Starter Deck II
Chris Slembarski
        MEMORY WIPE  -  Event  -  Satarran Operatives use bioelectric fields to cause
        selective memory suppression.  Victim retains basic skills and aptitudes, but lose
        their sense of identity and affiliation.  -  Seeds on table; your opponent's cards may
        mix regardless of affiliation.  OR  Plays on a non-borg ship; ship crew and ship's
        Away Teams lose affiliation and become Non-Aligned.

This is rather clever.  If you and your opponent want to play two starters against one another (such as in a sealed deck tournament), you both seed the event, making every card in the box useable.  But since it affects the opponent, people can't use it to build all-star decks in other game environments.  This card has one giant weakness, as someone on the Discussion Board pointed out right away.  In a sealed deck environment, anyone lucky enough to get a Kevin Uxbridge could nullify his own event, rendering his opponent's crew unmixable.  This would be a game-breaker in the same way that The Devil wrecks the three-way treaty from OTSD.  Fortionately, you can't nullify it in SDII vs SDII play.  Notice also that Memory Wipe doesn't say anything about removing affiliation attack restrictions (unless you use the second function), so be very careful if you want to get ready to rumble!

        FERENGI TRADING POST  -  Outpost  -  Ferengi Icon  -  SHIELDS 24  -
        Ferengi commercial centers are frequented by many races for trade, information,
        repair and resupply.  -  Seed one (you may also seed one <> D'Kora face up here)
        OR  build where you have a Ferengi ENGINEER.  Each player's non-Borg cards
        may report and mix aboard regardless of affiliation.

Now this is an interesting card!  If you don't get any other outpost, you will have to seed this one, of course.  Actually, if you do get any of the other outposts, the Memory Wipe event will make them accessible to all your personnel, so you might as well seed one of them instead.  Notice that I said YOUR personnel, because the Trading Post is open to all, including your opponent's cards.  Yep, he can report his people to your Trading Post, and dock there, (and you can use his as well).  A further restriction on the trading post is that you must seed it at one of those spiffy orange Ferengi icons, which appear on only three of the six missions included.  The card's lore does mention repairs, but I believe that a strict interpretation of the rules would allow only Ferengi ships to be repaired here, even with Memory Wipe in play.  Perhaps this is another thing that could be changed before we get the finished product.  What a pity they didn't make nine cards and include that universal D'Kora class Ferengi Marauder!
<Editor's Note: with all non-Borg being compatable, all ships except Borg should be able to repair here>

The remaining six cards are missions.  The key to whether the new starter will be playable is whether you are likely to have the personnel to complete these missions out of one starter.  You'll only be getting two rares, so you can't count on anything from them.  With 13 uncommons you'll be getting almost 11% of all the uncommons in premiere; so you'll have to get lucky to pull many useful personnel.  You're going to have to depend on the common cards.  Your 45 common will be more than 1/3 of the commons in premiere, so you can figure on about a 1/3 chance of pulling any particular common.  So, if there are three or more different commons with some attribute you need (personnel with Computer Skill, ship with two or more staffing icons, etc.), you'll probably get one.
<Editor's Note: don't look at this article for exact statistics! ;-))

When looking at the new missions, remember that you'll probably get some missions in the premiere cards.  There are nine common missions, so you're most likely to get about three of them.  If you get a mission in your premiere cards, and the personnel who can complete it, you should definitely use it, because your opponent might not be able to steal it.  But beware, because all the premiere missions are unique, so your opponent may seed the one that you need before you do!  You should keep one of the new universal missions in reserve in case this happens, two if possible.  Also keep in mind that you still need one crew/away team member with a matching affiliation icon to attempt a mission, even with Memory Wipe in play.  The following reviews are arranged in order from the easiest to solve to the most difficult.

        BOTANICAL RESEARCH  -  Universal Planet Mission  -  2 Span
        SCIENCE + MEDICAL + CUNNING > 35  -  30 Points
        Federation/Klingon/Dominion  -  Unexplored planet:  Gather plant life
        for medical research from planet with highly ionized atmosphere.
        Opponent's side:  Atmospheric Ionization may seed here.

This is a mission that every deck should be able to complete, which is a good reason NOT to use it!  It's got "steal me" written all over it.  Vekor, having both SCIENCE and MEDICAL, is very helpful here.  Note that the game text on the opponent's side of the card allows Atmospheric Ionization to be seeded at Botanical Research, another good reason not to use this mission.  If YOU get a copy of Atmospheric Research, then definitely include it with your seed cards.  You won't get to 30 seeds anyway, and if your opponent doesn't seed Botanical Research, just seed the Atmospheric Ionization as a bluff dilemma.  Note the Ferengi Trading Post may not seed here.  Since it's universal, Botanical Research is a good substitute for one of your unique missions which your opponent has seeded first.

        STUDY COMETARY CLOUD  -  Unique Space Mission  -  3 Span
        Navigation + SCIENCE + Physics + Computer Skill  -  30 Points
        Romulan/Non-Aligned/Cardassian/Ferengi  -  Cruses System:  Research gaseous
        comet trail in this system's Oort cloud for military or commercial use.

There are five different common premiere personnel with Navigation, five with Physics and four with Computer Skill, so most decks should be able to complete this mission.  The star here is Varel, a Romulan scientist with Physics and Computer Skill.      She needs only the help of a navigator to complete this mission.  The presence of the Ferengi icon makes this mission a good location for the Trading Post.  Unless you get much better missions in your starter, use this as one of your six.  But keep in mind that it's unique, so it's likely to be duplicated by your opponent.  Be sure to have a backup universal mission ready (one with a Ferengi icon if this is the only location for your Trading Post).  Note that the Navigation / Computer Skill combination appears again on the Study Pulsar mission, so the two missions complement each other nicely.

        GEOLOGICAL SURVEY  -  Universal Planet Mission  -  2 Span
        SCIENCE + Geology + Computer Skill  -  20* Points
        Federation/Non-Aligned/Bajoran/Ferengi  -  Uncharted Planet:  Assess
        value of  rich mineral deposits on planet near edge of explored space.
        *+10 if 3 Geology OR 3 Greed present.

With four different common premiere personnel having Geology skill, you should be able to do this mission.  Most helpful here are Taitt (Federation scientist with Geology) and Vekor (once again, Non-Aligned scientist with Geology).  Both of these need only a computer expert to pull in these points.  The points are the problem, though.  Only 20, unless you can put together 3 Geology or 3 Greed.  Using only one starter, this is unlikely.  So this would be a good place to self-seed a point scoring dilemma, like Microvirus.  The Ferengi icon makes this another possible home for the Trading Post.

        SEARCH FOR WEAPONS  -  Universal Planet Mission  -  2 Span
        OFFICER + Navigation + Treachery  -  30 Points
        Federation/Klingon/Cardassian/Bajoran/Ferengi  -  Demilitarized Zone
        Region * Border Planet:  Search planet for illegal Maquis arms cache.
        May seed hand weapons under here.

If you are lucky with the personnel you have, this mission can be completed by only two people.  Of the three common premiere personnel with Treachery, only Galathon is an OFFICER.  Team him with any Federation or Klingon navigator to complete Search for Weapons.  Other two-person combinations can be made by teaming McKnight, Klag or B'iJik with any personnel with Treachery.  Don't forget that you can seed hand weapons here.  Since you're unlikely to use all 30 seed slots, why not seed those weapons here.  Then seed the Ferengi Trading Post here (it's third possible home) and try to complete this mission first.  In sealed deck play, one hand weapon is more valuable than some artifacts!
<Editor's Note: In NORMAL play hand weapons are better than some artifacts! ;-)>

        STUDY PULSAR  -  Universal Space Mission  -  3 Span
        Navigation + Astrophysics + Computer Skill  -  25 Points
        Federation/Romulan/Klingon  -  Uncharted Space:  Characterize
        radio and optical emissions from rapidly rotating neutron star.

Now things become more difficult.  There are only two common premiere personnel with Astrophysics skill, the Klingon scientist Torin and the Romulan hologram Tomek.  So your first problem is getting an astrophysicist.  If you're lucky enough to pull Wesley Crusher, he can complete this mission all by himself!  Since that's not likely, you might have to keep holographic Tomek running.  This will require a Galaxy or Nebula class starship or the Holoprojectors event (uncommon).   And since there is no common premiere personnel card with both Navigation and Computer Skill, you'll probably need two others, in addition to the astrophysicist.  If you're still not convinced to skip this one, consider that it's only worth 25 points and you can't seed the Ferengi Trading Post here.  One the other hand, if you do have an astrophysicist or two, you can seed this mission without much worry that it will be stolen.
 
        MILITARY EXERCISES  -  Universal Space Mission  -  4 Span
        SECURITY + Leadership + CUNNING>28 + ship with two or more staffing icons
        Romulan/Klingon/Cardassian/Dominion  -  Unclaimed sector of space:
        Conduct flagship efficiency drills in remote sector of Alpha Quadrant.

Well, this is a great little mission; I just don't understand what it's doing in this set.  Getting an appropriate ship should be no problem (Galaxy, Nebula, Vor'Cha, D'deridex, Combat and Mercenary are all common).  But there's only one common premiere personnel with Leadership, the Romulan OFFICER Tallus.  So it isn't likely that your lone starter will yield any Leadership skill.  If you do get one or two, by all means, seed this mission.  You can bet it won't be stolen.  Remember that your Ferengi Trading Outpost cannot be seeded here.

So, is this new product a playable starter?  Technically, yes, although anything with six missions and a 30+ card draw deck is "playable."  Practically, a better question is:  Will I be able to seed six missions and actually have the personnel to complete them all?  The answer is yes, with a little luck.  If you add several boosters, as in most sealed deck tournaments, you have an excellent chance of being able to do all of your missions, if not your opponent's.