Siskoid's Rolodex.......Rules of Acquisition (3)



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To see the cards themselves, check out this Card list for the Rules of Acquisition expansion set.

#846-Ferengi Conference, Objective, RoA
-Seeds or plays on Quark's Bar. When you have a Nagus here, you may download one copy of the 75th Rule of Acquisition to each of your other Ferengi here who has Acquisition. Discard objective. OR Plays on your Nagus at Quark's Bar or aboard a [Fer] facility. Download to that Nagus one Hupyrian or any number of Ferengi CIVILIANs with up to 11 total [skill dot] icons. Discard objective.

PICTURE: Like an organized crime family meeting, there's a very nice balance between dark shadows and the gaudy Ferengi colors we've come to expect from them.The pink table may be a bit much, but the yellow and red back lighting is great. I think the shot could have been tighter though. Not only would it have brought the Nagus a little closer to us, but it would have eliminated the unnecessary under-the-table stuff. A fairly cool 3.7.

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

TREK SENSE: THeir are really too Conferences describes here. The first is exactly like the one from "The Nagus". It happens at Quark's and has to do with distributing Gamma quadrant contracts. The Nagus has to be there for you to download the 75th Rule which has everything to do with doing business in the other quadrant. The Rule represents the contract and it can be given to any and all Ferengi present who have the "lobes" (Acquisition). That part of it makes perfect Trek Sense. The second Conference describe is just any ol' Ferengi meeting with the Nagus and doesn't do too bad either. The Nagus is still required and he must be at any Ferengi facility (or Quark's). I could see him conducting a meeting somewhere else, but let's say this is high level enough. All the objective does this time is call up (download) the Ferengi he wants to meet with. This is where the waters get a little choppy because the limits seem artificial. He will only meet with Civilians, for example. While these could be considered to be the merchant class, I think some VIPs would fit the bill too. (As to why the Nagus wouldn't meet with anyone from the military, that's just not something he'd do in a DS9 context.) The total of 11 skill dot icons is also strange. For example, in the earlier Conference (first function), I'm pretty sure he had more than that present. Why limit yourself when you're the Grand Nagus? The other thing is that I don't mind the Nagus downloading a Hupyrian since Security would be needed at a Conference (and each Nagus has his Hupyrian bodyguard, a natural download), but I don't like that the card gives that as an ALTERNATIVE download. It's either Ferengi Civilians OR one Hupyrian. Once you get the bodyguard, well, who's the Nagus gonna speak to (no one else need be present). In any case, it's quite suspicious that the Hupyrian in question would not be with his Nagus as soon as he left Ferenginar. Appearing at Quark's as if he had taken a separate transport? Come on. The first part of the card is so well done, it'll keep this card at 4.

STOCKABILITY: Wow, you know when people say the Ferengi are just too good at getting their cards out? Well, this is part of that nasty strategy. Both functions require a Nagus to be present either at Quark's or on a Ferengi facility, and that's not hard to do given that the seedable 1st Rule lets you download a Nagus right off the bat. The first function of the Conference is also seedable! So as soon as you're able, you can insure your Gamma quadrant strategy bears as much fruit as possible by downloading the 75th Rule to as many Acquisition personnel you have present. The Rule will allow you to draw Latinum for solving missions in the other quadrant, or alternately, to make them worth 10 points more than usual. Juicy. Only 5 missions would apply without Bribery, but then since only one Rule will apply per mission, you don't need that many Acquisition personnel present. That's good because all that's really stopping you from using this early and massively is that, at the start of the game, you don't necessarily have your Acquisition personnel out yet. No real matter. If you have a Palor Toff in hand, I'd advise using the Conference as soon as you can, perhaps on a reported-for-free Quark, and Paloring it back to you hand. Next turn, bang! Download a bunch of Ferengi CIVILIANs. If you have another copy of Palor or Conference in hand by then, you could always get more 75th Rules on them. The card will be useful even without a Gamma quadrant strategy since it allows you to download a good number of personnel. This could be only a few in the case of highly skilled personnel (don't download Quark, get the cheaper Lumba, download Nilva, then convert Quark's persona later), or many in the case of, well, Frool and Mardah. Many of the target personnel have some very useful downloads, like Dabo, Bribery, Protection Racket and Wolf (kidding on that last one). Even if you only get two personnel from the download, that's still two more than you have been able to report anyway, and the skills available on CIVILIANs are quite wide-ranging. Add the HQ and Quark's, you get even more. Until Brunt's Hupyrian arrives, the Hupyrian download will only get you Maihar'du, but he's a good SECURITY personnel for the Ferengi. Probably wasting a good objective on him though. A nice piece of a powerful puzzle at 4.5.

TOTAL: 16.27 (81.33%) Quite profitable.

#857-Ferengi Disruptor, Equipment, RoA
"Standard-issue hand weapon used by military personnel in the Ferengi Alliance. Provides accuracy and energy output comparable to those of the Starfleet hand phaser."
-Ferengi and Non-Aligned use only. Each of your personnel present is STRENGTH +2. (Cumulative.)

PICTURE: It looks like it was a discarded model for the Ferengi's ships, and it's a basically beige prop shot. Dull. The underside of the table actually hurts what little composition there is here, but the card has one saving grace: It shows a prop we have not often had occasion to see. Still... won't go above 1.5.

LORE: Nothing to really spark the imagination, eh? Who uses it... It compares to a Starfleet phaser... I don't dislike that last tidbit, so a 3.1.

TREK SENSE: We've gone over this before, no? Hand weapons. One of the banes of the Rolodex. For one thing, they're all the same, forcing me to find a new way to say the same old stuff over and over again (much like Espionage cards, or very soon I fear, Treaties). For another, they all share the same Trek Sense problems (i.e., they ain't winners). And those are? (Everyone together now!) 1) Why can't people other than Ferengi or NAs use it? Is it so hard to press the trigger? Wouldn't the Ferengi sell them? Obviously the Non-Aligneds have access. 2) How many Disruptors are included in one card? Yes, one Disruptor in somebody's hands would boost the combat abilities of the entire Away Team, strategically speaking. But would one gun raise the total Strength of a 12-man Away Team by +24? Seems a bit extreme. But if there IS more than one Disruptor represented by the card, then why can't it be split up when the group splits up? And wouldn't multiple hand weapons mean the personnel would have their hands too full to even fire. This remains unresolved. The other thing is that the Ferengi are NOT principally militaristic - just look at their high number of Civilians - so the Disruptor should not be that easily used by them all. Zek with a gun? Would that really be a +2 boost for him? Anyway, stays at a 2 like other cards of its ilk.

STOCKABILITY: Aside from the Hupyrians, Ferengi personnel never naturally rise above 7 in STRENGTH, and too many of them fidget around in the 1-5 range. Merchants, dabo girls, waiters, old men... what are you gonna do? STRENGTH boosts are thus quite useful if you want your packrats to stand up to Klingons and Jem'Hadar. Yes, the Disruptor Rifle is more powerful, but the Ferengi aren't necessarily high on Diplomacy. The standard Disruptor still has its place. Either will be downloadable with Gold-Pressed Latinum, but in most cases, I agree, the Rifle will be the better gun for these guys. It's not like they depend on Diplomacy for their missions. A 3.5 seeing as it's not the best thing on the shelf.

TOTAL: 10.1 (50.5%) A generic review, I know.

#868-Ferengi Disruptor Rifle, Equipment, RoA
"Powerful energy weapon. Essential protection for particularly dangerous or unusual missions - such as when rescuing one's moogie from the Dominion."
-Ferengi and Non-Aligned use only. Each of your personnel present is STRENGTH +3, but loses 1 Diplomacy unless aboard your ship. (Cumulative.)

PICTURE: This is the weapon used by Nog in the rescue of his grand-moogie in "The Magnificent Ferengi". What's wrong with that? Well, the Starfleet uniform doesn't help matters (even though Nog CAN use the Rifle even in Federation mode), especially since we can't really tell a Ferengi is using it (even the fingernails look human). I also don't particularly think the Rifle rises above the design level of "toy gun". It's just too sleek and lightweight-looking. I do appreciate that it's more than a prop shot however, so a 3 here.

LORE: Funny! It's all standard lore until Moogie is mentioned, twisting it around to a nice 4.2. Only in Rules of Acquisition...

