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.
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. |