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. Now from the scene where V'ger sends a probe that looks like Ilia to the Enterprise, the proto-Riker who I didn't actually review back in the day (too late in the alphabet). So this one's going to be an original...
PICTURE: Forgetting that the actor got himself cancelled, and for good reason, what we have here represents much of what is visually wrong with The Motion Picture. He's a pasty white blond man in pastel blue jammies, in front of a silver wall with silver stuff on it. A blank expression completes the picture. That uniform really does look like he's gonna spend the "trek" in suspended animation, and that thing behind him sort of looks like a fridge, or at least a walk-in freezer. I'm hitting the snooze button. A 2.5 (it's fine, it's just dull).
LORE: Imagine having a character called "Decker" that you can draw from you "deck" and not making any kind of joke about it, either in the lore or the game play. He's resolute. He will be dull if it kills him. The prototype for William Riker's lore nevertheless has that important captaincy that allows him to boost ship stats. It mentions his relationship with Matt Decker (from The Doomsday Machine) and with Kirk. He's hands on, something the captain of the Enterprise-B would have done well to imitate. Ilia might have liked to have been mentioned, I'm sure. Again, it's fine, with an uptick for being the captain of a specific ship. How about a 3?
TREK SENSE: That stuff about the refit might have indicated an OFFICER/ENGINEER dual designation, but SCIENCE is good too, as it connects with Anthropology, which is surely part of the combo he used to understand and ultimately merge with V'ger, along with Diplomacy and Computer Skill. Leadership, the Command icon, etc. are no brainers. As the supposed cream of the crop of Starfleet, he has high Integrity, high Cunning, and can handle himself in a fight. In other words, he's Kirk if he were more of a stickler for the rules. At least he's half of the requirements for V'ger. That tracks. One COULD perhaps nitpick his captaincy of the Starship Enterprise, which was an on-screen fact for a split second, and then he was downgraded to Commander, but perfectly serviceable, if uninspiring. A 3.5.
STOCKABILITY: The Federation has a lot of skill horses, but is he a good one? Well, if you're going to try for a Movie sub-affiliation deck, it certainly raises his credentials, but generally? OFFICER/Diplomacy/Leadership is a dead common for Feds, as is Computer Skill. Having a second classification, and SCIENCE/Anthropology is the bigger draw. Very high stats, which is good too. Ultimately, if you're using the Starship Enterprise (either of the two, though obviously, he best staffs the Movie version), then he can raise its stats to more contemporary ships' levels with Captain's Log, etc. Of course, that Enterprise has SEVERAL possible matching commanders - Captain Spock, Admiral Kirk, Christopher Pike - and Kirk and Spock are both better cards. But what if you lose the one you pick? Don't risk it. In fact, with Ready Room Door, not only can you get your matching commander early and easily, but you can get a BUNCH of them it seems. They all have big skill lists, so get solving missions faster than your opponent. This is where he shines the most. A 3.8.
TOTAL: 12.8 (64%) A passing grade, kind of like what the movie he comes from gets.
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