Siskoid's Rolodex.......The Motion Pictures (3)



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To see the cards themselves, check out this Card list for the Motion Pictures expansion set.

#1678-Henreid, Personnel, Federation, AU, CF, universal, TMP
"First officer of the Excelsior in 2285. Called to stand in for the helmsman, who was on leave when Admiral Kirk stole the Enterprise from spacedock."
-OFFICER, Leadership, Astrophysics, Navigation; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 6, CUNNING: 6, STRENGTH: 7

PICTURE: A solid image, with the guy in action (at the helm) and stuff happening in the background. Nice colors and tense atmosphere. A 3.3.

LORE: Puts us right in the moment with that second sentence. It seems like a trivial point though (not the theft, but that he called to the helm). It is a rather obscure joke however: The character's name was taken from the same actor's role in Stephen King's The Stand ("Lloyd Henreid"). So he's called to STAND in for someone. Cute, but like I said, a little obscure. Universality is far from acknowledged though. 3.2. from where I'm standing.

TREK SENSE: I guess he's meant to be a "typical first officer" from the CF era, and his skills lend themselves well to that. I mean, they're pretty generic. Officer and Leadership are naturals here, but I'm wondering about that Staff icon. Not Command? Well, I'm not opposed to it, seeing as in both the Original Series and the Classic Films, first officers don't have the same function as they do from TNG onwards. Spock doubles as science officer, for example, and ranks are all over the place with the entire Enterprise crew eventually being Command level personnel no matter what their posts are. Furthermore, Henreid is first officer of an experimental vessel (at this point), so they may not have put an experienced commander aboard. Navigation he gets from sitting at the helm just there. Astrophysics is more of a mystery. It's a possibility, and might have something to do with the mechanics of transwarp drive, but it's not shown in the movie. His Integrity's a bit low for a Starfleet officer, but the crew of the Excelsior were pretty much known as arrogant jerks, so that explains it. They let themselves be fooled by Scotty, so there's no reason to give him high Cunning either. Strength could go with his age and build, but we must also remember that the era is a little rougher than TNG's. In all of that, there are a couple attributes that seem quite specific to the Excelsior's first officer and wouldn't translate well to the "typical" CF XO, but otherwise, it's not to hard to buy into it. An ok 3.

STOCKABILITY: Whenever Decipher creates a new affiliation, or in this case, sub-affiliation, we get personnel like this. They've got nothing special going for them, but they patch in skill holes to make that affiliation fully playable. A universal with three skills, all of them useful, if a bit common. In a Fed deck that uses a few CF cards (as simple AU, or on a CF ship among non-CF ships), you can do better. In a CF-theme deck, he's a cheap source of skills, especially Astrophysics, which is much rarer than the rest, being only on CF Fed uniques. Hits a 3.

TOTAL: 12.5 (62.5%) The kind of card I'm really ambivalent about.

#1689-Hero Worship, Dilemma, space/planet, TMP
"'Doctor Cochrane, I know this sounds silly, but can I shake your hand?'"
-"Stops" non-Borg crew or Away Team members with the most and fewest [skill dot] icons. (In case of ties, "stops" all tied personnel.)

PICTURE: Barclay gushing over Cochrane is well presented, with enthusiastic motion and some silliness (I've always thought the field coil looked funny). Good classic composition too. A 3.6.

LORE: The designers were really gearing up for 2E by The Motion Pictures with a lot of quotes. Nothing too interesting about this one. It just happens to be part of this scene. It gets the point across, so a 3.3.

TREK SENSE: Whether we're talking about Barclay monopolizing Cochrane's time in First Contact, or Timothy immitating Data in "Hero Worship", this dilemma has definitely been known to occur. And I think they do a good job of modeling it. A personnel with few skills happens to be a big fan of a personnel with lots of them. It doesn't matter how this is expressed exactly - a polite conversation with an admirer is just as likely as total groupie mugging - it simply stops both personnel. In case of a tie, all tied personnel are stopped... now that's a little harder to accept, but think of The Emissary or Li Nalas drawing crowds of lesser-skilled extras. The reverse might be, say the Starship Enterprise crew being stopped en masse by one or more fanatical Trekkies. The Borg don't have heroes of course. All other affiliations have reasons to admire others, though you might wonder why someone like Ajur is happy to meet, say, a Young Jem'Hadar. How about mains that are used to working together? Beverly just takes some time out to tell Data how much she admires him? Could be. Many combos are doubtless ridiculous. And there's another point to consider: the stopped personnel, both hero and fan, are in the same Away Team or crew. It might seem strange that they never crossed paths before, but on a large starship, that needn't be troublesome ("Captain Kirk, sir, thanks for choosing me to go on the mission!" "Don't worry about it, just change into that nice bright red uniform, crewman..."). it's only strange for personnel on shuttles (or beaming down from one). Then again, the fan might not have the guts to bother the hero until later (at an innoportune time, it seems). Works around many of my objections, so a 4.1.

SEEDABILITY: Though this is another one the Borg are immune to, against everybody else, it'll stop 2 personnel at a minimum (unless there's only one personnel attempting the mission, who'll be stopped alone). One of the filtered personnel will have many skills, the other might be a necessary mission specialist. Either way, that's a number of skills gone as the attempt continues into your next dilemma. If there's more than one personnel with the targeted number of skill dots, they're all stopped. That should really stop a mission specialist deck in its tracks. You can't control what personnel or skills are filtered out by the card, so it's a little difficult to figure out what should come next, but anything with lots of skill and/or attribute requirements should do. A sureshot like this is worth its 3.9.

TOTAL: 14.9 (74.5%) I don't worship it, but I admire its design.

#1700-I Do Not Take Orders From You!, Interrupt, TMP
"Admiral Dougherty knew the Son'a were devious and dangerous, but never imagined how far Ru'afo would go until it was too late. 'The Federation will never know what happened here.'"
-Plays at start of personnel battle you initiated (once per battle). Each of your personnel who has Treachery x2 may kill an opposing personnel who has lower CUNNING.

PICTURE: I've no problem with it personally, but I do agree this one's a bit graphic for an all-ages card game. Besides, it's rather absurd gore even when only considering the movie. A sharp and clear close-up though, so technically good. A 3.

LORE: Another quote sneaks in, but it's simply a follow up to the quote that makes up the title. The story's told in such a way as to lead to the gruesome pic, and explains the game text without talking down to the audience. A good 3.3.

TREK SENSE: What's not said is what's interesting here. The game text starts with your personnel initiating a personnel battle, but the action actually starts before then. See, it supposes that after your personnel came into contact with opposing personnel, those opposing personnel thought they had your personnel under control, diplomatically or otherwise. Turns out they didn't because you attacked them anyway. Worse still, your Treachery x2 personnel, which may well be considered the most ruthless of killers, kill one personnel with lower Cunning than him or herself. This could mean that a less intelligent personnel was attacked from behind while your own personnel was under the cover of friendship, or simply taken in by a supposed ally who was trying to kill him or her all along. This is a surprise attack that kills someone before battle is really joined. Many personnel with Treachery x1 are capable of killing, but many others aren't, they're just thieves and confidence men, so requiring the double dose at once keeps this interrupt under control and avoids Trek Sense problems. I think this works wonderfully, and I give it a 4.6.

