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

PICTURE: Yuck! A better pic would have had more than one "Thing", maybe even firing those muskets, but as is... one of the worst pics in the game. I mean, the background is cheap and plain, the contrast is set too high, the make-up effects seem to be pulled from the original series (who, at least, had an excuse), and it isn't even all that clear either. The absurdity of the image doesn't even bring a smile. No more than a 0.9.

LORE: The facts are aptly presented, with a good explanation of what we're seeing here. The mention of Worf's baptism of the creatures is a cute addition, though if I'd been Captain Picard, I probably wouldn't have liked my officers being so undescriptive. A competent 3.2.

TREK SENSE: My first problem with this dilemma is that it isn't a Q-dilemma. Why not? It could have worked (perhaps by adding a line like "if this is a planet mission" or something). What happens is, when the Q-Continuum is closed, Q can still summon up these critters. Does that sound right? Or do these creatures exist in the wild? Dressed like this? It still may be affected by Q2, but still. The effects themselves are puzzling as well, but not unexplainable. That Q's monsters kill a personnel makes sense (though Wesley didn't stay down for good). That the dilemma is re-seeded also works on a conceptual level because the "Things" made multiple incursions, attacking the Away Team more than once. Of course, on different planets, this is less sensical. As for requiring Strength BETWEEN 23 and 54, that's what's really puzzling. More than 22 Strength is what is needed to win a fight against the QVATs (oooh, nice acronym), but more than 55 Strength makes you lose! Q's rules? Well, that excuse could be used to explain away any inconsistency. Yeah, Q did it. I have serious reservations all around, so only a 1.7.

SEEDABILITY: Works against redshirts as well as against mega-Away Teams (and to get that giant STRENGTH total, the Jem'Hadar don't even have to be so numerous), QVAT can get you a random kill in those cases. The proliferation of hand weapons actually makes busting the 54 STRENGTH limit more likely than not having the required 23. Seeding at a mission that requires very high STRENGTH, or after a similar wall (like Founder Secret) can insure a hit. If it DOES hit, the dilemma gets re-seeded, so you can try to have it hit again and again. Only since your opponent sees where you're putting it, he'll know to send a middling amount of STRENGTH, and the dilemma will be at the front of any combo, so you can't lead the way with an appropriate dilemma. Depending on how close the total comes to 23, your STRENGTH dilemma that follows could hit, but anywhere close to 55 and they'll probably pass it. Against the Borg, it's slightly more useful. It kills a lone scout (and even a pack of 3 to 4 drones) and can be reseeded at a planet you feel they might want to assimilate. Unfortunate that it can only be seeded at an unsolved mission, because you certainly don't want the Borg swooping in on your dilemma-free solved planet. I don't expect Q2 to actually swoop in and nullify this marginally dangerous dilemma, but be aware that it can. I give this one a 3.

TOTAL: 8.8 (44%) Ugly creatures = ugly card = ugly score.

PICTURE: Aside from the slight star value (actress also played in Space: Above and Beyond), the pic has Rager well involved in the show's events, actually reacting, which is more than we can say for Gibson or McKnight. The curved railing behind her makes for a more dynamic composition, though the color scheme is somewhat below average (the peach tones in the back don't work well with her cranberry uniform). A 3.2.

LORE: Simple, with no artifice, and her role in an episode told from her point of view. All things considered though, it's not perfect. Using the adjective "experienced" for a Youth personnel, while not impossible, is kind of anomalous. And the second sentence couldn't be any duller. A 2.9 and no more.

TREK SENSE: Conn OFFICER who, despite her experience, has Youth. This is supported by her appearance. Conn experience of course includes a Staff icon, Navigation and Stellar Cartography, which is no doubt used to get a fix on one's position or lay in a course. The special skill is tied to her 15 minutes of fame, in helping solve Explore Dyson Sphere (though she has only Navigation to contribute). I explain the 5 extra points by this being her big moment. As a Youth, she's scores extra points just from experience. This thinking is supported by other point gains here and there in the game, but is a little strained, I admit. Really no problem with the attributes, since there's no hard evidence either way. Probably wouldn't have given a chair-jockey Strength higher than 5. And for a score, I give a reasonable 3.6.

STOCKABILITY: Face it, the Federation has plenty of EVERY original skill. Using Rager thus hinges on your using Explore Dyson Sphere and wanting her mission-specialist-like 5 points. Lots of requirements on that mission so that 40 points is a more adequate score, but Rager can't help with more than the Navigation. A free-reported mission specialist can do the same, only better, so... Poor Rager, whose stats aren't bad, who has some fair-to-good skills, just doesn't have enough to really recommend her. Or too much! Not a mission specialist, not a support personnel, but not a great unique card either. Who said bigger meant better? Compared to what the Feds have as a whole, only a 2.8.

TOTAL: 12.5 (62.5%) What I wouldn't give for an Space: Above and Beyond Easter Egg here. Ah well.

PICTURE: While dark and a little blurry, seeing a character in a crisis situation isn't a bad way to go. You also have to admire the limited color palette, those yellows on the console matching her gold uniform, and all that oppressive black. Some would give points just cuz she's a pretty girl, but I like to hide it in other reasons. A 3.4.

LORE: The first phrase is a little too condensed syntaxically, but the mention of two of her laws (still waiting for matching Events, Decipher) makes me forgive a lot of things. Numbering them might have been even cuter. A 3.6.

TREK SENSE: Yes, a Transporter Skill personnel, thus both Staff and Engineer, like all of them supposedly. She's also young enough to be romantically involved with Wesley, so Youth is fine too. Her special skill(s) are good too. She was able to figure out the Ktarian Game in the episode, though maybe she should have to be with Wesley to accomplish this. Her boosting Wes' Cunning is likewise fine (due to the romantic involvement - though a young man might get a Strength boost as well - and they did work well together), but not very inspired. Integrity: a little low, especially for someone who followed rules as much as she did (even her own rules). Cunning is okay. Strength is slightly low, but plausible. Basically competent at 3.4.

STOCKABILITY: Lackluster stats are offset by the presence of Transporter Skill. She's one of only 5 (if I count the O'Briens as 1 personnel) such personnel in the Federation. This is required to pass Orion Syndicate Bomb, as well as use Invasive Transporters (on that Stolen Attack Ship), solve Rescue Prisoners, get rid of Tribbles, etc. She doesn't stack up real well to the other Transporter Skill personnel in the game though, matching their ENGINEER (a great classification), but only offering Youth in the skills department. The special skill(s) are too specific to be really useful. On the one hand, Ktarian Game is an easy dilemma to pass, especially for Feds. On the other, the boost to Wesley Crusher is to CUNNING only (boosting the attribute to 10), and he's just one personnel, though emminently boostable when you add Lakanta into the mix. An okay personnel at 3.3.

TOTAL: 13.7 (68.5%) Sorry Robin, life isn't always fair. ;-)

PICTURE: As a dilemma, it's certainly appropriate for the dice to show snake eyes (a 2) even though that's not really part of the game text. Picturally, the table's at a good angle, the colors are sound, and the shadows at the top give it an eerie quality. A decent 3.4.

LORE: From the lore, they make it sound like Craps is the baseline Hotel Royale dilemma, the one that has you trapped on a planet. Interesting. More on that under Trek Sense. I balk at the term "illusory" here, but otherwise, good lore at 3.3.

