What a Card: Starship Constitution (TMP)

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. Not seen EXACTLY in the film, but the Enterprise fills that role in the scene where Spock hands the ship over to Kirk...

EXPANSION: The Motion Pictures

PICTURE: The movie Enterprise really is a beautiful model, so I don't mind at all that it makes a second appearance in TMP as the generic Constitution class. Sure, not as flashy as the Starship Enterprise itself, but a nice shot nonetheless, with the registry number flooded with light so that you can't tell it's ol' 1701. A pretty enough 3.5.

LORE: A good explanation of why this old class was still in use decades after its heyday in the original series, and extends that reasoning to Excelsiors, Mirandas, etc. A good strategy for a universal ship. Scores a 3.5 here too.

TREK SENSE: As with the Starship Enterprise refit, all that's been added is a point in Weapons, which, given the amount of combat seen in the movies may well reflect the extent of the modifications. After all, the new engines were given to the Excelsior class, and the destruction of the Enterprise in ST III may hint at Shields that are no more than marginally better. Let's not forget that we have ships from a century later in the game, which act as attribute limits on older vessels. The Constitution can't surpass those levels. The staffing icon has been updated from OS to CF, naturally, with the same problem, namely that not all CF personnel can Staff or Command a ship. It's not a staffing icon per se, but an era icon. Be that as it may, it still does a good job of encouraging the personnel from the correct era to be aboard ship. The download works similarly, with a universal only because we don't really know anyone specific on those other Constitutions. It's a good effort with the usual hiccups. A 3.8.

STOCKABILITY: The CF era wasn't as well developed as the OS era, but you can still build a deck around it, with Camp Khitomer getting one of those cards out for free once per turn. Once a Constitution is out (Spacedooring is admittedly better), it can download all its staffing requirements, i.e. a universal CF personnel. These aren't as good as uniques, of course, but you could conceivably Perignon the ship into the Enterprise and then download a second personnel. Actually, if you also stock OS versions of the Constitution, you can swap for it, then download a universal OS personnel to the ship. It's a funky way to build a crew. Note that CF personnel can report aboard using Crew Reassignment, so switching may allow reporting of OS personnel on alternate turns. The Constitution has low attributes and no matching commander, which will always make it second fiddle to the various Enterprises, of course. Still, all Constitution-class ships get bonuses from OS Mr. Scott (boosts its attributes to 8-7-8) and can hold copies of the Columbus inside for landing strategies. No Enterprise, it's mainly relegated to the Spacedoor/Dom Perignon combo, and the score takes note of that. A 3.

TOTAL: 13.8 (69%) At the time, I dedicated the review to James Doohan who had just passed away.

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