TREK SENSE: To recap - Rifles suffer from the old standbyes that you can't explain how many weapons exist as the card's location (how one Rifle would give an infinite number of bonuses, or how multiple guns could be split up later), or how multiple Rifles can be handled by a single personnel. Since the Ferengi are not known as walking arsenals, the limit on who can use the Rifle also causes problems. From what we've seen of Quark's short weapon-dealing career, this kind of Rifle is pretty much up for sale and easy to use. So why can't a Klingon or Cardassian use it? Just point and click, right? Most non-military Ferengi probably couldn't get their lobes around how to work one efficiently either. The saving grace of the Rifle is its Diplomacy-hindering feature which makes a lot of sense: Diplomats bearing huge guns are not as welcome as the more benign-looking sort. 2.7 from me.

STOCKABILITY: The Ferengi have generally low STRENGTH, no Diplomacy planet missions to be handicapped by the Rifle and a smooth way to buy Equipment cards with Latinum. The Disruptor is still good when running into Diplomatic walls (dilemmas), but you'll otherwise do much better with Rifles. And with some of those lame Ferengi STRENGTHs, you'll need SOMEthing to protect yourself from bloodthirsty Jem'Hadar, Klingons, etc. A definite 3.9 for these guys.

TOTAL: 13.8 (69%) One of the more useful energy weapons for its designated affiliation.

#879-Ferengi Energy Weapon, Tactic, RoA
ATTACK: 1, DEFENSE: 2
-ATTACK bonus +2 if you have a Ferengi ship firing. Hit = [flip][flip]. Direct hit = [flip][flip][flip][flip].
*Casualties: randomly kills one personnel (on a Nor, one personnel at site of opponent's choice).
RANGE -1, WEAPONS -1, SHIELDS -2, HULL -30%

PICTURE: What else would it be? Though necessarily from the TNG days of unimpressive space battles, the Energy Weapon is at least distinct from other such weapons. Fairly good composition too, my only qualm being that the bursts don't align with the ship very well. 3.4 here.

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

TREK SENSE: This is the basic affiliation Tactic for the Ferengi, so looks a lot like others of its ilk. They usually get 1/2 bonuses and a further +2 Attack bonus for the right affiliation. No difference here, and the baseline stuff makes as much sense as ever. In other words, just enough, while never really fixing the underlying problem of such Tactics: The question of why such cards still confer bonuses to ships that just can't possibly have the named weapon. The Casualties part of the card makes more sense (as usual), especially the part that lets you target specific Sites. People die in space battles, that's a fact well illustrated here. The damage marker stuff is perhaps more telling, in particular where the -2 actually falls. The Ferengi seem more fond of targeting Shields (just like the Romulans). Is that sensible? I think it's more a matter of the energy signature of the attack affecting Shields over the warp core or the Weapons. Just look at the EM burst that is their other Tactic. Same kind of deal there, except with Weapons, but easily translatable. Well thought out at 3.2.

STOCKABILITY: It may not have the sheer appeal of the Plasma Energy Burst, but it can be used by more than just the D'Kora-class ships. That, plus it actually does more substantial damage to ships. Ferengi ships' attributes fluctuate wildly even within the same class sometimes, so the ATTACK/DEFENSE bonuses will also vary in usefulness. A lone B'rel would get the equivalent of WEAPONS/SHIELDS at 8/8 (reasonable), while a Marauder would get 11/10 (before any matching commander-related bonuses). The shuttles? Brunt's would get 6/8 (9/11 with him aboard under Captain's Log). Those are just simple enhancements, similar to everyone else's, but as a damage marker, it's more useful than the EM burst. Standard fare to be sure, but Casulaties are always a plus. A big plus. I'd expect this Tactic to make up most of the Ferengi Battle Bridge, with a couple of others for variety (keep your options open). That Falar downloads it is a minimal advantage since I'd expect the BB to be loaded with them. This would be worth a 3.7.

TOTAL: 13.73 (68.67%) Ferengi can enhance their power in the universe (TM) too.

#890-Ferengi Outpost, Outpost, Ferengi, RoA
"Ferenginar is the rainy, soggy homeworld of the highly capitalistic Ferengi people. The Ferengi Alliance established outposts throughout its territory."
-Seed one OR build where you have a Ferengi ENGINEER.
-SHIELDS: 30

PICTURE: Obviously, the pic is being held back by the fact that outposts are supposed to be in space and never at a homeworld while the image is obviously on Ferenginar's surface. Otherwise though, it looks great. Not only is it unique by virtue of the torrential rain, but the picture caught a flash of lightning as well. Nice detail on the Tower of Commerce (an outside view which is immensely better than its HQ card's inside perspective) and the marsh. See, the Trading Post image would actually have been a more appropriate pic, but I give points to this one for its beauty. A 3.4.

LORE: The usual outpost lore is embellished by some rather colorful adjectives. I like. Still, the repetition has gotten old by now, and the un-revised text says "throughout is territory" which is a sad typo. A 3.3.

TREK SENSE: What's the difference between a Trading Post and a simple Outpost? Plenty when it comes to gameplay, but should there be? The Ferengi by their very nature should only have Trading Posts. The Outpost can't be a Colony either. So it's a military outpost? Could be (though reporting isn't limited to Marauders and their crews), that would make the most sense, especially since we know relatively little about this branch of Ferengi society. Beyond that, the outpost shares in the usual problems of its card type. For example, there's no reason for them to only play in space because there could be ground facilities. Another problem is their potential to be built in hostile space since what you need is Ferengi attemptability, not Ferengi ownership. Would the Bajorans really agree to a Ferengi Outpost at Acquire Illicit Explosives? Or the Cardassians at Kressari Rendezvous? Of course not. Lastly, there's a question as to how an single Engineer can build an entire outpost. Either he only oversees the last few hours of work (but what if there really isn't a Ferengi population nearby?) or he's Superman... I mean, Marauder Mo. There's no problem with the reporting function of Outposts, or with the Shields here. 30 is the established number for the more peaceful affiliations, and since the Ferengi have been painted more or less as good guys in DS9, 30 it is. Takes a quick dip under average at 2.6 (and mostly thanks to the basic nature of Outposts).

SEEDABILITY: If you have access to Ferengi Trading Posts, for god's sake, don't even think of seeding a Ferengi Outpost. Sure, the regular Outpost won't tolerate your opponent's personnel reporting there and has higher SHIELDS, but I'm willing to bet the Outpost (either one) won't be your main reporting engine. The Ferengi not only have the Tower of Commerce, but Quark's Bar as well. Both of these allow for free reports, usually starting the chains of downloads and reporting Ferengi are known for. With those two "facilities" in play, the only reason to play an Outpost would be for playing Spacedoor and the like (Spacedock, getting captives returned, mission specialist downloads, etc.). Well, Trading Post is still an Outpost (one with a seeded ship already), so that'll all work there. Add the fact that Trading Post works with a host of other cards, from HQ: Ferengi Credit Exchange to Starry Night, and there's little reason to use the cheap facility. I'm afraid the fact it's totally dépassé outweighs its usefulness. Only a 1.8.

TOTAL: 11.1 (55.5%) Just seems like it was designed on automatic.

#901-Ferengi PADD, Equipment, RoA
"Standard Ferengi Personal Access Display Device for computerized information."
-Ferengi use only. Each of your personnel CUNNING +2 where present. (Cumulative.)

PICTURE: Yay! A PADD! Hem... scuze me... Yes, a PADD... And not a prop shot! Well, that's cool, isn't it? We're seeing Quark's instructions for oo-mox as offered to Aluura. A great example of a Ferengi PADD in use, which goes a long way in forgiving the gaudy colors of the image (gaudy being in line with Ferengi aesthetics anyway). A good 3.5.

LORE: Eeech. I checked other PADDs and I usually gave 1.8 here. I'll give the same seeing as it's practically the same exact lore. In a vacuum, it's ok that we get the translation for the acronym, but in the overall game, why stick us with the same thing over and over again? Boring. Yeah, 1.8.