TREK SENSE: The main problem with the marginally AU Royale Casino dilemmas is that they are too specific to be realistically encountered on just any planet AND playing a game of chance isn't exactly a cliffhanger, is it? They're also big on conceptually bringing the casino game to the CCG, and conceptual is not equal to Trek Sensical. One of these problems (and to some degree, the other two) is fixed thanks to the lore here. Both dilemmas are different ways to pass the bigger, all-encompassing Royale Casino dilemma. The colon is there for a reason. (This creates a problem with your not having a choice of passing strategies - either Blackjack or Craps for example - but that's nothing compared to the point drop if I didn't take this tack.) Ok, so this particular dilemma says that, if you play Craps successfully, you can buy your way out of the dilemma. Cool, though the rest is still conceptual. In craps, rolling a 7 or an 11 is success. Barring that, rolling a number, then matching that number on a second roll also indicates success. A 2, "snake eyes", indicates failure (this, they didn't put into the card). Of course, the numbers come from a personnel in hand's Cunning. Why? Why not? I couldn't tell you 'cuz we're far afield by now. Allowing an android to pass would have been appropriate as well (Data fixed the dice easily in the episode). The reward isn't just getting out of the dilemma, it's also money in the form of points. Since it IS gambling, losing has its price. Opponent (who, as seeder, plays the bank) wins the cash instead. Fun stuff, but steeped in conceptuals. Only a 2.9.

SEEDABILITY: Works as much as a self-seed as an opposing seed, since you can always benefit, but you have to keep a personnel in your hand to make it work. Ideally, one with CUNNING 7 or 11 (the former being very common indeed). The Borg can't score bonus points, but any Navigation drone in hand will keep an opponent from getting the points. It really does work better as a self-seed, since you can wait until you have the appropriate personnel in hand and go scoop up the points. As a regular dilemma, you can still score, but you'll need to match an opposing CUNNING (unless it was 7 or 11, in which case you've lost) which isn't easy. With bonus points being a target for a number of hosers, including Writ, I wouldn't be too quick to go to the tables. An uncertain and weak 2.7.

TOTAL: 12.3 (61.5%) Snake eyes!

PICTURE: He's got a cool broach, but that's about it. Dull regular bridge background, strange ears that look like they have earrings on them (he kinda looks like a pirate for some reason), and a disdainful expression. I know he's just being serious, but I really don't like the way he's looking in our direction. At least, there's a little personality to the card. A 2.9.

LORE: Aside from the flavorful word "crucial", there isn't much beyond straight facts in this lore (should I expect more from a Vulcan though?). telling us he's a male Vulcan seems like wasted space to me. Just an average 3.

TREK SENSE: An assistant VIP, sure, and while I don't dispute he may have starship training, the Staff icon isn't really supported. The Mindmeld is a such a given for Vulcans that it probably should have been a skill (just replace Vulcan species for every mention of the skill in the cards). Diplomacy is exactly what he and Sarek are involved in, good. Youth... Youth?!? Come on! I know Vulcans don't age as fast as we do, but Spock was about Kirk's age and he always seemed like an adult despite his relatively few Vulcan years. He certainly wouldn't get Youth. How old is the actor here? Thirtysomething? Geez... The special skill, at least, makes sense, not nullifying, but suspending Bendii Syndrome. He wasn't entirely able to do it though in the episode. Indeed, while he kept Sarek from losing his composure, that isn't really an element of the dilemma. Bendii Syndrome kills a Vulcan (Sakkath can't help that), and lowers the Integrity of personnel present (he could help the Vulcan, but not everyone else, as the show plainly states). Down to attributes already? Well, they look fine.One gross mistake and a few other inconsistencies brings us to a 2.4.

STOCKABILITY: Nope, I don't think this category'll save him. For one thing, we have plenty of other, often better, Vulcans, if that's what you're after. The Diplomacy ain't bad, but common. The Mindmeld is rather lame. Youth protects him from Bendii Syndrome (oooooh), but otherwise, not a very useful skill. And suspending Bendii? It doesn't nullify the dilemma, for one thing. For another, it's a dilemma that's not often seeded because you can't be sure enough a player will use Vulcans (the only target). Good attributes, but really, why him more than another? Strictly binder fodder, except maybe in a thematic deck, at 2.5.

TOTAL: 10.8 (54%) Yawns aplenty.

PICTURE: Stealing the thunder from any future Mondor card (now a reality), this was one of the first missions to feature a ship (now a more common occurence). The pic is blurry, and the ship real ugly, but it gets points for originality. That is: not being just another colored sphere. I can't give it above a 3 though.

LORE: That sector has a name worthy of the Pakleds! The lore is pretty plain, but you gotta like the title, which adopts the episode title. Sounds more like a dilemma, but there is a built-in dilemma in the mission (of sorts), so that's not too bad, though I wouldn't trust any admiral who sent me to complete "Samaritan SNARE", nope, not at all. A competent 3.3.

TREK SENSE: Okay, the Pakleds need something to make them go. An Engineer can supply that, and in fact, all they wanted was their own Geordi to boost their engines all the time. The Engineer isn't lost in this case (unless Make Us Go is seeded here too), but the ship must give the Pakleds a piece of Equipment, perhaps as ransom, maybe just because they asked for some. This is okay, depending on the Pakleds' actual requests (they may ask to Make Us Smart to get PADDs, for example, the lore is nicely ambiguous about that), but I'm not sure the Klingons or Romulans would forfeit anything when confronted by the disarming aliens. The Klingons would rather blow the Mondor out of the sky! But seeing as the Mondor had, among other things, Romulan systems integrated into it, I guess they can fool anybody. The 15 points are fine seeing as the distress call was a fake, and the mission not very hard at all. The attempting affiliations include all the originals, including Non-Aligned. No problems there, though an updated card would also include the Bajorans and Cardassians, maybe the Dominion, but NOT the Ferengi ("what's samaritan mean?"). The Feds cannot help but attempt because they can't say no to a call for help (though other distress call missions don't have this attribute), because they are, after all, the good samaritans of the universe. If they are in the region (that location), they get the call and must answer. That cool little bit of thinking boosts the score to a 4.2.

SEEDABILITY: Ok, any ENGINEER with an Equipment card can complete the mission, but why would anyone want to? 15 points isn't nearly enough to make one lose said equipment AND face up to 4 dilemmas (usually) with one's crew. Well, look at the title. It's a SNARE, use it like the trap it is. Against the Federation, this one can be devilishly evil. Think of it, your nasty dilemma combo can be sure to hit because they can't help but attempt it. First, you have to make sure they stop there with a ship. Note that ANY Federation presence, even a single personnel in a batch of NAs, will set off the game text. There are plenty of stopping cards, including on-spaceline pollution and Hail. The next action then, is the attempt. What, you say? You don't want to give your opponent the 15 points? Then don't! If you get rid of the Equipment with Disruptor Overloads, Common Thieves and other Equipment killing dilemmas and cards, the crew cannot complete the mission. Lack of Preparation might be a good idea here if there were no Equipment cards aboard - they attempted the mission unready. Aww... sorry, that mission was only worth 5 points to you, and all those personnel you lost! Oh, no... >:-) If your opponent isn't using the Federation, then you may have seeded this in vain, but then again, you seed a lot of dilemmas that will never see the light of day, and you never know, a happy-go-lucky Romulan might still try for the easy points to offset The Higher... The Fewer losses (you can arrange it). As an added bonus, this mission can be part of your NA deck, especially to seed a Husnock Outpost. Any ship there (the universal Husnock Ship for example) can be the one to Hail a passing Federation vessel. And the Borg might like it as a place to do Establish Gateway with minimal points for mission thieves. As many strategies as there are dilemma combos, but limited as to who it can hit. Still a 3.9.

