:::Incoming Transmission... attempting to pull the plug:::

Greetings my fellow players and welcome to this issue's installment of...

UNPLUGGED

--'Contact the fleet, we have encountered the Borg.' This month I'd like to focus on a subject which many are aware of. With all the upcoming expansions, new affiliations are imminent. In the 'First Contact' expansions, we will be able to control the Borg. In the Deep Space Nine expansion(s), we can look forward to even more affiliations.

As everyone knows in depth, the object of the game is to more or less solve missions to score points and win. And this concept is extremely logical, given the three affiliations we have. But what about the Borg? The Borg don't 'Investigate Rogue Comets', or any other missions that make up the space line. They assimilate people and technology into their collective. That's it. They do not explore, study, investigate, etc. So obviously the Borg's drive in the Star Trek CCG must be to 'Assimilate' your opponent. Sort of a huge twist on the game, don't you think?

I also want to address a mitigating fact with the Borg. They have superior technology. How can the Borg be balanced against the other Affiliations? Now don't lecture me on what transpired in First Contact. The battered Starfleet armada did destroy a Borg vessel near Earth. But! This feet was only accomplished with Picard aboard his mighty new Sovereign-Class Enterprise-E. The mighty anti-Borg vessel, USS Defiant, was defeated and nearly destroyed. Numerous new classes of Starfleet vessels could be seen in the battle, but without the intervention of the Big-E, it would have been Wolf 359 all over again. Not to mention that the Borg Queen did escape and infiltrate Earth's past. Also, let's not forget that it was but one (1) Borg vessel. What about two? Or three? Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how the Borg affiliation will work out.

--My Picard is better than yours!

One super cool aspect of the Star Trek CCG are the many faces of the same person. Alternate universe, transporter duplicate, future and past versions of Personnel have graced the game and made it a heck of a lot more interesting. Just for fun, I thought I would just note some of the many different versions of the same person there are, and how many more we could expect:

Jean-Luc Picard, Lt. Picard, Galen, Admiral Picard.
(Coming soon? Future Picard from 'All Good Things...', Picard as a Romulan from 'Unification pt.'s 1&2')

Data, Data's Body+ Data's Head, Commander Data.
(Coming soon? Data as a Romulan from 'Unification pt.'s 1&2', Older Data from 'All Good Things...')

Worf, Governor Worf.
(Coming soon? Lt. Commander Worf in DS9 gear? A Klingon Affiliation edition of Worf from 'Redemption pt.'s 1&2'? A scared Worf from 'Future Imperfect'?

William T. Riker.
(Coming soon? Admiral Riker from 'All Good Things...', Captain Riker from 'Future Imperfect' or 'Parallels'.

These are just but a few takes on the same people. I don't even want to get started on the DS9 personnel ;)

Well, until we pull the plug again...

EPISODE CARD UPDATES AND TWO PLAYER GAME

Well, everyone, now that the 2 Player Game is out, it's time to add the new cards to the Episode List for identification. Here they are:

A Good Place To Die--Heart of Glory
Avert Disaster--The Masterpiece Society
Cargo Rendezvous--Coming of Age
Distress Mission--Rascals
Gault--Heart of Glory
Gravesworld--The Schizoid Man
Homeward--Homeward
Hostage Situation--Too Short A Season
Reopen Dig--Contagion
Reported Activity--The Battle
Sensitive Search--Birthright
Survey Instability--Pen Pals
Admiral McCoy--Encounter At Farpoint
Admiral Picard--Future Imperfect
Commander Data--Future Imperfect
Commander Troi--Future Imperfect
Spock--Unification
Gi'ral--Birthright
Ja'rod--[edited]
Mogh--[edited]

Updates for QC

Katherine Pulaski- The Child
Keiko O'Brien- Data's Day

In honor of the new Dominion alliance with the Cardassians here are a few cards that were from that episode!!!

