10 Most Awesome-Looking Second Edition Cards of 2014

by Johnny Holeva, Art Director

31st December 2014

'Tis the season for Top Ten Lists! The rules of this list are simple: The Second Edition (2E) card must be from 2014 and the card must look awesome.

#10
Orb of Time
Equipment - Return to Grace
Yup, it’s a simple image of an orb on a table. But I battled Photoshop on this one. The final image on the card is a blend of two-ish images. I liked the final composite image so much, I used it for the expansion icon.

#9
Falow, Gamemaster
Personnel - 20th Anniversary Collection
Such a silly episode of DS9 demanded the main guest star have a silly personnel image. This card makes me smile anytime I look at it.

#8
Dexter Remmick, Alien Thrall
Personnel - Balance of Terror
“Umm, excuse me Dexter. WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOUR NECK??” So cheesy! So perfect! Whenever Trek on television comes back, I hope they don’t forget good ol’ fashioned visual effects can be way more awesome than $$$$ spent on CGI.

#7
Bajor, Blessed of the Prophets
Mission - Return to Grace
I love to weave the 1E/2E visual tapestry a little tighter, whenever it makes sense and I can. For this shot of the new 2E Bajor mission, I leaned on the original 1E Bajor image. Understated and perfect.

#6
Mission Accomplished
Event - Virtual Promo - Series XI
The TNG gang is all there. The colors and staging is awesome. A real nice blend of card text and image.

#5
Combined Attack
Event - Balance of Terror
ZAP! Great color and composition. The best thing about this awesome image is that it carries the weight of the Event gametext properly. Gravitas.

#4
William T. Riker, Exchange Officer
Personnel - Virtual Promo - Series XII
This classic 2E card demanded a new alternate image that captured the cocky swagger of early TNG Riker. I churned through the whole episode to find the most awesome shot I could and I’m proud of the result.

#3
Sito Jaxa, Undercover “Terrorist”
Personnel - 20th Anniversary Collection
Sometimes images are perfectly lit, have a memorable composition, and capture the character/moment without the need of any manipulation. They just look good. This shot of Sito Jaxa is that: Perfection.

#2
The Weak Will Perish
Dilemma - Balance of Terror Release Promo
Super mega extreme Species 8472 eyeball close-up!! So cool. After re-watching the Species 8472 Voyager episodes for the Balance of Terror expansion (oh Voyager), I was struck by how hit and miss the special effects were. Some CGI shots of Species 8472 still looked fantastic; other shots looked... pretty rough. But this extreme close-up was perfect for a Power Dilemma. Another image that was so good I felt compelled to use it for the expansion icon.

#1
Lore, The One
Personnel - Virtual Promo - World Championship 2014
Lore be all Crazy with the crazy grin, the crazy eyes, and the crazy Borg goon squad over his shoulder. Love this shot for a Hall-of-Fame 2E card; my favorite 2E shot of 2014!

There you have it. The 10 Most Awesome-Looking Second Edition cards of 2014. Agree? Disagree? Convince me that I missed a more awesome-looking 2E card and I’ll be impressed. Thanks for reading!

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