TOTAL: 14.4 (72%) I was drawn in!

PICTURE: Showing him on the Enterprise's bridge is incongruous, but acceptable given that this is an alternate universe card. Otherwise, not much to say about it. A 3.2.

LORE: My only problem with the lore is that "popularly known as" is a little misleading. Mark Twain was his nom de plume, but I'm not sure that's the same thing exactly. Maybe the space could have been better used to mention one of his works. The time travel incident is mentioned in a straightforward, but adequate manner. A 3 here.

TREK SENSE: Looking over AU personnel from Earth's past like Clemens, I have to question the Non-Aligned affiliation a little. The fact of the matter is, would someone from Earth's past really aligned themselves with Romulans, Cardassian or Klingons? I'm not sure they could throw in with non-human empires. Indeed, Clemens worked with the Feds on this particular outing, and seemed to share their ideals. Maybe Non-Aligned should just have been given to pure mercenaries who WOULD work with anybody? Just a something I'm putting on the table. I realize that the Federation didn't exist when he was alive, but I'm wondering if that's justification enough. I'm also noticing that his AU icon allows him to staff AU ships, all of which are way beyond his technical knowledge, including the "primitive" ships of the 23rd century. That's a problem with the icon itself which I'll take up at the next full expansion meeting. As for the personnel himself, Civilian makes sense of course, and I suppose Diplomacy makes some measure of sense, because he was quite the orator and knew how to negociate. He was also a kind of an ambassador of good will for the 19th century, adapting quickly to the knowledge of a star-faring 24th century and immediately opening talks with the Enterprise crewmembers. As an illustrious author, I could think of any number of special skills to give him, and perhaps the one they chose is a little too close to the episode, but it suits him on a number of levels. For one thing, it's time travel related, this for the man who wrote (or would write) "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". Mostly though, it's a little mission (wherever there are points...) that, I think, attempts to stop timeline disruption. Clemens was not meant to stay in our time, so getting him back to the past using the Devidian Door (crossing personnel coming from the other side) sets history on the right track again (score points, 10 being a sizeable bonus award matching the importance of preventing timeline contamination). At least, that's how I make sense of it. Too bad there really is no timeline disruption if he dies in the 24th century though. I'm not sure what his sudden disappearance would have caused, but something cool like discarding all time travel cards (without Connecticut Yankee, the idea of time travel just never developped, or not as quickly) could have been nice. Integrity seems about right, as does the low, but frontiersman like, Strength, but I'm not sure I can agree with the middling Cunning. I'm not saying the man was a genius, but he was intensely interested by the world around him and was the owner of several invention patents. He was short-changed here. I'm surprised he got as much as a 3.5.

STOCKABILITY: He's a little one-note, don't you think? I mean, aside from providing an AU icon for ship staffing, a little Diplomacy (not an uncommon skill) and the lamest of the classifications, CIVILIAN, what can he do except get discarded? Pretty much an excuse to get bonus points for showing Devidian Door (I don't think you can count on your opponent using the Door enough to include him on that basis), Clemens will still nab you 10 points as he disappears. 10 points. You can't exactly spit on that as far as bonus points go. And it's not like he's made himself invaluable in any other sense. The trouble may be keeping him alive if your opponent is bloodthirsty, what with that lame STRENGTH, he might easily become a target for personnel battle. Note that you could use him as a fake-out, getting your opponent to believe you're gonna use Devidian Door, but what could you achieve with that, other than maybe having him waste a Q's Tent to get an Energy Vortex to kill your Door (and game)? Slim chance of that happening. So only really useful for the bonus points, and even then... a 2.6.

TOTAL: 12.3 (61.5%) You think his watch will do any better?

PICTURE: Given Beverly's Scottish roots, this was always a pretty funny scene, especially with Q matching the hair color and all, and it works here too. The medical lab in the background is just incongruous enough, and its pastel colors work well with the dog's coat. I'd have to say it's a very competent 3.5.

LORE: Q was always at his best when he would make auto-referential comments like this. In effect, the creators are laughing at themselves a little, and at their portrayal of Crusher. That, plus the dog's howling, makes for an effective Q-uote here. A 3.7.

TREK SENSE: Seems to work at first, but once you get into the game text for real, doesn't anymore. Technically, Q turns someone into an animal, sorry, ANIMAL. The effect only lasts until the next Q-Flash, just like in the episode, which wasn't long at all there, but that's because it was nullfied by Amanda Rogers herself. Those are the elements that work great. Unfortunately, I don't see how the presence of an Animal could make Q change his mind about "Setting" someone right. There's just no call for it. Secondly and finally, even if a person is turned into an Animal, it appears they get to keep their skills. Oh yeah? I'd like to have seen Crusher finish her biological experiments with paws. Indeed, it didn't even seem like Bev realized she'd been a dog, so how can she be conscious enough to use her skills? Those elements are junk. Card drops to a 2.8 right there.

STOCKABILITY: Turning a personnel into an ANIMAL causes a number of hardships for that personnel. It, of course, loses a classification, which are some of the best "skills". It also loses all possibility of using most equipment, since ANIMALs don't use hand weapons, and the ANIMAL classification has no useable tricorders, kits or PADDs. It can no longer staff ships, attempt missions alone (i.e. redshirt), or commandeer ships or facilities. So while the personnel loses no actual skills, Scottish Setter does limit its Computer Skill. On the slight upside, it may pass Vole Infestation and Palukoo, and the personnel can no longer be assimilated, so we shouldn't see too many copies of this card in a Borg Q-Continuum side-deck. Here's the problem - there's much chance of seeing it in ANY Q-Continuum side-deck. Since you can't double-up (that is, have many Scottish Setters strike during the same Q-Flash, crippling an entire crew or Away Team), the card is severely limited in power. And while I wouldn't expect the card to be immediately passed when encountered (a Targ or Spot would have to be there), it really doesn't cause many problems except for the one personnel, which still doesn't lose its skills. There can never be two "Setters" at the same time, because another Q-Flash would invalidate the first. If it's really a problem for the player, the card can be nullified by both Kevin and Amanda (not to mention Guinan, I Am Not a Merry Man! or Q-Flash when first encountered). Nope, no more than a minor annoyance for this one, and you can't even self-seed it to create yourself a super-ANIMAL (for cool Parallax points). A 2.3.

TOTAL: 12.3 (61.5%) Not a complete dog.

PICTURE: Is that... purple? I'm afraid the early printing process wasn't up to the task of translating this blacklighted shot into a clear image. It comes out looking over-exposed and out-of-phase. With the dilemma further being passed by Data before our very eyes, it really lessens its effectiveness. Plus, it's probably one of the worst shots ever of Data's wig. A 2.4, and only because the composition is generally sound.

