Observe... Greatness!

by Jason Robinette, Lead Designer (1E)

4th April 2011

“In that frame of reference, the perihelion of Mercury would have precessed in the opposite direction." – Descent, Pt. I

I’m sure the above phrase prompted a few nerdgasms when it aired, and now thanks to Shades of Gray, players can recreate that moment in Star Trek history themselves!

Stephen Hawking completes the holo-genius trifecta, boasting their characteristic high CUNNING value.  He does have the highest skill count among his partners, which also makes him the hardest to download.  Unless, that is, you’re also running the new Holoprogram: Historical Poker Game.

The Holoprogram is a useful way to filter through your deck, and if you can get Data in the mix you’re actually drawing enough cards to come out ahead.  Depending on the speed of your deck, this extra drawing could be extremely useful.  The U.S.S. Sutherland is not a bad ship for this purpose.

The Feds will use this combo most frequently, but actually almost anyone can benefit from it (although it probably won't be as efficient to set it up).  The trick with this combo is seeding it.  Simply by seeding a Husnock Outpost, Husnock Ship, and Holoprogram: Historical Poker Game, you’ve got the tools to get started.  Since the Holoprogram lets you download the main players, setting this up shouldn’t be too difficult.  Getting Data is a little trickier, however… but short of blowing the ship up, it’s a fairly reliable engine.    Is it worth it?  I suppose that’s also up to you...

So, if you use Assign Mission Specialists to get Sir Isaac Newton and Assign Support Personnel to get Albert Einstein, you’ve got the bulk of the engine set up.   Give up a card play and you’re all set (as quickly as turn 1!) to start observing some of the greatness in your deck!