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

PICTURE: Youch, the candy colors of orange and purple are kitsch enough that the clunky model need not have looked so terrible too. This is one paltry facility when you compare it with others (though the Colony is also pretty ugly). Looks like something from Dr. Who. A 2.7 which is at least a little atmospheric.

LORE: The lore fails to do one very important thing - mention the station!!! It's an okay comment on terraforming in general, and the exact station is identified by planet, if you will, but it's pretty thin all in all. A 1.8.

TREK SENSE: Cute, but pretty conceptual, which is rare for a noun card. The Neutral nature of the facility makes it useable by anyone, though the one in the pic is Federation, but that's okay since terraforming could interest any of the affiliations. And its Shields are low, even lower than a Colony, but it's a low priority target, so again, that's fine. The game text, however, is ludicrous. On the surface, it's a fun idea that you could terraform mission requirements to other mission requirements (as long as you had a planet to plant the terraformers on), taking decades (the space between games) to do so. But you don't have to go very deep at all to see that it's nonsense. First of all, there are no decades between games or else we'd have trouble using the same personnel over and over again. Second, why would anyone terraform an already habitable world like Risa, Romulus or Earth? But you can! Also, terraforming has nothing to do with mission requirements. Making an inhospitable planet hospitable might take out the harsh requirements of Strength and Security and make the mission something else, maybe to do with Medical instead, but you'd be hard pressed to justify most changes. A fun concept (original!), but has trouble leaving the ground. A low 1.5.

SEEDABILITY: If you have regular opponents, you could use Terraforming Station to change the requirements of a mission on the spaceline for your next game. The uses of this include tightening up your skill redundancy by adding a mission with the appropriate requirements, and creating a fun Barbering deck where all missions require the exotic skill which makes mission theft more difficult, or even converting your opponent's favorite mission into something entirely too difficult so that it won't be used in the next game. The best reason to use the card of course, is for fun. I've always enjoyed retooling missions then changing their names to something similar but more appropriate (redefine Brute Force's STRENGTH as INTEGRITY and you get Mission Impossible for example). There are plenty of possibilities, but you have to expect to face the same opponent again. That's why it won't work in tournaments (or very seldom). Online play is probably out too. But in friendly play, you could probably use it. The SHIELDS are ultra-low, but it won't make for a priority target unless you're abusing it or threatening your opponent's planet mission. Fun factor is high, and with multiple Stations, you could do some damage, but it's more of a curiosity than anything else. A 2.4 from me.

TOTAL: 8.4 (42%) It's sad, but those are the criteria.

PICTURE: Another beige offering from that scene in "Encounter at Farpoint", it at least has a couple of things going for it. First, it's quite bizarre. Second, all the elements, from the costume to the background, are somewhat blocky. That cohesiveness of composition should be worth at least a 3.4.

LORE: First, let's talk about the title. I appreciate the pun based on that other card, The Higher... The Fewer, but its relationship to "getting high" (on drugs) is more than a little disturbing to me. (What can I say, some people don't like the naked Trois, others mirror Kirk's salute, me, it's "comical" references to drugs.) The Q-uote makes that relationship plain, putting the pic into context certainly, but helping Trek Sense very little. I'd have to say this is more unfunny than it is funny, so just a 2.5.

TREK SENSE: Aside from a play on words, there's very little relationship with the pic and lore to the concept delineated here. While the basic concept of Q deciding to stick around longer (more Q-cards to the Flash) is sensible enough, I don't see it having any basis in the presence of Civilians or not. Conceptually, the "military" is the Command icon personnel that dictate how many Q-cards to add to the Flash (they decide who gets drugged). Civilians are not in the military, so they become the requirement to avoid the penalty. But let's face it: that whole scheme has nothing to do with anything happening in realty (even Q's warped sense of it) or with the effect, not really. Seems like it was inspired as much by the title as by the concept. At least the Q variable is a cute touch. A drab 1.2.

STOCKABILITY: CIVILIANs being the least useful (aside from ANIMAL of course) classification, this card has a fair chance of hitting. The prize isn't bad either: more Q-cards to a Flash. For smaller Away Teams and crews, this addition may be worth it since you want the group to be hit by every different Q-card you stocked in your Continuum each time it is hit. The number of additional cards encountered is tied to the rather common Command icon, so no worries there. Usually, you'll get at least one extra Q-card (of course in that case, this one is sort of wasted as it would have replaced The Higher). Of course, focused side-decks have fewer different Q-cards so The Higher may be less useful there, but think of it this way: if you have fewer different cards, you might be forced to discard a number of them as duplicates. The extra cards might get you to that more important Q-dilemma that sits just under the last card encountered. A simple 3.5 that has no actual effect on the Away Team or crew.

TOTAL: 10.6 (53%) A score as drab as its color palette.

PICTURE: Sigh. Seems like I just came off talking about beige picture #whatever, and here's another one. This one's probably the most boring of the Encounter at Farpoint Q-shots, and the recognizable (that is, non-sf) costuming gives us nothing interesting to look at. An otherwise competent 2.4.

LORE: The Q-uote is vintage Q looking down on us ants, and the title itself is interesting, but that's about all that can be said about this aspect of the card. A 3.2.

TREK SENSE: The basic problem with this card is that, on the one hand, Q is chastising people for warring against each other, but on the other, he's forcing you to attack someone somewhere. The effects of the card don't even respect the location where Q is encountered. So it's reversed conceptualism here. We could reverse all logic and say the card finds a REASON for Q to say those words. The fact that the card is immune to Q-Flash suggests that it's not Q's doing, but yours. Well, Q was talking about the far past, not current conflicts, though he could mean those too. Very warped logic, but I see where they were going with this. It just seems like a very backwards way of working something into the Q-Continuum. I'm generous with a 1.9, but that's because I was able to justify it so interestingly.

STOCKABILITY: Sometimes, you WANT your opponent to attack you. If you play Borg for example, or even Federation, you might want a reason to counterattack (or for Feds, to play Wartime Conditions). Another reason might be to set off Defend Homeworld after luring a ship or a personnel to yours. Of course, that presupposes that you can keep the opposing ship or personnel (easier) at the right spot until the card has its effect. But The Issue Is Patriotism isn't the only card that has this kind of effect. There's also Conundrum and Saltha'na Clock for example. Now, when you seed both of these, you know they'll be encountered if the mission is attempted. Conundrum would require that its requirements not be passed; Clock would require that the mission be solved; but those things should occur reasonably often. The problem with The Issue Is Patriotism is that you can't control the Q-Continuum side-deck like you can a dilemma combo. You don't know when it'll hit or even IF it'll hit in any particular Flash, and so is much less efficient. You might even get caught with your pants down. Its immunity to Q-Flash is small comfort considering that Amanda Rogers still does it in, but that's a small point. Might be interesting if you're trying to force a personnel battle rather than the ship battle that results from most other cards that force battle, especially where you have a Love Interest-stuck personnel. Hits 3.

TOTAL: 10.5 (52.5%) I'm getting tired of this expansion, methinks.

PICTURE: People were up in arms about The Trois' nudity, but not Q's? What kind of a world do we live in? ;-) Seriously though, the pic is yet again taken from the Enterprise's beige bridge, but is at least unusual and quirky. There's some fun in Q's expression worth at least a 3.4.

LORE: The title is cute, but the lore itself is really kind of lame. I mean, it's what Q said when he hit the floor, and it has something to do with there being an intruder on the ship, but why is "Alert" captitalized à la the card of the same name? 2.6 here, and mostly thanks to a good card title.

TREK SENSE: The Continuum drops a personnel on your bridge, and you are somehow convinced to allow him or her into your crew (though that delay naturally stops them, though no one in the original crew). Mortal Q is really only mentioned for Trek Sense's sake, since the wording would include him anyway, but that really leaves the open question of why the Continuum (or possibly Q himself) would drop some of these choices on your opponent. Mortal Q, yes. Spock? Baran? Brunt? Why would they do this? It's in their power, but I can't see the motivation behind it, nor would I believe some of the Treacherous NAs available would be accepted into a Federation crew for example. As a way of recreating "Déjà Q", it's fine. But since it may be used with any number of unique personnel, it's too broad for its own good. Hits 2.4.

STOCKABILITY: I've been waiting a long time for some "handicapping" personnel other than Mortal Q. You know: personnel that hamper their group more than help them. The Naked Truth would send them to an unsuspecting crew or Away Team as living dilemmas. Unfortunately, Mortal Q is the only one available. He'll take out your opponent's Q-Continuum as well as some Leadership, will hamper Q bypass decks, and doesn't really add much in the way of skills or attributes. Anyone else like that? Not really. But be creative! Just like you would follow up a Naked Truth-laden Q-Flash and Mortal Q transfer with a Leadership-related dilemma, send over the right personnel to trigger some other dilemma! Androids are often triggers for example (for Android Nightmares and Chinese Finger Puzzle) though you might not want to give up such a poweful character type. Make sure to kill it with the dilemma after the next one perhaps, so you can Res-Q it from your discard pile. There aren't that many other possibilities though. A Vulcan could be sent over to force Bendii Syndrome on an Away Team or crew, and you could always send over the right gender to make Strange Bedfellows or a Romance dilemma hit. Other possibilities do exist: When something is required of a crew for you to use a card against them, The Naked Truth may come in handy. Send an OFFICER to a ship you want to destroy using Latinum Payoff, a Treachery personnel to force that Fed opponent to attack your cards (Incoming Message: Attack Authorization), and other possibilities. The biggest hurdle is that with the number of possible affiliations and decks, you won't always have the right personnel in hand to carry out any of these strategies. NA personnel are your best bet, but there's still no guarantee you'll get to them in time (and that includes Mortal Q). Very open and fun, but no clear way to make it work every time. A 2.9.

TOTAL: 11.3 (56.5%) I'm usually generous to cards that show skin. (I'm kidding, of course. Just wait 'til you see my review of Lwaxana Troi.)

PICTURE: Anytime the early sets made use of blueish purple, it has always come out just purple and managed to look a little like a botched 3D effect (you know, like you would see BEFORE you put on the glasses). Same happened here. The Sheliak are striking creatures, but all that's been absorbed between two splotches of mauve and some kitschy glass rods left over from the Fortress of Solitude set. Stands at 1.9.

LORE: This is more like it! "Strict legalists" is a fun understatement, and the scientific classification isn't bad either. While the dilemma's effects aren't really explained, they are certainly hinted at. I like it. A good 4.1.

TREK SENSE: Certainly interesting, this dilemma ISN'T at the location where it is encountered. Encountering is equal to the planet being part of the worlds ceded to the Sheliak by whatever treaty. When the Sheliak get wind of it, they come charging and, much as they threatened in the episode "The Ensigns of Command", they wipe out whatever buildings and people are trespassing on their land. One problem here: They don't destroy HQs and ships. HQs, I can see in a sense, but how the dilemma could exist on a homeworld is unexplained. "Who did you cede Romulus to?!?" Ships are another matter as they may offend the Sheliak as much as away teams, especially landed ones. Another consequence of Sheliak "sterilization" is to invalidate the point box if the mission is still unsolved. I see this as the Sheliak simply putting a ban on whatever mission was there so that you can't really profit from it. Hazy, but workable. The big problem, though, is that the dilemma acts like a ship, but really isn't one. In Trek Sense, everything points to it being a ship (or fleet) with the necessary firepower to do the listed damage. It even has a Range (appropriately slow since in the episode, Data had some time to convince colonists to leave). But if it is a ship, why can't it be attacked or stymied? Where does it go once it does its thing? Why can you then go back to the planet? That kind of thing. And shouldn't you be able to nullify the dilemma with Law? Really seems like it should. A very interesting concept, I agree, but it can't be saved from all its faults. A 1.9.

SEEDABILITY: Well, this is one of those dilemmas that people love and wish it weren't rare. Though it starts on the far end of a spaceline, once it gets to its destination, it can destroy Outposts, Nors, Colonies and Away Teams. That's a lot of damage! Furthermore, if the mission hasn't been solved yet, it'll eradicate its points. Of course, because it starts so far away, your opponent will often have time to uproot its personnel or even solve the mission. Facilities will still take the brunt of the damage (this is a good Colony counter for example, but has been replaced by The Wake of the Borg), especially if you're lucky enough to seed at the Outpost's location. There are ways to increase your chances of hurting your opponent, of course. The broadest is to seed The Sheliak at all your opponent's missions, thereby insuring that it'll hit the Outpost mission (often attempted first). To get Away Teams, Mission Debriefing and such stoppers would probably not be enough to allow The Sheliak to get there, but seeding Q and rearranging the spaceline right after the dilemma could put it at the right place. This is nasty, but you can always take advantage of shorter spacelines thanks to multiple quadrants. Far away Colonies in another quadrant really aren't safe from disaster, and you can even set off The Sheliak yourself if your opponent is too slow to attempt a mission with a facility present. The only real nullifier to the card is Temporal Vortex, which really only suspends it. That'll save Away Teams, but not facilities. An evil piece of work which can still cause a few headaches (you can't easily win without a facility to report your personnel to). A 4.

TOTAL: 11.9 (59.5%) Jumps from great to lame a couple times.

PICTURE: While they finally add color to those dreary beige bridge scenes, Q's expression seems to be a little off the mark (celebration?). Otherwise cute at 3.4.

