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. TNG Season 2! And we start with the first of two cards from "The Child"...
PICTURE: A lot of interesting details on this one. One of the odd things (have you noticed?) is that the shuttle (a big fat Type VII to boot) is not from the Enterprise. The registry number is NCC-2544 instead of 1701-D. From what ship is that, you now ask. It's from the USS Repulse, Dr. Pulaski's last ship. How marvellously well chosen this image is then, given Pulaski's aversion to transporters. Add to that the little figures of crewmen in one corner, the unreadable sign of "Danger of decompression" in the other, along with everything else, gives a really nice overview of the shuttle bay. 4.7 (it's still a little mundane).
LORE: Pretty straight encyclopedic lore, with the odd use of the word "hanger" where Trek usually uses "bay". No real problems, so an average score of 3.
TREK SENSE: Well, just like Activate Tractor Beam, this is one of those things which should have been built into the rules. When Premiere first came out (before the first FAQ came out), I used to tow ships all the time with my tractors. How many others carried shuttles aboard? But we didn't have that rule, so now we need a card to do it instead. Fine. How's its Trek Sense now that it's here? First off, it's too bad Runabouts weren't included. We KNOW they were carried aboard ships, come on! But other than that, it's good. It requires a Tractor Beam to haul it in (or direct it out), but more than that, Tractor Beam has sort of become the standard for large ships. If your ship is large enough to have a Tractor Beam, it's big enough to have a shuttle bay (except for a few exceptions). The ENGINEER seems to be a bit much since, apparently, a kid can steal a shuttle and leave the ship without a hitch. Been taking engineering courses on the side? The part about landing works fine. Shuttles have limited engines and always take considerable time diving through a planet's atmosphere. Although needing Range to land is a little strange since you're basically only falling (I'm being facetious). Around a 3.5.
STOCKABILITY: The most common use of this card is to extend the range of your ships. Carry a shuttle aboard your ship, use its full RANGE, get everyone in the shuttle, launch and fly another 6 Span, maybe rendezvousing with your next ship. A well linked spaceline can be navigated in its entirety in a single turn. Landing a shuttle will make it harder to attack (and they ARE more vulnerable), and keep the Neutral Zone safe from patrols. That landing mechanic isn't very efficient, though, requiring the shuttle's entire range. If you're going to do a lot of landing, choose Establish Landing Protocols instead (or in addition). It's seedable, also affects a lot of other ships, and lets you land for only 1 RANGE. Launch Portal is also a nice Shuttle Operations partner. It downloads the event plus a shuttle, even as your ship is destroyed if you want. Much better than a motionless Escape Pod! A card that has really grown since it came out, and is somewhat dependent on the shuttles available. The Bajorans, Dominion and Klingons have no shuttles except the Non-Aligned Yridian. The Borg have nothing. A nice 4.
TOTAL: 15.2 (76%) I would never have thought.
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