Wesley's STCCG card of the day #391

Hi, folks,

a typical attempt at writing COTD:

(Okay, let's sit down and write this thing. Just log into chat so I can see what's going on)
"Hey Wes, good to see you, just wanted to tell you my Hall of Fame score was misrecorded there"
(Grumble, let's fix that - it'll take only 10 minutes and then I can...)

"Hi Wes - can you help me with that JavaScript ?"
(Okay, he did me a favor lately, so I guess I'll have to help here)
"Wes, don't forget the newsletter page that's due tomorrow"
(Oops, thanx for reminding me and hey, I already got 6 words of my COTD written, so let's do that first)
(But now let's log out. Only check mail first.)
"Can you come to the chat - it's HIM again and he's annoying everyone"
(Grrr, as if I needed that. ALT/TAB, New Window, move back there...
Nothing in sight except...)
"Hey, good you're here ! Our judge for our ISOWC game didn't turn up and we're already one hour late."
(AAARRRGGGHHH, can't they... Oh well, what the...)
(During the game:)
"Did my mail on XYZ arrive ?" "The judge program crashed when I judged two weeks ago..."
(Mail notifier: Matt Mariani)
"Oh Wes, while you're at it, I need the advance info on next Saturday's Regional"
(Open yet another window. You guessed it. CRASH.)
(Reboot, relogin, explain ISOWCers I crashed, try to catch up with the game, finally finish it, look at clock)
***HOW LATE ????? 2AM ?????***
(Next morning, first thing)
"Hey Wes, when's the next COTD coming out ?" *T*I*L*T*

(not very far from what actually in RL happened yesterday night ;-) )

And while we're at things I never got around to do: I overlooked this one all the time...

ALIEN PARASITES

Dilemma, Planet, uncommon.
Unless INTEGRITY > 32, Away Team infected. They beam back and opponent immediately controls ship and crew until "stopped". Then turn resumes.
"Intelligent parasites enter and take control of a humanoid. Their presence can be detected by a gill like protrusion on the back of a host's neck."

This is the one card to use against those opponents who love redshirting. Or of course against those who just love green cards. For the latter type, here's a great one: Seed Yuta, Armus and Alien Parasites. With Yuta, take out a high Integrity guy who's not vital to the mission requirements. Armus kills off the next one, and with any luck the away team is now below 32 INTEGRITY but still capable of solving the mission. They hit the Parasites and you thank your opponent for the points and the Artifact. Oh, and if you have some extra seeding room, add a Q-Flash. In the unlikely case he actually has the 32 INTEGRITY, he'll have to cope with a decent number of Q-cards.

Now of course you can't assume your opponent is going to play green, but in the times of Yuta/Barclay and Brain Drain, very few people risk a planet deck without redshirts. And a redshirt at the right time can be very expensive. Here's a few ideas what to do with a crew that's temporarily yours...

Solve the mission your opponent just wanted to score. Always a good idea, not only do you get the points, you also get to do one of the other nasty things as well as you are not stopped.
Move them somewhere and run them into a Dilemma that you know is going to kill them. Barclay's Disease works well (be kind enough to leave that one single SECURITY aboard ship ;-) ). Careful, Yuta and Q will not have the desired effects ! (Think about it)
Just move them to a neighboring planet where you happen to have an away team of your own. Attack with just enough people to lose. Move the ship away, exhausting its range. On your turn, attack back. At least two people out of the picture. Too bad they were your opponent's key crew ;-)
As good: Move the ship into the range of your own one. Then attack and damage it a bit. You should be able to finish it off before it gets back to the outpost.
In case you can't do anything better: Move them as far away as you can, of course in the direction your opponent will not want to see them. Then try to stop the crew by attempting something, just to make sure he can't try and attempt a mission.
Works only if the affiliation is right: Attempt your own missions and get rid of a few nasty Dilemmas. After all, you can afford to lose a few people here ;-)

So with all these possibilities, why don't people play it more often ? Simple. It is Planet only, thus useless if your opponent plays pure space. But there's one place where Alien Parasites is a very good card: In a Q's Tent, waiting for Q's Planet. After all, what is better than stopping your opponent from getting that key Artifact ? Right. Getting it yourself.

Favorite combo(s):

Alien Parasites + (opponent's) Q's Planet
Yuta + Armus + Love Interests + Alien Parasites.

Ratings for : ALIEN PARASITES

Wesley's rating:                7.5

Allen's rating:                 6.0
Cpt. Stasis' rating:            7.5
Cpt. Targ's rating:             6.0
Dr. R'Mor's rating:             5.5
EHCCGPP's rating:               4.5
Gowron's rating:                8.8
Hal's rating:                   5.4
Locutus' rating:                7.0
Mot's rating:                   8.5
Picarde's rating:               8.5
Ranger's rating:                4.8
Rothspar's rating:              8.5
Sirol's rating:                 4.6
Tebok's rating:                 8.9
Tony's rating:                  7.8
Vox's rating:                   8.0
----------------------
AVERAGE RATING:                 6.3

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LLAP,

Wesley Crusher
Temporarily immortal STCCG Lord

"A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart"