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. The penultimate sequence of The Wrath of Khan has Spock sacrifice his life and Khan set off the Genesis device. Four cards came out of those moments, including a major character...
PICTURE: A pivotal moment from Star Trek II - and Spock's life - is immortalized by this pic. That moment? The one where he decides that the needs of the many outweigh those of the one (him). Just after this, he heads down to engineering to meet his doom. Aside from that, it's a good, clear shot of Spock at his station, with plenty of color to make things interesting. It's an excellent 4.8.
LORE: The pic is pre-death, but the lore is post-death. That's no problem because it explains how Spock can be around despite being a goner in ST II. Well written, but I suspect they could have done a little better with an extra line of text. A 3.4 as is.
TREK SENSE: Spock has a lot of skills in any incarnation, so it's important that he really did showcase the listed abilities in the 6 movies he was in. Did he? Well, as a Captain, he was more Officer than Science without losing that specialty (or seat, apparently) so the classification/skill inversion from the OS version makes sense. He showed plenty of Leadership ability in the films (ST VI especially), making the skill deserved for more than just the new rank. He's still good at computations (Computer Skill) as when he plotted a slingshot effect in ST IV. Physics also figured in that film, as it did in ST VI when he figured out how to find the cloaked bird-of-prey. Mindmeld is a Vulcan necessity, but it has dropped to x1 since his Mr. Spock days. In fact, Spock never used SUPER-Mindmeld tricks in the films, such a melding through walls, etc. (I wouldn't count dumping his katra on McCoy in this category, and he wasn't yet a Captain when he melded with V'ger.) He was instrumental in setting the stage for a peace between the Federation and Klingons, so Diplomacy is definitely in order. He gave his life for his crew and was extremely loyal to his friends, so his Honor isn't in dispute. And as for Music, we do catch him plucking at his harp in one of the movies (ST V, around the fire). Gone from the earlier Mr. Spock are one instance of Science (a fair trade-off balance-wise, but not necessarily true) and Exobiology (aside from auscultating a couple of whales, he didn't do much of this at all). The special skill directly relates to the events of ST II and III, namely that he can return from the dead once per game. Without a need for a Genesis Device as a catalyst, this may be hard to swallow, but when you look at Spock's entire history, it does have other instances of his living through things that would have killed a human being. The way they've designed him mechanically makes for a long period (discard-hand-report again) as in the 2 movies mentioned. That sacrifice of his, plus willingness to forge a peace with the Klingons, definitely explains the high Integrity. High Cunning is a must for this living calculator. And he has his race's high Strength, though dropped a point from his younger self. Very, very well done, even if the special skill goes a bit overboard. Reaches 4.4.
STOCKABILITY: The CF bridge crew are a powerful lot. Captain Spock offers a Maglock-proof OFFICER with a more useful SCIENCE, and plenty of excellent mission-solving and dilemma-passing skills other than that, like Leadership, Physics, Computer Skill, Diplomacy and Honor. Music and Mindmeld aren't as versatile, but the former fits in well with your Federation Ressikan Flute deck, and the latter in decks with little or no other Mindmeld, for those few times when it is needed. And the attributes, what can I say, are great. He's also the matching commander of the CF version of the Starship Enterprise, allowing you to Plaque/Log the ship away from its devil attributes to 8-9-9 (though you may add to that even more with various other personnel, Wall of Ships, etc.). The ship will allow him to report aboard thanks to its downloaded Crew Reassignment. A good opportunity for that is after you've lost him once (hey, it happens) and taken him back into your hand with his special skill. It's a simple matter to report him back to his ship no matter where it is. With so many skills you might depend on, that second chance isn't a bad thing at all. He's a version of the Mr. Spock persona, so switching for different skills can be of use. Basically, you'd sacrifice Leadership, Honor, Physics, matching commander status and the special skill for Exobiology, 1 more SCIENCE, 1 more Mindmeld, a more versatile OS icon and a personnel battle-related special download. There's enough of a difference to stock both. Note that either way, he'll be able to report to Amanda Grayson and solve Agricultural Assessment (he's Any Spock). Lots of skills and a second chance at life? Hits a cool 4.2.
TOTAL: 16.8 (84%) Top 3 on the Fed-o-meter!
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