LORE: First, there's the odd but appropriate title which is a play on "Tijuana Brass", a cute poke at Q. Then, there's the line actually spoken on the show, which gives us a context and a reason to pan the card's Trek Sense (as you'll see). Average except for the title, so a 3.4 again.

TREK SENSE: They might have included a little someting about Immortal Again since this scene follows that one. They do give us a link between this one and the next though: Data Laughing. Making Data Laughing an Event is cute conceptually, but doesn't entirely work in Trek Sense. On the show, Data only laughed momentarily (as that card's Interrupt nature indicates), but it was never permanent like an Event. (The fact that Data Laughing is quite conceptual itself doesn't help matters.) It's also odd the effect would be given to one's opponent. Q would have done it to the crew he was facing. The other effect is music-related, having to do with the brass section. It makes Ressikan Flute points count for both players, as if the joy was shared throughout the galaxy. Q certainly has the power to celebrate all over (and he won't allow any "nullification" of it), but again, this effect works in combination with a conceptual card, and not within Trek Sense. I can see what they were trying to do, and everything fits SOMEwhere, but not all at the same place. A very shaky 1.5.

STOCKABILITY: Reactive and not, there's a good reason to stock this card in your Q-Continuum and a bad one. The bad one is as a Ressikan Flute counter. Only a couple of affiliations have enough Music to make a difference, and you can't be sure your opponent will use it. The good one is to use it in combination with your own Data's Head and Data Laughing. When Data Laughing becomes an Event, it suddenly PERMANENTLY doubles the Head (20 CUNNING, Computer Skill x2 and +4 to ship attributes). That maximizes both the Interrupt and the Artifact and may well be worth it. If your opponent is simultaneously using a Flute deck, you'll get points too, maybe even enough to put you over the top. A great bonus. All it takes is a couple of copies in your QC side-deck (you don't want too many since they aren't cumulative) to get it to the table. A nice possible enhancement, and a turnabout-is-fair-play option... This is worth a 3.7.

TOTAL: 12 (60%) Not celebrating now, are you?

PICTURE: His uniform provides the only splash of color, and a sober one at that, to this mostly beige picture. There IS an Easter Egg here, but it's very difficult to see. In fact, my eyes are always drawn to the darker veins on his head, trying to find the MASH unit's number in there, but the ol' "4077" is actually in the door frame behind him. Look close to his soulder at 90 degrees clockwise. Man, that was hardly worth it. A simple 3 here.

LORE: Timicin has been shortchanged a little in this category because of his restriction box, because I do think there's more to the man than his romantic involvement and the fact he has to die prematurely. At two lines, it's fine, but I would have liked more. A 3.

TREK SENSE: I'm not sure we needed to make him a Civilian. Other civilians who work in the sciences, like Paul Manheim for example, are simply billed as Science. The specialty supercedes the Civilian status (same for plenty of Security, etc.). The Engineer does show up in the skill box, unaccompanied by Science unfortunately. I think his work was complex enough to include both, but at least the rest of his skills go in that direction. Rejuvenating a star would definitely require Astrophysics, and simple Physics makes a good back-up. Since his big hurrah was Test Mission - more than that, it was his life's work - I can easily see a point bonus. In fact, why would he lose precious time on any other mission? His society is much too xenophobic to allow him to go off on any fool's errand with any old affiliation. Speaking of precious time, Timicin must die at age 60. How was that converted into game terms? Not very well I'm afraid. 60 points = 60 years old is a cute equation, but not one that makes much sense. Each point you earn does not take you a year (that would be ridiculous), and the system doesn't take into account the moment of Timicin's appearance. If, like on the show, he's have to be discarded after solving one mission, then that would have been closer to the truth. As is, the limit is ridiculous (though I still admit, cute). His Integrity takes a drop from his selfless nature because he was ready to skip the Resolution entirely, but 6 seems a bit harsh. He did wind up doing it after all. Can't fault a man this much for having second thoughts about committing suicide. The Cunning likewise could have been higher. Strength sits about right for a scientist not in the best physical shape. A lot of missteps here, including his value as a Non-Aligned personnel that would really mingle with crews. The buck stops at 1.7.

STOCKABILITY: While his skills are good and everything, the problem always facing Timicin is that he has to hit the table before you reach 60 points, and probably long before if you want to make use of him at all. Since you won't keep that ENGINEER or those 'physics skills for very long, his only recommended use is to help solve Test Mission. That would make the simple and easy mission a 35-pointer, and is especially recommended if using Test Mission II with its 5 points less. By all means, add a Physics mission specialist (like Kromm or one of the Federation's five) and let Timicin just handle part of the CUNNING. That makes Test Mission 40 points and Test Mission II 35. Difficult to get beyond that limitation though, when there's no clear-cut way to report him or download him into play early in the game. I'm gonna go ahead and shoot him down with a 1.4.

TOTAL: 9.1 (45.5%) A terminal case.

PICTURE: Like a shy turtle "running" away from a fight, so goes the T'Pau. The picure is more than a little dark, and hard to imagine from the front. I think there were at least some shots from the other persective, why stick us with something that gives us a false impression about the vessel (i.e. that that's its front)? A rather dull 2.7.

LORE: Though merchant class, nowhere does it say it's a transport or freighter, so I'm afraid the ship has to miss out on other merchant vessels' duties. The stuff about its namesake is fun (all taken from the TOS episode "Amok Time"), but what they should have been looking at is explaining its Romulan affiliation. Sure, it was stolen from Qualor II, but what about the Romulan shock troops contained within? Its role in the unification plot? As is, it sounds VERY Federation, a problem offsetting the nice TOS-related hommage. A 2.9.

TREK SENSE: Well, the T'Pau is taken from a certain point in time - the moment of its theft or later - or else it would be Federation (or dual-aligned). I say from the point of its theft, because it can report, already commandeered if you will, at Qualor II, which is the ship cemetary. The problem with this is that personnel are not already aboard, which must mean it has not yet been stolen. But if it hasn't been stolen, it can't be Romulan yet. You see the conundrum. It's a big merchant vessel, since it could contain some 2000 men, validating the relatively high attributes and Tractor Beam. The staffing is still low, because such a vessel would require minimal crew to man the smaller weapons or less complex systems. I've already mentioned the fact this merchant vessel can't be used for freighter duty, which isn't wrong if you see it as a troop transport. Too bad it wasn't given some kind of infiltration ability (reporting "behind the lines" doesn't really count if it doesn't report with crew). Weapons may have been jacked up by the Romulans, 'cuz that 7 is a little high for the class. Unfortunately, wouldn't that have been detected? Similarly, the ship was easily destroyed, so easily that even Shields 6 seems high. Range is ok, since that attribute would be most important to merchants. A little out of focus, despite some good marks at 3.