STOCKABILITY: The success of this card basically hinges on what Treachery x2 personnel are available to you, and just how much CUNNING they have. The Bajorans have Jaro Essa (8). The Alliance in the Mirror universe has The Intendent (8) and Security Chief Garak (7). The Cardassians have Seska (9, shared with the Kazon) and Elim (10). The Dominion has Deyos (7), Founder Leader (9) and Keevan (10). The Mirror Feds only have James Tiberius Kirk (8), while the rest of the Feds have the Equinox Doctor (8, he may be used as Non-Aligned). Ferengi have Goss (7) and Brunt (8). Hirogen have Turanj (6), but I wouldn't really use him in this context. Same goes for the Klingons' Ja'rod (5). The Romulans have 3 2E personnel, but they have terrible CUNNING, and Vidiians have absolutely no one. Of course, there's always Non-Aligned help: Ru'afo (8), Raimus (8), Kurros (12), Lore (13), Chaotica (8), Khan (10), Mabus (8), Hagath (7) and Penk (8). 7s are risky, but 8s are ok. Of course, there's some really high ones in there too. Get as many of them as you can together, and you can really control personnel battles by eliminating as many dumber personnel (and everyone's dumber than Lore) as you have Treachery x2 in your team, and that's before you have to pair up. It's not really tailor-made for everyone, but some assault teams will definitely benefit. A 4.3.

TOTAL: 15.2 (76%) Not for the squeamish.

#1711-I Hate You, Dilemma, planet, AU, TMP
"'The sins of all our fathers, being dumped on us - the sons. The only choice we're given is HOW MANY MEGATONS? And I eschew you! And I say SCREW YOU! And I hope you're blue too.'"
-To get past requires Anthropology, Youth and no Music present. Nullified by Vulcan Nerve Pinch.

PICTURE: A lot of personality, an expression that matches the title, and good composition aren't the only things going for I Hate You. What I especially like is the print behind the punk: "Please hold on. Sudden stops are sometimes necessary." Actual advisory on the bus, but on a dilemma, it means so much more. All the more so since this dilemma is a wall. That serendipitous detail makes the score soar to 4.4.

LORE: The lyrics as written, performed and enjoyed by Kirk Thatcher (an associate producer who wrote and recorded the song, then played the role of the punk rocker onscreen). They're a little vulgar for this family card game, but definitely fun. A parody of rebellious punk that mixes big words with profanity and some ridiculous rhyming too. I like the screaming capital letters as well. Hits 3.6.

TREK SENSE: Loud music as a dilemma? Well, it can interfere with important conversations as in Star Trek IV, but I'm also reminded of Jono's musical tastes in "Suddenly Human" (or of "The Way to Eden" for that matter). Both examples are space dilemmas though, and the dilemma insists on being AU, unfortunately meaning that it has to be about punk rock (possibly other loud musical forms) from Earth's past. Well, it could be loud music from the future, or from another dimension, or from another planet's past, or in a dream sequence... I would just drop the icon. As for the requirements, you'd be able to muddle through the noise with a dose of Anthropology (understanding it as music within its cultural context) and Youth (you rather enjoy it!), but if Music is present at all, those personnel cannot carry on because it offends their sensibilities. It's all a little far-fetched, and a little insulting to those who like more, I'll use the word "garagey", types of music. Stuffy Starfleet types do seem to enjoy classical and jazz more than rock, Klingons have their opera, and the Bajorans are definitely into new age, so I don't disagree with this worldview - it's straight out of Star Trek. I will disagree with the strength of the dilemma though. Entire Away Team stopped UNTIL its requirements are met? How about just getting off the bus, or at least waiting til the punk rocker gets off himself? I do like the Nerve Pinch solution, which is what Spock used in ST IV. Unfortunately, no Vulcan or android need be present. Very cute, even funny, but not very realistic. A 2.3.

SEEDABILITY: A wall with a rarely seen type of requirement, i.e. asking for NONE of a certain skill to be present. This can cause problems for Away Teams that have Music. Such personnel are never along for that skill, so making them stay on the ship will deprive an Away Team of all their other skills, and usually only after having been stopped on a first run-through. Anthropology isn't a super-common skill, and Youth is about as useful as Music, so you won't really plan for its presence. Some affiliations have very, very few Youth personnel, especially in the Delta Quadrant, though conversely, Music isn't too frequently found in their skill boxes either. Basically, the early affiliations will have to filter out their own Music personnel, and the later ones will struggle to meet the Youth requirement. Leading with Frame of Mind is a good idea I heard, giving the taboo Music to a personnel or possibly drawing (and wasting) the wrath of Madam Guinan. Sure, Vulcan Nerve Pinch nullifies the card, but I don't think that's gonna be much of a problem. Mr. Spock might download the interrupt directly to the mission, for example, but that's actually less likely a scenario than someone having the right requirements on the first go. The AU icon is annoying because 1) it can be nullified by the Guinans, and 2) it requires AU support during the seeding phase. Overall, I think it can get a 3.4.

TOTAL: 13.7 (68.5%) I don't hate it back.

#1722-I Just Love Scanning for Life-Forms, Event, TMP
"'Life-forms... you tiny life-forms... you precious little life-forms... where are you?'"
-Plays to reveal up to three cards from the top of any draw deck (six if your own). Discard all non-personnel cards; replace remaining cards in any order. Discard event.

PICTURE: You know, the integration of Deep Space 9 uniforms in Generations never looked right, as we can see here, though I can't fault the dashes of color brought by the background characters. Data's in an unusual and fun pose. A good moment worth 3.7.

LORE: Another pre-2E quote, and the title is a quote too. The title and the little song, again, are fun. Can't help but hear the hand-clicking sounds that follow it. A 3.5.

TREK SENSE: A better life-form scan than Life-Form Scan! It's still conceptual, as mechanical effects often are, but it does make you look for personnel, which are life-forms. If the deck is the future, it must also be a place that you'll visit in that future, a place where these personnel cards will be coming from. Well, not really. Personnel in the deck will report aboard a ship or at a facility, you can't really be scanning a specific place. When dealing with your opponent's deck, it actually makes a bit more sense. You know, stuff like "sensors detect a Vulcan onboard", but of course, the intel isn't really of that caliber. Once personnel are "found", they are sorted out of whatever else you might have detected (non-personnel cards), but then those non-personnel cards are discarded. Why? No reason. There's also no reason why you could put personnel cards in a specific order. And while doubling the scan on your own deck simply means your resources are just more accessible, you have to wonder why you're not just looking at Academy graduate lists to see who's up and coming. Like I said at the start, it's a conceptual card. I just think it does a better job of scanning for life than any card we might have had before. Hits 1.1, which is high for this kind of thing.

STOCKABILITY: Combine with other card management cards, and you've got a strong tool here, though it does cost you your card play. Against your opponent's deck, it'll allow you to peek at 3 cards. Peeking is good. Then, if any of them aren't personnel, you discard them. They might all be non-personnel cards! Your opponent basically loses (or has to somehow recycle) up to 3 cards that might've been important to her strategy - an important Incident perhaps, or a ship, could be anything. The personnel that are there, you decide in what order they'll come out. Worst first, of course. On yourself, you reveal 6 cards instead of 3. That means you might discard more cards (use with a good recycling strategy), but might be able to stack more personnel cards in the process. Useful when you need personnel in hand now, perhaps for fast-reporting strategies, or even to fix a probe result (put the right subcommand on top, for example). Bynars Data Transfer might help you save some non-personnel cards, storing them at the bottom of your deck while leaving the personnel on top, but that costs you a card play too (unless you download the card via 10 and 01). Data, Keep Dealing might also help you there. Deck manipulation is an art, and this event is one of the brushes, a brush that gets a 4.