LORE: Perhaps a bit too specific to Manheim's laboratory throughout, but well written. An okay 3.2.

TREK SENSE: The forcefields are indeed a wall, but what about the targeting lasers mentioned in the lore? They don't seem to have any effect at all. There are various ways to pass the defenses, and I'm afraid they're not all satisfying. For example, Jenice Manheim, who lived in the aforementioned laboratory complex, is mentioned, but not Paul Manheim who probably designed them. In any case, since the dilemma will never be at the Manheim laboratory (no mission for that episode), how either of them could pass someone else's "Security Precautions" is beyond explanation. An android works just like the episode, since apparently they can all project the magnetic fields required to bypass the defenses. A phaser or disruptor, presumably to destroy the defenses, reads like a cop-out because if a simple gun could stop them, why would Data have to fiddle around with field modulations. A phaser hit and it would have been done. 3 Security makes more sense - they ARE trained in this kind of thing. Less than half sensical. A 1.9.

SEEDABILITY: Decipher has been generally very careful not to replace one card with another, that is to say, to make a better version of a card rendering the original card useless. This time though, they dropped the ball. Berserk Changeling is just like this one, except it's tougher to pass (twice the hand weapons, asking for non-existent cards or artifacts, and an affiliated personnel requirement) and it kills one personnel! Why would you use this thin paper wall outside of sealed play? There, it'll do some damage unless a hand weapon is present, since androids and SECURITY are rarer in that format (not to mention Jenice), but otherwise? Berserk Changeling it is. And this used to be one of my favorites too... just a 2 now.

TOTAL: 9.5 (47.5%) Defenses are down!

PICTURE: Everything we ever saw of Sirol was on the Enterprise viewscreen, so it's to the design team's credit that he looks very "present" on the card. The background green is appropriate, but a little dull, with its weak rectangular composition. A bit better than average at 3.3.

LORE: Well, aside from the matching commander information and a bit about the Pegasus (calling it an "incident" really isn't more than a "bit"), there's a whole line of blank space. The former is worth bonus points, but the latter really takes it back down to 2.6.

TREK SENSE: A Romulan "main", Sirol has the amount of skills you'd expect from a big Rommie commander. He displayed the Diplomacy when dealing with Picard, though it was that kind of slimy Diplomacy the Romulans are known for. As a commander (equivalent of captain), he gets the prerequisite Officer/Leadership/Command icon combo. Navigation is a common Officer skill, especially if they serve aboard a ship. Treachery is a common Romulan skill, and he was duplicitous enough. Engineer, finally, makes sense since he was after the Federation phase cloak. The list is also nice because it represents the exact requirements (attributes excepted) for Pegasus Search, which comes from his lone episode. No questions about his Cunning or Strength, but Integrity, being so high for a Treacherous Romulan, bears more scrutiny. Maybe I'd drop it by a point, but no more, seeing as the end of the episode had Sirol NOT blowing up the ship OR stealing the cloak OR starting a war over the incident. His readiness to listen to (and believe) Picard's explanations about a "rogue" admiral show a certain amount of Integrity. Everything checks out, but the card isn't very inovative, so it never gets side-tracked. A 4.1.

STOCKABILITY: As stated, Sirol is perfect for solving the high-point value Pegasus Search without first getting a not-so-useful Interphase Generator (also, Covert Installation and others), but you'll find a use for all of his skills, if not on missions (like Treachery, but most are highly redundant on Romulan missions), at least on dilemmas (many require ENGINEER, Navigation, Diplomacy and Leadership). Many of those skills can be used against pollution too. Add to that high stats, including rarer high INTEGRITY, and you have a well-rounded 5-skill personnel. His matching commander status for the Terix is a good one. First, the Romulans have the most matching commander-to-ship ratio (aside from the Bajorans, but they're cheating), so running that kind of deck makes sense for them. You can get your Sirol to your Terix through Ready Room Door, and use Plaque and Log to get the warbird to 11-10-12, excellent stats. Indeed, the Terix's already high SHIELDS and RANGE are great with enhancements, and the slightly subpar WEAPONS get to catch up. Add Velal for an even better deck archetype. A kind of Picard-type Romulan at an even 4.

TOTAL: 14 (70%) It took two (TWO!) Sisters of Duras to equal this score ;-).

PICTURE: I'd have to call this one funny, with Sonya rolling her eyes at the fact that she just spilled her hot drink on both the Captain and herself. That offsets the card's problems significantly, such as the rather limited color palette (especially the trimming being the same color as her uniform), the distracting shadows and the less than stellar composition. Just noticed there's a wet stain opposite her communicator, about its same size and shape. Fun coincidence. Much better than another boring headshot at 4.1.

LORE: This one has more going for it than just its explanation of the picture. We also get the reasoning for all her skills (I think "Ensign" suggests the Youth), and some fun flavor text. Is "snappy conversationalist" ever going to figure in other cards the way Palor Toff's "snappy dresser" sort of did? The last phrase is an Easter Egg, by the way: Lycia Naff who played Gomez also played the semi-memorable "Mary" in the Schwarzenegger movie, Total Recall. I'm really not sure her memory is really that great ;-). Anyway, the little extras make this a 4.

TREK SENSE: Obviously an Engineer on Staff, Gomez had two episodes for us to get to know her, "Q Who?" and "Samaritan Snare". Most of the flavor text and picture come from Q Who?, and so does the justification for her skills. That's where she was pegged as the anti-matter specialist, which would obviously require Physics. Her special skill also stems from this specialty, allowing her to, what, contain anti-matter so that it doesn't explode when the ship hits it? I have a hard time understanding just how she would suspend a Pod's effects at her location. The show would probably use some techno-babble to sweep the question under the rug, but I can't do that here. Can I? While not THAT Youthful, she probably passes the "under 25" rule, and shows her innate naiveté when she get intimidated by the Captain after that nasty spill. Attributes look okay, from the standard Federation Integrity, to the petite non-Security Strength, passing through the "specialist-but-should-know-better-than-to-keep-talking" Cunning. A very good effort at 3.9 with a special skill that has some holes. Oh, and nothing to do with the "Crimson Forcefield"? :-(

STOCKABILITY: All those relatively high scores, but where it counts (to the Player), that's useless. You see, there's not enough here to warrant frequent inclusion. There's nothing wrong with the skill list per se, as ENGINEER is always useful, Youth can be, and Physics is generally good for mission solving. But this is the Federation we're talking about, and they certainly aren't lacking in personnel choices. In other words, you can find all of this on other, and better, personnel. While ENGINEER is an über-classification, Physics has yet to be found on a dilemma (please please please please Mirror, Mirror!). The attributes are lackluster to mediocre, no more. The special skill? Well, Anti-Matter Pod, while a competent enough pollution card, just isn't used enough to warrant this protection. Here's a tip from a known polluter though: you might include Gomez when YOU yourself are dropping Pods over the spaceline to protect your own ships from your own Anti-Matter. After all, you don't want them to impede your progress, but you also don't want to be nullifying them outright. And that's the catch, isn't it? As Transporter Skill becomes more and more common, it becomes less and less probable the small mines will be effective at all. Gomez is barely worth her 2.5.

