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The *REAL* Non-Aligned Deck
From Evan Lorentz : evan@earthlink.net
May 1997

People have occasionally attempted to build "non-aligned" decks. I've always liked the idea, but been less than thrilled with the results. Everyone seems to think that a bunch of Romulan or Federation missions, a fistful of Non-Aligned personnel, and a Major Rakal constitutes a non-aligned deck. I disagree. When a player at a recent tournament I sponsored got me talking about this subject, we came up with the concept for this deck.


SEED CARDS

Dilemmas

Alien Labyrinth
Alien Parasites
Ancient Computer
Barclay's Protomorphosis Disease
Cytherians
Hyper Aging
Nagilum
Parallel Romance
Q
Radioactive Garbage Scow
Rascals
Security Precautions
Shaka, When the Walls Fell x2
Tarellian Plague Ship
The Sheliak
Yuta x2



Missions (3)

Samaritan Snare
Qualor II Rendezvous
Space x8 (Counts as 4 cards)

Doorways

Alternate Universe Door
Q's Tent

Artifacts and Others

Cryosatellite
Horga'hn
Berlingoff Rasmussen
Ajur

DRAW DECK

Personnel

Amarie
Devinoni Ral
Dr. Farek
Dr. Reyga
Ira Graves
Jo'Bril
Maques
Roga Danar
Soong-Type Android x4
Vekor

Doorways

Alternate Universe Door
Q's Tent x8

Interrupts

Amanda Rogers x3
Kevin Uxbridge x2
Q2



Equipment

Plasmadyne Relay x2

Interrupts

Amanda Rogers x3
Kevin Uxbridge x2
Q2

Q's Tent

Bok
Colony
Dathon
Devidian Door
Drought Tree
Neutral Outpost
Plasmadyne Relay
Q's Planet
Red Alert
Soong-Type Android
Temporal Rift
The Traveller: Transcendence
Zalkonian Vessel

This deck is a Non-Aligned deck. I mean it. There are no missions in it that cannot be completed by the Non-Aligned, and absolutely no affiliated personnel.

That does create one big problem. The Non-Aligned are not considered to be an affiliation. That means that you do not get to seed an outpost when you are playing them all by themselves. That's why isn't one in the seed deck -- it's not legal for you to have one.

So just how are you supposed to win? With a Devidian Door and those trusty Soong-Type Androids. There are 4 androids in the draw deck itself, so with any luck, one will be in your opening hand. (There's a backup in the Tent just in case.) There are also 8 Q's Tents in the draw deck, so you'll have at least one, quite possibly two or more, to accompany that Android.

Use your first Q's Tent to grab the Devidian Door from the Tent. The card will allow you to play a personnel or equipment card *anywhere* in the game. Play a Soong-Type Android to the Samaritan Snare mission. It will be floating in space. This would of course kill any normal personnel, but not an android (just ask Lore)! Declare your Android to be an ENGINEER, gender doesn't matter, and you are off to the races. Hopefully on your next turn (or a very early turn), you'll be able to Tent for the Neutral Outpost, and use that industrious android adrift in space to construct the jumping off point for the rest of the deck.

Once your outpost is in place, play can proceed a bit more normally. Complete the Samaritan Snare mission. This will be relatively easy with your outpost at that location. Most space dilemmas target ships. Many of the ones that do not will not affect androids (Yuta, Barclay's Protomorphosis Disease). The few others (Shaka When the Walls Fell, Ancient Computer, Radioactive Garbage Scow) can be overcome if necessary (Dathon, multiple ENGINEERs including the STAs). There are Plasmadyne Relays in the deck to discard for your first 15 points. If you find yourself stuck with a bad shuffle, you can Q's Tent to obtain the backup Relay in there. You'll also a Cryosatellite, and Ajur and Berlingoff Rasmussen join your crew, along with a Horga'hn. (Note there are 3 Amanda Rogers in the deck to try and protect the Horga'hn from The Devil or Jamaharon.)

You'll need to Tent again, to obtain the Zalkonian Vessel. Fly to Qualor II, and use Ajur and Rasmussen (Archaeology) to destroy all but three of the seed cards present there. Once you've knocked it down that far, you should have enough skills to get around the remaining dilemmas. You also have Amarie, and 3 personnel with both Treachery and Greed if you want to try the "red-shirt" approach.

One last Q's Tent to grab the Colony, and you can just leave your personnel there, scoring points on your double turns. The 2 other Plasmadyne Relays will boost the shields of the Colony to help fend off orbital attacks. The Androids and Roga should be strong enough to handle anyone who comes down to the surface. (And best of all, the Androids can score 2 points each per turn if they are chosen to be CIVILIANs.) If you've got Tents left, you can also get good use out of The Traveller, Drought Tree, and Temporal Rift.

I know this deck sounds a bit crazy, but I have played it, and it does work. It is heavily reliant on Q's Tent, but you've got an AU Door and a couple of Kevin Uxbridges if your opponent is using a Revolving Door. (The Amandas can be spent on countering Wrong Doors if absolutely necessary.) Because of all those Tents, it will play more slowly than the average deck, but all that Space is really gonna slow your opponent down, too. You've also got the Q's Planet available to you if your opponent is beginning to score (or if you've lost your Horga'hn and need a way to get it back.) A tough and varied mix of "wall" and "killer" dilemmas should also serve to keep your opponent at bay as you put this whole scheme into place.

You've just gotta trust me and try it sometime.



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