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. Moving right along in Star Trek III, the next sequence has McCoy break into Spock's room (no cards) while the USS Grissom detects life signs on Genesis (2 cards)...
PICTURE: Mr. Cautious is unlikable, but I can't hold that against his pic, can I? I won't. He looks fine. I'll pass on the washed-out background, though, which is just terrible and ill-defined. Since this wasn't more than average anyway, it gets 2.6.
LORE: Matching commander status is first established, then we head into personality traits. I like the mention of his having no serious incident for 4 years, when we know full well what happened at the end of those 4 years. "By the book" also harks back to something in Star Trek II, and conjures up a comparison between this lame-o and Kirk (and much later, with Shaw). Enough for 3.8.
TREK SENSE: Obviously a guy that's been going on scientific missions all his professional life, totally unused to the tactical element of commanding a starship. Heck, he doesn't even have Leadership, and I don't dispute that. He's versed in various sciences that would have helped him evaluate matters at Planet Genesis. Again, no arguments. A little more meat would have been nice, but there's nothing wrong with the standard skills. His undeviating following of the rules gives him high Integrity, but lower Cunning. I think the Strength's a bit high given his stuffed shirt and low battle rating. Eh, how 'bout 3.7?
STOCKABILITY: Standard Federation decks will probably give him a pass, seeing as there's so much competition among personnel. Three skills doesn't quite cut it, even if they're all perfectly useful (good stats too). In a CF deck, however, he does command a ship, the USS Grissom. At space missions it supplies an unfilterable SCIENCE, and can be better defended with Plaque and Log, reaching 9-7-9 levels. Not exactly a warship, but it's got a fighting chance. Estaban provides a trio of scientific skills not attached to a vulnerable SCIENCE personnel, so he'll be useful. His skills are good at either planet or space missions. Even in CF decks, he can never hope to reach the level of usefulness held by the Enterprise crew, but secondary captains like him and Styles are good because of their ties to their respective ships. Overall, a 3.1.
TOTAL: 13.2 (66%) My least favorite Starfleet captain of all time, yet I pass him. What's wrong with me? (Answer: high Integrity.) ;-)
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(And coming up soon)
(I'm currently building a model kit of the Grissom and that thing is tiny!)