TOTAL: 14.5 (72.5%) Not exactly spilled milk.

PICTURE: While an android without its permanent skin is pretty ugly, the pic really makes it as generic as can be, which is good. The green background is also attractive on a gold card. Gets as much as a 3.7.

LORE: Again, a real effort has been made to make the android universal and generic, and even goes so far as to delve into the realm of fantasy with that last sentence (it's not canon that other people used Data's techniques). A solid base to work from, at 3.4.

TREK SENSE: Star Trek has never shown Soong-Type Androids as common beings tinkered up by any given species. Regular androids, sure (in TOS), but these more sophisticated models, no. However, it's not in the realm of impossibility if the secret ever got out. Such androids would all have powerful computer brains, accounting for their high Cunning, and Computer Skill, and strong body frames, accounting for their high Strength. Why a standard Integrity? Don't forget: the technique requires Data (or another android) to copy its neural net (or whatever technobabble you want to insert here) onto the new android's positronic brain, thus copying such programming as ethics. But wait! If the Androids can report without another android being present, how can we be sure of its Integrity? As Lore proves, androids need not all be boyscouts, so there's a slight anomaly there. All Androids also have Youth because they are basically new-borns, still wide-eyed and clueless. This also means they have no other skills yet, though they're quick learners. Quick enough to learn to staff ships and use one classification? Why yes, but if they can do that, why can't they learn other skills? You can't have it both ways: a Staff icon AND no skills other than their basic nature. The cool thing though, is that the Android is ready to choose its gender and appearance, so you get to make that choice when they report. Gender selection is fine (and Lal did just that in "The Offspring"), but classification too? That has nothing to do with appearance, and certainly, Lal didn't pick up anything other than Civilian in the short time she was alive. Something more à-propos would have been to let your android choose its affiliation, which often hinges on appearance. After all, wouldn't Cardassians build androids that looked like Cardassians and were of [Car] affiliation? The answer is: yes they would. I guess this is what happens when you extrapolate on a concept. I like the ideas here, but the execution is unfortunately hole-ridden. A 1.9.

STOCKABILITY: Since everyone but the Borg can use them, and their "species" shows up on a relatively large number of support cards and dilemmas, Soong-Types are emminently stockable. After all, the other Soong-types are all unique, and most are Federation. There's Lore whose Non-Aligned, but part of the expensive Fajo Collection, and the Romulan Data from EPP. That's pretty much it. What are the other affiliations to do? Well, they can use all those Fed androids with Lore's Fingernail, but that doesn't solve the uniqueness issue. As a common universal card, STAs have been the focus of many decks since they first came out. I mean, universals with VERY high attributes? (That's 9-12-12 with Lower Decks.) Androids can also report for free for each Cybernetics you have present, again, excellent. Youth is just okay, and Computer Skill is a great, if common, skill, but it's the choice of classifications which is this card's greatest strength. Short-staffed affiliations can fill gaps in their classifications AND get android-power on their side at the same time. You can improve on your androids by giving them the classifications that match your equipment for extra skills, for example, or make one a CIVILIAN as you churn it out for free and fly it over to a Colony for double points. Android OFFICERs will always pass Maglock, MEDICALs will make use Genetronic Replicator, VIPs will Open Diplomatic Negotiations, etc. Choosing gender is a nice bonus since some affiliations are somewhat lacking in female personnel, but you can also make your androids more or less immune to gender-related dilemmas by making them neuters which is a legal gender (as is androgynous). With this Non-Aligned little guy, all the affiliations can now make use of all those android talents, be it battle-wise (high STRENGTH, Android Headlock, Vulcan Nervepinch...), dilemma resolution (Malfunctioning Door, Shot in the Back, Ktarian Game...), immunities to cards (Barclay's, Palukoo, Hypospray, Antique Machine Gun's mortal wounds, the void of space...), and miscellaneous stuff (Paxan "Wormhole", Ocular Implants, Fractal Encryption Code...). These guys also have reprogrammable characteristics so Dr. Soong can change their classifications and gender throughout the game, taking into account what kinds of personnel are in play at any given time. They do have weaknesses though, like Reactor Overload and the Jovis' capturing ability, but many of those cards are too-specific dilemmas and interrupts. They aren't regularly stocked because they are useless if your opponent doesn't use androids. They also can't be reported to Nors because they have no classifications, which makes them less interesting to modern decks. So a good hole-patcher with a lot of special abilities, especially in combination with other cards. A 4.1.

TOTAL: 13.1 (65.5%) Good personnel, probably too generic for some of these categories.

PICTURE: This is a prime example of the early printing process' limitations. Five seasons of this particular TNG opening sequence (which is great for this card given its title and lore) and they couldn't get the colors right. The same basic problem occurs through the first three expansions whenever a rich blue is called for. This purple really doesn't do the image justice, and makes the score plunge to a 1.6.

LORE: This is one of the cards that inspired the Rolodex, believe it or not. One day, on Decipher's BBS, somebody posted a survey of best/worst lore (among other things), and someone answered they really disliked Space's lore. Now, I disagreed strongly with this opinion. Far from thinking this was an easy cop-out, I rather believed it was a genial move - so obvious yet not, you had to cry out "of course! Why didn't *I* think of that?". A great hommage to Star Trek's opening line for two series and a number of films. That got me to thinking about doing a card review that would include elements such as lore, and here we are today! By now, you know my opinion on this: an elegant (and perfect) 5.

TREK SENSE: The card that represents just span upon span of empty space. There are a lot of such expanses in the galaxy, I bet, and for once, this universal mission can seed in any quadrant (a plus). Some of these "places" have missions attached (like Typhon Expanse), but I'm sure some are just truly empty and uninteresting (unless you like counting hydrogen atoms per cubic meter). That settles the existence of the card, but otherwise, the game text elements seem to be too mechanic-related to really be helpful to Trek Sense. ½ a card? Well, since it's empty and has no mission points, there's gotta be an advantage to balance that. Balance does not really bespeak Trek Sense. Inserting into spaceline, well, it's a way to scrunch Space together (certainly for use with the last game text clause), but again, seeding missions is a game mechanic with little Trek Sense. Insertion into a region will be weird because it could outrageously separate Bajor from its moon. And if anything, making Space's span longer if there's more of it together hurts Trek Sense by implying that it takes longer to cross Space that's next to Space (two Space cards actually create a loooong Space region which is all Space), than it is to navigate around planets and stellar phenomena. Lots of open space should be easier to cross, not harder. Now, any universal location adjacent to a Space card will slow you down, so sometimes there IS a planet or whatnot, but why does this only work with universal missions? They're no different physically from other locations. I've gotta go with a pretty ambivalent 2.3 here.

