Short answer: Maybe not?
I think the Continuing Committee has done an outstanding job, and 2002 happens to one of the best years in ST:CCG for me ever. That makes this a difficult question.
So, here are my thoughts, with some background and ideas for what might make ST:CCG even more fun.
I’m a causal player. I started playing in 1995, and since then I’ve only played in four tournaments: Suden Kapala’s online Coming of Age starter deck tournament last year, the 2013 Omarion Nebula Regional in London, and a Deep Space 9 tournament and an OTSD tournament, both in 1998.
My experience of the game has almost all been at the kitchen table, with family and friends, mostly playing OTSD, often with Starter Deck II and/or Enhanced Premiere added in. (I like OTSD because it works well for casual and new players who don't have decks and because the constraints make the deck building quick, exciting, and surprising.) I think it is unlikely that my participation in tournaments will greatly increase in the future, but who knows.
In terms of the game today, l love OTF. I really appreciate the tools that are now available, such as card search, deck builder, virtual pack creator, and Lackey (even though almost all my games are still physical). I’m really grateful for today’s online community. Also, the CC has created lots of great cards, and the state of the game may never have been better.
Perhaps most of all, I like the starter decks that have been released. They make it easy to introduce new people to the game, or to play with friends who don’t have decks, or to play when I don’t have a deck built. At this point, I’m often playing with friends who are new to the game or infrequent players, or my friends’ younger relatives who have never played, or my sons’ friends, who also have never played. The starter decks got me engaged with the CC and introduced me to the new cards in the expansions.
These days, I have less free time than ever, and if it weren’t for the starter decks, I might not be playing at all. Since the CC stopped creating starter decks with Live Long and Prosper (except 2018’s Coming of Age, updating the starter decks from The Next Generation), I’ve even tried creating my own (e.g.,
https://www.trekcc.org/1e/decklists/index.p ... 5223caa46a) to fill that need, but my progress has been (and will continue to be) slow.
In contrast, 2002 was the start of the period of my greatest engagement with the game. The classic films are probably my favorite Star Trek content. When The Motion Pictures expansion came out, I started building more decks. I transitioned from casual collector to completist, returning to the previous expansions to acquire all the cards. At that time, my friends and I started our first unofficial league, and, for the next few years, I was playing more than I ever had. We were all casual players, and not competitive or experienced enough to discover most of the cheesy exploits, so we never encountered one- or two-turn wins or most other NPEs.
So, I may not be having as much fun with the game in 2022 as I did in 2002. The CC, however, has done a great job keeping a game I love alive.
Could the CC do anything to make ST:CCG in 2022 as much (or even more) fun as it was in 2002 for me, my friends, and the new players I introduce to the game? One thing that would be great is new starter decks. They would help new players and casual players, like me and the people I play with, get acquainted with the latest expansions. Without new starter decks, I’ve mostly lost connection to the newer expansions.
Also, a replacement for OTSD would also be terrific. I know that would be difficult. At this point, however, OTSD feels really out of date. A way for new and casual players to quickly build and play decks from a set of modern cards would be super useful.
With Second Star to the Right and Paradise Lost out, maybe I’ll eventually build some new decks to recapture the excitement of 2002. But a new sealed deck format and especially new starter decks would make a big difference for me and my tribe.
Cool Hand Locutus: What we have here is a failure to assimilate.