The Captain's "Guest"

by Darren Lacoste, Editor in Chief

10th August 2009

Being a starship Captain does have its rewards, as does being Editor in Chief. One of the most 'behind the scenes' volunteer positions within The Continuing Committee, I get the opportunity to work with many different departments, from the First and Second Edition Writing Teams to the Department of Game Development. My role in working with the latter is to help with proofreading and determining new cards' titles and lore. Occasionally, I even get to suggest game text; such was the case with The Captain's "Guest."

A cousin of Moral Choice, The Captain's "Guest" is also a two-cost, dual dilemma. The two cards have very similar game text, but instead of targeting Federation-affiliation personnel, "Guest" targets personnel with keywords. Which keywords? That's for the dilemma's owner to decide:

"Your opponent names a keyword. Randomly select three personnel. If any of those personnel has that keyword, they are all stopped. Otherwise, choose one of those personnel to be stopped."

So, what decks would this dilemma work well against? I've got a few suggestions. Topping the list would be any flavor of deck involving The Borg. Since nearly every Borg-affiliation personnel in the game has the Drone. keyword, you'd be hard-pressed to randomly select three Borg personnel and not find a drone among them. Have you ever played against a well-honed Cadet deck? The low-cost characteristic of personnel with the Cadet. keyword gives any deck full of them incredible speed. Why not slow them down with a visit from Vash? Are you tired of losing to the Guidance of the Council decktype? With all those personnel with the Chancellor. and High Council Member. keywords running about, you're sure to hit them hard with a three-stop.

The entries on this list go on and on. And with this dilemma's versatility, you'll be prepared for all of them, from combat-crazed Bajorans with the Bajoran Resistance. keyword, to Pickpocketing Cargo Pirates with the Thief. keyword, to Mutants touting the Genetically Enhanced. keyword. Just be wary of Commanders utilizing Captain's Log, as the random selection "Guest" brings to the table just might result in zero valid targets.

-djl-