SEEDABILITY: A waste of a seed slot? Why? Were you going to solve 6 whole missions? No, right? Using or more more slots to seed two Spaces per slot can create a number of effects. Slow down your opponent for one - 2 Spaces together are each worth 4 Span. Get another one in, or another universal mission, and the middle card is worth 5 Span. Against players with slow ships (or ships you MAKE slow with dilemmas, damage or other cards), this can cause problems. It's also a good way to break up regions. Bajoran Interceptors will have longer to go to get to what was supposed to be a neighboring mission, and Space doesn't count as PART of the region even if inserted into it, so an Interceptor's RANGE won't enjoy its natural bonus. Combine all this with your own strategy that uses either superfast ships, or Wormholes, or The Traveller, or Transwarp Network Gateways or Conduits, or Iconian Gateways to make the large spans irrelevant. You could even separate opponent's missions by enormous empty space when you yourself are going for a two-mission win. You can put so much garbage on the spaceline, a Cytherians will take ships forever to cross the spaceline. Don't forget, a normal seed card has 0-6 Span, but the equivalent 2 universal Space is 8 Span! Anyone using Black Hole will also need to use Space cards as parentheses for the Doorway. There's enough here for a 3.6.

TOTAL: 12.5 (62.5%) Just waiting for cards of "These are the voyages..." and "Continuing Mission" to complete the opening sequence.

PICTURE: Black on black, this card benefits from a tight central spotlight (see how there are shadows all around the center?). Q makes a good judge here, has the perfect expression for it, but overall, the pic's a little plain. It doesn't do much for the actual concept carried by the card. A 3.1.

LORE: The title's not too hot, just a plugging of the letter Q in a code of law type format, with the magic number 10 used. The Q-uote's a line that would have been great on a card like Q the Referee though! A 3 here, but it's too bad the rest of the card couldn't take the lore's tack...

TREK SENSE: ... 'cuz all we get here is a point loss for having too many cards in hand? That's it? THAT'S the legal trickery Q's talking about? Like I said above, a cheese hoser à la Writ would have worked much better here, since cheese very often is an abuse of a loophole in the rules to achieve an effect unforseen by the designers. But having a lot of cards in your hand? Big deal. That said, the whole card plays conceptual, in that Q doesn't allow Picard (in this case) to bring too many arguments to the table. He won't accept just anything as evidence. Ok, the transaltion is that the evidence in question is represented by your cards in hand, and the point loss, what, contempt of court? Pretty lame, since keeping evidence to yourself (in hand) isn't what he disallowed, reporting it was. And a point loss? Punishment isn't the same as forbidding something. No, even the conceptuals don't work. The only thing I can give a thumbs up on is the non-nullification clause, which at least, makes it read like a Referee icon card. A disappointing 0.6.

STOCKABILITY: Oh, yeah. Emminently stockable. I'm joking of course. While taking away a few points can be useful, as dilemmas like The Higher... the Fewer have proven, Subsection Q has too many restrictions. For one thing, your opponent must have more than 10 cards in their hand. 10 is already a large number, but they have to have even more. Then, they only lose one point per card in excess of 10. So if someone has an outrageous 12 cards, you get to penalize them -2 points. Ooooh. Now, I'm scared. But wait, there's more. While it's quite possible to get your opponent to that number of cards by, for example, playing Kivas Fajo or Traveler: Transcendence on them, etc., you can't hit them with the card right then and there. They have to encounter a Q-Flash while their hand is full AND hit Subsection Q on that particular Flash. Chances are, you're either going to Scorch their Hand way before then or they'll have unloaded their cards on an unsuspecting spaceline. Did I mention you could be affected too if you happened to have in excess of 10 cards when your opponent encounters the card? A real stinker that isn't worth the effort: 0.4. So what if it ain't nullifyable?

TOTAL: 7.1 (35.5%) "There will be no wasted card slots."

PICTURE: Though Lal's open skull is more like showing the remedy than the problem, it did give the designers a chance to put in a pretty neat Easter Egg. They've written the word Asimov inside her head, referring to Isaac Asimov, the science-fiction writer who created the Laws of Robotics obeyed by many automatons since then, including Data. The reverse "S" supposedly being because she's malfuntioning almost sounds like a thin excuse for a strange mistake, but may just be over-subtle. To think, all Data had to do to save his daughter was to flip that S around. ;-) Aside from all that, a fairly good composition that points to the center of the image, though Data's hands are as un-photogenic as ever. A 3.9.

LORE: May be a bit too specific, but does a relatively good job of explaining the kinds of "medical" problems inherent to androids. With the matrix failure being attributed to Data, it seems odd that an android personally created by Soong, like Data himself, could be affected, for example. But that's simply making a detour into Trek Sense. A 3 for now.

TREK SENSE: "Mission continues"? Let me tell you something: if Data ever went on the blink like this, they would be stopping! ;-) Seriously though, this rightly kills an android, but makes no distinction between Soong-types and others, which does create a problem. I'm not saying similar "fatal errors" couldn't crop up in Ruk or Exocomps, but the cures of Dr. Soong and Ira Graves are very Soong-specific. Sure, they're geniuses, but couldn't Dr. Farallon have been included for Exocomps' sakes? The two specific cyberneticists are good here, since others (like Data and Admiral Haftel) were unable to help. I also approve of the end-of-turn death, since it took a while for Lal to pass on. Since it's particular to an android (though it being your choice is unexplainable), it's discarded. It's not a communicable "disease" or anything. Had the target androids only been Soong-types, this would have gotten more, but it's still a decent 3.8.

STOCKABILITY: A risky dilemma to say the least, since you can't be sure an android will be used in the mission attempt. However, while the Federation had the market cornered on good droids up until recently, the new Romulan Data and the Non-Aligned TOS androids may just make them more common. There was always the universal Soong-Types , but they don't have many skills, and of course Lore, but he's not the cheapest card out there. There was always Lore's Fingernail I suppose (at least, *I* used it). In any case, leading with android-requiring dilemmas is quite possible, though these often have other possible requirements. Then there's the fact that the death doesn't occur until the end of the turn, so the android can be used 'til then, and that your opponent actually chooses which android is targeted (though realistically, there may just be one). Sure, androids are powerful dilemma-passing tools, being immune to many of them, and those cure personnel are two very specific people with very low STRENGTH, but how can you be sure it won't be a wasted slot? Play Beware of Q and lead with Q-Type Android, that's how. In the advent of the abscence of any androids, select one personnel you want out of the way and turn it into an android, then your opponent's choice really isn't one, and you get to kill someone you previously couldn't. Much better this way. Follow that up with Chinese Finger Puzzle to stop the Away Team or crew anyway, insuring they can't do much of anything before the turn ends and the android dies. I wouldn't worry too much about Plexing, but it can nullify this dilemma. Watch out for it, and especially for personnel that download it. Still too specialized, but it's made some headway. A 3.7.

TOTAL: 14.4 (72%) Card combinations are key.

PICTURE: Just the crescent of a planet, which doesn't tell us much, but since there is a mystery about this place, the shadows make sense. I know this was how the planet was seen in the episode, but I can't help but wonder how much more appropriate this image could have been if the planet was totally eclipsed (i.e. "invisible"). Without that tip of the hat to the "invisible alien except under black light" plot, a 3.1.

LORE: Why "aid" and not simply "investigate"? Is that meant to say that all the skills required by the missions aren't listed on the card? Hard to say, but possible. The title also doesn't sing to me - using the planet name is boring and somehow cheating, and it's not really a study as much as an investigation. A little clumsy at 2.5.

