Discuss all of your questions, concerns, comments and ideas about Second Edition.
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Second Edition Design Manager
By The Guardian (Richard New)
 - Second Edition Design Manager
 -  
2E North American Continental Quarter-Finalist 2023
#562897
Welcome to the official Q&A thread for Caretaker. I know recently we've seen most discussions come in tandem with the article releases, but here you can ask any and all questions related to this expansion of the design team, who will do their best to answer them. Questions about the design, testing, creative, art or the expansion overall are all welcome. The designers make no promises they will answer everything though!

Daniel "Danny" Giddings
Benjamin "Gorgo Primus" Rostoker
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Director of First Edition
By MidnightLich (Charlie Plaine)
 - Director of First Edition
 -  
Prophet
#562936
It was recently announced that a Vidiian affiliation in the works for Second Edition - we even got a tease at a template. Any chance that was announced ahead of Caretaker because Vidiian stuff might be coming earlier than expected?

-crp

I can't speak for any other sets that may be in the works, but in terms of Caretaker I think it would be somewhat misleading for me to simply say there is Vidiian stuff in here. You won't see anything here with the Vidiian template or designed specifically just for them that is. However, there is a card here that heavily references them and which future Vidiian decks have quite good odds of finding useful regardless of what their mechanics end up being.

And now that's it has been revealed and I tell you said card is New Earth. It has the Vidiian icon (which has no meaning at the moment) and references them in the lore, but is otherwise just a standard [Fed] [DQ] mission that can be useful for Voyager, Holograms, and whoever else qualifies and wants to take the trip. And in case anyone was wondering, it was also designed before anyone brought up the idea of including the Vidiian icon so this would have been part of the set even if that project wasn't underway.
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Second Edition Playtest Manager
By Faithful Reader (Ross Fertel)
 - Second Edition Playtest Manager
 -  
Continuing Committee Member - Retired
#562990
I'm going to use the Collector's ID for any cards that haven't been revealed yet, and then go back in and edit in the full names once they have. Also Bob asks some very weird questions here, so I can't guarantee that my answers are 100% accurate.

Kyle sent me.

What is your favorite card in the set?
56 V 7 (now revealed as Tak Tak Negotiations)
Probably the card we chose for the VP promo, Neelix, “Fearless Warrior”.

Which card did you contribute the most to?
Answering this is really hard without handing over a huge spoiler list, since it'd end up in a many way tie between all the cards I pitched and took the lead on. So, I'm going to choose to pass rather than arbitrarily pick one.
Same initial answer, although a more specific answer will be coming in an article.

Which card went through the most changes?
56 V 7 (now revealed as Tak Tak Negotiations) - it started as mission, and ended a dilemma.
What eventually became The Clown: Fear Incarnate could arguably be said to have had the most changes given that it spent several testing cycles as a Hologram personnel.

Least?
56 V 51 is probably a good shout for "card that underwent the fewest changes" too.
I'm fairly sure Q’ret is one of the cards that didn't undergo a pixel of change from pre-A.

Which card has your favorite image?
Art did a great job in general, but Subspace "Sandbar" is pretty adorable.

Questions from Bob:

You're going to have a wild weekend. A wild "What Happens in Vegas" weekend. Which card represents who you would take with you?
56 V 34 - he'd probably take a bullet for me.
Satan’s Robot, Dangerous Minion, but only for the sake of my personal safety and cause I find them endearing. Of course, I'm not one for drinking or gambling so our 'wild' weekend would probably be pretty boring by most standards. Then again, since this card couldn't do either very well I don't think they'd mind me.

You're going to commit a crime. Which card represents who you would take with you?
Equinox Conspiracy because whatever that represents would already have the crime planned out in great detail for me.

Which card represents your favorite DJ?
I don't have one, so I'll go with The Clown: Cloaking Device because they look like they're having fun regardless of what's going on around them.

