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@Database COTD200.guide @Author Ralf Schwate @Index "STCCG:stccg.guide/INDEX" @Node MAIN "COTD200.guide" @{"COTD" link "STCCG:cotd.guide/COTD"} @{"Main" link "STCCG:stccg.guide/MAIN"} @endnode @Node COTD101 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Nick Hathaway" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #101@{ub} Hi, folks, did you like yesterday's card ? Good. I did, too. And because I did, I opted to make a "Dream-Card" mini-series of say eight cards. Almost all of these have been suggested to Decipher and so we might see them sooner or later. Until then, have fun. @{b}NICK HATHAWAY (*)@{ub} Personnel, Federation, rare, Dream Card. Integrity 2 Cunning 11 Strength 13 OFFICER, ENGINEER x2, SECURITY, Biology x3, Kills one crewmember (random selection) every turn unless Empathy present. Command Star (*) @{i}"After the utter destruction of the U.S.S. Stardust which left him as the sole survivor, Lt. Hathaway was always hanging on the edge of madness."@{ui} (*) I've changed the name of this card. Originally, it was named after a former friend of mine who almost managed to destroy our club in a fit of jealousy. His name shall remain unpublished. In my suggestion to Decipher I've made this an "Aquiel Uhnari" card. This was less of a card than of a concept, namely to create really strong crewmembers and balance them with some kind of "casting cost" or "upkeep". An ENGINEER x2 + SECURITY combination is awesome enough, with the added Biology x3, and the Cunning and Strength he becomes way too strong. There are a handful of missions he can solve alone and more than just a few for which he requires the assistance of just one other personnel. (@{"Vekor" link COTD37} might come in handy.) And this is indeed one of his uses. Drop him somewhere, have him solve a mission and then he kills himself. Neat and clean. But of course, there is the other idea of keeping him around for all the abilities he has to give, in which case you need some Empathy around (even 1/2 Empathy will suffice. What ? 1/2 Empathy ? Right. That's another Dream card. [@{"#107" link COTD107}, and the only one I've never suggested to Decipher]) But let's assume you don't have that card @{"#107" link COTD107}. So we need to take a quick look around our empaths. The two @{"Trois" link COTD39}, Tam Elbrun and @{"Devinioni Ral" link COTD142}. That's all we have. Best choice would be Tam Elbrun here. Now is this worth the effort ? I'd say yes it is. Tam Elbrun is not that great, but you get an overpowered @{"Roga Danar" link COTD18} in return. Not too bad. Favorite combo(s): - Nick Hathaway + Tam Elbrun + @{"Vekor" link COTD37}. A mini-away team that is all but dilemma-proof (except for that *+%$& Firestorm!) Rating : 8.5 (again, this is only an about rating. I've used the cards only for very few games.) Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD102 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Desert World" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #102@{ub} Hi, folks, now everybody might ask: What ? Only super-high-powered rare Dream Cards ? Nope. Here's the proof. A nice useful idea for a common: @{b}DESERT WORLD@{ub} Event, common, Dream Card. Play on any planet location. Any away team stopped here will lose one member (random selection). Not cumulative. @{i}"On hot worlds with arid climates, away teams without adequate protection will have huge trouble surviving even for one full day."@{ui} Picture: A vast desert. Simple, but useful. Especially when used with a stall deck (must I say @{"Rogue Borg" link COTD33}?). Probably after the first two or three times you hit somebody with it, its simple presence will be enough to really discourage attempts at that par- ticular mission. Once again, there are two uses (but they are similar): a) Increase the power of your Dilemmas. Use it in conjunction with those Dilemma cards that have hard conditions but not-too-great effects as a little booster. Will work quite well with all "cannot get past unless ..." Dilemmas, also Alien Abduction, Chalnoth or @{"Sarjenka" link COTD45} are possible choices. b) Use it as a surgical away-team decimator. For this use, you will need @{"Rogue Borg" link COTD33} and a Lore Returns. Wait until the away team is on location, then bring in your @{"R.B." link COTD33} one by one, each eliminating an away team member AND stopping the crew for another turn. How to get the @{"R.B." link COTD33} into play ? Well, how about placing @{"Mot" link COTD24} on a Runabout and playing them on YOUR OWN SHIP ??? Nice little battle force... Favorite combo(s): - Desert world + Chalnoth. Arrgh + Arrgh. Rating : 7.0 PS. To avoid any hassle and to answer the unavoidable question right away: No, I cannot and will not make any copies of my dream cards available to ANYONE. First this violates copyrights by Paramount and Decipher, second, the pictures used are photos of my friends and THEY don't like being sent all over the world, and third, I don't want to go copy cards every other day. So if you want to experiment with them, create your own designs (or better, make up your own ideas and email them to Decipher. This gives you a good chance to one day use your card even in official play.) Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD103 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Court-Martial" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #103@{ub} Hi, folks, here's another little nasty surprise: @{b}COURT-MARTIAL@{ub} Interrupt, common, Dream card. Play on an away team that just lost a member. Unless Bureaucracy (*) present, its player loses 10 points. @{i}"With the often unjust court-martials, the Admirality frequently piles the insult of punishment on top of the injury of losing a valued crewmember."@{ui} (*) Bureaucracy is a skill I invented to enhance a few of my Admiral characters. You can substitute Leadership. Try this with a Klingon Battle deck. Each time you win a battle, just drain 10 points from your opponent, too. Also works nicely with some of the middle- strength dilemmas. (It is not usable with the @{"Crystalline Entity" link COTD52} and not very sensible with @{"Barclay's P. Disease" link COTD29}.) Of course, this works a little differently whether it is worded with Leadership or Bureaucracy. Whilst Leadership is a skill useful in itself, Bureaucracy was very much designed to be a "shortcut" skill present as an alternative to some really hefty mission requirements and as a skill useful to avoid some otherwise nasty plots. In the Bureaucracy variant this is a bigger threat, especially to speed deck players. With only a few (albeit good) Bureaucracy-capable cards you will be in a little trouble getting them out. (I have made up only three of them.) Also, Bureaucracy is a strategy in itself, so even if these cards were available you might hit a few players with this. With Leadership, at least the Federation won't have too much trouble getting around this one. If you want to experiment with Bureaucracy, here's a Bonus Card: @{b}Admiral Connaught Rossa@{ub} Personnel, Federation, uncommon, Dream Card. Integrity 8, Cunning 7, Strength 3 OFFICER, Diplomacy, Bureaucracy, Anthropology, Honor. Command Star (*). (From "Suddenly Human") Favorite combo(s): - @{"Desert World" link COTD102} + Court-Martial. Two Dream cards for a dream combo. Rating : 7.5 (Bureaucracy) / 6.5 (Leadership) Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD104 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Parallels" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #104@{ub} Hi, folks, some of the best cards are made by combining several cards into one (a little weaker of course). So is this one: @{b}PARALLELS@{ub} Event, rare, Dream Card. Exchange any 2 of your cards of the same type. These may be cards in play, in your hand, draw deck or discard pile. @{i}"Parallel universes that touch each other are only very slightly different. Sometimes a rift might allow passage between them."@{ui} This beauty can perform several functions. The first and most obvious is to retroactively change a random selection death or running off into an "owner's choice" one. P*ssed off that your @{"Beverly" link COTD22} ran off to the farthest planet ? Exchange her with @{"Mot the Barber" link COTD24} (thereby effectively changing the @{"Female Love Interest" link COTD74} into a @{"Male Love Interest" link COTD74}). Angry at losing your @{"Enterprise" link COTD3} to a Ship Seizure ? Transform a Shuttlecraft into a new @{"Enterprise" link COTD3}... But if you only think of this card as a resurrection card, you're missing lots of its potential. It can also be used as a minor @{"Betazoid Gift Box" link COTD9} (exchanging a not-so-needed crewmember in play for the one you need JUST NOW!). Or, replace your @{"Static Warp Bubble" link COTD48} made useless by your opponent having lost all cards with, say, a @{"Red Alert" link COTD6} or a @{"Genetronic Replicator" link COTD46}. The third use is similar but sometimes crucial. It also works as a nice little Teleport. Need two Diplomacy for a @{"Q-Net" link COTD86} but have @{"Sarek" link COTD72} stuck on the other side ? Exchange him with whatever crewmember you consider expendable. The drawback of this card: It essentially costs you a turn. (Not an interrupt) And, it costs you a card slot. But nonetheless, having double chances of getting your @{"Red Alert" link COTD6} early or getting a crucial crewmember at the right time are not chances to be neglected. Favorite combo(s): - As a rommie, move somewhere fast with a @{"Pi" link COTD60}, then suddenly Parallel in your Warbird and FIRE! Rating : 9.0 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD105 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/V.I.P. Transport" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #105@{ub} Hi, folks, something is still missing in STCCG: A mission you can play on a ship as an interrupt. Thus, here comes: @{b}V.I.P. TRANSPORT@{ub} Interrupt, uncommon, Dream Card. Play on a ship. It must go to the farthest planet to recieve 20 points. You may discard any number of VIP's there for 10 additional points each. @{i}"Many parsecs worth of space have been traversed by starships just to get some V.I.P. where he wanted to be."@{ui} Picture: an ornately dressed ambassador. Again a dual use: 1) Play it on one of your own ships. Either a big one, laden with VIP's in hope of making 60, 70 or even more points at one location (but you'd better make sure you have lots of shields and weapons in order not to be delayed by lots of battles), or just a small Runabout / Scout steered by a single expendable VIP in order to get a quick 30 points and a good distraction. For this purpose, @{"Wormholes" link COTD8}, WNOHGB, Transwarp Conduits and similar stuff come in very handy. 2) As an annoyance for an opponent. Especially if used in conjunction with an @{"Incoming Message" link COTD68}. Play the VIP Transport, wait until the opponent is almost there, fire the @{"I.M." link COTD68} Opponent has to return to the outpost then go all the way to the farthest planet again with a ship he'd rather use to solve missions. In the meantime: just collect your 100 points. Favorite combo(s): - VIP Transport + @{"Incoming Message" link COTD68} Rating : 8.0 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD106 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Beaming Clone" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #106@{ub} Hi, folks, want versatility taken to the extreme ? Use this personnel card: @{b}BEAMING CLONE@{ub} Personnel, Non-aligned, rare, Dream Card. Integrity * Cunning * Strength * Gets all skills and stats of one personnel of your choice at this outpost. @{i}"Transporter Duplicates are the result of failed beaming under adverse cir- cumstances. They share not only their DNA but also their memories with the original."@{ui} Picture: Two identical Starfleet Officers facing each other. This is not a card for the beginner as it requires a good amount of planning to use. First what you can NOT do with it: You cannot use it to get the @{"Data" link COTD7} or @{"Picard" link COTD1} you urgently need when he's still buried in the draw deck. You can only duplicate a personnel card already in play. Situation one: You want to form two crews, each with a @{"Roga Danar" link COTD18}. No trouble - clone him. Situation two: You need two of a skill you have only once (Diplomacy?). Clone the one person with the skill. Situation three: You are playing a treaty deck. Your Rommie crew needs some Federation support but you don't get the treaty card. Clone your Feddie and transfer him to the Romulan ship (he's still non-aligned!) The trouble with this: Timing! Once played, this clone can never again change the person he mimicks. So play it too early and get stuck with a bad choice. (However, there is a way out. Find a way to kill the clone and @{"Res-Q" link COTD28} it.) Favorite combo(s): - Beaming clone + @{"Res-Q" link COTD28}: Nice shapechanger Rating : 10.0 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD107 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Catherine McCat" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #107@{ub} Hi, folks, my last "Dream Card" is a fun card. It features a character I imagined for a fan movie parody. Here comes: @{b}CATHERINE McCAT@{ub} Personnel, Non-aligned, rare, Dream card. Integrity 3 Cunning 7 Strength 1/2 (Yes that's one half!) SCIENCE, Anthropology x2, Biology, Greed, Empathy x1/2, Mouse-Hunting x3 @{i}"Catherine is the result of a failed genetic experiment by @{"Wes Crusher" link COTD26} to give a cat speech. Although the prime goal was achieved, LT. CMDR. McCat has also learned to think!"@{ui} Picture: A white beautiful Angora Cat. No game review, but a character review (and a "how-to" to transfer your character ideas into STCCG Dream Cards): SCIENCE: I had to give her a classification and CIVILIAN was ruled out by the flavor text ("Lt.Cmdr"). Also, SECURITY and OFFICER didn't seem viable choices either. ENGINEER and MEDICAL were ruled out by her cat's paws (Dexterity!) and she obviously is no V.I.P. So that's what remained. Anthropology x2: As all cat lovers will know, cats know humans very well and exhibit a lot of character. So I gave her a big chunk of the "Human science". Biology: Well, she is a scientist, isn't she ? Greed: A typically feline trait. Especially Greed for comfort. Empathy x1/2: Full empathy would be game-breaking, but the forethought cats often exhibit almost suggests some empathy. (Also nice for taming @{"Nick Hathaway" link COTD101} [@{"#101" link COTD101}], as these two nicely complement each other, skill-wise.) Mouse-Hunting x3: Well, obviously a fun skill. But wait! We're stuck with another useless skill in STCCG: Barbering. So, let's make this one useful and take Mouse-Hunting with it. We will need another card that is both hairy and concerns hunting little animals. So, what would obviously be the best choice ? Right: Trouble with Tribbles. Dilemma, Either. Unless Barbering or Mouse- Hunting present, Away team is stopped here for three full turns. The Attributes: 1/2 STR is self-explanatory, 3 INT is given because of the Greed and the animal traits and 7 CUN reflects her thinking ability and her sharp instincts. Favorite combo(s): - Catherine + @{"Nick Hathaway" link COTD101}. Great Team, less killing. Rating : 7.5 And the promised "how-to" ? Step by step. 1) Select a classification that best fits your needs. Consider all seven before making a choice. If two seem equally good, make it a double classification. 2) Select one to three existing skills that can be justified for your chosen character. 3) If feasible, create a Dream Skill that (perhaps a little funnily) describes your character. Make up a Dilemma, Mission, or event that makes use of that skill. 4) In the light of your skill selection, choose the attributes. ONCE AGAIN A WORD OF CAUTION (and a disclaimer): Whenever you create Dream Cards for STCCG, be aware that the materials you use are copyrighted and trademarked by Decipher and Paramount. You can talk about your ideas and publish them over the 'net. When you actually make them into a physical card, make sure that at least one real STCCG card ends up in your realisation of the Dream card (most easily by just creating the face and glueing it to an existing back.) Never do create multiple copies of those cards and it is a big NO NO to ever sell any of these cards.<BR> [Why this works is, you do not copy anything, you actually mutilate one of your originals, which you, as the owner are allowed to do. But selling these defaced cards would be selling a derivative work which is forbidden.] Disclaimer: The STCCG Dream cards presented in the COTD articles #100 to #107 are for fun use only and not intended as a challenge to any copyrights owned by Paramount or Decipher. Any recreation of these cards by readers is solely the responsibility of the person physically making such cards and is strongly discouraged unless you know exactly what you do. Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD108 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/U.S.S. Nebula" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #108@{ub} Hi, folks, my "Dream Cards" severely lacked in one category, but this series shall not, so I've chosen a ship for today: @{b}U.S.S. NEBULA@{ub} Ship, Federation, Common. Range 8 Weapons 7 Shields 8 Holodeck, Tractor Beam. Requires One Command(*) and One Staff (+). @{i}"Modern class of ship featuring large upper equipment modules customizable for specific mission needs."@{ui} One of the better commons. Almost as good as the basic Galaxy (only one less Shields) for one less crewmember, sounds like a bargain to me... But of course, it's a common. So we should (unfortunately) be able to do better by using an equivalent rare or uncommon. But-SURPRISE, the Nebula class rare (Phoenix) and the uncommon (Sutherland) are actually WORSE cards!!! (I actually suppose this is an error card- they got it one place too high and wanted to make her a 7/6/7 which would fit the usual pattern of rare ships being 1-2 places better than their common counterparts.) Nonetheless, we are to play the card as printed, so let's make the best of it. What are the uses for this ship ? 1) In fast mission-oriented decks: Play this instead of a runabout to have a nice little crewmover if your opponent plays something else than Feds. The extra shields will serve you well and it's two points faster than an Excelsior and one better than a @{"Hood" link COTD82} (which also need two crew). Make sure you have enough cards with command ability, though. Also an alternative to the Galaxy if your opponent plays few dilemmas and you can form small crews. 2) In Holo-Decks: The smallest ship that can use Holograms. 3) In multi-player games: Linking ship to move crew over large distances. Needs two people to fly, so you won't be carrying too many crew you don't really want to take along. A good sideboard card. Favorite combo(s): - Nah. None here. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) U.S.S. NEBULA Wesley's rating: 7.0 Conner's rating: 4.5 Habib's rating: 6.5 Phil's rating: 8.0 Lore's rating: 7.3 Owen's rating: 8.7 Ian's rating: 7.0 Jack's rating: 8.0 Jason's rating: 6.0 GoOski's rating: --- ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.0 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD109 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Dr. Leah Brahms" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #109@{ub} Hi, folks, How about a little hologram ? @{b}DR. LEAH BRAHMS@{ub} Personnel, Federation, rare, Hologram, universal. Integrity 7 Cunning 9 Strength 2 ENGINEER x2. @{i}"Re-creation who said 'I'm with you every day, @{"Geordi" link COTD32}. Every time you look at this engine, you're looking at me. Every time you touch it, it's me.'"@{ui} Whoa. Best Flavor Text in the game. Really. Apart from that - well, better don't go too deeply into details. Holograms have one of two uses: a) Redshirting. Not too bad an idea. But I'd rather have some holo which is a little more useful in general play. Unless I am desperate for @{"Nutational shields" link COTD40}, I normally have enough ENGINEERS. And if I look beyond ENGINEERing, there are better cards (one of which will be discussed tomorrow:-) ). b) Space missions. Good, where are her SKILLS ??? And with everybody complaining that we don't have enough variety in the basic mix of cards, was it really necessary to have a holo recreation of a card we have as the real thing ? And both RARE ? Might have made a neat little addi- tion to HOLODECK ADVENTURES, but not to the basic set. Favorite combo(s): - Both Leah Brahms on the same ship. Just to hear my opponent say "WHY???" @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) DR. LEAH BRAHMS Wesley's rating: 3.5 Conner's rating: 6.0 Habib's rating: Doesn't have. Phil's rating: Commented, forgot the rating :-) Lore's rating: 2.1 Owen's rating: 2.4 Ian's rating: 4.3 Jack's rating: 5.5 Jason's rating: 4.5 GoOski's rating: 4.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 4.1 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD110 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Albert Einstein" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #110@{ub} Hi, folks, how about a GOOD holo then ? @{b}ALBERT EINSTEIN@{ub} Personnel, Federation, rare, Hologram, universal. Integrity 9 Cunning 11 Strength 2 SCIENCE, Physics x 2, Astrophysics. @{i}"Re-creation of the famous 20th century human. Author of the Theory of Relativity."@{ui} Best thing about him: He's a STCCG player! (Look very closely, if you haven't heard about this before - it was one of the Easter Eggs.) Game-wise, two second places concerning attribute values. Integrity 9 (only @{"Kahless" link COTD27} has 10) and Cunning 11 (against @{"Data's" link COTD7} 12) on the same card aren't too crappy. SCIENCE, Physics and Astrophysics are also quite useful, especially on space missions, but that's what you use holos for anyway (unless you are redshirting, but in this case neither of the Feddie Holograms is too good.) Of course, his Strength 2 just sux, but as I said, you're out in space and I suppose you don't do too much battle there and there aren't very many space missions that require Strength (One to be exact!) Too bad we didn't get the Hawking card ! (Integrity 8, Cunning 12, Strength 1 SCIENCE x2, Astrophysics x3 ???) Does anybody know whether Hawking himself rejected the idea or whether Decipher just never considered it ? Nice card for a space mission deck. Favorite combo(s): - Albert Einstein + @{"Wesley" link COTD26} + @{"Geordi" link COTD32}: 3 Space Missions by themselves and quite a bunch only need a few attribute points or one extra skill. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) ALBERT EINSTEIN Wesley's rating: 6.5 Conner's rating: 6.0 Habib's rating: 3.5 Phil's rating: 4.0 Lore's rating: 6.5 Owen's rating: 5.1 Ian's rating: 6.9 Jack's rating: 6.3 Jason's rating: 7.0 GoOski's rating: 8.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.98 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD111 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Warp Core Breach" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #111@{ub} Hi, folks, can you say "useless"? I knew you can. Can you also say @{b}WARP CORE BREACH@{ub} Event, rare. Plays on any ship, except @{"Borg ship" link COTD2}. Ship explodes at end of owner's next turn unless ENGINEER aboard by then. Discard after use. @{i}"In warp propulsion systems, if the magnetic confinement filed collapses, matter and antimatter collide causing the ship to explode."@{ui} Oops, RARE ??? And EVENT ??? They didn't mean this, did they ? Granted, it's one of the few cards that have dilemma-like effects without actually being a dilemma, but it's so WEAK! As an interrupt, not costing you an entire turn, this might have been nice. Nonetheless, quick analysis what you CAN do with it: 1) Throw it on an empty ship at an outpost. If your opponent does not have any ENGINEERS ready, she's probably going to lose that ship. Good against decks with few ships. 2) Throw it on an empty ship at a mission location to stall. Check before that your opponent still has need to ever leave that location again (i.e. cannot reach 100 by just solving the present mission. 3) Throw on an empty (or poorly manned) ship, then Temporal Rift it. BOOM. (Took two cards and a turn, however.) Neither of these seems too great to me. Nah. Better add something else to my deck. Favorite combo(s): - Warp core Breach + Temporal Rift. At least it works. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) WARP CORE BREACH Wesley's rating: 2.0 Conner's rating: Doesn't have Habib's rating: 1.5 Phil's rating: 4.0 Lore's rating: 5.8 Owen's rating: 4.7 Ian's rating: 4.6 Jack's rating: 7.0 (But you've been rating the wrong card!) Jason's rating: 4.5 GoOski's rating: --- ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 3.4 Jack obviously got confused with Plasma Fire, as he commented about not having SECURITY... (I did not calculate his rating into the average) Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD112 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Subspace Schism" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #112@{ub} Hi, folks, this card has a little more to it than it first seems: @{b}SUBSPACE SCHISM@{ub} Interrupt, uncommon. Play within five seconds of either player's card draw. That player must dis- card that card and redraw. @{i}"Solanagen-based aliens from another subspace domain accessed our space to abduct people for experiments."@{ui} Now this one requires some depth: A card that can be used on either player. So, let's first assume I use it on myself. Approach #1: I draw a bad card and want to get rid of it. No problem, play Subspace Schism, discard, replace. But then, I could have drawn something useful instead of the Subspace Schism in first place. DOH. Not worth it. Approach #2: I want to play a deck with less than 30 draw deck cards. Here's a use. Subspace Schism is a neutral card I can well use to reduce my deck size if that's my aim. Remember, I can use it on itself! So this should not be dismissed, especially if I have lots of Bridge crew. Disadvantage: Cannot use it on the first seven cards, so any that come up early will hurt me. Still a possible strategy. That's it for this side, try it the other way round. Now my OPPONENT is my target. Approach #3: Deny her a good card. To do this I must know what she has just drawn. Several possibilities here: 3a: Play a @{"Thought maker" link COTD12} on her. Place a vital card on top of the deck (let's say her only Juggler), then lots of crap. Let her draw, Subspace Schism. 3b: Use Jaglom Shrek and a good memory. @{"Alien probe" link COTD133} works as well. 3c: Wait until she uses her @{"Betazoid Gift Box" link COTD9}. Definitely a good card drawn here (might be illegal, though.) Approach #4: The double nasty shot. Situation: You have a nasty event card on the table. Opponent draws, smiles and throws a @{"Kevin Uxbridge" link COTD20} on your event (of course NOT waiting the five seconds!!!). Smile back, fire your Subspace Schism. TOO bad for her... (Make sure she really played the card she had just drawn. Many players will fall for this. Works great for @{"Red Alerts" link COTD6}, too.) Defense against this: ALWAYS wait 5 seconds after your card draw before playing a card... The card adds some kind of Poker element to the game. It's really a bluffing card. Favorite combo(s): - Subspace Schism + a hasty opponent. Works great. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) SUBSPACE SCHISM Wesley's rating: 5.5 Conner's rating: 6.0 Habib's rating: 3.0 Phil's rating: 4.0 Lore's rating: 4.2 Owen's rating: 5.8 Ian's rating: 4.9 Jack's rating: 6.5 Jason's rating: 5.0 GoOski's rating: --- ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.0 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD113 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Mendak" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #113@{ub} Hi, folks, something green: @{b}MENDAK@{ub} Personnel, Romulan, rare. Integrity 4 Cunning 7 Strength 7 OFFICER, Treachery, Exobiology, Command Star (*). @{i}"Commander of the warbird Devoras. Aided the escape of Romulan operative Selok from the Federation."@{ui} This card has one single reason for its existence: Exobiology. Treachery is as common as dirt among Romulans, OFFICER is not the best classification and I can get decent attributes from other cards. He's not even Firestorm-proof. Exobiology however is almost unique among Rommies and only one non-aligned (Baran) has it. Do I at least need it ? Lessee: Investigate Raid. 35 points for Exobiology and Diplomacy. Both rare skills, but acceptable if I might find some other uses (Diplomacy is vital for @{"Q-Nets" link COTD86}, so I only have to check Exobiology). @{"Investigate Sighting" link COTD63}. Treachery + Exobiology + CUNNING >40 ??? Too hard for a measly 35. Should have been a 40. Investigate Anomaly. Exobiology + STRENGTH>35 ? A typical beginner's card with three affiliations. Common and only 30 points. And no decent Feddie deck has any trouble with it. Result: Three rather mediocre missions for a character I cannot use for any other purpose. Not a bargain. Next. BTW: I cannot even say I need the Exobiology as Takket will be a staple in EVERY Romulan deck (only non-holo Doctor!) Favorite combo(s): - :-( @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) MENDAK Wesley's rating: 3.5 Conner's rating: 5.5 Habib's rating: 4.0 Phil's rating: 5.0 Lore's rating: 4.8 Owen's rating: 5.0 Ian's rating: 5.2 Jack's rating: 5.7 Jason's rating: 6.5 GoOski's rating: 4.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 4.97 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD114 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Kurn" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #114@{ub} Hi, folks, Something red: @{b}KURN@{ub} Personnel, Klingon, rare. Integrity 8 Cunning 6 Strength 8 OFFICER, Honor, Diplomacy, Computer Skill, Navigation, Command Star (*) @{i}"Son of Mogh, Brother of @{"Lieutenant Worf" link COTD35}. Member of the Klingon High Council."@{ui} At last. Three OK attributes, four skills and all of them useful. Add a Command ability and a recommendation from the theme deck department (@{"Worf" link COTD35} deck...) and you get a beautiful STCCG card that will actually see some play. Computer Skill and Navigation, if nothing else, are little life insurances, even more so if you play space mission decks. (And don't forget the embarrassment of being nailed with an impassable door) Honor and Diplomacy are the good old Klingon virtues, quite common, but then you can use multiples of both. (Wormhole Negotiations, anyone ?) Try Cloaked Mission with Kurn (esay 30 points) or send him with a few muscle types to solve the Krios suppression. Secret Salvage would also be an option (one more Navigation). A staple in every Klingon deck. Favorite combo(s): - Kurn + @{"Worf" link COTD35} in a treaty deck. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) KURN Wesley's rating: 7.5 Conner's rating: 5.5 Habib's rating: Doesn't have(Hey, selling your cards or what?) Phil's rating: 9.0 Lore's rating: 7.1 Owen's rating: 9.3 Ian's rating: 9.7 Jack's rating: 7.5 Jason's rating: 7.0 GoOski's rating: 8.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.9 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD115 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Evek" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #115@{ub} Hi, folks, something... gold ? @{b}EVEK@{ub} Personnel, Non-aligned, uncommon. Integrity 7 Cunning 5 Strength 7 OFFICER, Diplomacy, Leadership, Anthropology, Command Star (*). @{i}"Gul Evek, Cardassian male officer. Administers area ceded to Cardassians in a treaty with the Federation."@{ui} Ever wished for a @{"Sela" link COTD23} in your non-Romulan decks ? This is about as close as you can get to the most famous Rommie without having to play green cards. Diplomacy and Leadership are a good, though not very rare combination. Three fair stats make for solid support. For the Anthropology, well, we'd better find some uses for it, like in a Cultural Observation (Much better than @{"Vash" link COTD88} or @{"Nick Rozhenko" link COTD81} here), Investigate Alien Probe (although Koroth would be a better choice here) or New Contact. (Wow, use ALL THREE skills here. Just add a @{"Devinoni Ral" link COTD142} for Empathy.) But that's it. Uses ? For a Klingon deck: Sure, especially if you play the last two missions mentioned above. For a Federation deck: One of several exchangeable support cards though a good choice if you're short on Bridge crew or rares in general. For a Romulan deck: Quite nil, unless you are desperate to use New Contact. For a treaty deck: Great, especially if playing red/green. Add him to whatever crew and score 40 for New Contact on the fly-by. Neither a beginner's card (you need a few uncommon/rare missions to make good use of him) nor a card that will occur too often in high-level tournament play. But good for anything inbetween. Favorite combo(s): - Evek + @{"Devinoni Ral" link COTD142}. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) EVEK Wesley's rating: 6.0 Conner's rating: 8.0 Habib's rating: 7.5 Phil's rating: 8.0 Lore's rating: 9.2 Owen's rating: 8.0 Ian's rating: 8.9 Jack's rating: 9.0 Jason's rating: 7.0 GoOski's rating: 7.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.86 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD116 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Archer" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #116@{ub} Hi, folks, this one is a straightforward Dilemma (really running out of interesting cards...) @{b}ARCHER@{ub} Dilemma, Planet, common. Away Team member with highest total attribute numbers is shot and dies unless SECURITY and MEDICAL present. Discard Dilemma. @{i}"Indigenous inhabitants, such as this Mintakan bowman, often attack an away team out of fear."@{ui} Simple to use, simple to review: What it does: It eliminates one crewmember. A good one, too. Especially against Fed decks this one can wreak havoc, as the Bridge crew all have really high scores. If present, you nail @{"Data" link COTD7}, next would be @{"Worf" link COTD35} then @{"Picard" link COTD1}. After this the card remains unclear. @{"Beverly" link COTD22}, @{"Geordi" link COTD32} and @{"W.Riker" link COTD19} all have the same total score, so which one is actually shot ? (Don't know, but it's probably in the FAQ.) What it takes: A Security (hard to come by, at least for Feds) and a Medical (nobody beams anywhere without one of these). Enhance with a few @{"Love interests" link COTD74} and you might stand a good chance of your male Security or your female Medical being affected. (So use those Tashas and Simon Tarses, make for a little surprise concerning those cards). One of those that sometimes work, but not too often. Where to place: Planets. Better choice, at least with all these artifact decks floating around. Where to put it: In any Dilemma-heavy deck. Favorite combo(s): - Archer + @{"Male Love Interest" link COTD74}. Let's get the Security guy first... - Archer + Microvirus + Anaphasic Organism + any mission I want to sneak into later on. Opponent gets discouraged by three Dilemmas, then I move in and storm it (3x same requirements!!!) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) ARCHER Wesley's rating: 6.5 Conner's rating: 6.0 Habib's rating: 6.0 Phil's rating: 6.0 Lore's rating: --- (Hey, forgotten this one?) Owen's rating: 4.8 Ian's rating: 5.1 Jack's rating: 6.9 Jason's rating: 8.0 GoOski's rating: --- ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.2 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD117 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Varel" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #117@{ub} Hi, folks, another cheapo Rommie Commie: @{b}VAREL@{ub} Personnel, Romulan, common. Integrity 4 Cunning 7 Strength 5 SCIENCE, Physics, Computer Skill, Youth. Staff Star (+). Universal. "Representative of female Romulans trained in the field of Science. Assigned to assist with @{"Interphase Generator" link COTD15} project." Yawn. 4/7/5. Another one of those yelling for Thermal Deflectors or an Integrity enhancer card. Getting repetitive, isn't it ? At least the skills are worth talking about a little. SCIENCE is one of the two classifications most decks have trouble with (Only @{"N'Vek" link COTD67} and Tarus have it amongst the Rommies, the former is uncommon and not universal, the latter only has one skill and a bad one, too.) Youth is WAY too common amongst the green cards to be useful, but Physics and Computer Skill are not too crap- py. Once again, @{"Relief Mission" link COTD64} is the key here. A nice hiding-place for an artifact you need early. So Physics comes in very handy. Apart from that, Computer Skill is the one that always gets your hair off your head when you lack it (Impassable Door). Also the only one that helps in the rare missions. A card that has a few uses when you play with mainly commons and uncommons but quickly loses its appeal once you have the rare Rommie-only missions. Favorite combo(s): - None. A pure filler card unless playing an all-common deck. - Phil's favorite combo: @{"Female love interest" link COTD64} + Varel instead of @{"Sela" link COTD23} :-) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) VAREL Wesley's rating: 5.5 Conner's rating: 5.0 Habib's rating: 6.0 Phil's rating: 6.0 Lore's rating: 5.7 Owen's rating: 6.0 Ian's rating: 5.8 Jack's rating: 7.4 Jason's rating: 6.0 GoOski's rating: 3.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.64 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD118 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Nausicaans" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #118@{ub} Hi, folks, {"Archer's" link COTD116} older brother (Thanx for the intro, Jack!): @{b}NAUSICAANS@{ub} Dilemma, Planet, uncommon. Three Nausicaans pick a fight. One away team member is killed (random selec- tion) unless Strength > 44. Discard Dilemma. @{i}"Tall humanoid species with a quick temper. A Nausicaan once stabbed @{"Jean-Luc Picard" link COTD1} through the heart with a knife."@{ui} Should have read "Kills the away team member with the highest number of skills (random if tie)" just for realism... But unfortunately this isn't the case, so let's stick with what we have. The effect is one more on the list of the dead. Unfortunately not very selective, so you often get somebody you didn't care about. Too bad. But compared with all the others that just kill one away team member this one holds quite well. Of course, Armus is certain, but he does not stop the away team as this one does. Rebel encounter is about the same thing (darn) but it leaves the opponent with the choice to sacrifice an equipment instead. Menthar Booby Trap is way too easy. And that's about it. Most often, the stopping effect is the thing you go for anyway. A turn can be much more valuable than a random personnel card. STRENGTH > 44 is at least a requirement even larger teams can have a little trouble with. So chances are you'll get something out of this one. No much, but a man and a turn. A regular choice for my dilemma-heavy decks. Favorite combo(s): - Nausicaans + anything that works on attribute scores (Anaphasic Organism, El-Adrel Creature, etc.) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) NAUSICAANS Wesley's rating: 6.5 Conner's rating: 5.5 Habib's rating: 6.0 Phil's rating: 7.0 Lore's rating: --- (Hey, again you forgot the rating) Owen's rating: 4.8 Ian's rating: 5.8 Jack's rating: 7.0 Jason's rating: 7.5 GoOski's rating: --- ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.4 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD119 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Thomas Riker" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #119@{ub} Hi, folks, a beaming clone that is not a Dream Card: @{b}THOMAS RIKER@{ub} Personnel, Federation, rare. Integrity 8 Cunning 7 Strength 6 OFFICER, Leadership, Navigation, Geology, Music. Command Star (*). @{i}"Lt. Commander Thomas Riker is @{"William Riker's" link COTD19} double. Created during a transporter accident in 2361."@{ui} Hey, he should have Youth skill. At seven years, he's probably the youngest Starfleet officer ever! :-) First thing to do is let's compare him to the real thing. One less Strength (Why? He had to survive in a hostile environment!), no Diplomacy, no Honor (both somewhat understandable), but an added Geology (he needed THAT to survive!). Seems to me the losses are a lot bigger than the gains. Rather use the real thing, he's much better. Unless of course... a) you are not that rich and cannot shell out lotsa bucks for a @{"Will Riker" link COTD19}. In this case you might use a Tom instead. Problem is, he's not that much cheaper. b) you need two Rikers. A Riker is a watered-down @{"Picard" link COTD1}, anyway... So if you need leaders for three teams, pick Tom for the third. Favorite combo(s): - @{"William Riker" link COTD19} & @{"Picard" link COTD1} (No typo here!) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) THOMAS RIKER Wesley's rating: 6.5 Conner's rating: Does not have Habib's rating: 6.5 Phil's rating: 6.0 Lore's rating: 7.1 Owen's rating: 8.2 Ian's rating: 7.3 Jack's rating: 6.8 Jason's rating: 6.0 GoOski's rating: 5.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.7 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD120 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Toral" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #120@{ub} Hi, folks, a big bad Klingon: @{b}TORAL@{ub} Personnel, Klingon, uncommon. Integrity 6 Cunning 5 Strength 6 V.I.P., Leadership x1/2, Youth, Staff Star (+). @{i}"Illegitimate son of Duras. Claimed leadership position on the High Council at bidding of half sisters, @{"Lursa" link COTD54} and @{"B'Etor" link COTD55}."@{ui} Harrrgh!!! What's this ? A VIP with three hopelessly average stats, a useless Youth skill (use a Divok or @{"B'Etor" link COTD55} instead), a halved Leadership that you cannot use for anything than leading battles (don't have enough OFFICERs?) and a meager Staff star ? Nice photo, anyway. Okay, here come the uses for this card : Nuff said. Favorite combo(s): - None. Zilch. Nyet. Nada. Rien. Nix. Forget it. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) TORAL Wesley's rating: 3.0 Conner's rating: 6.0 Habib's rating: 2.5 Phil's rating: 4.0 Lore's rating: 4.1 Owen's rating: 1.4 Ian's rating: 2.7 Jack's rating: 5.9 Jason's rating: 5.0 GoOski's rating: 3.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 3.76 (Finally a crappy card that GETS a low average rating!) Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD121 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/J'Ddan" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #121@{ub} Hi, folks, here's another poor man's card: J'DDAN Personnel, Klingon, common. Integrity 2 Cunning 6 Strength 6 SCIENCE, Exobiology, Treachery, Staff Star (+), universal. @{i}"Klingon trained in the field of science. Smuggled Federation secrets to the Romulans in the form of amino acid codes."@{ui} This one actually makes sense. At least he has one skill that can be useful to many Klingon decks. Exobiology, to be exact. The only other one that has it is Nu'Daq, but he's only an OFFICER, so not of much use during Dilemmas. Treachery is another one of these, but this is less useful if you have a full set including rares, as you get @{"Lursa" link COTD54} and @{"B'Etor" link COTD55} (not only do they have better skills, they also have larger t*ts...:-) ). If you don't have them, stick with this little common. A staff star is better than nil (as all Klingon ships do have a requirement for Staff), and being universal could actually help with this card given the chronical Klingon lack of SCIENCE. Stats: Big Arrgh. Integrity 2 ????? Firestorm ????? Cunning and Strength 6 each ? Do Klingons come any weaker than this ? (Yes, they do. Ba'El at 4 and K'mpec and K'Tal at 5 each.) Favorite combo(s): - J'Ddan + @{"Investigate Sighting" link COTD63} in a treaty deck. That is if I ever play a deck that weak. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) J'DDAN Wesley's rating: 4.0 Conner's rating: 5.0 Habib's rating: 5.0 Phil's rating: 6.0 Lore's rating: 7.2 Owen's rating: 5.5 Ian's rating: 4.8 Jack's rating: 5.6 Jason's rating: 3.5 GoOski's rating: 4.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.00000000000 (Hey, nice number :-) ) BTW: I hope you got the articles #102 to #120 without too much delay. There seems to have been a time problem on Conner's side (he does the distribution for me), so there might have been some weird posting rhythms. I'm also aware of the "unnamed articles on the Web page" problem. I just can't do anything about it from here :-( Let's hope it soon returns to the high quality we've been used to. Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD122 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Jaron" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #122@{ub} Hi, folks, just stuck in common mode: JARON Personnel, Romulan, common. Integrity 4 Cunning 7 Strength 9 SECURITY, Geology, Youth, Staff Star (+), universal. @{i}"Romulan trained in the field of Security. A former member of the Tal Shiar intelligence service."@{ui} Whatcha ? Cheap ? Yes. Good ? No. For the same price I can get something better. A Taul to be exact (Treachery is more useful than Youth and Archaeology helps if you really want to try the DNA hunt). Did somebody say @{"Wind Dancer" link COTD127} (Needs Youth or Music or Strength >9)? Well, did I catch you without a @{"Varel" linkCOTD117} ? If so, you'd better have a @{"Sela" link COTD23} and a @{"Taibak" link COTD85}... But, impossible enough, this card HAS a use. If you play for fast artifacts, nothing beats having a little @{"Relief Mission" link COTD64}. And that one needs... Geology or Physics! Once again, you'd better use @{"Varel" link COTD117} (she has Physics), but I wanted to have a FAST artifact, so I'd better have a backup card that is still useful afterwards, and so I prefer Jaron (SECURITY) to Thei (OFFICER). If it were not for that $%&? Integrity 4... ...no, I'm not saying the dreaded word today. You can type it in here if you *absolutely* want to see it : ......... Favorite combo(s): - @{"Varel" link COTD117} + Jaron + @{"Relief Mission" link COTD64} @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) JARON Wesley's rating: 4.5 Conner's rating: 5.0 Habib's rating: 3.0 Phil's rating: 7.0 Lore's rating: 3.4 Owen's rating: 5.0 Ian's rating: 5.0 Jack's rating: 6.0 Jason's rating: 5.0 GoOski's rating: 5.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 4.84 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD123 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Klingon Death Yell" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #123@{ub} Hi, folks, another card for a Klingon battle deck: @{b}KLINGON DEATH YELL@{ub} Interrupt, rare. Plays on any just killed Klingon with Honor. Yell to warn the dead and earn 5 bonus points. May play only one death yell for each such Klingon. @{i}"Warning for the dead to beware; a Klingon warrior is about to arrive. In Klingon myth, killed warriors with honor go to Sto-Vo-Kor. Dishonored dead go to Gre'thor."@{ui} Three rules clarifications: 1) You can use this with @{"Worf" link COTD35}. 2) You can use this on your opponent's Klingons 3) From the card text you have TO ACTUALLY YELL to gain the bonus. Tell that your next opponent in a tourney, preferably if the audience is large :-) (Make sure the Yell is loud enough for the dead to hear!) Fact (3) is the one that makes this card cool. You have quite a few options to use it. Besides the prosaic effect of gaining 5 points, you can get rid of some frustration (if your own card got killed) or triumph (if your Dilemma just hit home). Be creative in word choice :-) Second, pointing out that little fact mentioned can embarrass your opponent enough to make her committ a mistake or two after she played the card... Last, in a round robin tournament, wait until your most feared opponent starts her turn before using it in your game. You will probably cause lots of confu- sion. Besides that, a boring card. No better than the particle fountain. But WAY COOL if played correctly. Favorite combo(s): - Armus + Klingon Death Yell (on opponent's victim) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) KLINGON DEATH YELL Wesley's rating: 2.0 for game value, 10.0 for coolness Lore's rating: 2.1 Owen's rating: 1.5 Ian's rating: 1.5 Jack's rating: 6.8 Jason's rating: 7.0 Cole's rating: 5.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 3.8 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD124 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Temporal Causality Loop" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #124@{ub} Hi, folks, a Dilemma with a twist: @{b}TEMPORAL CAUSALITY LOOP@{ub} Dilemma, Space, rare. 5 points. Unless SCIENCE and CUNNING >35, undo your last two actions of this turn and end turn. Discard Dilemma. "Localized distortion causes time to repeat ad infinitum. U.S.S. Bozeman was trapped for 90 years in a temporal loop that held the U.S.S. Enterprise for 17.4 days." Oops, cute 'lil card. Not too easy to overcome, too. But this is not the best use of it (though a possible one, at least you can gain a turn from it.) But I can do much better. Use it as an "Oops". Seed it anywhere you want to have it. Send some hapless little ensign with a shuttle, tell him to wait there. If something REALLY NASTY happens to you (Say running into a @{"Barclay's disease" link COTD29} or similar disasters), just order him in. He cannot overcome the Distortion, and dna ,noitrotsiD eht emocrevo tonnac eH. ni mih redro tsuj ,... (read that again if you didn't get it right away!) He's back unhurt and so is your crew! (Two last actions: Sending the Ensign and encountering the @{"Disease" link COTD29}.) Fun enough, eh ? Using a Dilemma's negative consequence in a positive way ? Be sure to surprise your opponent with this one. They never see it coming and you'll pretty sure be King for the day (if you forget to mention the source of this hint.) Try it, it's fun. Favorite combo(s): - As detailed above. Plus the gaping mouth of my opponent :-) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) TEMPORAL CAUSALITY LOOP Wesley's rating: 7.0 (3 points for coolness) Lore's rating: 6.4 Owen's rating: 3.3 Ian's rating: 5.5 Jack's rating: 5.6 Jason's rating: 5.5 Cole's rating: 6.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.7 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD125 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Scan,Full Planet Scan, Lifeform Scan, Long-Range Scan" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #125@{ub} Hi, folks, what was that number again ? 125 ? [Yep.] Does that really mean this is my 100th card of the day (after Habib's 25) ? [Guess so.] And probably you expect something special again. [Nice Guess] Great. I hate when this happens. [Don't start getting sarcastic] People get soo used to getting bonuses now and then. [Oooh, PLEASE] Well, then, persuaded. Two cards? [Hey, Wes, we had that in @{"#40" link COTD40}, so it's old hat.] Three cards ? [Don't you remember the incoming messages ?] Four cards ? [Sounds Okay to me, but I hope it's not the espionages.] Don't worry, I've mentioned these in @{"#75" link COTD75} as boring. [(blush)] [So what else ?] Well, how about: @{b}SCAN (c) FULL PLANET SCAN (u) LIFEFORM SCAN (u) LONG-RANGE SCAN (c)@{ub} Interrupts. Glance at the cards located under one space mission / located under one planet mission / in your opponent's hand / aboard any ship for twenty (ten) seconds. @{i}"Sensor instruments can detect life signs and molecular signatures at a distance with accuracy." "Sensor instruments can make detailed scans of a planet surface and atmosphere." "A special form of sensor scan capable of detecting life-forms on planets or in space." "Detects ships and phenomena at interstellar distances using ship sensors."@{ui} Yuck. So much text. Still, four cards, one purpose. Investigation. Of these four, the Long-Range scan is definitely the weakest. Checking cards on a ship serves as little more than a brain aide unless your opponent is doing lots of crew transfers. The other three however fall into the "avoid nasty surpri- ses" section. Nasty surprises like an Armus, a @{"Nagilum" link COTD51} or a @{"Kevin Uxbridge" link COTD20}. How to profit from these: 1) In small crew decks, these can help finding the locations at which you can safely attempt missions. Also, you can regrow them at interrupt speed (@{"Palor" link COTD25}), which means you don't really need more than two of each. If you're playing all planet or all space, even better. 2) If in a hurry and you cannot wait for a given crewmember, sneak peek before risking something. 3) Look at opponent's hand before playing some critical event. Note that you can duplicate the effects of these cards. An @{"Alien Probe" link COTD133} helps you as much as a Lifeform scan and redshirting is an obvious way of "Scanning" locations. However, you can use Life-Form Scan + Jaglom Shrek as an @{"Alien Probe" link COTD133} that only exposes your opponent's hand! IMHO, Full planet scan is the best of the four, as you can also find out where your opponent has hidden a crucial artifact. What I do not understand is the rarity distribution. For my taste, the two mission scanners should have the same rarity (probably uncommon) and the two hand/ship scans should be the same rarity (common?). This might have been a SNAFU from Decipher's side (swapped two cards on the sheets) or maybe it has been done on purpose. Don't really know. Favorite combo(s): - Jaglom Shrek + Life-Form Scan And now for a big rating table: @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) the * SCAN cards SCAN PLANET LIFEFORM LONG-RANGE Wesley's rating: 4.5 6.0 4.0 1.0 Cole's rating: 7.0 7.0 5.0 5.0 Lore's rating: 7.5 7.6 6.7 7.2 Owen's rating: 6.5 5.5 --- 1.2 Ian's rating: 5.0 5.0 3.0 3.0 Jack's rating: 5.9 7.0 4.3 5.0 Jason's rating: 7.5 7.5 5.5 5.5 ------------------------------------------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.3 6.5 4.7 4.0 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (Or go to http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/STCCG.html for the main menu with even more great STCCG stuff.) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD126 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Vekma" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #126@{ub} Hi, folks, after a few of you (>100) convinced me that STCCG is not THAT dead, I guess I am stuck with this forever :-) Now, if Decipher at least gave me some cards for free so that I'd at least get rid of PAYING for the stuff I am reviewing... (How about an AU box, Warren ?) Hrmph. Probably not, considering the royalties P*R*M**NT is charging them. Before we get to business, some changes: 1) I have finished my studies and got no net access on weekends. So no COTD's on Saturdays or Sundays for some time. 2) We have a new web page. And it's better than the old one. (See below for the URL) 3) We will soon be on stccg.discussion-list, too. Just coordinating this. OK. Card ? Well, still no AU out anywhere, so quite boring: @{b}VEKMA@{ub} Personnel, Klingon, common. Integrity 6 Cunning 5 Strength 6 MEDICAL, Honor, Staff Star (+) @{i}"Klingon female trained in Klingon anatomy and medicine. Propositioned Comman- der @{"William T. Riker" link COTD19} on the @{"I.K.C. Pagh" link COTD70} in 2365."@{ui} A Common with two good skills. To be exact, MEDICAL and ... ... female! Yep, our ridged friends are way short on babes, especially not-so-rare ones. And they're also short on doctors. So why not combine these two traits into one card ? (BTW, the other Klingon ladies are the @{"Duras" link COTD54} @{"sisters" link COTD55}, @{"Kurak" link COTD76} and Ba'El, the latter of which is worse than crappy.) And any decent deck needs three women in play to overcome the standard @{"Love Interest" link COTD74} / @{"Matriarchal Society" link COTD50} combo. So choices are not that great which actually makes Vekma close to unavoidable, as @{"Lursa" link COTD54} is not that good, either (Leadership is OK, Geology might some- times be nice, but besides that zilch, and don't forget the Firestorms!) Honor is a nice gift, too, especially when combined with @{"Death Yells" link COTD123} or @{"Honor challenges" link COTD144}, and at least Integrity is >5... The other medical alternative is Divok, but Youth is pretty worthless and Biology needs appropriate missions (although there are four Klingon missions that can use Biology). For me the decision on which Doc to use in my red decks is easy: both :-) Favorite combo(s): - Vekma + Divok + @{"Genetronic Replicator" link COTD46}. Did somebody say Dilemma ??? @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) VEKMA Wesley's rating: 7.0 Lore's rating: 2.3 Owen's rating: 7.0 Ian's rating: 6.0 Jack's rating: 5.0 Jason's rating: 7.0 Cole's rating: 6.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.8 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD127 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Wind Dancer" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #127@{ub} Hi, folks, so your suicide plans have been proven unneccessary ? :-) Good. Wouldn't want to lose the last few STCCG players... On to business: @{b}WIND DANCER@{ub} Dilemma, Planet, rare. To get past, Lwaxan(n)a Troi must be present OR at least one Away Team member must have: Youth OR Music OR STRENGTH>9. @{i}"Sentry of the Parallax Colony. Only allows those whose hearts are joyous to pass."@{ui} Keyword of the day: OR. Never seen so many OR's one one "Dilemma". Let's do a quick analysis: Out of 58 Feds, 16 have one or more of the required skills. For Klingons, the ratio is 9 of 37, for Romulans it's 6 of 27. Non-aligneds contribute another 3 of 15 to this statistic. So what ? A probability of about 25% that any randomly chosen crewmember will get past this alone ? An about 25% chance that any randomly assembled team of four will NOT be able to pass ? Oops. And that's about it. As the skills required for this particular "Dilemma" are not very useful elsewhere it will pretty much come close to random selection when determining whether you have one needed skill or not. Duh. BTW: This card originally called for "smiling" characters to pass. I ran a quick check on that one to find: Fed 6/58, Klin 1/37, Rom 3/27 and NAl 1/15. Now this would have made for a good Dilemma, but I understand they did not want the hassle of assembling a list of which characters are considered "smiling" (I used a rather broad interpretation of "smile" to find the above numbers). So they took a *GREAT* card and made it a lousy card. (Why all these OR's ?) Why not just stick with Lwaxana OR Youth ? Favorite combo(s): - Er, ahem, well, [years later], ... @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) WIND DANCER Wesley's rating: 2.0 Lore's rating: 4.3 Owen's rating: 4.8 Ian's rating: 3.0 Jack's rating: 3.5 Jason's rating: 6.5 Cole's rating: 8.0 (Huh?) ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 4.6 PS: The new raters will be on beginning monday. Still have to sort you guys into my database and I don't want to do that until I'm pretty sure all new team members have replied. Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD128 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Tsiolkovsky Infection" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #128@{ub} Hi, folks, here comes another one: @{b}TSIOLKOVSKY INFECTION@{ub} Dilemma, Space, rare. Place aboard ship. It is now infected. Mission can continue but all personnel, while aboard, lose their first-listed skill. Cure with 3 MEDICAL to discard. @{i}"Variety of water-based Psi 2000 virus. Passed by perspiration. Creates dan- gerous intoxication-like instability among a crew."@{ui} Yes, this card is annoying :-) And most personnel really lose something valuable. Their best skill in most cases. The bad thing about it, it is not for long. At least in most cases. Ya see, it goes away once the crew has left the ship and boarded another one. The *ship* is still infected, but the crew regains their full health. (not very realistic, btw) Also, for the same reason, it does not distract from any skill relevant to planet missions (crew is off ship, so no disease) And it does not even stop the crew, it just sits there... But wait, this could actually be the key for some creative uses! If I place it before a Dilemma that requires some skills (not classifications), I might cause a lot of trouble! (They HAVE to go on! ) So let's try that. @{"Q" link COTD30} could be a good choice (leadership), @{"Nagilum" link COTD51} might prove even better against Feds; Shaka, Gravitic Mine and Null Space also gain some momentum. So THAT's how to gain some serious advantage from it... Oh, BTW: There are a few personnel which are close to immune from this thing. First of all (and well in line with the episode) there's @{"Wesley" link COTD26}, who loses his Youth (!) instead of his ENGINEERing or Computer Skill, to a lesser extent the two @{"Duras" link COTD55} @{"sisters" link COTD56} (Treachery), @{"Toral" link COTD120} (his half Leadership), @{"Mendak" link COTD113} (again Treachery), Movar and Taul (ditto), Etana Jol (yet again Treachery), Baran and Bok (the absolutely useless Greed) and last not least @{"Ocett" link COTD80} (Archaeology instead of Honor or Navigation). (And this proves that Decipher at least SOMETIMES thinks before creating cards :-) ) Favorite combo(s): - Tsiolkovsky Infection + Shaka (makes for a cute little "No, you don't") @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) TSIOLKOVSKY INFECTION Wesley's rating: 5.5 Lore's rating: 8.1 Owen's rating: 9.0 Ian's rating: 8.0 Jack's rating: 6.8 Jason's rating: 7.0 Cole's rating: 6.5 Mark's rating: 6.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.1 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) (And it's updated daily!) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD129 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Iconian Computer Weapon" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #129@{ub} Hi, folks, it's well past midnight now, but I'm not gonna let you sit there without a COTD tomorrow, so here it comes (forgive me any typos): @{b}ICONIAN COMPUTER WEAPON@{ub} Dilemma, Space, Common Unless SCIENCE present, re-boot by discarding all non-personnel cards in hand and replenish from top of draw deck. Discard Dilemma. @{i}"Highly destructive virus from the ancient extinct Iconians. Transmitted to target vessels via a probe."@{ui} To quote Lore: "They call this a Dilemma ?" Yep, and still this card might be useful in some situations. Not that any player worth this name would use this on an OPPONENT, but how about getting some use out of it YOURSELF ? Let's assume you're playing a really fast deck. And you now desperately want to run out of cards because you're ahead on points but your opponent is catching up. Just send a redshirt crew (without SCIENCE of course) to what- ever location you just strategically placed this little card. Then happily discard four, five or even six cards from your hand and draw to your heart's content. Net result: A few less turns for your opponent to catch up in. Of course, this also works the other way round, but you cannot assume your opponent will go in there without any SCIENCE. Nope. Use it for yourself. (You can also employ this in the early game stages to get rid of unwanted cards and hopefully draw something better.) And the advantage of this thingy over an event: You get exactly when you need it. No sooner, no later. And it does not cost you a draw deck card. Favorite combo(s): - Iconian Computer Weapon + @{"Kivas" link COTD49} + @{"Traveller" link COTD4} + @{"Betazoid Gift Box" link COTD9} + ... Did somebody say "7-turn game" ? @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) ICONIAN COMPUTER WEAPON Wesley's rating: 5.0 Lore's rating: 1.3 Owen's rating: 1.9 Ian's rating: 0.5 (Uh, that's illegal, man. Make that 1.0) Jack's rating: 5.0 Jason's rating: 5.0 Cole's rating: 3.0 Mark's rating: 5.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 3.5 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD130 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Klingon Right of Vengeance" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #130@{ub} Hi, folks, some Klingon stuff: @{b}KLINGON RIGHT OF VENGEANCE@{ub} Interrupt, common. If any Klingon is killed in an away team battle, all other Klingons present may immediately re-attack with double STRENGTH. @{i}"Under Klingon law, @{"Lieutenant Worf" link COTD35} claimed right of vengeance against Duras in 2367."@{ui} Uh, that wording is a little confused. Actually, if I only had the lower half of this card I'd say it must be an event. Yep, it doesn't say I have to play this upon the Death of a Klingon and it does not say it goes away. (Sure, that's picky, but there are interrupts that linger around. Try Escape Pod for an example.) But let's for this review assume it's intended as most people play it. When one of your Klingons is killed, you can reattack and double your STRENGTH. Great. So either you have a Federation team with @{"Worf" link COTD35}, K'Eleyhr and Alexander (which now at maximum gives you a 34 Str attack - not 38 as one of your Klingons just bit the dust), or you're playing Klingons in which case I don't understand how you ever got into a situation where one of your away team crew is killed in battle - don't you have enough STRENGTH ? And what do you get off it even IF it works ? One opposing away team member killed. Battle probably continues next turn. You're probably still on the losing side. Your crew still dies. Uh, so much for crap factor. Really, it does not do anything sensible. Favorite combo(s): - Nope, you don't get me to say anything here. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) KLINGON RIGHT OF VENGEANCE Wesley's rating: 1.0 Lore's rating: 6.1 Owen's rating: 4.4 Ian's rating: 1.5 Jack's rating: 5.1 Jason's rating: 6.0 Cole's rating: 6.0 Mark's rating: 5.0 Movar's rating: 3.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 4.3 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD131 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Morgan Bateson" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #131@{ub} Hi, folks, a card for those of you who always longed to see the old uniforms back: @{b}MORGAN BATESON@{ub} Personnel, Federation, rare, should have been AU but isn't. Integrity 8 Cunning 4 Strength 5 OFFICER, Leadership, Stellar Cartography, Command Star (*) @{i}"Captain Morgan Bateson was in command of the U.S.S. Bozeman when it was caught in a temporal causality loop from 2278 to 2368."@{ui} Um, rare ? Looks more like a not-so-great uncommon to me. But at least there is a deck type he might be able to complement: The nasty little surprise play with 6 space missions. (Ya know, everybody now knows about the 6-planet trick and there are lots of players using 80%+ planet dilemmas, so go for the inverse thing...) Stellar Cartography is the keyword here, use it for Study Nebula, @{"Study Stellar Collision" link COTD65}, Survey Mission (if playing dual-affiliation or espionage) and of course the inevitable Explore Black Cluster - there aren't that many one- man crews that can do a mission alone and as you're probably not expecting too many dilemmas, those quickies really can boost your score. With AU, the Leadership / Officer qualification will also be of some use, as Morgan may lead a Fed force into battle, let's see what happens... Stats: Nothing to talk about a lot. Good integrity, average rest. Favorite combo(s): - Morgan + Explore Black Cluster = 35 :-) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) MORGAN BATESON Wesley's rating: 4.5 Lore's rating: 5.1 Owen's rating: 7.2 Ian's rating: 7.5 Jack's rating: 6.5 Jason's rating: 7.0 Cole's rating: 6.8 Mark's rating: 3.0 Movar's rating: 6.0 Serge's rating: 4.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.78 PS: For those of you who do also play other card games: Use your STCCG cards for good measure as follows: 1) Playing On the Edge ? Remember that "Copyright Violation" combo from last CONJURE ? We can do better. Throw a Hunt for DNA Program - you'll get a 40 / 55 Character for just 3 cost ! (Alternative: Sarthong Plunder 40/35 for 2, and no, there is unfortunately no way to get one of the year designations into the second slot with a low number in front of it :-( ) And shame on us trekkies: This wins no better that second place. Illuminati is an even better choice. Try Telephone Psychics: 1 (for) 900 / 6. Sorry for the off-topic. 2) Not playing that ? Well, I assume you're at least playing Magic: (This one is a little more expensive than the previous one) Start with a good Magic deck. Add a Ring of Ma'Ruf and a Eureka. Play the Ring to get any outside card (well, we take one from STCCG of course), then cast your Eureka, which lets you put any permanent (=creature, enchantment or ar- tif... wait ... ARTIFACT ?) into play at no cost. Now we just need a single artifact that makes no reference to STCCG terms not mentioned in Magic. All of them but one reference either Ships, Event, Draw Deck (which Magic calls Library) or Equipment. But, Horga'hn does not !!! And, it has a whopping effect !!!!! Permanent Time Walk ! Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD132 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Vulcan Mindmeld" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #132@{ub} Hi, folks, new day, new COTD: @{b}VULCAN MINDMELD@{ub} Interrupt, uncommon. Allows all Mindmeld personnel, at one location, to add to their skills. For one turn, add all of the skills of another personel who is present. @{i}"Ancient Vulcan ritual which telepathically links minds to intimately share each other's thoughts and knowledge."