Promo-a-Week: Suna

by Charlie Plaine, Director of First Edition

7th December 2020

"Frame of Mind," from the sixth season of The Next Generation, is one of my all-time favorite episodes. It's a psychological mystery story, where both the main character - Riker - and the viewer are made unsure of what is real and what is not. The effects are cool and it's fun to watch over multiple viewings. And it's been well represented since the early days of First Edition, with the dilemma Frame of Mind appearing in Alternate Universe. Three years later, the Official Tournament Sealed Deck would bring us the dial-a-skill objective Reflection Therapy, and the subject of today's article, Suna.

Suna, the antepenultimate entry in our Promo-a-Week series for 2020, is a personnel with SECURITY-classification, as well as the MEDICAL and Treachery skill. His attributes aren't anything to write about, with 3 INTEGRITY, 7 CUNNING, and 4 STRENGTH. He does have a Star Trek: The Next Generation property logo, which means you can use him without fear in any Continuing Mission based deck - he'll even give you a card draw. And he's universal, which means if you need the skills in multiple, he can provide.

But let's be honest - none of the above are why Suna is a good personnel, or why he gets used - it's his special skill. "Once per game, may download Reflection Therapy." This ability isn't quite as good as a special download, because you don't get to suspend play and break normal timing rules. It's an order, so you have to use it during the orders phase of your turn, before or after a mission attempt. But though it's not "cheat-during-a-mission" attempt good, it's still getting a skill on demand - something we in the business call "dial-a-skill." And though Reflection Therapy does the work, Suna is the mastermind behind it and he makes it work. All you need is more Treachery than Honor, and low and behold, Suna has Treachery. Beam Suna down with any non-Honorable victim, and you can turn any skill into the skill you need.

We hope you enjoy this new, high resolution version of this classic card. We have just two more cards left to show you in the Promo-a-Week Series 2020, so check back each of the next two Mondays to close out 2020 with even more new promos!

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