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Tenth Anniversary Collection:
By Right And Tradition

by Matt Kirk

"No battle is complete, no victory honorable without the challenge of a worthy adversary." Klingons have long been a favorite among top 2E tournament contenders. But players around the world gasped in disbelief at the plentiful Romulan bounty presented in Necessary Evil. Granted, Kahless' return in Energize was welcome and long overdue, but to equip the Klingons' blood enemy with so many tools in just one expansion? Surely not! But the Klingon culture's will to conquer surfaces again, and this time in the form of its most notorious leader…

Gowron, Sole Leader of the Empire leads the charge into a new era of 2E Klingon domination. His reduced cost is a welcome sight to Klingon players already strapped for counters. His obligatory command star and uniqueness pip are both easily predicted, but he suffers a bit with the exchange of an ever-useful Anthropology for a more-redundant Security. He still provides the often-overlooked skill of Law, enabling a 50-point Brute Force with the help of Legal Proceedings. His stats are the same as his earlier persona, Leader of the High Council. A matching commander status and backwards-compatible icon fill out the surface details of this newest Gowron, but that's not really why he will see play this summer at DecipherCon 2004 during the World Championships.

Gowron brings the Klingon Empire a whole new deck archetype. Instead of high-cost Honor Klingons using Kahless, The Unforgettable, or Treacherous Klingons getting boosts from No Peace In Our Time, Gowron unifies the Honor and Treachery Klingons in a way befitting his title as Chancellor. By combining the best personnel of both these disparate factions, the Klingons now have a legitimate chance at quality mission attempts. With Gowron and a couple copies of Relentless, mission attempts should be even easier. And of course, Gowron's skill works well in conjunction with The Promise, stealing skills and attributes from the Treachery Klingon just discarded to save Koloth from a Kelvan Show of Force.

But wait! There's more! Not only do the Klingons get a whole new type of deck to work with from Gowron, they also get the Klingon Defense Force flagship as their transport of choice! The I.K.S. Bortas joins the Klingon fleet with only the slightest additions to the non-unique I.K.S. Vor'cha design. For one extra counter, players will have a unique ship that can download Maneuver events when it wins an engagement. With Weapons 9, the average ship will fall to the Bortas without some help. Now you can start off with a BaH! and follow it up with an All-Out War or two to keep an early board advantage, without having to use Coordinated Attack to dig those battle events out of a larger-than-usual deck.

Been looking for the perfect pair to use Standing Your Ground or Mission Accomplished? Look no further; Gowron and the Bortas represent a threat not to be ignored. With a larger personnel base than ever to choose from, Klingon players are poised to conquer Worlds again this year. Just remember Admiral Kirk's suggestion when facing down the Bortas this summer: "Prayer. The Klingons don't take prisoners."

April 2, 2004