TOTAL: 12.3 (61.5%) No love for the Trek Sense, though some affection.

#1734-IKC Amar, Ship, Klingon, AU, CF, TMP
"One of the first K't'inga-class ships. Leader of the battle group dispatched to escort an unidentified intruder out of Klingon space in 2271."
-K't'inga Class[CF] Cloaking Device, Tractor Beam
-RANGE: 7, WEAPONS: 6, SHIELDS: 6

PICTURE: K't'inga Class cruisers are a little silly, looking for all the world like a bird with a scout leader's hat, and the Amar's details are a bit splotchy. Saving grace: The photon torpedo tube is preparing to fire. Then again, it looks like the end of a cigarette. Bottom line, I think it's a fairly good shot of this ship class. It's just that the class looks dinky to begin with. A 2.8.

LORE: "One of the first..." is a cute nod to the fact that it was the first K't'inga ever seen (as part of a three-ship formation). The unidentified intruder is V'ger, but the Klingons didn't know that, and the lore acknowledges this fact. A very good 3.6.

TREK SENSE: They don't do much with it here, leaving most of the strategies to related cards, so this'll be a short review of Trek Sense. The Klingon cruiser of the Classic Films era, it has attributes that match ships of that time. Its Range is way higher than the universal K't'inga (by 2 whole points), and I suppose that's be virtue of quickly heading toward V'ger, leaving Klingon space in record time. 2 points may be too much, but it matches the HMS Bounty. Still, it's faster than the Starship Excelsior? As far as special equipment goes, no problems there. And the staffing? Special icon staffing does an ok job of getting personnel from the right era aboard, but it also make such ships staffable by non-military personnel. Thankfully, most Klingons ARE military personnel, and only Ambassador Kamarag has no standard staffing icon. So an ok effort, pushing the bounderies only on a couple of minor points: a 3.

STOCKABILITY: Some players might be disappointed that the ship doesn't offer a personnel download like the universal K't'inga, but they're overlooking the real advanatge of the IKC Amar: its attributes. With a RANGE of 7, it's much faster than other CF ships. With its matching commander Krase aboard, the ship automatically gains 2 to its SHIELDS (a special skill that cover the entire armada if one is present), plus whatever bonuses your Plaque and Log are giving it. That's 9-9-11 with just those cards. Add Captain Kang and Ch'dak, and you've got 10-11-11. That's a nasty cloakable ship, and reportable for free at Camp Khitomer. No personnel download, but the CF staffing means Crew Reassignment allows them to report directly aboard. I'd say it's one of the better Klingon CF ships, and on par with many non-AU ships if you're going for a single ship strategy. A 3.5.

TOTAL: 12.9 (64.5%) If I could find my Klingon Dictionary, I'd tell you what "Amar" means.

#1746-IKC Chontay, Ship, Klingon, AU, CF, TMP
"Bird-of-prey captained by Klaa. Until its pursuit of the Enterprise through the Great Barrier, the highlight of its long mission was shooting at Terran space garbage."
-B'rel Class[CF] Cloaking Device, Tractor Beam (cannot carry ships aboard)
-RANGE: 6, WEAPONS: 7, SHIELDS: 6

PICTURE: A very detailed close-up of the bird-of-prey's "head", it offers a rare glimpse at a down-powered missile launcher. Kind of like a bathtub plug, isn't it? Seriously though, I really like the jagged metal plates making up the hull here, so I'm gonna give this gunmetal classic a 3.8.

LORE: Matching commander stuff, what it did in Star Trek V, ok. What gets me though is the last part about the highlight of its mission. Very fun stuff (what was it again, a Pioneer series craft?). Hikes the score to 3.6.

TREK SENSE: A classic movies B'rel class (smaller) bird-of-prey, it's built a lot like the HMS Bounty (with the same surprise that they have attributes similar to the larger K't'inga-class cruisers). The special equipment is there, and they acknowledge the fact that a small bird-of-prey like this couldn't carry support craft. They've opted to give the Chontay a 7 in Weapons, no doubt because of its garbage-shooting backstory, but I'm of a mind that flying to the center of the galaxy (the inner Great Barrier) might have been worth putting that 7 in Range instead. After all, how hard is it to destroy an old Earth probe? I realize this would have made it pretty identical to the Bounty, but thems the breaks. The CF icon staffing helps make sure the right kind of personnel are aboard, and all but the Ambassador could staff or command normal ships, so it'll be rare to have a non-staffer staffing the ship. A pretty basic design with debatable stats: a 3.

STOCKABILITY: Klaa's an ok matching commander, with 5 pretty varied skills. If running a CF Klingon deck, you no doubt would use him, and would also use his ship. The Chontay can get up to 8-10-9 with Plaque and Log, matching much older ships in battle. As with other CF ships, it can be boosted further using certain other personnel aboard or at the same location. Easily staffed, Crew Reassignment can get more CF Klingons aboard rather easily, and the ship itself into play for free at Camp Khitomer. With its slightly higher weapons, it makes for good support to CF battling, but is largely unimpressive by modern ships' standards. A 3.1.

TOTAL: 13.5 (67.5%) Middle-ground.

#1758-IKC K'elric, Ship, Klingon, AU, CF, TMP
"One of three ships that brought an end to The Albino's raids on Klingon colonies. Intercepted the Excelsior in the Azure Nebula in 2293. Commanded by Captain Kang."
-K't'inga Class[CF] Cloaking Device, Tractor Beam
-RANGE: 6, WEAPONS: 6, SHIELDS: 7

PICTURE: Kang's ship was stonewalling Sulu's Excelsior, so a front shot would have been more appropriate here, I think. Fleeing into a dark nebula isn't what we remember it for. Then again, the lore makes a point of Kang looking for the Albino, and he could be hiding in those dark clouds. Not uninteresting, but dark and at an unflattering angle, so 2.7.

LORE: First, what's with that name? Basically, Michael Ansara (Kang) played the role of Elric the Technomage in Babylon 5, so it's from there. I'd like to think it also refers to the fact that Michael Moorcock's seminal fantasy character, Elric of Melniboné, was an albino, which would become the object of Kang's quest. I suppose that if Klingon ships had more English-sounding names, they'd have called it the Stormbringer (Elric's sword). Personally? I think it calls a little too much attention to itself. The mention of the ship's role in tracking down the Albino is a good extrapolation from known events. What follows is a little more standard, with a brief description of events seen in "Flashback", and then the usual (but useful) matching commander identification. I'm going with a 3.5 here.

