Realm of Fear

by Nathan Miracle, Designer

11th April 2025

"We talked about confronting my fears. The best way out is through. You said that once, remember?"

-Reginald Barclay, Realm of Fear

Welcome to Realm of Fear, the 65th expansion for Star Trek Second Edition! Over the next two weeks we will reveal 35 brand new cards, all legal starting on May 2nd, 2025. Today I want to talk about high level themes within the expansion, and address the elephant in the room.

No More Cards

"You know the greatest danger facing us is ourselves, an irrational fear of the unknown."

-James T. Kirk, The Corbomite Maneuver

In 2006, Decipher released Genesis, a 27-card expansion touted as being entirely backwards-compatible with First Edition. It also introduced Second Edition's first cards (aside from the James T. Kirk, Youngest Captain in Starfleet). Earth, Lush and Beautiful Home would not be released until March of the following year, so Decipher needed a way for players to use these shiny new cards. The solution was to declare that movie-era personnel would have both and icons.

A couple of years later that guideline was amended to exclude The Motion Pictures itself, though it was never clear what Deciphers intentions were towards that movie in the first place. A smattering of movie-era Federation personnel found their way into the game, but we have yet to receive a full-on movie-based strategy. And frankly, so long as the movies qualified for both the icon and the icon, we were never going to see such a strategy. It would either be equally open to and , or it would have to jump through a lot of hoops to be unplayable in those decks. The idea of removing the icon from these cards has been discussed for years. One of the biggest obstacles to effecting this change was that a handful of the cards were tailor made for Paranoia decks. Two of the major themes in Realm of Fear revolve around making sure still has what it needs and that the Paranoia-related cards still have a reason to exist.

Paradise Lost: Deep Space 9-Earth

"There is no greater enemy than one's own fears."

"It takes a brave man to face them."

-Martok and Worf, By Inferno's Light

Paranoia succeeded in giving a distinct flavor. But it has never proven a very powerful strategy. Realm of Fear seeks not only to replace the loss of cards like Lance Cartwright (Co-conspirator), but also to boost Paranoia strategies in general. We start this theme with Rapid Deployment, a new Paranoia card that encourages you to bring a healthy contingent of Security personnel while forsaking any non- personnel. Of course, Odo (Surreptitious Ally) can still get invited to the party, as the cost reduction and cost increase cancel each other out for him.

In addition to traditional Paranoia decks, Realm of Fear builds on a theme originally introduced in Warp Pack: Access Denied with Black Operation. Expect to see a few cards in Realm of Fear that strengthen the bond between Cadets and Paranoia.

Hamlet, Act Three, Scene One: Original Series Paranoia and Peacemaking

"Bones, are you afraid of the future?"

"I believe that was the general idea that I was trying to convey."

-James T. Kirk and Leonard H. McCoy, The Undiscovered Country

Valeris (Faithless Protégée) directly references Paranoia cards, which would have been exceptionally odd if did not have access to any of them. We knew going in that they would have to receive at least one such card. Actually, they are getting two, but for today we will look at Let Them Die. Realm of Fear allows you to play as the conspirators plotting to assassinate both Chancellor Gorkon and the President of the Federation. Rather than killing large numbers of personnel, this strategy seeks to eliminate specific personnel. Patrick West (Co-Conspirator) already plays into this strategy, turning random assassinations into targeted ones. Let Them Die makes it all the more difficult for your opponent to replace those critical pieces.

Of course, not everybody wants to play as the bad guys. Realm of Fear also includes many of the peacemakers who want to join Spock (Statesman) in reaching out to the Klingons by virtue of attempting missions. You might choose to focus entirely on the conspirators, or entirely on peacemaking, or balance the two within the same deck.

Other Intelligence (and Paramilitary) Operations

"You know as well as I do that fear only exists for one purpose. To be conquered."

-Kathryn Janeway, The Thaw

With the primary themes established, Realm of Fear needed a few more cards for players who do not care about the Paranoia strategies. These cards do tend to keep towards an Intelligence theme, but spread it out to several other affiliations. Flaming Brand provides fuel for Bajoran Resistance cards which can destroy Hand Weapons to pay the cost on their personnel. The expansion also has a variety of dilemmas. Some, like If the Shoe Fits, Wear It! are plays on existing dilemmas, but some are entirely new.

Be sure to check back each day for new cards between now and April 25th!

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