TREK SENSE: You know what? Ferengi PADDs, though being identical to all other affiliated PADDs, makes way more sense. Why? Well, for one thing, while the Cunning boost is a little nebulous in other cases, the Ferengi use theirs to write up contracts with which they outwit those not smart enough to read the fine print. So the translation into the attribute boost works much better. Secondly, many PADDs would seem to be useable by just anybody, not just the listed affiliation/species, as long as personnel could read the language. Well, Ferengi looks like a difficult language (it's written like an organigram) and I don't recall any non-Ferengi ever claim to know it (aside from maybe Odo). Of course, those dabo girls have all read their contracts, so I don't know. Finally, the cumulative nature of the card may be more acceptable because the more contracts there are, the more confusing to others. Problems persist, of course. For one, the justifications given above infer the presence of an opposing party which just isn't always present. And second, one PADD = +2 for EVERYone? That's even harder to swallow than the hand weapon boosts. A marked improvement over other models at 3.4.

STOCKABILITY: Decipher keeps making dilemmas that require single personnel to have more and more CUNNING, but are we up to using PADDs yet? Well, it may actually depend on the needs of specific affiliations. How CUNNING are the Ferengi in general? They have a couple of brainiacs like Ishka, quite a few 7 though 9s, and many 6s. They seem smart enough. The OFFICERs however can't fulfill Crimson Forcefield's requirement without help. That said, don't worry too much. The Ferengi can use the PADD to make a cargo run, so nothing's wasted. It's also easier to get into play thanks to Gold-Pressed Latinum. Hits 2.4. Not high, but not as low as many others.

TOTAL: 11.1 (55.5%) Way better than its brethren.

#912-Ferengi Shuttle, Ship, Ferengi, universal, RoA
"Common shuttlecraft of Ferengi design. Dr. Arridor commanded one."
-Shuttlecraft[]
-RANGE: 6, WEAPONS: 3, SHIELDS: 4

PICTURE: Cute. A simple design is helped along by the appearance of what looks like a couple Ferengi in the windshield (real or imagined) and some rare exhaust (it's just like the Ferengi to pollute if it'll save them a dime). That last feature actually hurts the image a little - the front left "tooth" (to our right) of the ship is so blurred, it looks like that stripe of gas crosses behind the ship. No matter, I'm still giving this one a 3.4.

LORE: With the great lore featured on many Rules of Acquistion expansion cards, this one is very disappointing. Ok, there's a (probably unconscious) wink at the card's rarity, and a matching commander given. Blah. Only gets to a 2 with those.

TREK SENSE: What can we really say about a baseline shuttle? It's pretty much no frills, and in this case, isn't even really a basic model against which to compare the others of the class. The Ferengi seem to be big on modifying these small ships, so there's a wide margin between the universal Shuttle, Brunt's and Quark's. As is, I have nothing against any of it, though the Weapons may be a bit high. No problem either with Dr. Arridor's matching commander status - he did command the thing in "The Price". So boring it barely ellicits a 2.9.

STOCKABILITY: I can't really find a reason for using this ship over any others available to the Ferengi. If you're going to use shuttlecraft for the usual functions (Engage Shuttle Operations, Launch Portal, Hidden Fighter, etc.), why not take on of the unique shuttles instead? They're all superior to this one, including for that matter the Mirror Universe version. It's not like you're going to swarm the spaceline with this as an attack fighter given its minuscule attributes. I mean, even a Plaqued and Logged Shuttle with Dr. Arridor aboard is only 8-6-7 and there can only ever be one. So to download Dr. Arridor (a highly-skilled personnel) via Ready Room Door? That's about it. Cargo runs can be made by ANY Ferengi ship, so nothing there. A B'rel isn't much harder to staff if you really wanna swarm or use Spacedoor. Nope, this one's a bust at 1.7.

TOTAL: 10 (50%) Seems generous even.

#923-Forced-Labor Camp, Objective, RoA
-Seeds or plays on Cardassia IV, Ligos VII or your planet that has Geology or Archaeology as a requirement. Your [Car] and [Fer] personnel may attempt mission. On Cardassia IV or Ligos VII, changes your mission requirements to these: SECURITY + Geology + STRENGTH>(mission points x2). After you solve, while you escort a captive on this planet, you may draw one additional card at end of each turn.

PICTURE: Anyone else think this is kind of boring? The elements are all there - arid landscape, slave-driven Bajorans, Cardassian guards and big metal gourds - but everything is from so far away it doesn't have much of an impact. The back wall does create a looming, oppressive presence, but the buck stops at 3.1.

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

TREK SENSE: A sort of alternate mission that can be attempted at many places, this is the kind of objective that really does lend more Trek Sense to the game. Now, apparently, only Cardassians and Ferengi operate Forced-Labor Camps. Cardassians, we already know about. The pic is one such Cardassian camp, you could say Terok Nor was one too, plus there's the one Tom Riker was sent to. Ferengi? The bad ones do tend to exploit people, but I'm not entirely certain this meshes with their style too much. Seems a little brutal. I'm also unhappy with the lack of other affiliations being able to use the card. In particular, the Breen (Dominion) who ran such a camp where Ziyal was a captive. The Klingons in Star Trek VI ran such a camp as well. No proof about the Romulans, but I wouldn't be surprised. The Kazon seem like a good bet too. And how about the Feds' New Zealand penal colony? You telling me there wasn't work to be done there? The Camp can't be placed just anywhere either. It's gotta be about digging. Cardassian IV is a natural (it's on the pic). Ligos VII (Distress Mission)? That's what Lurin had in store for the Enterprise crewmembers in "Rascals". Otherwise, it's any mission with either Geology (dig for rocks) or Archaeology (dig for treasure). What is unfortunate here is that not all of these two dozen or so missions really require digging despite the required skill. Geology missions for example, include Agricultural Assessment and Survey Instability which are studies rather than mining operations. Archaeology mission include Plague Planet and Quest for the Sword which don't appear to require digging, but rather spelunking or archaeological knowledge. It's also unfortunate that these planets may not sit anywhere near the Ferengi or Cardassian territories, but would still be used to run a Camp, even in the DQ! For these generic Camp sites, the requirements don't even change to match the Camp's narrow focus. For Cardassia IV and Ligos VII however, they do (the two exceptions are very far removed from Camp activity). Running the Camp requires Security (of course) and Geology (to tell the prisoners where to dig and for what) and Strength (which just goes with the Security). The points to Strength ratio is as good a way as any to balance the card, and represents either 50 or 70 Strength. That seems like a lot now that I look at it. I would have thought the prisoners would be weaker than that and easier to keep in line. There's a further reward to running a Camp (additional to points): Having a captive here allows you to draw extra resources (another card from draw deck) at the end of the day (turn). The usual caveats apply: Ore can translate into ships, equipment and lots of "material" stuff, but not as personnel, or non-material concepts. There's also no cumulativity on the same planet, and more captives won't mean more production. I'm not suggesting it should be that way, but perhaps you'd need more than one captive to initiate the effect. One personnel does not a productive Camp make. Of course, I'm sure the Camp is full of prisoner Bobs. I like the basic premise, but the plot holes do cost points, and that means a 3.1 here.

STOCKABILITY: This card is excellent for a number of reasons. First it gives much-needed options to both the Cardassians and the Ferengi. The Ferengi in particular will enjoy the new batch of missions since they have fewer of them to start with, AND Lurin can download it, supplying Geology for about half of those. At Rescue Prisoners and Distress Mission, it shouldn't be too hard to come up with the alternate requirements. The Cardassians can use Overseer Odo to supply them all, the Ferengi have Morta. Either of them with a high-STRENGTH contingent can solve both missions with acceptable redudancy. Once solved, taking a captive there affords you extra card draws, like a more controllable Traveller: Transcendence. Cumulativity kicks in once you have more than one Forced-Labor Camp each with an escorted captive for even more card draws. Neat trick: If your opponent seeded Rescue Prisoners and so seeded Bajoran prisoners underneath, you can solve it first, immediately take the prisoners captive, drop a personnel there as an escort and start racking in the card draws. Forced-Labor Camp also gives you more freedom to explore other quadrants (the universal Colony Preparations, for example, as a Colony there can supply both points and the escort) for Latinum (75th Rule) or simple Explore Gamma Quadrant points. Certainly makes those Geology and Archaeology personnel in each of the two affiliations more useful. A strong 4.

TOTAL: 13.6 (68%) Great, but Trek Sense got sacrificed a little in order to make it useful where it was most needed.