TYPE: Personnel, Neutral
NAME: Garak
LORE: Plain and simple Garak is the Cardassian tailor on DS9. Protege and son of Enabrian Tain, and former member of the Obsidian Order. Nemesis of Gul Dukat.
SKILLS: CIVILIAN; SECURITY, Treachery, Computer Skill; 4/8/7; +

TYPE: Personnel, Cardassian
NAME: Enabrian Tain
LORE: Tain, father of Garak, is the Cardassian former head of the Obsidian Order. Lead the aborted attack on the Founder homeworld.
SKILLS: VIP; SECURITY, Leadership, Treachery, Computer Skill; 2/9/5; *

TYPE: Personnel, Klingon NAME: Martok
LORE: General Martok led the Klingon fleet during the invasion of the Cardassian Empire in 2372. Commanded the Neg'var, and now commands the Klingon garrison on DS9. Father of Drex.
SKILLS: OFFICER; Leadership, Honor; 8/8/9; *
PICTURE: Martok meeting with Sisko, from Way of the Warrior

OFFICER EVALUATIONS

Due to medical reasons, Huz will be unable once again to rate for us. Hope you get better soon, bud. And now, the cards...

Terraforming Station . . .

Cap: While this is not something for a tournament, if you play the same people over and over, this could be the one for you. Letting you change the requirements for a mission that's tough to something easier, while sounding cool, may be difficult to pull off... Rating- 6.5

Wolf: Well it's about time they had a card that did this. Perfect for building a mission that seems impossible and making it COMPLETELY simple. Rating- 8.5

Heck: This card is just going to grow dust with my 'Raise the Stakes' card. Nine out of ten games, I'm not going to use it, and that's that. Objectively, it is a good card for those who stay up late and relentlessly play the game multiple times. Rating- 2.5

Evil: This card sucks. Not only that, its rare. Come on! Give me a break! Rating- 1.0 Average Rating- 4.625

Heisenberg Compensators . . .

Cap: This is one card that could become broken really quick (if it's not there already). Who wouldn't like to see what card their opponent is about to draw? Even if you don't play with one yourself, you better keep one in your Tent to defend against it... Rating- 7.5

Wolf: OUCH a counter to alien probes, BUT both draw decks are turned face up making them easier to zap with Subspace Schism. Rating- 7.5

Heck: Nice card, it takes care of 'Alien Probe', and you get to see what's coming. I still pass on it in my deck though ;) Rating- 4.0

Evil: I like this one. A good Tent stopper, and a killer when used with Subspace Schism. Rating- 8.5 Average Rating- 6.875

Scottish Setter . . .

Cap: Every time I've seen this card strike it was hilarious. The last time, in fact, Riker got hit, so I took him to another mission to redshirt with him, and he got hit again. It was just outrageous. Rating- 8.0

Wolf: Changing a person into a dog is good ESPECIALLY if it's Wesley!!! Rating- 8.5

Heck: Turning your opponents personnel into animals, what more do I have to say. *Heck Pick of the Month* Rating- 8.0

Evil: When a play group hits this one, we all start howling. This card just cracks me up. Rating- 7.5 Average Rating- 8.0

Blade Of Tkon . . .

Cap: Using this against your opponent's outpost can be brutal. The best combo, with a batch of Space missions, can be foreseen, however, so your opponent might just be wary... Rating- 7.5

Wolf: Ooooooh, this card REALLY hurts to move a planet and ALL the cards there. STRAND THE AWAY TEAM!!!!! Rating- 9.5

Heck: Good concept. Easy way to get your outpost out of the way of a incoming Borg ship, or to put your opponents outpost in the way of a Borg ship, at the least. With a bit of cunning strategy, this card may prove to be more useful than it appears. Rating- 7.5

Evil: Nice Combo, Cap. I'm glad I thought of it. :) (No, really, I did, see page 104 of Scrye #18 ;) Rating- 7.0 Average Rating- 7.875

Yuta . . .

Cap: This has got to be one of the most vicious dilemmas out there. As long as you can do a little math, you can take out whichever member of your opponent's away team you want. If you're lucky, you might even get more than one with her. Rating- 9.5

Wolf: A little hard to use BUT a killer none the less. Rating- 6.5

Heck: The best dilemma since 'Q'. A must for any deck. The only problem I have with it is...it's rare. Rating- 8.5

Evil: The Ultimate Dilemma. I love this card. And, as it everything else wasn't enough, its planet AND space! Rating- 9.5 Average Rating- 8.5

The opinions and views expressed here are those of the writers, and not necessarily those of Decipher Inc. Any and all questions, comments, and concerns about the preceding should be directed to the writers only.