Aefvadh! Let's take a look at a mission that looks like a real loser.

SAMARITAN SNARE

Rare Space Mission
Fed/Kli/Rom/Non, 15 points, Span 3
ENGINEER + Discard one Equipment card
Federation must attempt mission if present.

"Rhomboid Dronegar Sector: Respond to distress call from Pakled ship."

So what good is a 15 point mission? One that makes you discard something, and anyone can do it? And they had the nerve to make it rare!

Well, that little line of text under the mission requirements gives it away: like the Pakleds, this is primarily a nuisance to the Federation. But there are other ways that good Imperial citizens of both types can use this. Read on.

Obvious use: stall a Federation opponent. If they miscalculate and have to stop there, they must attempt the mission, facing dilemmas and Q-Flashes for a possible gain of only 15 points. I say possible, because a good Fed deck should have lots of ENGINEERs and MEDICALs, and isn't nearly as likely as Romulans or Klingons to be using typical equipment. To make it even more of a nuisance, leave an Anti-Matter Pod there.

How to get your Federation opponent there:

• Paxan "Wormhole" (relocate their ship if no android aboard; not so good since they probably have Data).
• Real Wormholes (drop them right on it).
• Subspace Warp Rift (they can choose between getting their ship damaged, or having to try the Snare). Requires strategic placement.
• Gaps in Normal Space (choose between getting someone killed, or the Snare). Requires strategic placement.
• Birth of "Junior" or Baryon Buildup to reduce their range till they can't get by without stopping.
• Or how about a really simple one--park your non-Fed ship there and play a Hail as they try to get by.

Dilemmas to Use: Anything that won't stop the crew, because if they get stopped they can leave on their next turn. Good candidates: Tarellian Plague Ship + REM Fatigue Hallucinations, Bendii Syndrome, Frame of Mind, The Higher...The Fewer (makes the mission even less worthwhile), Yuta, Nitrium Metal Parasites, Quantum Singularity Lifeforms (with a Romulan ship parked there). Or how about just a Borg Ship? A Q-Flash will also work if you're careful not to use Q-Continuum cards that stop the crew.

Not-so-obvious uses for Imperial citizens: Your opponent is not likely to load this with tough dilemmas. Feds won't want to chance getting stuck facing their own hard dilemmas, or worse, a Q-Flash; and no one will think it's worthwhile to do much booby-trapping of a lousy 15-pointmission. And Romulan and Klingon opponents aren't likely to spend their time trying to "steal" it. Plan on an expendable equipment card in your deck.

- "We are smart. We look for dilemmas. Dilemmas to get us points." Seed your own point dilemmas to make it worthwhile to do. Barclay's Protomorphosis Disease + Cosmic String Fragment + Nanites gives you a 40 point mission. Note that it has a yellow affiliation bar--your non-aligneds can do this one alone. - Easy mission for a Cryosatellite.

Or, use it as a decoy. If your opponent reads this review and does load it with dilemmas, that's fewer dilemmas for the missions you really planned to do.

The Major's Combos:

Samaritan Snare + a Fed opponent + Hail

Samaritan Snare + the listed point dilemmas

Jolan tru,

Major Rakal
Tal Shiar