STOCKABILITY: Well, Dr. Telek R'Mor can report directly aboard to staff it. Otherwise, it just sits there waiting for your opponent's Ship Seizure. Reporting to Qualor II isn't such an advantage either since your true Romulans would be in stasis if they ever beamed down, but if your opponent is trying to play tricks such as sending your personnel over to Qualor (with Hippocratic Oath, or Mysterious Orb, or something), you can report the T'Pau there and... well, R'Mor can't attempt the mission. Maybe use Memory Wipe? It's too bad it's not covered by the transport/freighter rules, because it could have been an affiliated ship with which to make cargo runs for the Romulans, etc. It still represents a low-staffing ship with good RANGE and passable WEAPONS, but with no matching commander in sight, I don't expect to see too much of this one. No more than a 2.1.

TOTAL: 10.7 (53.5%) Maybe they'll make some kind of unification plot objective. 'Til then...

PICTURE: An improvement over John Doe, the glowing alien silouette is still pretty stiff, and aside from that bright splash of color, we have to deal with the Enterprise's dull beige bridge set. The more I look at it, the less interesting it all becomes. A 2.6.

LORE: The first sentence dwells more on the prejudice John Doe faced than his Transfiguration, but they seem to lead there ("his evolution..."). The second sentence uses the word "metaphysical", a word that attempts to satisfy some Trek Sense issues. Will it? All in all, fairly average at 3.

TREK SENSE: The card may only play on John Doe, but since we have no other Zalkonian from his minority group, that's not likely to be a problem. It seems to indicate that he has to use his powers to unlock more powers, which isn't inconsistent with the kind of snowball effect featured in the episode. Once he's prevented a death (a major "miracle"), he's ready to go from humanoid to energy being. They sort of make him a Kevin Uxbridge redux (i.e. the one on Convergence) who benevolently nullifies Events. This has the same problems Kevin does: Why only Events? Why ANY Events (since some would not be the target of a "benevolent" being)? Neither of these questions can be answered fully, and there will always be plenty of examples to make us wonder why. At least, John can't de-Transfigure himself (or any other John Doe), and his equivalency with Kevin is proven by the fact they can't nullify one another. Unfortunately, the card doesn't go far enough. I mean, once Doe goes through Transfiguration, he doesn't fly away to roam the universe, he stays right there. He keeps his tiny attributes, mortality and former allegiances (which means Mr. Benevolent may be working with the Cardassians or Romulans). This kind of divinity card rarely hits a high note in Trek Sense, simply because necessary game balance interferes with the concept. A 3.1 for what's good here.

STOCKABILITY: Basically turns your space Genetronic Replicator into a re-useable Kevin Uxbridge: Convergence. Gee, this card doesn't sound like a personnel ;-). He can't nullify ALL Events at one location like Kevin can, but Transfiguration isn't discarded after every use. It also isn't subject to the colon rule, so Events immune to Kevin Uxbridge (if "present") are NOT immune to Transfiguration. For the record, that means: Abandon Mission, Blood Screening, Sisko 197 Subroutine, and a couple others. That, plus the usual load of targetable not-on-table events. John Doe also keeps his usual special skill, so you can still use him to save lives even as you're nullifying Events. It also protects the personnel from death by Zalkonian Vessel, a kind of one-way Nemesis icon mechanic, but not from anything else. That's right, both those special abilities can be "nullified" by killing John Doe. With his puny 4 STRENGTH? Better have Bodyguards handy to protect him. In postscript, it's really too bad that you can't download Transfiguration, because you'll probably have to either play with a half-John Doe for a while, or wait for him to show up while Transfig sits uselessly in your hand. Not very efficient, though its effect could be nice. John Doe himself scored a 3.9 here, and I suppose this card shares in that. The same 3.9 then.

TOTAL: 12.6 (63%) An alternative to the triad, but only in some situations.

PICTURE: Olivia D'abo looks a little bucktoothed as Q whispers in her ear. What the card does right: It gets us real close in so that we can be privy to the whispers. What it does not so right: It's as boring as Data's poetry. Can't go higher than 2.

LORE: Places the shot at just before Amanda conjurs up her parents (see the card "Amanda's Parents"). The Q-uote's just ok, not great, but placing the shot is enough in this case (since the pic is a little ambiguous) for a 3.

TREK SENSE: The "in-between Q-Flashes" duration is a regular feature on Q-cards and always makes enough sense to me. Q always tires of his tricks and dispells one thing as he creates another. In this case, since Amanda Rogers is involved, she has to "enter play" if you will by nullifying something, though that "something" cannot be a Q-interrupt. She's trusting Q here, so she won't go against him. Because she trusts him, he allows her to create ghosts from her past, here represented by cards in the discard pile. If Res-Q can be believed, anything in the discard pile has the potential of being "brought back" (as opposed to the "dead dead" of outside-the-game). Q simply allows Amanda to realize that two resources (her two parents in her particular storyline) are so available. As stocker (or "Q"), you are "opponent" on this card, so your Q actually does corrupt/influence your opponent's Amanda and the rewards go to you. I think you can tell this whole effect is highly conceptual since 1) the resources in question won't be her parents and 2) why exactly does your Q benefit from this? It isn't explained very well. Nor is there a reason beyond game balance she can't "remember fondly" some artifact (especially when she CAN remember boring unrelated stuff like Thermal Deflectors and T'Pan). Very subtle designing though, so I'm still giving it a 3.5.

STOCKABILITY: You can hide back-up cards in your Q's Tent, but what if your opponent pulled something even your Tent wasn't ready for? Then you might consider using Trust Me in your Q-Continuum side-deck. Now, IF your opponent hits a Q-Flash and IF they draw this card and IF they later play an Amanda Rogers, only THEN can you import a couple cards that you might need. If that all falls into place, then you'll need a Palor Toff or Res-Q to get those cards out, or some means to shuffle the cards back into your deck. That gives fate a lot of time to screw with you. Plenty can go wrong, including your opponent not playing Amanda Rogers. Imagine exhausting your hand of Interrupts just to tempt them, then seeing Quinn nullify them instead. By the time it either works or you figure out it's not gonna happen at all, you may be in worse shape than before. Of course, if you aren't really in bad shape and would just like the chance to either 1) play with your opponent's mind and put a ban on Amandas or 2) get a couple of hindsight cards leisurely into play, then a couple of these in your side-deck might be interesting. Just don't expect last-ditch miracles. A 2.5.

TOTAL: 11 (55%) Not worth more... trust me.

