Subject: Wesley's STCCG card of the day #396 Hi, folks, after the Worlds and the ensuing jetlag, I'm back and ready to try this review business again (I know I should probably change the title for consistency but people are used to it, so what the heck.) Today I'd like to take a look at what is probably the least powerful of the 15 Fajo cards yet seen: DNA METAMORPHOSIS Dilemma, Planet/Space, ultra-rare Fajo. Place on one personnel present (random selection). At the end of your next turn, unless MEDICAL and I.P. Scanner present, that personnel is placed in stasis. "Geordi LaForge was infected with alien DNA. Transformed into an invisible reptilian humanoid, he was observable only when scanned with ultraviolet light." At first glance, this Dilemma looks like a heavy hitter. MEDICAL plus I.P. Scanner is not the thing your opponent usually just has present, so you get a personnel from him. And with the personnel being in stasis, a few of the standard rescue measures like Res-Q or just playing another copy of the personnel are ineffective (the latter only in the case of a unique, of course). However, the power of the card is severely limited by two factors: First, it is random. Just targeting one random personnel will usually net you a redshirt or, if you are very lucky, a Dathon used to overcome a Shaka while the cards you'd really want are often safe elsewhere on an uninvolved ship (in which case a killer is not very efficient anyway) or part of a large crew (in which case your chance of hitting something important is less than 25%). Second, you don't get the personnel right there and then. Your opponent has a full turn and the rest of the current turn to do something about the problem. And with people starting to stock IP scanners in their Q's tents for Brain Drain defense, that will usually mean they take a very good look at the infected personnel and then decide he's either not worth it or play a tent to grab the IP scanner and play it. True, they'll maybe waste a turn on getting back to the outpost, but you give them the choice of what hurts them least. And even if they do consider the personnel vital for the mission, they get the rest of this turn AND the full next turn to complete the mission before the targeted card goes out of commission. That means as DNA Metamorphosis does not stop, you will need something effective enought to delay your opponent's attempt for two full turns, i.e. either two powerful stoppers or a good wall. More than you usually can afford under a mission. Finally, let's compare to a different but similar card: Coalescent Organism. In both cases, you get rid of a personnel at the end of the following turn unless your opponent has something there that is absent more often than it is present. But with the Coalescent Organism, he will have to deal with the spreading effect (i.e. isolate the infected personnel), he will be stopped and once the Dilemma hits, he'll have no chance to cure anything. Sorry, this is probably one of the visually coolest cards in Fajo, but gamewise it's the only one of those I've seen I could live without. It should at least have been opponent's choice to compensate for the lack of stopping. Favorite combo(s): - Nope. Ratings for : DNA METAMORPHOSIS Wesley's rating: 5.0 Allen's rating: 8.8 Cpt. Stasis' rating: 8.5 Cpt. Targ's rating: 7.0 Data's rating: 8.0 Dr. R'Mor's rating: 9.6 EHCCGPP's rating: 7.0 Hal's rating: 6.5 Humuhumunukunukuapua'a's rtg.: 7.0 Nanite's rating: 8.0 Picarde's rating: 6.5 Ranger's rating: 7.0 Rothspar's rating: 9.0 Sirol's rating: 6.0 Tebok's rating: 7.0 Tony's rating: 6.0 Vox's rating: 3.6 ---------------------- AVERAGE RATING: 7.1 Please direct all email concerning card of the day to: crusher@kiss.de Visit the Web Page! http://www.xs4all.nl/~ldp/COTD.html (for best indexing - all cards crosslinked) With all back issues from #1 up to today ! LLAP, Wesley Crusher Temporarily immortal STCCG Lord "A couple of lightyears can't keep good friends apart" ------------------------------------------------------------------------