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. TOS Season 2! Well, because of the expansions named after them, most of Season 2's cards come either from Mirror, Mirror, or from The Trouble with Tribbles. Let's start with the former. We'll be here a while.
PICTURE: The origin of an icon... Yep, this is it: the Mirror, Mirror expansion icon, right down to the angle and shadows. I like it on its own basis too, with all that pain-ridden red. And it's a very clear close-up for an Original Series pull (of Transporter Chief Kyle) and that finger poised over the button holds a lot of suspense. A definite 4.1.
LORE: The same thing is said, more or less, a couple times, but the text is appropriately dry, and the game text is, in part, explained. A good 3.2.
TREK SENSE: Coming from the 23rd-century, the equipment just had to have both an AU icon and a TOS icon (sorry, just can't get used to calling it an "OS" icon). The effect isn't bad, insuring loyalty (Integrity) through pain and fear. That Cunning would also be affected must have something to do with alertness, but that part of it is more debatable. When I'm scared, I tend to make mistakes, but I see their point. Unlike other attribute-boosting equipment, just one Agonizer on someone's belt SHOULD have an effect on everyone present. And I actually like the cumulativity limit since there's only so much pain or fear you can take, but more Agonizers than there are personnel present should simply invalidate the effects entirely. Afraid you'll push your own button? The targets, however, are a little too wide-ranging. Terran Empire personnel of course use this thing. 24th-century Agonizers were used by the Alliance as well, as evidenced in "Shattered Mirror". But the Terran Rebellion? Did they ever bring the item back? They might have used them on Alliance members for torture, but on their own? I really don't think so. And if you thought I was gonna say there was no evidence of TOS Klingons ever using these, well, I almost did. But then I noticed the Klingons in "Day of the Dove" used the same exact prop for the same exact effect (discipline). So I guess in "our" universe, it's the Klingons that used it. No one does now though (I'm surprised at the Cardassians and Romulans, but this is supported by canon). So the problems are small after all, and it turns out that Klingon mention is inspired. A 4.2.
STOCKABILITY: High INTEGRITY for a Mirror universe personnel is around 7 (only beat by First Officer Spock), but the average is much lower. That means that these personnel can raise that most difficult to boost attribute, up to a maximum of +3. That's more than Kukalaka unless someone is also using Leeta (not an option for all INTEGRITY-disenfranchised affiliations), but it requires more cards. TOS Equipment is a little easier to get at however, with the Agonizer being downloadable by Transporter Chief Kyle and more generally by First Officer Spock. It helps too that it can report for free at K-7, especially for the Klingons (which I'll get to in a moment), and Halkan Council. The CUNNING boost is more incidental, but always good too. As for the TOS Klingons, there are rather few of them, and they aren't necessarily the smartest or most integrious in the Empire. Heck, at the very least, it's a better choice for Mirror cargo runs than an ol' PADD. Good, but limited to too few personnel to be very good. A 3.5.
TOTAL: 15 (75%) Wow, that's pretty high for an Equipment card. We must be in the wrong universe.
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