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. Only one card from The Deadly Y--I mean, from Unnatural Selection...
PICTURE: I know Pulaski doesn't have a lot of fans, but this pic sure doesn't catch her on her best day! Aside from the subject matter, it's pretty plain. Whites, blacks, beiges... dull! If only they'd waited half a decade, they could have used Kirk and the gang from "The Deadly Years". It's really too bad we got stuck with this average an image. 2.7 here.
LORE: Well, the disease itself wasn't really called "Hyper-Aging", but this is how it's written. It then follows up with a totally redundant phrase ("Causes rapid aging") since you would expect a malady called Hyper-Aging to cause that, yes. Not a complete sentence in sight and a line of space to spare to explain the quarantine or cure. A weak 1.5.
TREK SENSE: Well, the quarantine here is supported by the show, though there's no reason the dilemma couldn't have been spaceborne, too. In fact, Pulaski was quarantined on a shuttle, not on the planet. The effect is supported as well, with the Aging killing you after a while (when you grow older than your age limit), but still killing you. The cure is okay, taking both lots of Medical and some Science to come up with an answer. I would only add Transporter Skill, unfortunately unavailable when Premiere came out. As for the points, I only like them when passing the dilemma is like a small mission in itself. Here, no problem, since the episode was largely centered on solving this scientific/medical mystery. It's a very straightforward effort, well done on the whole, but there are a couple of important snags. Seems like Youth personnel should last longer. A 2.4.
SEEDABILITY: Quarantine dilemmas can be powerful stuff (see Aphasia Device), but sticking this one with a Planet-only icon hurts it a bit. Yes, you can still follow it up with something that punishes personnel for sticking around such as Harvester Virus or Horta, but since everyone's gonna die anyway, that's not the most efficient use of your dilemmas. Or is it? One of the things going against Hyper-Aging is that it's fairly easy to cure. Players usually keep plenty of MEDICAL and SCIENCE around. Some of those other dilemmas can weed them out a little if they don't all arrive at the same time. Your opponent would have a few turns to come up with the necessary personnel and fly them there, so maybe Horta (for example) can kill them before a rescue party arrives. It's a gamble depending on how quickly help can arrive. The 5 bonus points mean your opponent could profit from this, so that's another mark against it. And using it as a self-seed isn't very efficient because of the relatively high requirements and because of Writ's penalty for reaping bonus points from your own dilemmas. So a possibly strong dilemma, but dependent on its combo and/or your ability to slow down any incoming rescue. 3.4, then.
TOTAL: 10 (50%) Score's only middle-aged.
Comments