on the long road to the top slot, one more did not make it:
Star Trek: Collectible Card Game
The Internet Expansion
This one has at least one effect I was waiting for, namely a means to actually attack a personnel card with some kind of deadly disaster. Although it only affects a random personnel and not a specific one, it at least helps decks that rely more on countering and destruction than on fast mission solving. And it especially counteracts those pesky artifact-laden all planet Fed decks that normally beat every other deck in a pinch.
Also, it promotes two near-useless cards (Pattern Enhancers and ETA) to sensible defensive measures which also adds to the strategic element of deck building as there is now one more way of striking.
But even more effective is the second part of the card, preventing any transport to or from that ship unless there are two ENGINEERS aboard. The usual away team approach is beam everybody down, don't care for two or three extra points lost from a The Higher... the fewer, solve the mission and beam back up. Now even if you have a Pattern enhancer and do not lose anybody, the second half of the card effectively prevents any return to the ship unless you can get back on with a shuttle or by docking it at an outpost (which you likely will have to build first!). So those players who always beam down with all cards will face a serious surprise. The counter-card for this? The Leah Brahms Holo! She is a double ENGINEER, unkillable and absolutely suited for this particular purpose.
Of course probably the best counter is an extra Amanda or two. But that hurts your card management just as well. But it offers more flexibility if you guess wrong about your opponent's deck style.
The net result is making the Super Team strategy a lot more risky and to enhance those strategy elements that right now see little use, like using shuttles, selecting away teams that are not just the entire crew and using extra outposts (IMHO you need not beam to or from a ship docked at an outpost, so you are safe in this situation).
And if your opponent does not choose to defend but play with lots of extra personnel and two ships at every location? Well, go ahead and play the malfunction, that'll teach her to ignore defense!
Final rating: A powerful card that has two nifty effects each of which are including it in a deck, and the fact that it hinders the one most successful tourney strategy (the one the five first of the '95 inofficial German championship played) does not hurt its value for the game. And to Q's notion that this one is too powerful: Yes, it is at least borderline. But the fact that it counteracts the strategy that is the one that dominates all tourney finals around here makes up for a lot. Cards like this are the ones that make new strategies possible!
Wesley's rating: 8.0 Cole's rating: 8.0 Conner's rating: 6.5 Heather's rating: 9.0 Jack's rating: 8.0 John's rating: 7.5 Leto's rating: 6.6 Q's rating: 4.0 Ray's rating: 5.0 Tony's rating: 8.5 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 6.91
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 !
Wesley Crusher, the new STCCG Lord
"A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart"