Non-aligned decks have recently been increasing in popularity.
They do have several
advantages over decks that feature affiliated cards, mainly
the fact that anything that requires or
mentions affiliation in any way do not affect them. They
do no good to the borg as
counterparts, they can't be targeted by Incoming Messages,
etc.
So what does a non-aligned deck look like? Using Joskefet's
online deck designer
(stccg.bas.ml.org), I created one that uses no rares.
Note that whatever a deck designer tells
you, you MUST take with a grain of salt. Make sure you
don't play a deck straight off of one,
as they usually only suggest personnel for the missions
you select. I will be working with the
raw deck suggested by the deck designer, and fill it out
to be a regular deck.
Seed Deck (36)
Missions (6)
Qualor II Rendezvous
Deliver Supplies
Establish Relations
Investigate Incursion
Test Propulsion Systems
Test Propulsion Systems
Seeds (30)
Space Time Portal (x2)
Husnock Outpost
Husnock Ship
26 cards of your choice
With 3 Non-Aligned missions, the Husnock Outpost seems
a logical choice. I've chosen to
replace the standard space-door with a Husnock ship, as
that way it doesn't take a card play
at all to get a ship. The Test Propulsion Systems missions
fit in great with the Husnock Ship, as
it increases it's range from 6-8 with the first one, and
from 8-10 if you do them both.
With a Non-Aligned deck, I've chosen not to include a Q's
Tent standard. That does not mean
that you can't add one, though... but remember that using
the tent gives up speed for a card,
and I often leave the tent off when i don't feel like
sacrificing speed.
Of course you'll need to fill out the seed deck yourself,
using your favorite dilemmas and
seedable Hidden Agendas.
Draw Deck (30)
Amaros
Baran
Bok
Coutu
E'Tyshra
Evek
Jo'Bril
Rionoj (x3)
Thomas Paris
Ty Kajada (x3)
Vekor (x3)
Xepolite Freighter (x2)
This gives us 17 personnel with the skills needed to round
out our dilemma and mission solving
crew. Noticeably missing is Dathon, a rare. Rares were
taken out of the card pool from which
this deck was created, so if you've got Dathon or other
rares, you may want to consider
adding them in in place of some of the cards that are
currently in in multiples.
Now we get to the part that the deck designer doesn't do,
we need to choose about 11 more
cards to round out the deck.
Kivas Fajo -- Collector (x3)
Red Alert!
A little speed never hurt anyone ;)
Kevin Uxbridge (x2)
Amanda Rogers
Nor do counters... well the counters hurt your opponent :)
Scan (x2)
Full Planet Scan
You've got 4 Space Missions and 3 Planets (one of which
can be scanned with a scan), which
explains the Scan to FPS ratio. This leaves 1 spot left
for a 30 card deck, and since
non-aligned missions tend to be a bit low on the point
scale, I'd suggest a
Colony
for use just to get the last 10-15 needed points. You've
got only 4 CIVILIANS in the deck,
which is lower than most colony decks, but keep in mind
that your not depending on the
colony, its just in there to give you the small boost
you may need.
Keep in mind that any deck that I discuss here will have
to be tuned to your own collection
and playing style, as well as whatever the locals play
where you are.
Happy Gaming!
Neral
http://mbr-scifi.neotown.com/neral/stccg/