@{ui} Another "Oops" card. Very useful if you need TWO of something but of course only have one. Just too bad you always need a Mindmelder to use it and this rather limits the uses of this cute little interrupt. Quick Mindmeld index: Feds: Sarek (R): Not bad, lotsa Diplomacy. Satelk (R): 1/3 of a Picard. Dr. Selar (U): At least a Medical, always useful. T'Pan (U): Double Science but nothing else. Note that she has Mindmeld only from Beta unlimited upwards. The older versions do not have that skill. Klingons: Romulans: Non-aligned: Nada. So this should go in every Klingon and Romulan deck, shouldn't it :-) ? No, seriously. Two decent personnel can make use of a mindmeld. So it's de- finitively worth considering if you have both in play (2 @{"Datas" link COTD7} and 2 @{"Picards" link COTD1} at one location for that turn?) and somewhat useful if you have at least one of them. However, you can never rely on it, as there are far too many ways of rendering it useless. Besides @{"Amanda" link COTD31}, all things that somehow stop a crew are equally effective, so the best use of it is against a Dilemma that would otherwise affect you. Favorite combo(s): - @{"Sarek" link COTD72} + Selar + Mindmeld + 2 decent personnel (I'd suggest @{"Wesley" link COTD26} and @{"Vekor" link COTD373}) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) VULCAN MINDMELD Wesley's rating: 5.5 Lore's rating: 7.3 Owen's rating: 6.2 Ian's rating: 5.0 Jack's rating: 6.8 Jason's rating: 6.0 Cole's rating: 4.8 Mark's rating: 6.0 Movar's rating: 4.0 Serge's rating: 7.0 Ted's rating: 4.3 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.5 NEW: As some of you might have noticed, Wesley's card of the day now also gets distributed over stccg.discussion-list. So all of you who'd like to get them by mail just subscribe to that listserv and you'll recieve all your issues right off your mailer. (There is a one-day delay, however, caused by the fact that one of my minions :-) is providing the link for me. ) To all maillist subscribers: Welcome to the club, and before you all start asking me: Yes, back issues are available. Check out the webpage. Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD133 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Alien Probe" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #133@{ub} Hi, folks, let's have a look at a card they shamelessly copied from Magic: @{b}ALIEN PROBE@{ub} Event, uncommon. Plays on table. Both players continue the game with their hands (cards) exposed, face up on the table. @{i}"Space probes of unknown origin are frequently encountered by starships. Often such probes seek information or contact."@{ui} Revelation for STCCG. Neat. Now of course this one has a good effect (you see your opponent's cards) and a bad effect (your opponent sees your cards). The question is now who gains more from it. Obviously, the less cards you have in hand, the less anyone is going to see by means of this. Also, the fewer surprises your deck contains, the better for you. So decks with few interrupts but fast cardplay benefit most from this card. So you'll need a @{"Red Alert" link COTD6} to start with and then a deck that's heavy on per- sonnel, ships and equipment. Sounds like a Klingon or Romulan deck to me. (The Feds have such good Personnel that you can probably play with quite a low number of them) Best application is obviously a Klingon attack deck with lotsa small ships. This also has the advantage of not needing to be very fast (your opponent won't get to do anything), so you are not in dire need of a @{"Traveler" link COTD4} which in turn helps keeping your hand size low. Result: You always know when it's safe to play a key event (no @{"Uxbridge" link COTD20}) or Interrupt (no @{"Amanda" link COTD31}). Then of course, there's the infamous Telepathic Alien Kidnappers / Alien Probe Combo. So much has been written about it, I won't repeat it here. Just our house rule for that one: When both cards are in play, you get to turn your cards face down and shuffle before each guess. Then cards are placed openly again. (So it still remains a guess!) However, there still is a huge advantage as you can always guess the most common card type or the one that could hurt you most. Favorite combo(s): - (Only with the house rule, otherwise it's boooooring): See above. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) ALIEN PROBE Wesley's rating: 5.0 Lore's rating: 8.2 Owen's rating: 7.0 Ian's rating: 4.5 Jack's rating: 5.0 Jason's rating: 8.0 Cole's rating: 6.0 Mark's rating: 4.0 Movar's rating: 7.5 Serge's rating: 7.0 Ted's rating: 4.0 Andrew's rating: 6.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.2 PS: Can anyone find out whether this already holds the record for longest running internet series ? (Counting installments, not time, of course) We should at least have beaten the internet computer game charts by a few episodes as they're only weekly. Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD134 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Thei" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #134@{ub} Hi, folks, here's yesterday's card, written today because I lacked the time. So all you addicts should still get your next dose in time. @{b}THEI@{ub} Personnel, Romulan, common, universal. Integrity 4 Cunning 6 Strength 8 OFFICER, Geology, Physics, Command Star (*) @{i}"Subcommander Thei is representative of officers serving in the Romulan Star Empire. Ally of the sisters of Duras during the Klingon Civil War."@{ui} Now, had they only placed a five in that strategical position instead of a four! Then, we might have had a good card, as I don't think Thermal Deflectors will be THAT great in effect (Why ? Well, Firestorm looks for Thermal Deflectors PRESENT, so I assume they must be played on a location. But then, it's listed as EVENT, which makes it not so terribly useful when the Dilemma has just hit you. Should have been an equipment or artifact...) So, again we have a non-firestorm-proof Rommie. Two skills to go with. Unfortunately really redundant as long as the best application for them is concerned: @{"Relief mission" link COTD64} (stuffed with several artifacts). Other chances? Rare Romulan Missions: Nil. Uncommon Romulan Missions: Nil again. Common Romulan Missions: Nil once more. SO WHAT FOR ??? Nope. forget it. Any player with some wits will firestorm that @{"Relief Mission" link COTD64} anyway, so a Rommie won't have access to a first-turn Horga'Hn. Favorite combo(s): - Nah. Not today :-) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) THEI Wesley's rating: 3.0 Lore's rating: 7.2 (What have you been taking ? :-) ) Owen's rating: 5.4 Ian's rating: 4.0 Jack's rating: 4.7 Jason's rating: 4.5 Cole's rating: 4.5 Mark's rating: 3.0 Movar's rating: 3.0 Serge's rating: 3.0 Andrew's rating: 6.0 Ted's rating: 4.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 4.3 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD135 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Pattern Enhancers" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #135@{ub} Hi, folks, if you think you are still susceptible to COTD overdoses, stop reading here and continue after at least two hours. If you're already hooked, read on quickly: @{b}PATTERN ENHANCERS@{ub} Event, common. Plays on table. Allows your personnel and equipment unlimited beaming through atmospheric ionization or distortion fields. @{i}"Devices which amplify transporter signals to enhance transporter beam in hazardous areas."@{ui} Another counterspell card. Nullifies two other events, and at least all of them at once. So if (and that's a big if, of course) somebody plays a deck with 5 ionizations and 7 @{"distortion fields" link COTD99}, you need just this one card to counter them all. Good. On the other hand, I've already reviewed the @{"Distortion Field" link COTD99}, which at least has one sensible application (two of them on the same location so they will activate alternatingly), but no other even remotely intelligent use. (And BTW, you'll totally disable the @{"Distortion" link COTD99} when playing your own pattern enhancers; read the card again) Atmospheric Ionization is a legit obstacle to the standard "Mega Team" approach, but then, it only affects one location again. So, both cards a Pattern Enhancer does counter will not see much play. As the Enhancer has no other function, you can figure out for yourself, how often you will get this to a sensible use. To quote Lore: Put a @{"Kev. Uxbridge" link COTD20} in your deck instead... Favorite combo(s): - No, not in combo mood today. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) PATTERN ENHANCERS Wesley's rating: 2.5 Lore's rating: 5.1 (Still under that influence :-) ?) Owen's rating: 2.0 Ian's rating: 2.5 Jack's rating: 2.6 ("Can I refuse to rate something ?") Jason's rating: 5.5 (Help, it's spreading =:-) ) Cole's rating: 1.5 Mark's rating: 3.0 Movar's rating: 3.0 ("Crap") Serge's rating: 2.0 Andrew's rating: 3.0 Ted's rating: 4.3 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 3.1 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD136 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Neural Servo Device" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #136@{ub} Hi, folks, still hungry ? Grumble... Guess I have no alternatives than present you another helping of your favorite posting series: @{b}NEURAL SERVO DEVICE@{ub} Event, uncommon. Plays on any non-aligned ship. Unless 2 SECURITY aboard, use ship and crew for one turn as your own. Discard event. @{i}"Device which can be used to control a crew by activating pain causing im- plants."@{ui} Well, at least this one can be used on cards your opponent sometimes actually uses. Many STCCG'ers play at least one @{"Husnock" link COTD41} (though it's slow), especially if not using a Fed crew (only Holodeck for Klingons or Rommies). Also, we might see one or the other Combat Vessel (8/8/6 for 2 staff) or @{"Mercenary Ship" link COTD137} (7/7/7 and a really crappy ability for 2 staff.) The results are quite nice: You take that thing as if it were yours. What to do with it now ? 5) Move it somewhere your opponent does not want to have it. Two turns gained, but nothing else. 4) Have the crew run into some nasty Dilemmas they can't overcome. 3) Attack one of your opponent's ships. Probably damaging at least one of them if not both... 2) Move it somewhere sensible (location with opponent's ships) and start an auto-destruct sequence. One killed, perhaps some more damaged. 1) Move it just where your opponent wanted to go and solve the mission there. Points + possible Artifact(s) + still the chance to do (2) after it ! And the probability of your opponent having 2 SECURITY isn't too high, too, as no Dilemma absolutely needs more than one of them (Yes, Chalnoth can be beaten by 3 SECURITY, but also by any 41+ Strength.) So even mega-team players will probably start moving with one Security. Weakness: Still too few non-aligned ships. Otherwise it would have been a game-breaker. Favorite combo(s): - Neural Servo Device + any mission of opponent + Auto-Destruct Sequence. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) NEURAL SERVO DEVICE Wesley's rating: 6.5 Lore's rating: 6.7 Owen's rating: 4.2 Ian's rating: 2.0 Jack's rating: 6.0 Jason's rating: 4.0 Cole's rating: 3.5 Mark's rating: 5.0 Movar's rating: 7.0 Serge's rating: 6.0 Andrew's rating: 5.5 Ted's rating: 4.4 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.0 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD137 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Mercenary Ship" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #137@{ub} Hi, folks, what was that I mentioned yesterday ? Non-aligned ships ? Like a @{b}MERCENARY SHIP@{ub} Ship, Non-aligned, common. Range 7 Weapons 7 Shields 7 Long-Range Scan Shielding Requires 0 Command (*) and 2 Staff (+) @{i}"Little-known ship. Difficult to track due to a unique hull design that renders it invisible to long-range scans. Baran captained one in 2370."@{ui} Not bad, not bad at all... (trivia buff question: Where's this quote from ?) Two crew, no gold stars necessary, lotsa sevens and everybody can use it. Although, with a little Brainwashing (@{"Neural Servo Device" link COTD136}) you can take this "everybody" more literally than the player of this ship will like. Of course, there's the Combat Vessel you have to compare this ship to. You get one less range and weapons, but one more shields. The 1 Weapons would not be that critical, but the range difference between 7 and 8 just sux, as all those (really common) 5/3 and 4/4 span combinations will now take two moves instead of one. One more shields on the other hand is quite desirable against any battle deck and against a @{"Crystal Entity" link COTD52}. It'll make up for the range loss in a slow, defensive deck, but not in a fast deck. And the special ability of long-range-scan shielding ? I yet have to see a player using a long-range scan so count that as the generic special ability "Suck *ss." Favorite combo(s): - ERROR #0xF3CA: File not found :-) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) MERCENARY SHIP Wesley's rating: 5.5 Lore's rating: 7.1 Owen's rating: 6.0 Ian's rating: 4.0 Jack's rating: 4.5 Jason's rating: 6.0 Cole's rating: 6.0 Mark's rating: 4.0 Movar's rating: 7.0 Serge's rating: 6.0 Andrew's rating: 6.5 Ted's rating: 4.8 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.6 IMPORTANT: Effective tomorrow, Wesley will have a new email address !!!!! It is: CRUSHER@KISS.DE (sweet & short, saves ya some typing...) but please still direct email concerning card of the day to: blohmer@pips11.informatik.uni-mannheim.de for a few more days until I've checked out the new account... Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD138 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Tetryon Field" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #138@{ub} Hi, folks, sorry for the delay, but this issue is something special, a fact that delayed it a little bit. Nope, it's not the first AU card... It is just the first issue I am doing from my comfortable commander's seat right in my well-heated home at a well-configured PC (mine) having a well- cooled beer next to me... (you get the picture). So it might not have been worth the wait for you, but it surely was for me :-) BTW: Concerning AU, I'm finishing off my current list which still has 5 cards on it, so #143 will be the first AU issue. All raters are called to do ratings on all AU uncommons and rares they can get a hold of and send them to me (the ratings, not the cards) as I do not know which cards I will be able to get in my first purchase. For today, it's: @{b}TETRYON FIELD@{ub} Event, common. Plays crosswise on any spaceline location. All ships must stop here before proceeding on next turn, unless Navigation aboard. @{i}"Intense masses of subspace particles, unstable in normal space, which require ships to route through safe corridors."@{ui} Whoops, first question: Did anyone of you ever catch a player using this card? A player possessing more than 60 cards? Really: A card that can be neutralized by no less than 20 different personnel cards ? And then, it only stops a ship for one turn ? Well, less than stop, as it only prevents movement and still allows mission attempts and battles ? And in more than 30% of all cases has no effect at all, as the ship's range would be exhausted anyway ? Seriously, Decipher might have had a nice idea by making a Dilemma card that is to be seeded in later play instead of in the seed phase, but they had much better ideas along the same line; you need only think @{"Q-Net" link COTD86} or @{"Subspace Warp Rift" link COTD83} (a much better card with the same purpose...) And if I ever again encounter a card that is so bad that any COTD reader can easily name 5 better cards for the same purpose, I promise you that I will not finish the re- Favorite combo(s): - The ship transporting this section got lost in a Tetryon Field. Sorry. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) TETRYON FIELD Wesley's rating: 1.0 Lore's rating: 4.3 Owen's rating: 3.3 Ian's rating: 1.0 Jack's rating: 5.7 (Hey, ABOVE AVERAGE ?) Jason's rating: 4.5 Cole's rating: 3.6 Mark's rating: 3.0 Movar's rating: 5.0 Serge's rating: 5.0 Andrew's rating: 4.0 Ted's rating: 3.8 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 3.6 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de (Now this is official!) Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD139 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/K'Vada" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #139@{ub} Hi, folks, it's red, it's uncommon, it's useless: @{b}K'VADA@{ub} Personnel, Klingon, uncommon. Integrity 8 Cunning 5 Strength 7 OFFICER, Leadership, Navigation, Command Star (*). @{i}"Captain K'Vada transported @{"Captain Jean-Luc Picard" link CODT1} and @{"Lt. Commander Data" link COTD7} on an undercover mission to Romulus."@{ui} Okay, as a 35 cents common with a flavor text of "Representative of ridge- headed plot devices used by the creators upon noticing they didn't show a Klingon in the last three episodes", this would have been an OK card. But it would never have been a W's COTD, as I would have found nothing to bitch about :-) But like this, his only strong side is attributes and most players know, it's not that hard to get by attribute requirements with any decent away team or crew. (Unless the requirement is @{"Q's" link COTD32} 62 INTEGRITY, that is ) His Skills ? Nothing to write home about. An OFFICER with Leadership is like a Mathematician who knows higher Algebra, somehow quite redundant... Then Navigation, not bad, but there are so many Klingons with this skill. Take @{"Kurn" link COTD114} (Honor, Diplomacy, Computer Skill and better stats!) if you have If not, try a Nu'Daq who again has better stats and Archaeology and Exobiology. Still too expensive ? Well, use a Klag, he's common and universal. A little less Integrity and no Leadership, but more in line with his rarity. Almost as good as our K'Vada and much more available. BTW, once more an example how a card gets somewhat augmented and placed in a rarity slot one place less common. Decipher strategy. Yawn. 4 days to AU. Good. Favorite combo(s): - I can't even think of a witty line today :-) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) K'VADA Wesley's rating: 4.0 Lore's rating: 3.1 ("boy, you're running out of even slight- Owen's rating: 6.5 ly good personnel") Ian's rating: 7.0 Jack's rating: 5.9 Jason's rating: 7.5 Cole's rating: 7.4 Mark's rating: lost in the depths of the 'rm' command :-( Movar's rating: 7.0 Serge's rating: 3.0 Andrew's rating: 4.5 Ted's rating: 4.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.4 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD140 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Shelby" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #140@{ub} Hi, folks, at three days remaining to AU, let's get quick finishing OUR universe: @{b}SHELBY@{ub} Personnel, Federation, rare. Integrity 6 Cunning 7 Strength 4 OFFICER, Leadership, Exobiology, Command Star (*) @{i}"Lt. Commander Shelby is an ambitious Starfleet officer. Assigned to the @{"U.S.S. Enterprise" link COTD3} as a specialist on the Borg."@{ui} A card that really does not fit with itself. Although the skills fit the episode very well, her two abilities (crappy for a Fed rare) do not harmonize game-wise. Being an OFFICER with Leadership once again totally nullifies the value of the classification, so they could have as well made her a VIP. The rest, Leadership and Exobiology are two skills which are both on the better end of the scale but not at the very top. The trouble: They don't fit together. Six Fed missions do require Leadership and four need Exobiology. Unfortunately none of them requires both. And have you ever seen a regular (basic rules) game where one player has 10 missions ? Recommendations: Use @{"Roga Danar" link COTD18} and @{"Evek" link COTD115} for Leadership or Richard Galen for Exobiology. Their complementary skills just fit better. Favorite combo(s): - She's just a supporter as she presents no major opportunities. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) SHELBY Wesley's rating: 5.0 Lore's rating: 6.2 Owen's rating: 7.0 Ian's rating: 6.5 Jack's rating: 5.0 Jason's rating: 6.5 Cole's rating: 7.0 Mark's rating: Another one lost in the rm :-( Movar's rating: 6.5 Serge's rating: 6.0 Andrew's rating: 6.5 Ted's rating: 3.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.0 PS: Sorry for the last two posts getting a little mangled. Netscape had its own ideas concerning line wrapping :-( Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD141 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Security Sacrifice" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #141@{ub} Hi, folks, here it is: Wesley's first AU card of the day (and this time "Wesley's" gets a rather double-edged taste as this thing originally was my idea [back in summer] and they USED IT!!! ) But I'll keep the review as objective as possible. @{b}SECURITY SACRIFICE@{ub} Interrupt, common AU. One SECURITY personnel present may sacrifice (substitute) for another per- sonnel who has been randomly selected to die. @{i}"Charged with ship and mission safety, security personnel are willing to voluntarily expose themselves to hazards or threats, as Tasha Yar did on many occasions."@{ui} So, finally a use for those redshirt guys (tho we should call them yellow- shirts in this game). SECURITY, until now was a useful skill, but only for avoiding Dilemmas. And this is of course the catch. As you don't really need the SECURITY guy once you're past the Dilemmas, it's a great way to save a key crewmember for the mission you were just doing. But it would not be a Wesley's card, were it not for a great abusive combo. Mind you, it says "selected to die", not "died": Play a @{"Genetronic Replicator" link COTD46}. This saves your crew if you have two MEDICAL. Unless one of your MEDICALs is affected, that is. And that's where the Security sacrifice comes into play. Replace the dying MEDICAL by the SECURITY (use @{"Roga Danar" link COTD18} for Shock value), then show off with the replicator and the two doctors and get your SECURITY back for another use. Repeat with a new Sec. Sac. whenever necessary. (Or just @{"Palor" link COTD25} your Sacrifice back out of the Discard Pile :-) ). Especially valuable if there is a "half of crew dies" condition or something like that. Now a quick bonus: Wesley's Original (which was a little bit stronger) @{b}SELF-SACRIFICE@{ub} Interrupt, common, No longer a Dream card. Discard SECURITY or a crewmember with INTEGRITY > 6 from crew or away team to resurrect a just killed personnel card. "Highly integer crewmembers sometimes lay down their own life for the better of their crewmates or the sake of the current mission. Security personnel sometimes do the same unvoluntarily." Picture: Wesley (The real one, not Wil Wheaton), lying sprawled on the floor, with some rather unhealthy-looking dark red patterns on his face. Favorite combo(s): - @{"Genetronic Replicator" link COTD46} + Security Sacrifice + MEDICAL + SECURITY. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) SECURITY SACRIFICE Wesley's rating: 8.0 Jack's rating: 7.5 Cole's rating: 7.7 Serge's rating: 7.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.55 (not too many raters today...) Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD142 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Devioni Ral" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #142@{ub} Hi, folks, before I entirely switch to AU, I'm gonna work up on two last cards from the original set (not because I like them, but because I have to collect the ratings on AU before going on) @{b}DEVINONI RAL@{ub} Personnel, Non-aligned, uncommon. Integrity 3 Cunning 9 Strength 3 V.I.P., Empathy, Diplomacy, Treachery @{i}"1/4 Betazoid, 3/4 Human. Skilled negotiator. Abused his empathic powers to gain advantage. Had a dangerous liaison with @{"Counselor Deanna Troi" link COTD39}."@{ui} Of course, he's one of the guys that had a LOT to gain from AU. With his skill list, he will be an indispensable life-saver in a lot of Klingon decks, as there are now some Dilemmas that *really* hurt if you don't have empaths and Klingons do not have any empathy among their own ranks. (Rommies now at least have the @{"Major Rakal" link COTD147} card, which is close to being the most interesting personnel card I've ever seen). Also, a Fed deck that does not rely on high Integrity might make good use of this card as he's basically a @{"Deanna Troi" link COTD39} with an extra Treachery but a little lower on attribute scores. Just make sure there's no Firestorm waiting around the corner... The combination of Empathy and Diplomacy is also useful for at least one mission, and the Treachery might prove really helpful in a Fed deck playing an opponent using a @{"Compromised Mission" link COTD162} (lots of fun missions in AU anyway) So what was until last week a card I would really have overlooked and not even considered for deck-building suddenly became a viable utility card with a few twists, which sheds a very good light on the way AU interacts with the basic game. Great job, Decipher! Favorite combo(s): - Devinoni + opponent's @{"compromised mission" link COTD162}: Nothing better than a good surprise! @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) DEVINONI RAL (note that the ratings except mine do reflect pre-AU conditions!) Wesley's rating: 7.0 Lore's rating: 4.6 Owen's rating: 5.5 Ian's rating: 4.0 Jack's rating: 5.5 Jason's rating: 7.0 Cole's rating: 5.0 Mark's rating: 5.0 Movar's rating: 6.5 Serge's rating: 5.0 Andrew's rating: 6.5 Ted's rating: 4.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.5 What? You gonna kill me because I'm not doing an AU card today ? OK, I might reconsider that. There's one card that will not draw any dissent about ratings, so look out for another (really improperly named) Card of the Day on this newsgroup! Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD143 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Mot's Advice" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #143@{ub} Hi, folks, here's the extra card... @{b}MOT'S ADVICE@{ub} Event, uncommon, AU. Play on any one personnel. While in play, that personnel gains the skill of Barbering. @{i}"@{"Mr. Mot" link COTD24} offered sage advice to his customers on a variety of subjects, but there was only one thing you could really learn from him."@{ui} Yes, it's cool and I begin to see a pattern here... They insert a Mot card into every set, which currently has no effect at all, but everybody starts bitching about it. And then, with the last set at the end of 1997, they release a card that is a *G*A*M*E*B*R*E*A*K*E*R* and requires let's say 4 Barbering... Of course by then, everybody will have thrown all their Mots away and the lucky few who still have one can win every tourney... But the review for now is: You get an event card. So you lose a turn on card play. The effect of the event is, that a personnel card gains a skill. A skill that is required for exactly 0 situations in the entire STCCG game. So you might also change the text of the card to "Play on table. Nothing happens." This one should have been the ultra-rare instead of the Future Enterprise. The players would have been happy as they did not lose the use of a good card and the collectors would have had something to chase for... Favorite combo(s): - Just to get your opponent gasping (or laughing so hard she can't concentrate on the game anymore): Play Mot's Advice on... Mot! If the remaining 58 cards of your deck are good enough this will leave your opponent so startled you're probably going to win... @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) MOT'S ADVICE (Estimated, but I think there won't be much protest; flame me if I'm wrong!) Wesley's rating: 1.0 Lore's rating: 1.0 Owen's rating: 1.1 Ian's rating: 1.0 Jack's rating: 1.0 Jason's rating: 1.1 Cole's rating: 0.9 Mark's rating: 1.0 Movar's rating: 1.0 Serge's rating: 0.8 Andrew's rating: 1.1 Ted's rating: 1.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 1.0 (YEAH) Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD144 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Honor Challenge" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #144@{ub} Hi, folks, here's the last COTD from the basic set: @{b}HONOR CHALLENGE@{ub} Interrupt, rare. Plays just after an Away Team battle is initiated. Each Klingon with Honor immediately kills one opponent with Treachery. Battle continues. @{i}"The call to glory inspires the Klingon warrior to maximum fierceness and honor, as symbolized by the Bat'telth champoinship trophy."@{ui} One of the few battle-affecting cards from the base game, but one with a good effect, especially if speed is a concern. Try it in any flavor of Klingon Armada deck, where it works just great against Romulans and even has some effect against the other affiliations (lots of the non-aligneds have Treachery, too.) Its most important net effect is that you get to tip the scales towards your side. If you have four honorable Klingons, you can probably take on a Romulan away team of six or seven and still expect to win the battle. But its use goes a little farther and this is now also a viable Federation strategy (though as a Fed you will first need to somehow get a @{"Wartime Conditions" link CODT217} out): Take a single expendable Klingon (perhaps the key guy for the mission you just completed) and send him in alone to do battle. He will of course lose, but not without taking an opponent's key crewmember with him. Try this on an opponent who relies on @{"Devinoni Ral" link COTD142} for Empathy or who tries a Mickey D. approach to a few quick points. Also works great on these really annoying @{"Selas" link COTD23} and @{"Taibaks" link COTD85} your Rommie friend uses to complete his mission(s). And for a maximum surprise effect (this is a late-game combo), play the Klingon (and @{"Worf" link COTD35}, K'Eleyhr and Alexander are equally good choices for it) from your hand using a @{"Devidian door" link COTD146} once you're really ahead on points and just need to stop your opponent from catching up before you draw your last card. Fire the Klingon, stop the away team, eliminate a key personnel and (hopefully) win the game! Just make sure you get him there one turn before your opponent beams down, otherwise you'll not be able to initiate battle. Also a good ploy for Feds: Deploy an Alexander at some planet where your opponent is likely to attempt a mission. Wait for beamdown, she'll hopefully attack you, you eliminate a key player and have a great excuse to play a @{"Wartime Conditions" link COTD217}. This will teach warlike opponents to stay peaceful... Favorite combo(s): - As just mentioned. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) HONOR CHALLENGE Wesley's rating: 5.0 Lore's rating: 5.3 Owen's rating: 2.2 Ian's rating: 4.0 Jack's rating: 3.0 Jason's rating: 6.5 Cole's rating: 6.0 Mark's rating: 4.0 Movar's rating: 4.0 Serge's rating: 4.0 Andrew's rating: 4.5 Ted's rating: 3.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 4.3 Enough of that stuff now! Meet you all tomorrow in your favorite ALTERNATE UNIVERSE! Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD145 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Lakanta" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #145@{ub} Hi, folks, my mentor, @{"the Traveler" link COTD4}, just told me there's a card really worth reviewing. I fully agree, BTW... @{b}LAKANTA@{ub} Personnel, Non-aligned, uncommon, AU. Integrity 8 Cunning 12 Strength 3 CIVILIAN, Ship he is on can leave one end of spaceline and enter other end. @{"Wesley Crusher" link COTD26} attributes +4, if present. Staff Star (+), AU Icon. @{i}"Male of American Indian descent. Actually @{"the Traveler" link COTD4} in disguise. @{"Wesley Crusher" link COTD26} left Starfleet Academy to study transcendence of thought with him."@{ui} A few of my raters commented "Rather use a Where no one has gone before instead." WHY ? He is a living Where no One has gone before + a Cunning of 12 + he can not be Uxbridged + you get an AU icon for your Future Enterprise + you get a staff star for whatever ship you need one for + you get a 10/13/9 @{"Wesley" link COTD26}. Wait - 10/13/9 ? That all ? Why not improve on this with a Humuhumunukunukuapua'a ? 10/17/13 sounds even better! (I just like this combo, having these two solve a Sensitive Search all by themselves!) Wait, let's slow down a little. A Non-aligned CIVILIAN with an AU icon. Good for any deck that makes use of the incredibly fast AU ships. And just here the WNOHGB effect kicks in even more nicely! Just have him on a range 13 ship (or 11 or 10, for this purpose) and go pretty everywhere within 1 or 2 turns! Also, he helps flying these ships and reduces your away team size (important for @{"The Higher... the Fewer" link COTD155}) when you need to rely on attributes. Another great team: @{"Wesley" link COTD26} + Lakanta + Vekor + @{"Alternate Tasha" link COTD165} + @{"Major Rakal" link COTD147} (Fed Variant): All these five are good by themselves, but add a Future Enterprise and a @{"Kurlan Naiskos" link COTD13} and start getting really nasty: A 39/30/27 ship, with WNOHGB, OFFICER, ENGINEER, SECURITY, CIVILIAN, MEDICAL, VIP, SCIENCE, Computer Skill, Navigation (x2), Geology, Youth, Astrophysics, Honor, Leadership, Diplomacy, Empathy, INTEGRITY 36, CUNNING 45, STRENGTH 40. For only seven cards you get THE unstoppable ship onto the spaceline! You should rather select your missions for this one. Favorite combo(s): - I like them both, but the INFINITE POWER ENTERPRISE is just too good to pass. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) LAKANTA Wesley's rating: 8.5 Cole's rating: 8.0 Hal's rating: 7.0* Heather's rating: 6.0 John's rating: 7.5 Lore's rating: 8.5 Matt's rating: 5.5 Mike's rating: 8.0 Movar's rating: 6.0 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 6.5* ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.2 * These two gave me separate ratings with and without Wesley. I used the average. Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) Conner's page is also back up (though still a little under construction but pretty up to date again): http://www.wolfe.net/~conner/COTD.html LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD146 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Devidian Door" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #146@{ub} Hi, folks, today I'm making an attempt at reviewing AU's most powerful card (IMHO) and I am pretty sure I did not get all uses of: @{b}DEVIDIAN DOOR@{ub} Doorway, rare AU. Allows you to play a card "from the future". Whether or not you currently have a Devidian Door in your hand, at any time say "Devidian Door" and play (to anywhere) one personnel or Equipment card from your hand. However, any time during your next turn, you must show opponent a Devidian Door from your hand and place it out-of-play or you lose the game. Okay, where do I start this one ? Probably with the final rating first: This one is a gamebreaker. Will go right next to the Black Lotus of Magic in terms of what is a too-fast card. Uses for this one abound: - Most basic: If your crew urgently needs an extra skill but is far away from any outpost, use it as a mini-outpost to avoid the time cost of transporting your crewmember to the place she is needed at. - With redshirts: Select a mission doable by a lone personnel (Evaluate Terraforming, Investigate Time Continuum...) Redshirt the Dilemmas, then get in your big guy and solve the mission without even getting stopped as the Devidian Door plays at interrupt speed. - Nasty surprise: When your opponent thinks it safe to attack your team, surprise her with a Echo Papa Drone, Phaser or Data from your hand to tilt the scales your way. - Getting back into play: You lost one too many crew for passing that *&% Q-Net or flying your big ship ? Don't worry, be doory. - In the nick of time: Can't get your Red Alert? Well, go cruisin' with a minimal crew, then play the needed guy when you know what Dilemmas you have to face. Better have a Betazoid Gift Box under that mission to get that alert then... - Even worse: Create whole away teams in an interrupt with an Ophidian cane and a Devidian Door. - Kill Dilemmas: Hold a Security and a Security Sacrifice. Nullify any Dilemma that just struck you. Security are always great candidates for dooring, anyway (you don't need them everywhere but if you do it gets urgent) - Ouch: Just uncovered your Kurlan Naiskos at the far end of the spaceline ? An lack a CIVILIAN ? No problem - Devidian Door and start blasting away! (at triple speed, too!) - Fear some discard effect ? Use Devidian Door + Sam Clemens' pocketwatch and drop it right away. - Pokerface: Use it to solve the mission that gives you the Betazoid gift box and get it from your draw deck with the Box. You don't need it in your hand for this variant. - Last stand: Your opponent gonna win next turn ? Devidian door anything that stops him from doing so, even if you don't have the card. Play a Kivas Fajo next turn and hope for the 20-50% chance you'll draw it... - The degenerate deck: 4 Kivas Fajo, 4 Devidian Doors, 2 Travelers, Red Alert, 14 decent Fed personnel, Enterprise-D, Enterprise-C, Q2, Kevin Uxbridge, Goddess of Empathy. Seed cards: Naiskos, Ophidian Cane, Horga'hn, Betazoid Gift Box, Data's Head, 6 Fed planet missions, AU door, 17 Dilemmas, Fed outpost. Makes Warp 9 seem like snail's crawl! Caveat: You should only use it if you don't have it in hand, if you - either absolutely know you're gonna draw it - or you are going to lose anyway so it's better to take the chance... Favorite combo(s): - Any one that makes good use of this card @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) DEVIDIAN DOOR Wesley's rating: 11.0 (Oops... make that 10) Brad's rating: 9.0 Cole's rating: 6.0 Hal's rating: 5.2 Heather's rating: 7.0 John's rating: 6.5 Lore's rating: 8.2 Jack's rating: 6.0 Matt's rating: 7.5 Mike's rating: 7.5 Movar's rating: 10.0 Serge's rating: 10.0 Tony's rating: 4.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.5 Don't ask me where the 4's and 5's come from, but if I had realized the value of a Lotus on the first day, I'd be a really rich man by now :-) (In the beginning they were traded for Serra Angels, you guys probably know better and keep your Devidian Doors...) Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD147 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Major Rakal" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #147@{ub} Hi, folks, if you wondered where... Well, I recently played a game of STCCG with Santa and he grinningly pulled a Seize Wesley card and so I got stuck near the North Pole... At least my brain didn't totally freeze, so I can review... @{b}MAJOR RAKAL@{ub} Personnel Federation/Romulan, rare AU. Integrity 8/4 Cunning 7/8 Strength 4 VIP, Empathy, Diplomacy (Fed only), Tal Shiar (Rom only), Treachery (Rom only), Command Star, AU icon. @{i}"Physically altered, Deanna Troi was coerced to completely assume the identity of a Tal Shiar major in the 2369 M'ret defection plot."@{ui} Great concept (tho they weren't the first with that idea but mine worked somewhat differently) and too bad they missed out on a bunch of other opportunities in the basic set (K'Eleyhr, the Duras conspiracy, maybe even Worf). What do you get for this card? A Deanna Troi. A full Deanna for all those who couldn't afford one till now. Just that she's a VIP instead of an Officer. More? Yep. The ability to sneak into an opponent's Rommie mission with a Fed deck. Just load up with non-aligned crew! Still more? Yep. The confidence to gain 40 really easy points out of a Rommie mission. Mind you, you can really redshirt anything that gets in your way. Just keep Rakal up there until the last possible second... Also, one of the better Empathy cards. Especially for our green friends who totally lacked that skill until now. And this one is badly necessary with the new Dilemmas and Events... Even more? Sure. Finally a picture where Marina Sirtis looks good. Net result: A Deanna Troi actually worth using. And a perfect upgrade of the original one. Even for a pure Fed deck... Favorite combo(s): - Rakal + some non-aligned personnel + Quash Conspiracy - in a Fed deck: SURPRISE! @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) MAJOR RAKAL Wesley's rating: 7.5 Cole's rating: 7.0 Hal's rating: 4.0/9.5 Heather's rating: 8.5 John's rating: 7.5 Lore's rating: 7.0 Jack's rating: 7.0 Matt's rating: 6.9/7.5 Mike's rating: 8.0 Movar's rating: 8.0 Serge's rating: 9.0 Tony's rating: 6.5/7.5 Owen's rating: 4.5 Ian's rating: 2.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.9 [...guess I'll have to find a new format for this rapidly growing section...] Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD148 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Warped Space" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #148@{ub} Hi, folks, if there's one thing AU did for us, it's that they finally introduced a few really INTERESTING missions, like @{b}WARPED SPACE@{ub} Mission, Klingon, Space, rare AU. SCIENCE x 2 + Navigation + Astrophysics Span 5 (for the player seeding it) or 1 (for the opponent) 45 points @{i}"Amargosa Diaspora: Investigate Gravity wells in globular cluster."@{ui} @{"Kurak" link COTD76} + @{"Vekor" link COTD37} = 45 ? Not the worst STCCG equation I've heard in the last few weeks. And that's the catch of this card. It is GREAT for your speed - two people and you almost got half a win. The drawback? It's also GREAT for your opponent's speed, who, probably not playing Klingon will get around this obstacle in Space quite fast... So, who has more to gain ? You, the Klingon player are at a desperate disadvantage when it gets to drafting a crew with decent skills. You need quite a lot of people to complete a full away team (though you can add non-aligned crew like @{"Roga Danar" link COTD18} and @{"Vekor" link COTD37} to supply much-needed classifications). Perhaps try this: Seed Warped space as close to the end of the spaceline as possible (to minimize your opponent's advantage). Place your outpost there. Try to get a @{"Kurak" link COTD76} (or a Torin), a @{"Vekor" link COTD37}, a @{"Roga Danar" link COTD18} and another MEDICAL. Pretty well prepared for any Dilemma, get the 45 points - and the @{"Cryosatellite" link COTD169} with a @{"Kurlan Naiskos" link COTD13} and three more key personnel (@{"Gov. Worf" link COTD151}, Berlingoff & K'mtar). Add an OFFICER and start blasting everything out of space along with beaming about a little bit and sol- ving one or the other mission... Your opponent, the Fed rich kid, with all his Bridge crew, has only one solution: Being faster than you. He has all those people, but he'll have to make some distance with limited ship resources (he'll need lotsa events and interrupts to get his crew fast enough and will also need lotsa Seed Cards.) But he'll need two missions to catch up in points as he won't be able to do a 45'er at his outpost that easily. So he'll need to get to another doable mission soon, and this is where your cute Warped Space starts hurting YOU! This one just isn't there for him and he'll be that one location faster... In the end it will all be a race: Can you blast him out of space or can he collect the 100 before you do so ? Net result: a beautiful card for both players as it really speeds up a game that sometimes tends to drag a little. Great work! Favorite combo(s): - Warped space + @{"Cryosatellite" link COTD169}: A Klingon speed deck made possible. - Same + @{"Kurlan Naiskos" link COTD13}: A FAST and irresistible Klingon blast deck! @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) WARPED SPACE Wesley's rating: 9.0 Cole's rating: 6.5 Hal's rating: --- Heather's rating: 8.0 John's rating: 6.0 Lore's rating: --- Matt's rating: 5.0 Mike's rating: 5.5 Movar's rating: --- Serge's rating: 6.0 Tony's rating: 9.5 Owen's rating: 7.6 Ian's rating: 8.9 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.2 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD149 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Rascals" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #149@{ub} Hi, folks, here's a Dilemma to use against the rich kids (that's those with the Future Enterprise that still evades me): @{b}RASCALS@{ub} Dilemma, Space, uncommon AU. All unique crew members (maximum of 4, random selection) are kids. STRENGTH = 2 and Youth replaces first-listed skill. Cure with 2 MEDICAL and Biology. @{i}"Passing through a molecular reversion field in a shuttle, Guinan, @{"Ro Laren" link COTD92}, Keiko O'Brien and @{"Jean-Luc Picard" link COTD1} reverted to children's bodies but retained adult knowledge."@{ui} Well, this card somewhat missed its goal. It was intended as a fix against the players with all the great Bridge crew. Now just look at what happens instead: Player 1 has a starter and 6 boosters, thus 39 uncommons and rares. Assuming he plays Fed, he'll probably have around 6 unique personnel and he's gonna use them all in order to stand a chance. So he'll have four or less in an average away team and his best guys are all affected :-( Player 2 is a rich one with a complete set of everything. In her 18 personnel cards she has 17 uniques (just @{"Vekor" link COTD37} cause she's great). She'll lose the use of one or two of her top five crew, but not four. Net result: This card hurts the player with few options more than the really rich one. Also, note the great effect of this card on @{"Wes" link COTD26}: Youth gets replaced by Youth! Still, Rascals might offer great combo opportunities when used with Dilemmas that require Strength. El-Adrel creatures, Chalnoths, Rebel Encounters and Malfunctioning doors would be good choices, but they're all planets. Just where are the Space Dilemmas with Strength require- ments? Best comparison: @{"Tsiolkovsky infection" link COTD128}. Similar effect, though more personnel affected and no Strength loss. Also, similar cure (though Rascals seems a bit easier if you can get @{"Bev Crusher" link COTD22} to remain unaffected). Almost equal game value. Average. Next. Favorite combo(s): - Rascals + Interphasic Plasma Creatures: 2 - 2 = !!!!! @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) RASCALS Wesley's rating: 5.5 Cole's rating: --- Hal's rating: --- Heather's rating: 9.875 John's rating: 7.0 Lore's rating: ^ (hey, that's the original quote) Matt's rating: 5.5 Mike's rating: 5.0 Movar's rating: 9.25 Serge's rating: 7.0 Tony's rating: 3.0 Owen's rating: 7.1 Ian's rating: 6.6 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.4125 BTW: Look out for the official solution to Wesley's STCCG Challenge part II today. It involves no @{"Exocomps" link COTD56}!!! Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD150 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Fantasy World & World Rift" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #150@{ub} Hi, folks, again a jubilee number and I'm almost out of ideas for what to do as a soemwhat special issue, so I'll take up on an idea that recently floated around the 'net and make it into a card, namely a way to link card games: @{b}FANTASY WORLD@{ub} Dilemma, Planet, rare AU, Dream Card. You and your opponent each pick up a MAGIC: THE GATHERING deck and play a game, starting at 30 life. Winner of that game scores his remaining life as points. If you do not know how to play MAGIC, opponent gains 3 points. Discard Dilemma. @{i}"@{"Q" link COTD30} and several others lured the @{"Enterprise" link COTD3} crew to worlds of magical fantasy, having them play games for the entertainment of the bored immortal."@{ui} But this would be too cheap, just starting a subgame. So where's the linking element ? Here: @{b}WORLD RIFT@{ub} Artifact, uncommon MAGIC (but distributed with STCCG/AU!), Dream Card. Casting Cost 0. X, Tap: Put any Personnel you have in a running ST:CCG game directly into play. Use it as a creature with Toughness = INTEGRITY and Power = STRENGTH. X is the higher of the two numbers. If the Personnel is killed, remove it from the ST:CCG game, otherwise return it at end of subgame. It has First Strike ability if CUNNING is 6 or higher. @{i}"There's more where THAT came from"@{ui} Cool ? Sure. Get some strong but expendable guys into your STCCG crew, then uncover the Fantasy World and produce a fast green deck with several World Rifts. Summon the big hitters as fast as you can. Try Taurik (8/7), Chris Hobson (6/6), Korris (8/8), L'Kor (7/7), Tokath (6/6) or Movar (7/5) all of which don't have the greatest STCCG skills but are very cost-effective strikers for the subgame and you can even afford to get them terrored... Fast 30 points, go to next location, lather, rinse, repeat. I'd appreciate comments or (if you actually try them out) your play experiences... You can also try other card games: @{b}MORIARTY'S SCHEMES@{ub}: Play INWO, winner gains 25 pts. @{i}"Professor Moriarty plotted against the @{"Enterprise" link COTD3} crew when he found out he was trapped on the holodeck."@{ui} @{b}TIME TRAVELERS@{ub}: INWO Group card, Pwr 1, Res 1, SCIENCE, SPACE, WEIRD. Can use his action to bring one STCCG personnel from the main game to your hand, who is treated as a Straight Government Science Personality with Pwr = STR and Res = INT and one outgoing control arrow at any position you choose. Galactic Empires (use those ships!) SW:CCG (obvious choice, isn't it ?) [anyone care to think up the link card pairs ?] Combos & Ratings: will return tomorrow :-) Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de PS: Sorry for Thursday's really wrong subject line. Blame N*tsc*p* for this one... Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD151 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Governor Worf" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #151@{ub} Hi, folks, back to business or something like that... @{b}GOVERNOR WORF@{ub} Personnel, Klingon, rare AU. Integrity 8 Cunning 7 Strength 8 V.I.P, SECURITY, Honor x 2, Navigation, Diplomacy, Leadership, Command Star (*), AU Icon. @{i}"Former member of the Klingon High Council in an alternate timeline in which, by 2395 the Klingons had taken over the Romulan Empire."@{ui} So finally we get a @{"Worf" link COTD35} that is able to beat @{"Wesley Crusher" link COTD26} in honorable one-on-one combat. He's gotten a little weaker with age, but he's acquired lots of experience and changed color to go from a fair blue card to a great red card. The addition of Leadership is not in itself such a grand bonus as we already had @{"Gowron" link COTD5} to care for the oh-so-useful Leadership-Honor-Diplomacy skill combination, but adding a SECURITY and the Navigation ability to this makes a formidable Klingon with the added bonus of having two classifications for the @{"Naiskos" link COTD13} (Try Governor Worf + @{"Vekor" link COTD37} + Bok + Berlingoff Rasmussen in an IKC Fek'Ihr for an all-but-unstoppable ship of 33/27/24. Now just add a @{"Bynars Weapon enhancements" link COTD197} and wave those outposts goodbye with just six cards. For even faster fun, place Worf, Rasmussen and the @{"Naiskos" link COTD13} in a @{"Cryosatellite" link COTD169} and you need only two specific personnel one of which is universal!) Missions for this character? Pegasus Search, Investigate Disturbance, Cloaked Mission, Krios Suppression. A card Klingon decks really cannot afford to be without. Will probably be one of the most expensive AU cards (after the Future E.) Favorite combo(s): - (see above) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) GOVERNOR WORF Wesley's rating: 8.5 Cole's rating: 9.0 Hal's rating: 9.2 Heather's rating: 9.5 John's rating: 9.0 Lore's rating: 9.1 Matt's rating: 8.5 Mike's rating: 9.4 Movar's rating: 8.0(what do you expect from a Romulan:-)) Serge's rating: 9.0 Tony's rating: 9.0 Owen's rating: 9.0 Ian's rating: 9.7 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 9.0 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD152 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Rishon Uxbridge" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #152@{ub} Hi, folks, here's a card of which some people think it's great, others think it's crap: @{b}RISHON UXBRIDGE@{ub} Event, common AU. Plays atop any one event card in play. Protects the underlying event from @{"Kevin Uxbridge" link COTD20}. However, @{"Kevin Uxbridge" link COTD20} may remove (discard) Rishon. (not cumulative). AU Icon. @{i}"In his grief, the Douwd @{"Kevin Uxbridge" link COTD20} re-created his dead wife, Rishon. As if she were real, he responded to her tendency to keep him calm at tense moments."@{ui} Let's analyze who is right: 1) The "crap" argument: Hey, why should I play this card instead of just another copy of the base event which would even help me get it out faster? This argument is actually valid and in many cases will hold well. However, there are a few exceptions, and that gets me to the other side: 2) The "not-so-crappy" arguments: First, there are a few vital cards (@{"Red Alert" link COTD6}) for which the above-mentioned argument does not hold, as you can't use two of them in a deck when playing by tournament rules. Second, you might want to use a Rishon to protect a key event on the spaceline before nuking all others with a @{"Kev Ux: Convergence" link COTD191}. Third, this also is a psychological card. Play @{"Red Alert" link COTD6} - get it @{"Uxbridged" link COTD20}, play another @{"Red Alert" link COTD6} - opponent will likely @{"Uxbridge" link COTD20} it again. However she might think twice before using up two @{"Kevins" link COTD20} on the same one @{"Red Alert" link COTD6} card. 3) The "forget that - it's still crappy" arguments: Playing a Rishon costs you a turn and turns are limited resources. This might just prove too much work just for a single event, especially as most of them can do their work quite quickly (@{"Red Alert" link COTD6} is futile as soon as you have played all your cards from your hand - you'll need to hoard cards to really use it again, so why should I protect it instead of just using it ?) And another one: Mind that @{"Kevin" link COTD20} is an INTERRUPT! When your opponent tries to play a Rishon, interrupt that play and nuke the underlying event before Rishon hits the table! Result: Event discarded, Rishon will have to find another target (and will be in for a rules hassle if there are no more events to choose from...) Also, why don't you just replace the Rishon with a Q2 giving you the additional advantage of nuking that @{"Kevin" link COTD20} instead of just avoiding him. Net result: The crap side wins :-( Favorite combo(s): - @{"Anti-Time-Anomaly" link COTD21} + Rishon (+ Temporal Rift): Your opponent might hold one @{"Kevin" link COTD20}, but will she have TWO ? @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) RISHON UXBRIDGE Wesley's rating: 4.0 Cole's rating: 6.5 Hal's rating: 7.8 Heather's rating: 6.5 John's rating: 7.0 Lore's rating: 6.1 Jack's rating: 6.6 Matt's rating: 3.0 Mike's rating: 6.8 Movar's rating: 6.75 Serge's rating: 6.0 Tony's rating: 8.0 Owen's rating: 3.0 Ian's rating: 3.9 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.9 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD153 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/U.S.S. Enterprise-C" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #153@{ub} Hi, folks, popular demand puts so much pressure on me to do a certain Fed ship that I'll do the next best thing to keep you guys satisfied until I get my copy of the real thing... @{b}U.S.S. ENTERPRISE-C@{ub} Ship, Federation, rare AU. Range 8 Weapons 7 Shields 8 Requires 1 Command (*), 1 Staff (+), 1 AU icon. Enters play damaged at any location. Tractor Beam. AU icon. @{i}"Predecessor of @{"U.S.S. Enterprise-D" link COTD3}. Famous for heroic action in Battle of Narendra III, where it also entered a temporal rift. Commanded by @{"Rachel Garrett" link COTD160}."@{ui} Okay, what do we have here ? Almost a U.S.S. Galaxy with one less Range, but instead special ability that is not to be neglected. Enters play at any location, damaged. Well, many people think of this as just a way to recover a stranded crew. Not too bad, though this will not happen to you too often. Here's a better idea: You know the Transwarp Conduit ? Here you get a Transwarp conduit that is a little weaker (just adds 5 range instead of the full amount), but stays around forever and can attack if commanded by some non-aligned leader. And there's another thing to it: It is affected by @{"Red Alert" link COTD6}, so it can be played at no card cost, but it cannot be countered by @{"Amanda Rogers" link COTD31}. (Add an @{"Exocomp" link COTD56} to make this card even more valuable!) So you need that extra range ? You know what card to play. Need something to remove that @{"Garbage Scow" link COTD84} quickly without killing the points ? Use the Enterprise-C and then use a Near-Warp Transport to get your crew back if you need it this turn. So the bottom line again is SPEED. Lotsa speed! And if you need one less turn than your opponent to gain those 100 points you know who wins the game... Favorite combo(s): - Enterprise-C + @{"Exocomp" link COTD56} @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) U.S.S. ENTERPRISE-C Wesley's rating: 8.5 Cole's rating: 5.3 Hal's rating: 6.8 Heather's rating: 5.5 John's rating: 7.0 Lore's rating: 6.6 Jack's rating: 6.5 Matt's rating: 3.0 Mike's rating: 7.0 Movar's rating: --- Serge's rating: 7.0 Tony's rating: 5.5 Owen's rating: 3.5 Ian's rating: 3.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.1 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD154 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Ophidian Cane" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #154@{ub} Hi, folks, already COTD time again ? Damn are 24 hours just short :-) How about an... @{b}OPHIDIAN CANE@{ub} Artifact, rare AU. Place in hand until played as an Interrupt card to allow 3 through Devidian Door OR double Devidian Foragers (to four personnel) OR double Empathic Touch. (AU icon) @{i}"Disguised serpentine alien device used by the Devidians. When irradiated with the correct energy, the head comes alive and allows Devidians to control their time travel."@{ui} So this is the first card that cannot be used on its own at all. Now, its three uses: 1) Triple a @{"Devidian door" link COTD146}. I think I've already detailed the advantages of this play in the @{"Devidian Door" link CODT146} article. If you want to use the door effectively, this card is close to being a must. 2) Double Devidian Foragers. Hmmm, nice card that one if you need a lot of attribute points (did anyone say Brute Force ?) or if your opponent just tries to @{"Res-Q" link COTD28} somebody out of his discard (snatch him away and just forget the bonus you won't be able to use effectively on your opponent's turn). Double that and you'll get a cute li'l 40/43/45 @{"Data" link COTD7} you might find numerous uses for. Too bad it's just until end of turn and it does not add skills. Not really worth that much as you're not that often short on attributes. However the combo makes for a nice "oops" if you are about to be struck by some nasty Dilemma. Just remember you have to use it BEFORE counting values... 3) Double Empathic touch. Hmmm, we will probably have to wait some time before we can evaluate this combo. If it is as good as the @{"Eyes in the Dark" link COTD156} (a card that really got me confused :-( ) we might see an alternative use for the cane someday. Now for (2) and (3) you might say "Why go through all the pain - I'll just double up the relevant interrupt" and you're not that wrong about this. However, the interrupt will occupy a place in your draw deck which is often not a desirable thing(TM) especially if you're playing a speed deck. Also I consider the latter two only an emergency alternative. The real use is #1. Favorite combo(s): - Ophidian Cane + @{"Devidian Door" link COTD146} - beats the other two possibilities by lengths @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) OPHIDIAN CANE Wesley's rating: 5.5 Cole's rating: 6.5 Hal's rating: 8.9 Heather's rating: 5.0 John's rating: 6.5 Lore's rating: --- Jack's rating: 6.0 Matt's rating: --- Mike's rating: 7.9 Movar's rating: 8.0 Serge's rating: 10.0 Tony's rating: 8.0 Owen's rating: 8.1 Ian's rating: 7.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.3 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD155 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/The Higher ... The Fewer" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #155@{ub} Hi, folks, so some people seem to be REALLY addicted if I start getting "What's up" mails after three days. Let's hope the sender hasn't already gone mad for lack of COTD's. And there was another guy who made a short and rather impolite request for more Romulan cards. I won't call names here, and his mail has already fallen prey to the big rm, but people like him should remember that nobody pays me for this. Next person to bug me this way will be forcefully brought to review 155 SPELLFIRE cards. So, here's today's ish: @{b}THE HIGHER... THE FEWER@{ub} Dilemma, either, uncommon AU. Subtract X from your total score, where X = the number of personnel in this crew or Away Team. @{i}"The Parallax Poet's cosmic lesson for Alexander was, 'Every moment requires a purpose. Every purpose requires a plan. The Higher... The Fewer."@{ui} At first glace, this does not look that great. Killing some 5 or 8 points off your opponent's score is not that big a deal, but let's consider this chart: Points per Mission # of Missions 60 1 55 1 50 1 45 3 40 7 35 23 30 18 25 3 20 1 15 1 Hmm. Most probable three-mission victories? 35-35-35 = 105. 30-35-35 = 100. 40-35-35 = 110. 40-35-30 = 105. 40-30-30 = 100. Add the occasional 5 points from some Dilemma and you get a score between 105 and 120 pts. Decrease this by 3 x 8 (assuming you seed lots of these) or just by 2 x 8 (assuming you just used some of them) and you're below 100 requiring your opponent to do a fourth mission thus gaining quite some time. Even better: Don't just stack six of these and seed every mission with it, but be satisfied with two you strategically place under the 35'ers. Remember that 3 x 35 = 105 but 3 x 30 = 90 ! Convinced ? Good. Want to buy some at $10 apiece :-) ? Favorite combo(s): - The Higher... + any 35 point mission you do not intend to solve. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) THE HIGHER... THE FEWER Wesley's rating: 8.5 Cole's rating: 9.0 Hal's rating: --- Heather's rating: 6.0 John's rating: 8.0 Lore's rating: 7.8 Jack's rating: 9.0 Matt's rating: 8.0 Mike's rating: 8.7 Movar's rating: 8.5 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 8.0 Owen's rating: 7.5 Ian's rating: 8.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.3 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD156 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Eyes in the dark" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #156@{ub} Hi, folks, here's another one to make up for the weekend and for the fact I might be unable to do a card tomorrow (Diplomatic mission placed on me by my ST Fan Club): @{b}EYES IN THE DARK@{ub} Interrupt, common AU. Plays when facing a dilemma. If Empathy present, add the skills and attribute numbers of one personnel (random selection) from any opponent's ship (your choice). AU icon. @{i}"@{"Deanna Troi" link COTD39} saved the @{"U.S.S. Enterprise" link COTD3} in 2367 by communicating through nightmarish visions with a telepathic species on the other side of a Tyken's rift."@{ui} A potential lifesaver and a card that sounds a lot like it might have been called "Empathic touch" some time in the design process :-). It involves empathically reaching out to add somebody's skills to your own, so you might now understand the #154 goof... So what's the use ? When you hit any Dilemma you think you cannot overcome you can just throw it on the table and hope for the best. Just remember where the personnel with the required skills are! Also, these skills are not killed when you still fail. Assume you lack the SECURITY for a @{"Barclay's disease" link COTD29} encountered on a planet. You play the Empathic touch, choose a ship and curse loudly, having drawn @{"Bev Crusher" link COTD22}. Your entire crew dies, but now... .. your @{"Genetronic Replicator" link COTD46} kicks in!!! Yes, the Empathy is only required to first use the Eyes in the Dark and once it resolves, the skills are added to the crew (not just to a single person). Your crew is selected to die, you check for two MEDICAL and still have it-so they all come back to live to attempt another Dilemma! That was of course a more-than-rare incident, more common is the situation where you just lack a few attribute points and success is nearly assured, so especially this case will prove to be a good use of the card. Just always memorize the crews of your opponent, especially if she plays a swarm deck with lotsa ships out of which you can pretty comfortably select the one that gives you the greatest chance at survival. Nice to have, better than the @{"Transporter Armbands" link COTD95} (old variant) as you don't get stopped if it works. Favorite combo(s): - Eyes in the Dark and Good Luck :-) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) EYES IN THE DARK Wesley's rating: 7.0 Cole's rating: 7.5 Hal's rating: 8.0 Heather's rating: 8.25 John's rating: 6.0 Lore's rating: 7.4 Jack's rating: 6.3 Matt's rating: 8.0 Mike's rating: 6.5 Movar's rating: 7.0 Serge's rating: 6.0 Tony's rating: 7.0 Owen's rating: 3.9 Ian's rating: 3.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.45 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD157 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Zaldan" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #157@{ub} Hi, folks, here's a Dilemma I somewhat like to beat with the right card. Guess why :-) @{b}ZALDAN@{ub} Dilemma, Planet, uncommon AU. Unless Treachery x 2, Disruptors, @{"Wesley Crusher" link COTD26} or Exobiology present, two Away Team members with Diplomacy (random selection) are killed. @{i}"Zaldans, who look human except for their webbed fingers, are infuriated by courtesy. They view it as insulting dishonesty."@{ui} Doesn't this one just YELL "combo!" ? Kill two Diplomats ? With all the cute things like @{"Nagilums" link COTD51}, @{"Q-Nets" link COTD86} and..... Shakas? Place this one in front of a Shaka to make the latter a little hard to pass unless the first one is passed, which in turn can be made a little harder by using a Chalnoth and/or a @{"Ferengi attack" link COTD184} and the nasty person on the other side of the table (the one who plays that much worse but has more money to buy cards / incredible luck in the draw / just acci- dentally found the one weakness in your deck / ...) will probably regret ever having attempted this mission. And though the list of possibilities to pass is quite long, it serves to make the card equally hard or easy to all affiliations. @{"Wesley" link COTD26} and Exobiology are easy for Feds, Exobiology and Disruptors are found for Klingons and our Rommie friends will have Disruptors and Treachery, so everybody can find something (but something not too common) to get past this Dilemma and that's what unfortunately makes it a little weak on its own. The chance to cripple a team with this is actually fairly low unless you can take some preparations with a Disruptor overload, a well-placed Phaser Burns (or two or three...) or any of the opponent's choice Dilemmas. Just remember they'll probably have one of the requirements. But most probably not two... Favorite combo(s): - @{"Ferengi Attack" link COTD184} + @{"Outpost Raid" link COTD183} + Zaldan + Shaka (in this order): Kills at least four of them (ensure a large team with the Ferengi, kill two of your choice with the @{"raid" link CODT183}, two more with the Zaldan then stop her with Shaka) and also eliminates 3-4 turns! @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) ZALDAN Wesley's rating: 8.0 Cole's rating: --- Hal's rating: --- Heather's rating: 7.5 John's rating: 7.5 Lore's rating: --- Jack's rating: 8.2 Matt's rating: 6.0 Mike's rating: 7.0 Movar's rating: 5.0 Serge's rating: 3.0 Tony's rating: 7.5 Owen's rating: 5.4 Ian's rating: 5.3 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.4 (lotsa dashes this time, but remember the ratinx were collected at a time when AU was almost as hard to find as BB Picards :-) ) Attn, raters: The new rating request is going out tonite, if you don't get it by tomorrow please make yourself heard! Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD158 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Decius" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #158@{ub} Hi, folks, now that a certain Romulan fan has (very politely) apologized I'll show I do not hold a grudge for long and proceed with something really Romulan: @{b}DECIUS@{ub} Ship, Romulan, rare AU. Range 10 Weapons 9 Shields 8 Requires 1 Command (*), 1 Staff (+), 1 AU. Cloaking Device, Holodeck, Tractor Beam, AU Icon. @{i}"Powerful ship created in Barash's illusion. Commanded by Tomalak. Transported Admiral @{"Picard" link COTD1} and @{"Deanna Troi" link COTD39} to a Romulan peace conference."@{ui} Okay, for the Rommie fans, I'll take their "future" ship first, you'll probably see the Future Enterprise and the @{"Fek'lhr" link COTD176} later on this channel:-) Anyway, the basic principle behind these three ships is simple: You get an awesome ship but you dearly pay for it in terms of crew requirements. Or in this particular case, do you really? You need three personnel, as with any regular D'Deridex. The only difference here is that instead of the second staff you need an AU personnel. And this is, for our Romulan friends, NOT A GOOD THING (TM). Actually, there's only two sensible solutions (@{"Cmdr Tomalak" link COTD167} sux and he does not even gain the Captain's log benefit, @{"Ajur and Boratus" link COTD175} have limited use and Mickey D. is just plain weak at the moment): Berlingoff Rasmussen and (even though you don't make full use of his powers) @{"Lakanta" link COTD145}. The latter will actually help you a lot as 10 range is FAST and with a WNOHGB built in this is even faster! The 9 Weapons / 8 Shields are of course nothing new, we have seen this combination in the Haakona, but there's one more thing which is not so easily ignored: a Holodeck for Romulans! No more clumsy @{"Husnocks" link COTD41} to use your Holo personnel (Jera and Tomek, both quite good for commons!) but a fast and versatile ship instead. And it's really quite hard to say which of the future ships is the best. The @{"Fek'lhr" link COTD176} is faster, but she needs 4 crew and the Future Enterprise is even stronger, but at 4 crew of which 3 need to be AU and the fact that you probably don't have it in the first place - I don't know. Favorite combo(s): - Decius + @{"Lakanta" link COTD145} + Tomalak + any Staff: 10/12/11 with built-in WNOHGB @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) DECIUS Wesley's rating: 8.5 Cole's rating: 8.8 Hal's rating: 7.5 Heather's rating: 9.0 John's rating: 8.0 Lore's rating: 7.2 Jack's rating: 8.0 Matt's rating: 9.0 Mike's rating: 7.8 Movar's rating: 9.0 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 8.5 Owen's rating: 9.0 Ian's rating: 9.2 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 8.4 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD159 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Rescue Captives" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #159@{ub} Hi, folks, here's a card that will sooner or later draw another review, just because it has so many loose ends that will someday been tied up: @{b}RESCUE CAPTIVES@{ub} Interrupt, uncommon. All your personnel currently held captive are returned to your outpost(s), nullifying @{"Interrogation" link COTD170}, Brainwash and Torture, if any or all are in progress. @{i}"Away teams led by Security chiefs like Tasha Yar have at times been sent to rescue captured personnel, as in this occasion at Mordan IV in 2364."