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. Certainly the prettiest Bynars card there is...
PICTURE: Well, my tastes run in Riker's direction on this one. It's all in the eyes (well, not ALL in the eyes), deep and confident. Very sultry. The two-tone background is disconcertingly mismatched, though it reminds us of her unreality. Yes, I'm smitten, so a perhaps biased 4.4.
LORE: The gin joint stuff uses cool period slang (straight from Riker's pick-up line), while the second sentence deals with her actual role (explaining her special skills). We end with something we found out in "Past Imperfect", where Barash pulled her from a strong memory to be Riker's dead wife. A full and interesting 3.8.
TREK SENSE: If the Bynars are Non-Aligned (if allied with the Federation), then their creation should also be. And since she's basically a barfly, Civilian is the only classification that can stick. She has no regular skills, though Diplomacy and Anthropology could have fit. Some personnel have gotten Music from less dancing. But she may well have been programmed so specifically that she couldn't really use those skills on missions. Her way with men has been turned into a stopping ability instead, usable on two males at once, just like on the show. Her link to the Bynars is represented by the first special skill, allowing any Bynars card to play for free, but what's the rationale? Is it that she buys the Bynars time so that they CAN play their Data Transfers and Weapon Enhancements? Thematically, it works, but in actuality, it's a little fuzzy. I mean, it's not like the Weapons are something they'd do under your nose, it's what you contracted them for. Kind of silly, really. As for attributes, she tricked Riker and Picard, so doesn't deserve high Integrity. 5 does seem a bit low, however, it's not like the Bynars were evil. Her program's Cunning is high so that she can easily manipulate men. And Strength's not a priority, though she did appear to be a healthy woman. A mixed bag worth 3.3.
STOCKABILITY: Minuet doesn't have very much to contribute to a mission attempt, as CIVILIAN is rarely used, and she has no standard skills. Attributes will be added to her crew's totals at space missions, but only CUNNING is rated highly. It'll have to be about her special skills, then. Her main function, since she can be anywhere in play and make it work, is to offer free plays of Bynars cards. Bynars Data Transfer and Bynars Weapon Enhancement are both events that use up your standard card play, so getting one for free each turn is useful. Imagine yourself boosting your WEAPONS over the course of several turns, completely for free. Data Transfer is a very useful card manipulation tool that could also be better for free. And there's the Bynars themselves, 10 and 01, who download one more Bynars card, as well as prevent Computer Crashes (and ARE useful in mission attempts). Minuet also has some stopping power, on two personnel no less, but they'll mostly be used against intruders unless she's given a little more autonomy, either with Holo-Projectors or a Mobile Emitter. If she's given her freedom this way, hey, she can curtail the strength of opposing Away Teams in personnel battles, or even hurt your opponent's mission attempts. She's nice, but you have to be using a certain set of cards. A 3.6.
TOTAL: 15.1 (75.5%) Make that "stop" up to THREE males ;-).
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