Making A Virtual Splash (Part 1)

by Lucas Thompson

23rd September 2010

The Massachusetts (and surrounding states) player base has recently seen a resurgence (my tournament report is here), with many of us coming back after years away from the game. Because of this hiatus, I thought it might be helpful to point out some of the virtual cards that can be added to decks that returning players may still have sitting around. After all, diving straight into the virtual expansion card lists can be quite daunting. Besides, I know I'm quite attached to many of my old decks. Rather than start from scratch with the "Experienced" Original Series (TOS) or Equinox crew, I looked around first for cards that fit well in the decks I already had and worked from there. Instead of making everyone else go through that process, I made this list.

After making it, I thought that there are probably others outside of our player group who could use this information. I see posts from returning players frequently on the boards, so why not submit it to the Continuing Committee? So submit it I did, and thus it appears here. This list, long as it is, is by no means exhaustive. There are lots of cool virtual cards out there, and many of them are kernels for whole new deck types; this is just a guide to help you get started. Look for your affiliation(s) of choice, grab the cards, print them in the deck builder, and try them out.

The Next Generation (TNG)

• Geordi La Forge (Battleship Engineer) (Raise the Stakes) - Even though he's not really the Geordi we know, he has the huge skill list we've always wanted Geordi to have. He's great in a Yesterday's Enterprise TNG deck, but his skills can buy him a spot in most other TNG decks.
• Morgan Bateson (Confident Commander) (Peak Performance) - He'll be 7 Integrity in many games, and he's got Diplomacy and Science. Filler, but sometimes that's just what you need. Watch out for Personal Duty, though.
• Nella Daren (Head of Stellar Cartography) (This Side of Paradise) - Nice, cheap Science personnel with decent Integrity and Cunning. The ability is icing, but unfortunately there aren't many equipment cards that both she and Scotty can be equipped with.
• Worf (Chief of Security) (Virtual Promo) - One of the two elusive seasons 3-7 TNG personnel, he has decent skills and a nice “stop to prevent a stop on a more important personnel" ability.

Earth

• Alynna Nechayev (Adamant Admiral) (This Side of Paradise) - Great set of skills for any Earth-based deck. You'll probably never use the ability, but you won't care.
• Lance Cartwright (Co-Conspirator) (The Undiscovered Country) - Intelligence on a cheap Federation personnel. You'll need to destroy an event, but you don't need that third Disadvantage Into Advantage out now that you've played Data.

Deep Space Nine (DS9)

• Melora Pazlar (Independent Personality) (This Side of Paradise) - There are so many Astrometrics/Navigation/Science missions out there, it's great that DS9 finally has some personnel who can back Jadzia up if she gets stopped (or if you choose to use Ezri instead).
• George Primmin (Starfleet Security) (Favor the Bold) - Cheap stop prevention for DS9. Choose to stop him when you can, and let your big guns sail through.
• Quark (Vastly Outnumbered) (Allegiance) - He's part of the Vastly Outnumbered team, but even at full cost, two counters is a small price to pay to download any card you want in the right deck.
• William Ross (Temporary Ally) (Virtual Promo, Raise the Stakes) - DS9's "artifact personnel," this guy's skill list fills many DS9 holes while giving you another (DS9)(Fed) Treachery (while facing dilemmas). Even worth playing at full cost.
• U.S.S. Centaur (Patrolling Ship) (Legacy) - This card would've seen play just by being a low cost, low staffing, 8 Range DS9 ship. With the ability, it is amazing. Even when you build a deck around one of the Defiants or the Sao Paolo, it's worth having this one on hand.
• U.S.S. Sao Paolo (NCC-75633) (This Side of Paradise) - The ultimate kill prevention card. For those times when you really, really don't want to get destaffed on a Defiant-Class ship.

Bajoran

• Chalan Aroya (Accessible Restaurateur) (This Side of Paradise) - She has some nice skills which are uncommonly found on Bajorans, and a bonus card retrieval ability too.
• Shakaar Edon (First Minister of Bajor) (Raise the Stakes) - An "artifact personnel" for the Bajorans, he should be cost zero no matter what Integrity mission you complete first.

Cardassian

• Evek (Agent of Cardassian Justice) (Legacy) - This guy is the cornerstone for most capture decks these days. If you've already got one built, add him, and you won't be disappointed.
• Korinas (Observer from the Obsidian Order) (This Side of Paradise) - If you're already running a Tain/Motivation Intelligence deck, she'll fit right in and help you meet Gomtuu's Integrity requirements.
• The Central Command (Allegiance) - Heavy-hitting multi-stop prevention. A new Cardassian staple.

Dominion

• Breen Founder (Persuader) (Raise the Stakes) - The Dominion's "artifact Personnel." She has a bunch of nice skills and good attributes.
• Dikut'ukan (Raise the Stakes) - Cheap Jem'Hadar who helps with skill cheating (and helps make up for the exorbitant cost of most Founders).
• Weyoun (Scheming Negotiator) (The Undiscovered Country) - He has the skills your Jem'Hadar don't, and retrieval to help you recover from kills.
• Vorta Discipline (Peak Performance) - This card is the other half of Our Death is Glory to the Founders: a way to destroy events that are already in play. Odds are you won't need the other effect, but who knows?

Terok Nor

• Peak Performance revolutionized non-Dissident Terok Nor, to the point where discussing individual cards here isn't very worthwhile. Just go take a look at the cards in that set, and keep in mind Tenak'Talar from Legacy, Tenuous Alliance from Raise the Stakes, and Weyoun from The Undiscovered Country.

Editor's Note: This article will continue tomorrow in Part 2.

-djl-