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. Our final card from The Schizoid Man...
PICTURE: Semi-interesting decor our characters are beaming into, though if it's supposed to be a courtyard or agora, that orange sky looks incredibly fake, like, TOS-fake. I also wish there was more to distinguish this from a normal transport job. As is, it's aesthetically fine, with good colors and a fairly symmetrical composition. A 3.
LORE: 1.5 here. What? You want a longer review than that? Well, exactly! This doesn't even cover one whole line. It's vague, bereft of any context, examples, or details... A 1.5.
TREK SENSE: We'll have to get over how silly the whole concept was on the show in the first place quickly enough, but we should discuss it a bit. See, there's no reason to endanger an Away Team with this procedure when warp speed is so fast, stopping for a proper transport would mean no actual delay. I don't know what they were thinking with this. How they've decided to treat it here is interesting. Near-Warp Transport doesn't actually have a greater range (heck, to another spaceline location would be immense range, especially outside a Region). What's actually happening on the show is that the ship is making a pass at that other location and then returning to its "true" location. In effect, your ship is cheating its own Range. One way to justify it is that you have to slow down inside star systems, which is part of the ship's Range. Not going to impulse for more than a second actually saves on overall Range, allowing for maneuvers like this. Of course, if you can get there, you can stop there, right? Well, maybe not. Maybe stopping there would get you only on the edge of the system, not at the location proper until the next turn. Yeah, troublesome, I know. The maximum on personnel and equipment beamed makes sense in that it's all a transporter pad can take in one go, and since you're not stopping for long, you don't have time to get another batch on the pad. I'd agree totally if much of our Equipment cards weren't so small and portable. A Tricorder doesn't need its own pad! Also, ships have varying transport capabilities which aren't acknowledged here. A shuttle might only have room for one or two personnel. The Enterprise had MULTIPLE transporter rooms. Also, a need for Transporter Skill might have been proper (had it existed yet). While the concept is intriguing on a physical level, it's also as mystifying as it was on the show. A 1.8, and I may be generous.
STOCKABILITY: Well... Since the Fajo Collection's Miles O'Brien downloads it, I might include it in decks with him. Otherwise, I'd probably prefer a RANGE boost if all I'm doing is beaming to a planet mission. After all, actually BEING at the location would mean I wouldn't have to limit my Away Team to 6 personnel and equipment, open myself up to Crisis, etc. Mega-Away Teams are strong, and the limit impairs any attempts at a surprise personnel battle using this card. I can still see a couple of advantages to Near-Warp Transport, though. For one thing, there's the idea of emergency reinforcements: Your Away Team or crew has been hit by a dilemma with a countdown, and you're trying to ferry the cure from your outpost to the mission. You almost get there, but run out of RANGE. A good time to use Miles's special download, right? Not having it in hand at the right time IS a problem when used defensively like this. One more proactive way to use it is in combination with Invasive Transporters (including Borg Objectives that allow beaming to a ship, like Assimilate Starship). In this case, you could surprise an opponent who's doing their best to avoid your ships, always staying out of range, whether it's to battle or to infiltrate those ships. Stocking a good number of Near-Warp Transports could allow you to overcome the 6 per beam-in limit. Of course, there's no return button on this thing, so your personnel are on their own until you can bring a ship in closer. Rehabilitated somewhat in my eyes, it's still far from great at 3.1.
TOTAL: 9.4 (47%) Another one of those iffy Premiere propositions.
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