July 2024 First Edition Game Changes

by Charlie Plaine, Staff Writer

1st July 2024

The Department of First Edition welcomes you to the second half of 2024 with our July game changes update. In today's update, we are releasing a set of 16 errata all related to our changes to the "report with crew" mechanic. We began this process last year, aiming to replace "report with crew" with a more descriptive bit of gametext using "report with" instead. Today's update finalizes that change, which are largely non-functional changes. Additionally, we're adding several bonus point scoring cards to the Watch List.

With North American Continentals at the end of this month, European Continentals in mid-August, and the World Championship at the end of August, this will be the last regularly schedule game changes update before those events. As always, we reserve the right to make emergency changes at any time, including during this annual blackout period. However, such changes will be well communicated and made very clear if they happen. Thus, in order to maintain a consistent play environment for all of our major championships, there will be no regularly scheduled game changes update in August 2024.

Now, let's get into the game changes:

Modern Ban List
There are no additions to the Modern Ban List in this update, nor any cards being removed from the list at this time. Our Teams have been working hard on errata to many of the cards on this list, but nothing felt ready to be released prior to this year's major events. We will be using the next 2 months to get things tested and ready to come back in the last quarter of the year.

Errata
Today, we are issuing 16 errata to fully replace the term "report with crew" with a more explicit piece of game text that tells you exactly whom can report with the ships. This process has been started previously with errata to Space-Time Portal, but with today's changes is fully completed. There are very minor functional changes here, many of which are allowing for increased power over the original cards. One additional card, K'Temoc, is being changed here because his ship, the I.K.S. T'Ong, is being updated as well. Here are the changes for all 16 cards:

Full Complement of Shuttles
Today's change replaces the original "report with crew" with the new "report with up to 2 personnel." Here is the updated text:

Seeds or plays on table. At start of your turn, you may discard a non-personnel card to download to hand a shuttlecraft. Your Type 9 Shuttlecraft may report with up to 2 personnel aboard to your U.S.S. Voyager. At any time (limit twice per game), you may download Narrow Escape (even from your discard pile). Your ships are attributes all +3 in if opponent's non- ship in .

Sphere Encounter Sphere Encounter no longer uses the "report with crew" text but neither does it use the new "report with" text. Instead, this update replaces each of those terms with a spelled out description of what the card actually does. It has also been adjusted to reflect the new rules text indicating a mission has been scouted by the Borg. Here is the new gametext:

Seeds or plays on table. Each of your Borg spheres is RANGE +4. Just after opponent initiates an attempt at one of your missions with your on it, you may download there any number of personnel, equipment, and/or Borg spheres; each may initiate battle (regardless of your current objective) or move away.

Abduction Plot The gametext on the opponent's side of the mission has been updated, allowing any shuttlecraft to report with up to 2 personnel. Here is the new gametext on the opponent's side of the mission:

shuttlecraft may report with up to 2 personnel here.

Assist Damaged Vessel The gametext on the opponent's side of the mission has been updated, allowing ships to report with up to 2 personnel. Here is the new gametext on the opponent's side of the mission:

ships may report with up to 2 personnel here.

Assist Survivors The primary change to this mission is the gametext on the opponent's side. It takes advantage of our new "report with staffing" technology as well as the "You may do the thing once" timing, allowing a Husnock Ship to report with staffing once (per game). Additionally, the Rules Team took the opportunity to clarify the facing gametext by adding an icon. Here is the new gametext:

Your side: Rishon may seed face up here.
Opponent's side: Husnock Ship may report with staffing here once.

Investigate Incursion The opponent's side of this mission has been changed to allow ships to report with staffing at this mission. Here is the new gametext of the opponent's side:

Your ships may report with staffing here.

Both the Official Tournament Sealed Deck and the Official Tournament Sealed Deck Remastered versions of this card have been updated.

Legal Appeal Similar to Assist Survivors, Legal Appeal has been updated to allow the Edo Vessel to report with staffing once (per game). Here is the new gametext of the opponent's side:

Your ships may report with staffing here.

Recruit Ally Recruit Ally's gametext, which appears on both sides of the mission, has been updated to use the updated wording. Here is the new gametext on both sides:

Once solved, your Breen ships may report with staffing here.

Salvage Borg Ship In a change which I hope is not surprising at this point, the game text on the opponent's side of this mission has been updated. Here is the new gametext on both sides:

Your ships may report with staffing here.

K'Temoc In the only change not related to "report with," K'Temoc has been updated to properly name his ship, the I.K.S. T'Ong, which is also being updated today. His lore now reads:

Captain of the sleeper ship I.K.S. T'Ong, on a crucial mission ordered by the High Command in the late 23rd century. Awoke 75 years later in a much-changed galaxy.

Both the All Good Things and the Emissary: Supplemental versions of this card have been updated.

Bajoran Raider The Bajoran Raider is one of the only cards losing a bit of flexibility with this change. It can no longer report with just 1 personnel, it must report with 2. The updated text also reminds that each copy can use the once each turn text, and clarifies the X variable's definition. Here's the new gametext:

Once each turn, each copy may report with 2 personnel, take off, or land. X=4 in a region.

Borg Probe This ship's is adjusted too use the new wording, but retains the same gameplay. Here's the new gametext:

May report with up to 3 personnel to any Delta Quadrant location if your Borg Queen in play. Tractor Beam

Borg Scout Vessel The change to report with instead of report with crew was partly motivated by wanting to impose limits on the number of personnel that can be reported. Thus, Borg Scout Vessel gains a limit of 4 personnel in its rewording. Here's the new gametext:

May report with up to 4 personnel to a Transwarp Network Gateway (download if necessary) at any spaceline end.

Type 18 Shuttlepod Type 18 Shuttlepod also gain a limit in the change from "report with crew" to the updated wording. Here's the new gametext:

May report with up to 2 Navigation personnel to your Defiant -class ship.

I.K.S. T'Ong The T'Ong is the only card in this set of errata that is gaining "report with" text but did not start with "report with crew" text. However, it's always felt like it should have been, so we've taken the opportunity to update the T'Ong to use "report with." It's also the only mandatory report with action. Oh, and we've updated the name from IKC to IKS. Here's the new gametext:

Cloaking Device. Must report with up to 3 personnel at spaceline end.

Shuttlepod Two Shuttlepod Two now uses the new "report with" wording, allowing it to enter play with a single personnel. Here's the new gametext:

May report with 1 personnel to your NX-class ship.

Watch List
Today we are adding 3 more cards to the Watch List, all related to scoring bonus points. These 3 cards are considered by many players to be "too easy" to use, and thus are near the top of our list of potential changes. The Phoenix, George and Gracie, and Organ Theft are therefore all added to the Watch List effective immediately. Organ Theft, in particular, is of concern to many players after the release of Lifesigns.

A card is added to the Watch List when there are concerns about the card's impact to the health of the play environment. Watching a card allows the Department to keep a close eye on it's use and call up data on the card to make more informed decisions. Watching a card does not necessarily mean that something will happen to the card. While some cards on the Watch List to get added to the Modern Ban List or are issued errata, those changes aren't automatic because a card was being watched.

Thus ends the First Edition Game Changes update for July 2024. Please join me in thanking the hard working volunteers of the Department of First Edition. Our artists, balance experts, writers, testers, and rules masters work very hard to keep the game state happy and healthy. Please give them a shout out on the forums to let them know they are appreciated! This is the final regularly scheduled game changes update before the 2024 World Championships. Our next regularly scheduled update will be Monday, September 2nd.

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