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 first ANIMAL classification in the game...
PICTURE: A cute little piece of CGI, transplanting Worf's pet from the Enterprise bridge to what seems the be the High Council chamber (what? still can't report for free to The Great Hall? aww). The effect isn't flawless, as the shadows seem slightly airbrushed, but the fish-eye lens on the background does put the Targ in the right perspective. Cute, but not perfect at 3.6.
LORE: I'm not totally impressed by the telegraphic style used here, mostly because it starts churning out complete sentences late in the paragraph making this a somewhat stilted read. The information is correct and all, but the focus falling on Worf, then Heart of Targ, disrupts the usual flow of personnel lore. I do appreciate the pet/food paradox, but it could have been better written. "This one is male" is, of course, a hoot. I know I'm being negative... the score is actually closer to average: a 3.
TREK SENSE: How do you judge an Animal when the great majority of personnel are sentient beings? Well, at least the Targ has no regular skills, which might have been strange (I would probably have bought Security). Its two special skills aren't exactly sensical though. The first boosts the Strength of your other Klingons present. How exactly? Is it that a group of Klingons has a battle advantage with fearsome Targs charging into the fray (which wouldn't explain Strength boosts during mission attempts)? Or are they so symbolic of something in Klingon culture that they empower warriors with added patriotism and ferociousness? Nah, I think they just went with relationship = boost, like on many other personnel. Just like with hand weapons, these broad boosts don't work all that well. It's also a little odd that Targ charging at rival Klingons would enhance those rivals as much as their own team, but that's how it's phrased. The second ability has your Targ charging and killing one Rogue Borg just played, and I guess as many times as your opponent plays Rogue Borg. Cute, but what's difficult to explain in the context of the rules is that the Rogue isn't actually attacked (which would count as a battle and stop, at the very least, your Targ), but nullified. Why Targs have an innate hatred of Rogue Borg, but not other intruders (including true Borg) is unknown. That really leaves us with attributes. Integrity 4 seems to be "animal integrity" because Spot also has a 4. I suppose Decipher set this number as the "survivalist integrity" (I'm not evil, I just do what I must to survive), though that's also Changeling Infiltrator integrity, so... I'm not sure what to think. Cunning is at its lowest (1), which is fine by me, and Strength is okay too. The Animal is fierce, but rather small. Oh, and a final word on affiliation: Unlike Spot, the Targ IS affiliated. Do I see a problem with that? (Like, does the Targ KNOW it's Klingon? Does it care?) Actually, I don't. The Targ is clearly part of Klingon culture, and would not normally be seen in the company of non-Klingons. Where does that leave us? Only a 2.1, I'm afraid.
STOCKABILITY: From what I can see, Targs are non-cumulative, right? That means that one per Klingon group would be all you'd need to get the maximum STRENGTH boost possible, and that's only +1 to personnel who already have a good STRENGTH average and a large selection of hand weapons. Not only is the boost slim, but it affects opposing Klingons as well, invalidating your boost up to a point in case of a "civil war". Of course, you might consider a hand weapon to give +2 to each Klingon, but a Targ is a personnel, so is +1 to each Klingon +5 (its own STRENGTH) to the group. The real use for the Targ is in its anti-pinging ability. There are a LOT of Rogue Borg hosers, and some are more expansive, but for straight pinging (the strategy using one RBM at a time just to stop a ship and crew), Targs are a definite boon. They don't attack RBMs, they nullify them. So the battle never occurs, the crew is never stopped. And the Klingon pet's ability is constantly renewable. It can even be used multiple times in the same turn (any time Rogue Borg are just played). Multiple Targs will also stop multi-RBM pinging (your opponent cant't just drop 2 at a time on you, for example), so aren't wasted there. Otherwise, Targ won't add a whole lot. They can't staff ships, use equipment, etc., and the only dilemmas they can pass are Vole Infestation (something the Klingons already do well with assorted hand weapons) and Palukoo (oh yeah, and Scottish Setter). Bottom line, though the furry critter is cool, and you can play Parallax Arguers any time he's affected by some kind of Romance dilemma, he's not the most useful pig in the pen. All depends on the situation. A 2.7.
TOTAL: 11.4 (57%) Wish I could have done more for him, 'cuz I know he's an STCCG community favorite.
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