TREK SENSE: The first space/planet mission, opening up a strange can of worms indeed. Part of the mission is in space, the other part, on the ground. Okay fine. But this system also means that properties of "space" are held by this planet. I've always said that there is space around a planet, so this may be better, but really, what makes this planet different from others? A system whereby Holodeck, for example, is mentioned as "Holodeck on ship in orbit" would make this a less confusing card, as a strict planet mission. As is, why can an Anti-Matter Pod be dropped here? Why can you Establish a Trade Route here? These questions have no real answers (more to the point, why CAN'T you use those cards at other planet missions?). The short span also infers that there's very little "space" represented by the card, so what gives? That said, if the mission is to require a Holodeck (Geordi conducted his investigation with the help of that equipment), it should also require people aboard the ship to be physically present in that Holodeck. Of course, the same people that run the simulation on the ship can then go down to the planet, so there's no real reason everything has to be done simultaneously (which this dual-icon business requires). In fact, everything seems to be part of a sequence that is subverted by the mission attempt rules. The Holodeck is part of the mission, the Enginneering another (not necessarily simultaneous) and the I.P. Scanner is to make the aliens visible, and in the show, that was the double-Engineer that was running the investigation. All the requirements otherwise make sense (the ENGINEER x2 possibly because an outpost is missing, and Engineers are the ones that build them), but may not be enough to meet mission goals. Exobiology, for example, or some Cunning, would also seem appropriate. (Guess that's why the mission says "Aid" in its lore.) And so a paradox isn't created, you can't seed an outpost (or even a station) at this location, 'cuz then, there'd be no outpost to be "missing". That works, though you know, outposts being ruled in space, I don't see why you couldn't build one later. It couldn't be affected by the grounded aliens, could it? It also makes a good point about the Trek Sense of the outposts. A missing outpost must be a real priority to Starfleet (and since it was Federation, no real incentive for other affiliations to attempt it), so the high points make sense. The very nature of this mission makes it problematic, but it's not so bad overall. Still, only a 2.9.

SEEDABILITY: Gone are the days of the Borg being able to scout dual-icon missions twice (the second time, usually without any dilemmas opposing them), and that's certainly unfortunate for them. It's more fortunate for the Feds however who no longer have to fear to seed this card. It can still be scouted by the Borg, but never for more than 25 points (30 if Salvaging Starship). For the Feds, it makes for a pretty difficult mission to steal. Not everyone has Holodecks on their ships, and I.P. Scanner? You really have to plan to use it to include it! So if you do, the mission offers an insanely easy 40 points. Larger Federation ships all have Holodecks and they have plenty of good ENGINEERs, many of them already x2. With these kinds of requirements, you'd think using mission specialists would be out of the question, but it isn't. The two Leah Brahms are perfect for this, bringing the points up to 50 and not even requiring Holo-Projectors (you've got a Holodeck right there). The main problem is with dilemmas. Since you need both an Away Team and a crew, you have twice as many chances of being stopped (you practically need to have all the skills required of dilemmas in both groups). This kind of setup messes around with dilemma combos, but a smart player will know how to destroy Away Teams and crews with dilemmas that require lots of personnel. With your forces spread thin, that could be a problem. The no outpost clause isn't very disturbing, though it's limiting as far as Colonies go. The short Span helps speed decks. Returning to the Borg, I'd say the mission has lost its potency, but it still offers some flexibility when using both space and planet strategies in the same deck. You'll never assimilate an outpost there though. Looking at the other dual-icon missions, the original doesn't look that good... a 3.2.

TOTAL: 11.7 (58.5%) Obviously a prototype of sorts.

PICTURE: Boy am I glad her haircut is different from that of Toreth. Hardly looks like the same actress. Otherwise, good color palette with a background matching her uniform. I also like the ceiling and the fact that her ship falling apart around her ears is underplayed, but I hate the shoulder pads. They're particularly big here. A simple 3.4.

LORE: Places her in her episode, but doesn't give very many details. There's matching commander text, but the Haakona had already taken care of that. Nothing stellar at 3.

TREK SENSE: There's too great a sense that somebody asked "What are the Romulans missing, cuz we'll just put those skills on Taris" in this case, but Officer, the Command icon and Archaeology make sense, that last skill because the whole Iconian mission was an archaeological one. As for the rest, I'm sorry, but it was all arbitrarily done. Medical isn't usually associated with Officers, and there's no evidence of it here. Transporter Skill is an Engineer-related skill, not Medical. Well, I can debate them all from now to the year 2001, but there's just no evidence one way or another. Attributes are okay, though I might not have given her Integrity that high (Romulan stereotyping on my part? I don't really think so). Very hard to evaluate since there's a lot of invention here, but seems to me a lot of them were tagged on without thought to Trek Sense. A 2.9.

STOCKABILITY: A matching commander with 4 skills and upper level attributes is, of course, welcome, especially by the Romulans who's Premiere cards didn't really give them many "mains". Officers are a dime a dozen, but she's a good one, especially as more useful female (rarer so more useful). Unlike Sirol, who helped skill redundancy, Taris was made to plug a few holes. What holes does she fill? Well, not Archaeology which is fairly common in the Star Empire, but it's an important skill for Romulan Archaeology decks, very viable. Romulans are still low on all-important MEDICAL though, so that's an important one. Music, well, she's one of only three Romulan Musicians, so I don't expect ever see a Romulan Ressikan deck, but she can at least get through the few dilemmas that might require it. Half a dozen Transporter Skill personnel isn't a heck of a lot either, and it's a progressively more useful skill (between Tribbles and the Orion Syndicate). I'd expect to see her just on that basis, but she's also a fine addition to Romulan matching commander decks. The Haakona, Plaqued and Logged, gets as high as 10-12-11 (pretty basic), and allows her to be downloaded through Ready Room Door (the better function). No real weaknesses as far as attributes go, getting her through Firestorms and Maglocks alike. A supportive 3.9 here.

TOTAL: 13.2 (66%) Sometimes, invention pays off. Sometimes, it doesn't.

PICTURE: There's really no other picture I would have liked for Tarmin than this one, where he's using his telepathic powers. It's great for him. Unfortunate that that the image is a terminal TNG beige though (or closer to café latté), since it keeps the score at 3.6.

LORE: His function is just about his only lore here, and though I like the term "telepathic historian" being used, there was still room for maybe a mention of a family member. A straight and simple 3.3.

TREK SENSE: From the show, I maybe expected the Ullians to be Federation members, but this not being mentioned de facto makes it quite alright. Tarmin and his "research team" certainly were treated with the defference offered VIPs. The rest has trouble holding up though. Empathy is a difficult skill in that it's really two separate abilities. The first level represents Empathy, but at the second, it's telepathy. Now, Tarmin was a real telepath, yet he only gets one level of Empathy. Now, I understand the reasoning behind this: Tarmin's powers were a limited form of telepathy, not reading minds like an open book, it was more of a deep mind probe. That's what's problematic: Empathy isn't even Empathy proper at the first level. The special ability, for its part, is steeped in conceptuals. Glancing at side-decks is only recalling memories if the side-deck actually represents such memories. They don't. The skill becomes conceptual if you think you're probing the player's memories of his constructing the side-deck, but that's as far as it goes. The 10 seconds, the once per game, none of it is substantiated. Anthropology or an odd Archaeology might have been warranted somewhere in there... an unfortunate omission. And the attributes aren't stellar either. Why are the Integrity and Cunning so low? He deserved much better. A pitiful 1.7.

