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. More Dixon Hill stuff...
PICTURE: The brown tones work well for a Dixon Hill character. It's got the right period feel (like the black and white of the Captain Proton stuff). It's not a very exciting palette, of course, but there ya go. The pic is a good headshot in any case, sharp and well composed. The late Lawrence Tierney was apparently a maniac, but he sure has presence. A good 3.5.
LORE: The stuff about the "item" is resolved on the relevant Holoprogram card, which would make little sense without its appearance here. I like what precedes it, as it gives us his personality and attitude. Seems like being a "re-creation" of so-and-so isn't as important to put on a card as it used to be though. A fairly good, if workmanlike, 3.3.
TREK SENSE: Very poor. Sure, I'll accept that this Federation-made hologram was Non-Aligned because in the episode, the Enterprise lost control of the program and allowed him to act independently (à la Moriarty). Usually, I don't like the NA affiliation on holograms. I mean, he's based on Earth literature (low-brow literature at that), so why would the Romulans be running his program, you know? As a mob boss, he can't be anything but Civilian, and his Integrity should be pretty low. His Cunning seems a little high though. Is it the civility or the fact he sort of found out he was on the Enterprise or what? Seemed pretty one-dimensional to me, a one-track mind unable to really comprehend his situation. Strength, on the other hand, could have been higher. It's Lawrence Tierney! A mean ol' Reservoir Dog! Remember that line about being like the Fantastic Four's Thing in that Tarantino movie? Well, it's also true of Cyrus Redblock! A gangster his size would be a powerful physical opponent, I should think. He's only got one skill, and I wouldn't dispute Leadership, but Leadership x2? Sure, his minions followed his orders, but he's got Leadership on the same order as Kirk or a world government leader! I don't buy it. And then there's the special skill. It's unfortunate that so many personnel in Holodeck Adventures have special abilities that read like Events because, while they work thematically (and are fun), they just don't work within Trek Sense. Here, no matter where Cyrus is, he can murder someone when they face certain dilemmas. It's got to do with his belief that you only kill for a purpose, so that in the game, dilemmas that mention murder should kill (they are purposeful). I see the logic, but it's got nothing to do with Redblock himself. Sorry, but that spells a low 0.6 for this hologram.
STOCKABILITY: On his own, Cyrus Redblock is a medium-powered hologram. The Leadership x2 is a good skill, which takes care of a number of mission and dilemma requirements. And the special skill is interesting if you use the "murder" dilemmas in combination with him. He adds teeth to Angry Mob, Lockbox, Empathic Echo, Framed for Murder, Implication, Ankari Spirits, Scientific Method and Dejaren. Some of these are just walls, but now they also kill. Maybe the death will impair the crew or Away Team so that they can't pass it after all. That's all cute and fine, but throw in a couple of other cards, and Cyrus Redblock becomes, some might say, a game breaker. Holoprogram: The Office of Dixon Hill allows Cyrus to report for free, then enables the "item" mechanic. What is this? Well, as long as Cyrus remains in that Holodeck (present with the Holoprogram), you can, every turn, put a card from hand face down on the table. From there, it either plays for free or gets placed out-of-play. If it plays for free, you further get a card draw. If it's placed out-of-play, you score 5 points. The problem is, your opponent decides which. That's why I don't consider it game-breaking. You can lose an awful lot of cards to the out-of-play region, and 5 points each turn is only worth so much if your opponent hoses you with Intermix Ratio (but he needs to give you a LOT of points if you keep completing missions in the meantime, before you're actually hosed). It's a risk to play a card you want to play. Still, you might count on your opponent's dislike of giving away points, and get that free play/card draw combo. So it's a risk to put a card down that you don't want to play too. Risky for you, but a pain for your opponent. The proverbial rock and hard place. More fun with Redblock: Felix Leech can download him. This is especially helpful since Felix downloads to the Office of Dixon Hill. You want Cyrus in play as fast as possible after all, to enable his effects. Again, there's a catch: Your opponent must have attacked you. That may not be difficult against certain decks, but against others, you might need some kind of Conundrum/Saltha'na Clock incentive. A lot of checks and balances technically keep Cyrus from being too cheesy, but he's still a strong (and yes, a little cheesy) 4.5.
TOTAL: 11.9 (59.5%) In memoriam.
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