Being a look back at cards from the Star Trek CCG, and what I thought of them back when they were fresh and new... in EPISODE order. Finally, the last Too Short a Season card (yes, I know it was only four, but it's Too Short a Season)...
PICTURE: Well, that phaser looks pretty harmless from this angle. Far from giving the impression that we're being shot, it rather looks like she's using a flashlight or semaphore. It's good to see Tasha on another card though (she got short shrift in the series, after all), but the background is all too plain, and though she's rescuing captives in this shot, something with captives actually being busted out of a cell would have been much more satisfying. Simply 2.5.
LORE: A couple of things I find jarring - putting the words "Away Team" with capital letters, which is a game conceit, okay in game text, but strange in lore; and the use of "on this occasion" referring to the picture. Few cards do this, and they're usually the poorer for it. The whole Security Chief thing is fine, but isn't even followed through in the game text. A wasteful 2.2.
TREK SENSE: This is one card that overreaches a heck of a lot. All of a sudden, all captives, wherever they are, are busted loose AND returned to an outpost in Interrupt time, and without the need for Security personnel whatsoever. Prepare the Prisoner fixes it some, but that's neither here nor there. As a standalone, Rescue Captives does too much. If it played on only one location, I agree that the capture-related cards mentioned should be interrupted/nullified, all except maybe Brainwash which turns a personnel into a willing participant to your opponent's plans. Indeed, a Brainwashed personnel isn't much of a captive (not in its own mind), and "busting it loose" from wherever it is, does not deprogram it. I'm afraid I can't go over 2.1 here.
STOCKABILITY: The proliferation of capture-decks has made this card something of a magic bullet in some parts. That's not to say you should de facto stock it. In Q's Tent, maybe. Against Cardassian and Romulan capture decks (even SECURITY-heavy Dominion ones), you might wish you did. Captives can cost you point spreads and, well, personnel! Make sure you seed an Outpost (captives don't return to Nors), of course, and when all your personnel are in the Brig, or Brigs, bust them out. An uber-counter, Rescue Captives kills all those nasty capture-related events, including Brainwashes. Easier than Kevin Uxbridge. Watch out for hosers, though. There's Tharket's nullifying ability, and Prepare the Prisoner will make multiple Brigs real hosers as well as protect Brainwashed personnel that have been separated from each other. If you yourself are playing a capture deck, it certainly doesn't prevent your opponent from doing so as well. Rescue Captives isn't a waste in those decks because Prepare the Prisoner will cycle it like any other capturing-related card in case your opponent isn't setting any traps. An easily used 3.7.
TOTAL: 10.5 (52.5%) Low grades (much like the episode the picture was pulled from).
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