What a Card: K'chiQ

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. Our first TNG Klingon card isn't exactly real...

EXPANSION: Q-Continuum

PICTURE: Not as "evolved" as later Klingons (neither was Worf the first season), K'chiQ nonetheless sports some interesting armor. The card is hurt a bit by the heavy shadows and boring background, and it probably won't be popular with feminists ;-). A 3.2.

LORE:
Shortened by the restriction box, the lore still has some zest, pointing to her game text and giving her story pretty much in full. The best thing here is her totally made-up name. She's a true "chick", with a K for Klingon (the K-apostrophe is a common Klingon prefix) and a Q for her Q-Continuum origins. Brilliant, and enough to make this one rise to a 4.

TREK SENSE: Totally imaginary, K'chiQ is obviously AU, but one can't help wondering what would have happened if she had been a Q-card too. Dream card makers were pondering the possibility of Q-Personnel from when Q-Continuum came out, but alas... She DID spring from the mind of a Q (albeit a temporary Q), maybe having her spring to "opponent's crew or Away Team until next Q-Flash" would have been more appropriate. In any case, there's no limit to the number of K'chiQs you can have in play, so long as they don't meet their twin, because there are as many "ideal mates" as there are male Klingons. Two K'chiQs together would ensure a cat fight, or maybe some sort of matter/antimatter reaction (I'm not sure why they would be discarded if they met). Without a male Klingon, the fantasy girl has no basis for existing. She's there just for "him", whoever "he" happens to be at that moment. Some people will have a fantasy girl who's good at Diplomacy, others like the ENGINEER type. You might even like variety, and this is what the changeable skill is supposed to mimic. She aims to please. I wonder what Worf's K'chiQ was good at. The Civilian classification makes as much sense as any. Since she's just supposed to be a "mate", it works. Likewise, we don't have enough information about her to really dispute her attributes, though the low Cunning seems appropriate for the growling beauty, as does the relatively high Strength. A competent 4.2.

STOCKABILITY: Always having the skill you need has been proven to be a big advantage for the Borg with their Queen, so what do the Klingons think of theirs? Well, without an Interlink ability available, it's not as potent, but it's still good. Keep her aboard your ship in case she can come down and solve a dilemma for you, or replace a just-lost skill you needed for a particular mission, it's all fair game. Never forget the skills with built-in uses, like Cybernetics to report androids for free, Miracle Worker's built-in Transporter Skill and Guramba's attack restrictions. For mission theft strategies, K'chiQ will give you access to non-Klingon skills like Tal Shiar and Obsidian Order. Though quite versatile, the Klingon bimbette does have some nasty restrictions. While she's universal, you can't have any copies together (or else, imagine an Away Team completely made up of K'ChiQs solving mission after mission by simply changing skills) and they must always be accompanied by a male. The Klingons have lots more males than females (making K'chiQ more valuable), so it's no real problem, but if she gets relocated for any reason (like Female's Love Interest), she dies. For extra versatility, make her part of your Cryosatellite, or report her directly to your AU ship with Crew Reassignment. Stats are pretty okay. A 3.7.

TOTAL: 15.1 (75.5%) Now I want to see Worf's rating.

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