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. So they only made one card from "The Measure of a Man", but "The Dauphin" scored four?! Oooh-kay...
PICTURE: Plain Jane. I didn't expect much more mind you. Too bad it couldn't be a pic of her monster form (but that became The Guardian). A straight shot that deserves something around a 2.8. Oh, I'd comment on how appropriate her stern expression is except that was the part of her she could never morph.
LORE: Better than average. "Shapeshifting" is probably not as a clear as the word "shapeshifter" itself, but it works. The last two sentences work together to explain her special ability, and there's some small poetry in describing Salia as "hope". A 3.4.
TREK SENSE: I'm a bit surprised at the CIVILIAN classification. I would have thought that she would either share VIP with Salia (the nurse of a VIP is also a dignitary) or be SECURITY (she's a bodyguard). CIVILIAN is okay, just not perfect. Of course, SECURITY is still there. Her Honor and high Integrity represent her ability to sacrifice herself in duty (she shares moments with Worf). The special ability makes a lot of sense too: She interposes herself between whatever could harm Salia and her charge. Again, the ability isn't perfect. Anya only protects Salia from random selections, meaning that she is incapable of saving her from someone who actually targets her specifically for death. She doesn't save her from personnel battles either. Also, she can take Salia's place in a Romance or Love Interest dilemma. Does that sound right? Anya steals a boyfriend and goes to the ends of the galaxy with him? She had a teenage form, but come on. It's more like she stops the romance from happening. Other than that, no problems. Her download of Salia shows just how close she keeps her ward. She scouts ahead, then tells Salia to come. The Cunning befits a closed-minded guard, the Strength is deceptively high, and she has access to shapeshifting cards. Plot holes aplenty, but most can be tolerated. A 3.
STOCKABILITY: She's the perfect secret service bodyguard. That is to say, she only really protects one person: Salia. And since Salia is a good personnel with plenty of skills and shapeshifting ability, she's a good one to protect. Anya and Salia are mostly important to give non-Dominion and non-Bajoran players some shapeshifters to work with. There are a lot of fun support cards for these and the Dominion (and Odo) shouldn't be the only ones to enjoy their use. In the Bag will allow reporting to any Equipment, Strike Three makes them fiercer in battle, Caught Red-Handed lets them expose infiltrators, You Dirty Rat will protect them from personnel battles, Flight of the Intruder from dilemmas. So, you ask, why protect Salia if the support cards can do it by themselves? Because once Anya has taken the bullet, Salia remains unstopped and in play. She's a mission solver, where Anya is more specialized as a dilemma pass-artist. And since Salia can be downloaded by her, it's not like she's a wasted card slot. Fast easy reporting, lovely. With good stats, two classifications, non-aligned status and shapeshifter support, she's also pretty good by herself, just not as strong (use some Strike Threes). A 3.8.
TOTAL: 13 (65%) Her best score was in stockability, so she's quite usable. But I don't deal in that kind of reality. ;-)
Interesting that you call her a bodyguard when, in game terms, she isn't one. That means she can't use Bodyguards or sacrifice herself to A Fast Ship Would Be Nice, and the special skill doesn't save Salia in either situation. Obviously not a concept that existed when The Dominion expansion was being created.
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