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.