Playing The Borg No.18:
DS9 Dilemmas

by Evan Lorentz (evanl@earthlink.net)

NOTE: At present, a few Deep Space Nine cards remain to be posted. When they are, the two dilemma card titles below that are not linked to the card image, will be.

The dilemmas of the Deep Space Nine expansion have earned a lot of attention, and for good reason. Unusual requirements, lots of random killers that are difficult to guard against, and many possibilities for tough combos both in the stand-alone environment and the game universe at large. But how will they manage against the affiliation that screams through dilemmas like Inge Eiger in a Jeffries Tube? Grab your binder or spoiler sheet as I take you one by one through all 37 DS9 dilemmas.

Most of these are examined assuming a staffed Borg Cube is present. Scout swarms remain a viable strategy; from that perspective, DS9 for the most part only adds more to the wealth of killers that swarm decks were planning to shrug off or Adapt to anyway. I also overlook interrupts your opponent might use to toughen things up (Brain Drains, Barclay Transporter Phobia, etc.), since those can equally ruin the plans of any affiliation.

Altonian Brain Teaser. This dilemma's effect on bonus points is irrelevant to the Borg. It'll stop the most CUNNING personnel present (usually the Queen), which is actually a blessing in disguise... she won't be around for nastiness like Unscientific Method or Hippocratic Oath, yet she'll still be present to share her skill through an Interlink Drone. You might even self-seed Brain Teaser's for a bonus like that!

Angry Mob. No more devastating than any planet killer that has come before. Scouts are expendable. On the off chance your scout isn't receiving SECURITY from the hive, he'll pass through untouched. Or you could use Emergency Transporter Armbands or a landed Scout Vessel (via Launch Portal) to easily muster the 50 STRENGTH.

Aphasia Device. A Bio-Med Drone has the skills you need for this otherwise challenging dilemma. If 2 Bio-Med Drones and an Interlink Drone are present (quite common on a well-staffed Cube), you are absolutely impervious to it. If they get the Interlink Drone on their immediate random selection, the 2 Bio-Meds cure it; if they nab one of the Bio-Meds, the Interlink shares the skill from the other.

Arms Deal. A one-turn stopper, unless you've assimilated the right personnel or your Queen's in an unusual mood. But no tougher than pre-existing stopper dilemmas.

Assassin's Blade. In space, CUNNING>36 is a given for a Cube. At a planet you'll need a way to scout in multiple, or an Adapt to pass this dilemma that won't go away until it is overcome.

Brief Romance. Gender is irrelevant.

Clan People. A tough wall dilemma that all affiliations (save some Bajoran decks) will struggle with, the Borg might try Lower Decks, or simply Adapt as with any other walls.

Common Thief. With just 2 Assault Drones, all but your Communications Borg will be immune. You can get the critical MEDICAL, SCIENCE and SECURITY from other subcommands, so don't worry about safely absorbing a hit from this dilemma, and Adapting to any more you encounter later. (You're completely invulnerable to it with a Lower Decks and just one Assault Drone.)

Dal'Rok. Each of your drones has combined stats of 17. The often played Assault Drone can take that to 19. Thus it takes only 8 drones to nullify this dilemma after the initial kill (which could be reabsorbed if a Bio-Med Drone is present). That's just one more drone that you needed to staff your ship anyway. Again, Lower Decks is a potent ally for the Borg, taking the total drones needed to nullify the Dal'Rok to 7.

DNA Clues. You can deal with this a couple of ways. You'll definitely have Exobiology from the Countermeasure Drone, so feel free to stop to make things easier on yourself. At a planet location, you can immediately send a new scout to continue anyway. Of course, with the Interlink's skill sharing, you might forge ahead regardless (just beware of Tarellian Plague Ship or Hippocratic Oath).

Duonetic Field Generator. This one's a bit tricky. If you don't have a way to send down larger groups of scouts, your opponent will need to help you out by placing a wall dilemma after this one. Otherwise, once scouting is complete, you won't be allowed to send down enough ENGINEERs to nullify the Field. Of course, the Queen can solve it easily by becoming a Miracle Worker.

Extradition. A mixed blessing. Your Queen could always take Law or Treachery so you can use this for yourself, but your Queen is also likely to be the target if your opponent is using it. This dilemma is going to make everyone consider stocking Rescue Captives. You might want to find room for it in your Q's Tent.

Flaxian Assassin. Another straight-forward scout killer you can adapt to later, multiple scouts can easily overcome it. On the other hand, several of the most popular Borg have only one or two skill icons! The Assault, Interlink, Multiplexor, Tactical, Talon and Unity Drones and yes, the Queen herself are all exempt! Send down two of these Borg to be stopped on the dilemma one turn, then overcome it the next. Or inflict some damage on your opponent by enlisting your Queen in the Tal Shiar.

Framed by Murder. Only Locutus of Borg can be targeted by this "unique only" dilemma. Even then, if the Queen is present to share Biology from the hive, you'll nullify it anyway.

Garak Has Some Issues. Exobiology is on Countermeasure Drone, and even if that's the Borg selected, it'll be stopped and present to share its skill to the hive, which will quickly "work out the issues."

Garanian Bolites. Virtually no effect whatsoever. Assuming your Borg aren't CUNNING enough to avoid it (although depending on the random selection or a Lower Decks, they might be), they're merely stopped. At a planet, another scout will show up to continue the job. In space, the stopped Borg continue to share their skills to the hive through the Interlink Drone.

Harvester Virus. Either you'll have more than one scout on the planet (in which case you can nullify the Virus with skills your hive will easily have), or a single scout (who was expendable anyway) will be lost at the end of the turn.

