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 trial never ended, but this is still Encounter at Farpoint...
PICTURE: Not the best profiles in Star Trek history, Picard here looks like he's Pinocchio, and Q like he should join The Cure, but not a bad face-off all in all. The picture fits the moment, with Picard not giving away any ground. Guilty, sure, but only provisionally. The people in the background actually hurt the photo by looking way too distracted. The face at the bottom definitely looks like its looking away. A middling 3.4.
LORE: A great moment here immortalized. I like it when they give Q more than a few words. The second sentence actually makes the game text make more sense. A 4.
TREK SENSE: Lovely how Q is actually mentioned in the game text. He's only a random selector, but then, when has he been anything but? Also fun how you get to really participate in the scene by uttering dialog. Now for the actual effects: one personnel gets shot unless it claims to be only provisionally guilty. If that is your claim, Q holds you to it and you cannot battle. (Not savage, remember?) Of course, Klingons ARE savage, but that's neither here nor there. I'd like to see a Nausicaan say "guilty - provisionally" with a straight face. While I do appreciate a lot of the work here, some things don't hold water. For example, the personnel shouldn't really be random... a commanding officer should represent his people at the very least. It also seems to me that if a race is not savage, then it won't attack another. The whole thing's a little backwards. Maybe if the personnel died if a battle were ever initiated. The threat would make more sense that way. Some good, some bad... a 3.8.
STOCKABILITY: Not the best Q-card. I dare say most people will choose to say the magic words. If the victim is playing Feds or using a non-battle strategy, they have got nothing to lose. If not, then it's not so bad, they can initiate a battle as fast as possible, then attack again once the dilemma is no longer in effect. Either you don't cancel the battle, and you lose your chance at cancelling one, or you do and your opponent can then attack you for real next turn or with another ship. Not even much of a delaying tactic. Sure, as a Q-Dilemma, it's seedable in a prepared combo thanks to Beware of Q, but I'm hard pressed to find a combo that would be worth the trouble. Turn Conundrum into a field trip and protect your targeted ship, but that's it. If you're scared of being attacked, my advice is to stock cards that will increase your defensive power permanently, not a one-off job like this. A 2.2, mostly because, as part of a Q-Flash, every little bit helps.
TOTAL: 13.4 (67%) A lot of Q-cards are fun, but few are very useful.
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