"When the government fears the people, there is liberty."
-Thomas Jefferson
We have wars at home and abroad. I was saddened to learn that 1200 of the roughly 2000 deaths in the Afghan War have come since Obama became president. Most people close to me think "Barack's my boy", but that's mostly because I correct them when they say silly shit about him. Of all the bad things I've heard people say about him I've never heard anything about this. They care about taxes, healthcare, Kenya, but they don't care that more Americans have died in that useless wasteland during his presidency (which is only now half through) then during the 8-year Bush 2.0 administration. I can't defend "my boy" on this one. Sad part is, America's longest war isn't "scheduled" to end for another two years. Funny, I don't remember WWII being scheduled to end. Back then wars ended when you won them. That's how you know the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were just bullshit war mongering all along.
At home in Michigan the people are rising up. They've gone after the labor unions and they did it like assassins. I'm no sweetheart on the unions. They can get corrupt just like any other large organization. But I trust them more then the "aristocracy of our monied corporations" (I promise, the last Jefferson quote of the day). Now I'm not advocating violence, but I think they should keep raising hell. Republican controlled state houses in many states are up to all sorts of silliness and people needs to keep an eye on them. If you need proof just see what the yahoos in Arizona have done recently.
From serious political stuff to star trek cards. Now that's silliness. But we all need hobbies. If not I'd just watch Fox News all the time while drinking scotch. At least then maybe it would start making sense. I've been catching some heat (and it's caused a little trouble in Design), for being "Mr. Negative" about certain sets. If you're taking personal me expressing opinions on cards from sets that came out 3 years ago you need to relax. Maybe since I'm working on a set now people think I have to be a cheerleader or something. That's not going to happen. After the next set comes out if people want to start a blog and crap all over it more power to them. If something stinks it deserves what people say. If you think I won't criticize a card in a set because I was on the Design team, then you don't know me very well. Nobody shits on me better than me. Today I'm being positive, picking two cards from a set I like "Tacking into the Wind" (and not because Insurrection is in it). I remember when this set was in the works and liked the idea of a 'ships-based' set. I think it turned out real well and the guys on that design team should be proud. Now let me put down my pom-poms.
Why: The other day I set out to make a 'pure' Maquis deck. By pure I mean DMZ missions and a deck that doesn't revolve around shoving the Defiant down your opponent's throat. I never gave this ship it's proper look when it came out. It's really good. A ship with great attributes and a fortress for your events. I get off on playing obscure cards and was building a deck with Strafing Fire (so obscure I thought it was called Strafing Run). Since I'm not really a Maquis player (besides one Santos abuse deck years ago) my dumbass was doing that before stumbling onto the Cosette. What a relief to learn that I can play this card now without worry of wasting 5 counters. Now you can't always rig your opponent's deck so the top card is a personnel, but there are some way to get the odds in your favor. Easiest way, play Caretaker's "Guests", that's should lock it up. Second, play Kenneth Dalby. This Voyager scumbag can look at the top card of your opponent's deck at the start of your turn then place it on the top or bottom. Lastly, get the Valjean out. Use this ship's order first and if it's not a personnel that card goes on the bottom. The last two tricks should work about 50% of the time.
Why: Wasted potential. John Harriman isn't terrible, I just feel he got watered down and drowned in text. That's a 5-line ability that just isn't that good. Why am I disappointed? Because it's Cameron from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I liked that character so much I named my 3rd born after him. I love the Enterprise-B, it's tough to make ships that score points that can't be abused in some way. My main problem with the ability is the price, a random card from hand. That a steep price to gain a skill on a personnel. A simple card from hand should've sufficed. One thing I like is that the personnel doesn't have to be 'present', they have to be on a staffed ship at the mission. This is sneaky, like the way Comfort Women is sneaky. Most people don't realize on that card the NA personnel only has to be at the mission. This provides some piece of mind, you can leave a person on the ship and not have to worry about not taking the right skill. Second thing I like, he's got the "mark of the beast", 6-6-6 attributes. Third, he's cheap. It's a raw deal giving Cameron the 'bad card' title, but when I made the deck with the Enterprise-B I ended up cutting him. That's a shame. Being true to the character and legacy, he's just a little bit off.
No comments:
Post a Comment