PICTURE: We don't often see this trick for the Feds, that of placing an affiliation-specific icon in the background. Unfortunately, it doesn't really work here. The happy, bubbly Federation gets a very dark card and a pink Starfleet logo (yuck!). There's nothing very sharp about the image either. A ho-hum 2.8.

LORE: The emphasis almost goes to her fellow students, though I agree we don't know much about her anyway. One thing we do know that was omitted: She came in second in the exams, just behind Mordock. I think they should have fit that in, so just a 2.8 here too.

TREK SENSE: Training in Science, Computer Skill and a Staff icon aren't surprises for her ambition and species. Mindmeld is a given for Vulcans. Youth, for such a student. I'm more disappointed with her attributes: They're actually better than first-place-prize Mordock. It's no big deal, I guess, since he has more complicated skills. Still, if these kids were over-achievers, couldn't it be shown on their cards somewhere? Just think of Nog or Karden. No real problems, it's more a question of finding the card extremely boring in design. An adequate 3.4.

STOCKABILITY: Ok, she's immune to the little-seen Bendii Syndrome, but otherwise, there's little here to recommend. She's like every single Vulcan, able to use the same cards, pass the same dilemmas, etc. At three skills, she's no support personnel, but not any better either. Mindmeld and Youth are severely limited in usefulness, and Computer Skill truly the most common skill in the game. SCIENCE is okay, but Vulcans often gravitate towards the classification. So unless you're running a Vulcan-themed deck, she's totally dépassée. A 1.9.

TOTAL: 10.9 (54.5%) Not a second place in anything according to my system.

PICTURE: The purple gas clouds match those on the mission corresponding to this episode, so the rare astronomical element makes sense here. The ship itself is really odd looking, because the perspective makes it seem like the dinky warp nacelles are coming out of the central bridge module. It's an ugly ship alright, but I think that's what it's supposed to be like. Picard really went up in the world. A 3.1.

LORE: Starts off with matching commander status for someone you might think has plenty already, but nevertheless, it's a help. The 22-year mission is quite impressive when compared to the Starship Enterprise's measly 5. And then we just spin off into the events from the episode "The Battle". No registry? It does seem to begin mid-lore when compared to other ships. Still has some good information for a decent 3.4.

TREK SENSE: The ship may be old, but it's still current (i.e. non-AU). No other Constellation-class ships to compare it with so let's just take it for what it is. Smaller than a Galaxy-class, it looks similar to a Miranda in size and sophistication. Then why the extra staffing icon? I mean, Picard seemed to be able to man the ship alone (with a little help from a Thought Maker) in "The Battle". He may be its rightful matching commander (after 22 years, I doubt you'd forget anything about the vessel even after its loss), but that currently has no bearing on staffing (maybe it should). The Tractor Beam is standard for ships the appropriate size. Range is high because it's an exploration vessel and engines should certainly be at a premium, with low Shields (thought destroyed) and high enough Weapons (defeated a Marauder at Maxia Zeta, though with difficulty). We're left with a neat special skill which mimics the Stargazer's "destruction" and return. Of course, you have to wonder it isn't more damaged if it was thought destroyed (that means, at least badly damaged), but parties such as Bok may be involved but invisible to the game. Other than some disgreement vis-à-vis the staffing, I think the ship is darn spiffy. A 4.1.

STOCKABILITY: An 8-7-6 ship is nothing to rave about, but the special game text makes it somewhat useful. If you ever lose the ship, you can get it back as if with a free Res-Q/Palor Toff. Helps with deck speed and efficiency, certainly. Of course, stocking bigger, badder ships (I don't really think the Defiant is any harder to staff) makes it less likely that the ship will find its way IN the discard pile in the first place. So this is one of those "loser" abilities, i.e. that you expect to use because you expect to lose (to some degree). Ok, Picard is matching commander, possibly making the ship a fast 10-10-9, and a cozy place for him while Admiral Picard drives the Enterprise around. The ship CAN help with hand manipulation strategies without ever playing on the table. Any card that allows you to discard to get a card draw won't make you actually lose THIS card (it may return to hand at any time). Process Ore, Mutation, Spacedoor... even Kal'Toh will work "for free" if you discard the Stargazer. But because you can only do it once per game, that effect is pretty limited, but it WILL work for any non-Borg affiliation, not just the Feds. Make sure you can evacuate your personnel if you're going to lose the ship the old-fashioned way, because THEY certainly don't come back. A somewhat limp 2.9.

TOTAL: 13.5 (63.5%) No Enterprise, I guess.

PICTURE: Alkar is kind of dark against the lighter background, but given his relatively evil ways, that's a good thing. The leftmost part of the background (the plant) looks like green tendrils projecting from his head. I don't like the gold ball on the right however, it's too close to his head and should have been expunged with CGI. I realize most of the elements I'm happy with here are serendipity, but that's sometimes how masterpieces are created. Okay, I wouldn't go that far here, but there's enough for a 3.8.

LORE: Not sure it was necessary to say he was "treacherous" when we can infer that from the rest of the lore, and I'm still waiting for his ambassadorship to mean something (nothing yet for Non-Aligneds). The text is put in such a way as to explain his skills. A competent 3.2.

TREK SENSE: Ambassador certainly merits VIP and Diplomacy, but herein lies the thing that sets Ves apart. He's a super-diplomat, but only if he puts all his negative emotions (those that make him less of a diplomat) in a female Empath. This makes her (she's always female from the looks of it) far less empathic because her senses become obscured by all the negativity. The only thing that desn't work well here is that Alkar loses ALL Diplomacy (doesn't just drop to x1) if without his empathic crutch. Has it gotten that bad? Okay, getting rid of his negative emotions gives him an extra edge, but I can't believe the first level of Diplomacy isn't achieved through normal training. It also affects ALL Empaths present, though he only needed one at a time on the show. His little trick does require some telepathic talent of his own, though he wasn't a full blown telepath (Empathy x2), and since this is all detrimental to the female empath(s), Treachery is a must. Diplomacy is a noble pursuit despite the means he used to achieve them, so I don't think such a low Integrity was warranted. I mean, there are much more loathsome characters with higher Integrities out there. Cunning is likewise a little low for a top diplomat (and the Empathy-vampirism doesn't boost it). Strength may be about right, though he seemed stocky enough for a 4. Tries to pull a fun Trek Sense special skill, but loses out on a number of factors. Just a 2.

STOCKABILITY: Ehh. Yes, Empathy is an important and rare skill, but Ves Alkar in no way beats Altovar, Soto, Kes (in the DQ) or even Gem among the Non-Aligned support crew. Diplomacy x2 is likewise an important ability, but most affiliations (the Kazon and Ferengi excepted) have at least one such personnel, and even if they need an NA to supplement them, Dathon won't cost you an Empathy. A location is a large area though, and you could conceivably shuttle him to a mission where Empathy will be crucial, thereby eliminating that skill from the attempt pool, but only on females. And if said female has the skill x2, then it won't really remove the skill (except maybe for Lethean Telepathic Attack). Treachery is pretty common. That, together with really low attributes, makes Ves Alkar a curiosity, not a necessity. 1.8 from me.