You've reached the natural end of your life. In addition to your friends and family, which card represents who you would you like by your bed.
Satan’s Robot, Dangerous Minion again, cause they'd probably be able to cheer me up at least a little.

You have a secret. A deep dark secret you have not told anyone. Which card represents who you would tell?
Rollins, Trusted Subordinate, cause I could trust them right? I mean, it's kind of in the name.

With all due respect to your significant others, which card is your secret crush?
Tom Paris, Father of the Kuvah'magh I guess, but only cause I've secretly wanted to see this persona finally get into the game for ages now.
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By Armus (Brian Sykes)
 - The Center of the Galaxy
 -  
Regent
Community Contributor
#563123
Cross-posting from the Chakotay article thread since nobody seems to want to answer me over there:

Well, this is the Q&A thread...

Re: the new Chakotay: Why is it ok to make this guy a -5 for one dilemma when Komal is only -2? Seems a bit disparate to me, especially since to get the Komal discount I have to give a dilemma too!

You're right, it is disparate, but that's partly because the starting position of the two cards is disparate too; Komal is a 6-skilled 6/6/7 for 3, whereas Chakotay is a 6-skilled 5/6/5 for 5. Is Chakotay over-costed, Komal under-costed, or both?

In both instances where the player of the personnel has scooped a dilemma under their mission, the Komal player's only spent 3 (giving them the opportunity to play a second Komal, as he's non-unique (leading to a potential third if at least one of them's discounted)), while the Chakotay player's spent 5, giving the Klingon player a distinct counter advantage.

Also, the Komal player has access to an incredibly niche piece of dilemma pile synergy, using Komal's game text to (potentially) trigger a Forewarned - they would lose a dilemma, but they could score 5 points.

Those things being the case, I do think it's okay for Chakotay to be -5, because anything less would show Komal in a better light than he's already sitting in.
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By Dukat (Andreas Rheinländer)
 - Gamma Quadrant
 -  
1E European Continental Quarter-Finalist 2023
1E German National Runner-Up 2024
#563179
About ... Plasma Storm Depths, Search for Missing Vessel.

I don't get what this card offers me.
Caretaker's Array and Finding Our Way already has what is needed for a Voyager deck.

This gives the Voyager player a guaranteed (although expensive) way to get a ship out on their first turn. The aforementioned CA/FOW didn't. And it's optional - the player doesn't have to, and can make the decision after they've drawn their opening seven cards. If they've got an FOW/Christening/Voyager in their hand, nice! If not, and the first turn's going to be a heap of discarding anyway, might as well make it count for something.

I mean, let’s say you’re playing Voyager or Equinox and you don’t get a ship or Christening in your opening hand. Before this you’d have to spend counters drawing for a ship and, if you didn’t find it or ran out of enough counters to play the ship you got, you’d have to end your turn discarding a ton. FOW has the ship download as an Order, so that’ll only help you avoid repeating that on the next turn. This new mission, at the great cost of taking up a mission slot for a dangerous mission (can’t report there) that won’t count towards a 4 Space win, gives you the option of discarding some of what you might have been forced to otherwise in order to make sure you get a real first turn - instead of the potential ‘draw and discard seven and do nothing ‘worst luck/case’ scenario. Like Danny said, it’s optional (both to include and to use if you do) and taking this safety option certainly isn’t free, but some players (especially newer ones) might find it totally worth running.
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By Armus (Brian Sykes)
 - The Center of the Galaxy
 -  
Regent
Community Contributor
#573915
BIG BUMP! @Danny @Gorgo Primus @edgeofhearing @The Guardian

Sometimes it takes awhile for cards to bubble up in the wild, but it happened, and now I have questions.

Reconfigure didn't get much publicity when it came out. I don't even recall it getting mentioned. But now that I've seen it in action, I have questions.

So this card is a souped up [Bor] -specific version of Stricken Dumb, in that it can blank keywords and skills AND affects ALL Borg (well, [Bor] personnel) present.

