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. I never got to the Reliant in the original reviews, so this is going to be a new one...
PICTURE: The yellow border feels weird, but this is a great shot of the Reliant, coming in at a slight angle, its phaser banks glowing. Khan is a aboard and he's going to blow you out of the sky! There's also something special about this one, as it was the first Federation starship design not based on the Constitution class. Great lighting. Dynamic actio. I can spare a 4.1.
LORE: Its mission is explained, and how it fell into the hands of Khan and his followers. That means one matching commander (the other is stated on the personnel card), and a reason for each of its affiliations. Good enough. 3.5.
TREK SENSE: The usual stuff, I guess. The [Classic Films] icon is always dubious as a staffing requirement because there are many characters who have no starship experience with that icon, but at least the Miranda class seems easy enough to figure out of Khan's augments could do it (augments, sure, but still centuries out of date). Looking at the Basic Set's Miranda class, we find that despite DECADES of advancement, the Reliant still has 1 point more in Weapons. Khan's aggressive posture, no doubt, but what if he's not aboard? And anyway, his crew accounts for a lot of the enhancements; they shouldn't be hard-coded into the ship. As for the dual-affiliation, it probably should be Federation first (blue frame), seeing as it was wrestled away from Starfleet officers, but since most of its use in the movie is as a NA ship under Khan's control, I'll allow it. It's iffy though. A 2.
STOCKABILITY: Everybody loves Khan, so they made sure he had a playable micro-affiliation within the NA set, his own ship (this one), and a strategy made to order. There are thus plenty of incentives to use the Reliant. With Khan in play, it can report via Ready Room Door and get stat bonuses with Captain's Log and Dedication Plaque (to 8-9-9), that's a given (and will also work for Clark Terrell). Or get the ship even faster using Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold (it seeds then downloads it), and use that Objective to start report Khan and crew aboard for free. Joachim will give it +3 Weapons in addition to other boosters (so 8-12-9 in all), and Wajahut can relocate it to any Kirk's location (get your own Kirk in the game to extend your Range, though Khan will Nemesis him to the discard pile if they're together). Beyond that, Revenge requires the Reliant to score points from The Genesis Device, which could net an easy win if all your pieces are efficiently on the board. This makes the Reliant a very powerful ship in Khan's hands - it can defend itself, certainly - though it's pretty weak under Federation (or any other) control. Well, I guess Kruge can use RIADBSC too, but it's not a great fit, just quicker points from Genesis Device strategy. A 4.
TOTAL: 14.6 (73%) A classic.
Comments