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An essay on errors, banning, and Decipher's policies in general concerning Star Trek CCG -txt- ... Nightingale ... 02.25-19:10
This came to me driving home today. Don't know why, but here it is...

When errors inevitably sneak into a project like Star Trek CCG, there are a few ways to address the problem.

Obviously, the best way is to avoid the problem in the first place. Sometimes, this can be foreseen; at others, it can not.

As an example of an "error" that was not foreseen: the omission of "Admiral" from the title and/or text of Eric Pressman. At this time of its printing, being an Admiral had no advantage at all in the game.

Decipher has chosen to ignore this situation. And this is one such solution to the problem. In this specific situation, I question how many people would suddenly begin playing with Eric Pressman if he were ruled to be an Admiral. The completionist, or perfectionist wants this ruling. I don't believe the average player does.

Second, a specific ruling could be made. This is also called errata. It takes a word, words, or phrases and changes them to say something different than what is printed on the actual card. There are several of these in the game, due mainly to what has now become questionable and/or inappropriate wording.

Red Alert would be an example of this. In the beginning, several players (myself included) would play Red Alert as our normal card play and then, on the same turn, drop all personnel, ships, and equipment remaining in our hand. The errata clarifies that the effects of the card take up the normal card play.

Was this the original intent of the card, or did it simple prove too powerful as written? More often than not, errata is intended to clarify the original meaning of the card; only rarely has the entire meaning/working of a card been changed.

Some errata is simply to fix the "format" of a card. Dilemmas, for example, are worded differently depending on when they were written. Some read "If X then Y or else Z" while others may read "Do X unless Y".

Third, a card can be reprinted. "Magic: The Gathering" is really big on this, primarily because cards "rotate" out of legal play format and some of them are simply "staple" cards of the game.

Star Trek CCG does not have this as a backdrop to the game, and Decipher had in the past appeared to be very reluctant to reprint a card. The opening of a new gaming format, namely the Voyager environment and Warp Spped play, allowed a natural opportunity to reprint certain cards.

Assign Mission Specialists is an expample of such a reprinted card. It proved too powerful in gameplay as a Captain's Order, and was almost immediately errated. The introduction of Voyager and its limited play environment made reprinting the card a necessity of sorts.

Combo-dilemmas were an opportunity for Decipher to "update" the wording on some earlier dilemmas, using the new "formula" mentioned above.

Sometimes simple mistakes slip onto a card. The "foil" versions of Kira Nerys and Admiral Riker, or the more recently-printed Q's Fantasy Women and Bajoran Resistance Cell are example of this (and, I must admit, the only ones I can think of).

When left as-is, these cards are simply errated. Perhaps, in the future, should circumstance warrent, they may be reprinted and corrected. I doubt that will happen with these specific cards.

Switching from errors to a vaguely-related area: banning.

It's not really an error of sorts. In this case, the card is simply too powerful for the game. Up to today, only one card has been banned from the game: Raise the Stakes.

Compare this again with "Magic" which has a banned (or restricted) list about as long as a normal set printed by Decipher.

I think it shows a great deal of forethought on Decipher's part to have created a game that can truely expand and grow beyond the original concepts found the first 363 cards printed.

Much time and thought goes into each card and it's effect on the game. Yes, with each new set there is some unforeseen interaction with an earlier card. And this is a good thing. It shows a highly imaginative gaming group dedicated to this game, and many of the best decks immediately after a product's releast take advantage of these "overlooked interactions."

This usually leads to a "magic bullet." For all the talk I made about errate, it really is something Decipher attempts to avoid, especially when changing the way a card works. Instead, Decipher will come out with another card that interacts with and/or changes the way a card works.

The first of these was Countermanda, and probably the most far-reaching in terms of effect is Writ of Accountability. It's Only A Game, and the Oblisk of Masaka have also altered the playability of certian strategies. The most recent is White Deprivation (the card).

These cards work only if in play, so the rules of the game haven't really changed (okay, with WD, they have changed). Your opponent has to play the card for it to affect you, so it becomes a mind game: is the opponent playing that specific counter, or not?

Countering cards became easier with the introduction of Q The Referee. The [Ref] Referee icon had existed for some time, with no real explination of it's use in the game. QTR allows you an opprotunity to download the appropriate counter at just the right time - assuming you've stocked it in your deck and/or tent.

Decipher has been good to Star Trek. Decipher has been good for Star Trek. Decipher's relationship with Paramount has strengthened over the years, and now includes multiple avenues of product. I see good things continuing to happen in the future.

Your comments and questions are most welcome.

Thanks for reading,
Paul "Nightingale" Cannon

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