A nebula's not so pretty when there's a BORG CUBE hiding in it!
Allow me to introduce Evade Borg Vessel, the first mission from The Sky's the Limit to be revealed.
I'll get the aesthetics out of the way, this is one of the sexiest missions in the entire game - an outstanding job by the art department. Nebulas have always looked great on the table, but a nebula with a Cube hovering around will add a visually eerie atmosphere to the spaceline.
Now for the gameplay.
Let's rip this card apart, shove some statistics and facts into it, then staple it back together.
We'll start with the affiliation icons.
There are four icons: Federation, Romulan, Bajoran, and Cardassian. Two of these affiliations are already playable in block, the other two will no doubt debut when Deep Space Nine is introduced into the format. Facilities can be established at this mission for each of these affiliations, but I'll get into that function soon.
Let's look at the skill requirements now:
Stellar Cartography, Navigation, Leadership and CUNNING > 36.
The Federation have six Mission Specialists that can boost the point box of 35. Four of these can work in a Continuing Mission deck; three Leaderships (Benjamin Maxwell, Norah Satie and Sirna Kolrami) and a Navigation x 2 (Gibson). Another Navigation Specialist can be found in a Voyager deck (Angelo Tassoni) while the Stellar Cartography can be utilised in an Enterprise-E deck (Richard Wilkins).
Romulans have one specialist for each skill, two of which are TNG. Leadership can be found on Tallus, the Stellar Cartography is on Tarus. Original Series decks can benefit as well by adding Gorus, who has Navigation.
Cardassians are not renowned for their Mission Specialists (in fact they have none whatsoever) but three personnel can be downloaded using the Cardassian friendly combo of Assign Support Personnel and Dominion War Efforts. Dorza, Jasad and Ulani Belor can provide the Stellar Cartography while the Guls (who can play for free at the Central Command) can provide plenty of Leadership and Navigation.
The Bajorans have a choice of two Support Personnel in the form of Kallis Ven and Nalan Bal, who both provide Navigation. Our pink bordered friends also have one of two personnel in the game who can meet ALL the skill requirements: General Krim, who has the added bonus of Leadership x 2, which can help against Friendly Fire. Just use an Ops download to get instant access to him when you need to solve the mission.
The second Personnel who has all the skills is none other than Ixtana'Rax. If you’re playing a Dominion deck, simply play an espionage card on the mission and have at it. His special skill is also great for meeting the CUNNING requirement.
Now onto the special text of the mission, and this is the part that stands out.
'Only one of your ships may battle here every turn'
Block has been notorious for battle decks since the format was introduced last year. This card can provide a safe haven for these four affiliations (the Federation especially) as you and your opponent can only select one ship to participate in a ship battle here every turn. (I know the image is from TNG, but when I get into a battle at this location I'll be humming the Wrath of Khan battle theme.)
Seeding your Outpost here also saves you from using a slot on Strategic Base. Just be wary of the very remote chance that the opponent may have Kurlan Naiskos to triple a ship’s attributes.
I feel that the ones who will use this mission the most are the Delta Quadrant affiliations. It's a safe place to be when you’re sending out your lone Equinox, Voyager, or other Delta ship to solve the final mission; the Alpha Quadrant can be a dangerous place to be after all. The Vidiians, Kazon and Hirogen can simply add Crell Moset to the crew via Holodeck Door and Temporal Micro-Wormhole. That way, they have a Cardassian affiliation personnel who cannot die so easily.
Just remember that it is a span 4 Mission. Locations with a span over 3 can greatly decrease your chances of winning. So don't forget to stock RANGE boosters like Plasmadyne Relay or Get It Done.
So there we have it, an in-depth look at a mission that will likely see plenty of play due to its battle deterrent text and solving versatility. So expect me to be using this in my decks for the near future (Please, just don't seed anything too nasty under it if we end up facing each other online.)
And again.... Stunning Image!