@{ui} Hmm. A card that is useless unless your opponent has made some captives. Let's see how she could achieve this... Events: None. But one that makes use of a captive. Interrupts: Seize Wesley. Requires a certain Dilemma (@{"Ktarian game" link COTD91}) to strike successfully (assured, if encountered). Romulan Ambush. Needs her playing Romulan, you using a ship with shields<6 and her chasing you. Thine own Self. Anti-Redshirting Interrupt. Dilemmas: @{"Cardassian trap" link COTD190}. Will hit quite often, unless you're Fed. All other card types: Zip. So four cards can currently make captives. And there's just one that makes them anything else than just killed crew. Not a very-well fleshed out concept. But, assuming your opponent is going to use it (which might be a good idea if you're a notorious user of @{"genetronic Replicators" link COTD46} or @{"Res-Q's" link COTD28}) you might as well counter it. You'll get them back all at once. Good thing, mucho better thing if your opponent is doing something nasty to them. So this will probably someday be one of the best cards in the game, unless they do not expand the captives concept any further in which case it will stay what it currently is: way too limited. Though maybe a sideboard card if you wnat to be prepared for a captives strategy. BTW: Here's a rules suggestion concerning captives (Are you listening, Decipher ?): "When you first declare an away team attack you can state you attack to capture instead of killing. If you win the battle, you make a captive (random selection). As long as the battle continues, players who have captives from the battle will have to guard each captive with one crew from his/her own away team, who can no longer participate in the battle. If captives are beamed to a ship, guarding is no longer necessary, but you need an unstopped personnel to accompany the beaming attempt." Favorite combo(s): - None yet. Waiting for a card to make the captive strategy worthwhile. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) RESCUE CAPTIVES Wesley's rating: 2.5 Cole's rating: 7.0 Hal's rating: 7.9 Heather's rating: 6.0 John's rating: 6.5 Lore's rating: --- Jack's rating: 5.9 Matt's rating: 4.0 Mike's rating: 5.7 Movar's rating: 9.0 Serge's rating: 4.0 Tony's rating: 4.0 Owen's rating: 4.5 Ian's rating: 6.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.6 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD160 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Rachel Garrett" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #160@{ub} Hi, folks, just visited a few of the Dream card sites... Hmm...Great! Why don't we just let the game die, so Decipher will no longer pursue their copyrights and then make our own game ? We'd probably be a LOT faster putting out expansions than them :-) Nope. Just kidding. On to what you guys been waiting for all night: @{b}RACHEL GARRETT@{ub} Personnel, Federation, rare AU. Integrity 9 Cunning 7 Strength 5 OFFICER, Honor, ENGINEER, Leadership, Diplomacy, Astrophysics, Command Star (*), AU Icon. @{i}"Captain of @{"U.S.S. Enterprise-C" link COTD153} when it entered a temporal rift during the Battle of Narendra III in 2344. Ordered a return to the historic battle from 2366."@{ui} Okay, half a @{"Picard" link COTD1} (OFFICER, Diplomacy, Leadership, Honor) plus half a @{"Data" link COTD7} (ENGINEER, Astrophysics) and all that a lot cheaper than the top two cards on every price list. Nearly @{"Tsiolokvsky" link COTD128}-proof (one of her least valuable skills will go), thus also laughs about @{"Rascals" link COTD149}. And female on top of it. We finally got a really good lady who is not a doctor ! In Detail: besides her basic useless OFFICER classification she got a skill list that reads like the 'who is who' in useful stuff. ENGINEERs are always handy (one of the reasons @{"Data" link COTD7} is so good), as there is no limit to the number of ENGINEERs that can give you a benefit in a single crew (@{"Nutational shields" link COTD40}!). Astrophysics is one of those rare skills you can build a fast and effective space mission deck around. And then the all-too-often mentioned Klingon skill triade Honor, Leadership, Diplomacy, but this time in a Federation officer with good stuff to complement it. And the stats, well almost a @{"Picard" link COTD1}. But there's another thing about her: flexibility in filling crew requirements. With all the big AU ships around here, an AU icon is never a big minus (though it makes the card a little riskier). But the catch is, you can choose to use her either as a commander or an AU which allows you to staff your ships that much faster (Magic players know this flexibility from the Dual Lands!). A well-rounded card, and she can get the @{"Captain's Log" link COTD174} bonus on the @{"Enterprise-C" link COTD153}, making it a whopping 8/10/11 - Ouch! Favorite combo(s): - Rachel Garrett + @{"Captain's Log" link COTD174} + @{"Enterprise-C" link COTD153} @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) RACHEL GARRETT Wesley's rating: 8.5 Cole's rating: 8.6 Hal's rating: 8.5 Heather's rating: 8.0 John's rating: 8.5 Lore's rating: 8.4 Jack's rating: 7.9 Matt's rating: --- Mike's rating: 8.8 Movar's rating: 9.0 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 9.0 Owen's rating: 8.6 Ian's rating: 8.7 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 8.5 Now that's a close opinion! Don't know how far we have to go back to get ALL raters into a range of 1.1 points!!! Finally we all agree! Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the NEW Web Page! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html With all back issues from #1 up to today ! (And by this I mean ALL issues :-) ) LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD161 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Quantum Singularity Lifeforms" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #161@{ub} Hi, folks, the Romulan fans among you will probably rejoice, here's another card you wouldn't play if you weren't Rommie or playing against them: @{b}QUANTUM SINGULARITY LIFEFORMS@{ub} Dilemma, Space, uncommon AU. If Romulan ship present, all ships and personnel here are placed in stasis. Cure with Emergency Transporter Armbands, Timepod Ring or new ENGINEER arriving. @{i}"Sentient dimensional beings whose young incubate in black holes. When nesting in a Romulan ship's artificial singularity engine, a frozen-time effect occurs."@{ui} So what. Stasis isn't the worst state to place your opponent into, as it allows you to use Dead in Bed on her and her personnel are gone for an indefinite time. If it just weren't for the trouble this gives you. You need a Romulan ship at the location. So either you use it as a Rommie hoser (as if we had not enough of that card type) which is best placed at some location far, far away or you play Rommies yourself, in which case you have to deposit a ship at the location, empty it and hope for the best. You can turn the latter one into a nice little bluff: play a lot of Scouts or Science vessels and then park one ship at a mission you don't want your opponent to attempt. She'll of course think you have placed some really nasty Dilemma underneath and probably try and find her points at some other location, which then of course contain the REAL Dilemmas. Against Romulans, this card is really strong, IMHO too strong, but it can of course be prevented by playing a Planet deck (your Rommies won't be able to do without artifacts, anyway) or by using lotsa non-aligned ships which you have quite a few fair ones now. But then, the trouble using against Rommies is: Who plays Rommies ? Very few people do. And if they do, they don't attempt lots of space missions, trying for their artifacts and not having too much to gain from a @{"Cryosatellite" link COTD169}. So it's rather a nice bluff if playing Rom yourself or at best a sideboard card. Nice counter (from Matt): Carry an Yridian Shuttle aboard your warbird! BTW: Sideboard(ing), a few people have asked. When playing in a CCG tourney, the tourney rules often allow you to exchange cards from your deck between rounds with a special stack of cards called your sideboard. (Usually 1/4 of your normal deck size) This is done to be able to better adapt to an opponent's strategy. STCCG currently does not know this concept, but they also don't forbid any deck alteration throughout a tournament, so IMHO your entire collection currently constitutes your sideboard. Favorite combo(s): - Quantum Singularity Lifeforms + Dead in Bed. Arrgh. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) QUANTUM SINGULARITY LIFEFORMS Wesley's rating: 5.0 Cole's rating: 3.0 Conner's rating: 5.5 (He's back :-) ) Heather's rating: 8.75 Jason's rating: 5.5 Matt's rating: 5.5 Movar's rating: 8.0 Serge's rating: 6.0 Tony's rating: 7.0 John's rating: 7.5 (He added a point of "Movar Bonus"!!) ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.975 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://www.wolfenet.com/~conner/COTD.html (great graphics, and also the Strategy Forum) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD162 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Compromised Mission" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #162@{ub} Hi, folks, hope you found this one, as I had Conner post it (away on business trip :-( ) and your "author search" probably got compromised. Compromised ? As @{b}COMPROMISED MISSION@{ub} Mission, Space, Kli/Rom (opponent: Fed), rare AU. 35 points Span 4 Treachery x 2 + Computer Skill + STRENGTH > 35 @{i}"Sector 2520: Rush to plug information leaks occuring from this remote border sector."@{ui} Another cool mission idea, and it fits the plot: One side tries to cover the information leaks, the other side tries to find them before that happens. However, the gameplay sux. At Strength > 35 + 3 Skills, a 40 point reward would have been the least I would have wanted to see. (I detailed a few issues ago why 35 and 40 makes such a big difference) The only thing that actually makes it playable is the fact that it is near-perfectly safe against any sneaky attempts by your opponent to steal your @{"Cryosatellite" link COTD169} for himself. Why ? Well, Romulans and Klingons would need to espionage against it and then be faced with the same high requirements you have to overcome, and for a Fed crew, both a high Strength and Treachery x 2 are really unusual. So any Fed opponent would probably just go for a fast win instead and leave your mission alone. Just too bad it's not a planet. The fact that you need to waste a @{"Cryosatellite" link COTD169} to secure your artifact doesn't help the rating of this card whose best use is making sure your opponent won't be the first to retrieve a crucial artifact. Favorite combo(s): - Compromised mission + @{"Cryosatellite" link COTD169} + something REALLY useful (like a BGB) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) COMPROMISED MISSION Wesley's rating: 4.0 Cole's rating: 5.0 Conner's rating: 5.5 Heather's rating: 8.0 Jason's rating: --- Matt's rating: 5.0 Movar's rating: 7.5 Serge's rating: 7.0 Tony's rating: 6.5 John's rating: 7.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.2 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://www.wolfenet.com/~conner/COTD.html (great graphics, and also the Strategy Forum) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD163 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Receptacle Stones" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #163@{ub} Hi, folks, here's an Artifact for a Klingon Armada deck (you'll see later why) @{b}RECEPTACLE STONES@{ub} Artifact, rare AU. Place in hand until played as an Event card on the crew of an opponent's ship. Any space Dilemmas you encounter this turn also apply to that ship and crew. Discard event. @{i}"Ves Alkar, a Lumerian, used these mysterious objects in a ritual that would turn another person into a 'receptacle' for all negative thoughts, causing rapid aging and death."@{ui} Before anyone starts a rumor: Ves Alkar is NOT in anyway a relative of mine :-) As for the card: Ya all know these 'Heavy Hitter' Fed decks with ships laden up to the point of bursting? How about decimating them a bit? First thing to do is get the stones. Then send out an Armada of Klingon ships, staffed with a Vekor, some ENGINEER and a SECURITY (to give you a decent chance to hit more Dilemmas). Make sure you have lots of space missions and one of them has the Tsiolkovsky infection as first Dilemma. Add a Borg Ship to another mission (plus a K'Vort and a redshirt) for extra fun. Now park one ship at each of those missions and play the stones on the near-bursting opposing vessel. Then attempt all of your missions in quick succession. You probably won't succeed at all of them and maybe not even at one, but this is not the point here. Instead, your opponent will probably find herself facing an assorted variety of Dilemmas she'd rather not see. The Tsiolkovsky infection hits first (you know where it is), so your opponent is already deprived of some valuable skills and cannot yet cure it as she'll first need a chance to act. Next, take your Dilemmas in any order you want, making sure they all kill or disable somebody if the conditions are not met. With some luck, you'll decimate the crew far enough they are no longer able to fly their ship, if not, send in your redshirt, get the Borg Ship and blast that thingy to bits of Stardust (I hope you've eliminated enough ENGINEERs so Nutational shields won't be a problem anymore). Collect your remaining personnel, destroy outpost, solve one mission, win game :-) Favorite combo(s): - Hey, that's a deck design! @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) RECEPTACLE STONES Wesley's rating: 8.0 Cole's rating: 2.0 Conner's rating: 4.5 Heather's rating: 8.0 Jason's rating: --- Matt's rating: 7.5 Movar's rating: 8.0 Serge's rating: 7.0 Tony's rating: 7.5 John's rating: 6.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.5 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://www.wolfenet.com/~conner/COTD.html (great graphics, and also the Strategy Forum) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD164 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Tama" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #164@{ub} Hi, folks, here's another cool ship: @{b}TAMA@{ub} Ship, non-aligned, rare AU. Range 7 Weapons 9 Shields 8 Particle Scattering Device. Requires 1 Command (*), 1 Staff (+). @{i}"Children of Tama. Vorath's sword raised high. @{"Dathon" link COTD181}, speaking first. Tama and @{"Enterprise" link COTD3} at El-Adrel. Tama's tears, shivering in the wind."@{ui} Hmm. We've until now seen quite a few ships with a 9, an 8 and a 7 as stats that this might already be called a pattern: USS Galaxy (8/7/9) IKC Vor'Cha (9/8/7) D'Deridex (8/9/7) So every affiliation has one, right ? Only the non-aligneds have none. Good. So this has just changed. But wait, how about the crew requirements? Don't the affiliated ships need 1 command and 2> staff ??? So it seems to me we just got a really good bang for our buck. Though 7 range is not at all that fast, it's at least faster than the @{"Husnock" link COTD41}, has the same weapons as that one and is easier to fly. So let's put this ship in an armada deck. Beam @{"Dathon" link COTD181} aboard and use the @{"Captain's Log" link COTD174} which gives you a nice little 7/12/11 which is now in every respect better than the @{"Husnock" link COTD41} except for that 1 shields and the missing tractor beam. And the Particle Scattering Device ? Prerequisite for a little event called Particle Scattering Field. Otherwise useless. So let's explore the one possi- bility left to us. Fly your Tama to a location your opponent has just beamed down most of his crew. At 7/12/11 (with @{"Captain's Log" link COTD174}) you're now quite safe and can sit there and grin. Leave @{"Dathon" link COTD181} aboard, retrieve your other crewmembers and pursue your own business. Just keep a Q2 handy in case somebody wants to @{"Uxbridge" link COTD20} your Scattering Field. Favorite combo(s): - Tama + @{"Dathon" link COTD181} + @{"Captain's Log" link COTD174}. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) TAMA Wesley's rating: 8.5 Cole's rating: 6.0 Conner's rating: 5.5 Heather's rating: 8.5 Jason's rating: 7.5 Matt's rating: --- Movar's rating: --- Serge's rating: 9.0 Tony's rating: 8.0 John's rating: 7.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.6 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://www.wolfenet.com/~conner/COTD.html (great graphics, and also the Strategy Forum) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD165 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Tasha Yar - Alternate" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #165@{ub} Hi, folks, another AU babe you won't want to miss: @{b}TASHA YAR - ALTERNATE@{ub} Personnel, Federation, rare AU. Integrity 8 Cunning 7 Strength 8 SECURITY, Honor, Leadership, Armed with Starfleet Type II phaser, AU icon, Staff Star (+). @{i}"Traveled to 2344 and helped prevent a disastrous war. Survivor of the Battle of Narendra III. Consort of Romulan General. Mother of @{"Sela" link COTD23}."@{ui} Now this one wins hands down for "coolest AU picture implementation". Look at her next to the original Tasha. You'll find these cards are incredibly similar. Same position of face, same camera angle, both with quite dark background, only the uniform is different - good job, guys! And this is not just a picture detail but it is also reflected in the card itself. She's pretty much the same thing (like majority of the picture), except for that built-in phaser (the slight difference). Which is the first of two points why this card is good. With @{"Yellow Alert" link COTD53} and @{"Uxbridge" link COTD20}, keeping your @{"Red Alert" link COTD6} in play is less than assured so actually playing 2 cards' worth of stuff with just one card to put out means one turn advantage. Even if you have that @{"Alert" link COTD6} and the @{"Traveler" link COTD4} it's still half a turn as you still have to count your card draws. And having 31 cards to draw from a draw deck of 30 is also an aspect of this miracle (assuming 30 seed cards, natch!) And the second point ? Easy. Tasha is a good card. Even the original one. But she's unique, so you can't play two of her, right ? NOT! No colon - no duplication, do you get it ? And two Tashas might make your opponent think twice about attacking you. Oh, BTW: You already know AU symbols along with a star can be quite useful, don't you ? Favorite combo(s): - Tasha + Tasha(Alternate), just for laughs. - Tasha (Alternate) + Phaser burns: Who says you need three cards to pull off a Phaser burn ? @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) TASHA YAR - ALTERNATE Wesley's rating: 8.0 Cole's rating: 7.0 Conner's rating: 5.5 Heather's rating: 9.5 Jason's rating: 8.0 Matt's rating: --- Movar's rating: 9.0 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 9.0 John's rating: 8.0 Lore's rating: 6.5 Hal's rating: 8.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.9 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://www.wolfenet.com/~conner/COTD.html (great graphics, and also the Strategy Forum) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD166 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Beverly Picard" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #166@{ub} Hi, folks, here's another AU variant of an existing card (Uh, guess I'll make a mini-series of these) @{b}BEVERLY PICARD@{ub} Personnel, Federation, rare AU. Integrity 8 Cunning 8 Strength 4 OFFICER, MEDICAL x2, Leadership, Biology, Command Star (*), AU Icon. @{i}"Captain of medical ship U.S.S. Pasteur in 2395 in an alternate timeline. Although divorced from @{"Jean-Luc Picard" link COTD1}, she never could say no to him."@{ui} Just to prove not all AU variants are better than the originals. For an Exobiology skill (rare and valuable) you get a Leadership (all too common) and for 1 Strength point, you receive the really valueless OFFICER classification. Although the benefit of the AU icon ("multiland" effect) also applies for this card, you still lose more than you gain. Half of Bev Crusher's superior play value was the fact that her skills matched very well and she could even solve a 35 point mission (Evaluate Terraforming) on her own. Now this trait is lost and you instead get the totally unrelated Leadership which will not help you that much in a bridge crew deck. And there's another point to remember: @{"Tsiolkovsky infection" link COTD128}. The real Bev just loses one of her two MEDICAL, but the AU thing loses both (read the FAQ if you don't believe this!) And the last point that is worse than the original: Gates McFadden without her makeup :-) So don't misunderstand me: She's still a good card. Just not as good as the real thing. But cheaper. So she will be another @{"Thomas Riker" link COTD119}: Craved by people who don't have enough cash for real Bridge Crew, but neglected by all those suitcase players with the entire set. Favorite combo(s): "Could somebody help me out - I don't see any" "Yep, Serge speaking: Beverly Picard + Medical Kit" "???!!!???" ":-)" @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) BEVERLY PICARD Wesley's rating: 7.5 Cole's rating: 9.0 Conner's rating: 6.0 Heather's rating: 9.75 Jason's rating: --- Matt's rating: 7.0 Movar's rating: 8.5 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 8.0 John's rating: 8.5 Hal's rating: 9.0 Lore's rating: 9.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 8.2 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://www.wolfenet.com/~conner/COTD.html (great graphics, and also the Strategy Forum) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD167 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Commander Tomalak" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #167@{ub} Hi, folks, business called again, so I had again to resort to using a minion :-) to make sure you get this: @{b}COMMANDER TOMALAK@{ub} Personnel, Romulan, rare AU. Integrity 7 Cunning 7 Strength 9 OFFICER, Diplomacy, Leadership, Command Star (*), AU Icon. @{i}"In alternate timeline, the nemesis of the @{"U.S.S. Enterprise" link COTD3} confronted @{"Captain Picard" link COTD1} but cooperated to investigate an anomaly in the Neutral Zone."@{ui} Ahem. Er, this card was a request for review. I normally wouldn't have done it, but what don't you do to keep the people happy... Let's compare him to the original Tomalak. He was OFFICER, Diplomacy, Leadership, Cunning 7, Strength 9, Command Star and - SURPRISE! - Integrity 6. Whoops. 1 point of Integrity and the "multiland" effect ? And they created a RARE for this ? Well, the reason behind this: They urgently needed an AU Romulan. Look through the cards - there is none. Except the two dual affiliation pals, but they obviously wanted at least *one* pure Rommie in there. And the selection was not that great - the show does not help us out very much. But they could have given him one of the Science-related skills (Astrophysics or Stellar Cartography) and the card would have been at least different enough to stand its own. Oh, and what I said about the original once in the context of one of the older COTD's still holds true: Why use a Tomalak if I can have a Tebok or an @{"Evek" link COTD115}? Favorite combo(s): - Tomalak + Commander Tomalak, both far away from anything that could accidentally or thruthfully be considered my deck. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) COMMANDER TOMALAK Wesley's rating: 3.5 Cole's rating: 6.5 Conner's rating: 6.0 Heather's rating: 7.0 Jason's rating: 3.0 Matt's rating: 5.0 Movar's rating: 5.0 (and he SHOUTED at me for 5 lines) Serge's rating: 6.0 Tony's rating: 8.0 John's rating: 5.0 Hal's rating: 9.8 Lore's rating: 4.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.8 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://www.wolfenet.com/~conner/COTD.html (great graphics, and also the Strategy Forum) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD168 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Revolving Door" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #168@{ub} Hi, folks, Another counterspell ? @{b}REVOLVING DOOR@{ub} Event, rare AU. Plays on any Doorway card or @{"Iconian Gateway" link COTD180}. It is now closed. OR Nullifies another Revolving Door (discard both) and "re-opens" card underneath. @{i}"A surreal door created by an unknown alien intelligence, found by the @{"U.S.S. Enterprise" link COTD3} on Theta 116 VIII. Open to entry but seemingly closed to exit."@{ui} This card is powerful. Very powerful. If you get it in your opening hand you can cripple any deck that relies on any expansion cards (and which deck worth that name does not ?). Note that I say any expansion cards, as the future expansions will include a lot more Doorways and it will get even worse... The things you can get from this card are: 1) Slow your opponent's development. Always desirable. 2) Suck a @{"Kevin Uxbridge" link COTD20}. Always desirable. 3) Kill her Revolving Door she planned to play or already played on your AU door in order not to lose your own speed. Always desir... I'm getting repetitive. The risk behind it ? You might encounter an opponent who plays no AU and no other expansion cards. One lost card. Great deal. Use the remaining 59. Or you could only get it late in the game. Okay, you should have won by other means at that point (The 500+ KBytes of COTDs just have to be good for something:-) ) I'd use it in every deck from the start. You can always sideboard it out after you've seen what you're up against, but I'd never miss the chance to beat her horribly on the first game and start the second one with a comforting lead. Just don't think of including three of them in your deck to increase your chances of playing it early. Too many is sometimes worse than too few. And while you can normally afford to lose one card, losing three is an entirely different business. I might also bring back the point of usefulness in several play environments. Consider (1) High-level play. Carefully tuned decks using every resource available. You'll need one here - too many good AU cards nobody will pass up. (2) Low-level play. Decks thrown together of the few cards you possess. Probably also a decent AU ratio as they can't afford to leave out their AU and still have a playable deck. If you have one here - use it! (3) Mid-level play. Different story here. Enough cards to make a decent deck, but not enough AU to really include a serious AU percentage. Three cards maybe, just for coolness, but not enough that the Revolving Door will do massive damage. Favorite combo(s): - Counterspells and combos just don't mix. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) REVOLVING DOOR Wesley's rating: 9.8 Cole's rating: 7.2 Conner's rating: 6.5 Heather's rating: 7.79 Jason's rating: --- Matt's rating: 6.0 Movar's rating: 8.75 Serge's rating: 4.0 Tony's rating: 6.0 John's rating: 6.5 Hal's rating: 3.0 Lore's rating: 6.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.6 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://www.wolfenet.com/~conner/COTD.html (great graphics, and also the Strategy Forum) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD169 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Cryosatellite" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #169@{ub} Hi, folks, back from Stockholm and ready for some new reviews... @{b}CRYOSATELLITE@{ub} Artifact, rare AU. Seed at a space location. May seed one additional artifact and up to 3 [AU] icon personnel here. Those personnel come aboard your ship when mission completed. AU icon. @{i}"An ancient sublight vessel. Desigend to carry and store cryogenically frozen humanoids until a cure for their death could be found and used to regenerate them."@{ui} Cool thing #1: An artifact that can be seeded at a space location. Cool thing #2: You can seed personnel cards now - saves you the @{"red alert" link COTD6}... Trouble: That thingy eats into your Dilemma management. Details ? Sure. Up to now, space locations were at best second rate missions because you had no way of putting an artifact there. Yes, some points, okay, but nothing that really helped you. Now you can put the satellite here and store not only a regular artifact but also three characters in it and thus gain a sudden power boost especially as you don't even need to play the three personnel you get from your hand - they just wind up on your ship without any further delay. So far this is just great. Bad thing IMHO: It takes away four of your seed cards, meaning that after deducting 6 missions and one outpost, you have only 19 Dilemmas/Artifacts instead of 23 available (three personnel and the Satellite itself go off the list). It won't help a Federation bridge crew deck much. Most of them have excellent personnel cards and the only thing you need to wait for before just go screaming through missions is making sure you have one each of SCIENCE, MEDICAL and SECURITY. So after this, you're probably going to just blast away and get your 100 points (possibly aided by a @{"Betazoid Gift Box" link COTD9}, which offers you more flexibility as you get to choose the cards you really need). Although Fed players could put a @{"Ressikan Flute" link COTD177}, a @{"Jack Crusher" link COTD210} and @{"Ian Andrew Troi" link COTD212} in it and walk away with 10+x extra points. Other affiliations have more to gain here, as their skill complement is less good. So try it with your Romulan deck and put @{"Rakal" link COTD147}, @{"Cmdr Tomalak" link COTD167} and Rasmussen (or @{"Rakal" link COTD147}, @{"Ajur & Boratus" link COTD175}) in it, plus a @{"gift box" link COTD9} or a @{"Horga'Hn" link COTD10} and watch the fun begin. If you have a good number of non-aligned crew, just beam them somewhere together with @{"Rakal" link COTD147} and sneak in - your opponent will never see it coming before it's too late. Of course there is another valid use: If you need more than 30 cards in your draw deck but care for speed, put three less needed support crew into the satellite and play with an effective draw deck of 33 although you really only have 30 cards in it. And last there is the bluff effect: If you both play the same affiliation, put a not-so fully filled satellite (artifact + only 1 or 2 crew) under one of his missions and then put your outpost there (if you are second to seed it, otherwise put it next door). Missions with low requirements work best here. Most opponents will think you just played a bunch of Dilemmas (especially since you did not play five cards but only four) and seek their luck somewhere else. Rush in and get the stuff plus a very easy bunchapoints. Favorite combo(s): - Cryosatellite + @{"Betazoid gift box" link COTD9}: Did ya say three personnel ? Make that six... - Cryosatellite + @{"Rakal" link COTD147} + Rommie deck with many non-aligneds: Those Feddies never even get to see what just hit them... @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) CRYOSATELLITE Wesley's rating: 8.5 Cole's rating: 6.5 Conner's rating: 6.0 Heather's rating: 9.9 Jason's rating: --- Matt's rating: 8.0 Movar's rating: 9.0 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 7.0 John's rating: 8.5 Hal's rating: 8.9 Lore's rating: 8.6 Ray's rating: 8.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 8.1 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://www.wolfenet.com/~conner/COTD.html (great graphics, and also the Strategy Forum) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD170 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Interrogation" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #170@{ub} Hi, folks, one of these cards that just could have been cool cause the episode was, but then turned out to be too weak to really be played for anything but laughs: @{b}INTERROGATION@{ub} Event, rare AU. Plays on one personnel you've captured. Each turn, ask opponent @{i]"How many lights do you see?"@{ui}. If reply is @{i}"Five"@{ui}, return captive to outpost, score 10 points. Otherwise score 1 point, retain captive. @{i}"In violation of the Seldonis IV convention, Gul Madred interrogated @{"Jean-Luc Picard" link COTD1}, seeking Starfleet startegic secrets. He kept asking 'How many lights do you see?'"@{ui} Well, I think I already told you about the difficulties with cards concerning captured personnel (See the COTD about @{"Rescue Captives" link COTD159}). But let's for the moment assume you captured some personnel. And let's for the sake of your health assume you did not do that by Seize Wesley :-) So you get some points for free. Almost free that is. You still need to sacrifice one turn's worth of card play for it. But in this particular case this is not as bad as it often sounds. As Interrogation takes its best effect near the end of the game when you are near 100 points (or near to catching up when you stalled your opponent with a small lead) you can quite often afford to lose an otherwise possible personnel or ship play. Which gets us to the best use of Interrogation: You need at least 90 points and if somehow possible even a few more (96 or so will make for best effect) Start Interrogating and be sure to ask your question with a really broad grin on your face. Your opponent will squirm around and say "4". (Well, what choice does he have). Score one point to put yet some more pressure on the unfortunate person on the other side of that table. The one that will realize time is running out. You get the picture: The one that will just make a really stupid move in a desperate attempt to score points. Psyched out of the game. Four turns seem so short and yet you can do so much in them... Of course, next game you bluff the other way around: This time your opponent fares a little better. You only managed some 85 or 89 points (or something in between). So, thinking of that last game, this time he's smarter and gives in before it's too late. But you know where you seeded that @{"Sarjenka" link COTD45}, don't you ? :-) Hmmm... STCCG really lacked a good psycho card. Too bad it has such a nasty prerequisite of needing a captive (HEY Decipher, what happened about my "attack to capture" rules suggestion ? Did ya forget that ?). It is really sad: So cool a concept, so much fun to play, such a good emulation of the episode and you can almost never get it out 'cause you need a captive first :-( Favorite combo(s): - Interrogation + a well-placed @{"Sarjenka" link COTD45}. