One of the most reviled decks nowadays is the mission stealing deck. The bane
of many players, the deck that solves its opponents missions is almost
universally detested. Some say it’s too powerful, but to be honest, I don’t
believe it is. I enjoy playing it, and, to be honest, I enjoy playing against
it. It has very obvious advantages, but there are major drawbacks.
        The main drawback is that of card economy, particularly concerning characters.
If you are relying on solving an opponents missions, you don’t know what skills
or classifications you are going to need. Therefore, the espionage deck requires
almost all the skills and classifications in the game. In addition, it also
leaves very little room in a deck for an additional tactic, such as wormholes,
Rogue Borg, etc. If you want to be prepared for any mission, it has it’s
drawbacks.
        Another flaw is that the dilemmas, which are chosen to be easily passed, can
often be easily passed by the other player as well. Many espionage players will
seed artifacts under their opponents missions, hoping to make them appear to be
dilemmas. If an opponent beats these missions early, which is possible (some
people still attempt missions in this game ;), they have points and an artifact.
        All this having been said, I think the espionage deck is one on the most
dynamic deck styles out there now. I recently won a tournament using one, and in
the months since DS9, I believe I have gotten a rather good idea of how to play
it.

How’s It Done?

        The true espionage deck came into it’s own with the release of DS9.  Featured in
this set were the two objectives, Plans of the Tal Shiar and Plans of the
Obsidian Order. Players immediately recognized their usefulness, and it brought
the Espionage cards from Premiere out of the binder.
        The dilemmas placed under your opponents missions are usually either misseeds
(which I frown upon, but to each his own) or specially chosen dilemmas that you
will be able to pass. I will go into some of the best of these later.

Who Does It?

        Every affiliation has some espionage cards, but the two main ones, obviously,
are the ones who got their Plans in DS9: the Cardassians and the Romulans. There
are advantages and disadvantages to using either.
        The Romulans have more personnel, and are well-known for their traditional
streamlined decks. This can carry over into espionage decks, where a handful of
Romulans bring in a large number of skills. Their key personnel for this deck
are Telak, Major Rakal and Vakis, the three Tal Shiar personnel. Telak is good,
because he is uncommon, and can provide a fall-back Tal Shiar personnel in a low
budget deck. The Major provides Empathy as well, and can help a deck solve one
of the most difficult missions to espionage, Diplomatic Conference. Vakis is a
frighteningly good all-around personnel, with MEDICAL and Biology, the standard
Treachery, and a VIP classification.
        They also have the not-insignificant ability that they have Espionage cards for
every affiliation, while no one has Espionage cards for them. The clever
Espionage player finds ways around this, however.
        The Cardassians have other advantages. While they have less of a personnel
base, almost all the skills in the game are therefore concentrated in a
relatively small number of personnel. They also have several skills that
actually do not appear on any Cardassian mission, leading me to believe they
were designed for espionage. Their key personnel, all the Obsidian Order
personnel, are all rare, which makes them more difficult to come by (when you
consider only rarity). However, there are four of them: Enabran Tain, Elim
Garak, Korinas and Entek. Enabran Tain is arguably the best Cardassian in the
game. He has a wide range of skills useful to the Espionage deck. Entek has a
useful mix of skills, including Exobiology, that all-important skill that is
found only one of a select few Cardassians. Elim Garak has other useful skills,
as well as the nifty ability to survive anything random. He also has other
plusses. The least useful of the four is Korinas, although she is also quite
useful, with a dual classification and the two base skills (Treachery and
Obsidian Order).
        Perhaps the biggest advantage the Cardassians have, however, is the Nor. With
this, you don’t have to wait to draw the one Geology you have in your deck to
complete a mission, you can download it. Useful for any deck, it works wonders
in a deck as diluted as the espionage deck is. The crowning jewel in the
Cardassian espionage crown is Garak’s Tailor Shop. Elim Garak reports free here,
all your Obsidian Order personnel may report here, and it allows you to look the
your opponents deck in some circumstances, which I won’t go into here. It does,
however, require you to be using Terok Nor, which risks it being used by the
Bajorans (the ninnies!). If it does get taken over, however, at the very least
you’ll have a place to start from to commandeer it.  So overall, I would choose
the Cardassians over the Romulans in an espionage deck.

