Design Log: Stardate 06.16.2003

Alas, Poor Bluegill Queen

Once upon a First Contact, a card called "Alas, Poor Queen" said, "Plays if Borg Queen (or Bluegill Queen) was just killed. All Borg (or Bluegills) in play of same player also die. (Immune to Amanda Rogers.)" One result of this card was a perpetual FAQ that said, simply, "What's a Bluegill?!?"

The short answer to that FAQ is, "The critters seen in the Alien Parasites dilemma picture." The long answer... well, the long answer is "a broken link." What, the short answer is longer than the long answer? Not really, because for five and a half years, no one really knew what Bluegills, or the Bluegill Queen, would be like.

Some thought they might be personnel -- maybe a new species or even a new affiliation. "We never really gave any strong consideration to personnel," says designer Evan Lorentz. "The concept seemed to require some kind of takeover of your normal personnel, perhaps along the lines of Ceti Eel." (Not to mention that one episode seems a bit too sparse as source material to hang a new affiliation on.)

OK, how about interrupts? Maybe something like Rogue Borg, with the Bluegill Queen cast as a Crosis equivalent. Or maybe incidents like Ceti Eel, that could be played or placed on individual personnel, plus the equivalent of a Big Mama Eel. Of course, like Ceti Eel, to be very useful, it seemed like you would need the "basic" Bluegill card in multiples, one to control each personnel.

But then it became evident that this was one of those broken links that was only going to get mended in All Good Things, where there was no possibility of players collecting multiple copies of a common Bluegill card from random packs, while needing only one rare or uncommon Bluegill Queen. "We couldn't produce a product with only one copy of a card that would be required in multiple, and including, say, 10 copies of one card just wasn't practical in this type of product."

So where did that leave the designers? After all, Alas, Poor Queen specifically names a card (Bluegill Queen), and implies that there could also be multiple little Bluegills in play (like multiple Ceti Eels). But does the mention of "Bluegill Queen" or "Bluegill" actually require cards of those specific names? No, decided our intrepid designers. If the rules can state that a personnel assimilated by the Borg becomes a Borg, then a card's text could designate that a personnel is considered a Bluegill – or even the Bluegill Queen.

And hence the rather elegant one-card concept of Bluegill Infestation. Rather than having cards that play on specific personnel (a major nuisance when making random selections), thus needing to stock (and draw, and play) one copy on each personnel you want to control , you have a seedable, unique incident (you've just guaranteed you need only one) that makes Bluegills under your control.

This card doesn't take over opponent's personnel; you pick the seven unique personnel that you want to use as Bluegills – the "marker" personnel come from outside the game and so don't even cost you any seed slots – and any copies that you get into play (can you say "Delta Quadrant Spatial Scission"? or "Clone Machine"?) can't be stunned and come with a STRENGTH +5 bonus. In return for this rather stunning boost to your capabilities in personnel battle, you run the risk that if one of the designated Bluegills buys the farm, it might turn out to have been the Bluegill Queen – and if your opponent just happens to have a nasty Alas, Poor Queen around to inflict on those pesky Borg opponents, then all your Bluegills are toast.

And so ends the saga of the broken link that named a specific card – that wasn't.

Kathy McCracken (Major Rakal)
Star Trek CCG Intelligence Officer

June 16, 2003

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