Ah, Necessary Evil, the set so infamous because Decipher couldn't pay their bills and there was a limited print on it. I remember the store owner charging me full retail for a box (he usually gave us a discount). I was so pissed and called my buddy Len Neidorf, "What the **** man, this guy jacked me up!" He told me he paid the same and about the limited print. It was 2004, I was a very angry young man back then... the beginning of my 'Russian Descent'... but we're not here for those stories.
Some people revere this set, but I have mixed feelings. Remembering the games with non-unique Party Atmosphere and fifty events on the table, or cheese decks with Running a Tight Ship doesn't bring back the good feelings of nostalgia we're going for these days.
Speaking of nostalgia, Necessary Evil is the first set were we see the Artifact keyword. In First Edition (1E) these were their own card types and they usually did super-powerful things. In Second Edition (2E) they, in my opinion, lost all their luster and simply became cards (usually events, sometimes equipment) that were powerful (or should have been), but required you to complete an Acquisition, Anthropology, or Archaeology mission before you could play it. Personally, I hated this mechanic. Those were the days of speed, speed, speed and a card in my hand early on that I couldn't play offended my Trek philosophy.
So when trying to capture the "feel" of Necessary Evil, my mind went straightaway towards The Stone of Gol and I'm not quite sure why. As a designer I'm like Tyrion Lannister, I have a soft spot for cripples, bastards and broken things. I've seen Ressikan Flute used in TNG Integrity micro-team decks. Most of us have seen a The Sword of Kahless deck by now. I even sat through a silly game at Worlds, once, where Matt Kirk was sifting through a 100+ card dilemma pile with Thought Maker. But I've yet to play against anyone rocking The Stone of Gol. But, I think, that's more a commentary of the theme of combat in 2E's history than of the card itself.
So if you're looking to combine nostalgia with artifacts there's really only one conclusion: Varon-T Disruptor. In 1E this was a straight forward card that simply doubled the strength of all your personnel. I can remember the days of 1E, flying around, feeling like a badass, carrying my Varon-T. Then beaming down and completely massacring my opponent's away team. 30-strength Fek'lhr w/ Varon-T mortally wounding a 1-strength Exocomp, what's not to love?
So in 2E our Varon-T is a sister card to The Stone of Gol. Both kill an opponent's personnel when you begin a combat. The difference here is that the Varon-T kills the one with the highest integrity. That do-gooder had it coming anyways! When I designed this card, I fully envisioned Limara'son running full-blast and double-fisted with the Stone and Varon-T going out in a blaze of glory. Now if you don't like that, then you don't like fun.
I'm out, suck it monkeys!
JC
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