Good Card, Bad Card #85

So after a rough start to 2013 it's time for the first GCBC of the year. With a new year comes a new challenge. It's time for the "That Was Cool" challenge. Each GCBC I'm going to submit a card for players to try to do something cool with in a tournament. Then they can email me (killerbstccg@hotmail.com) or PM me on the CC with a brief story of how they used the card. You don't have to win with it, do something spectacular, just something cool. I'll post the stories here and then rate the coolness. The first challenge card is:

 Good luck with that mess. I don't have anything that even comes to mind when it comes to Punishment Box. Warning, I will grade coolness on a curve. If you're a high level player I expect more from you. The new year also brought a new set, Matter of Time. I'm not going lie, when I saw my name on the cover sheet for the set I had to reign in the ego a little bit. But finally, the shoe on the other foot and people can tell me what good or damage I've contributed to the game. Since I'm hesitant to pick cards from a set I designed on, I let Johannes Klaurhauser pick the two cards from Matter of Time.

Good Card: Disconcerting Displacement 

Why: This one wasn't a surprise, and it's not ego talking when I say we hit this one out of the park. "Broadcasters" (personnel like greasy Dukat, mirror Tucker, Boothby, etc) were getting really annoying in 2E and there was nothing you could do about them (short of a sneaky assassin). This card was discussed a little on some of the podcast. It wasn't an early card in the MoT design process. It was truly a collaborative card during one of our meetings. Now of course this card brings a guy over you want to murder, so you need to combo it with a dilemma. He Wasn't Nice or Necessary Execution. If you have the cost pegged you could use Final Adventure. You don't even have to necessarily kill them. If they go with nine personnel you can bump them to ten with DD and play cards like Bio-neural Computer Core or Restricted Area. You can make them work for you, or poke them with a stick while they sit in your brig.

Bad Card: Reliving the Past

Why: This one was a surprise. I needed Johannes to defend his position on this one. He said that the card isn't terrible, but there's better ways to score 5 points. There was no point on relying on this card when you can play things like Deploy the Fleet. He's not wrong. If your goal is speed, and if you're banking on getting those 5 points then Reliving the Past isn't a good option for you. I see this card as more of a punishment card. For players who overplay dilemmas, or worse, playing an All-Consuming Evil Pile.