In The Cards: "The Doomsday Machine"

by Michael Shea, Designer and Volunteer

25th April 2020

Fellow players, these are strange times we're living in.

I hope each of you who are reading this are as happy and healthy as you can be. If you're like me, you're currently living under "shelter-in-place" orders as the world grapples with a new and dangerous threat in the COVID-19 virus. On the bright side of things, this involuntary isolation has given me time to enjoy pleasures I normally can't fit into my hectic daily schedule. Among these is a chance to go back and look at some of my favorite episodes of the various Star Trek franchises. This gave me the idea to look at the Second Edition cards inspired by those episodes and consider how those cards have effected game play over the years, how they're being used currently, and what future ideas for cards those episodes might yield. This will be the first in a series of articles on that theme. I call this series, "In the Cards." I hope you enjoy them.

For this first installment of "In the Cards" I look at the Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2 episode "The Doomsday Machine". Inspired by Herman Melville's Moby Dick it is the story of a Commodore who loses his crew and command to an automated super-weapon and then becomes obsessed with that weapon's destruction.  This episode features William Windom as Commodore Matt Decker and is consistently ranked among the top episodes not only of The Original Series but within all of Trek across all franchises. In this article, I'll be looking at Matt Decker, Vengeful Commodore; U.S.S. Constellation, Dead Hulk; and the virtual alternate image version of Personal Duty; all three of which are inspired by the events depicted in "The Doomsday Machine" I'll then discuss a relatively recent deck using all of these cards. Finally, I'll speculate about possible future card ideas that could be inspired by events in this episode.*

I'll start with Personal Duty. This dilemma is a mainstay of attrition piles and damage piles alike. It's an almost guaranteed multi-stop against affiliations and factions heavy in Leadership and/or Officer like The Cardassians, The Dominion, just about any faction of The Federation except Maquis, The Klingons, The Romulans, and Terok Nor. However, as neither Leadership nor Officer are uncommon skills, and as this dilemma doesn't care which skill triggers it, it's a safe bet (though certainly not a guarantee) to stop at least two or three personnel in a typical mission attempt from just about every affiliation except Borg. At cost 2 it is very efficient for its stopping-power. It's a space dilemma so it gets the discount from The Conscience of the King while also being immune to the Stakoron penalty. It's a great set-up for cards like Gomtuu Shockwave and Where No One Has Gone Before and while neither combo is exactly imaginative they are both highly effective. This dilemma is so ubiquitous that it has been used in 4886 uploaded decks and it was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.

Matt Decker, Vengeful Commodore is a staple noun of the Federation faction. He's seen play in 390 uploaded decks, and it's not hard to see why. His skill matrix is a solid •Engineer •Exobiology •Leadership •Officer •Security and he's immune to another staple dilemma, An Issue of Trust. At a cost of 2 he's also typically low-costed for the faction with an event destruction ability that can be activated for a cost increase of +3. His low Integrity means he's not terribly good for getting by some key dilemmas and he's an outlier for the faction, but he makes Adopted Authority a one-stop consumed dilemma so there is an up-side to that low attribute. And, while his •Officer skill means he is vulnerable to Personal Duty, he also benefits from cards like Driven and he's downloadable with Uhura, Experienced Technician. Given that he outfought a rather imposing-looking security officer in "The Doomsday Machine", I'm not sure why he has a Strength of 5, but it's not terribly important in the grand scheme of things as he's still a solid card.

His doomed ship; U.S.S. Constellation, Dead Hulk; is also a popular inclusion for the faction, being used in 407 uploaded decks. Like other ships, she can be played for a low cost if you meet the requirements, and for a cost increase of +2 she gives you limited access to your discard pile. The combination of cheap, easily staffed ships with cheap personnel that is known for also make them one of the most attractive options for battle-themed attack decks. I've used this build myself and I can tell you that in an unprepared meta it can be absolutely devastating, even more so after the release of Sacrifice of Angels. Maybe it's time to dust it off and update it for some fresh carnage... fair warning Atlanta players.

A relatively recent winnign deck using all three of today's cards was played with success by Kris Stonesby, aka LORE, in November of last year. The deck utilized the solving power of skill-rich personnel with the aforementioned Driven as well as a popular and effective Federation event Security Drills. The TOS headquarters Earth, Lush and Beautiful Home gives the player a draw advantage, though the addition of a Nagata or two would not be unwelcome. Ronald Tracey, Delusional Captain and Sigmund Freud, Father of Psychoanalysis can easily get around the popular wall Nothing to Lose. Benjamin Sisko, Command Staffer makes his appearance for verb control, Benjamin Finney, Bitter Records Officer gives the player some response against certain skill-heavy affiliations (Bajorans with Honor, Ferengi with Acquisition, Cardassians with Treachery, etc.), and Josephs is there for the dual-HQ hate. The dilemma pile is a mixed Chula-attrition pile. It's not terribly fancy but it's slim and versatile and excellent at what it does. Paired with the speed of a typical and well-played solver, it's a winning combo!

Another curious omission, however, from the draw deck is Hikaru Sulu, Experienced Helmsmen, especially given his ability to place a ship and the inclusion of the mission Advanced Battle Simulation. In fact, Hikaru Sulu, Savage Security Chief would work just as well and provide another to ward off Rogue Borg Ship. Also curious is the absence of any equipment given the inclusion of Ronald Tracy and his matching ship in the deck as well as the ubiquity of dilemmas like Rogue Borg Ambush, Breaking the Ice, and We'll Never Know. But, the omission of these cards could very well be meta choices that make a lot of sense for LORE's playgroup. If you're a newer player, or new to , and you're looking for a template for an effective deck to build off of, you could certainly do worse than starting with a deck like this one. Of course, you could always also start with the basic updated beginner deck created by Ambassador Lucas Thompson, which uses two of the cards discussed here.

And now it's time to let my imagination wander. What kind of cards might this episode inspire? Perhaps a interrupt allowing an Officer personnel to add their Cunning to their Strength in combat or while facing a dilemma? Or, perhaps there's something in the moment Decker decides to sacrifice himself in an attempt to redeem himself, atone for the loss of his crew, and save the crew the Enterprise. Maybe there's a way to bring to life one of the fan's favorite moments of the episode - when Kirk from the Constellation says, "Gentlemen, I suggest you beam me aboard." - as a card similar to escape or as a card which somehow derives benefit from having the skill •Transporters present. Or, it's possible the destruction of the Planet Killer as inspiration might yield some interesting prospects for themed event destruction or as some kind of bonus or benefit for a successful engagement, perhaps even at the cost of a ship. Such a card might serve as further inducement to battle, or could even be flipped to provide protection from it if battle-themed decks begin to dominate the meta for too long. Good designers are always striving to find new and exciting moments to depict on cards, but they're also keenly aware that the game has to stay fun and balanced. This episode certainly contains ample fodder for design to draw from in future sets. 

I hope you've enjoyed this inaugural edition of "In the Cards." Join me next week as I explore the ways the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Conspiracy" has inspired designers and players of Second Edition. Until next time, stay well, be healthy, and Live Long and Prosper.

- Michael Shea, The Prefect

*Please note: speculation on future card ideas is just that: speculation. And, that speculation is mine alone. They may not even be good ideas. This speculation should not be taken as as an indication of things to come, and any resemblance ideas in this article might have to future cards is purely accidental. 

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