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. We've been talking about this one a lot...
PICTURE: You know what this is, don't you? It a shot of the Enterprise going to warp in the opening sequence of the show. By eliminating the starfield, Decipher has turned it into Q's extremely similar effect. Despite the borrowed source, it's appropriate in looking like an opening (a doorway). A simple (if a little boring) 2.9.
LORE: N/A (score will be adjusted accordingly)
TREK SENSE: Playing a Q-Flash is like playing the Q "affiliation". The doorway enables the Q-Continuum cards to come into play (whether seeded as dilemmas or on top of the side-deck), or nullifies Q-cards as members of the Continuum have often done when Q had gone too far. I guess I should delve into the way Q-Flashes work as dilemma experiences. When Q-Flash is uncovered under a mission, Q appears (sometimes accompanied by Amanda Rogers or other friends) and inflicts a Q-episode on the crew or Away Team. I say episode because what else can I call it when the number of Q-cards is equal to the number of personnel present (minus any duplicate Q-cards drawn)? Q usually sticks to bugging one person (habitually a captain), and while the cards brought into play during a Q-Flash really don't happen to any specific personnel that might have added to their number, the multiplication of Q-cards would probably take longer than your usual single dilemma. Is this particularly problematic? No, because Q has been know to suspend time while he played his antics on the unwary crew, resetting chronometers at the end of the episode. It's a good little mechanic, the number of cards encountered balanced by their relative weakness. A neat 4.5.
SEEDABILITY: The Q-Continuum side-deck has long been both criticized and lauded, but, whoever you believe, it's undeniably fun. The idea has always been to stock your side-deck carefully, with cards that would have an impact on the rest of your strategy. Some Q-cards, like Fightin' Words and Penalty Box have more power than the others and have become standards, but how could you be sure you weren't wasting your Q-cards if you stocked only a few different card titles? A large Away Team would quickly send your entire collection of Penalty Boxes to the discard pile. Newer rulings have fixed this, discarding all Q-cards to the bottom of the side-deck. So you CAN play with a smaller selection and not run out. Beware of Q has also made Q-Flash more desirable - now, you can exchange a bad dilemma for one (if your opponent isn't playing what you thought he would), or add a Q-Flash to any mission (restocking a space location with a "multiple" dilemma so that the Borg can't scout it free of charge, for example). A Q-Continuum becomes worth it when you assure yourself some hits with these methods (they also might act as deterrents, especially when there's already someone in the Penalty Box). The Q-Flash can "jump around" by other methods as well, like Incoming Message - The Continuum which lets you end the Q-Flash and reseed it elsewhere. Not bad when your selection has gone off in its entirety. One warning: playing more than one Q-Flash multiplies the hits (and is certainly warranted when working with Penalty Box), but it'll discard all those Q-Events enabled by the first one. All depends on your strategy. I wouldn't use the Q-Flash as a Q-card nullifier, but if you have one in hand (for Beware of Q) and something bad happens, there's always that. From small dilemmas, to redshirt hosers, to stunt decks like Gift of the Tormentor's, there's something in there for many players. A 4. That's right, you heard me, a 4.
TOTAL: 15.2 (76%) I guess we know on which side I fall on.
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