Nog and Jake

by Kevin Jaeger, Staff Writer

7th May 2008

Deep Space Nine (DS9) likes to protect its stuff, especially its events. The problem, though, has been that the protection DS9 gives itself is always somewhat limited and entirely defensive. As Worf said, “A siege mentality is ultimately self defeating.” The solution, therefore, is simple: find a way to protect your stuff, but do it in an offensive manner. Say hello to new versions of Jake and Nog.

These two new cards from The Undiscovered Country will now allow a DS9 player to counteract an opponent destroying his or her event, or to go on the major offensive by voluntarily destroying said event to reap the benefit Nog and Jake provide.

The former is obvious; destroy my event with Brunt? No problem, I’ll just get a replacement. It’s the latter option that really shifts gears and opens up all sorts of opportunities for the DS9 player.

Just put down Nog with a non-Hand Weapon equipment and score five points somehow, then you can burn your Endangered to draw/spend three more on dilemmas... and as bonus, you get to download another copy of it. Now take it to the next level. Find a way to consistently score five points, say Tongo: Confront, add in Jadzia Dax (Problem Solver) and voila! You get an extra three dilemmas to draw and spend nearly every mission attempt!

Here’s another idea: dilemma pile destruction. Nog and Jadzia team up again with two copies of Ohhhh! Nothing Happened! to allow you to 'choice remove' an opponent’s dilemma every turn! Now take this strategy to the next level. Throw in Krim (Thoughtful Tactician), Gem, and The Perils of Peacemaking to really, and I mean really start shredding your opponent's dilemma pile. You won’t destroy their entire dilemma pile, but you can definitely start getting rid of the dilemmas that will hurt you.

Last idea: Pair up Nog and Jadzia again, and pair up your DS9 with Romulus. Can anyone say Far Seeing Eyes? Except this time, it’ll more appropriately be called “Forever Seeing Eyes” as you’ll be able to get way more than three uses out of it with little to no effort.

Then again, I guess you could just use it defensively... by preventing a combat or engagement with Resistance Tactics and getting a replacement copy right away to protect yourself the next turn.

What about Jake? Well, it should be obvious; he can get you Nog or Jadzia early. Maybe he can get you Quark (True Ferengi) who can get you whatever else you need.

So bust out those cheap or highly-useable non-Hand Weapon equipment cards (like Emergency Transport Unit, Tox Uthat, or an Engineering PADD) and buy a Jadzia (Problem Solver) or two if you don't own any and get to work. Shredding dilemma piles, pairing up with the Romulans...yeah, it's going to get nasty.