#934-Frool, Personnel, Ferengi, universal, RoA
"Typical Ferengi waiter. Serves his employers as well as can be expected for a young, impatient, aspiring opportunist."
-CIVILIAN, Greed, Youth; Reports for free to Ferengi Trading Post
-INTEGRITY: 4, CUNNING: 5, STRENGTH: 4

PICTURE: Frool looks like an opportunist all right, but my best memory of him has him cowering in front of Brunt, and this isn't it. The dark colors and furnitured background also don't inspire. If at least he'd been waiting tables... Just a 2.8.

LORE: Universality is first acknowledged, then run into the ground. That's not necessarily a bad thing mind you, but the lore could describe any Ferengi waiter (including Pel) and has nothing just for Frool. Seems like there's just enough room for "scared of the FCA" or something like that. Not badly done, but a little disappointing. A 3.

TREK SENSE: We might as well forget all about Frool specifically and concentrate our attention on the archetype he represents: the Ferengi waiter. A lot of young (Youth) Ferengi do go into such professions to start their business careers (Quark started on a freighter). Such a position can't be anything but Civilian, and Greed is not only a racial trait, but the way of life in a Ferengi bar/restaurant. Ferengi Trading Posts must be like Quark's multiplied by all the space avalaible, and since waiters already report for free at Quark's, why not give the typical Ferengi waiter the same opportunity at the Trading Post. It make sense because that's where you'd find these guys. Integrity would be low but not on the murderer level (hiding tips from the boss, short-changing, etc.), Cunning wouldn't be very high because they have no or little experience, and Strength would also go pretty low since they're Ferengi non-combatants. Well done, though again, I would have liked a little more "Froolness", which might just have meant a point less Strength or a 211th Rule-related skill/restriction. I'm giving the card a 3.9 nonetheless.

STOCKABILITY: Greed, Youth and CIVILIAN may not seem like big winners, but the fact that Frool is a universal Ferengi waiter holds a lot of weight when you factor in other cards. The Greed is still required in multiple for a lot of Ferengi objectives (he's not very well dressed, so he might make a good enough target for the 47th Rule), and universal Youth might be used in combination with Ooby Dooby, but mission solving isn't really for this guy unless you actually need low attributes (and you sometimes do as with Chula: The Drink) or want a nice sacrificial lamb. But as a waiter? Whoah, Nelly. Now, you've already noticed that he reports for free at the Trading Post and without limit. No "one per turn" like at Quark's Bar (where he also reports for free), so you could conceivably drop a great number of Frools down on any given turn. Now add the 211th Rule of Acquisition to sabotage your opponent's hand. For every Frool (and other waiter) + dabo girl present at either the FTP or Quark's, your opponent has to throw away a card from their hand whenever they play an interrupt during your turn. Their having personnel present reduces this discard, but killing your Frools would result in further discard penalties at Quark's. Your best strategy: report the waiters at the Post, but fly them over to Quark's as soon as possible. Enemy personnel can unfortunately report to your Trading Post. To a Nor too, but less easily and with a better chance to respond (plus Quark's built-in penalty). Ferengi Conference could be a handy way to get some Frools and maybe a dabo girl to Quark's. Speaking of dabo girls, not only do they up the ante, but Aluura boosts Frool's attributes by +2 each. As a 6-7-6 (8-9-8 with Lower Decks) personnel, I'd be more inclined to have him fight back during those bar brawls, or even go mission solving. Bribery will get you more Youth missions than just Camping Trip, and Arandis certainly allows him to help solve Risa Shore Leave. Much better than he seems at 4.

TOTAL: 13.7 (68.5%) This boy's got a future.

#946-Gaila, Personnel, Ferengi, RoA
"Arms dealer. Owed his cousin Quark a shuttle. Made good on his debt, but booby-trapped the ship. Involved with Hagath. Helped rescue Ishka from the Dominion."
-CIVILIAN, Treachery, Greed x2, Smuggling, ENGINEER, SECURITY; SD Hidden Fighter; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 2, CUNNING: 8, STRENGTH: 5

PICTURE: Gaila never worked for me as a Ferengi. His face is too long and mean... I dunno. Just seems like the make-up is a bad fit on this actor. Here, add what looks like a sweater and jacket ensemble and you have a definite loser. An ugly 2.

LORE: "Involved with Hagath," is that akin to "romantically involved"? Surely not, but the words did catch my attention. Gaila's lore is a little telegraphic, but there is some good material here, and they made an effort to include his every appearance (even offstage ones like that of "Little Green Men"). The only thing that may be missing is his ownership of a moon. Being an arms dealer is likewise important since it gives him a couple of extra abilities. A pretty complete 3.5.

TREK SENSE: Knowing a lot about guns has its advantages, because while Gaila is certainly a Civilian merchantman, he has to  understand how weapons work and how to install them aboard ships which may make him an Engineer, and he has to understand how to use them which gives him some measure of Security. See, I don't really buy all those classifications. I mean, it seems to go a bit far. He's a dealer, not a builder and certainly not a soldier. The Security may be used to bypass local law, but his ineptness in "The Magnificent Ferengi" tells me there's exaggeration at work here. Maybe the Engineer comes from his sabotage of Quark's shuttle? He did a fine job there, completely befuddling the genial Rom, but for some reason, I ddin't think he'd actually done it himself. The other 3 standard skills work fine however, since you would need to be pretty treacherous (with attendent Integrity) to be in the weapons business (and to foist a dangerous lemon on your own cousin), but a lot of Greed will allow you to justify your actions. Smuggling is of course used to traffic in arms here. Gaila got so outrageously rich from the arms trade that he really should have Acquisition though. His gift of a shuttle to Quark is represented by the special download for a Hidden Fighter, which works mechanically even if the storyline implications are different (i.e. gets you the right kind of ship). For one thing, he delivered it to the station, not on a planet. No problems with the Staff icon or with the attributes. To be successful in his business would require him to be skillful, cunning and tough enough. Gaila's about ¾ ok by my standards. A 3.7.

STOCKABILITY: First of all, Gaila is a rare arms dealer who can use the 34th Rule at maximum efficiency (for 3 Latinums) and is required to report the Breen CRM114 super-weapon. He's also matching commander for the fast little shuttle known as Quark's Treasure, boosting that vessel to a potential 11-6-7 and reporting there via Ready Room Door if need be. Better yet, his special download can GET you the shuttle (or any other staffless ship) if he's at the planet's location, plus the card you need to take off, land and be carried aboard Marauders. The skill list is pretty impressive too. He's triple-classification, combining the CIVILIAN needed to report for free to the Tower of Commerce or join a Ferengi Conference, with the always important ENGINEER (another way to download Quark's Treasure thanks to Construct Starship) and SECURITY (download him via Defend Homeworld for a first turn appearance). The rest fits easily in any Ferengi mission solving startegy, especially with the rather rare Smuggling (also allowing Small Cloaking Device to report to Gaila's Treasure [sic]) and the double-dose of THE Ferengi skill, Greed. Hey, and let's not forget the 6th Rule which'll let him trade family members (Quark, Ishka and Rom are all targets) for hand weapons when completing Kressari Rendezvous. He only targets very good personnel though, so I wouldn't be that eager to do so. Gaila is part of the Kennedy family of Ferenginar and doesn't disappoint. A cool 4.1.

TOTAL: 13.3 (66.5%) Well dressed.

#958-George Primmin, Personnel, Federation, RoA
"Starfleet security officer assigned to Deep Space 9. Annoyed Odo. Discovered a subspace crossover shunt placed on station by the criminal Rao Vantika in 2369."
-SECURITY, SECURITY, Computer Skill, Biology; Once per game, may nullify Computer Crash; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 7, CUNNING: 6, STRENGTH: 7

PICTURE: Pulling the shot where he gets dressed down by Sisko kind of undermines his character, but it does create that "serious" look that matches that of many other cards. An adequate 3.1.

LORE: The first sentence doesn't tell the whole story of his assignment to Deep Space 9, but the "annoyed Odo" is kinda fun even without it. Besides, a fuller backstory would have eliminated the last sentence which explains the otherwise obscure special skill. I'd give it a 3.5.

