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Santos, Squad Leader

by Will Hawkins

"We have to make a preemptive strike. Send a message to Cardassia that we won't sit still and let them kill us with toxins."

With Santos in a mission attempt, no longer will the Maquis need outside help to complete their missions. That's right, no more Jem'hadar, Lore, or Klingons to give them the strength they need. Santos is a one-man army, your own personal Rambo, if you will. Contrary to what you might think, however, his ability doesn't help in battles. While most people eat Wheaties to get strong, Santos' diet consists of events, events, and more events. His attributes during a mission attempt are limited only by the events you have in play. He has decent skills, with Medical making a useful addition to the Maquis skill matrix. His command star is always useful for piloting a lone Maquis Raider. Being a [Fed][Maq] personnel, Santos helps you play Organized Terrorist Activities, Stalling for Time, and Biogenic Weapon. Given his ability, his base attributes really do not matter. At cost two, this personnel is a must for any Maquis deck.

In the post-Reflections 2.0 environment, with cards such as Shankar, Maquis Soldier available to the Maquis player, Santos is of particular value because he helps to meet the Strength >36 requirement of For the Cause. With a few high-cost events out, you can reduce your mission teams by one or two when he is included. To help you get those events out, just use Party Atmosphere to essentially get a free attribute boost. The Maquis event Retaliation fits this bill nicely. However, if you are planning on fighting with the Maquis, Power to the Weapons really helps out as well. When it comes to dilemma manipulation, Complications, Quarantine, and Heightened Perception are all good options to feed Santos if you prefer to not get your hands dirty. When playing Santos, remember to eat your Wheaties and play a lot of events.

December 13, 2004