The Echo Over the Voice

by Charlie Plaine, Director of First Edition

27th January 2023

"Jean-Luc... how'd you like a trip to Romulus?"
"With or without the rest of the fleet?"
- Admiral Janeway and Captain Picard, Star Trek: Nemesis

Just over 20 years ago, Star Trek: Nemesis debuted in theaters and brought the TNG-era of films to a close. As a tie-in with the movie, Decipher released Second Edition a week later, and that largely meant Nemesis would go unrepresented in First Edition - until now. The Continuing Committee is proud to announce Nemesis, a 54-card virtual expansion based around not just the 10th movie, but all of the TNG-era Star Trek films. Nemesis will be released on Friday, February 10th and legal one week later, on Friday, February 17th, 2023. From now until then, you will find daily spoilers, articles and more here on this website. And don't forget to follow us on Social Media (Facebook, Twitter) for even more spoilers!

Before I talk about the expansion itself, I want to take some time to thank all of the volunteers who worked diligently on this expansion. Not only did we have our core design team (introduced below) working on Nemesis, but dozens of other volunteers across multiple teams did so as well. For months, our teams of testers, artists, proofreaders, writers, rules masters and creative volunteers worked to make this expansion shine. I hope you'll join me in thanking them, for all that they have done and that they'll continue to do to keep the game alive. Now, with appropriate thanks given to all of the 1E volunteers, I'd like to introduce to you the 4 member design team for Nemesis:

Dan Hamman [SirDan], Lead Designer
Designer Profile: Dan Hamman
Dan is one of the most prolific First Edition designers, having led teams for 8 projects and worked on an additional 9. Nemesis is Dan's first standard-sized expansion in a leadership role since 2018, as he took time to focus on his duties as (former) Warehouse Manager and Balance Team lead. He hasn't missed a beat though, and his hands-on approach and leadership style led to many late night meetings and a great finished product.

Cristoffer Wiker [Smiley], Assistant Designer
Designer Profile: Cristoffer Wiker
Cristoffer, or Stoffe as he likes to be called, is one of the longest-serving First Edition volunteers. He's also served on almost ever team within the department, including being a former Brand Manager. Nemesis is only his 4th official design credit, but that doesn't truly represent how much work he's put into the game in his time with the CC. Which is impressive, given that he's a professional game designer as well! Stoffe is always pushing us to reduce complexity and barriers to entry, and the expansion is a better product for it.

Daniel Matteson [OKCoyote], Assistant Designer
Designer Profile: Daniel Matteson
Daniel, our newly minted Director of Communications, had Nemesis as his first design project worked start-to-finish. He had previously contributed to 2020's A Private Little War, but had to step back fairly early on in that project's development. That was not the case for Nemesis, where Daniel was able to flex his design muscles properly and provide major contributions to the expansion's finished product. I'm not sure how much his new role will allow him to work on 1E in the future, but if he finds time, we'll be happy to have him.

Brian Sykes [Armus], Assistant Designer
Designer Profile: Brian Sykes
Brian is a skilled player, tournament director, and deck designer; now, with Nemesis, he adds 1E designer to his credentials. Brian's skill ensures that the competitive player's point of view was well represented, much as Stoffe did for the casual player. His logical approach improved Nemesis immeasurably, and I'm excited that he's already signed on to several other projects coming your way in the future.

Because the release of Star Trek: Nemesis coincided with the debut of Second Edition, there wasn't a lot of content from the film in First Edition. Decipher managed to sneak a single card into All Good Things, but that was it for the 10th film. Over the next 15 years, The Continuing Committee would add 23 more virtual cards and alternate-image promos with the Star Trek: Nemesis property logo, but nothing that would really allow a "movie Romulan" or "Reman" deck to be played. Correcting that was one of the primary objectives of this expansion, and I'm pleased to say the design team has succeeded. Nemesis (the expansion) has 35 cards with the Star Trek: Nemesis property logo plus one mission - Confront Duplicate. This mission, featuring both the Romulan and Federation affiliation icons, captures the climax of Nemesis (the movie) in a single new card. And while this expansion isn't split equally between Romulan and Federation cards (since the have so many more existing cards), the "good guys" do get represented here.