TOTAL: 10.8 (54%) That'll teach him to make Deanna look like a granny.

PICTURE: The colors aren't very interesting, but the subject matter more than makes up for it. I'm not really a Wesley hater per se (as much as the next guy, I guess), but the dark humor here is delicious. A 3.4.

LORE: The title of the card itself is a winning pun, but the lore is just what Q happens to be saying at that moment and has absolutely nothing to do with the game text. That's unfortunate and will keep the card at 2.9 (love that title!).

TREK SENSE: Very little actually. In the actual episode, Wesley wasn't really killed (or was at least saved by RiQer soon after the wound was inflicted). Here, he is. He doesn't have to be at the location of the Q-Flash either, so long as it's on a planet (far less safe than on a ship, I agree, though if "present", he might be on a ship). The point is meant to represent his getting the point (in the metaphorical sense), small comfort since he's dead, AND the single point is also the one mentioned in the title. It's all part of the joke, but that makes it more conceptual than anything. I do enjoy the design, but it's a little far from Trek Sense proper. I will give it a median 3 though.

STOCKABILITY: Remember when Wesley Crusher was such a good personnel, they actually made specific counters for him? Well, this one wasn't so much a counter as it was a joke card to compete with Barber Pole. It's very funny, but its chances of hitting are extremely slim. As the personnel and affiliations multiply, it becomes less and less likely to hit. Even if you get to kill Wesley, you give a point to your opponent. Not much, but there you have it. And even if there's room for "in case" cards in the Q-Continuum side-deck, the very narrow focus here still makes it an inefficient choice. If you really want to use it, use it for coolness factor and break out the Parallax Arguers. A sad 0.4.

TOTAL: 9.7 (48.5%) I like the idea of this card, but can't recommend it based on my 4 criteria.

PICTURE: The lighting's strange on this uniformed shot of Q, making him look waxen. It goes with the line of dialogue used as a Q-uote, and with a title like that, needn't show Guinan herself, but it is a little dull. This is often the case with images which are simply dialogue snap shots. A 1.9.

LORE: Some interesting talk about Guinan, stuff that never really had a pay-off on the show, but the title has little to do with the lore or image. It's basically a joke based on a Guinan card seen in a magazine ad. No such card was released until the Fajo Collection so the slogan "Where's Guinan?" was seen a couple times before then. Cute wink at the fans who wanted to complete their TNG regulars set with the Enterprise bartender, but a little disjointed here. A 2.7.

TREK SENSE: Hard to decipher. If Q had his powers when he happened upon Guinan, why didn't he relocate her to another planet (or another time or into inexistence)? That's how they put it here, and the rationale behind the title's question. "Any Guinan" would have been the way to go, but after three sets, Decipher wasn't quite on the ball with legal terminology. What's puzzling though is that if a Guinan is present, Q panics and sends away all El-Aurians present, which would include Martus Mazur. Is the entire species "impish"? If so, why would they have suffered so much at the hands of the Borg? The last clause implies that Guinan may indeed play the imp by not allowing Q to send her away, but that other interrupt nullifiers, such as Amanda Rogers or Quinn cannot. What is it the Continuum has against the El-Aurians, or Guinan in particular? Let's just say I don't like unanswered questions. A 2.

STOCKABILITY: Like Wesley Gets the Point, this Q-card has a very narrow focus when it comes to triggers/targets. Sure, Guinan is a good boost if using an Enterprise, and does have a strong Q-counter ability. She shares an AU-counter ability with Madam Guinan, a Non-Aligned version which can be used by more affiliations, but is less useful (fewer important AU cards to counter). Guinan can STILL nullify it if she wishes though, so really, what's to gain? Well, what's to gain is this: If she hasn't used her ability to nullify one of the Q-cards in this Q-Flash yet, she won't get to nullify any except this one. Not much, and won't hurt anyone but the Feds. Any attempt at filtering her out in time for Gravimetric Distortion will be difficult because the Q-Flash may not yield Where's Guinan? at the appropriate time. Oh, you'd want the targets out of the way because of their special skills (Martus included), but the card is very ineffcient about it, and doesn't offer any rewards if those personnel aren't present (and they don't have the best chance to be). A 1.1.

TOTAL: 7.7 (38.5%) Where's the logic?

PICTURE: Though the various elements of the picture seem a bit disjointed, like they were filmed at separate times or something, there are a lot of good things going on. I like the map behind Picard for example. It's just a design on the wall, but it speaks of going places. The Iconian doorway leads to the Romulan bridge, well caught and not where Picard actually wanted to go. Weaker: the pink and gray background behind the door, and Picard's big phaser in his pocket. A 3.5 here.

LORE: Tells the story fairly well with no surprises. An average 3.

TREK SENSE: The first function deals directly to the image, but the other two are much more conceptual. Let's start at the beginning. Offering further challenge to the fact that Iconian Gateway should have allowed moving to ships, the redirected exit only goes to planets. Aside from that little snag, the rest of the effect is pretty much as it is in the show except that, as the lore states, Picard still chose the exit ("settled" for it). Maybe the card should have let your opponent redirect the exit to anywhere but where he wanted to go (which would lead to some very cool mind games). The second effect plays with the idea of the Door being a Doorway card. Q's Tent is a Doorway, and opening the wrong Tent leads to your getting nothing at all (nullified). Not very satisfying as far as logic goes. The third effect does likewise, telling whoever played the Revolving Door that they put it on the Wrong Door(way) card. A bit better, but again, highly conceptual. It's also one of those cards that has a Referee ethic, but lacks the icon. Nothing too great at an even 2.

STOCKABILITY: Wrong Door offers three ways to screw up your opponent's strategy. Some can be easily put into effect, others with more difficulty. The first function is one of those, because Iconian Gateway isn't that widely used. But if it is, here's your chance to strand opposing personnel to another quadrant, to stasis-inducing Qualor II, to an active Harvester Virus (or such), or to your waiting assault team. The second function will be useful in any case, since most players (at least, in the regular playing environment) will use a Q's Tent (remember that Doorway with the perfect Stockability score?). Nullifying a Q's Tent will mean killing one of two things: a powerful card or a card needed in a pinch. Wrong Door won't remove the card from the Tent, but it will keep it bottled up for a while. More interesting though is the last function. Revolving Door, you'll remember, is the broadest Doorway counter. Wrong Door gives you the flexibility to shuffle your own Revolving Door from Doorway to Doorway on your opponent's side of the table. At the same time, it protects you from Revolving Door by allowing you to move it to an opposing Doorway or, if none are in play, to your own Doorway you don't need at the moment (like an Alternate Universe Door after most of the reporting has been done). For example, you could keep it on a Black Hole, suspending its "pulling" ability until the right moment, then transferring it to your empty Brig (Holding Cell Door), that kind of thing. Though apparently defensive, it's also offensive in a very real sense, and has enough functions you can realistically expect to use it, even in multiples. A 3.8.