If You Leave Out These Cards, You Should Be Noogied

        The number one support card for an espionage deck is Reflection Therapy. This
allows you to change any one skill to any other skill. You could even do this to
the added skill gained through equipment, such as an Engineering Kit. This allows the
espionage deck, either affiliation, more latitude in missions they are
able to attempt. You will almost always have enough Treachery to be able to use
it. If you don’t, I’ll be shocked. You can even use it, in a pinch, to create a
new Obsidian Order or Tal Shiar personnel.
        For the Cardassians, who do not have the ability to espionage Romulan missions,
a more direct approach is needed. Several Romulan personnel in your deck and a
seeded hidden agenda Romulan/Cardassian Treaty make an instant espionage.
However, this won’t be immune to nullification as your Plans Espionage cards
should be, so Turrel might be a wise addition you your deck.
        Speed is very important in this deck, as in any deck. However, the inclusion of
speed cards like Kivas or Traveler dilute the deck even more. A useful alternative is
the use of cards that report for free. Central Command, Garak’s Tailor Shop and
the Docking Ports all allow certain cards to report there for free. With luck, you can
have 3 personnel and a ship out on your first turn. As mentioned in the Dominion Q&A,
several other headquarters will be included in the Dominion, so hopefully the Romulans
will soon be able to take advantage of the Imperial Senate Chambers.
        An advantage to this deck is that it shouldn’t need the ever-present scan
cards. If you are forced to attempt your own missions, you are already in enough
trouble. You should generally also be able to beat a mission in a single turn,
once you’ve accumulated the correct personnel. Goddess of Empathy, a great card
anytime, is perfect for this deck. All you should need in two turns to get to
and beat a mission
.
What Dilemmas Are Right For You?

        Dilemmas selection for espionage decks is often baffling to a novice player.
While they should be easy enough for you to pass, they should have a good chance
of stopping, or at least slowing down, your opponent. Therefore, one of my
favorite dilemmas is not a dilemma at all: Q-Flash!
        This seldom seen card is used to open the Q-Continuum side deck. Although some
of those cards have seen more use with Beware of Q, the side deck itself is
still fairly rare. Which makes it the best dilemma to use in an espionage deck.
Odds are that your opponent will not be playing one. Since you never encounter
cards from your own Q-Flash, if you encounter it, it will be discarded. If your
opponent does reach it before you, it has the potential to make them encounter
several powerful dilemmas, as well as strong anti-redshirt cards.
        Another strong dilemmas is Primitive Culture. Many of it’s requirements are
found in any espionage deck. Obsidian Order x2 or Tal Shiar x2 is found in any
good espionage deck. Enabran Tain alone has Obsidian Order x2. CIVILIAN +
Anthropology is another common way for it to be passed, and Elim Garak has that.
Many Cardassians have Anthropology, which is not found on a single Cardassian
mission, making this dilemma, as well as Worshipper and None Shall Pass,
tailor-made (pun-intended) for the Cardassian espionage deck.
        Dead End, a powerful dilemma for anyone, is doubly powerful now that your own
Dead End can be nullified by Dropping In.  Lack of Preparation is also useful, if
you know you can survive the dilemmas you have placed.
        Dal’Rok, a common powerhouse dilemma these days, is also surprisingly useful for
an Espionage deck. It doesn’t require any specific skills to pass, allowing
you to save your downloads for mission solvers, and you shouldn’t have any
problems getting a large number of people into play, considering how many you’ll
have in your deck.
        Overall, espionage decks are very powerful, but not overpowered. If made
correctly, an espionage deck has great potential, and I hope I’ve helped those
of you interested see some of its potential!

Vorrin Nal
 

// Editor's notes - While there are a lot of possible missions, the ones that are actually used have rquirements similar enough to each other and dilemmas that I find I can steal them with just the personnel in the deck for doing my missions and passing dilemmas.  This allows you room for wormholes or RBMs, which you can draw rapidly via Ore Processing and Promenade Shops.  Also, dilemma combos which can be deadly if you aren't prepared can be overcome with a few people if you are ready for them; for example, DNA Clues - Hippocratic Oath - BPD.  Mission stealers were widely used before DS9 came out and won quite a few tournaments (and regionals) but Plans of the Obsidian Order (and Tal Shiar) made them even stronger.