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. Starting with The Cage.
PICTURE: The only personnel card with the original Starfleet collar, Pike is sufficiently heroic here (the Captain's Chair shot, I hear it's called), with a background that avoids the usual TOS pastels in favor of more steely colors. Palette's pretty limited, but not bad at 3.2 (out of 5).
LORE: "Noted captain" isn't very descriptive, and the lore is altogether too interested in the line of succession (April gets a mention at least). We do get the number of years he had as captain of the Enterprise, and this all certainly makes him matching commander of the ship. Oh, another 3.2, but no sparks.
TREK SENSE: The original captain of the Enterprise is an Officer with Leadership and a Command icon, and of course, all the icons required. I don't think he's pre-OS since he did appear in that series, in "The Menagerie" if you don't count "The Cage". Security isn't baseless given that he was primarily an action-based hero, certainly versed in combat tactics. The way he handled his only known mission (at the time, he's about to get a lot deeper), the Talosians, showed both Honor and Diplomacy. A legend close to Kirk's own stature, he inspires all OS personnel with him to greater attributes. Cunning and Strength go up because of he coordinates his people's efforts better, and as for Integrity, just look at the loyalty he inspired in Spock! If he's such a legend though, why wouldn't Feds from later eras also be inspired by him? Nagging. His mental discipline facing his telepathic adversaries gives him lots of Cunning, but maybe it should have upped his Integrity too. A 7 still isn't too bad given that he did resort to violence and threats by the end. Still, less Integrity than Kirk? That penchant for action does warrant the high Strength (your basic human maximum). Solid, though nothing that really jumps out and grabs you. A 4.
STOCKABILITY: Your matching commander of choice to command the Starship Enterprise may well be Captain Kirk, he IS the superior personnel, but you could still use Pike to cover the bonuses while Kirk is busy stopping a female (now THERE'S a euphemism!) or attempting a planet mission. Ready Room Door downloads him even if Kirk is aboard, so why not? While there, he'll also give all your OS personnel +1 to their attributes. Every little bit helps, I suppose. As far as skills go, he's almost your basic DipHoLe (Diplocacy-Honor-Leadership), which the Feds have plenty of already, but he adds SECURITY, which is far more useful, the OS Feds having few unique personnel with the classification. Great attributes, of course. One side-ability is that of overcoming Talosian Cage, which otherwise requires 3 Empathy, a requirement your OS deck would have a hard time meeting. Heck, I dare say most decks will have trouble with that one. But using a personnel just in case the Cage shows up? Not enough. And since the attributes boost is only good for OS personnel, I can't really recommend him for other decks. Manages 3.4.
TOTAL: 13.8 (69%) So many Fed personnel, you really have to stand out to make an impression.
One can dream of how cool a Discovery-era Pike would have been though...
Comments
Speaking of Discovery-era characters, are there any fan efforts making new cards for the new shows? Or are there rights issues?