TOTAL: 12.3 (61.5%) Nothing wrong about its usefulness.

PICTURE: Q nibbling on Picard's ear is a good face-off for the two nemeses, Q sort of the devil on Jean-Luc's shoulder. I like it though it seems redundant when compared to the very similar Trust Me (the weaker of the two). A good 3.4.

LORE: You Will *what* in Time? "Understand," I suppose. The Q-uote helps us understand the context of this rather obscure piece of game text, plus the "full hearing" and zoom-in on Picard's ear resonates. A good enough 3.4 again.

TREK SENSE: The sequence of events this is supposed to represent can be recounted like so - Picard is flying a shuttle solo when Q appears and makes his request (wants to be a member of the crew, from "Q Who?"), and he keeps Jean-Luc trapped on the shuttle (in null-Q-space or something) until he agrees to it. Has that been translated well? Let's see. The first problem occurs, where else, in the first sentence. Indeed, the personnel that's alone and triggering the dilemma doesn't have to be the one Q targets! What's the point? At least the target has to be unique, you know Q and the "little people". That null-space, null time of Q's would qualify as stasis, sure, and I think the rest of the card works. Here you can make Q ask pretty much anyhting, even change that thing every turn, which goes with Q's trickster mentality. Can't be nullified? No real reason, I'm afraid. Purely mechanical. Has one major problem, but that's it. Hits a comfortable 3.4 (again).

STOCKABILITY: Similar to Protection Racket in that you can ask something of your opponent, it's not quite as strong as that incident. Why? Basically because it only hits lone redshirts who have hit a Q-Flash. Now, when a Q-Flash hits a single personnel, you only reveal one Q-card. What are the chances of pulling You Will in Time? Low unless you build your side-deck mostly or only with this card, and why would you? If you do manage to make it stick, then placing a personnel in stasis (your choice from anywhere in play) may be more troublesome than killing it (à la Protection Racket), because it's much harder to get the personnel back. If you just want to hamper your opponent by removing a key personnel from play, make unreasonable demands! If they acceed to those demands, you're still a winner. Of course, it still has to HIT! Not being nullifiable is very small comfort. Just not dependable enough at 1.5.

TOTAL: 11.7 (58.5%) Aww, broke its 3.4 streak at the end there.

PICTURE: Yuta just killed someone as can be evidenced by the dark lighting, but I just never really got into this pic. It's not particulary menacing, the shadows saturate the image a bit too much and the turtleneck is highly unmemorable. It does have atmosphere, but somehow leaves me cold. A 3.3 despite what seem to be my own aesthetic biases.

LORE: Though I wish they could have given us a little more with the leftover space (the first phrase is a little plain, for example), this is well written. Interesting how Microvirus is mentioned here, since Yuta is merely another version of that dilemma. A 3.1.

TREK SENSE: Where Microvirus was generic enough to attack most anyone, Yuta, as a concept, is much too specific to be a real threat to crews or Away Teams. See, Microvirus, especially as described in its lore, could be used to infect anyone. Yuta, on the other hand, is part of a clan dedicated to destroying another. There are however no members of said clan in the game! It is also odd that the same dilemma would be represented twice, and if Microvirus had been done this way, I'd have been much more happy with it, I think. Truth be told, though pretty conceptual, Yuta's effect is an original one which includes a kind of DNA encoding in the game in the form of so-called "Yuta numbers". "X" is even the shape of a chromosome. Of course, this technique remains conceptual since the number is derived purely mechanically, and there is no reason to believe members of a same "clan" (or species, or family, if we extend Yuta's grudges outward) would have the same Yuta number (indeed, they don't, and equipment may modify your "DNA"). Current rulings also have androids succumbing to this DNA-related dilemma, which is clearly wrong. The space/planet icon fixes a problem on Microvirus, but I think a dilemma represented by a character might've actually worked better as planet-only. She did board the Enterprise, so you won't hear any real griping about that from me though. Cool concept, but a lot of wrong-headedness as well. A 1.9.

SEEDABILITY: For a long time, Yuta was one evil dilemma. All you really had to do was memorize the "Yuta numbers" of various key personnel, and you could eliminate them specifically with your dilemma combo. Today, there are so many possibilities as far as personnel and/or affiliations go, it'd be difficult to keep all the important ones in mind. Note that some personnel attributes are probably seared into our minds. Data's 8-12-12 (Yuta: 8) or Sisko's triple 8 (Yuta: also 8), but Culluh? Chief Surgeon McCoy? Goran'Agar? Not by heart, no. You can still use Yuta efficiently though by using this kind of knowledge and also taking every chance you get at examining opposing personnel. It could be as easy as leading with a dilemma with an opponent's selection or better yet, one requiring attribute totals (opponent can't hide everything but card titles on those). Of course, if more than one personnel has the same Yuta number, random examination might kill the wrong man, say some cheap universal instead of Kira Nerys (Yuta: 6, same as say, Gorta). Now, I'm not gonna give you a list of the best Yuta numbers to pull out your hat depending on affiliation or strategy or personnel distribution. I'll leave that to the statisticians, many of which had such lists on their websites during the Yuta craze. In any case, throw in some equipment, and they all change. I'll just say that Yuta offers some flexibility, but requires you to choose carefully - some numbers yield no one at all! A sound killer, but a lot more touble than an Armus at 3.9.

TOTAL: 12.2 (61%) A Combo Dilemma card of Yuta and Microvirus might have proven interesting...

PICTURE: Basically a prop shot if not for Geordi holding it. The strings of optic cable comeing out of it do give the composition some motion, and the Capsule has color that separates it from the background. A bit better than average at 3.2.

LORE: Techie-talk all the way through, the lore here sounds like something out of the Star Trek Encyclopedia (not that there's anything wrong with that). It's just a little dry, that's all. A competent 3.

TREK SENSE: Obviously, by being played on the table, it's implied that the Capsule is being used conceptually rather than physically, or else it'd been an Equipment card. It works as computer data storage for your cards. You upload them into the Capsule, and may "download" them at any time. Where the concept breaks down is when the Capsule is destroyed. Instead of the data being expunged, it goes to the top of the draw deck, not lost at all, but soon redeemable. I wish my computer worked like that. At its roots, the idea of cards as data makes sense for some cards, which represent ideas, strategies, technology or specs for equipment. It's a little harder to swallow in the case of ships (though still possible) and personnel. ZSC offers an interesting design to be sure, and I give it a lot for effort, but it does make mistakes. A 3.5.

