Mere Anarchy

by Matt Kirk, Second Edition Creative Manager

30th May 2017

About a year ago, A Time to Stand split up the Maquis into two separate headquarters missions with fairly specific goals: Athos IV would continue to support the classic Maquis deck using For The Cause, while Quatal Prime implemented a new strategy, incentivizing players to use events that played on missions. "New Maquis" decks have been growing in popularity, and have been seen during the 2017 Regional season, even taking 1st place in the Romulus region under the command of Lucas Thompson. And while the Maquis' Phase II boost was more of a mechanical adjustment than an actual power boost, Quatal Prime now receives a few more weapons in their arsenal to wreak havoc on your opponent's missions.

The new DMZ mission, Soltok IV, is exactly what the Quatal Maquis deck wants to see. With low-cost Maquis ships, it's not very difficult to start transporting those "medical supplies" on your second turn! Card advantage plays perfectly into the Quatal player's hand, freeing up precious counters to be spent on oppressive events like Outmaneuvered and Biogenic Weapon. Its requirements are also right in the Maquis' wheelhouse; Santos, Squad Leader even has three of its four skills covered, and Treachery is plentiful in most Maquis decks.

We finally get to see Michael Jonas on a personnel card, but perhaps not in a way you might expect in a Voyager deck. Instead, Art has been able to show us what Jonas might have been doing before he joined Chakotay's crew aboard the Val Jean. He avoids getting involved directly, instead preferring to boost his comrades' efforts by returning to his owner's hand when the fighting begins. This boost can be useful both in battle, but also in giving your Maquis personnel an edge in attempting missions. The boost lasts until the end of the turn, so if you can stack him aboard the Cosette with Ro Laren, Hostiities Unleashed becomes a way to both deter your opponent and permanently give your teams boosted attributes.

And then there's Ralami, whose appearance marks an important development for both Quatal Prime and Athos IV - she's the first Maquis personnel to have 2 Security naturally! She's also got a great way to sneak into your opponent's missions as an Infilitrator, enabling an entirely different suite of chicanery for the Maquis; Undercover Resource, Under Suspicion, and Misdirection pair up beautifully with Not Easily Taken, paving the way for a new attribute denial Maquis dilemma strategy. Did I mention she was non-unique so you can infiltrate all of your opponent's planet missions?

These three new cards give the Maquis access to a whole new catalog of disruption; skilled players will be able to exploit this in giving their opponents even more devilish nightmares during mission attempts. If you happen to sit down across from a Quatal Prime player this summer, be prepared for anything - these new additions give the Maquis a lot more bite than you might expect.

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