TREK SENSE: Captain Kang's ship has two attributes higher than those of the universal K't'inga. Perhaps that's fitting for a legend like him, but Kirk doesn't get as much on the Enterprise, and he's a legend too, right? Well, to be fair, the Enterprise gets boosts from plenty of its legendary bridge crew, while Kang is the only known character on his own ship, so I can cut him a break. The Range is higher than normal because it's an interceptor and also tracked down the Albino once. The Shields are higher to help it blockade Excelsior, tough it out longer. These are ok justifications, if not immediately obvious. The CF staffing keeps the ship filled with personnel correct for the ship's era, with only that old Ambassador not usually rated on ships, though I'm not that pleased with the idea of such a large cruiser being staffed by a single personnel. Then again, back in the day, it was all about the Captain. Still, when a universal CF personnel is allowed to be that Captain... The rest is standard and deserves no discussion. Overall, I think it's fine, with the staffing being the only real hiccup. Sinks to 2.9.

STOCKABILITY: As far as K't'inga's go, it's much better than the universal (though it has a download), tougher but not as fast as the Amar, but way below Kronos One. Still, at only a single required staffer, it's certainly no worse than a K'Vort, and with its matching commander, its attributes are a slow, but respectable, 6-8-7 at a [Kli] mission, thanks to Captain Kang's special skill. Throw in Plaque and Log, and it becomes an 8-11-10 ship (8-9-10 when not at a Klingon mission). Further, CF personnel can come aboard using Crew Reassignment after it's reported for free at Camp Khitomer, or just through an AU Door or Time-Space Portal. That goes for Captain Kang too, though of course, Ready Room Door may be the way to go there. Yeah, ok... Nothing spectacular, but in a CF deck, you could do worse... A 3.2.

TOTAL: 12.3 (61.5%) Only 1% under Kang's other ride, the IKC Lukara.

#1770-IKC K't'inga, Ship, Klingon, AU, CF, universal, TMP
"Though the basic form of the Klingon cruiser had been the same since the 22nd century, this design introduced in the 2270s boasted upgrades to all major systems."
-K't'inga Class[CF] Cloaking Device, Tractor Beam; SD Any [universal] Klingon [CF] personnel
-RANGE: 5, WEAPONS: 6, SHIELDS: 6

PICTURE: Looks like one of Krase's ships about to be eaten and digested by V'ger, and once again, we get a Klingon ship on the run, seen from the back. Sometimes that angle works, sometimes it doesn't. We don't see enough of the ship, and its little "eyes" are just weird. No more than a 2.

LORE: Tells us how the TOS D-7 Battle Cruiser (apparently already old at the time) became the CF K't'inga-class, with only a few alterations (equivalent of those of the tv and movie versions of the Enterprise). Not much there, but well written. A 3.2.

TREK SENSE: The baseline version of this Classic Films ship class hold no real surprises. The icons are fine, and the staffing icon, while all too lonely (only one personnel for this large a ship?), makes sure we have the right kind of personnel aboard (with only Ambassador Kamarag not having a real staffing icon to support his presence here). The Cloaking Device and Tractor Beam are both proven fact. The special download pays notice to the fact that ships have plenty of personnel aboard that need only step into the fold. Universal ship, universal personnel. Simple as that. Weapons and Shields are made to be more important on a Klingon ship than Range, so that's fine too, though Range may be a bit small when you consider that 2 such ships followed the IKC Amar to V'ger, and the Amar has Range 7! Let's just say that the attribute spread on K't'ingas is all over the map, and a problem. The few iffy details drop this standard design to 3.7.

STOCKABILITY: While the unique K't'ingas have better attributes than the universal model, it's still an fair ship for the CF Klingon faction. The download staffs it early and easily, and Crew Reassignment puts more people on it, but the lack of a matching commander keeps the attributes all too low. Some Klingons can help, as would Bynars, Plasmadyne Relay, etc., but why do this when stronger ships can be had for the same staffing? A fair ship, sure, but if I were to construct a CF armada, unless I was using Spacedoor to get it into play, I wouldn't include it. The unique ships are definitely better. 2.4 here.

TOTAL: 11.3 (56.5%) Yeah, little ship, run away.

#1782-IKC Kla'Diyus, Ship, Klingon, AU, CF, TMP
"Unique vessel able to fire while cloaked. Commissioned and commanded by General Chang, who ordered the designers killed to preserve the secret of its existence."
-Modified B'rel Class[1 Command, 1 CF] Cloaking Device (while cloaked, may initiate battle but may not be fired upon)
-RANGE: 6, WEAPONS: 6, SHIELDS: 5

PICTURE: Very, very dramatic, with the ship cloaked, but illuminated by its torpedo shot. Love those action shots, and they're certainly surprising on ship cards. A full thumbs up, translating as a 4.6 here.

LORE: The name is a Hamlet joke, since "Claudius" is the bad guy in the play. A reference to Hamlet on a ST VI card is a perfect fit, and Chang is definitely the bad guy of that particular production. It does sound a bit labored though. The lore itself is well done, cutting to the chase early, making sure Chang gets his matching commander status, and finally telling us why all Klingon ships after this one didn't have the cloak'n'fire ability. Rather good stuff, and though I don't totally endorse the joke name, I do appreciate it. A 4.3.

TREK SENSE: The ship's cloak'n'fire ability is well covered, working seamlessly within the rules. So the Enterprise did fire on it, well, check out those interrupts that would allow them to do so (including To Be Or Not To Be) - it's not this card's fault. The Kla'Diyus requires one more staffing icon than other B'rel-class ships of the same era, but with the extra systems allowing for cloak'n'fire, that shouldn't be a surprise. Classified technology, Command should certainly be in evidence. As for attributes, B'rels are all over the map and the universal model can't really be used as a standard because it's from the 24th, not 23rd, century. Having been destroyed by the end of Star Trek VI, the emphasis wasn't put on Shields, but otherwise, all 6s is what the CF Enterprise has. No room to write down "Tractor Beam (may not carry ships aboard)", but you gotta wonder if it's true. The special equipment might have been squeezed out by the modifications, and we don't see a Tractor Beam in the film, so it could make sense. What sets the Kla'Diyus apart works well, but the attributes are ho-hum. A 3.5.

STOCKABILITY: Low attributes can be fixed by Captain's Log and Defiant Dedication Plaque, giving General Chang's ship more adequate 8-9-8 attributes. Boosted no further, that's not a terribly powerful ship, but the Klingons can still use it to do hit and runs, attacking without fear of retaliation. Throw in Engage Cloak and you have a real marauder there. Not only can't the Kla'Diyus be attacked or counter-attacked, but it also doesn't have to recloak after the battle. Great stuff. Now, you can help it out with a number of CF Klingons that magically report aboard using Crew Reassignment, Klingons like Captain Kang (WEAPONS +2 at Klingon missions), Ch'dak (RANGE +1), and Krase (SHIELDS +2). General Chang's special download, To Be Or Not To Be, can help in battle too, if your opponent initiated it. A dangerous little monster, it gets a 4.1 from me.

TOTAL: 16.5 (82.5%) We have a new top Klingon ship.

#1795-Ilia, Personnel, Federation, AU, CF, TMP
"Deltan navigator assigned to the Enterprise after acceptance in her Oath of Celibacy. Was romantically involved with Willard Decker during his time on Delta IV."
-OFFICER, Navigation, Biology, Anthropology, Astrophysics; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 8, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 4

PICTURE: Looks like the V'ger puppet, doesn't it? Well, it isn't. Ilia was that dull ALL THE TIME! It's actually good for the pic to hint at later events through her expression, and the composition isn't half-bad. A 3.3.