STOCKABILITY: While Empathy is an important skill, and one that isn't readily available to most affiliations, there are other sources for it than Tarmin here in the Non-Aligned group. With no staffing icons, a lackluster classification and baaaaad attributes, the only thing that would make you choose him over, say, one of the Letheans, is the special skill. So, is it that useful? Well, all depends on the side-decks being used. Let's see. There are four possible decks right now, and I'd say only one is really interesting to look through: Q's Tent. Peeking at a player's most important cards and/or backups is a quick glance at her whole strategy, IF you know what to look for. The others are simply looks into what can only be termed "inevitability". Seeing what Tribbles, Tactics or Q-cards are included in a deck won't really change much in the game. If those cards are pulled, they're pulled. You'll be Tribbled, damaged or Q-ed no matter what in most cases. Also, only the Tent is guaranteed at a small number of cards (13). In 10 seconds, you won't necessarily get much out of searching through a large Tribbles side-deck, for example. In any case, most side-decks are "maybes" in most strategies, i.e. a player won't necessarily use them, EXCEPT the Q's Tent which will show up in virtually every deck, barring the tri-Treaty. Still, the ability is a once per game deal, and so you can use it multiple times to, for example, decide which Doorway to close. Too bad, and so Tarmin's only interesting trait is shown to be, well, not that interesting. Looking at your own seed-decks, sans shuffling, could be useful in knowing just when to use a random Tent draw or not, but the problem remains that you can only use this ability once per game, so even that is severely limited. A 2.6 from this end.

TOTAL: 11.2 (56%) Forget about it...

PICTURE: Romulans are an angular people - the forehead ridges, the ears, the checkered tunics, the shoulderpads... And this card shows that by having a shattered mirror composition of odd angles. There's the beam from the weapon, the lines of the alcove and the light fixture. Of course, there's hardly anything that can rescue it completely from an acute case of TNG beige, but I do like that it's an action pose. A mostly positive (if blandly colored) 3.6.

LORE: A number of interesting things (none of which are the bland second phrase). The bodyguard appelation, though innocuous when Q-Continuum came out, is useful game terminology now, which should add a few decimals to the score. Thought the last sentence is total invention, I just can't get my head around the title "Lieutenant operative". Which of the two words is the epithet? Very odd syntax. As for the Android Research section, I'd have to say that beyond working Cybernetics onto the card, it has no real basis on this card. Since we haven't seen Romulan androids of any sort on the show, it must have been a total failure. Cute - I imagine a captured Data would have been sent there pronto - but preposterous. It's a good thing they made him a bodyguard: only 2.4.

TREK SENSE: A bodyguard should of course be Security, and certainly no more than Staff. Treachery is a Romulan natural, though his Integrity seems to be high enough, possibly due to his loyalty to the Empire. Then, Trek Sense breaks down. Tal Shiar? While technically possible, he's not exactly wearing a uniform like Major Rakal's. It's possible he's undercover of course, which would explain the Treachery a little more, but it seems like they went digging for that one. Cybernetics on the other hand, makes no sense at all. From his classification and lore, it just sounds like Telak was assigned to the Android section as a guard. You pick up a lot from just listening, but with a low Cunning of 6, I don't see any security guard becoming the next Dr. Soong. As for the Strength, entirely possible for a Romulan, it's interesting because this is the second Romulan we've seen with Strength 9 that has a disruptor in the picture. Built-in bonus? Doesn't follow the usual hand weapon rules, but it's an interesting notion. A disagreeable 2.7.

STOCKABILITY: One of the least useful Tal Shiar, he's nonetheless Tal Shiar, and that goes a long way. He'll help staff ships, solve missions, download capture-related cards, recycle Espionage cards, and he reports for free at the Continuing Committee.  Cybernetics isn't useful as a mission-buster, but he's one of only two Cyberneticists in the Star Empire (though you can always use the Non-Aligned Soong - just not with über-android Lore - Graves or Korby) for the built-in android reporting ability. For the Romulans, that means Data and Picard, Ruk, Korby, Lore and the universal Soong-Type, but also Data, Lal, et. al. thanks to Lore's Fingernail. These are powerful dilemma-busting personnel, powerful in battle and often multi-skilled. Reporting the Cybernetics for free as well is very efficient, and the SECURITY even allows for a start of game download which should get you those androids even faster. As for the rest of him, his Treachery is great for Romulan mission solving, his INTEGRITY is immune to Firestorm, and the high STRENGTH will have him hold his own in that android battle team we've been talking about. He can even lead it with Defensive Measures in play, and have it attack a Romulan opponent to boot. And let's not forget he's a bodyguard. In a pinch, he'll "security sacrifice" when A Fast Ship Would Be Nice, and he can exclude those important Tal Shiar VIPs from battles with the Bodyguards incident. Looks like Mr. Telak here as a LOT of tricks up his rather expansive sleeves. A 4.

TOTAL: 12.7 (63.5%) Plugging holes pays off.

PICTURE: Well, that's an odd shot of a warbird, kind of like the Darmok, lying in wait. That suits the Romulans, though the effect is pretty much unappealing visually - a big blocky airplane wing with a dark bird head somewhere out front. Levels off at 3.1.

LORE: Shares a sparse lore syndrome with its matching commander, but does it a little better. Yes, matching commander status usually gives a point boost, but Sirol also has that mention (that's all he has actually). What I like is the "accidentally" in quotation marks. Drips with sarcasm and echoes the show quite well. A 3.3 thanks to it.

TREK SENSE: This is the Terix from "The Pegasus" and not from Q's anti-time future though it is again mentioned there. As such, it IS Sirol's ship and since it has nothing but its attributes to set itself apart from the baseline D'deridex, that's what we'll be examining here. The Terix is +1/-2/+2 from the universal D'deridex, so it's quite far from its progenitor design. The Range boost is warranted I think, since it puts it on par with the Enterprise, and both ships got to the asteroid field close to one another. The other switches are far more difficult to explain however. The Terix shot the asteroid and didn't ever take a hit itself, so logic dictates that Weapons should have been boosted and not Shields. It could be said that it didn't do too much damage to the asteroid, and that its ploy was exactly because it didn't have a chance to harm the Enterprise in a fair battle. Could be. The Shields could be boosted to survive a collision with a spare asteroid. But these really aren't small moves on the attribute dial, so a little more justification would have been appreciated. A 2.9.

STOCKABILITY: I've said it before, the Romulan are very well suited to matching commander strategies since most of their ships have one. The prospect of downloading Sirol with Ready Room Door is a great one thing, since he's already proven one of the best Romulan mission solvers, but you could do it the other way around thanks to his ENGINEER and Construct Starship. Either way, Plaque and Log will turn the Terix into a 11-10-12 ship which is a little low on the WEAPONS scale I admit, but is tough enough on SHIELDS'. Warbirds are a little hard to staff to make truly accomodating armadas (though it's doable), so your choice may come down to which has the best matching commander, and Sirol is pretty "choice". Fast and tough (if Logged, it'll survive a direct hit from a Borg Ship dilemma), it's quite possibly the best mission-solving warbird the Romulans have. A superior 3.8.

TOTAL: 13.1 (65.5%) Very nice, and well staffed.

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