In fact, we've got a new Jean-Luc Picard for you - the 2nd version with the icon. Nemesis Picard features classic Picard skills and attributes, with the notable addition of Geology as a nod to the rocky terrain where they would find B-4. He also features a special download of Escape, which is a new interrupt that will allow you to save a crew or Away Team from imminent death. Jean-Luc is the only Federation card we're showing off today, but rest assured he isn't alone. You'll find several of his crew mates also appearing in Nemesis as the expansion is spoiled over the next 2 weeks. But it's not just Star Trek: Nemesis providing new toys for decks, there are new toys for any player - including one of the most requested pieces of game text of all time.

The largest swath of cards in Nemesis is for our green bordered friends - both Romulan and Reman. Romulan players get one of my favorite cards here, Senate Chamber. This new Headquarters facility won't work with either of the existing HQs, but does give you a nice swath of new free reports. Not only do you get access to all of the new OFFICERs in Nemesis, there are a total of 28 V.I.P.s that can also report to the Senate Chamber for free. And as a headquarters, this all-property logo Romulan deck is a great candidate for HQ: Executive Orders to fuel card draws. It's a very different kind of Romulan deck that plays differently than the existing options, which I personally find to be a lot of fun.

Of course, the Remans - introduced in Star Trek: Nemesis - are equally fascinating. Having only appeared in that movie and one episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, there isn't an abundances of source material for them. In spite of that, our design team has managed to add multiple new ways to play these night-bound warriors. In fact, it was this exchange from the movie that inspired a big piece of the Reman design:

"But they also have the reputation of being formidable warriors. In the Dominion War, Reman troops were used as assault forces in the most violent encounters."
"Cannon fodder."
- Riker and Picard, Star Trek: Nemesis

The idea of Remans being "cannon fodder" inspired the idea that they could show up in numbers, and that death wouldn't have a lot of sentimental meaning for their species. This is well-represented in a new incident, In Darkness There is Strength. With this card, you can play a Reman for free each time you play a Reman - though not just anywhere. The original Reman must be played from hand, so downloads don't count. They must also be played to an OUTPOST or to Remus (Supervise Dilithium Mine) to summon the free reinforcement. And don't worry, there are other cards in this expansion that will allow you to turn Remus into an engine for more than just your deck.

There's also a cycle of unique Reman-related cards that continue this theme of chaining free plays. Take a look at Upexi, who brings SECURITY, OFFICER, Exobiology, and Computer Skill to the table. However, if you play him from hand, his special skill lets you immediately play an equipment for free. Thus, if you have In Darkness There is Strength out, you can play Upexi as a card play and also get to play an equipment and a Reman - 3 cards for 1 card play. Not bad, right? Maybe your free Reman is Thexor, who could then let you download a Reman Disruptor Rifle (which finally appears in Nemesis) as well, netting you a 4th card. The Remans are bursting with possibility, especially as you use them during the course of the game. But you'll find out more about that over the next week of spoilers and articles.

Finally, we wanted to make sure there were a few new toys for more than Enterprise-E and/or Romulan players. Our designers took the opportunity to create some new versions of cards from First Contact (both the film and the expansion), including a new affiliation Vulcan Lander. While it doesn't drastically reinvent the original card, it does gain a skill in its new color, matching most of the other Vulcan ships. It's one piece of the puzzle that will let you all recreate the titular first contact between Vulcans and Humans. I admit to being partial, but this deck was one of my favorites during testing and I can't wait to share it all with you as we reveal more and more of Nemesis.

I know I've only shown you a brief taste of Nemesis, but there is so much more to get excited about. Between now and our February 10th, 2023 release date, you'll get to see new cards on this website every day. Our talented writing team is hard at work on articles, deck lists, and even more content to show off this beautiful expansion filled with fun cards. And I know our communications department will be spoiling even more cards on Facebook and Twitter. We invite you to discuss all of this content on our Gameplay (1E) forum here on The Continuing Committee's website, where you will find a Q&A thread where the design team will answer questions as you ask them. Finally, you'll be able to put Nemesis to use when it becomes legal on Friday, February 17th. Thank you for reading, and we hope your excited to recreate favorite moments from Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis!

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