TREK SENSE: As co-security chief of Deep Space 9, the double Security may be warranted, but doesn't seem deserved. According to "Move Along Home", he's only been a security officer for 6 years (compare to Worf or Tuvok) and he wasn't on the job for very long. Micheal Eddington certainly has the same credentials, but isn't rated the same. I might even give his losing the senior staff in the aforementioned episode as adequate reason for cutting back on his Security. The Computer Skill and special ability are both confirmed in "The Passenger" when he discovers a shunt exactly like the one that caused a Computer Crash (right down to that card's image) earlier in the episode. Once per game is likewise fine, since he hadn't discovered the first one. I don't know what to think of Biology though. He does nothing in either of his episodes to suggest he really deserves the skill. Bad mojo. The fiasco in "Move Along Home" and shaky relationship with Sisko and Odo certainly account for his less than stellar Cunning, and the other attributes are fine. Primmin has a good special skill, which helps a lot, but the rest of the package isn't up to par. A 2.9.

STOCKABILITY: The more special downloads and download effects we get, the more troublesome Computer Crash becomes. Now, 10 and 01 can be used by the Feds to ignore Computer Crash totally, but Primmin is a more efficient personnel for them. See, they have plenty of ENGINEERs, but fewer good SECURITY personnel, so George is a better all around personnel for them, and he can nullify the offending card once (when it counts most). Depends on your needs, I'd say. Primmin is one of only 2 Federation super-SECURITY personnel (the other being the very hot Luther Sloan), so excellent for passing the newer wave of SECURITY dilemmas (Ferengi Infestation, Assassin's Blade, Surprise Assault, etc.). His Biology cannot be weeded out by eliminating MEDICAL, a frequent dilemma combo strategy when seeding Aphasia Device. And the Computer Skill is always useful. Ok attributes finish off this personnel card. He's got some good qualities so I'll give him a 3.6.

TOTAL: 13.1 (65.5%) Looks like the rating he probably got by Sisko.

#970-Gold-Pressed Latinum, Equipment, RoA
"Valuable liquid latinum encased in relatively worthless gold dust. Standard of exchange throughout the Ferengi Alliance. Typically traded in bars, strips and slips; 1 bar = 20 strips = 2,000 slips."
-Once each turn, on a Trading Post, homeworld or Quark's Bar, you may discard two Latinum (one if your Acquisition present) to download a non-Latinum Equipment card there.

PICTURE: A prop shot since the best possible picture of LOADS of latinum was probably used for the 1st Rule of Acquisition, but it gives us a chance to see some of the detailing. They're almost like hieroglyphics, aren't they? The gray tabletop makes the gold shine even more that it normally would. A nice 3.6 (high for a prop shot).

LORE: I like the exchange values for the various denominations (what, no bricks?), and though I think they may have been mentioned somewhere (like "Body Parts"), makes a handy guide at understanding 24th-century currency. The worthlessness of gold is also fun, and the only thing I might have a problem with is the emphasis on the Ferengi Alliance. I mean, we've seen plenty of people use this. I'll go as high as a 3.7.

TREK SENSE: The effect listed on the card itself, I must say, is only scratching the surface as it appears on many many other cards, but let's stick to that, at least for now. You can use Latinum, it seems, to buy Equipment (sure, why not) at various select Ferengi outlets. Now, these differ in Sensibility. Trading Posts are quite natural. Quark's Bar is slightly less so, because Equipment isn't the main ware here, but Quark does sell more than food and drink under the table. Homeworlds are another matter. First, they aren't limited to Ferengi (though I'm sure Ferenginar does a lot of business), so include places that are relatively unfriendly to money such as the Federation, Klingon and even Dominion homeworlds. Are we to believe that we're buying from Ferengi even at these worlds? Founder's Homeworld? Really? Anyway, I do like how having an Acquisition personnel gets you a better bargain, but there is some haze to how much Latinum each card represents. A PADD is worth as much as an Echo Papa, for example. When cross-referencing with other cards, it seems like 2 Latinum is equal to any normal permanent purchase (Equipment here, Vacuum-Dessicated Remains as well). 1 Latinum is used in gambling (Dabo) or to grease some wheels (Bribery). They quickly balloon though, because as soon as you mention or infer ships, moons, and the like, you only reach 4 or 5 Latinum. I'll accept some logarithmic scales so that the game doesn't get out of hand, but it had to be mentioned. More good than bad, it's an elegant solution to the Ferengi bias. A 3.8.

STOCKABILITY: Well, there's positively no other card that is as cross-referenced on other cards as much as this one. What can you do with Latinum? Obviously, you can buy (download) Equipment cards at 2 GPL a pop (just one with Acquisition personnel present). Smuggling and Greed personnel may use one for Bribery to either add a Ferengi attemptability icon onto a mission or nullify the loss of bonus points under the 10 mark. Ferengi Credit Exchange transforms Latinum into points, card draws or recycling. Oh, and it helps solve Purchase Moon, adding to its points. These are mostly Ferengi effects in that they generally require Ferengi personnel, sites, facilities or missions, but others will find some use for them, especially thanks to their own (or NA) Acquisition personnel. Downloading Equipment can be a valuable and flexible way to go about things, for example, but the trick will always be to get Latinum quickly and easily, at once emptying your deck of it and then getting the cards that work with it. Thankfully, there are even more ways to get Latinum than there are to use it. A number of Rules of Acquisition are concerned with the acquisition of Latinum, for example, all of which enjoy the perks of The Ferengi Rules, Staff of the Grand Nagus, et al. The 1st Rule allows you to download GPL from the discard pile, eliminating the need for a superfluous number of them in your deck, and also allows you to download one once per game. The 34th Rule gets you Latinum for battling, the 35th for NOT battling. The 75th offers some as a reward for solving missions in another quadrant. Dabo gets them into Quark's pocket depending on the number of dabo girls he has present. Vacuum-Dessicated Remains get you Latinum for just-killed Ferengi. It reports for free to Ishka, is special downloaded by Morn and may be a reward for cargo runs. Now, note that most of these effects require Acquisition personnel again, but since you need them to achieve the best effects, they'll be there. It really depends on how much you want to dedicate your deck to Latinum-based stategies. For the Ferengi, it comes naturally since they can get ahold of it more easily and would tend to need it more for their mission solving (including for Bribery). For others, the incentive may not be there. It's good, but not for everyone. A 3.7.

TOTAL: 14.8 (74%) That's gold baby, gold!

#982-Goss, Personnel, Ferengi, RoA
"Uninvited participant in the 2366 Barzan wormhole negociations. DaiMon. Conspired with Devinoni Ral to deceive. Preoccupied with getting his own chair."
-OFFICER, Greed, Treachery x2; SD Latinum Payoff; MEDICAL; Wormhole Negociations has [Fer]; Command icon
-INTEGRITY: 5, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 7

PICTURE: The usual TNG color schemes are here - ugly grays and purples and beiges - but Goss is all smiles and appropriately scheming. That counts for something, as does the fact that he's sitting in a big chair, if the lore's taken into account. A fairly good 3.5.

LORE: There are a couple of fun things here, such as the fact that he was "uninvited" at the negotiations, and of course, the thing about the chair which is a hoot. The other two phrases have been cut short however, and are very weak. Simply telling us he's a DaiMon for example, is a poor way to insure him Calandra's bonuses. Meanwhile, "Conspired [...] to deceive" seems to be missing an object. Mostly positive though at 3.4.

TREK SENSE: Goss is a DaiMon, so both Officer and Command. As a Ferengi, we shouldn't be surprised at his Greed (demonstrated on the show anyway). The double Treachery may be a bit much though. Yes, he practiced to deceive, but is he really in the same company as The Intendent, Seska and Lore? Those guys are downright evil! Goss just seemed a little criminal to me. Not quite the killer some of these others are, despite the near-fatal poisoning of another of the guests. That use of killer pyrocites would account for the Medical though. (Ok, ok, maybe for the Treachery x2 too.) Latimum Payoff is a card that comes from "The Price" just like he does, and makes a good special download for him, though ship destruction was not the basis for his particular Payoff. As for the last ability, I think it's the cream of the crop. Not only SHOULD Wormhole Negotiations be attemptable by the Ferengi, I agree that it probably shouldn't say so on the mission. Goss WAS a fly in their soup, so he should add the attemptability icon midway through the "episode". Attributes? Well, the Integrity is another proof that he shouldn't sport Treachery x2. It's just not low enough. Cunning's fine, and Strength is acceptable, though Ferengi only rarely look like they should get higher than 6. That special skill does a lot of good on an otherwise dodgy effort. A 3.6.

