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. More bridge crew! MORE!
PICTURE: It's not bad, but TwT's over-reliance on images from its title episode doesn't necessarily give us the best images of the bridge crew characters. Chekov has a very strange expression on his face, and the brown background is hardly his native element. Composition's okay, but the pic just doesn't capture Chekov's personality. And that's all-important for a main character. Only a 2.7 then.
LORE: We get his full name (from "The Way to Eden", I believe), his age and his post. At least one Russian reference had to make it in, and they chose the Tribble-specific Klingon/Cossack stuff. Good enough. A couple of things are a little off however. One is calling Chekov "feisty". I'm not saying it's not true, but it may not have been the best qualifier for him. Makes him sound like he's 6 years old, or a girl reporter in 1940s media. The other is that he's apparently Spock's protégé. Has this been established? I mean, he shares an interest in the sciences, but he's no more under Spock's wing than Uhura is, for example. He's no Saavik or Valeris! Those keep the card at 3, there mostly thanks to the Cossack joke.
TREK SENSE: Wearing the gold shirt at a forward station makes him Officer, true enough, and as navigator, he of course needs Navigation. His Youth was part and parcel of his character, and is interesting here since his age is actually given in the lore. So Youth is attributed (to humans at least) if they're no more than 22, though probably as old as 25. Bashir's early attitude might put it at before 30. But I digress. Science is plain enough for those who've watched the show. When Mr. Spock is on a planet, Chekov usually fills his boots at the science station. Finally, we get a special skill which has everything to do with his spot in the navigator's chair, but I don't agree with it. A ship's speed is rooted in the doings of its engineer(s), not its navigator. Ok, you'll say that plotting a course might actually benefit the ship's actual Range, and you would be right, but this would imply that Chekov was somehow better at this than every other navigator/helmsman in Star Trek history. And only for the Starship Enterprise. Navigation should be affected more by exterior stellar phenomena than a specific ship's systems. A conceptual ability then. Integrity's a little too low for my tastes, and strictly based on his hatred of the Klingons in the pictured episode (though unprofessionally fooling around in The Apple acts as supplementary justification). Sure, he was young and foolish, but quite loyal to his captain. That ain't no 6. The rest of the attributes, as well as all the icons, are fine. Not bloated on skills, Chekov's design works fairly well, though he's far from perfect. A 3.5.
STOCKABILITY: The youngest member of the TOS bridge crew has few skills (especially with Youth's low usefulness factor), but he still fits well in an OS deck. The Starship Enterprise has low starting attributes, but can be easily staffed with personnel that will boost those attributes. In Chekov's case, it's +2 RANGE, and he can just as easily report aboard the ship with Crew Reassignment as any OS personnel as download to it. Aside from OFFICER, he has a second classification, the excellent SCIENCE (still can't use Tricorders though), and Navigation is always useful. Attributes aren't great, but fair. Classic Phaser will add to his STRENGTH and skill pool, with the Trek-Sensical SECURITY. And he's specifically named on Agricultural Assessment, which is at Sherman's Planet. As soon as you Temporal Vortex your ship out of the corresponding time location, attempt the mission! (Download Chekov if you don't already have him aboard, though Mr. Spock might be a more appealing choice if available.) A useful 3.6.
TOTAL: 12.8 (64%) Could have been better, but could have been worse.
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