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. It's not just about the Klingons...
PICTURE: Showcases the Benzite's breather and an interesting expression, but is otherwise an off-to-the-side bust shot. It's even a little dark, with his blue uniform coming out purple. (At least it matches his skin tones.) Not bad, but not great at 3.
LORE: Shouldn't that be "specialists", plural? After that error, the second phrase is a dull date, and it's not until the third and last that we get something fun. It has to do with Wesley mistaking Mendon for Mordock in "A Matter of Honor", mostly due to the fact that both characters were played by the same actor, though the onscreen explanation is that all Benzites from the same continent look alike. Even more fun is that Mordock has the same phrase in his lore. Almost manages to save the lore, which gets 2.6 here.
TREK SENSE: Making Mendon a universal is controversial in that he was an exchange officer, and so there wouldn't be a number of Benzites in Starfleet at this point. The lore's contention that he's representative of science specialists in Starfleet, though it's an early nod to what Assign Mission Specialists would make him, and avoids the fact that all such specialists have to be Benzite according to this. Fortunately, Benzites were starting to join Starfleet for real from Mordock on, so that defuses a lot of the trouble here (remember Hoya). I do have trouble with the specialty they gave him: Physics. On the show, he was studying the Microbiotic Colony, and that's not really a Physics question. Stresses on the bird-of-prey's hull, etc., yes, but he went further than that, and might better be rated as a Biology or Exobiology specialist. Attributes aren't well distributed either. Integrity's okay, though the guy didn't really know how to work within Starfleet's command structure, he was trying to do the right thing. But his Cunning is too low. Sure, there were things he didn't understand, but he did catch something the others didn't, and was very thorough in his investigation. And what about that 2 in Strength? 2 is for old ladies! That leaves the Staff icon, which I have no trouble with. Can't go higher than 1.6.
STOCKABILITY: Premiere gave the Feds 4 Physics mission specialists, what are we going to do with them all? Well, Toby Russell is a MEDICAL, so she retains her use. Sir Isaac Newton is a hologram, so not really as efficient as Mendon. And Hannah Bates is unique, not universal, even if her CUNNING is way better. It all really hinges on the number of Federation missions that require multiple Physics, since there, you need different specialists to squeeze all the points from AMS. The Delta quadrant has a lot of Physics missions that might make Mendon and his gang profit from downloading to the Nekrit Supply Depot, but only 2 require more than one Physics: Restore Victims (3) and Aftermath (2). And that's it as far as Physics is concerned - there are no other missions that require multiples. For the many missions that require only one instance of Physics, well, Mendon's a possibility, but Russell is better across the board, if a little easier for dilemmas to target. For what it's worth, a 1.9.
TOTAL: 9.1 (45.5%) Not really in Starfleet. ;-)
Comments