STOCKABILITY: Goss has a lot going for him. First is the ultra-useful (to Ferengi) Greed and Treachery, the first of which is featured on many Rules of Acquisition (note also his relationship with Arridor and Kol for purposes of the 6th Rule). That double-dose of Treachery will prove especially useful in solving the mission he allows his affiliation to attempt. Treachery x4 can even be attained with just him and Brunt (both x2s). Wormhole Negotiations is a high point mission, and one possible gateway into the Delta Quadrant if that is your wish. Treachery x2 will also download him a hand weapon with The Art of Diplomacy, and seeing as he's got good STRENGTH already, he may well be point man in personnel battles anyway. MEDICAL is rare for the Ferengi, and Goss may only be second to Dr. Arridor when it comes to having plenty of other skills to supplement it. Latinum Payoff will get you points for killing OFFICERs in space battles, and though the Ferengi aren't the best battlers in the game, should you want to avail yourself of that strategy, Goss will allow you to profit from battle, suspending play to do so if he has to. Good overall attributes round out this personnel which definitely deserves a 3.8.

TOTAL: 14.3 (71.5%) Enough to buy that chair?

#994-Gral, Personnel, Ferengi, RoA
"Aggressive Ferengi opportunist. Diplomatically, but insistently, threatened Quark with a protection racket while Quark was briefly serving as the Grand Nagus."
-CIVILIAN, Greed, Treachery, Acquisition, Diplomacy, SECURITY; SD Protection Racket
-INTEGRITY: 3, CUNNING: 6, STRENGTH: 6

PICTURE: Nothing wrong with this picture, there's even a mean look on his face, but face it, the image used for Protection Racket was a little better. A competent, but not incredibly interesting 3.2.

LORE: A good vocabulary spices this one up, with plenty of adjectives and adverbs to color his personality. I do feel, however, that they tried to drive home the Diplomacy a bit too much here. 3.5 should do it.

TREK SENSE: Gral is a nasty Ferengi businessman, one of the "mafia dons" from the Ferengi Conference. So as a Ferengi merchant, he deserves the Civilian, Greed and Acquisition. His trying to run a Protection Racket (perfect download) on Quark gets him the Treachery and low Integrity, and according to the lore, the Diplomacy. I'm not really complaining in that businessmen have to negotiate all the time, and that this kind of Diplomacy can be seen on various Romulans for example. Strong-arm diplomacy is still Diplomacy. The Security no doubt stems from that as well, as leg-breaking is a soldierly activity of sorts. Low Cunning can be explained by his lack of finesse, and the Strength isn't particularly high because he would send somebody else to do his dirty work. All quite acceptable, even if its seems that Decipher's pushing it to get a few of the skills onto a Ferengi card, but it works well enough. A 4.

STOCKABILITY: Gral's skill list is a good one. He has SECURITY and Diplomacy, both highly useful against dilemmas but not extremely common in the Ferengi affiliation. The rest - Greed, Treachery and Acquisition - are quite common both on Ferengi personnel and their missions, not to mention a variety of Rules of Acquisitions. Gral can thus easily be inserted into your Ferengi deck, both for the rarer skills and for the skill redundancy. Being a CIVILIAN allows you to download him via Ferengi Conference and to defend him with Bodyguards (with those low attributes, he'll need it). The special download's usefulness depends on your ability to exploit this very subtle card. Gral can ask anything of your opponent by threatening to kill one of his personnel, and the fact that it's a special download allows you to suspend play to get the card into play at any time, even in the middle of a mission attempt or battle. That extra flexibility can severely retard your opponent (request they stop their attempt) or save your Ferengi (ask they do not retaliate), etc. Gral need only be at the same location as, not present with, the target personnel anyway. A strong showing all around at another 4.

TOTAL: 14.7 (73.5%) Not the San Graal of Ferengi decks, but useful.

#1006-Grand Nagus Gint, Personnel, Ferengi, AU, RoA
"The first Grand Nagus. Credited with writing the Rules of Acquisition. Appeared in Quark's dream; looked a lot like Rom. Told Quark the Rules were a marketing ploy."
-VIP, Greed x2, Acquisition, Law, Archaeology; SD Bribery; SD Any [Rule] card; Command icon
-INTEGRITY: 4, CUNNING: 9, STRENGTH: 1

PICTURE: Very orange, isn't it? Well, as pretty much the founder of Ferengi society as we know it, the affiliation's color can stand to be prominent in his picture. Still, it's a bit saturated. I do like the Ferengi writing on the wall, almost hieroglyphic in style on those walls from some mummy's tomb. (Mummy indeed!) A very nice except for the color, so a 3.4.

LORE: Good stuff. The first two phrases give us his identity in a nutshell, then we get the context in which he appeared. We also get a line about his looking like Rom, fun since Max Grodénchik played the character as well. And not how they used a semi-colon to separate that and the stuff about dreams, pretty much stating that Gint only looked like Rom because his appearance was filtred through Quark's subconscious. And finally, they didn't forget the very juicy tidbit about the Rules being a marketing play. Excellent all around at an even 4.

TREK SENSE: The original Grand Nagus appears curtesy of Quark's dream, so he gets the AU icon for that, though he would have gotten it anyway for being from the far past. I'm not so sure he makes an appropriate personnel card as a dream figment though, since I don't really know how he could ever leave Quark's head to interact with other personnel. Good thing he's also a historical figure. A Nagus is certainly a VIP, and definitely deserves a Command icon. Now as for skills, we don't really know much about him, but if we take him to be the archetypal Ferengi (the Kahless of his race), we can readily accept his double Greed and his Acquisition (which probably should have been at x2 too). Because he wrote the Rules that govern Ferengi society, Law is appropriate, as is the download of any of those Rules. Archaeology? Not so sure. Maybe the fact that he is a past character that knows he is in the present (is from a dream, not truly the past) makes him knowledgeable on the past in such a way as to mimic Archaeology. The Bribery download is likewise iffy. I mean, it's got its place on almost any Ferengi, especially one as filthy rich as this one, but I'm not sure I see a direct connection. Attributes? Integrity is on the low side to account for his duping the entire Ferengi people (for generations!). Cunning this high would be required to achieve that result. And the Strength of 1 goes with his decrepit and wizened physical condition. As with any character that got little airtime, some choices are debatable. A good effort nonetheless at 3.7.

STOCKABILITY: A very important personnel in your Ferengi deck, Gint has the skills you'll find on all the Ferengi missions and Rules cards, plus a great download of any [Rule] card, which includes the Ferengi Rules equipment card itself. You can report him for free to the Tower of Commerce and from there, start racking in the latinum in any of a variety of ways, depending on what Rule you want to download, or by using his Acquisition in combination with other cards such as the Credit Exchange. Bribery is a very good download for the Ferengi, especially if you want to use non-Ferengi missions in your spaceline, but also to free captives or cancel point losses. Hey, if you're gonna rack in the latinum, might as well spend it too. He also has two other skills relatively rare in the Ferengi affiliation: Law and Archaeology. Law is the better of the two because it is featured on some important dilemmas and really is rare, while Archaeology, not as rare, is more of a mission-solving asset. Of course, it's very dangerous to bring Gint along on missions because of his ultra-low STRENGTH, so Bodyguards may be a good idea. That helps in personnel battle (so guard him even on your facility), but not so much for dilemmas. Maybe you could up his STRENGTH by buying lots of hand weapons with your massive Gold-Pressed Latinum stores? Gint is a Nagus, dont forget, so he can be brought in with Going to the Top, can pass Executive Authorization, allow personnel downloads at Ferengi Conference, and use the Scepter to protect your Rules. Don't forget to use a Space-Time Portal to get him into play either (a minor disadvantage given the lack of AU Ferengi). So he can be of use on mission attempts, no doubt about it, but you'll mostly enjoy his flexible downloads to get your resources out and managed as soon as possible. A cool 4.3.

TOTAL: 15.4 (77%) He really does make the Ferengi Alliance snowball.

#1018-Grand Nagus Zek, Personnel, Ferengi, RoA
"Ageing financial and political leader of the Ferengi Alliance. Romantically - and secretly - involved with Ishka. Admits he's not as greedy as he used to be."
-VIP, Acquisition, Greed, Leadership, Law, Diplomacy; SD HQ: Ferengi Credit Exchange; Orb icon; Command icon
-INTEGRITY: 5, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 2

PICTURE: Though somewhat lacking in the verve Zek is known for (his eyes are closed!), there's something fitting about both his head and that of the staff being at the same angle. Big nagus, tiny nagus. But the stiffness of this first appearance coupled with a lot of too-dark purple does take away from the whole. A 3.4.