LORE: The Oath is mentioned, but this is pretty standard lore. Species, post, romantic involvement... yep, a standard 3.

TREK SENSE: The whole Officer/Navigation/Staff icon is standard for a helmswoman, sure enough, and Astrophysics, while I don't remember it being part of her skill package, makes sense for this job. She kept her head during the wormhole incident after all, and that's an Astrophysical phenomenon. I don't know anything about the Deltan sexual arts, but they are supposed to be quite expert and potent. Biology no doubt stems from that expertise. As for Anthropology, she showed the appropriate openness to other cultures by dating an Earthman, and later serving on a Federation ship. It may also be that Deltan customs are complex enough to warrant the skill. The missing skill here, and you'll say it's debatable, is Empathy. In the Director's Cut of the Motion Picture, she's able to heal Chekov in the same way the Empath Gem does. Debatable because that hasn't always been the definitive version of events? Ok, but Decipher went ahead and used some for the Director's Cut's V'ger effects on cards, so it's not like they were unaware of the scene. You might also say it's not THAT KIND of Empathy, and I agree, but Gem has it. No doubt it reinforces her claim to the Biology skill, but I'd have liked something a little more. High Integrity is necessary to uphold her Oath of Celibacy. Cunning is about right, as she seemed smart, but a little inexperienced. No problems with Strength either. Not the sharpest approximation of a character, so just 2.8.

STOCKABILITY: If she'd had Empathy, she would have added a lot more to a CF deck, as is... (Ok, I'll stop beating that particular dead horse). A simple collection of 4 skills won't make her a good reason to open an AU Door, but how useful is that collection in a CF deck? None of them are stinkers, to be sure, and they are about split in the middle when it comes to space/planet usefulness. Anthropology on personnel from Time Locations might always use The Guardian of Forever to move about in time. And she has no MEDICAL to filter out her Biology with many others. Her skills aren't really rare, and she reads a whole lot like Commander Chekov (who's missing the Anthropology). She's not bad (good INTEGRITY too), but she doesn't add anything primordial. Up to you if you want to use her over someone else. The skill list is worth maybe 3.3.

TOTAL: 12.4 (62%) And they say bald is beautiful. ;-)

#1808-Injector Assembly One, Ship, Non-Aligned, TMP
"Specialized ship designed to collect metaphasic radiation particles from the ring system of the Ba'ku planet - a procedure tested extensively by Ru'afo in simulations."
-Son'a Particle Collector[] May report to location of your Son'a ship; SD Collect Metaphasic Particles
-RANGE: 4, WEAPONS: 3, SHIELDS: 4

PICTURE: Ships with solar sails are already pretty, and the rings of the Ba'ku planet just add to that. The sails seem reflected in the rings, and to be frank, that sort of pollutes the picture, but I do appreciate the effect. Makes me long for an ancient Bajoran ship... oh, and gets a 3.6.

LORE: Simply the facts, but with a hint of how Rua'fo would eventually be defeated - through his own holographic machinations. The lore has it right too, there aren't a lot of uses for this ship aside from the one listed. A 3.1.

TREK SENSE: This particle collector is only just barely a ship, and I'm surprised to see full attributes on the thing. More on that later. Let's start with its game text: The thing is part of a scheme to Collect Metaphasic Particles, and since it does the basic work there, it can download that card. Perfectly sensible. The small craft would be carried and deployed by a Son'a ship, represented by its reporting to a Son'a ship's location. No carrying, mind you, just reporting. It's assumed it came out of the ship. Well, that's fine for the bigger ships, but the Son'a Shuttle? Maybe the Shuttle is there to oversee construction and deployment of the Injector Assembly. It's not the kind of "ship" you leave on its own. As for the attributes, well, I suppose the IA1 has some kind of thruster array to get into position in orbit. Is that enough to generate a Range of 4? It must have Shields to protect it from meteor impacts, and even hostile ships, I'll buy that. Weapons though... Didn't see any myself. I think the problem stems from making this a ship card rather than an event or something. Crew can walk aboard, so I guess that's the impetus here, but it's just not very convincing. Still some good elements, so a 1.9.

STOCKABILITY: Injector Assembly One is just a cog in the Collect Metaphasic Particles strategy. Here's how that works: You need Rua'fo at Insurrection (the Ba'ku planet) to download IA1, which then downloads CMP (got all that?). From there, you've got everything you need to solve the mission with the alternate requirements. This gets you 35 points, a double turn, and added STRENGTH and Youth to all your personnel for the rest of the game as well as, get this, the ability to unstop themselves once each turn. A great way to start the game, and it can't be done without the Injector Assembly. If you get the vessel before you get Rua'fo, it'll report to any Son'a ship at the Ba'ku planet, and you only need to come up with the 2 Treachery before an opposing ship comes by. Oh, you can report the IA1 to another location, but what for? Its only use is at Insurrection, and it would have to limp there under its own power if reported elsewhere. The CMP strategy has to be done quickly, before your opponent can get ships to the location because 1) one requirement is that no opposing ships be present, and 2) it's insanely easy to destroy the Injector Assembly with its low attributes. Beyond CMP, there's nothing to be done with this thing, but as far as necessities go, it's fairly easy to get. How about 3.5, mostly thanks to splashes from Collect Metaphasic Particles.

TOTAL: 12.1 (60.5%) The first Son'a ship isn't quite a winner, but then, it isn't quite a ship either.

#1820-Insurrection, Mission, planet, Federation, TMP
Briar Patch Region*Ba'ku Planet: Prevent the Son'a attempt to forcibly relocate the Ba'ku race.
-Leadership x2 + Diplomacy + STRENGTH>50
-Span: 4; 35 points; Ba'ku may report on planet (for free).

PICTURE: From the off, I've thought the special effects had an odd, painterly look in Insurrection, and this is especially apparent on the card with the movie's title. The planet here looks quite fake, blurry but too sharp. The smokey nebula behind it can't save it. A 1.8.

LORE: The way it's phrased is a bit confusing ("attempt" could be a noun or a verb), but otherwise, it's ok. And it's a successful integration of the film title into the card collection. A 3.

TREK SENSE: The Ba'ku Planet is in the Briar Patch, true enough, and since that's a hard-to-get-to part of Federation space, I can see it as a Federation-only mission. The Span testifies to the navigational obstacles presented by the Patch. The requirements? Well, the doubled amount of Leadership may represent going against the Federation Council, using the skill to get the backing of your crew to do something politically dangerous. I would have liked some Integrity requirement to back this up though. After all, Picard was acting on his own code of ethics here, not the Federation's. Diplomacy, certainly, gets the Ba'ku on board, and also creates some options with the Son'a. Ultimately though, the Son'a have to be fought (or at least their Transporter Drones), and that's where the Strength requirement comes in. The points are fair for the kind of moral imperative this became. The extra game text that allows the Ba'ku to report here for free (i.e. already be there) is great, since it's much more sensible to have them here than at an outpost! I think the requirements are somewhat lacking, but otherwise a good card. Hits 3.7.

