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. Already, we get a look at the Big Bad, such as it is and this is a new review...
PICTURE: The glow on the probe is so sharp that it looks like the card reveals the effects matte. And while, sure, the little ball is what made the whale sounds, we're not really seeing the whole probe. A glowing effects blur that doesn't really work for me, so only a 1.6
LORE: Tells the story well enough. I'm not sure this needed to be THE Whale Probe, but I agree that we never saw another one... well, not until Lower Decks Season 4, but Decipher could hardly have known (and who's to say it isn't the same one?). A 3.5 supported by game text that ties directly into it.
TREK SENSE: So the unique Whale Probe starts out as a space dilemma, just like it did in the movie. But it moves, slowly but surely, looking for the humpback whales it made first contact with in ancient times - or its cetacean colonists, who knows - which most assuredly are at the Earth location (Espionage mission), except not here. The end of the spaceline could eventually take you to Earth, but of course, not if it's actually in play. The Probe might even be going the wrong way if Earth is along the short end. Its effect is to place ships, personel and facilities present in stasis, which is one way to see the power down, but it's not a complete picture. The facility on Earth, for example, was in much more danger than that, but again, the dilemma does not simulate what happened on Earth, only people and things along the way. So it's true that space stations and ships were dead in space in its wake (and absurdly - but this is a problem with the movie's logic, not the card's - remained that way even after the Probe had passed, until the whales answered the call). So this works okay, within the limits of the danger the card focuses on. Raised eyebrow at the AU icon, since I don't see why things that happened in the past are automatically stuck in the past, especially something as ancient as the Probe. Then again, it's likely been crawling towards Earth for ages and is not a problem after the events of Star Trek IV, so okay. A partial picture, but good enough for a 3.5.
SEEDABILITY: I mean, this is a dilemma that CANNOT be overcome by attempting personnel. You would need George and Gracie to nullify it, and what are the chances of you having the whales in play unless you, yourself, seeded the Probe? And of course, that's one of the reasons you would. Seed Cetacean Institute, get the whales in play (maybe Gillian to protect them from battles), and hop on your mission-solving ship. The Probe can swing by, but your cards won't be placed in stasis. Meanwhile, your opponent gets potential delays (though they can fly past the Probe if they need to, so it can be a bit random as to if and when the card really affects their cards, beyond that first trigger, if indeed you didn't trigger it yourself). But you can't do anything to cards in stasis, so the card really isn't as powerful as it first seems. Another 3.5.
TOTAL: 12.1 (60.5%) For specific theming, but it's a very good stopper.
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