LORE: Nicely done, with some nuance to most everything, from the fact he's "ageing", to his "secret" involvement with Ishka. Certainly makes the usual lore stapes more interesting. Love the line about greed too. A good 3.8.

TREK SENSE: VIP/Command/Leadership is an obvious combo for the leader of an interstellar government, and both Acquisition and Greed fit the Ferengi mold. Why not have those two last skills at the x2 level? Well, though Zek was once a brilliant financier, this is a later version of the Nagus (as evidenced in his lore-attested relationship to Ishka). Since Quark's moogie now runs the show behind the scenes and Zek is a little out of it, his Acquisition is just fine at x1. As for the Greed, check the lore. Law may be because of Zek's legislative power (he reformed Ferengi society), and Diplomacy was evidenced in his dealing with other Ferengi businessmen and the Gamma Quadrant. The Orb icon was born when Zek consulted the Orb of Wisdom while in the wormhole (glad that tidbit didn't pass the designers by). The special download is another government perk and slips in relatively seamlessly with his running the Alliance (his advice to other Ferengi, parcelling out of markets, etc.). I think the attributes make sense too. His Integrity is a little on the fence - he's a good guy, but not above strong-arming Quark and others. His Cunning might've been higher in his younger days. And the Strength is of course decrepit. I really can't complain about this one. It'd be fair to call it a 4.5 (the special download could have been a number of things).

STOCKABILITY: A Nagus is a powerful thing for the Ferengi. Not only can they report for free at the Tower of Commerce, can be downloaded by Going to the Top and pass Executive Authorization, but they also enable a host of downloads (Ferengi Conference, Ferengi Rules of Acquisition) and can use Scepter of the Grand Nagus to get free Rules cards out and protect them. Zek furthermore has both Greed and Acquisition which are required of most Rules cards (and the 59th specifically asks for a Nagus). Those two skills are eminently present on Ferengi missions too. The Leadership enables him to battle, perhaps leading some bodyguards like Maihar'du to action (the Hupyrian can be downloaded via Conference and downloads Bodyguards himself). Zek is one of the few Ferengi with Law, which is great for passing such dilemmas as Drumhead, and the Diplomacy is an always useful skill as well (from Q-Nets to Shaka). The Orb icon (also present on Quark) makes Zekky able to use Return Orb to Bajor to pick up some interesting artifacts, occasioning some free card plays (Orb of Wisdom) or some card peeking (Orb of Prophecy and Change), for example. Orb Experience can also supplement that peeking. He downloads Ferengi Credit Exchange, saving you a card slot which he himself can use to "process ore" for lack of a better term (or let's use "process latinum"). He could do so unmolested at Quark's Bar in the mirror universe since he's compatible with the Alliance thanks to their Emblem. If you're afraid of his being attacked to curtail either the processing, peeking or whatnot, try to get the Scepter out to him. Even if his STRENGTH is very low, the Scepter can stun his opponent every time. And of course add Ishka to the mix to make him a super-Ferengi. With her around, not only does he get a good source of Latinum for his Credit Exchange or various Rules-related activities, but he's also Acquisition x2, Greed x2, Leadership x2, Law x2 and Diplomacy x2. Missions, dilemmas and even tribbles, here we come! Lots to recommend here, and as with a lot of Ferengi, he works best when linked to other cards. A 4.4.

TOTAL: 16.1 (80.5%) A new Ferengi high score!

#1030-Gunrunning, Mission, space, Ferengi, RoA
Military checkpoint: Get lethal cargo past patrol ship to conclude lucrative arms deal with local interests.
-Greed x2 + Smuggling x2 + Anthropology + CUNNING>28 + (hand weapon OR Echo Papa 607)
-Span: 3; 40 points

PICTURE: A nice little paste-up job of two Hideki-class Patrol Ships, with the same lighting, but a slight variance on rotation to make them look more natural (though not flying in formation). The star is added to balance the composition. I like it. A 4.

LORE: I like the location "military checkpoint" which is an original title to an otherwise non-descript patch of space. The description of the mission is axed towards the Ferengi ("lucrative") and well described. A very good effort at 3.9.

TREK SENSE: One note before going into the requirements - with the Cardassian ships pictured on the card, it might have been nice if the reverse of the card would have been attemptable by the Cardies with different requirements, but the lore is generic enough for the checkpoint to be any affiliation (ignoring the pic and the inspiration for the card being "Tribunal"). The Ferengi are good candidates for this kind of operation, though Non-Aligned mercenaries might also have been included. The mission requires a double dose of Greed which replaces bravery in the Ferengi ethic (this is a dangerous mission). Smuggling is the key skill, of course, again the x2 reflecting the necessary boldness required to run this gauntlet. The next two skills are a little odd. I suppose they are meant to represent an understanding of "local interests", but perhaps it's an understanding of the patrol ships' affiliation too. Finally, we need either a hand weapon or an Echo Papa (a weapon, just not a hand weapon, glad to see it included), but a problem seeps in here. Basically, you don't need to go and discard these weapons anywhere later (perhaps right here to simulate a later sale). Why run guns then not sell them? Kressari Rendezvous should be the follow-up misson, but there's no way to enforce that. I'm also surprised that you can't use an arms dealer specifically. 40 points indeed is lucrative for the Ferengi. No problem with the Span. I've dredged up enough questions to only make this mission a 2.8.

SEEDABILITY: The Ferengi have a few 40-point missions, but none so axed toward their redundant skills. Greed and Smuggling are two of their most common skills and they can buy (download) a weapon with a couple Gold-Pressed Latinum very easily. The required CUNNING is pretty low, so again, easy to come up with, and that only leaves Anthropology which is only held by a little more than a half-dozen Ferengi, but might I suggest Quark who has Greed and Smuggling too? Following up with Kressari Rendezvous as mentioned above not only uses some of the same requirements, but can actually discard a hand weapon for points. It's one more mission whose points Dr. Farek can add to (Kathleen Tonell could do the same with the Anthropology). An easy 40-50 points, and no other affiliation can attempt it. I can safely call this one a 4.

TOTAL: 14.7 (73.5%) Missions are getting tighter and tighter, with good results.

#1042-Hagath, Personnel, Non-Aligned, RoA
"Humanoid arms dealer. Associate of Quark's cousin Gaila. Ruthless. Treats his business associates like family - until they cross him."
-CIVILIAN, Acquisition, Treachery x2, Anthropology, ENGINEER; Your hand weapons may report here; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 2, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 5

PICTURE: That's cousin Gaila standing behind what must be one of the slimiest characters to ever star in Trek. He looks wealthy, stylish, well surrounded and coldly dangerous, but at the same time a little sympathetic. Sounds like Hagath all right. Nothing really special, just appropriate. A 3.5.

LORE: Ah, not human? Ok. With a name like that I suppose. The big plus here is that he's named as an arms dealer, which is worth a lot. Not sure why they had to divorce the word "ruthless" from the previous sentence. It just seems to dangle there when it could have been in "ruthless associate of..." The last line is a very nice comment about the character and manages to also hint at a mob connection (in feel). Again, a reasonably good effort at 3.7.

TREK SENSE: Hagath is a Non-Aligned businessman, and that is certainly a Civilian profession, and Acquisition seems a natural. No Greed? Well, he was so wealthy, I'm not sure he was doing it for money anymore. His double Treachery testifies to that: someone doing something for the pure evil of it. The arms dealing pretty much takes over the rest of the card. You've got your Anthropology to understand your customer and the various wars they are engaged in. You've got your Engineer to understand and no doubt design your merchandise. And you've got your hand weapon reporting ability in order to show your wares. Though a Civilian, the Staff icon isn't difficult to accept - he had his own ship after all, and is rated as an Engineer anyway. Integrity at 2 is high for the amount of nastiness he represents, but low for the loyalty he showed his associates. Well, it was more a matter of having other people being loyal to HIM, so I'll applaud this happy "middle" on the attribute. He's smart, but was still fooled by Quark's 8 Cunning. And though no longer a young man, he's quite capable of fits of violence, so the Strength 5 works. No false notes on Hagath, though the special ability may not go far enough - he traded in much more than simple hand weapons. Probably no way to fit everything on the card, so I'll give him a high 4.7.