SEEDABILITY: There are a lot of elements to this mission. One is the requirements-for-points aspect part and parcel of every mission, and that works okay. The skills aren't difficult for the Feds to get at all, even on the same personnel, and it's the STRENGTH that'll cause the most problems. Let's just say that's not the Feds' best attribute. If 35 points isn't enough for your troubles, mission specialists can take them up to 50. While Analyze Radiation doesn't have any skills in common with Insurrection, it's a universal space mission in the same region and could be used to supplement this planetary one in a close-cropped spaceline. But you don't have to solve the mission with those requirements at all. Feds and non-Feds alike only have to use the Non-Aligned Son'a and their Collect Metaphasic Particles objective to solve with more Son'a-related requirements, scoring the 35 points (45 if Dougherty helps), a double-turn, and add to all their personnel Youth, +2 STRENGTH and an "unstop" feature each turn. It takes a bit of doing (a Son'a personnel, Injector Assembly One, and no opposing ships present, which may be a good reason to put universal mission buffers around the planet, though Son'a ships are slowed there), but is relatively easy to achieve with all the relevant downloads. Any of the Ba'ku can report for free to the planet and help anyone either save them or destroy them. Artim will boost attributes of those new Youths, for example, while Sojef has 2 of the skills required of Insurrection and Tournel has the other Leadership. Anij isn't half-bad either. Even if you're not going for the mission points, you might want it for its free reporting. A 4.4.

TOTAL: 12.9 (64.5%) Some would say the film rated about the same score.

#1832-Isolytic Burst, Tactic, TMP
ATTACK: 3, DEFENSE: 0
-Requires a Son'a Battleship or Li'seria firing. If you hit, randomly kills one additional personnel (on a Nor, one personnel at site of opponent's choice). Hit = [down][flip]. Direct hit = [down][flip][flip][flip].
*Casualties: randomly kills one personnel (on a Nor, one personnel at a site of opponent's choice).
RANGE -3, HULL -30%

PICTURE: A beautiful and dramatic pic of the Enterprise-E running from a subspace rift caused by the Son'a's Isolytic Burst, looking for all the world like Sauron's eye. Great drama, a peculiar color palette, good effects... all that's really missing is the attacking ship. Manages a high 4.2.

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

TREK SENSE: This is a dangerous and illegal tactic that most people would never use. By "people", I mean affiliations, of course, and that's why only the Son'a can do so. They've always played irresponsibly with technology. Actually, the Tactic is keyed to the bigger Son'a ships, not their personnel, so it does allow non-Son'a to give the order. Let's just say the Son'a must've built their ships to be able to fire this kind of Burst. Its addition to Attack is high, certainly, but doesn't help Defense at all. That's because it's as dangerous to you as it is to your opponent. Thankfully, you know when it's coming, so that number doesn't drop under zero. Still, some kind of effect on the spaceline would have been interesting, since this is tantamount to dropping a navigational hazard in the middle of the battlefield. The damage to the ship includes 2 Casualties, standardly realized. The only attribute damage is to Range, representing either the effects of the subspace damage on a ship's ability to sustain a warp field or how the Enterprise was forced to drop its warp core to close the rift. Not sure how well this represents what happens, but it looks justly delt. Hull damage is pretty standard. The numbers seem well-chosen, etc. I'm gonna go with a 3.8.

STOCKABILITY: The limit on Isolytic Burst is that you need one of the Son'a Battleships to do the firing (the universal or Li'seria), but if you do use those ships (perhaps in combination with Collect Metaphasic Particles strategies), this is definitely a top flight Tactic. No DEFENSE bonus, but +3 to ATTACK is excellent, but better than that is that, by itself, it kills two personnel. Furthermore, no other Tactic docks a ship's RANGE this much (-3). No hurt placed on WEAPONS and SHIELDS, but RANGE is the stat to hit if you want to impair a ship's ability to go out and complete missions. That, and it makes it more likely the ship can't escape your next attack. As a straight damage marker, it may be used without a Son'a ship, but you'll only get one kill. High damage to RANGE is still there though. The various limits make it less flexible than some, but the power levels are about right for a 3.6.

TOTAL: 15.47 (77.33%) Thematically, I'd put it in my old pollution deck ;-).

#1844-Isomagnetic Disintegrator, Event, TMP
"Don't give an isomagnetic disintegrator to a Klingon showing signs of jak'tahla unless you want him to use it."
-Plays on table. Shuffle your hand into your discard pile, then exchange your discard pile for your draw deck. Draw four cards (may not be converted into downloads). Discard event.

PICTURE: On the order of the Breenzooka, the Starfleet-insigniaed Disintegrator gets a good enough action shot, with some interesting landscapes (complete with tiny Ba'ku on the right). Fun, with an unusual setting, but fairly standard stuff nonetheless. A 3.3.

LORE: Reminds me of Assimilate This! in its attitude, it's a funny story, but has next to nothing to do with the game text. The story would also be funnier if jak'tahla was explained. Hurt enough to drop to 2.7.

TREK SENSE: A totally conceptual card manipulator, Isomagnetic Disintegrator even suffers from an unwise title that makes it sound like equipment. Well, it's not equipment folks, it's an event that has really zero bearing on the Trek reality. Don't expect it to be part of an Away Team's tools, don't look for it to destroy anything in play at any location, nor is it more valuable to the Klingons despite the lore. The concept then is that it "disintegrates" your hand, but the rest is hogwash. Why do the discard pile and draw deck switch? Why do you get to draw 4 cards? The concept is so thin, I can't even give any points for it. A total 0.

STOCKABILITY: A kind of latter-day Regenerate, Isomagnetic Disintegrator can be used similarly when the draw gets close to empty, but the twist is that the draw deck becomes the new discard pile. Hopefully thin, digger cards can probably get at whatever's still interesting there, and much more easily than trying to dig for specific cards in a large discard pile. Your hand also becomes part of the new draw deck, so don't have anything important in there, and you get 4 card draws right away. Small hand to start with, let's say, though that draw could include the new discard pile cards thanks to a combination of Data, Keep Dealing and Zalkonian Storage Capsule. Isomag (for short) is a less interesting recycler earlier in the game, since the discard pile would suddenly grow, but later on, it's more useful. With a lot of card manipulators and discard rescuers, the midway mark isn't a bad place to play Isomag either, giving you a lot of options for getting specific cards out. Turns out, it's an uncommon from a recent set, whereas Regenerate is a rare from an early set. So access might be the reason you use it more. Better for the experienced and cunning player, Isomag scores 3.9.

TOTAL: 9.9 (49.5%) Hard to weather a zero.

#1856-J'Onn, Personnel, Non-Aligned, AU, CF, TMP
"Humanoid settler of Nimbus III. Released the pain of his impoverishment when Sybok enlisted his help in the search for the knowledge sought by all since time began."
-CIVILIAN; If with Sybok, may play Release This Pain once during each of opponent's turns (as an interrupt); SECURITY
-INTEGRITY: 6, CUNNING: 6, STRENGTH: 5

PICTURE: J'Onn's almost lost in the sandstorm, but though pale, there's enough of him to get a quality pic. I like the waste behind him, with one of his smoking holes, no less. The expression is that of a truly lost soul. The slightly sandy rose palette is pretty monochrome, but matches his dreary life. A 3.5 here.

LORE: Tells the story without much else, managing to make it a little flowery for my tastes. I also dislike it when a personnel is referred to as "humanoid". Can't we just invent a race? Also a tad disappointed we didn't get a Martian Manhunter inside joke, seeing as the script gave him the superhero's name as a hommage to J'Onn J'onzz. All it would've taken is the word "hunt" instead of the word "search". That said, I think no more than a 2.7.