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) INTERROGATION Wesley's rating: 4.0 Cole's rating: 5.0 Conner's rating: 5.0 Heather's rating: 8.5 Jason's rating: --- Matt's rating: 8.5 Movar's rating: 9.5 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 9.0 John's rating: 6.0 Hal's rating: 4.5 Lore's rating: 9.0 Ray's rating: 6.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.9 (Seems we obviously have two factions here - one that rates cards for "serious" playability and one that rates cards for coolness. Heck, both views are valid!) Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) [Conner's page, but it is temporarily disabled - I will inform you of its new location as soon as it's back up. Unfortunately that also means no strategy forum for the time being :-( ] With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD171 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Temporal Narcosis" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #171@{ub} Hi, folks, I've used so many smileys in COTD, today I'll let our good captain Jean- Luc use one: @{b}TEMPORAL NARCOSIS@{ub} Interrupt, uncommon AU. Plays when opponent uses @{"Horga'hn" link COTD10}, @{"Revolving Door" link COTD168}, @{"Emergency Transporter Armbands" link COTD95} or Energy Vortex. Your next turn take a double turn. AU Icon. @{i}"Debilitating disorientation caused by prolonged exposure to a temporal disturbance, similar to nitrogen narcosis ('the bends'). @{"Jean-Luc Picard" link COTD1} experienced this in 2369."@{ui} Hmm. Time Walk (for you Magic Guys)? Good thing to have. If it weren't just for the fact that it has a prerequisite, so let's analyze that first. Your opponent must be using any one of: @{"Horga'hn" link COTD10}: Get your little revenge on him. When he takes double turns, you are quite justified in doing the same, aren't you ? Too bad yours isn't permanent but it might get you the one crucial turn. @{"Revolving Door" link COTD168}: If he just use it to close your AU doorway, you have no opportunity to play the Narcosis as you need an open door to be allowed to throw it. So it only apples when your opponent uses the @{"revolving door" link CODT168} to either reopen his AU door or to kill your @{"Iconian gateway" link COTD180}, both of which will not be very common uses of the @{"Revolving door" link COTD168}. @{"Emergency Transporter Armbands" link COTD95}: Ah, so your opponent is playing the Oops card? And then you need an extra turn to beat him? What do you think the last 170 COTD's were for??? Energy Vortex: Hmm, finally a card we might see and still be able to use our Temporal Narcosis. So we don't get to play our crucial card and get an extra turn instead - after the opponent has another chance to do whatever we wanted to stop him from with the card we just played. But maybe we get another turn - err two turns. To summarize: We have an extra turn usable (a) for somewhat compensating on an @{"Horga'hn" link COTD10}, (b) when somebody closes your @{"Iconian Gateway" link COTD180} or opens his AU door with a @{"revolving door" link COTD168} instead of a @{"Kevin" link COTD20}, (c) when somebody uses the Vortex to disturb us. (I don't count the @{"ETA" link COTD95} here. You don't need an extra turn if your opponent plays @{"ETA's" link COTD95}. Trust me.) In a tournament, of course you can just count on your opponent having a @{"Horga'hn" link COTD10}. Play your narcosis and get one turn - hopefully the one turn you need to get your own @{"Horga'hn" link COTD10}. BTW: Timing here. It would be nice to nullify an attempt at closing your AU door with a @{"Kevin" link COTD20} and then to seek some revenge with an extra turn from the narcosis. Too bad the @{i}"just played"@{ui} time frame ends as soon as your @{"Kevin" link COTD20} resolves :-( Favorite combo(s): - Temporal Narcosis + my own @{"Horga'hn" link COTD10}: "So you just brought out this cute Artifact, wait, I'll take two , [oh here's mine - make that three] turns." @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) TEMPORAL NARCOSIS Wesley's rating: 5.0 (7.0 in tournaments) Cole's rating: 7.8 Conner's rating: 5.5 Heather's rating: 8.5 Jason's rating: 8.0 Matt's rating: 5.5 Movar's rating: 5.0 Serge's rating: 6.0 Tony's rating: 4.0 John's rating: 5.0 Hal's rating: 4.0 Lore's rating: 7.0 Ray's rating: --- ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.0 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) (Conner's page currently out of order - you'll get informed when back up) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD172 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Targ" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #172@{ub} Hi, folks, there are OFFICERs, ENGINEERs and CIVILIANs, but who can sport an ANIMAL? Like a @{b}TARG@{ub} Personnel(?), Klingon, common AU. Integrity 4 Cunning 1 Strength 5 ANIMAL, All non-Targ Klingons Strength +1 where present, Nullifies one just-played @{"Rogue Borg" link COTD33} where present. Universal. @{i}"Horned, furry, ferocious boar-like animal. A popular Klingon pet. @{"Lieutenant Worf" link COTD35} had one as a child. Heart of Targ is a Klingon delicacy. This one is male."@{ui} Whoops, as intelligent as @{"Fek'lhr" link COTD176} and that really means something for a pig. The idea here is again having a combination of several cards put in just one. You get a personnel card (well, something similar to a personnel card), an equipment (half a Klingon disruptor) and a very specialized reusable variant of @{"Amanda Rogers" link COTD31}. Actually, for evaluating the game effect, the first two functions can be more or less combined into one, as ANIMAL is currently not a classification with any use (this might change when Spot comes out) and so the only value of a Targ besides being a possible Targ-et [pun intended] for random selection deaths or random male runaways is the attribute points it provides and its second function (the Strength enhancer) is geared towards the same goal. So you might actually think of it as a 4/1/11 card (in any decent away team), thus a slightly weaker @{"Fek'lhr" link COTD176} you can use without a Holodeck or -projector. The third function is actually quite interesting as it makes both variants of the @{"Rogue Borg" link COTD33} strategy somewhat more problematic. The "play one, stop the away team" is ditched to half efficiency (as you will now need two @{"RB" link COTD33} for the same effect) and the "play a big lot and kill everyone" variation suffers twice as both the added Strength and the removed @{"RB" link COTD33} will work very much in favor of the ship crew. And that's the point why the Targ is not such a bad card to play. Many people would probably have treasured an event that makes @{"Rogue Borg" link COTD33} half as powerful as before. Or an equipment that does this. So why not make it a personnel card, cumulative, with the additional benefit of some attribute points and the ability to make use of @{"Red Alert" link COTD6} and @{"Lower Decks" link COTD188}? Hmm. Because nobody will want to play it, will they ? Crazy world. Favorite combo(s): - Targ + @{"Lower Decks" link COTD188} :-) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) TARG Wesley's rating: 6.0 Cole's rating: 5.0 Conner's rating: 5.5 Heather's rating: 6.5 Jason's rating: 9.0 Matt's rating: 7.5 Movar's rating: 4.0 Serge's rating: 4.0 Tony's rating: 6.0 John's rating: 6.5 Hal's rating: 8.0 Lore's rating: 10.0 Ray's rating: 3.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.2 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) (Conner's page currently out of order - you'll get informed when back up) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD173 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Senior Staff Meeting" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #173@{ub} Hi, folks, hope you are ready for the next shot of your favorite addiction: @{b}SENIOR STAFF MEETING@{ub} Interrupt, uncommon AU. Plays on ship with OFFICER, ENGINEER, MEDICAL, SCIENCE and SECURITY aboard, just before the initial attempt at a space mission. First Dilemma encountered is discarded. @{i}"Standard operating procedure on starships is to call a meeting of senior officers or department heads to help find solutions to paramount problems."@{ui} Best flavor text in the game. And they want to make us believe they didn't allude to certain contract troubles ? Yes, they have to say so officially. But I am not so sure the last two words didn't just slip in that card text by pure accident. For the game, you can play three or four of these in a pure space mission deck. You need five, sorry THREE personnel (Try @{"Wesley" link COTD26}, @{"Roga Danar" link COTD18} and @{"Vekor" link COTD37}!) to discard the first Dilemma at every space mission you attempt. Your opponent cannot play more than 23 Dilemmas. At least ten of them are probably planet only. Six more get effectively removed from the game by you destroying the first Dilemma at every location. Whoops, seven left, that makes it just one Dilemma at each mission instead of two (or four, depends on your calculation). [At least I hope this interpretation is correct. Because they never clarified what first "encountered" means. Like the first turned up or the first that is correctly seeded. Just a small difference when your opponent has six unusable Dilemmas she can slip under the missions to nullify your Meetings. But this would be against the game spirit as the Incorrectly seeded Artifact / @{"Palor Toff" link COTD25} combo that has already been outlawed. So let's go by the second definition of "encountered".] That's all ? Nope! There are those @{"Cryosatellite" link COTD169}/@{"Q" link COTD30} players. You seed five carefully selected Dilemmas designed to cripple your opponent, and she just seeds a @{"Q" link COTD30} below it and cruises through? Play the Staff meeting on her ship and save your Q2 for that pesky @{"Kevin Uxbridge" link COTD20}. Of course you'd better scan the location first. And yet another use: When your opponent has that *?'#$ @{"Receptacle Stones" link COTD163} card on your key ship and you know exactly what nasties are going to strike you soon, just nullify them before they can do more damage to you than to her. Moral: Never think a card has only one use. And don't think it's always bad to play a card that nullifies some nasty for your opponent... Favorite combo(s): - 3 Senior Staff Meetings + 6 Space missions: How many Dilemmas ? @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) SENIOR STAFF MEETING Wesley's rating: 7.5 (1 for the Paramount problems) Cole's rating: 5.2 Conner's rating: 4.5 Heather's rating: 8.75 Jason's rating: --- Matt's rating: 6.5 Movar's rating: 8.75 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 5.0 John's rating: 7.0 Hal's rating: 6.0 Lore's rating: 7.5 Ray's rating: --- ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.8 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) (Conner's page currently out of order - you'll get informed when back up) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD174 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Captain's Log" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #174@{ub} Hi, folks, you probably missed me already, but at the moment I have trouble putting out any COTD's on the weekends as they all seem to get crammed with other duties, so we will for the next few weeks be reduced to four or five cards a week. Sorry for that. @{b}CAPTAIN'S LOG@{ub} Event, uncommon AU. Plays on table. Any of your personnel aboard a ship he or she commanded or captained (as referenced in ship lore) raises SHIELDS +3 and WEAPONS +3. (Not cumulative) @{i}"A commanding officer's journal of events. While on the surface of El-Adrel IV, Tamarian @{"Captain Dathon" link COTD181} made entries into his log by hand."@{ui} This is cute. An upgraded @{"Bynars Weapons Enhancement" link COTD197} and a kind of @{"Nutational shields" link COTD40}, combined in one card. And there are quite a few ships this works on, and there are more that may get the benefit in future expansions: USS Phoenix Cpt. Benjamin Maxwell USS Sutherland @{"Lt. Cmdr. Data" link COTD7} @{"USS Enterprise-C" link COTD153} @{"Cpt. Rachel Garrett" link COTD160} @{"IKC Pagh" link COTD70} Cpt. Kargan IKC Hegh'ta @{"Kurn" link COTD114} Devoras @{"Adm. Mendak" link COTD113} @{"Decius" link COTD158} Tomalak (NOT @{"Cmdr. Tomalak" link COTD167}!) Gomtuu Tam Elbrun @{"Mercenary Ship" link COTD137} Baran @{"Tama" link COTD164} @{"Dathon" link COTD181} [this is on the rules sheet] *USS Yamato (potential: Cpt. Varley) *@{"USS Hood" link COTD82} (potential: Cpt. Robert DeSoto) A few people have of course argued that the @{"Enterprise" link COTD3} should also get the benefit. I disagree here. The purpose behind this card was, amongst others, to provide some extra play value to otherwise neglected cards and definitely NOT to make @{"Picard" link COTD1} and the @{"Enterprise" link COTD3} even more desirable. But I think there are two ships that SHOULD get the benefit, although by strict rules interpretation, they are out of luck: The Khazara (@{"Toreth" link COTD189}) and the Haakona (potentially Taris). They both read "xxx's Warbird", which by the rules is not a valid indication of Command. I disagree here, as the spirit of the card is to add the bonus to any ship card that mentions its commanding officer. [BTW: The rule sheet explains that "@{"Dathon" link COTD181}, speaking first" is Tamarian for "He's the captain of the ship" and thus valid.] Good choices for the log? @{"Enterprise-C" link COTD153} (@{"Garrett" link COTD160} is a great card and if you have attack authorization it might make a nice surprise attack), Sutherland (7/10/10 for two crew is good and @{"Data" link COTD7} is in most good Fed decks anyway), @{"Decius" link COTD158} (10/12/11, best attack force for Romulans and the only fast AU ship that gets the bonus), @{"Tama" link COTD164} (non-aligned and good, as is @{"Dathon" link COTD181}) and the Hegh'ta (better than the @{"Pagh" link COTD70} and 8/10/10 for one crew is even better than the Sutherland! Also the @{"Pagh" link COTD70} is a little dubious, too, as it says "under the command of" and not "commanded by", but I am nitpicking. Decipher should publish an official list here...) And the last one is easily my Favorite combo: - Hegh'ta + @{"Kurn" link COTD114} + Captain's Log: Best addition to any Klingon attack fleet. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) CAPTAIN'S LOG Wesley's rating: 7.0 Cole's rating: 7.5 Conner's rating: 7.0 Heather's rating: 8.5 Jason's rating: 7.0 Matt's rating: 8.5 Movar's rating: 8.0 Serge's rating: 9.0 Tony's rating: 8.5 John's rating: 8.0 Hal's rating: 8.5 Lore's rating: 9.0 Ray's rating: 6.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.8 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) (Conner's page currently out of order - you'll get informed when back up) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD175 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Ajur & Boratus" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #175@{ub} Hi, folks, seems I have to create another special edition... And no idea at all for a Dream Card. So let's return to the basic variant and do two cards in one article: @{b}AJUR & BORATUS@{ub} Personnel, Non-aligned, uncommon AU. Integrity 1 Cunning 8 (Ajur) / 5 (Boratus) Strength 3 (Ajur) / 7 (Boratus) SECURITY, Once per game, if alone with Archaeology on a planet, may destroy all but 3 seed cards there (random selection). AU Icon. Staff star (Ajur only) @{i}"A female Vorgon criminal from the 27th century who ruthlessly sought artifacts with partner Boratus. Hunted the @{"Tox Uthat" link COTD11} by returning to 2366."@{ui} (Ajur) @{i}"Male Vorgon criminal from the future. Aims to steal artifacts with partner Ajur. Once hunted the @{"Tox Uthat" link COTD11} discovered by @{"Jean-Luc Picard" link COTD1} on Risa"@{ui} (Boratus) Two really bad guys. And Integrity 1 only. (Firestorm!) But their special ability is interesting. Destroying a lot of seed cards can help you or hurt your opponent. If you ever get to destroy a lot. To make this ability work, you need a location with at least four seed cards. And this is not too probable, taking into consideration that you deduct 6 missions, 1 outpost and 1 AU door from your seed deck of maximum 30, so the average number of seed cards per location is always below 4. So they really only work against a deck that piles huge lots of Dilemmas under one location. And in this case they work somewhat like a @{"Senior Staff meeting" link COTD173}, destroying a few Dilemmas, with the risk to also remove your crucial artifact. Hmm. Two cards instead of one, all the risks involved, and just getting rid of a few measly dilemmas ? Nah, Better put a few good personnel in my deck and overcome the Dilemmas in the regular way. (Although there is one handy thing about them: Most players have no way of keeping track of card order under the mission when randomly selecting, so it might upset a carefully planned combination just by reordering - imagine what it would do to my @{"Mirror Universe" link COTD100} combo...) 'Nother idea ? Yep. Better ? No. Play Ajur and Boratus and Vorgon Raiders. Argh. A rare interrupt that needs two more rares to be playable is not my idea of a good CCG card. And the fact that they all three are destroyed makes it even worse. And all for one artifact. Nah. Better go and recover one of mine from under a mission and get the points. There actually IS a good use for the two, but that's part of a soon-to-appear DOTW article (Hope I did not say too much here), so I'll leave it as is and update the webpage with a revised edition some time next week. Favorite combo(s): - Wait till you see that DOTW (it's not mine, though!) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) AJUR BORATUS Wesley's rating: 3.0 2.5 Cole's rating: 7.0 7.0 Conner's rating: 5.0 5.0 Heather's rating: 8.0 8.0 Jason's rating: 6.0 5.0 Matt's rating: 7.0 7.0 Movar's rating: 6.5 6.0 Serge's rating: 7.0 5.0 Tony's rating: 9.0 8.5 John's rating: 7.0 7.0 Hal's rating: 2.5 2.0 (You agreed with me??) Lore's rating: 7.5 7.5 Ray's rating: 5.5 5.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.2 5.8 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) (Conner's page currently out of order - you'll get informed when back up) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD176 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/I.K.C. Fek'lhr" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #176@{ub} Hi, folks, hope you found this "cloaked" edition of COTD. Hey, stop using those author searches and go by title :-). Oh, did I say "cloaked" ? Like in @{b}I.K.C. FEK'LHR@{ub} Ship, Klingon, rare AU. Range 11 Weapons 9 Shields 8 Cloaking Device, Holodeck, Tractor Beam, requires 1 Command (*), 1 Staff (+), and 2 AU icons. @{i}"Destroyed U.S.S. Pasteur in an alternate future, only to be thwarted by the future Enterprise. Named for the ferocius Guardian of Gre'thor."@{ui} Remember the @{"Decius" link COTD158}? Here's the Klingon equivalent. Only that it is not even close to being as good. Why ? For the one single extra range you need another AU character, and even though the Klingons have two decent AU personnel, you will need at least one non-aligned to make sure you can play the ship. And the Holodeck is also not even nearly as useful for the Klingons as it is for the Romulans, who have a good (and common) Holo-Doctor and a decent Engineer, compared to the lone @{"K'Tesh" link COTD69} the Klingons have. And no way to use the @{"Captain's Log" link COTD174}! And they do this to an affiliation whose strength lies so much in ships ? Yes, the card looks good, but it isn't. Too costly for a Klingon Armada deck, the range increment from 10 to 11 is not that great and the extra crew requirements hurts too much. That's it. Nothing more to say. :-( Favorite combo(s): - Nope, not here. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) I.K.C. FEK'LHR Wesley's rating: 5.0 Cole's rating: 7.3 Conner's rating: 6.0 Heather's rating: 8.75 Jason's rating: 9.0 Matt's rating: 9.0 Movar's rating: 9.0 Serge's rating: 9.0 Tony's rating: 8.5 John's rating: 8.0 Hal's rating: 9.0 Lore's rating: 8.5 Ray's rating: 9.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 8.2 Interesting: Many raters made comments on the card being too hard to use. But then, they put a very high rating behind it. Hmmm... at least only one rater (whom I am not going to publicly embarrass) rated it HIGHER than the @{"Decius" link COTD158}. Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) (Conner's page currently out of order - you'll get informed when back up) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD177 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Ressikan Flute" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #177@{ub} Hi, folks, this might be a repost for you. But there have been some problems concerning this issue, so I put it up again. @{b}RESSIKAN FLUTE@{ub} Artifact, rare AU. Immediately play on table. X varies constantly, where X=5 points for each of your Music personnel in play. Destroy with @{"the Devil" link COTD78}. (Not duplicatable.) AU Icon. @{i}"Artifact from Kataan, a now-dead planet. 1,000 years after Kataan's demise, a space probe gave @{"Jean-Luc Picard" link COTD1} this flute and a lifetime of memories in less than an hour."@{ui} @{"Picard" link COTD1}, @{"Data" link COTD7}, @{"both" link COTD119} @{"Rikers" link COTD19}, Neela Daren, Jenna D'Sora, McKnight, @{"Jack Crusher" link COTD210}, @{"Ian Andrew Troi" link COTD212}, L'Kor, Amarie. A rather short list. But a list that contains a lot of personnel I'd play anyway. It is almost like 20 free points. And there is a surprise value in here, too. If you suddenly can win by just dropping a card or two, some opponents will get very careful. And it is very safe from destruction, too. And it gives you a chance at a degenerate deck: Risa Shore Leave (with outpost and Flute), 5 other missions, some Dilemmas, 3 Red Alerts (not tourney legal!), 15 McKnights, @{"Picard" link COTD1}, @{"Data" link COTD7}, 2 Amaries, 2 Alexanders, 4 @{"Vekors" link COTD37}, Jenna, 2 @{"Genetronic Replicators" link COTD46}, events and interrupts to taste seasoned with some card drawing ability (@{"Kivas" link COTD49}). (Hey Serge, I devised this before I read yours, but you had the same idea :-) ) Fill your hand with McKnights (only universal Music) and solve the Mission for 30. Then drop them all in one turn and win. Get the pattern? Just too bad there is no equivalent for the other affiliations. They have at best two (Klingon) or one (Romulan) Musician on the table, so their only use for the Flute is to prevent the Fed guy from using his. Or, think of it as a counter for @{"The Higher... the Fewer" link COTD155} (as in Blue Lightning, last DOTW). I already said how ten points can hurt, but if you can get them back it is as good as if you had never lost them! Good addition to any Fed deck, just unusable for everybody else. Favorite combo(s): - The above deck. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) RESSIKAN FLUTE Wesley's rating: 7.5 Cole's rating: 6.0 (1.0 if not Fed) Conner's rating: 5.5 Heather's rating: 9.9 Jason's rating: --- Movar's rating: 7.0 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 9.5 (3.0 if not Fed) John's rating: 7.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.6 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) (Conner's page currently out of order - you'll get informed when back up) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD178 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Klim Dokachin" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #178@{ub} Hi, folks, those of you still reading rec.games.trading-cards.misc: Be warned, I will no longer be on that group beginning from @{"#180" link COTD180}. Please you all move over to the rec.games.trading-cards.startrek group where we now have our new home. Today it's time for a BIG nasty: @{b}KLIM DOKACHIM@{ub} Event, uncommon AU. Plays on table. When opponent reports a unique personnel for duty, opponent draws no cards at end of that turn. @{i}"Zakdorn quartermaster controlling the Starfleet surplus depot at Qualor II. A typical bureaucrat of the type that delights in delays that make life difficult for officers"@{ui} Bureaucrat ? Hmm. Sounds I invented this some time before (See the Dream Card article on @{"Court-Martial" link COTD103}), and of course we play this with the house rule "Unless Bureaucracy present, opponent draws..." and our Dream Card personnel. But back to the real game. This card is awful. Unless you happen to have it on your side. Even the poorest kid has some unique uncommons and every time one of them is played, you lose a card draw, effectively halving your throughput in cards. And you cannot even circumvent it with some extra draw effects like the @{"Traveler" link COTD4}. Only a @{"Kivas" link COTD49} works here. And that one costs you your card play for that turn. Dang. At least there is one card that partially neutralizes it: @{"Red Alert!" link COTD6} If you have an @{"Alert" link COTD6} on the table, you can at least dispose of a lot of uniques at the same time. And lose only one card draw with it. Which gets me to the best killer combo since Gaps in Normal Space + @{"Subspace Warp Rift" link COTD83}: Klim Dokachim + @{"Yellow Alert" link COTD53}! Play these two, and your opponent will need at least TWO @{"Uxbridges" link COTD20} to get back to any kind of speed unless he plays a deck with nearly all universal crew. And while he's getting those two @{"Kevins" link COTD20}, you score some points. Like 100. Or so. Of course that means nuking your own @{"Red Alert" link COTD6}, so you'd better have some decent crew on the table before you play the @{"Yellow Alert" link COTD53}. Or you just @{"Uxbridge" link COTD20} your opponent's @{"Red Alert" link COTD6} before playing Klim and he'll be busy getting it back out of his discard pile. (Remember- only one @{"Red Alert" link COTD6} per deck under tourney rules!). IMHO this card became way too strong. Like @{"Red Alert" link COTD6} itself. It becomes more and more a match on who draws which cards first. If I get my @{"Alert" link COTD6} out before you get your Klim and you can't nuke it, I am safe. Other wise I'm in trouble. We will see yet more @{"Kevins" link COTD20} now. Almost a little boring. Like Channel in Magic. Favorite combo(s): - Klim Dokachim + @{"Yellow Alert" link COTD53} - after having made some serious use of my own @{"Red Alert" link COTD6}. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) KLIM DOKACHIM Wesley's rating: 9.5 power, 1.0 for fun. Cole's rating: 9.3 Conner's rating: 5.0 Hal's rating: 7.5 Heather's rating: 9.9 Jack's rating: 9.0 John's rating: 8.0 Lore's rating: 4.0 (*) Movar's rating: 9.5 Ray's rating: 7.5 Serge's rating: 9.0 Tony's rating: 9.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 8.7 (*)Lore obviously misread the card (judged from his comment). He thought it was @{i}"Play if opponent reports a unique personnel. Next turn, he won't draw a card."@{ui} But for this it would have to be an interrupt (playable on his turn!). It is easy to misread BTW. Just place the punctuation a little differently and you actually get his interpretation. Grammatically correct and everything! Rating not figured in for average. Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) Conner's page is back, at http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html but it currently is extremely slow, I think it will improve in the next few days, as the site is still under heavy construction. With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD179 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Latinum Payoff" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #179@{ub} Hi, folks, here's something for a Klingon Armada deck: @{b}LATINUM PAYOFF@{ub} Interrupt, common AU. Plays if Greed aboard your ship when it destroys another ship in battle. X=3 bonus points for each OFFICER aboard destroyed ship. (Not cumulative) @{i}"Gold-pressed latinum, which cannot be replicated, is a valuable metal used as currency in many less-developed sectors, primarily outside Federation space."@{ui} This card makes an entirely new deck type possible: A deck that does never even attempt to solve any missions! So don't care about putting together good crews, just man your Armadas of K'Vort class ships with one OFFICER each and blow away your opponent's ships! Try to seed a high number of Dilemmas so you get to seed your outpost last and get it as close as possible to your opponent's. Then, play five ships and five crew (hopefully aided by @{"Red Alert" link COTD6} and some card-drawing ability). Wait until she gets a ship out, then blow away the outpost. Then battle the ship and play a Latinum payoff. 3 or 6 points - instant Victory and very hard to defend against. There are unfortunately only three OFFICERs with Greed, none of them universal, so you will need a little luck, but you can also add the Duras family (all three leaders and greedy). Which means you need only eleven cards to win (plus the one @{"Alert" link COTD6}). Seven of them in your hand, five more to draw, that means five turns. Nearly no deck will get any mission points that fast unless they have a very lucky draw. BTW: You can get more than just the 3/officer out of one enemy ship. But you need to destroy it with an Armada. The "not cumulative" means you cannot play it twice on one ship, but if they attack together, they can each gain the bonus. (Big unintended rules loophole!) The card is thus interesting, however you will need to build an entire deck around it. And that's its weakness. You cannot really just throw it into a good deck in order to make it better. You have to build a new one entirely from scratch. But try it - nasty surprise and even the best defense will get your opponent only a draw. Favorite combo(s): - @{"B'Etor" link COTD55} + Hegh'ta + Latinum Payoff + Opponent's Runabout! @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) LATINUM PAYOFF Wesley's rating: 7.0 Cole's rating: 5.8 Conner's rating: 6.0 Hal's rating: 4.5 Heather's rating: 6.5 Jack's rating: 3.5 John's rating: 6.0 Lore's rating: 8.5 Movar's rating: 5.0 Ray's rating: 5.5 Serge's rating: 6.0 Tony's rating: 3.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.6 Last warning to people still getting the COTD from rec.games.trading-cards.misc: This newsgroup is no longer appropriate for STCCG. Thus the COTD will be discontinued from this group effective today. Get it on rec.games.trading-cards.startrek or on the listserv! Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great graphics, but still slow) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD180 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Iconian Gateway" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #180@{ub} Hi, folks, here comes the fastest "ship" in the Universe: @{b}ICONIAN GATEWAY@{ub} Artifact, rare AU. Place in hand until played on a planet location as an Event card. While in play, anyone's personnel and equipment can move instantly from Iconian Gateway to any other planet(s).<BR> @{i}"The now-extinct Iconians were "Demons of Air and Darkness" due to their advanced technology such as this instant transport portal to farflung planets."@{ui} Too bad it is one-way. But then, what did they print these Enterprise-C cards for ? So there is a way to come back. Best use: Place on your outpost, distribute your personnel all over the spaceline wherever you need the new crewmembers. Like putting them in play at any planet location. Which means any of your locations if you play six planets, right? So who needs those ship cards? Okay, let's put in an Enterprise-C or two to get your folks back home. Second best use: Retrieve a stranded crew at any location where you once had a ship. Like the victims of a bunch of Love Interests. But in this case your opponent can also use it. At your outpost, he'll think twice about it, especially if you play Klingons and have that Echo Papa Drone lying in your backyard. Third use: Set up a pair of these and use them as instant teleporters. Further ideas: - Send out some Engineers to build extra outposts. (This one actually works well with a Devidian Door, too.) - Get a crew past that pesky Q-Net. - Send a team to battle an overconfident opponent's away crew. Oh, and the fact my opponent can also use it? Well, you are not going to leave it unguarded, right? The strength of this card lies in its versatility, speed and surprise factor. Hmm... aren't these the three major components of a GREAT card ? Favorite combo(s): - Iconian Gateway + Enterprise-C: Swarm out and find a way to get back. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) ICONIAN GATEWAY Wesley's rating: 9.0 Cole's rating: 7.0 Conner's rating: 7.5 Hal's rating: 8.5 Heather's rating: 8.0 Jack's rating: 7.1 John's rating: 7.5 Lore's rating: 8.5 Movar's rating: 7.5 Ray's rating: 6.5 Serge's rating: 7.0 Tony's rating: 7.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.6 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (Server was down today, I hope they increased its speed now) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD181 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Dathon" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #181@{ub} Hi, folks, @{"Picard" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD1"} and @{"Gowron" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD5"} in COTD. Color of the sun. The riddle unsolved. @{b}DATHON@{ub} Personnel, non-aligned, rare AU. Integrity 9 Cunning 8 Strength 6 OFFICER, Diplomacy x 2, Leadership, Honor, Nullifies Tamarian-related Dilemmas where present, Command Star (*). "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra. The Beast of Tanagra. Rosani, his army. @{"Picard" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD1"} and Dathon at El-Adrel. Sokath, his eyes uncovered!"@{ui} (by popular demand this review will be conducted in English) Hmm. 9/8/6, OFFICER, Diplomacy x 2, Leadership, Honor? Seems somebody has taken this from a very well-known blue card and just changed the second line in the skill box. Which is a very nice touch, as these two were very evenly matched in the episode, so why not make them very similar? And still, this time they created two similar cards which are by far different enough to stand their own. One is just a good Fed Officer, the other is non-aligned and has a special ability which might come in very handy. One of the favorite combos of @{"Outpost Raid" link COTD183} players is to play that one behind a Shaka, when the walls fell so it cannot be redshirted - NOT! Shaka gets nullified by Dathon, so even if you have no other use for him (shame on you) he makes a great @{"Outpost Raid" link COTD183} sucker. And who says you can't have a second one in your deck to use after the first has fallen prey to the @{"outpost raid" link COTD183} (one of the few cases where duplicating a unique personnel might prove useful). The other Tamarian-related Dilemma which currently exists is El-Adrel Creature. Also nice touch: If @{"Picard" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD1"} and Dathon are alone on the planet, the creature would kill one of them. Exactly one. But I believe Dathon can nullify it, as it mentions him in the lore and thus should be considered Tamarian-related. Can a Netrep back this ? And of course, use him with @{"Tama" link COTD164}. Plus @{"Captain's Log" link COTD174}. 