Today I have a short, off-the-cuff list of the Top 20 "Played Out" Dilemmas in 2E. Some are good, some are bad, some are ugly. By "played out" I mean cards I'm just sick of seeing. I love it when I see a player try new stuff, or give old stuff another shot. When Ed stopped me with "Rock" People last year I had a dorkgasm (I'm trademarking that word right now). Now remember, this list might be skewed because of the "snake pit" meta I play in. It is interesting how different dilemmas are played in different areas. That is because most people subconsciously 'follow the leader'. Sometimes, especially Tier-1 players, get so stuck-in-a-rut, so keyed off of what other players are doing, they never get outside of their comfort zone. They never try something new and risky. So step up people, think outside-the-box, go through that binder, and do something cool and interesting for a change. Stop playing these cards....
#20 Old Differences
I hate this card, I never play it. But yet I still see this dilemma too much. 3 cost for two random stops isn't terrible, but it's just so goddamn boring. This is the most flavor-less dilemma in 2E. Best is when, I've had this happen twice, you're attempting a 40 pointer and your opponent forgets it now cost 4 and overpays for dilemmas.
#19 Moral Choice/Shocking Betrayal
These cards are really the same. You play Moral Choice when not playing Fed, and Shocking Betrayal when you do. Only difference is that one makes you a hypocrite. Moral Choice was always sucky because it hits Voyager and DS9, two affiliations that aren't overpowered. And it hits Maquis, which makes no sense at all. Too much collateral damage with that card.
#18 Show Trial
It really is too good to pass up. 2 cost stopper that requires a skill. And when you're losing it's clutch.
#17 Insurrection
I think the cats out of the bag and most people know I was behind this card (But I'll let Mr. Hoffman take the credit). I was shocked by how many people disliked this card. Easy missions were heroin and it took awhile to get them off that smack. I play decks with easy missions now just to make people realize that Insurrection is a good card for the game. Problem is, players in my area play it and it has cost me some games.
#16 Coolant Leak
This card was needed. But what pisses me off is when I have two 1-cost personnel and then just happen to have 4 engineers. That always seems unfair. Another case of collateral damage.
#15 Oracle's Punishment
See, Germans can have good ideas that don't ruin the world. What I am to Insurrection Mr. Klaurhauser is to the Oracle (I'm not sure if that's public knowledge, add it to my list of leaks). I'm the #1 abuser of this card. I was playing Debate Over Dinner just to nix the consume. I hate "heroes", and this is the ultimate hero-stopper.
#14 Timescape
Problem is, when you have only one card that can do something important in a game you see it over-and-over again.
#13 Hard Time
If this list was made 5 years ago, this would be #1.
#12 The Caretaker's "Guest's"
It's probably the best early-game dilemma. If your opponent has no answer for it, the results can be devastating. Downside is, this card can be useless by late-game or if your opponent has clever defenses.
#11 Intimidation
People just love this card. They are ga-ga for it. It's Borg and Klingon hate, I do like that. But it's just another non-skill 4-coster that only stops two sometimes.
#10 In Development
Back in the day it was In Training, now it's In Development. Weenie hate got an upgrade with this card.
#9 Mugato
I'm just not a fan of this card. I usually love dilemmas that don't go under the mission, but Mugato just doesn't stick with me. I try to use it sometimes, but I find it's a bad matchup against too many decks I see.
#8 The Clown: Guillotine/Bold Plan/All-Consuming Evil
It's the new "Unholy Trinity". With Tragic Turns long awaited, long deserved errata, players bypassed TT and went straight for the super consume strategy.
#7 Pitching In
Tough to beat the payoff of 2 stops for 1 cost. But I shy away from it when I can. Low cost decks are on the decline, and the stops can be prevented with no penalty. And when somebody play George Primmin you might as well make it a blank card.
#6 Miner Revolt
Now we're getting into the really played out dilemmas. Lots of play in my area. Like Pitching In, for some reason I stay away from it.
#5 Agonizing Encounter
I'm so bored of my opponent drawing dilemmas, then looking at my missions, then asking, "What does Agonizing get me?" I just tell them because I want to hurry up, but I'm thinking 'Look at the missions asshole and figure it out!'.
#4 Gomtuu Shock Wave
Two integrity requirements was one of the biggest mistakes ever made on a card. It's still a staple in most decks. Why not, so many affiliations simply have too much trouble with it.
#3 An Issue of Trust
Like Gomtuu, this dilemma would simply wipe out certain affiliations. They had to make a whole series of personnel because of this dilemma. And that really hasn't slowed down it's play.
#2 Excalbian Drama
Integrity being an only requirement for a dilemma, you would've thought they learned their lesson back then. Nope. Even worse, it's zero cost and can almost become a de facto infinite requirement.
#1 Where No One Has Gone Before
I had an epiphany last time I was building a dilemma pile. I was doing the usual (what I've been doing for probably the last 4 years), putting in two WNOHGB's, and cards that set that up. Then I started thinking 'this is what everyone does now. It's what I prepare for, and what everyone else prepares for'. Why? Because you get sucked in by the payoff. It's the only card that can cost your opponent a whole turn. But do you really need that? Isn't the turn you stop your opponent enough? It should be. If I need an extra turn then I probably need a faster deck. So I said enough and swore to stop using WNOHGB. My dilemma pile worked fine, and I went 4-0. I wasn't a saint and didn't reinvent the wheel, I did pack two Gomtuu's. Hey, don't hate the player....
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