TREK SENSE: I won't deny he's a Non-Aligned Civilian, but his skills could use some work. Security's ok since he became a soldier in Sybok's crusades, but I think Geology or Biology might also have been in order since he was mining or farming that patch of land before Sybok found him. As is, he's just an adjunct to Sybok's Release This Pain strategy. Not a wrong connection to make, but how exactly does he make it possible for Release This Pain to play during an opponent's turn? Clearing the way for Sybok to concentrate on such matters, or what? Very hard to justify. Attributes are fine though: Integrity shows a misguided, but not evil man; Cunning's low enough that he would have followed Sybok anywhere AND farmed a patch of desert; and as for Strength, it couldn't be higher due to his starved state. That leaves us just with the Staff icon (other icons are self-explanatory), and it's not that believable. Sybok needed the crew of the Enterprise to run that ship, so there's no real evidence of J'Onn's abilities in that regard. I'm afraid I can't go higher than 1.7.

STOCKABILITY: A Sybok faction can be an interesting Non-Aligned deck, using the three ambassadors to unlock their three affiliations' missions, and making The Discovery of Sha Ka Ree be worth more points. J'Onn also works within that scheme, mentioning Sybok in his lore. Furthermore, he allows you to play Release This Pain as an interrupt during your opponent's turn. What does that mean? Well, RTP can be used to add personnel to the cause. Normally, you'd convert your own non-NA personnel so that they can work with Sybok (and add to Sha Ka Ree's points), but you're not limited to that. You can also convert your opponent's personnel, in a way "assimilating" them. It's like an instant capture and Brainwash! Fine, but since you're limited to playing the card at the start of your turn, your opponent probably won't do you the favor of letting your start a turn with Sybok present with his or her personnel. Enter J'Onn. With him present, you can beam to an opponent's location and convert a personnel there at the start of opponent's turn. Make it coincide with a personnel battle if you like (picking up the scraps), but you don't have to (it would risk killing J'Onn with his low STRENGTH before he can use his ability). It's also phrased so that you can Release the Pain of 2 personnel each turn. Good stuff, and J'Onn's SECURITY means he can be downloaded via Defend Homeworld early to put this in motion. RTP/Sha Ka Ree is a good strategy, but unfortunately limited by In the Zone as far as the points go. Still, the "assimilation" technique is pretty cool. Hits 3.7 for what he brings to it.

TOTAL: 11.6 (58%) Not yet ready for the Justice League ;-).

#1868-J.T. Esteban, Personnel, Federation, AU, CF, TMP
"Captain of the USS Grissom. Has served as such for over four years without serious incident, due largely to his cautious, 'by the book' command style."
-OFFICER, Geology, Exobiology, Astrophysics; Command icon
-INTEGRITY: 8, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 7

PICTURE: Mr. Cautious is unlikeable, but I can't hold that against his pic, can I? I won't. He looks fine. I'll pass on the washed-out background, though, which is just terrible and ill-defined. Since this wasn't more than average anyway, it gets 2.6.

LORE: Matching commander status is first established, then we head into personality traits. I like the mention of his having no serious incident for 4 years, when we know full well what happened at the end of those 4 years. "By the book" also heralds to something in Star Trek II, and conjurs up a comparison between this lame-o and Kirk. Enough for 3.8.

TREK SENSE: Obviously a guy that's been going on scientific missions all his professional life, totally unused to the tactical element of commanding a starship. Heck, he doesn't even have Leadership, and I don't dispute that. He's versed in various sciences that would have helped him evaluate matters at Planet Genesis. Again, no arguments. A little more meat would have been nice, but there's nothing wrong with the standard skills. His undeviating following of the rules gives him high Integrity, but lower Cunning. I think the Strength's a bit high given his stuffed shirt and low battle rating. Eh, how 'bout 3.7?

STOCKABILITY: Standard Federation decks will probably give him a pass, seeing as there's so much competition among personnel. Three skills doesn't quite cut it, even if they're all perfectly useful (good stats too). In a CF deck, however, he does command a ship, the USS Grissom. At space missions it supplies an unfilterable SCIENCE, and can be better defended with Plaque and Log, reaching 9-7-9 levels. Not exactly a warship, but it's got a fighting chance. Estaban provides a trio of scientific skills not attached to a vulnerable SCIENCE personnel, so he'll be useful. His skills are good at either planet or space missions. Even in CF decks, he can never hope to reach the level of usefulness held by the Enterprise crew, but secondary captains like him and Styles are good because of their ties to their respective ships. Overall, a 3.1.

TOTAL: 13.2 (66%) My least favorite Starfleet captain of all time, yet I pass him. What's wrong with me? (Answer: high Integrity.) ;-)

#1880-Jacobson, Personnel, Federation, AU, CF, universal, TMP
"Member of the medical staff aboard Enterprise, serving under Doctors McCoy and Chapel. Specialist in microcellular biology."
-MEDICAL, Biology, Honor; Staff icon
-INTEGRITY: 7, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 5

PICTURE: A lot of CGI work was done on this male nurse-type, including removing Chapel and Uhura from the image, and even extending the left side of the frame a little (though Decipher may have access to spaces outside the letterbox frame, I don't know). The result is slightly blurry, but not unpleasant as it gives the character motion and urgency. The Motion Picture uniform is closer to today's medical suits, and unusual in the cards, and I used to have one of those gadgets... to view slides ;-). A distinctive enough 3.3.

LORE: Placing him in TMP without resorting to dates or the mention of V'ger is deftly done by mentioning both McCoy and Chapel as doctors. The specialty is ok, but since he's not a mission specialist in the game, a little misleading. And he's not painted as a universal. Ah well, a 3.

TREK SENSE: Jacobson is a Medical personnel, for sure, with a specialty in a branch of Biology and all the appropriate icons. As for Honor, it's a natural for caregivers, I think, but why him and not Beverly Crusher, y'know? Well, I kind of like the idea that Starfleet personnel from the old days (OS and CF) are somehow nobler, more Honorable. It's not necessarily true, but personnel from that Enterprise often seem to benefit from their legendary status with the designers. No argument from me. Attributes are all fine and reasonable, not working against any of the concepts. A universal? Ignoring the lore, there's no reason for your basic CF Medical to be just like this. A high 4 for this support guy.

STOCKABILITY: Since he's a support personnel, you can get him to sufficiently big ships through Assign Support Personnel even if you're not running a CF (or even an Alpha Quadrant) strategy. In fact, the only CF Federation ships he can do this with is the Starship Excelsior and the Enterprise-B, not many. As far as the selection of skills go, MEDICAL and Biology are of course excellent, with Honor trailing a little behind. Of course, they're all extremely common in the Federation, if maybe less so on Support Personnel per se (Biology anyway, since Honor IS). I think he'll be relegated to CF decks after all, where all skills are a little more sparse, as your universal MEDICAL personnel. He stands as pretty much the only universal Federation source for all his skills in a Classic Film deck. As such, a 3.

TOTAL: 13.3 (66.5%) Another non-descript Starfleet personnel.

#1892-James T. Kirk, Personnel, Federation, TMP
"Famous captain thought lost in 2293. Returned from the nexus 78 years later to make a difference once more."
-OFFICER, Leadership x2, Diplomacy, Computer Skill, Honor; SD Any Captain's Order card; Scores 5 points each time he helps solve a mission; Command icon
-INTEGRITY: 9, CUNNING: 8, STRENGTH: 7

PICTURE: I love the skies behind Kirk, like those of an old western, mythic and heroic. This is just as Kirk appears in "our" time in front of Soren. A hero moment, and when you compare him to his other cards, he really is at a different age, and has a distinctive costume. Thumbs up, and a 3.7.

LORE: Short because of the expanded game text, but effective. The time travel element is expressed well enough, but the stuff about making a difference is straight from the dialogue between Kirk and Picard and still resonates. As good as 3.4.

TREK SENSE: What I find odd with this card is that it's not AU. Admiral McCoy and Spock got to the TNG era by ageing normally. Montgommery Scott by being trapped in a transporter buffer (which aged normally). But Kirk was taken by the nexus and brought back to the TNG era by Picard... and not even its present, since the period Kirk was there was a time Picard had already lived though once. How is this form of time travel different from Samuel Clemens' or Dr. Telek R'Mor's who also visited their future? Kirk's one-way trip? A CF icon wouldn't have been wrong either, since he COULD staff those ships. Aside from that, you won't hear a lot of complaining. He back to captain by this time, so an Officer. He's also a legend in his own time, so the double Leadership (Harriman would have given him his seat, and Picard certainly respected him) and the download of any Captain's Order can easily be attributed to that. It's only down one Leadership from Admiral Kirk, but then he's dropped a rank. The same justification could be used for the extra 5 points per mission he helps solve. I mean, Kirk decides to help you! The prestige alone makes your mission one for the history books, and thus more important. Diplomacy he had as Admiral Kirk, though indeed, it's much easier to find in his later career, i.e. after his involvement in the Khitomer Accords. Honor is a sensible addition given his sacrifices both at the start and end of Generations. Computer Skill is a surprise though. Kirk was never at ease with computers in the Original Series, and if the justification is screwing with the Kobayashi Maru program, taking over the Reliant with its prefix code, etc., then it comes a little late. Admiral Kirk should have had the skill. The beginning of Generations, with Kirk running down to fix the deflector seems to be the reason for this skill... bah. Attributes: Integrity's gone up one since he last "version" to coincide with his gaining Honor and self-sacrifice. Cunning's down from 1 from Admiral Kirk however, since his sacrifices aren't as clever as his cheating death all those other times. Strength's at the same slowed-down-by-age 7 the Admiral had. Still high, but this is Kirk, the guy who gets into fist fights at age 60+. A final oddity: He is not a version of the Captain Kirk persona. To me, this is wrong, since he's at least as close in age to Admiral Kirk as the Admiral is to the Captain. A lot of good, a few core bugs... An above average 3.3, but no more than that.

STOCKABILITY: Well, there's really nothing impressive about his skills. James T. Kirk is basically a DipHoLe with all ultra-common skills. In a sense, that's good since you want him to be able to help solve missions (for extra points), and common skills are commonly found on missions. Even if that weren't so, his attributes are very high, so he'll help at any mission that requires attributes. As far as those extra points go, they're basically those of a mission specialist. Nothing great, but an extra 5 here and there can get you over the 100-point mark. More interesting is his very flexible special download. You might need to boost the attributes of the personnel under him (Lower Decks, Yellow Alert) or those of his ship (Captain's Log, Defiant Defication Plaque, Tactical Console, Divert Power), get landing ability (Blue Alert, Establish Landing Protocols), meet staffing needs (Crew Reassignment), or just put obstacles in your opponent's path (Mission Debriefing, Deactivation). The point is, you have a real choice. Many of these, in fact, will help his ship, the USS Enterprise-A. Plaqued and Logged, it's a 8-9-10, which conveniently can download him, and just as conveniently will accept him as sole staffer even though his CF icon is missing. Since he's not a version of the Captain Kirk persona, the Captain or Admiral can be in play at the same time, which is certainly an interesting prospect, as they all have interesting abilities. James T., however, doesn't need an open AU Door. He DOES act as any Kirk as far as Khan, Wajahut and Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold are concerned. Not the most powerful ultra-rare, but certainly useful and worthy. A 3.9.

TOTAL: 14.3 (71.5%) Hey, an equal to the movie version of Picard.

#1904-Joachim, Personnel, Non-Aligned, AU, CF, TMP
"Khan's lieutenant and most trusted friend. Became his first officer aboard the USS Reliant when, after nearly two decades, they escaped Ceti Alpha V."
-CIVILIAN, SECURITY, Astrophysics, Navigation, Physics, Treachery; If on USS Reliant, it is WEAPONS +3; Command icon
-INTEGRITY: 5, CUNNING: 9, STRENGTH: 11

PICTURE: The color saturation is a bit heavy in this pic, but it's otherwise a good midriff shot. Here, Joachim's collar and necklace look like a leash - a subtle cue as to his relationship with Khan? Anyway, interesting enough for a 3.3.

LORE: Though other story elements seep in, this basically describes his relationship with Khan, though the bit about two decades does make us wonder how he can look so young. Maybe that was part of his genetic enhancements (but not part of Khan's). The focus is on the right thing, for after all, he wasn't much more than that. A 3.3.

TREK SENSE: Khan's crew might once have been military men, but for now, they are independent Civilians. Still, they observe a strict regimen, can staff a CF-era ship thanks to their superior intellects, and certainly hold to a power structure. The Command icon testifies to this. Joachim seemed instrumental in taking over the Reliant, and this shows up in a number of ways. The most obvious is the special skill, which boosts that ship's Weapons, if you ever wondered how it could ever be the match of the Enterprise in battle. That tactical goodness is also represented by the Security skill. We also saw him pilot the ship, so Navigation is in order. And since he was the only one advising against going into the nebula, he might have been relying on Astrophysics and Physics knowledge. His loyalty to Khan puts him on the side of the devils, so I guess Treachery's ok, but I don't necessarily like to see it on a loyal character, even if it's a loyalty to the wrong side. The Integrity does compromise between the two aspects though. Cunning and Strength, for their part, are definitely genetically enhanced. A bit much on the Strength perhaps, seeing as we didn't see any real feats of Strength from him. Overall, I'd say he was well done, though there's some reaching in places. A 3.9 should do.

STOCKABILITY: One of the personnel that can report for free aboard the USS Reliant thanks to Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold, Joachim would be immediately put to use boosting the ship's WEAPONS from 6 to 9 (add Khan and Captain's Log for a 12). RIADBSC downloads Reliant early, and Joachim's boost will come in handy if Revenge is used for its round-the-corner strategy. You need to protect the ship from players trying to stop you from getting those 15-30 points each turn! If personnel battle becomes an issue, all of Khan's followers have high STRENGTH, and Joachim has the highest of all. In fact, he's not a bad pick for any old assault team, as long as you don't mind the AU icon. His relatively large pool of skills are also useful, with SECURITY bettering CIVILIAN, and some good skills and attributes when dealing with dilemmas. Instrumental to Khan decks, he's not bad elsewhere either. A good 4.2.

TOTAL: 14.7 (73.5%) The first of Khan's people reviewed... a sign of things to come?

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