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DECIPHER.com > Star Trek > Expansions
> Reflections 2.0
Shaking Up the Spaceline
by Justin Beal
Rule of Acquisition # 062: The riskier the road, the greater the
profit.
One of the complaints I hear about Star Trek Second Edition is
the fact that there are so few missions to select from, and that among those,
a few are overpowered when compared to others. While I don't share this
point of view, I can see their point. Look at the World Championships, for
example. People were playing the same mission selections because they are
just that half-a-step easier than the rest. Consider Investigate Maquis
Activity (Integrity > 27) for 35 points, or Geological Survey (Cunning >
30) for 35 points, or Brute Force (Strength > 38) for 45 points. Why does
everyone play these missions? Because there is no incentive to not use them...
until now. The introduction of Reflections 2.0 gives you that incentive,
and the potential to build a deck that takes advantage of a different mission
selection set, while remaining competitive.
How, you ask? In the form of personnel and ships that give an added benefit
to players using missions that are not of the normal 'lowest attributes'
variety. And you can rest assured that such personnel and ships won't help
the 'staple' missions listed above. For example, you will not find a Federation
or Bajoran card helping out Investigate Maquis Activity, or a Klingon card
helping Brute Force, or any Alpha Quadrant-based card helping out Geological
Survey. Granted, the 'newer' missions you'll be considering will be a bit
harder to solve, but you'll get some great benefits to compensate for that.
Let's look at some of these cards.
 Enabran
Tain, Retired Spymaster is the most basic of this style of cards. Play this
three-cost personnel to draw up to seven cards and then discard two. Wait
a second, let me do some math. Divide by one... Carry the three... Apply
the Pythagorean Theorem... Hey, that is a net benefit of four cards! And
here's the best part: you don't even need to solve the missions using Intelligence,
they just have to require it! You could solve using alternate requirements,
or through other cards like For the Cause, or via another printed requirement.
For example, look at Abduction Plot. You could end up solving with Transporters,
Treachery, Law and Officer, instead of using the Intelligence requirement.
However, since Tain HAS Intelligence you might as well use it, right? OK,
but what other missions require Intelligence?
For the record, there are six (three planet and three space) Cardassian
Intelligence missions, and four of them are even in the Alpha Quadrant,
which makes things easier. If you are worried about a skill set, try this
on for size: Biology, Intelligence, Leadership, Medical, Transporters, and
Treachery. There are four missions that have only these skills. Granted,
it is not as compact as before, but you are getting a HUGE impact from Tain,
and I think you will find that it is worth it.
 Next
is Jean-Luc Picard, Vintner. Use only Biology-based missions to download
three TNG personnel? Hmmmm... Not sure if it is worth it yet? Well, I hear
that scoring five points early is good (by downloading and playing Guinan).
There are so many uses for an early five points in this game, such as using
The Edge of Forever to download and play a free Future Enterprise. There
is a sizeable drawback for Picard though...
As far as mission selection is concerned, the Federation has fewer options.
While there are three space missions that require Biology, there are only
two that the Federation can attempt, and they are worth a total of 50 points.
Not the best situation, however there are some reasonably-good missions
to choose from. Investigate Alien Probe (which we all saw at the World Championships),
with its Integrity > 25, is an easy solve for the Federation. Aid Clone
Colony, Camping Trip, and Extraction are also good choices. Granted, you're
giving up Geological Survey's Cunning > 30, but I think the benefit of downloading
three TNG Federation personnel (and thus, setting up a pretty good skill
matrix) is a fair offset. Your mission selection may be limited, but it
is not so restrictive that you can't make an efficient deck.
 Next,
we are brought to Alexander Rozhenko, and might I say, this is one of the
most powerful cards in the set. However, it has an equally high price. You
(the Klingon player) will have to give up your relatively easy mission selection
in order to download two events and play them at a discount: three fewer
counters. First, I need to point out that since you are "playing" these
cards, you must meet any additional requirements (like those of Artifacts
or events that make you lose five points when you play them). But think
of the possibilities... Running a Tight Ship, At What Cost?, All Out War,
Cavalry Raid, Storage Compartment, Machinations, or even Warrior's Birthright!!
(OK, so I might be stretching with that last one...) =) But the fact remains,
an event-based strategy can get set up quickly, and has a maximum counter
savings of eight (one each to draw the events and three from each event's
cost) for only a four-cost personnel.
There are two Strength Diplomacy missions to date (Signal for Rescue,
Salvage Dominion Ship), and they are both planet, so now what you need is
some space missions that require Integrity. (Note: I am not trying to discriminate
against Klingon Cunning decks, as there was one at Worlds that I found quite
unique and challenging to play against. Nonetheless, Integrity is a much
more visible attribute to Klingons.) Amnesty Talks, Host Metaphasic Shielding
Test, and Instruct Advanced Drone all spring to the front of the class in
this category. I won't tell you that these missions are as easy to pull
off as the current Klingon decks, but with the help of Alexander, they can
be just as potent.
Finally, I can find my way to Mendak, Duplicitous Admiral. Now he does
not target a skill, but he does have some very interesting text that allows
the Romulans to have an edge in the Alpha Quadrant. His card reads, "While
each of your non-headquarters missions is not a [Rom] mission, you may attempt
each of them using your [Rom] personnel." At first you might be thinking,
"Why would I want to play with missions that I cannot attempt?" A valid
question, however that is not exactly true. He can trigger with missions
that say [Any Affiliation] or [Any Affiliation except X], as well as missions
that have no [Rom] icon on them. Ever want to have access to solve Kressari
Rendezvous or Rescue Prisoners, or any number of other affiliated missions?
Not only does he grant you access, he doesn't even have to be AT the mission
to allow you to attempt them. He can be safely at your headquarters while
the rest of your personnel "steal" missions typically reserved for other
affiliations. Oh, and did I forget to mention that he has seven Cunning
as well...?
Please indulge me as I make one other point concerning these personnel.
In Necessary Evil, and to a lesser extent in Fractured Time, dual headquarters
strategies were punished. These cards have been worded to allow for dual
headquarters. Each one says, "...each of your non-headquarters missions...,"
which means you can combine some of them for a better effect. Now, finding
some Biology/Diplomacy missions could be tough, but like I said, there are
other cards that work like this, and THEY are easier to combo with these
personnel. That about wraps up this article, but before I go, I want to
remind all the players of Rule of Acquisition #143:
Risk is part of the game... play it for all it's worth.
Game On!
November 22, 2004
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