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. As we enter Season 3 of TOS, we find that The Enterprise Incident provided Decipher with many card ideas, starting with...
PICTURE: TOS era ships were a little silly-looking at times, but aside from the lack of surface detail, the old Battle Cruiser doesn't look too bad. Decipher HAS brushed up the image however, at the very least by giving it a greenish tint. It was actually gray in the episode (like the T'Ong). While this change makes it more Romulan, it's also a deviation from reality. In any case, the it's not like the pic is dramatic in any real way. A 2.6.
LORE: The lore is purposely vague to make the ship more universal, and it's a good alternative to the "typicals" usually used for this. There's a reason why the ship is Romulan rather than strictly Klingon, and a matching commander. This ranks around 3.6.
TREK SENSE: Unlike the badly affiliated B'rel, the TOS Battle Cruiser is both Romulan and Klingon. Since it started off as a Klingon design, I do think it should have been Klingon first, even if Charvanek is named as matching commander. Maybe a totally Romulan unique version should have been matched to her. They did share the technology though, so it's a better compromise than we've seen in the past. The ship has the normal perks of such a vessel: a Tractor Beam, a Cloaking Device, and like most TOS ships, a download of a period personnel. That personnel will be some kind of Ensign Bob, if you will, because they specifically state it must be a universal. And either a Romulan or Klingon will do, in line with the ship's dual affiliations. I'm a little concerned about the staffing icon though. A TOS personnel would have been the thing to do. An AU icon unfortunately includes future personnel like Governor Worf, K'mtar and Commander Tomalak. Are they really versed in D-7 staffing? The attributes are low, but normal for older ships, the universal D-7 clocking in at -1 Weapons from the IKC Gr'oth. It has a profile similar to the USS Constitution, though emphasizing Weapons over Shields in the Klingon style. So the card is pretty sound, but has some iffy propositions in places. A 3.6.
STOCKABILITY: Though TOS ships have weak attributes, a number of features makes them as appealing as other ships, if not more so. The universal Battle Cruiser is actually pretty flexible. For one thing, it's universal so though you might report it for free to K-7, you can also Spacedoor it anywhere and anywhen. It can be used by either the Romulans or the Klingons, giving a Cloaking Device to the TOS Klingons (which the Gr'oth doesn't have) or another matching commander ship for the Romulans (Commander Charvanek boosts it to 8-8-8 with the right events in play and is an excellent personnel to Ready Room Door for). A ship that has an origin different from its affiliation (say you use it as Romulan) also has some other uses, such as multiplying the number of Tactics you may stock in your Battle Bridge. For example, this ship could use Pulse Disruptor as well as Plasma Torpedo, covering more area when it comes to damage. Better yet, your Romulans could use Klingon Civil War to score points, though you'll need enhancements to destroy opposing Klingon ships. Of course, it also makes this ship vulnerable to Civil War and the Klingon Incoming Message. The AU staffing icon allows you to combine non-TOS cards in your crew with Crew Reassignment and is not as limited as a TOS icon would have been. Finally, you've got a nice special download which could be kept open until you need a specific personnel to save you from a dilemma by suspending play (just two personnel per affiliation unfortunately, but D'vano is a great dilemma-buster), though it'll get you your staffing personnel as soon as the ship is in play. All the bells and whistles make this a 3.6.
TOTAL: 13.4 (67%) Stays the course towards 3.6, but held back by Picture a little bit.
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