STOCKABILITY: A Non-Aligned arms dealer can be useful to most anyone interested in using either the 34th Rule to its maximum potential, or the Breen CRM114. But more than that, Hagath allows hand weapons to report to his location, so his presence can be a boon to assault teams (or personnel in need of defense against them). Hand weapons certainly have not lost any usefulness in the past couple years, they've only become more useful. Many already report to your personnel, or just-initiated battles, but they are usually smaller weapons. To make them free, try to get free plays from the Orb of Wisdom which is quite open to the Bajorans, Cardassians, Ferengi and Feds (or use Orb Experience to create your own). Hagath's Acquisition makes him a good Latinum earner for any affiliation (through various Rules), and that Latinum can be used to download even more weapons if need be. Double Treachery is a great complement to those who need it (like the Romulans) and those that have little of it (like the Feds). It also allows him to use Protection Racket. Anthropology is getting more useful all the time, and ENGINEER has always been so (and takes some of the edge off his less useful CIVILIAN). Just the arms dealing is enough to rate him above average, but he offers a sweet package all around. An easy 4.4.

TOTAL: 16.3 (81.5%) Devilishly good.

#1054-Hanok, Personnel, Dominion, Gamma quadrant, RoA
"Member of Karemma Commerce Ministry. Helped to defuse a torpedo lodged in the hull of USS Defiant. Learned of Ferengi business philosophy from Quark."
-VIP, Acquisition, Diplomacy, Smuggling, ENGINEER; SD Any [Rule] card; Command icon
-INTEGRITY: 7, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 6

PICTURE: Nice expression on Hanok, with that stubborn smile he gives Quark, and the way he's leaning forward gives even more power to that big nose of his. The background is dark but dynamic (the lines flow in the same sense as his gaze), so it's not a bad effort at 3.5.

LORE: The key points are all touched upon... affiliation, big moment in the episode, relationship to starring character. Doesn't quite speak to the various skills, but does well enough. A 3.1, let's say.

TREK SENSE: A real mix of good and bad. VIP is due to his membership in the Ministry, and a minister is VIP material. The Command icon helps him command the Karemman Vessel of which he is matching commander. Acquisition is the important skill for a commercial negotiator, and Diplomacy also comes into play. And I have no problem with his Engineering skills since he did know how to disarm a torpedo built/sold by his Ministry. The buck stops at Smuggling though. Where is this in the storyline? It's a commerce-related skill, but illegal commerce, and the way he talked about Karemma business practices, not the kind of thing they do (see his reasonable Integrity). Especially a non-Greedy VIP! He didn't want to be caught dealing with Ferengi, but I'm not sure any Smuggling came into play. The download is also a cause for concern. He just learned about the Rules and all of a sudden he can call them up as well as a Grand Nagus? No go. Cunning and Strength pose no problem - he was smart without being a genius, and was imposing without being a fighter. More pros than cons, but those do keep him at 2.9.

STOCKABILITY: Hanok is an unusual Dominion personnel with skills not easily found. Oh the VIP/Diplomacy combo is common enough on Vorta, but Acquisition and Smuggling are unique to Hanok. Smuggling can be used on Collect Sample (instead of Treachery x2), but he'll be most useful at Deliver Message for which he could practically be named as a requirement (he has all the skills). The Ferengi-ish skills open up the world of Rules of Acquisition to the Dominion player, and some of them (ANY of them downloadable with Hanok) can help the affiliation. Think of the 34th for example, which rewards the Dominion with card draws (or Latinum which converts to Ketracel-White or hand weapons) for doing what it does best: battle. The 62nd and 75th are very useable mission point supplements too. Hanok completes his skill set with the always good ENGINEER. Fairly good attributes too. Let's not forget his matching commandership of the Karemman Vessel (which acquisitive Dominion players might use to make cargo runs with in the Alpha Quadrant), toughening up the freighter to a possible 10-8-9 and providing a platform for his download via Ready Room Door. Can be a good, if odd, addition to a Dominion deck at 3.7.

TOTAL: 13.2 (66%) Better than Jaglom Shrek, certainly, but maybe not Zefram Cochrane. Then again...

#1065-HQ: Ferengi Credit Exchange, Incident, RoA
-Seeds or plays on Ferenginar, Ferengi Trading Post or Quark's Bar. Any player who has Acquisition present may, once each turn, discard up to three Gold-Pressed Latinum cards present. For each one discarded, score 2 points (place that Latinum card in point area), draw one card or place any one card from discard pile beneath draw deck. May be nullified by Subspace Interference.

PICTURE: I remain unimpressed with this thing composition-wise. The decorative strip is amidst a sea of dark gray which just sits there, and there's interference from reflected lights on top. It's an interesting tally of Alpha Quadrant affiliations though, each with its own "market" (if you thought following New York, Toronto and Tokyo was hard, imagine throwing Qo'noS and Romulus into the mix). The stick figure with the globe is the symbol from Man From U.N.C.L.E., the 60s spy television show. One of those silly hommages the Star Trek creators sneak into the set pieces. Fun, since the planet could make it extra-terrestrial. Interesting note: Though most of the writing is in Ferengi, the title of the card can be read in tiny, but legible script, in yellow (as a translation). Of some interest, but kind of ugly, I'll still give it a 3.3.

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

TREK SENSE: The Credit Exchange is most definitely on Ferenginar, where this may seed, but it is accessible via subspace at any Outpost of Ferengi civilization, Quark's being "the last outpost". Oops, not quite. Ferengi Outposts are not appropriate seeding places, only Trading Posts. You're telling me regular Ferengi Outposts don't conduct trading? As if! The way it works is that a personnel with Acquisition (who has the skill to play the market) invests Latinum and gets a good return. No chance of the bottom falling out? Apparently not, there are no bad investments here (unlike on the show). Returns are not calculated in Latinum though, and that makes a certain amount of sense since this is an "exchange", so you'd be buying things like pork bellies or their alien equivalent. But still, the return you eventually (read immediately) get is in goods already purchased which seems to skip a step. This can be represented as a card draw (probably a resource which would cost more than a Latinum usually, and since each is only worth about half an equipment card, that's fair). The discard pile to bottom of draw deck effect may represent your buying someting back, restoring an old ship's hull etc. These things take time to rebuild, so you don't get them right away, only when they are ready. Slightly more iffy, but I can justify it. And then there's the 2 points per Latinum option which really turns the Exchange into a goal in and of itself - perfect for the Ferengi who would see this as a more pointworthy activity than mission solving. I like the Subspace Interference bit, since this would cut off communication with the market, and I guess even on Ferenginar where the Credit Exchange should actually be set, since you need all those ticker tapes from the rest of the Quadrant to see the entire picture. Card drawing engines aren't too satisfying much of the time, and this one does have its ambiguities, but it's very Ferengi too. Appropriate enough, so a 3.7.

STOCKABILITY: Dubbed Ore Processing for the Ferengi, it's easily put into play early through Grand Nagus Zek's special download (plenty of ways to get him out on the first turn, and it saves you a seed slot), and then keep supplied with plenty of Latinum with a variety of Rules, or Ishka's free plays for that matter. That Latinum can be used to get bonus points (up to 6 a turn, which could amount to a lot if you have plenty in your deck - note that they will be lost in the bonus point area), that's always nice. They can also be used for card draws (up to 3 per turn), or to recycle (Ore Processing-like) cards from the discard pile (up to 3 per turn!), and in either situation, the Latinum is simply discarded and may make a return appearance (via... you guessed it: Credit Exchange) for more card draws, recyclables or finally, points. A fine instrument of Latinum-based strategies, it can play at variety of locations, and can only be nullified by a card nobody stocks. And let's not forget it's an HQ card, which makes it playable for free at the Tower of Commerce, that's if you didn't want to seed it or download it early. One disadvantage is that your opponent can make use of it. Well, since Acquisition isn't common across the board, chances are they won't be able to. In case they can, you could keep a Subspace Interference in your Tent or something just to nuke the card if it was ever abused by enemy hands. The Ferengi would consider it a 4.4.

TOTAL: 15.2 (76%) That's a fixed rate.

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