Why the Hall, Not? (#7)

Shame on me for letting nerd politics get in the way of nerd business. Sometimes I forget that CC Board members can act improper with no consequences. Minor infractions, major scandal cover ups, there are always Nerd Apologists at the ready to defend. That's how the cult of personality works. Forget all that, let's talk about Star Track Cardz. Today's nominations come from Lucas Thompson.

Card: Annexation Drone
Last Year's Vote: 45.7%
2020 Prediction: 56%

I believe Cameron nominated this last year, because at the time I dusted Annexation drone off when he wanted me to build him a borg deck. I felt the classic Annexation/AWC was the way to go with a young player. That combo plus Unyielding is all you really need for a simple deck that can compete. Borg history is simple with regards to Annexation Drone. Early Borg weren't all that great, then EVERY Borg deck had Annexation Drones, then over the past 10 years it's gone out of favor. Although he's always kept a modest presence. But I differ to that 4 or 5 year Decipher Era when this guy was running wild. It was an all-star career.

Card: Deliver Evidence
Last Year's Vote: 42.9%
2020 Prediction: 60%

Despite my love for 2-range space missions, the only time I ever used this mission was recently in a Cardassian Dissident deck. Everyone else seems to enjoy this mission very much. Many decklists and steady use year after year. Unlike Annexation Drone, this card's career can claim longevity. You can make a case, for gameplay reasons, that all 2-range space missions with easy requirements should be retired. I would be inclined to agree.

Card: Elim Garak, Crafty Underling
Last Year's Vote: Not Nominated
2020 Prediction: 40%

A rare No vote from me. With KCA just getting off the ground I find it distasteful to get rid of their most powerful personnel. Now maybe this is being nominated because Yellow Garak can be popped in standard Cardassian decks. Fair enough, but I've seen Original Garak way more over the years. I'm not willing to vote for the mirror Garak until the Original gets his rightful place in the Hall of Fame.

Why the Hall, Not? (#6)

It's February, and as sure as that fat groundhog sees his shadow because of global warming, that means Hall of Fame nominations are over and voting begins.

Today's nominations come from the land down under and Steve Hartmann has some excellent choices.

Card: Ptol
Last Year's Vote: 60%
2020 Prediction: 55%

He's less obnoxious after the errata, but I'm judging this dickhead (this card always made me nerd angry) based on his original sin: fucking with the integrity of the dilemma pile. Romulans were #1 in the power rankings for bit (and still Top 3, at the very least) and the last thing you needed was a card that could "scan" the dilemma pile. Ptol came out in the same set as the Bird-of-Prey in '09 and they were simply everywhere for a couple of years. Usually dominating with Tal and his forever downloads. That type of career deserves a ticket to the Hall of Fame.

Card: Leonard H. McCoy, Remarkable Man
Last Year's Vote: 62.9%
2020 Prediction: 69%

Another 'one vote short' heart breaker last year. All you have to do is look at the decklists using McCoy. They say Money Never Sleeps, but it's really Old Men Never Sleep. You got a steady list from 2008-2020. And guess what, he was played in plenty decks before the CC was around. So McCoy falls into the category of "I don't want to give this card up". Hall of Fame is mostly about giving cards up and moving onto new ideas. Come on people, lets reward this remarkable card with a nice retirement.

Card: Brute Force
Last Year's Vote: Not Nominated
2020 Prediction: 40%

Not nominated last year (K'Tal isn't nominated this year, so who knows, we all have our opinions), but Brute Force definitely deserves consideration. Like the previous two cards Brute is also in over 500 decklists. Brute is also a few years older than McCoy. It's hard to remember those early 2E days, but there was the Klingon deck that was at the top of the power rankings back then. In that deck one Kahmis had all the skills for your first mission and three of them had all the skills for Brute Force. That's some lazy CCG design. On top of that you got a standard Klingon mission that you can solve with 6 (sometimes 5) personnel. It's blatantly over the power curve. So when it comes to vote on Brute remember it checks all the boxes. Solid career and overpowered.