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. Next up is the friend Wesley made in Coming of Age...
PICTURE: A lot of pastel blues here (sweater, skin and background) provides some unity for the card, but with the already blue card design, the picture gets a little lost. Not bad, just not very interesting. A 3.
LORE: The second sentence takes care of his role in his single episode (and gives a good laugh to the Wesley haters out there), but it's the rest that's fun. First, the "Mordock Strategy" has become the name of the strategy you have to utilize with this card - no battling. It was something totally different in the episode, but it makes for good lore. The last part, about him looking like Mendon, is pretty funny, as the opposite is found in Mendon's lore. Both Benzites were played by the same actor, and there was even a line about all Benzites from the same continent looking the same. It's all in the details people. A healthy 4.3 here.
TREK SENSE: His forte seems to have been Science, and he was even better than Wesley at it. So Physics and Computer Skill seem like naturals. I'm a little surprised he didn't get Youth, but there's no reason to believe he didn't try out for the Academy late in life. It's hard to say with these aliens, even when they appear a little naive. His load of skills could have been better and so could his Cunning, since he was considered a better Academy candidate than was Wesley, but maybe Wes was a little young still in "Coming of Age". As for the Mordock Strategy, other than tying in with the lore, it's a complete fabrication. That the Federation could be rewarded for not battling given they pacifist tendencies makes sense. But that it all depends on a potential cadet? Nope. Would have worked better as an Event card. As is, Mordock only gets 2.5 from me.
STOCKABILITY: The Mordock Strategy only gets you +5 points per mission, which will just cover the spread if you're playing with 30-pointers only, or losing points due to dilemmas and such, so it's not a big point gain for so difficult a strategy. Not battling isn't hard for the Federation, you say? Well, it's no battling EVER, either before or after Mordock has been in play. And your opponent can attack you, involving you in a battle, and that's all she wrote regarding those bonus points. Against other Feds or Borg not using any personnel assimilation strategies, it'll work, but even a pacifist opponent can send you a Rogue Borg Mercenary or Borg Ship dilemma and poof, points gone. Even not retaliating won't work according to the Glossary. And with lots of battle-friendly cards out these days (including many that allow for the Federation to attack), I'm guessing no one will be able to use the Mordock Strategy for a whole game. An opponent will quickly attack you if you show Mordock, so as to keep those points out of your hands. But here's the thing: Mordock is your bait. Push your opponent to attack you, then slap down Wartime Conditions, which is more flexible than the Feds' current attack cards which allow for only one ship to attack, or only one affiliation to be attacked. Here, it won't work against a Fed or Borg opponent, but that still leaves plenty of targetable decks. Otherwise, Mordock is an okay SCIENCE personnel, with two good skills. The STRENGTH is a liability, but overall, he cuts the mustard. A 3.3.
TOTAL: 13.1 (65.5%) As I look down on him in my proverbial binder, I still see some uses for him.
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