Here's my questions:

1.) Why enable Keyword-blanking? The only dilemma I can think of where that matters is The Captain's "Guest", and while that dilemma does hit Borg, was it really viewed as a serious gameplay issue sufficient to warrant its own cheater? If so, why? Are there any other use cases that I'm missing that were also considered when designing this part of the card?

2.) In a set where The Clown gets a LOT of play, was it an intentional choice to have an interrupt that turns one of the best Clown dilemmas (Guillotine) a blank card? What was the feedback during the playtesting process (if any) on this interaction? Was everybody happy to have the ability to take out their frustrations on a dilemma that has been a mainstay in the game for the last 14 years? At any point did anybody express concern that this was too powerful?

3.) How did you arrive at a single choice discard being a fair cost for this ability, especially in light of the fact that it's a [Bor]-specific card and, much like Cardassians, Borg LOVE throwing shit in their discard pile? Was the costing element given much (or any) scrutiny during the design and development processes?

My initial read of this card is that it's basically a backdoor Prevent-and-Overcome card with no real cost and the ability to turn one of the most powerful dilemmas - and one of the most not-so-powerful dilemmas - in the game into a blank (and absent shenanigans, get 3 under the mission to boot). I'm trying to understand why this was determined to be a need for the game, especially for Borg specifically, as they aren't exactly weak to begin with.

Thanks for reading and responding.
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By Danny (Daniel Giddings)
 - Gamma Quadrant
 -  
2E British National Runner-Up 2021
#573921
Why enable Keyword-blanking?
  • This was me (DG), and I thought it was on brand for both flavours of the Borg currently out there.
The only dilemma I can think of where that matters is The Captain's "Guest", and while that dilemma does hit Borg, was it really viewed as a serious gameplay issue sufficient to warrant its own cheater?
  • I wouldn't say it was so serious, but I did think it was cool.
Are there any other use cases that I'm missing that were also considered when designing this part of the card?
  • Not really. We did get feedback that read "It's nice to be able to tell The Captain's "Guest" to F off, but I can't really remember the last time I saw that dilemma played."

2.) In a set where The Clown gets a LOT of play, was it an intentional choice to have an interrupt that turns one of the best Clown dilemmas (Guillotine) a blank card?
  • Not really intentional, just a happy accident. Personally, I think it's interesting when something is both promoted and gets a counter in the same set. Take Harbinger dilemmas and Jane Taylor appearing in the same set for example.
What was the feedback during the playtesting process (if any) on this interaction? Was everybody happy to have the ability to take out their frustrations on a dilemma that has been a mainstay in the game for the last 14 years? At any point did anybody express concern that this was too powerful?
  • I've been over the posts and it doesn't look like it. Maybe they remember seeing something similar (a culturally-reinforced interrupt that helps a specific group against a niche problem) in Deleted Subroutines and didn't think it was too big an issue.

3.) How did you arrive at a single choice discard being a fair cost for this ability, especially in light of the fact that it's a [Bor]-specific card and, much like Cardassians, Borg LOVE throwing shit in their discard pile? Was the costing element given much (or any) scrutiny during the design and development processes?
  • I don't think it was scrutinised as being too cheap for the Borg, but rather applied as the standard interrupt-during-a-mission-attempt costing. This (affiliation-specific costing for interrupts) is probably/definitely something that should be considered going forward.
Last edited by Danny on Tue Mar 22, 2022 2:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By Gorgo Primus (Benjamin Rostoker)
 - Delta Quadrant
 -  
#573932
Why enable Keyword-blanking?
  • I think this one was probably partially influenced by a dilemma in testing for a while that didn’t make it that also targeted keywords.
The only dilemma I can think of where that matters is The Captain's "Guest", and while that dilemma does hit Borg, was it really viewed as a serious gameplay issue sufficient to warrant its own cheater?
  • If I recall correctly the idea for a card like this was the direct result of tester suggestions in A or B that the Borg could use one. I don’t think that was because we needed a hammer for any particular card, but rather that people thought it’d be interesting and useful to a faction that is relatively underplayed and will always be hurt the most by anti-keyword dilemmas present or future.
Are there any other use cases that I'm missing that were also considered when designing this part of the card?
  • Aside from the aforementioned other card in testing at the time I don’t recall any currently existing dilemmas that keyword blanking directly helps with at present.

