Wesley's STCCG card of the day #357

Hi, folks,

players have always asked for them, now Decipher makes them - cards that make battle a more viable option:

DATA'S MEDALS

Interrupt, common QC.
Plays on any leader in a battle you just won to score [5] bonus points. Stays on that leader. Points lost if leader killed. (Not cumulative.)
"Lt. Commander Data's citations include Starfleet Command Declaration for Valor and Gallantry, Medal of Honor with Clusters, Legion of Honor and Star Cross."

Actually the most inappropriate card I have ever seen. Not only is Data probably the last person to ever have earned one of his many decorations for a battle victory, Decipher also dared to place the most inappropriate Easter Egg ever on a card. Yes, I also longed for a card to honor Gene Roddenberry, but it was definitely not a good idea to place his face on a card that encourages battle! (I'm sure they could have found a Klingon name and image for the card)

So much for rambling.

In game terms, we have a card that is very similar to Latinum Payoff and Particle Fountain. "If you just [...] and have [...] present, get [...] points." (The [...]s are variable ;-) ) First we will have to define the conditions under which you can play the card. You need a battle you just won. Well, this is easy for an away team battle, but how for a ship battle ?

What constitutes a won ship battle ? Damaging a ship without getting damaged yourself ? (I'd say no) Destroying an opposing ship ? (I'd say no, again). IMO, to win a space battle, you must destroy the last opposing ship present and still have at least one ship left at the location. Maybe Bill will correct me on this, though. Now for what you need as a side condition. "Plays on a leader". Again a not-so clearly defined term, but I'd interpret it the same way as "leader" is interpreted for the battle rules (i.e. Leadership OR OFFICER OR Tal Shiar with neither of the other two present). as there actually is a battle being referred to.

And the points are just again the basic flat 5 (no potential for confusion here). How does this one compare to the other two ? Compared to Particle Fountain, you have a much easier time having the correct personnel present (after all, you could not have won the battle without a leader) and the probability of the target event occuring (winning battle vs. solving planet mission) is very much dependent on the deck type. So no clear-cut advantage for either one. Against Latinum Payoff, you have the easier to meet condition (any battle vs. a space battle), the easier to meet personnel requirement, but the potentially much lower payoff. Latinum could easily be worth 9, 12, 15 or even more points. But the average will be lower. Two OFFICERs on a ship is realistic. Maybe three. And if you don't have other cards that generate a score not evenly divisible by 5, a 6 or a 9 is no bit better than a 5. So this one is better. And it allows you to do something desperate that can easily score you a quick 5 or 10 without your opponent being able to do much against it. Something that has to be my...

Favorite combo(s):

Data's Medals + Rogue Borg. Two Interrupts, 5 free points. Cool point source for an Arguer deck or other deck designed to totally demoralize your opponent and win 10-0.

Ratings for : DATA'S MEDALS

Wesley's rating:                7.0 for gameplay minus 5 for the fauxpas
Allen's rating:                 6.0
Cole's rating:                  4.0
Cpt. Stasis' rating:            7.5
Data's rating:                  6.7 
Drew's rating:                  6.2
Gowron's rating:                5.9
Hal's rating:                   8.1
Jack's rating:                  7.2
Locutus' rating:                7.0
Mot's rating:                   7.0
Nanite's rating:                2.0
Nog's rating:                   4.0
Nouwa's rating:                 6.0
Picarde's rating:               5.0
Q's rating:                     7.5
Rothspar's rating:              7.5
Tania's rating:                 5.0
Tebok's rating:                 7.1
Tony's rating:                  6.0
----------------------          
AVERAGE RATING:                 6.1

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LLAP,

Wesley Crusher
Temporarily immortal STCCG Lord

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