7/12/11 for two crew (yes, take a @{"Picard" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD1"} with him :-) ). Great ship then. Favorite combo(s): - Dathon + Picard. Just cool. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) DATHON Wesley's rating: 8.0 Cole's rating: 8.5 Conner's rating: 5.5 Hal's rating: 9.0 Heather's rating: 9.0 Jack's rating: 8.7 John's rating: 7.5 Lore's rating: 9.5 Movar's rating: 8.0 Ray's rating: 7.0 Serge's rating: 9.0 Tony's rating: 9.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 8.2 And today I present you a new STCCG challenge: Lay out a spaceline of six missions of your choice. Put one Dilemma (of your choice) under each mission. Seed any other cards you like. Stack a draw deck (you arrange in whatever way you choose, but only one of each card). Draw a starting hand and play one turn. What is the maximum points possible ? If you get more than 300 you have beaten me! (You may use a @{"Devidian Door" link COTD146}, but you must have it on your hand at the end of the turn! And the @{"Horga'hn" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD10"} is of course not usable to get a second turn.) Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (still a little under construction, but at least it's back) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD182 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Echo Papa 607 Killer Drone" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #182@{ub} Hi, folks, there still is one category of cards that this series NEVER touched. After 181 episodes, still there is not a single equipment! (And back when @{"#50" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD50"} was current, I ran a survey and the majority voted for LESS equipment reviews!!! How?) Anyway, in spite of that, I'll change my policy and do a flick on: @{b}ECHO PAPA 607 KILLER DRONE@{ub} Equipment, rare AU. Use during Away Team or @{"Rogue Borg" link "STCCG:cotd200.guide/COTD33"} battles. First time used in battle, STRENGTH=10. Next time used in a separate battle, STRENGTH=20, etc. @{i}"A deadly hovering anti-personnel device with the ability to fire phasers and to anticipate and adapt to its target's defenses. Created by the Arsenal of Freedom on Minos."@{ui} A fair addition to a Klingon battle deck or a @{"Rogue Borg" link "STCCG:cotd200.guide/COTD33"} deck. The first one is quite straightforward: Carry it with you. Start as many battles as possible. Hmm. Can't we optimize on this? (Well, we can, other- wise I wouldn't ask such a stupid question :-) ) The drone grows with separate battles and you're probably not going to lose a battle with 40 STRENGTH, okay? So bring a big crew to a planet. Beam down the drone and 30 STRENGTH. Attack. Kill opposing crewman. Beam down 20 STRENGTH. Add drone (new team - new battle!) Kill opposing crewman. Beam down one Klingon Officer (your opponent has lost some STRENGTH). Pass drone. Attack. Kill oppo- this is getting boring. You have another Klingon waiting? Beam down, attack, kill. You get it. Eliminate 4 instead of 1 in one turn and get your drone up to 50. Then pass it to a lone Officer with Strength=3 and start wreaking havoc. (Yes, equipment cannot get stopped!) The @{"Rogue Borg" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD33"} deck is a little more complicated: If you get Crosis and a few @{"Borg" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD33"} on the first turns, you need not worry. But what if you have very few @{"Borg" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD33"} in your starting hand or your opponent sits merrily on his outpost solving a planet mission from there and then using @{"Iconian Gateway" link COTD180} to transport so you cannot use your @{"RB" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD33"} at all? Easy - play them on yourself! Man a Pi or Scout ship with one Romulan. Any OFFICER. Hand him a Drone. Play a @{"RB" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD33"} on your own ship. Battle. Play next @{"RB" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD33"}. Battle. Repeat until satisfied. Beam down crewman plus 60-Strength Echo Papa at opponent's outpost. Grin. Solve a mission. Win. BTW: You'd need ten @{"RB" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD33"} (or five including a Crosis) to get a better net effect using them directly on your opponent than using them on the Drone. Favorite combo(s): - Echo Papa Drone plus @{"Rogue Borg" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD33"} on own crew - it's soooo sneaky! @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) ECHO PAPA 607 KILLER DRONE Wesley's rating: 4.5 (battle decks are just too rare) Cole's rating: 2.0 Conner's rating: 5.5 Hal's rating: 5.5 Heather's rating: 9.5 Jack's rating: 6.5 John's rating: 6.0 Lore's rating: 10.0 Movar's rating: 6.0 (he compared it to Fungusaur+Tim for Magic-ians) Ray's rating: 8.0 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 4.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.3 PS: Solution to 300 point turn coming Saturday. Please send your best tries now even if below 300. So far nobody has solved it, but it IS nasty ... :-} (VERY EVIL GRIN) Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD183 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Outpost Raid" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #183@{ub} Hi, folks, care for another game of Poker ? @{b}OUTPOST RAID@{ub} Dilemma, Space/Planet, common AU. If at your outpost: two personnel are killed (opponent's choice) unless STRENGTH >81. Discard Dilemma. OR Elsewhere: requires STRENGTH >18 to pass. @{i}"Rogue Borg conducted a brief but deadly raid on the remote Federation outpost Ohniaka III in 2369. 274 personnel were lost."@{ui} Except for the fact that the picture is way wrong (it's from Lore's headquarters in Descent II), this is a cute psych card. The catch is to guess where your opponent will be placing his or her outpost. Or to play six outpost raids :-). The latter strategy might not be that effective as you'll lose 10% of your deck to gain one truly effective Dilemma, so let's concentrate on the psych play with one or two outpost raids. Likely candidates? Let's consider two missions: Diplomatic Conference and Evaluate Terraforming. The first one is a big point thing that has hard requirements and needs personnel from multiple affiliations to solve. So the only way to do it from your outpost is to use a Neutral one, play Fed crew, beam down, play Klingons, beam them down too (only one affiliation at a time at a neutral outpost!) then finally bring in the Romulans (your order may vary) and then solve the mission. Considering you need seven or eight crew to cope with the mission and the more common Dilemmas, this is not a very likely starter mission. Now take Evaluate Terraforming. 35 points, Geordi+Medical or Med+Bio+Exobio, both not too hard for any decent bridge crew deck and both combinations tend to provide valuable skills towards possible Dilemmas. So this looks like a typical hiding place for a Betazoid gift box or a Horga'hn. Hmm. As people want these early, wouldn't this be a good outpost location ? And there's the big strategy. When the missions are on the table think "Where would I place my outpost if I had her missions ?" That is the likely location, so put it there. Prime candidates are low-to medium point planet locations that can be done with one crewmember (artifact gainers) or a low-point space mission that seems to attract a lot of seed cards (that Cryosatellite plus contents). But whenever you seed the Raid, make sure you place some other Dilemma before it that requires several crew to pass. Shaka and Hologram ruse qualify. Just to avoid redshirting away your prime problem. Favorite combo(s): - Outpost raid + Shaka. Always nails something GOOD. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) OUTPOST RAID Wesley's rating: 8.5 Cole's rating: 6.6 Conner's rating: 6.5 Hal's rating: 6.5 Heather's rating: 9.25 Jack's rating: 9.0 John's rating: 6.5* Lore's rating: 7.8 Movar's rating: 9.0 Ray's rating: 1.5 Serge's rating: 6.0 Tony's rating: 7.0* ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 8.0 These differentiated between "at outpost"/"not at outpost" which was not intended. Ratings have been averaged. CALL FOR ENTRIES: As I am slowly running out of decent AU cards and the next expansion still takes some time, I'll insert another dream card batch. Your cards, though. Rules: - No DS9, Classic or Voyager. Only TNG. (This is still a TNG game.) Miles O'Brien would be okay, tho :-) - Card entries must contain full data. Including flavor text. - The eight most interesting entries (no "I win" cards, please) will be reviewed along with two of my Dream Cards in #200 to #209. Please send soon as I will have them rated. Last entry date is the publishing date of COTD #190. - Events , Interrupts and Dilemmas will have better chances than personnel, unless you find a REALLY interesting character. - Please do send ASCII text. If you desperately want to provide a scan, use JPEG or PCX and UUENCODE it. No Base-64, I cannot decode that. Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD184 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Ferengi Attack" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #184@{ub} Hi, folks, I was asked for more commons by those players (beginners :-) ) who do not have all the rare (good :-) ) cards to build their decks with. In order to fulfill everyone's desires (avoid being flamed :-) ) I'll try my best (once make the impression of :-) ) to introduce more common (crappy :-) ) cards into COTD. And I'll also try (promise but never keep :-) ) to use less Smileys (:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) ). [It is so hard to come up with a witty introduction every day] @{b}FERENGI ATTACK@{ub} Dilemma, Planet, common AU. Kills one Away Team member (opponent's choice) unless total CUNNING + STRENGTH >68 OR Greed present. Discard dilemma. @{i}"Ferengi attacked a Federation Away Team on a planet in the Delphi Ardu system using 'whips' which fire discharges of high-energy plasma."@{ui} The good thing about it: It is an "opponent's choice" kill. Always useful for strategic away team surgery. Maybe eliminating that Bev Crusher before hitting with a Hyper-Aging and a Matriarchal Society? Or killing the only Security right in front of a Barclay's? These always tend to be the best Dilemmas as they improve the chances of striking with the really big stuff. If they catch. And there is the problem again. Not that Greed would be that common (at least not among Feds and Klingons), but there are on the other hand a handful of decent non-aligneds with Greed. And do not forget the other requirement. Overcoming STRENGTH+CUNNING>68 should be no big problem for a decent team of 7. And none at all for any team of nine. Oh, did I say big away teams ? And The Higher... The Fewer? By ORing both requirements you get a Dilemma that is quite easy to pass. Like many Dilemmas :-(. And worse, it can be redshirted without any danger and as it is a preparatory Dilemma, not a big hitter usually placed last, you won't find much stuff to put in front of it and still have enough Dilemmas left for the other locations. One minor point on against whom to play: It's better against Feds than against anyone else. Not much more to say. Let's stop here. What was this ? You say you paid for more than 15 lines ? Grumble... Okay, here's something for you all to discuss, inspired by the flavor text of above card: @{b}FERENGI ENERGY WHIP@{ub} Equipment, uncommon, unfortunately not yet printed. Assign to any non-aligned personnel card. That card's STRENGTH is doubled OR if it is a Ferengi, STRENGTH is tripled. If personnel is killed, destroy the whip. @{i}"Energy weapon used by Ferengi until around 2365. Very powerful, but very hard to master. Used for the Delphi Ardu ambush."@{ui} Favorite combo(s): - Ferengi Attack + The Higher... @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) FERENGI ATTACK Wesley's rating: 4.0 Cole's rating: 7.0 Conner's rating: 5.0 Hal's rating: 7.5 Heather's rating: 6.5 Jack's rating: 7.8 John's rating: 5.0 Lore's rating: 8.0 Movar's rating: 7.5 Ray's rating: 3.5 Serge's rating: 7.0 Tony's rating: 4.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.1 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD185 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/K'mtar" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #185@{ub} Hi, folks, for those of you who actually do play treaty decks: @{b}K'MTAR@{ub} Personnel, Klingon, rare AU. Integrity 8 Cunning 8 Strength 8 V.I.P., Diplomacy, Leadership, Honor, Attributes all +5 if with Alexander Rozhenko, Command Star (*), AU Icon. @{i}"@{"Worf's" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD35"} son Alexander returned from 40 years in the future to influence his younger self to embrace the way of the warrior and avoid life as a peacemaker."@{ui} A powerful personnel card. 8/8/8 is near the best attribute combinations (and the additional +5/+5/+5 makes it even better), VIP's are not the worst thing (at least since we got AU, they were rather crappy before that), and of course you get the classic Diplomacy / Honor / Leadership trio. But many players despise this card because "it only benefits you if you play a not-so-good card, and even from a different affiliation". Hmm. Is that really worth condemning the card? Let's see. I'll break it down by the scheme for the personnel power ratings (find them on LDP's webpage). 8/8/8 attributes = 24. VIP = 3. Diplomacy = 7. Leadership = 4. Honor = 4. Command Star = 2. Total so far 44. Good for a Klingon. (They really do not have much choice above 50 where the really good personnel starts.) The special ability is worth another 5+5+5 = 15. Divided by two, as you need two cards to make it work. So, make that 7.5 additional points. Or a gain of less that 20%. But people always fall for this. Quick excursion into Magic (if you don't play that, skip this paragraph): Ice Age's Rime Dryad. Snow-covered Forestwalk = Crap. I agree. So the card is crap? Nope. There is no other 1/2 creature for one mana. He's almost a Savannah Lion. Which is a very highly appreciated card in most circles. So, card game designers, listen up: If you want to make a good card that only really good players use, add a crappy special ability in prominent type. You can be sure most players will overlook that the card would be great even without the nearly useless ability. Not as extreme here with K'mtar, but I guess you see the point. Don't judge a book by its cover. Favorite combo(s): - K'mtar + Alexander. Did you expect something else :-) ? @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) K'MTAR Wesley's rating: 7.5 Cole's rating: 7.0 Conner's rating: 5.0 Hal's rating: 8.0 Heather's rating: 7.9 ("+.5 with Alexander Rozhenko hahah!") Jack's rating: 5.8 John's rating: 7.0 Lore's rating: 8.5 Movar's rating: 8.0 Ray's rating: 8.5 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 9.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.45 PS. Reply to a rather impolite demand: A .sig is a .sig is a .sig. If you don't want to read it, stop hitting that Space Bar after you've seen the ratings. But if you are really desperate you might also write a little program that scans the file for "LLAP," and removes the fourth line after it :-). Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD186 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/The Mask of Korgano" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #186@{ub} Hi, folks, A card they obviously had to make. But then, couldn't it have done something better ? @{b}THE MASK OF KORGANO@{ub} Event, common AU. Plays on one of your personnel. While in play, changes it from normal to AU icon personnel or vice versa. @{i}"In legend, Masaka was chased by Korgano across the sky like the Terran moon chases the sun. @{"Jean-Luc Picard" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD1"} masked himself as Korgano to fool Masaka."@{ui} Two uses, one card. So far this is good (remember my insistence on flexibility ?) Use #1: Remove an AU icon from one of your personnel cards. Oops. The only time I would prefer not having an AU icon is when I have to play the card and my AU door somehow gets closed. But I cannot use the mask on a personnel just being played (by card text and by the rules - I cannot play an event in the same turn as personnel even with a @{"Red Alert" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD6"}). Net result: Nil. Use #2: Add an AU icon. Better. I could need that to seed a personnel under a @{"cryo" link COTD169}... NOT! It only works on cards in play, so again, zip. Or, I could use the extra AU to add to the staffing requirements of a good AU ship. Hmm. Shouldn't I rather put another AU personnel in my deck instead? One that has an AU icon like the mask can give, but also adds some skills and attributes and does not even cost me a turn when I have a @{"Red Alert" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD6"}? Grmph. But there is still one situation left open. What if I want to remove the staffing requirements from one of my ships to stop it from moving ? Which of course only applies when my ship is controlled by something nasty like @{"Cytherians" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD47"}, as otherwise I can just stop. Hmm. @{"Cytherians" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD47"} or @{"Incoming message" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD68"}? Why should I delay getting rid of the nasty if I cannot remove it anyway ? And even if I would, why not just use an @{"Emergency Transporter Armband" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD95"} and beam somebody off at the nearest planet ? Zero, fourth time. And that is the final rating for myself (you'll find some disagreement from others) Zero. Err, One, to go by the rules. Favorite combo(s): - You playing a deck with 5 masks against me. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) THE MASK OF KORGANO Wesley's rating: 1.0 Cole's rating: 1.0 Conner's rating: 5.5 (?) Hal's rating: 9.5 (You did that to tease me ?) Heather's rating: 4.0 Jack's rating: 7.6 (Quote: "I actually use it" ?!?!?) John's rating: 5.0 Lore's rating: 9.0 (Quote:" Almost necessary for AU") Movar's rating: 5.0 Ray's rating: 3.5 Serge's rating: 2.0 ("Favorite combo: <Yeah, right!>") Tony's rating: 2.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 4.6 Second call: I need your Dream Card for the next Dream card COTD set. Send me the card text and you might make it! (Only TNG, no DS9/VOY/Classic, please). Last entry date is the release date of COTD #195! Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD187 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Diplomatic Conference" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #187@{ub} Hi, folks, I had some access trouble yesterday, so no COTD then, but I am back... With the new top slot mission: @{b}DIPLOMATIC CONFERENCE@{ub} Mission, Planet,AU rare Span 4 60 points Fed, Kli, Rom One V.I.P from each of three affiliations + one non-aligned V.I.P. @{i}"Parliament: Participate in historic interstellar conference at this neutral diplomatic site."@{ui} I have already seen several decks built around this card (with varying success). It really is an "all or nothing" card. Not only do you need four personnel from four different affiliations (thus requiring a 3-color deck), but you also must overcome any Dilemmas seeded here, a task at which the various V.I.P's will not excel. Also, you will practically need to seed three outposts (possibly and best all three at the Diplomatic Conference), as a neutral outpost would require making three trips by ship to the conference location (can only be seeded at space locations). And remember, your V.I.P.'s can only cooperate here unless you have the appropriate treaty. Personnel choices: Non-aligned is quite easy. You will need all of them. All two. You cannot afford having just one and your choice is not that good. I'd prefer @{"Maques" link "STCCG:cotd200.guide/COTD218"} for the higher Integrity (Firestorms). Neither is AU (icon), so no @{"Cryosatellite" link COTD169}, either. Romulan: Your obvious choice should be @{"Major Rakal" link COTD147}. She is dual affiliation, allowing you to use her as what you need, AU for your @{"Cryosatellite" link COTD169} and she can ride your Fed ships even if you need her as a Rommie later. For the second slot, I'd recommend @{"Sela" link COTD23} or Pardek. Klingon: They have more than enough V.I.P.'s, but the prime choice is @{"Governor Worf" link COTD151} (AU and SECURITY), followed by the Duras clan and @{"Gowron" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD5"}. Pick any complement for our fave ridge-guy. Federation: Apart from the Janus-headed @{"Rakal" link COTD147}, @{"Sarek" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD72"} would probably be your best choice (Mindmeld, nice to have against the "need ... x2" Dilemmas). Beyond, you have to select between Tam Elbrun and Kareel Odan. Again, no AU so no @{"Cryosatellite" link COTD169} (except @{"Rakal" link COTD147}, natch). General result: The mission is too hard for 60 points. You still have to solve a second mission and the skills needed don't really overlap (although you might try First Contact and @{"Diplomacy mission" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD66} when mostly Fed). Apart from the VIP's you at least need a @{"Vekor" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD37"} and a @{"Roga Danar" link COTD18"} for the Dilemmas (two more cards) and a @{"Vulcan Mindmeld" link COTD132} in hand to flexibly cope with some nasty Dilemmas. A theme deck card. Favorite combo(s): - Diplomatic Conference + @{"Sarek" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD72"} + @{"Rakal" link COTD147} + @{"Gov. Worf" link COTD151} + any non-aligned VIP. - Diplomatic Conference + many (>=5) artifacts + @{"Ajur + Boratus" link COTD175} + Vorgon Raiders. - (c) by Serge: Diplomatic Conference + @{"Devidian Door" link COTD146} + @{"Ophidian Cane" link COTD154}. Solves you some transportation troubles. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) DIPLOMATIC CONFERENCE Wesley's rating: 5.0 Cole's rating: 4.0 Conner's rating: 5.5 Hal's rating: 8.9 Heather's rating: 7.5 Jack's rating: 7.5 John's rating: 6.5 Lore's rating: 9.0 Movar's rating: 6.5 Ray's rating: 9.5 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 3.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.6 PS: Addendum to @{"#186" link COTD186} (@{"Mask of Korgano" link COTD186}). Mentioned by Q (formerly DAnswerman and some others. I missed the @{"Mask of Korgano" link COTD186} + Devidian Foragers combo. But again, if I have no real AU to use the foragers on, I don't think the mask will help me much. Same goes for the combination of @{"Mask" link COTD186} + Fissure research. Rather have another real AU personnel. BTW: Q rated it 4.0, even below the average of the permanent raters :-) Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD188 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Lower Decks" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #188@{ub} Hi, folks, Magic-ians have their Crusades, we have @{b}LOWER DECKS@{ub} Event, uncommon AU. Plays on table. While in play, all of your non-holographic, universal personnel are each CUNNING +2, INTEGRITY +2 and STRENGTH +2 (Not cumulative.) @{i}"Junior officers aboard all starships cooperate in their duties while competing for promotion and advancement, such as Ensigns Taurik, Sito, Lavelle and Ogawa."@{ui} A good card for our green pointy-eared friends. They have by far the best universal personnel (and the worst uniques) and work well together with the non-aligned universals. Klingon and Federation decks have far less to gain from this card as these afiliations cannot sport good universals and also have less to gain from some extra attribute points. The best deck design for this card is a stall deck, a deck type well suited for Romulans. You can - play a nearly all-universal deck, complemented by a few uniques and be quite sure not to lose anybody to Firestorms. - combine it with @{"Klim Dokachim" link COTD178} to delay your opponent - start away team battles with your powered-up crews - tolerate a pretty slow development of your own forces, instead making sure your opponent's development is even worse. Unfortunately it does not add any skills. (Skills are that much more important than attributes in this game) Wouldn't it be great to have a card that "doubles first-listed skill of all universals in play"? (Hint to Q: This is a suggestion for the next expansion :-) ). Other cute li'l ideas: - add a Lower decks to your 15 McKnight / @{"Ressikan Flute" link COTD177} deck. - use it with some Strength 8 Klingons (Divok and Kromm, several each) for Brute Force. - add to a Fed deck and play @{"Q" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD30"} to get rid of Dilemmas - play missions with high attribute requirements (remember, you are boosted from 5 to 7 on the average). Explore Black Cluster, anyone? Favorite combo(s): - Lower Decks + Disruptor in an attack deck - Lower decks + Romulan Integrity 3 or 4 personnel @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) LOWER DECKS Wesley's rating: 6.0 Cole's rating: 6.7 Conner's rating: 5.5 Hal's rating: 8.5 Heather's rating: 9.0 Jack's rating: 8.9 John's rating: 6.0 Lore's rating: 7.5 Movar's rating: 7.5 Ray's rating: 7.5 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 9.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.3 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.metropolis.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD189 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Data Laughing" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #189@{ub} Hi, folks, today I'll give my webpage maintainers a headache as they'll have some trouble finding a suitable expansion symbol graphic for @{b}DATA LAUGHING@{ub} Interrupt, print run 500,000. Promotional. Nullifies Calamarain OR doubles Data's Head this turn OR retakes one ship controlled by Lore returns so that Lore and Rogue Borg now follow your direction. @{i}"When Lt. Commander Data rescued the temporarily mortal Q from the Calamarain in 2366, Q awarded him with the gift of laughter."@{ui} One card, three ways to play. 1) Nullifies Calamarain. We'll see. Perhaps next expansion. Until then, not very useful :-) 2) retake a RB controlled ship and control it yourself. Take some revenge. In the not so likely case your ship has completely been run over by RB before the game is over, play Data Laughing and start shooting at your opponent. Not a bad ability, but too rarely usable. Like almost never. 3) double Data's Head for a turn. Now we are getting somewhere. An additional Cunning of 10 plus Computer Skill plus the +4/+4/+4 on the ship, seems like a good thing to me. Wait?!? Do I smell something here? The strongest weapons are 10, right? On the Edo vessel and the FE. Plus two for Bynars, two for the head and two for Data laughing makes 16. Add a Kurlan Naiskos for a whopping 48. Goodbye Borg ship! With one shot!!! (Works better with the FE as there is no risk of having the attack nullified). And at Range 51 (for FE) you are not likely to get stranded. The Shields of 39 (again, FE) are only a bonus, nobody really needs more than 24. Works best if you have two Borg ships at locations you know. (No, you don't need three as you have to solve at least one mission to get the artifacts). But you have some time to spare, as your opponent's outpost won't last that long (nor will her ships). Oh, what's so Data Laughing about this strategy? Easy, it gets you the final points needed to push yourself up to the magic 48. To finalize: One really good use, one very limited and one unknown yet (but maybe very good.) For the time being, more of a collector's card than one you urgently need for your play deck. Only cool. (What is this?) Oh, BTW: this cute little card was a gift to me by Conner. Now if some store wants a well-read advertising line right here, I could still use a Future Enterprise... :-) Favorite combo(s): - Data's Head + Kurlan Naiskos + Bynars + Data Laughing. Try with a runabout and make your opponent wince at having lost her outpost to a runabout... @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) DATA LAUGHING Wesley's rating: 6.574839201, to be exact :-) Cole's rating: 7.0 Conner's rating: 6.5 Hal's rating: 5.5 Heather's rating: 8.7 Jack's rating: 5.4 John's rating: 6.5 Lore's rating: 6.0 Movar's rating: 8.0 Ray's rating: --- Serge's rating: 6.0 Tony's rating: 7.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.6 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.worldonline.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD190 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Cardassian Trap" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #190@{ub} Hi, folks, need a captive or two? @{b}CARDASSIAN TRAP@{ub} Dilemma, Either, uncommon AU. Unless Empathy present, opponent captures one unique, non-Cardassian personnel from you (random selection) and places it on their side as a captive, along with trap. "With rumors of a metagenic weapon on Celtris III, the Cardassians lured @{"Jean-Luc Picard" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD1"} into a trap in Cardassian space. He was captured in 2369."@{ui} A good one. As it scores well in all three categories for a Dilemma: - Versatility. You don't get any better than a planet/space thingy. - Chances of striking. Fair to good against Feds, really great against anybody else. Empathy is not very common and the few that have it are not really good crew. Klingons strike the big zero here (do you want to play with @{"Devinoni Ral" link COTD142} or @{"Maques" link "STCCG.cotd300.guide/COTD218"}? If the former, you'd better make sure he does not get into a Firestorm and if the latter, you have a good empath who is pretty useless for anything else.), Rommies at least have their @{"Rakal" link COTD147} which can be used for some sneaky purposes (like solving an opponent's Fed mission with her and some non-aligneds...) - Effect. Better than the omnipresent 'kill one crewmember'. True, the captured guy can be freed, but on the other hand you get at least a decent personnnel (unique) and he could be interrogated, brainwashed, tortured (future expansion - see @{"Rescue captives" link COTD159}), etc. And don't forget that capturing cannot be avoided by @{"Genetronic Replicators" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD46"}, redirected by @{"Security Sacrifices" link COTD141}or reclaimed by @{"Res-Qing" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD28"}. How to combine: Against Klingons, put behind a Firestorm. No @{"Devinoni Rals" link COTD142} that could spoil your plot. Against Fed, try with a @{"Female's love interest" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD74"} to maybe get rid @{"Troi" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD39"}. Or, use with any Dilemma that allows you to choose which one goes away. And the other way round: Use as a preparation for something even nastier. Remember you don't get to choose which one goes, but you at least can be pretty sure that you are not drawing a total dud (unless your opponent plays @{"Mot the Barber" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD24"} :-) ) Favorite combo(s): - @{"Female's Love Interest" link "STCCG:cotd100/COTD74"} + Firestorm + Cardassian Trap + any big time nasty like @{"Barclay's Disease" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD29"}. First hopefully get rid of Empathy (or a doctor / scientist) then hit with the trap to further decimate the crew and hope for the 75% chance you will have removed at least one of the three needed skills. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) CARDASSIAN TRAP Wesley's rating: 8.0 Cole's rating: 6.9 Conner's rating: 5.5 Hal's rating: 6.5 Heather's rating: 7.25 Jack's rating: 9.0 John's rating: 6.0 Lore's rating: 9.0 Movar's rating: 7.0 Ray's rating: 7.5 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 7.0 (Quote: @{i}"How many lights do you see?"@{ui}) ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.3 Last call for entries: Until COTD #195 you may still mail me your Dream cards for the COTD batch #200-#209 which will be another Dream miniseries. Rules: No DS9, Voyager, Movies, Classic, Animated, etc. Plain TNG, okay ? Need not be a killer but should be interesting to review. Remember, Q (DAnswerMan) is reading us... And for those who have already sent something: You have good chances to make it if your card was (don't read on if you don't want to see it - though I paraphrased the card names, thus you are safe if you did not send cards yourself...) [Mini-Spoiler follows] - a female interrupt - a prime time Dilemma - a diversified event - O'Brien's 'oops' - an event with Diplomacy - a positronic Dilemma - something rocky - or an alternate Bridge crew member These are currently the leading eight. Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.worldonline.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD191 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Kevin Uxbridge: Convergence" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #191@{ub} Hi, folks, the last AU counterspell: @{b}KEVIN UXBRIDGE: CONVERGENCE@{ub} Interrupt, common AU. Destroys all Event cards in play at any one spaceline location (including those on ships). @{i}"A Douwd, a race of sentient energy beings of 'disguises and false surroundings'. He is capable of using his enormous powers to stop threats with a single thought."@{ui} The second variant of @{"Kevin" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD20"}. One advantage, two disadvantages. Advantage: He can eliminate more than one event card at a time. If they are at the same location. Great for killing such nasty combos as Gaps in Normal Space + @{"Subspace Warp Rift" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD83"} or two @{"Distortion Fields" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD99"}. Disadvantage #1 (small): Cannot get rid of Artifacts played as events. So no removing of that #?&%$ @{"Kurlan Naiskos" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD13"}. Disadvantage #2 (really large): Can't get rid of all the global events. And this includes all the really powerful ones. @{"Red Alert" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD6"}, @{"Traveler" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD4"}, @{"Static Warp Bubble" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD48"}, @{"Anti-Time Anomaly" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD21"}, @{"Bynars Weapon Enhancement" link COTD197}, @{"Metaphasic and Nutational Shields" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD40"}, @{"Genetronic Replicator" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD46"}, @{"Revolving Door" link COTD168}, @{"Lower decks" link COTD188}, @{"Captain's Log" link COTD174}. Also, unfortunately cannot kill a @{"Q-Net" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD86"}, which is on the spaceline, but not as a location or on a location. It just goes "between two locations". So what's the final deal? If you time it right, you can take out several events with one card. Like a nasty combo plus two more on opponent's ships or outpost. But these plays are quite rare, considering that for speed, many players will not include more than 8 events in their decks. And on the average, at least four of them are global: @{"Red Alert" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD6"} and the @{"Traveler" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD4} are staples and almost everyone will have at least one defensive Enhancer (@{"Replicator" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD46"} and/or @{"Shield Enhancer" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD40"}) in play. And count on @{"SWB" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD48"}, @{"TAK" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD44"} or @{"Captain's Log" link COTD174}, too. So maybe four events that go on the spaceline or a single ship. Maybe six, if you are very lucky. With twelve locations in play, that gives you a good chance of not seeing any two of them at the same location. Take to this the problem that you might have an event at the same location you'd rather not sacrifice you will soon return to using the regular @{"Kevin" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD20"}. I definitely did. BTW: Unlike @{"Countermanda" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD58"} this one is vulnerable to Q2. And before anyone flames me: Countermanda has once (Warp pack release time) been ruled to be considered an Amanda Rogers card, but the newer Colon Rule says the contrary, so that one goes away with Amanda and not with Q2. BTW2: Like the real Kevin he cannot stop instant effects of Events as they always come into function for at least a fractional time unit. So even the real Kevin cannot stop Yellow Alert from dispelling your Red Alert. Favorite combo(s): - Hey, didn't I tell you there are no combos with Counter-Cards ??? :-) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) KEVIN UXBRIDGE: CONVERGENCE Wesley's rating: 2.5 Cole's rating: 5.0 Conner's rating: 6.0 Hal's rating: 5.0 Heather's rating: 6.0 (Quote: @{i}"Newbie's Kevin Uxbridge"@{ui}) Jack's rating: 6.0 John's rating: 4.0 Lore's rating: 8.0 Movar's rating: 4.0 Ray's rating: 6.0 Serge's rating: 2.0 Tony's rating: 4.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 4.9 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.worldonline.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD192 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Maman Picard" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #192@{ub} Hi, folks, nice to see some of you still care ("once in every five millenia ? >:-( " ?). Seriously, I try to maintain an average of at least 4.5 a week but if you have to put in 18 hour workdays you sometimes get a little tired... Anyway: @{b}MAMAN PICARD@{ub} Dilemma, space, uncommon AU. If this is a Federation ship, immediately transport it to any end of the spaceline (opponent's choice). @{i}"At the place where ideas and reality intermix, Jean-Luc Picard saw his mother Yvette Gessard Picard, who asked '(Is this) the end of the universe, or... the beginning ?'"@{ui} So finally we got a Feddie hoser. We already had the big Rommie-Killer Firestorm, but now it's time to do something against the affiliation most players deem the strongest one anyway. And this one is powerful. The most important words on this Dilemma card are the ones that are not on it, namely @{i}"Discard Dilemma"@{ui}. Yes, it just stays there and acts as a big Feddie blocker. As long as you don't try with a non-aligned ship or one of an affiliation you have a treaty with, a Fed crew just can't get past this one. The bad thing about it: It does nothing against the other affiliations. Right: Nothing. So playing it is a little risky. But considering the abundance of Fed decks especially in high level environments, it is often worth using it even in your starting deck, but if you don't you should at least have a few in your sideboard. The other risk behind it: You might run into an opponent who has no space missions. Like my Blue Lightning deck. But this can also be tolerated as you will always have to count on decks like this. All space and all planet strategies just are effective. But I wouldn't be Wesley if I had not discovered a sneaky use with this Dilemma. If you play Fed and intend to use WNOHGB or Lakanta, you can try this play: Use four planet missions and two space missions. All Fed only. The four planets are the ones you want to solve and during seed you must see to get a Space mission into the sixth or seventh slot. (If your opponent also plays Fed, you can as well use her space missions for it). Place your outpost near it (best next door), but not directly on. Now seed a Maman Picard last under that mission.(ensure you have lots of Dilemmas so you can seed last.) Once you have your WNOHGB or Lakanta you have an instant, permanent teleporter that boosts your operating range by quite a few cards! Whatever end your opponent chooses, the wraparound will get you to where you want to be. Can you say speed advantage? Good way to reach the outer positions in short time (esp. # 1/2/11/12). Even better in multi-player or long spaceline games. Try it with a 120 card / 200 point / 12 mission each deck design and then you really start gaining turns. Favorite combo(s): - Maman Picard + Lakanta or WNOHGB @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) MAMAN PICARD Wesley's rating: 7.5 Cole's rating: 3.0 Conner's rating: 6.0 Hal's rating: 4.5 Heather's rating: 6.0 Jack's rating: 7.5 John's rating: 8.0 Lore's rating: 7.0 Movar's rating: 6.75 Ray's rating: 4.0(*) Serge's rating: 5.0 Tony's rating: 5.67(*) ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 5.9 (*) Can't them guys stick to one rating, sparing me the averaging and finding out how you weigh the different ratings against each other ? PS: I am closing entries for the Dream Card Set today, as I will send out the rating request tomorrow. I have received over 40 entries and many of them so good that I've chosen to add only one of mine and give you guys nine slots instead of eight. And there will someday be another of these (hint to those who don't make it...) Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.worldonline.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD193 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Edo Vessel" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #193@{ub} Hi, folks, still remember that old ep that almost got me killed? Justice? If so, have a quick look at the @{b}EDO VESSEL@{ub} Ship, non-aligned, rare AU. Range 5 Weapons 10 Shields X Requires 0 command (*), 1 staff(+), 2 AU. X = 8, however, there is always a 50/50 chance any attack is nullified. AU Icon. @{i}"A ship discovered in 2364 by the U.S.S. Enterprise to be protecting the peaceful society on Rubicun III. It was described as 'half in, half out of our universe.'"@{ui} Husnock II. Really. Slow, big hitter and great on defense. Only that it is a little more exaggerated. The range of 5 makes it the slowest vessel in the entire game, but it does not lose so much compared to a 6. The most probable two-mission span combination is 3-4 and both ships can't make this in one turn. Of course, the Edo Vessel also has trouble with 3-3. You could, though, offset this by trying to select missions with a 2 span. But mind you - you might be helping your opponent more than yourself! A 2 span mission gives the Enterprise nice little 3-4-2 gaps to fly over in one turn. I'd rather select a few 5-span missions slowing both sides as you're probably not playing a speed deck with this ship anyway. Two 5's in a row (preferably at your outpost) stop everything but the big AU ships. And you get to move in and attack. Which gets me to the Weapons rating. A 10 damages everything. Except a Husnock. And you don't have that much to lose from getting damaged even if you face a ship with weapons >8. So the Edo vessel can be used as a convenient trap. Have it sitting at your outpost, with several non-Fed personnel waiting. If a ship comes your way, fire. It gets damaged. You have the same range now, so whichever way it goes, you can follow and finish it off. That'll teach them flying your way! And if the opposing ship has weapons of 8 or less you can even repeat it. And the shields? 8 is average for a big ship, but you have another ability, usable only on defense. (If you attack, the special ability is not useful). If something attacks you, flip the card and hope it comes face down. If so, well it did not attack you. Period. You do not get stopped or damaged. But you also may not fire back. Which is not as bad as it sounds as - you either get another chance if the attacker was some big ship except Husnock or Borg and your opponent wants to make an exchange - count on the next turn or attack yourself on your turn if you want to make the exchange - or the opponent is a Husnock or Borg, both of which you cannot even scratch, - or he would have been really stupid to attack you in the first place. The staffing requirements? 2 AU is a little hard for a ship you'll want to man with an affiliation able to attack, but not impossible. And the one staff star is just a piece of cake. End result: An improved Husnock. Good for a Klingon Armada deck pitted against a fast deck. Like it. Note: The calculations above are of course offset by the shield enhancers and Bynars' Weapon Enhancement. But once the Nutational or Metaphasic shields come into play, ship battle becomes futile anyway, unless you attack with a big armada. And the Edo vessel @{b}is@{ub} a battleship. Favorite combo(s): - Edo vessel + Kurlan Naiskos + a well-seeded Borg ship: You are fast enough, strong enough and cannot get hurt. Need I say 45 points? @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) EDO VESSEL Wesley's rating: 7.0 Cole's rating: 7.5 Conner's rating: 5.0 Hal's rating: 7.0 Heather's rating: 7.0 Jack's rating: 6.7 John's rating: 7.5 Lore's rating: 8.0 Movar's rating: 7.5 Ray's rating: 7.0 Serge's rating: 6.0 Tony's rating: 7.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.9 PS: Q has given me rules clarifications on the last, well-disputed COTD's: Kevin Uxbridge: Convergence - @{b}can@{ub} kill artifacts played as events. They did not want to make it seem different. - is in all other respects as discussed in the article. Kevin Uxbridge: - can nullify an effect triggered by playing an event, if the effect was the only purpose of that event (so he can kill Kivas Fajo). Maman Picard: - they did not want the @{i}"If this is a Federation ship"@{ui} to be read as a condition. Read it as @{i}"Any Federation ship attempting this mission is transported..."@{ui}, thus implying the discard effect. I'll have to revise that article. (All these rulings taken from @{"FAQ #6" link "STCCG:faq.guide/WHOLEFAQ"}, to be released soon.) Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.worldonline.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD194 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Edo Probe" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #194@{ub} Hi, folks, where did I leave off yesterday ? Edo ? Comes handy, let's stay there. @{b}EDO PROBE@{ub} Dilemma, Space/Planet, uncommon AU. Abandon mission attempt until any player has completed a different mission OR continue but lose [10] points if you fail this turn. @{i}"When the Federation tried to contact the pre-industrial society on Rubicon III, the Edo probe demanded in ship-shuddering tones that Jean-Luc Picard 'State the purpose!'"@{ui} Another point sucker like The Higher... the Fewer. But a vastly different one. Remember Sarjenka? That Dilemma that does nothing, but if you choose to get stopped, you gain 5 points. This one is the negative. You lose points if you get stopped. And if not - well, exactly nothing. But this one has another catch. You can just abandon the attempt and try something else first. Or wait until your opponent has successfully done so. The best place for an Edo probe is probably right in front of an Outpost Raid - if you guessed right, that one is nearly impossible to pass and the player will either have to seek greener grounds or suffer two losses and 10 points on the wrong side of his account. But you might already know I don't like point suckers that much, even though the 10 points lost could mean the difference between having to do three or four missions. And here, it will only work if somebody is redshirting or has a less well staffed away team or crew in the first place. But like so often, cards have more than one use. Let's assume you know your opponent often seeds a certain mission with a deadly Dilemma combo. Like several Love Interests, followed by a Barclay's Disease or similar nasties. And you cannot do anything once the Love Interests hit as they don't stop you, so you must continue. How about seeding an Edo probe yourself, after the opponent has put his first Dilemma (the big hitter you'll see last) under that mission. That way, you can evaluate your losses and take the option of not continuing with a critically weakened crew. Thus, you have turned your Edo Probe into an Emergency Transporter Armbands that won't clutter up your Draw deck. Summary: Edo probe combines weakened versions of several cards (Sarjenka, ETA, The Higher...) into one Dilemma. It is versatile, but not really strong. I'd rather use the more purpose-oriented cards unless I have a few slots left in my seed deck and want to keep my draw deck small, when you might see a few of them as seeded ETA's. Unless I have a reliable way of stopping my opponent, in which case the probe is better that The Higher... (more points taken). Favorite combo(s): - Edo Probe thrown into deadly Dilemma combo headed my way. Close Call... - (c) Movar: Edo Probe and Radioactive Garbage Scow. Hmm... Ouch! - (c) Serge: Edo Probe + a single Rogue Borg... Let's do this six times! @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) EDO PROBE Wesley's rating: 6.0 Cole's rating: 7.4 Conner's rating: 5.5 Hal's rating: 6.0 Heather's rating: 7.0 Jack's rating: 8.2 John's rating: 6.5 Lore's rating: 7.5 Movar's rating: 8.0 Ray's rating: 7.5 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 9.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.2 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.worldonline.nl/~ldp/COTD.html !!!!! NEW ADDRESS !!!!! (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD195 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Paul Rice" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #195@{ub} Hi, folks, my turn again ? Hrmph. Guess I'll just do it... @{b}PAUL RICE@{ub} Personnel, Federation, uncommon AU, Hologram, universal. Integrity 7 Cunning 7 Strength 6 OFFICER, Leadership, Computer Skill, Nullifies one Echo Papa 607 where present, Command Star (*) @{i}"A highly regarded risk-taker. Captained the U.S.S. Drake, lost at Minos in 2364. Former classmate @{"William Riker" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD19"}, Re-created by the Arsenal of Freedom."@{ui} I could just kick them somewhere. Right in that place. There they make a card that is very useful on Federation Starships (they almost all have a Holodeck). And only on ships. (Who plays a Holo-Projector?) Then they give it a cool special ability. Like one that is useful only... ... on planets! ARRRRRGH! WHY whywhywhywhyoooooooowhyyyyyyyyyyyy? (sob) [Message from Internet surveillance: we have temporarily lost contact with Wesley. We do our best to get him back out of the asylum ASAP.] [Six days later, after some recovery measures involving a few decks without any holograms] [Unfortunately not involving any free Future Enterprises] Hi, folks, they let me back out. And I can even look at that card without falling into fits. (They created a special version for me with a certain line blanked out.) So what we have is a hologram with command ability, good for redshirting (if you have @{"projector" link "STCCG:cotd100.guide/COTD77"}) like any holo and with two decent skills. And good stats, too. One of the better uses is to have him fly a runabout or medium size ship. Even if your entire crew gets disabled by something nasty like a Ktarian Game, you can still get them somewhere where you can find help instead of having to distract the able-bodied personnel from their jobs until you can get the affected crew back. But in the end he's, well only a holo. Neat for space mission decks, but not for much more. Though he might be a basis for an all hologram deck. A handful each of Einstein, Brahms, Rice and Jera, plus a F/R treaty, let's find some missions for that deck. Investigate Disappearance, Repair mission, Explore Black Cluster, Explore Typhone Expanse, Test Mission. That's five. While we're at it, add some K'Teshs and the other treaties and we can now solve Study Nebula, Survey mission, Investigate Shattered Space and Study Stellar Collision and simplify the two "Explore..." missions above. Hmm... do I smell a deck concept ? [Message from Internet surveillance: we have temporarily lost contact with Wesley. We do our best to get him away from that new holo-deck he's just assembling...] Favorite combo(s): - [Hey, just get it, guys! He's not here!] @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) PAUL RICE Wesley's rating: [we found a note with 5.5 scribbled on it] Cole's rating: 8.0 Conner's rating: --- Hal's rating: 7.5 Heather's rating: 7.5 Jack's rating: 6.7 John's rating: 7.5 Lore's rating: 9.0 Movar's rating: 7.5 Ray's rating: 6.0 Serge's rating: 8.0 Tony's rating: 7.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.3 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.worldonline.nl/~ldp/COTD.html !!! !N!E!W! !A!D!D!R!E!S!S! !!! (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, [Internet surveillance taking over for Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord] :-) "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD196 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Richard Castillo" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #196@{ub} Hi, folks, four days to the great Dream Card series... No make that three. I am in a good mood, so I'll make up for the one I missed yesterday. @{b}RICHARD CASTILLO@{ub} Personnel, Federation, uncommon AU. Integrity 8 Cunning 7 Strength 7 OFFICER, Leadership, Navigation, Command Star (*), AU Icon. @{i}"Lieutenant and helm officer aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise-C. In 2366, served as liaison with U.S.S. Enterprise-D. Romantically involved with Tasha Yar."@{ui} Okay, he's only uncommon and he looks quite handsome. But there is more to a really good STCCG card. The big trouble with him is, he has a lot of things you can get almost as good somewhere else, with something else added to it. If you want it taken to the extreme, scratch the AU icon and add Music, Diplomacy and Honor. You get a William Riker - he even has the same attributes (8/7/7)! What he definitely lacks is a really good skill. Navigation is okay, but unless you have close to no bridge crew, you don't need it. And if you do need some, add a McKnight or two which is common. Yes, attributes are lower, but you can compensate for that (Lower Decks!). Leadership is a little less common, but then you can build great decks without Leadership. And the OFFICER classification also is nothing to write home about. Too bad :-( Everything he has is stuff I would consider a bonus in a personnel card but not necessarily any reason to include the card in a deck. The only thing he can serve well as is an Enterprise-C crewmember buried in a well-placed Cryosatellite. BTW: The exact same problem applies to Will Riker, a guy who has to stay home in quite a few of my Federation speed decks. Even the three extra skills don't always put him over the line unless I need lots of support for the Leadership / Honor / Diplomacy combo. Favorite combo(s): - Nah. not really. I prefer good cards. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) RICHARD CASTILLO Wesley's rating: 4.0 Cole's rating: 6.0 Conner's rating: --- Hal's rating: 6.0 Heather's rating: 6.75 Jack's rating: 6.0 John's rating: 6.0 Lore's rating: 6.5 Movar's rating: 6.5 Ray's rating: 5.5 Serge's rating: 7.0 Tony's rating: 7.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.1 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.worldonline.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD197 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Bynars Weapon Enhancement" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #197@{ub} Hi, folks, so here's the real one for today, after paying off my debts. Check it out, we got a new rater - one I am just a little proud of. After "only" 196 COTD articles, finally some official recognition has entered this area of Cyberspace in the form of... Q! To start this new era with something worthy: @{b}BYNARS WEAPON ENHANCEMENT@{ub} Event, rare. Plays on table. Bynars enhance each of your ship's WEAPONS +2 (Cumulative.) @{i}"Binary race closely integrated with computers. Always work in pairs. Bynars have the ability to enhance specific computerized systems."@{ui} (For those who wonder why I took a card from the basic set, this one was a request) Most of you will remember my frequent mention of the Klingon attack deck, a style that has been discussed here at lengths already. For those who don't, it mainly consists of K'Vort class ships (small and easy to fly) with one pilot each and a complement of a few crew to solve a mission (or just a Borg ship to destroy). But the deck is only half complete without the cards you need to enhance your ships. And I already discussed the other three ship enhancers, Metaphasic and Nutational shields and the Captain's Log. But I'm still missing the core card of any deck of this kind - Bynars Weapon Enhancement. At first it seems innocent enough, just one +2 boost instead of the +2 for each Engineer or Science which sounds a lot more. But remember a good attack deck needs to be able to destroy outposts and Borg Ships. To kill an outpost, you need a fleet with total Weapons of 33. Using the log alone, I can get the Pagh and the Hegh'ta to 10 Weapons each and add the Vorn and the Buruk for a total of 13 more = 33. Nine cards. (4 ships, 4 pilots and the Captain's Log.) Now I add the Bynars and drop the Buruk (and its pilot). Still 33 weapons. 8 cards. Let me add another Bynar and drop the Captain's log, allowing me to draw any three pilots instead of two very specific ones. Still 33 Weapons, still 8 cards. And better flexibility. Now for the Borg ship. Unless I have solid shields of 12 or better (which would require staffing my ships very well) I need to kill it in one shot. So I need 48 weapons points. Add a fifth ship - any K'Vort class ship - for 10 more points (at two Bynars). Total 43. Now I need a sixth staffed ship or another Bynar. Each one will net me 10 more points. Total 53. I lose my fleet but get 45 points. Which will be enough to win. remember, my opponent has no outpost and no ships, so what is he going to solve missions with? And a quick away team battle will just teach him attempting to get that Iconian Gateway - or you just let him, he won't likely make 45 with one mission and you can always be there for the second. Or just use six male and female love interests each... Favorite combo(s): - Bynars + Bynars + Bynars + lotsa K'Vort class ships. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) BYNARS WEAPON ENHANCEMENT Wesley's rating: 8.5 Cole's rating: 8.5 Conner's rating: 6.0 Heather's rating: 7.5 Jack's rating: 8.1 John's rating: --- (He was so much in #200 fever, he forgot the others :-) Q's rating: 9.5 Ray's rating: 7.5 Tony's rating: 9.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 8.1 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.worldonline.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD198 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Jamaharon" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #198@{ub} Hi, folks, another small step towards the release of the Internet Expansion: (readers under 18 years are courteously asked to skip this one :-) ) @{b}JAMAHARON@{ub} Interrupt, common AU. Nullifies Horga'hn OR nullifies Parallel Romance OR if planet Risa is on spaceline, immediately move any one male personnel alone on a planet to Risa. @{i}"A mysterious sexual ritual from Risa. One signifies desire for Jamaharon by displaying a Horga'hn, as Jean-Luc Picard did accidentally in 2366, thereby attracting Joval."@{ui} Triple use... We had cards like this before. And they are at least interesting. The first use is one we have already seen on another card: The Devil. And I cannot describe this feature better than by quoting that COTD: @{i}"Removing a Horga'hn. This card is nasty and powerful and it cannot be destroyed by normal means like Kevin or Amanda. Once your opponent gets it and you cannot counter it, you can often concede the game. So here [read: Jamaharon] makes sense. A definite tournament card as you won't see many tourney decks without a Horga'hn."@{ui} (from issue 78, and yes I am getting lazy :-) ) Second use: Nullify Parallel Romance. That one is a variant on the Love interests. Instead of moving one crewmember, two are stopped. Which helps a lot to get rid of a few personnel before striking with a real Dilemma. But I don't like Dilemma nullifier cards that much, as they too much depend on just one card being played and actually hit. (Even if the card sees use, you still only have about a 50% chance of uncovering it during a winning game and even less when not so fortunate). Third: Move a single male to Risa if the latter is present. Hmm. For a card I'd want to use on my opponent a few to many conditions. Although I can put Risa on the line if I play Feds, I still need to rely on catching a lone man. At least timing rules allow me a short window to play it if my opponent tries to redshirt, namely the second between beam-down and mission attempt. Playing it on myself is easier as I have total control over how I move my personnel so if the starting location in question has an outpost or an orbiting ship, I can beam personnel around to create @{i}"a man alone"@{ui}. And then I can use this card as a Teleporter with a fixed destination. Well, not too strong, though there may be situations in which this might prove handy. So the real question is: Which of the Horga'hn-killers should I use? I'd rather prefer the two little surprise uses of Jamaharon to the somewhat crappy side uses of the Devil. And Jamaharon is common whereas the Devil is rare. So the first one wins. Favorite combo(s): - My Jamaharon + your Horga'hn. Shatter. :-) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) JAMAHARON Wesley's rating: 7.2 (9.1 in tournament) Cole's rating: 7.0 Conner's rating: --- Heather's rating: 8.5 Jack's rating: 6.0 John's rating: 6.5 Leto's rating: 7.0 Q's rating: 5.0 Ray's rating: --- Tony's rating: 8.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.9 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.worldonline.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD199 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/I.K.C. K'Ratak" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #199@{ub} Hi, folks, when doing the feature on Bynar weapon enhancement, I left one ship out of the discussion of that Klingon attack deck I outlined. On purpose. @{b}I.K.C. K'RATAK@{ub} Ship, Klingon, common AU. Range 6 Weapons 8 Shields 6 Requires 0 command (*), 1 Staff (+), 0 AU. Cloaking Device, Tractor Beam. @{i}"Bird-of-Prey named in honor of the author of the classic work of Klingon literature, The Dream of the Fire."@{ui} The difference between this ship and all the other small K'Vorts is that all others are more or less upgrades of the basic 8/6/6 scheme. Now this one is slower but has much higher Weapons. Let's review this in the light of the fact that all K'Vorts are most useful - either in a Klingon attack deck - or as quick and easy transportation for Klingons. In the second aspect, this card obviously loses, as being two points slower hurts. Really hurts. No questions. For the first part: The magic numbers in a Klingon battle deck are 33 (outpost killer) and 48 (Borg ship direct hit.) On outpost killing: Some quick arithmetics show that I have nothing to gain from the K'Ratak if I have exactly one Bynars in play. Every ship now has weapons of at least 8, so I need four of which one must be a unique ship (Weapons =7+2 or 8+2). But the 7 is enough, so why bother? If I have no Bynars, I need 5 ships (nothing above 8). There are three with Weapons of 7, but this is a risky proposal as they are all unique and I must draw all 3. So here having a fourth ship with weapons >6 can be of some use. And with two Bynars it pretty much comes to the same. Three times (6+4) leaves me 3 points shy, so I'd need some additional power. But in all these cases, a Captain's log and the right pilot can work the same wonders, too, as I need only 3 or less points. (Which means one less card I need to draw). More than 2 Bynars? Well, 3 of them gets me to >=36 with any 3 ships and I don't see any way to do with only two ships unless I have the Log and at least 4 Bynars. (BTW: These calculations assume worst case - if your opponent plays Fed you don't need 33 but only 31, and you can then pretty much take what you want as long as you have one upgraded ship in your fleet.) Now for the Borg ship: Without Bynars I need 8 ships. Or seven, if I have all of the enhanced ones out. And then I have lost my entire fleet. Bad move. 1 Bynar reduces the requirement to six ships or five when I have all four of the enhanced ones. Again, many ships lost and the K'Ratak needs to be there when I try to reduce the number. 2 Bynars: I am now at 40 with 4 ships. No way to gain 8 points (except for Captain's Log), so stick with the fact you need five. 3 Bynars: 4 ships - any four - give me a 48. Enough. 4 Bynars: 3 ships + 6 more points are minimum, so K'Ratak plus Hegh'ta plus Captain's log are required. More than 4? What deck are you playing and where did you get those 15 boxes of STCCG? So, from the weapons side, there is one conclusion: There are situations where the K'Ratak helps. But there are also quite a few where it does nothing helpful. And the big disadvantage? You can't keep your fleet together anymore. All others fly at range 8. Only the K'Ratak crawls at 6. So you have to send it out in front of the others to arrive at the same time. Or slow all other ships. And that is not what you want to do - remember, you want to kill that outpost before everything is on the table. Nah. Better stick with cards that don't hamper you that much. Favorite combo(s): - None. Can't even use a Captain's Log. @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) I.K.C. K'RATAK Wesley's rating: 4.5 Cole's rating: 4.0 Conner's rating: --- Heather's rating: 8.5 Jack's rating: 6.5 John's rating: 7.0 Leto's rating: --- Q's rating: 6.5 Ray's rating: --- Tony's rating: 6.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.1 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.worldonline.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode @Node COTD200 "STCCG.guide/ST:CCG Card of the Day/Spot" @{u}@{b}@{fg highlight}ST:CCG Card of the day@{fg text}@{ub}@{uu} @{b}Wesley's STCCG card of the day #200@{ub} Hi, folks, This is the day! And not a Captain's Holiday again (that one gets stale). After scrambling through over 40 entries from 25 persons, I have finally made some sense out of all the texts and picked the ten most interesting cards (one from myself,nine from others). And to give the best chances to everyone, I also restricted myself to one card for each person entering something. So we have ten different authors for this nifty little ex- pansion set. The question remained, where should I start. So I am going in inverse ranking order, starting at 10th and going up to 1st. And the ranking is not just mine but derived from the ratings I got in. And if somebody gave a "coolness rating" besides the gameplay rating, I used the former... And here it comes... Star Trek: Collectible Card Game The Internet Expansion Rank # 10, 557 points, Author: Isaac Garza. @{b}SPOT@{ub} Personnel, Federation, rare. Integrity 6 Cunning 4 Strength 1 ANIMAL, All attributes +2 if Data present, attribute numbers can be switched around at will. @{i}"Spot is Lt. Cmdr Data's pet cat. After experiencing several or her appearance changes, Enterprise-D crewmembers have openly speculated that she might indeed be a shapeshifter."@{ui} That flavor text just did it. Besides a funny special ability, this variant of Spot (I got four different of these kitties) actually reflects best the one(s) that was/were on the show :-) Now for the game value of the card. Before delving into strategy we have to clarify a timing issue. You have a special ability that is played as an action (Swapping stats). You can use it whenever an action is legal and this means not during any other action (as it does not mention an action during whose course it may be used). So you can use the ability whenever an interrupt is legal, which does not include - in the midst of an away team battle, - during Dilemma resolution, - between two Dilemmas if the crew or away team is unstopped, - between the last Dilemma and the mission evaluation if the crew is unstopped. So basically you have to decide on Spot's stats before any Mission attempt or battle. But you can interrupt your opponent's announcing of a battle to sharpen a few claws... What can you gain? A 6/4/1 is nothing to write home about, and in the skill department little Spot is less than well-equipped. Even using the Data bonus you only have an 8/6/3 personnel whose special ability makes it a somewhat weakened 8/8/8 without any skills. And that is not much in a game whose nots and bolts are skills. But Spot might still come in handy as an attribute provider when facing things like Hologram ruse (she smelled something wrong), Shaka (cats' natural understanding), Malfunctioning door (claws like steel) or battles (did you ever have 20 claws and 10 pounds of fur in your face?). Better than a phaser or PADD anyway, as you can also boost integrity and the bonus can be employed more variably. Favorite combo(s): - Spot + Data + Parallel Romance. Now THAT's a couple for a romantic evening! (Even better than the one somebody recently mailed me - the first time he used the Romance he hit Wes and Beverly.) @{u}Card Rating@{uu} (1=worst 10=best) SPOT Wesley's rating: 3.5 Cole's rating: 5.0 Conner's rating: 6.0 Heather's rating: 8.0 Jack's rating: 6.2 John's rating: 7.5 Leto's rating: 1.5 Q's rating: 8.0 Ray's rating: 1.5 Tony's rating: 1.0 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 4.82 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Pages! http://www.worldonline.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) http://wizlink.iserver.com/conner/stccg/COTD.html (great Graphics, plus the strategy webboard) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" @EndNode