2.) In a set where The Clown gets a LOT of play, was it an intentional choice to have an interrupt that turns one of the best Clown dilemmas (Guillotine) a blank card?
  • My personal opinion is that I hate when sets release a thing to encourage you to play X and then hammer it in the very same set. To me if your goal is to push something and get people excited about using new things, it makes no sense to work counter to that goal at the same time. So, no that wasn’t intentional and didn’t come up during the very long testing period either. That being said this isn’t the first card that can blank a skill, and I’m not super worried about there being one dilemma that the Borg can bypass if they run this and get into that situation. For now I’d suggest just being cautious when playing with that particular dilemma against Borg. It’s a good dilemma, but even in a Clown pile it isn’t your only option and there are ways to get it to hit even if they run Reconfigure (like hand discards). If it turns out to be a major issue in future I’ll act as I promised and submit a Balance Team request about it myself. I’m fact, I don’t see the harm in sending them a request to at least put it on the Watch List right now to keep an eye on it. I’ll do that for you since I know you’re reluctant to raise issues with them yourself.
What was the feedback during the playtesting process (if any) on this interaction? Was everybody happy to have the ability to take out their frustrations on a dilemma that has been a mainstay in the game for the last 14 years? At any point did anybody express concern that this was too powerful?
  • I think this contains a loaded question, but Danny has answered it about as well as I could already in any event. No tester raised issues with this to the best of my knowledge.

3.) How did you arrive at a single choice discard being a fair cost for this ability, especially in light of the fact that it's a [Bor]-specific card and, much like Cardassians, Borg LOVE throwing shit in their discard pile? Was the costing element given much (or any) scrutiny during the design and development processes?
  • Mainly what Danny said. I can tell you that we did talk about costing for all our cards, because as part of our process we regularly interrogated (and did full game play tests of) our cards so as to do our best to ensure nothing slipped by one of us. That being said, I don’t remember any issues coming up from either of us or testers about this cost. In the event this is an issue that slipped through… it can happen and see above for what I’ll do about it for now. Though remember that I don’t have any special powers as the designer of this set to change anything now that it’s out.
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By Armus (Brian Sykes)
 - The Center of the Galaxy
 -  
Regent
Community Contributor
#573936
Thank you both for your responses. I appreciate the engagement.

The reason I asked about cost is that it presents an opportunity to discard an expensive personnel (e.g., Scout Drone) and immediately swap them in for a goober (e.g., Research Drone), gaining counter advantage in the process.

Doesn't seem like much of a "cost" to me, especially for a [Bor] -specific card.
Last edited by Armus on Tue Mar 22, 2022 3:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By Danny (Daniel Giddings)
 - Gamma Quadrant
 -  
2E British National Runner-Up 2021
#573938
Armus wrote: Tue Mar 22, 2022 3:36 pmDoesn't seem like much of a "cost" to me, especially for a [Bor] -specific card.

That's a fair assessment and concern. I'm all for having it tweaked right now into something cost-appropriate (discard a non-personnel card from hand?) especially if it looks like something that could be abused. By the same measure, I know that some folk aren't keen on errata, so it might be prudent to just watch how this plays out (if it does...)
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By Gorgo Primus (Benjamin Rostoker)
 - Delta Quadrant
 -  
#573939
No problem. So long as they don't act like a jerk while doing so, I welcome anyone telling me they hate or have concerns with this or that card in my sets - and I'll act on it to the best of my ability if I think they have a good point like in this case. Here, all I can really do is carry out my promise to send a message to get this looked at, and I've done that. So we'll see what if anything is done when the Balance Team gets around to looking into it.

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