Be the Hero

by Ross Fertel, Pantheon

14th May 2021

Heroes and Demons is tournament legal today. There is a lot that is added to the game with these fifty-four cards but one of the main themes are the Next Generation Dissidents who like being around Non-Aligned Honor. It is implicit that you just use the Ba'ku personnel in the set, but you are not forced to use them. You can if you want, and probably should but for no other reason than to use their synergistic skills, but they are not the entirety of Non-Aligned Honor in the game. A quick scan reveals some standouts worthy of joining the ranks and making the deck better.

Coming from Necessary Evil, Aaron Connor, Born Leader and Martin Benback, Strict Interpreter like your opponent having more than one headquarters mission. It is not a guarantee, but both have a shot at getting their theoretical cost reduced when played.

On a similar spectrum, Borta, Son of Mogh and Miranda O'Brien, Proud Descendent, both from Matter of Time, offer event and interrupt prevention with a few snags. For one, your opponent has to command more than one headquarters mission. Also, it is limited to one a turn. Not something you can assure but a good bonus if stars align. Speaking of forcing a discard of events your opponent commands, Thadiun Okona, Outrageous Rogue plays in that field though the choice is up to your opponent.

One of the themes from past sets that will not work with the Ba'ku strategy is the Vulcan Dissidents. They like missions worth 40 or more points and none of the missions in the Briar Patch are worth that much. Thankfully, Delvok's gametext does not go down that route and just has good skills at an appropriate cost.

Alurra might be nice to everyone according to her subtitle, but with The Next Generation, she is nicer to you. The generally higher cost for personnel is mitigated with her special ability, especially at a low cost. The Next Generation is no stranger to turning a disadvantage into an advantage.

Synergy with a Chula Dilemma Pile might not come to mind with this deck build, but Falow, Gamemaster can help get your dilemmas out in an efficient manner. While the deck does have a lot of tools in this regard, it does not especially lend itself to a dilemma pile but Falow can offer a hint if you want to go in that direction.

The deck does rely on discarding several personnel, but with John Doe, Emergent Alien, you can reroute your plans and get those personnel back as opposed to simply discarding them at the end and winning the game. More options are always great.

There are not a lot of Space missions in the deck, but you will more than likely beeline for Sector 441, Analyze Radiation. Neelix, Valued Guide gets a boost for each completed space mission so while he is not optimized, you will bet some mileage out of him.

There are also good skill heavy non-uniques such as Bhavani, Inad, Nydrom and Togaran not to mention unique personnel Brull, Encampment Leader, and Mona Luvsitt, Valet along with old standbys of Tosk, The Hunted and Vina, Orion Slave Girl.

As you take moments to have a reflection on these people worth fighting for, be true to your heart bringing honor to us all and making a man out of you! [Editors note: We are unaware of an animated musical film taking place in the Han Dynasty.]

These are the card that jump out to me. What did I miss? Let me know in the forum thread linked below. This expansion would not be possible without the efforts of Rules, Art, Creative, Proofreading and Art teams not to mention the Playtesters.

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