The Changing Face of Mission Points

by Richard New, The Menagerie Lead Designer

11th July 2022

"Travel anywhere in Cardassia and what do you find? Jem'Hadar, Vorta, and now Breen. Instead of the invaders, we have become the invaded. Our allies have conquered us without firing a shot. Well, no longer."

-- Damar, "The Changing Face of Evil" Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Damar's Rebellion likely won the war for the Alpha Quadrant Alliance at a time when the Breen introduction had hobbled the Federation and Romulan fighting forces and only the Klingons stood between the Dominion and domination. By turning their attention to the Cardassians, the Dominion gave their enemies time to regroup and find a defense against the Breen power-dampening weapon.

But the path from Damar's secret meetings at Dominion headquarters to the devastated Cardassia Prime we see by the end of the Dominion War wasn't the intention or the result of a straight line. Damar moved off world to gather troops and equipment, sought guidance on running a insurgency from a former Bajoran Resistance fighter and her friends, were asked to run an errand for the Federation by stealing a ship with the Breen energy-dampening weapon, saw their troops and equipment crushed by the Dominion, felt despondent at the failure and loss of life, but kept persevering despite all of that to keep the ground forces busy while they simply hoped that the Federation and her allies put an end to the fighting once and for all.

The Cardassian Dissidents in the game are no different. Oh, they'll have a plan, but as a famous Earth military strategist once said: "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy." You have to have contingencies.

But first, what's the main plan? Well, that starts with the new headquarters. We're aware that this is the third Cardassia Prime headquarters and the third Cardassia Prime in just over two years, but I think you'll see that this one has very little overlap with the others. First of all, this one is dual-sided. The front, ignoring its order, is generally a classic Phase 2 headquarters, allowing a select group of personnel to play and banning another headquarters. This one, however, is even more restrictive than most, shrinking the pool of personnel that can play there to about two dozen (not taking unrevealed or repeat personas into account). It does, however, have a very important characteristic in common with the original Cardassia Prime: it's card title.

Being named Cardassia Prime brings in a collection of cards that reference Cardassia Prime by name, including Brief Reunion, (appropriately)For All Our Sons, and (also appropriately) Kira Nerys (Starfleet Emissary). And while capturing is a Cardassian strength, it's probably not going to be the main focus of a Cardassian Dissidents deck. Still, there is Cardassian Processing and Swift Justice if you want to take advantage of Ekoor's Arrest Order.

But the original Cardassia Prime has all of that and more. And so we get to the Order. If you command two completed missions worth 30 points, the headquarters flips to become a mission itself. This planet version of Cardassia Prime retains the title, so all of the cards in the previous paragraph still apply, but also includes game text that allows personnel and equipment to still be played, like a soft headquarters. And while this mission only gives 10 additional points, it does give a bonus for copies of For Cardassia! you've used throughout the game.

So, back to the question: what's the main plan? The simplest path to victory is to complete two 30-point missions with a For Cardassia! rallying war cry at each one, then flip the headquarters and storm the castle (30 + 10 + 30 + 10 + 10 + 2 x 5 = 100). But what happens if your For Cardassia!'s crash and burn, either because you have trouble drawing into them or they get discarded by a clever opponent? Well, time for a contingency plan. As long as you pull off at least one For Cardassia!, you could simply complete three 30-point missions (30 + 30 + 30 + 10 = 100). Of course, if you lose all your copies, I would personally fill my last mission slot with Kelvas V (Steal Breen Armament) and throw a hail marry (30 + 30 + 40 = 100). Of course, maybe you lose your last For Cardassia! while attempting your third 30-pointer. Then, flip the headquarters and free your homeworld for the last 10 (30 + 30 + 30 + 10 = 100).

This deck is not for the player that doesn't want to think on their feet, but if that's the type of challenge you prefer, you can easily set up the deck to find multiple ways to get to the goal.

In fact, flexibility is the hallmark of the Cardassian Dissident deck. They have several new personnel, but get a couple of new events too, including Undaunted, which replaces your loses by seeing new resistance fighters stand up as they see their countrymen slaughtered. The Decay is also a very useful feature, but I'll save that for a later reveal. You can keep an eye on our social media accounts for a spoiler before release day.

More than anything, I feel that this addition to the Cardassian game space connects some dots enough to see this faction come together in a satisfying way. I hope you enjoy exploring these new cards as much as rediscovering cards that may be able to be seen in a new light. I hope your rebellions all follow the plan, but if not, remember that your opponent can only keep the Cardassian people down for so long before they say "no longer."

I'll see you across the table some day.

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