Good Card, Bad Card #66

This is a bittersweet GCBC this week. After last seasons WCT League Play ended, and leading up to GenCon, I kinda had the feeling that I wasn't going to run another League season. I tried to summon the spirit and give it another try, but after we couldn't pull just 4 players for our season opener I've decided to shut it down. Sadly, the league that started it all is closing up up shop. Not that I'm quitting the game, I've been doing this since the beginning, I ain't going anywhere. But the amount of time I devote to Trek over the last year has diminished a great deal and there's no point in forcing things. Have no fear, I plan on continuing the Good Card, Bad Card series. Unlike 1E, I don't plan on taking all my cards and putting them in the corner and never looking at them again. So since I never got a chance to play my terrible Ferengi Deck, I'm going to take two cards from that affiliation.

Good Card: Kreechta, Prepared for War

Why: I like 'hit and run' ships. The drawback of battle is that you lose a turn attempting missions during the process. The Kreechta is expensive, but you get 9 weapons, so you should have no problem throwing down with any ship. It seems to me that Ferengi are all about the two mission win these days. So I would use the Kreechta to score a quick ten with Call to Arms, then run that 10 into 20 a few times with Ferengi Tradition. After that, a couple of easy missions should win you the game. But what do I know, I suck playing Ferengi.

Bad Card: Krayton, Trade Envoy

Why: I mentioned in the last GCBC that I'm not a fan of cards that require a commander aboard. Too many bad things can happen during a course of a game. And this ships ability only seems good to me early game, when I'm trying to solve a quick space mission (and I have to make a quick trip home and back). There's a good chance I might not have my matching commander out yet. Take away the requirement, and this ability would be fine. And really, if I pitch the 9 cost rule, what the hell am I going to do with 17 range? In 1E that would be awesome, but in 2E it's excessive.

Good Card, Bad Card #65

So last week we went 'old school' and had a couple of cards from back in the day. This week we go 'new school' and take a couple of cards from Tacking into the Wind. Each time I say that  name a want to cry. Seriously, it's the worst name of any Trek set ever. Terrible, but I like the set. If I have to trade a terrible name to get a good set I'm willing to do that. This set finally gave people some cards they've been clamoring to get. The Enterprise-B finally makes a 2E appearance. We also got the Starship Defiant. This set focused on ships, and that was a solid idea. Ships are one of the coolest parts of the game. The trick is to make a cool ship without putting a wall of text on it. Remember the Queen's Diamond ship, or whatever it's called? That's why it was a "bad card". Sadly, we still get another 'team', this time Cardassians. I haven't seen it in action yet so I can't judge, but just from looking at them I can tell I won't be a fan. It's involves a new Kira, so I'm going to be a hater right from the door.
On the way back from GenCon I got an epiphany. A new format called Ferengi Fight Club (you can find the rules on the trek.cc boards). I kinda regret it already. Not because the format will suck, in fact I think it's going to be awesome. But after trying to make Ferengi decks for the last month I've realized I'm no good at it. I'm going to be in for world of pain this Sunday. But I should have at least have some fun doing it. I didn't play Dabo!, now I wish I made a deck with it. I hope somebody does.

Good Card: Duty Schedule

Why: I like 'hammers', cards that punish players. This is a great hammer for punishing players who use ships with one staffing icon. All those Non-aligned ships with one gold star can get you into trouble now. My only complaint is that it should cost one. When I suggest 'hammers' to Charlie, at GenCon or when I harass him in text messages, I'm extreme with them. Most of the time he's the voice of moderation, where I'm looking to really shut down abusive strategies. The only time I've seen a big 'hammer' is Transport Crash Survivors. But at least this dilemma is might make someone think twice. The only drawback is that it cost more than 1 and doesn't require a skill.

Bad Card: Executive Commission

Why: I'm not a fan of most cards that require a matching commander aboard a ship as a cost. Bad things can happen during a game and you can find yourself without your captain. If it's a big reward, like Deploy the Fleet, then maybe, since that's a game changer. But this card is as bad as Salvaging the Wreckage. Sure, this one is cheaper, but I could find myself unable to play it. And I never understood what putting a couple of dudes on the bottom of my deck is going to do for me later. If I'm in that bad of shape I'm probably going to lose the game anyway. And the worst part is, all my opponent has to do is play Greasy Dukat and rape my discard pile to make it a useless card. I'll stick with In the Mirror, Darkly if I'm going to play a 'reboot' card.   

Good Card, Bad Card #64

Hiatus over. After nearly a 2 month absence we're back to praise and poop all over 2E cards. I'm not sure why the hiatus began, a combination of starting a new job and being exhausted with the 'dork drama' that goes with this game sometimes. Thankfully, that seems to be in the past. I know why it continued after Worlds, I just needed time to decompress. GenCon was actually a great, exhausting time. I think I only slept a combined 12 hours the whole con. As for the Championship, I think having two ties in the Final is a miracle compared to the "Peak Performance Disaster" in Germany. My most memorable moment of the trip didn't happen in Indy, it was on the way. Driving with Phil, going through Wheeling, WV (check previous GCBC's for that terrible place) we decided to stop and kill a couple hours since it was early. No poker games going yet (since it's a sad, terrible casino), so we hit the dice table. It's all a blur now, but Phil made a guy over $12,000 while he had the dice. After some '*cough*, *cough*, aren't you glad we stop by on the way. Gas is sure expensive.' comments by me the guy threw Phil a black chip ($100). I mean, it's a tiny percentage, but free gas is free gas. Anyways, I really wasn't in a hurry to get back to GCBC. I figured once the WCT League got going again in late Septemeber I'd get the creative juices flowing again and it would happen on it's own. But the other night I get a text from an old school all-star named Brian Sykes. He told me I was lazy and to get back on it. Since I never like to disappoint my fans I gave in to the peer pressure. Since Brian hasn't been seen at a major event in 47 years I told him to nominate 2 old school cards and I would use those for the next GCBC. So here you go:

Good Card: Stricken Dumb

Why: I agree completely with Brian on this one. This is a very underused card that people should give another look. People can't ever stop playing Personal Duty and An Issue of Trust, so this cheater is useful against 90% of the dilemma piles out there. Here's another little trick I like with Stricken Dumb, at Worlds I was shocked at how much I saw The Caretaker's "Guest" being used. I used to play this dilemma a ton when it first came out, but it's just fell out of favor in our meta. Well, with Stricken Dumb, you can use the cost as a defense. Toss and money personnel in your discard pile and get him out for free. In the famous words of Brian Sykes.... "that's mad tech."

Bad Card: Rescue Prisoners

Why: At first Brian nominated Kressari Rendezvous, and I told him I already did that. Turns out I didn't, but I think I covered how bad Kressari is when I did Bat'leth and Ruling Council as bad cards. So instead he went with Rescue Prisoners. Here's the thing, this mission isn't bad, and Kahmis (the guy with all the skills) isn't bad. It's the combination of the two. In fact, you can say this was the first 2E Design fail in Premiere. Having one personnel with all the skills for a mission is very 1E-like, and that's what we wanted to avoid with 2E. It got worse as they made more and more 8 strength Klingons. Once you get three of those big boys with Kahmis you can solve Rescue Prisoners with four personnel. And we've all realized after all these years playing 2E that easy ass missions make this game suck. That's why I'm in love with the new dilemma Insurrection. Man, whoever designed that dilemma is a friggin' genius.....