Captive Pursuits

by Michael Shea, Ambassador and Designer

12th March 2018

When the Cardassians joined forces with the Dominion in 2373, it represented a fundamental realignment of power in the Alpha Quadrant. Prior to the disastrously failed attempted first-strike in the Omarian Nebula and the Klingon invasion, the Cardassian Empire rivaled even the Romulans in their cunning, treachery, and power. The Cardassians had long been experts at capturing “enemies” of Cardassia and getting the most out of their captives by any means necessary. But, the Dominion as no stranger to this tactic, and the Founders often directed for members of Alpha Quadrant powers to be captured and replaced by Changeling infiltrators. In the new Cardassian-Dominion Alliance forged by Gul Dukat, the potential for the tactical use of captives to attain victory should strike fear into any Alpha Quadrant adversary.

One of the goals of Symbiosis was to once again encourage the use of dual headquarters decks. Another was to provide mid-game and late-game options for players to recover from a point deficit, or to slow down a run-away opponent. The two cards I discuss today fit those themes, while adding to the set of capture tools already employed by the Dominion: Keevan, Pragmatic Captor; and Remata’Klan, Steadfast Sentinal.  

By the time we meet these two in Rocks and Shoals, the Wormhole has been sealed and Terok Nor has not only become the headquarters of the Cardassian-Dominion Alliance but also the command center for the Dominion War. From there, we can assume, Keevan and his crew of Jem’Hadar, including Remata’Klan, are ordered out on patrol, perhaps even looking for a certain fugitive Federation captain and his stolen Jem’Hadar attack ship. They eventually crash on a desolate and uninhabited world, on which by chance they meet Sisko and his crew. On Keevan’s orders, the Jem’Hadar capture two Federation prisoners. Keevan decides to use them to gain an advantage and, unbeknownst to Remata’Klan, a way off the planet – even though it means becoming a Federation prisoner. Even though Remata’Klan eventually divines Keevan’s duplicitous motives, his own sense of honor will not permit him to be dishonest or disloyal.

These cards capture the essence of the characters as they’re depicted in Rocks and Shoals. They both have the icon, denoting the reality that, at this point in the story arc, Terok Nor is the seat of power for the Cardassian-Dominion Alliance. Keevan cannot be played unless his owner commands six personnel; and he allows his owner to name a personnel and capture each copy of that personnel an opponent commands, but at a price: his owner must place Keevan in that opponent’s brig. But, his 2 Diplomacy (a first for Terok Nor), Navigation, and 2 Treachery could also come in handy for completing missions. Remata’Klan has excellent attributes and the rare Honor for Terok Nor, and he does something not typically seen in capture decks: you can use him to return an opponent’s captive in order to prevent an event or interrupt.

While these personae of Keevan and Remata’Klan will certainly find a home in Terok Nor control decks, I have chosen to show them off in a dual headquarters Cardassian-Dominion deck. There is no dilemma pile included in this deck as there may yet be revealed some help for dual headquarters decks in dilemma form. For now, let’s focus on the draw deck. Dukat, Cardassian Representative allows for the download of any card, which should come in handy. Arrest Order, Trap is Sprung, Clandestine Kidnapping, and Keevan, Pragmatic Captor help with acquiring captives. Prison Compound; Labor Camp; Means of Control; Corbin Entek, Inquisitor; and Remata’Klan, Steadfast Sentinel are all there to take advantage of the captives once you have them. Madred, Calculating Captor makes an appearance to help get the Punishment cards you need when you need them. Tenak’talar, Vanguard of the Occupation is in the deck to help out at Kressari Rendezvous. Sixteen of the twenty-four personnel in the deck cost two or less, so the deck should move fast enough, and the fact that two of your attemptable missions are in Cardassian space means that moving from Founder’s Homeworld to Cardassia with the Tenak’talar, won’t result in a lost turn. Indeed, with opportunities to score bonus points at Kressari, from the Tenak’talar, and from the captives the deck should be a two-mission win in most games.

Stay tuned for more excitement from Symbiosis.

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Decklist

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Draw Deck Total Draw Deck 48 Equipment 4 (8%) Cost 1 4 Event 10 (21%) Cost 0 1 Cost 2 6 Cost 3 2 Cost 4 1 Interrupt 5 (10%) Personnel 24 (50%) Cost 0 1 Cost 1 1 Cost 2 14 Cost 3 6 Cost 4 2 Ship 5 (10%) Cost 5 3 Cost 7 2 Total Draw Deck cost 110

Skills Count Skill # Missions # Personnel 1x 2x 3x Total Acquisition 0 0 Anthropology 0 0 Archaeology 0 4 4 Astrometrics 0 2 2 Biology 0 3 3 Diplomacy 0 2 1 3 Engineer 0 4 4 Exobiology 0 6 6 Geology 0 2 2 Honor 0 3 3 Intelligence 0 2 2 Law 1 7 7 Leadership 0 5 5 Medical 0 0 Navigation 0 4 4 Officer 2 11 11 Physics 0 1 1 Programming 0 3 3 Science 0 0 Security 2 13 1 14 Telepathy 0 0 Transporters 0 5 5 Treachery 2 8 3 11 Icons Count Icon # Personnel % Personnel Staffing Icons Command Star 11 45.83 % Staff Star 12 50.00 % Faction Icons Terok Nor 19 79.17 % Temporal Icons Alternate Universe 1 4.17 % Past 1 4.17 % Keyword Count Keyword # Cards Capture 5 Dissident 1 Founder 1 Glinn 4 Gul 3 Hand Weapon 4 Infiltrator 1 Nebula 1 Punishment 6 Region: Cardassia System 3 Region: Ligos System 1 Region: Omarion Nebula 1 Shape-shifter 1