Hate Crime. Hatred is irrelevant.

Isolinear Puzzle. If you haven't got 2 ENGINEER, this dilemma is the least of your worries.

Kidnappers. Gender is irrelevant.

Lethean Telepathic Attack. A one-drone killer, and drones are expendable. The big guns, the Queen and Locutus, will both merely be disabled for a short time. Of course, under some circumstances, the Queen will be feeling Empathic, and can help you escape.

Lockbox. The Queen is rarely feeling Greedy, so this planet dilemma will probably end up stopping a scout. Send another. It's not as though you were going to get points on this dilemma anyway.

Misguided Activist. Unless your Queen is a V.I.P. (and I can't think of too many reasons you'd want her to be), or you've assimilated one, you're immune. You have no command-icons, and no V.I.P.s.

No Loose Ends. It might be a simple scout killer. Locutus will pretty much guarantee otherwise, though (and the Queen can take OFFICER as well). Of course, it's all irrelevant with any Defense Borg present.

None Shall Pass. How nice of your opponent to play this dilemma that lets you scout en masse without using Emergency Transporter Armbands or Launch Portal! Just send Borg until you can meet one of the many requirements next turn. With the Queen around, any one of the four is possible!

Odo's "Cousin". The Borg do have Geology (on the Survey Drone), so you can potentially get through this wall without Adaptation. It's basically just like any other wall.

Punishment Box. This has a strange interaction with the Borg not unlike Dead End. It will stop the scout first encountering it every time; they'll either have OFFICER and thus be "placed in the box" as per the "now" game text, or they won't have OFFICER and be stopped. After that though, OFFICERs are only trapped in the box at the beginning of a mission attempt. You are scouting missions, not attempting them, and thus it is irrelevant.

"Pup". This dilemma that will be a real problem for everyone else will be all but irrelevant to the Borg. Computer Skill is available on the Astrogation, Guard and Sabotage drones, and one Interlink Drone will share it enough to nullify "Pup."

Seismic Quake. You'll need a Survey Drone or Queen to get by this without Adapting. Even if those two are around, you'll still have to wait one turn to overcome it unless you can scout with more than one Borg. A single Borg will be stopped or killed, leaving no Geology present to continue (until next turn, when multiple drones present become unstopped again). This is almost as tough a time as the Borg have with dilemmas this set, which isn't very!

Skullduggery. Unless your Queen has taken an unusual skill, this will kill a Borg, random selection. Use a Bio-Med to reabsorb it if you can; if not, the loss of one Borg won't likely hurt (unless it's a lucky draw of the Queen or Locutus).

"Subspace Seaweed." 3 Navigation (a skill shared from Locutus, or the Astrogation, Quantum, Tachyon, or Transwarp Drones) is not that difficult for the Borg. If you miss the chance to overcome it, a Regenerate on your Cube will nullify this and any other cards reducing your attributes.

The Three Vipers. ENGINEER and 2 Navigation is nothing to worry about. You might be stopped, however. Locutus is your only shot at OFFICER, and the Tachyon Drone your only at Astrophysics (the Queen can't be both at once). The Borg are stopped on occasion when scouting in space -- this is one stopper they won't have to Adapt to on the following turn.

Trauma. Your crucial Borg Queen and Interlink Drones will probably never be affected by this card; they simply don't have enough skill icons. Locutus is of course the likely target to be disabled for 3 turns, but regardless of who is selected, this dilemma will never kill anyone. Your Borg will never complete a mission, never mind before the countdown expires.

Untrustworthy Associate. Your opponent has the freedom to beam to your ship anytime they want anyway. What difference does this card make? (Not that you won't have CUNNING>40 or 4 SECURITY).

Vantika's Neural Pathways. A rough one for most affiliations; at least it's only random selection, and you can always Adapt to any after the first. The drone will still make an effective scout, receiving skills from the rest of the hive, or if you ever have cause to use Space/Time Portal to return a ship to your hand, that will "cure" this dilemma.

Vendetta. You probably won't have Law, but that simply means you'll be unable to use the targeted personnel as a scout. They'll still contribute skills to the hive; you'll just have to handle them with care, as you would your Queen or Locutus.

Vole Infestation. Basically, you're looking for a Guard Drone to overcome this. Should you not have one when you encounter it, Regenerate will purge the Voles later on in the game.

Q-Icon Dilemmas. Of the four Q-icon dilemmas in the set, only one affects the Borg. I Tried To Warn You, Rhetorical Question and Risky Business all state point blank that they won't. (I Tried To Warn You will actually have an affect on a Borg player using all space or all planet, but that's not a likely arrangement!) That leaves Fightin' Words, which will of course be tough on all affiliations. The Borg do have personnel who will still have the critical MEDICAL, SCIENCE and SECURITY after Fightin' Words takes effect, and they're the three that are most commonly used for those skills: the Bio-Med, Quantum, and Assault Drones. The Interlink Drone and Queen are untouched as well, so all in all you get out fairly clean. You can always play Assimilate Counterpart or Oof! to nullify Fightin' Words, or wait out the countdown icon.

There you have it, a look at the worst DS9 has to offer. The Borg emerge virtually unscathed. They have one or two more scout killers and stoppers to worry about, but for the most part the Borg can glide through these dilemmas simply by using cards they were already using: the Assault and Interlink Drones, the Borg Queen, Lower Decks and maybe one or two more Adapt: Negate Obstructions than they had before. Meanwhile, non-Borg affiliations are sent reeling by obscure requirements in amazing quantities.

Already, the Borg have gained ground on the other affiliations. But I promised improvements, and indeed there are some.

NEXT TIME: Borg Support Cards in DS9

- Mot the Barber