinates me isn't how the word Déchiffrer means Decipher in French, and that the Tent is in Napoleonic style, which is French. No, what fascinates me is how they ever thought of such a thing! Brainy, those design guys. And since easter eggs are something that have to be deciphered themselves, so to speak, this is even more appropriate. That alone ups the score to a 2.5. (Still low, huh?)

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

TREK SENSE: Is there any, really? The idea of the side-deck (and cards just to get to them) implies that Q is looking to help players! Oh yeah? The Tent in the episode served no real purpose at all, but thematically, I suppose it represents a French marshall's strategy post, where the military minds think up contingency plans (which the Tent, as a card, arranges). It's all very conceptual. There are high points, such as the fact that seed cards may be stocked in the side-deck, and these are closer to the kind of "help" Q might provide. Indeed, you might see it more as Q antagonizing your opponent, like the Q-Continuum side-deck does. Of course, a lot of cards wouldn't be something Q would think of. On the down side, Q-cards can't be stocked here at all. It's hard to gauge a card like this which is rooted so much in mechanics, and so little in Trek Sense. Some hidden virtues, but overall a 2.

STOCKABILITY: Well, who plays WITHOUT a Q's Tent might be easier to note. Those using the tri-Treaty can't use any side-decks, so there are those decks based on making the Federation an equal opportunity attacker. Okay, if you wish (though there are other ways to let your big Fed ships attack). Other Tent poo-pooers include the Borg, who find Tents in their draw deck to be bad draws. Well, stick with me friends, I think the Tent can help even the Collective. Now basically, you would use your Tent in one of two ways. Either you stock your side-deck with all your important cards, and your draw deck with an adequate amount of Q's Tents. This would allow you to get to the cards you need without fear of them being at the bottom of the draw deck. If they are all good cards, don't even get the specific card and go for a random draw, which keeps the Tent on standby as the next card draw (not this turn though, which can be a pain). Random draws will get you the most out of a singular Tent, since one can get you any number of Tented cards. The other way people commonly use the side-deck is by stocking a lot of contingency cards in there. There are so many possible strategies and affiliations that sometimes, you can't be sure a specific counter card will be worth stocking. If you stock an anti-Rogue Borg card, for example, and your opponent doesn't use any, you're stuck with that useless card in hand. Stocking it in the Tent is the perfect solution. That way, if your opponent doesn't use RBMs, the counter stays in. If he does, however, you can get at it. 13 different cards (each being different can also be a pain) can mean 13 different strategies countered. The "just-in-case" side-deck is probably the best idea. Okay, Borgs and Borgettes, here's where it gets interesting. Don't use any Q's Tents in your draw deck (bad probes): use the side-deck as a repository for things your other cards can download and which would be bad probes themselves. Since you can download from the Tent as much as from the draw deck, there's no reason to pollute that deck with Assimilation Tables, Adapts and the like if you can Tent them instead. Similarly, more classic affiliations can avoid some of the perils of having their decks rifled through by Thought Makers, etc. Only Tarmin can really look here, and he's not widely used. The last Tent strategy is using it as seed storage. There's always been Q's Planet which can not only be stored here too, but which requires dilemmas and/or artifacts. These are useless in your draw deck, but are quite comfy in the Tent, where they keep until deployed. And then there's Beware of Q which allows you to fish in your Q's Tent for a Q-Flash to seed at a mission that urgently needs an obstacle to stop your opponent. There's also Scanner Interference which can have a similar effect. Caveat: watch out for Computer Crash and Wrong Door that can throw a wrench into the works. I recommend Quark's Isolinear Rods which does away with both. Of course, there's still Revolving Door to worry about on downloads. While I'd easily get rid of the "draw no cards this turn" limit which doesn't just nullify the end-of-turn card draw, but any others you might have coming, that doesn't even figure in the download-storehouse option. Is 5 too high? I don't think it is. Emminently seedable/stockable.

TOTAL: 12.67 (63.33%) Just goes to show, you can't do well in the Rolodex on power alone.

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