STOCKABILITY: I'm surprised Zalkonian Storage Capsule was never made the object of one of Mot's Useless Card reviews. It seems a little useless, but is vastly underestimated, which I believe was what Mot focused on. So what purpose could storing cards have? Well, at its simplest level, it protects cards from mandatory discards, kind of like a Q's Tent you can upload to. It protects important cards from Static Warp Bubble, Telepathic Alien Kidnappers, and even your hand from Scorched Hand by keeping it under 12. Its destruction is where the real power is however. You can use your Capsule to store successful probe cards, and release them to the top of the draw deck at the right time using a Mercy Kill (side-stepping The Line Must Be Drawn Here). Recycling the Zalkonian Capsule in some way would allow you to repeat the trick for as many time as you need to. Great for the Borg, but also for rigging Visit Cochrane Memorial and the like. Probe rigging being what it is, I'd say this qualifies as a 3.8.

TOTAL: 13.5 (67.5%) Not useless!

PICTURE: It's one of those one-off ships that looks pretty good, or at least looks like it could keep afloat in your tub. Though rather featureless, I like the texture visible here, like roughly polished metal, and though it's hard to tell at this distance, I think there's an insignia on the "wing". I'll give it a 3.4

LORE: We'll start with an acknowledgement of universality, then add a matching commander which we unfortunately have yet to get a card for, and follow that up with some context and a little technical detail from the episode. That detail is a little frustrating because it's put like this: "One [such vessel] traveled at [that speed]". Can't they all do so? Was Sunad's ship really that off-spec? And if it was, why the universal Range of 9? Pretty average then, at 2.9.

TREK SENSE: We unfortunately have no Zalkonians except John Doe, who for obvious reasons, wouldn't really travel aboard this ship. So the Non-Aligned icons in the staffing box are interesting, but do not lead to the ship being staffed by the "appropriate" personnel. It also makes it possible for NA personnel without actual staffing ability to staff the ship, people like Kathleen Tonell. The ship is big enough to deserve (even require!) a Tractor Beam, but doesn't have one in favor of a Nemesis icon-like ability to kill John Doe. Well, that's what Sunad wanted to do, and it seemed to be a kind of policy for the Zalkonian people. Once Transfigured, of course, John Doe can't be killed. Still, it presumes a lot about the Zalkonian ensign Bobs that they can kill Doe even on a protected ship or facility, not so much as committing to a single action. The high Range is similar to that of other speedy ships like Voyager. Weapons are high (Destroyer class), but Shields strangely low (for a "defense vessel" anyway). More minuses than pluses on this one. A 2.3.

STOCKABILITY: I remember this ship being pretty popular back in the day, not because of its ability to kill John Doe (a powerful personnel, but you can't be sure he'll be used... still, it can be a nice side-effect), but because of its impressive RANGE. In fact, few Non-Aligned ships match it even today. The Xepolite Freighter does, but without the good WEAPONS 8, and the OS Fesarius, which is way better except that it has attack restrictions. The Delta Quadrant has The Think Tank's Ship and the superior USS Dauntless. But back to the Zalkonian Vessel... Without a matching commander (yet), you can't boost its paltry SHIELDS to a point where you can survive an attack. And the NA icons in the staffing box may make it easier to staff (IF you have plenty of NAs in your deck), but they unfortunately don't count as special icons for Crew Reassignment. Change that rule, and you've got a powerful ship. As is? A 3.4.

TOTAL: 12 (60%) I think it's been replaced some.

PICTURE: Really too bad it's so dark, because Nausicaans cut striking figures. He's almost two-tone, black and orange, with a touch of green over his shoulder being another Nausicaan. Sad that the quality is so poor. Only a 1.9.

LORE: Places him in his episode rather well, and within his time location. The dom-jot stuff is a little bonus, but really what ELSE do we know about this guy? A competent 3.3.

TREK SENSE: An odd inversion on classification since the lore names him as an Officer, but because these guys are all violent soldier-types, the Security takes precedence. It's the same thing as Mr. Spock basically, and is acceptable within this context. Stabbing Picard through the heart really is worth Treachery, that's fine too. Guramba is a species-specific skill unique to Nausicaans, and requires two leaders to attack them. The skill represents their impressive presence which requires more courage of someone to attack them. You don't go for a Nausicaan alone. It's fun, but used strangely as far as the language goes. See, Zon told Picard the Starfleet officer didn't have the Guramba to fight him, which would mean that Guramba is a quality of the people attacking the Nausicaans, not a quality of the Naussies themselves. His later ability is to nullify Nausicaans. Seeing as he IS a Nausicaan, he could be a kind of passkey - they won't attack a group with a Nausicaan in it, especially an Officer. It works well enough. The Command icon is part of the Officer designation, the AU icon is because he's from some 40 years in the past. Intgerity should be low on a character that would start a fight over nothing, but a 2 is quite villainous, where I believe Zon to be brutish, not evil. The low Cunning has the same reasoning behind it, but again, would the officer in the bunch be this stupid? Maybe an underling (Krozh the bodyguard is smarter!)... Strength is, of course, sky high. The attributes don't work as well as the rest of the card, so it stays at a still good 3.5.

STOCKABILITY: Sending OFFICER down into the skill box is actually a disadvantage since it severely restricts the number of Equipment cards he can use. Both classifications are nonetheless useful, with SECURITY meaning he can be reported via Defend Homeworld, for a very strong Jem'Hadar-level assault team member. Other attributes aren't anything to write home about. To supplement his STRENGTH, you've got his special skill which passes a dilemma that normally requires 45 STRENGTH at least. It's not the most commonly encountered dilemma, but it's not a bad one, especially against smaller Away Teams. I call these kinds of abilities "bonuses". That is, you shouldn't stock the personnel for it (or is your opponent that predictable?), but it can provide a nice surprise during mission attempts. Zon is better built for battle in any case. Not only are his skills kind of sparse (with Guramba actually passing None Shall Pass and helping with Tulaberry Wine Negotiations), but there's the high STRENGTH and Guramba which gives opposing Away Teams more difficulty in attacking you. You can wait for the appropriate moment to attack yourself... provided they only had one leader to begin with. Another "bonus" ability I guess. I'd rather use Krozh myself. Still... 2 classifications, and certainly a Ferengi-helping profile. I give him a 3.5.

TOTAL: 12.6 (63%) That ends our continuing reviews of the Q-Continuum expansion.

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