Grav-Plating Trap

There have been many games where I have wished for an extra five points to use with Amanda Rogers to prevent an Escape or that Assault/Maneuver event my opponent just played. However, even if I had the extra points, I have been reticent to use them because I may have been trying for a two-mission win or saving them for an At What Cost?. Sometimes my opponent would attempt a mission before me, and I could not do anything about it because I had no points yet, or was not playing Dominion or Maquis. What would you think if I told you that there was a card that essentially had the game text of Amanda Rogers and Kevin Uxbridge on it... and it didn't even come close to requiring five points to play? That card is here... and its name is Grav-Plating Trap.

This card offers a player flexibility. You can use it during your opponent's turn to prevent and discard an interrupt or event, and all you need to do is destroy one of your non-Hand Weapon equipment cards. During your turn, you can use its order to destroy an event for the same price. This card will inspire countless decks to utilitize equipment. Which equipment you ask? Cheap equipment.

The first pick would have to be the myriad of one-cost non-Hand Weapon equipment cards in Second Edition. You know the ones: Engineering Kit, Engineering PADD, Medical Kit, Medical Tricorder, Science PADD, Tricorder. If you wanted something with a little extra kick to it, you could also use the Emergency Transport Unit. If you were playing a deck with Androids, then you could include Data's Emotion Chip. Some of the latest affiliations, Voyager and Starfleet, have some useful tricorders that could be utilized as well.

I could see the addition of Grav-Plating Trap going beyond just preventing your opponent from playing an event or interrupt (or three). You could combine it with the other cards designed to frustrate your opponent's game. You could create a deck that controls your opponent's game, preventing him or her from "cheating" at missions or doing anything else. A deck could use Grav-Plating Trap, Amanda Rogers, Kevin Uxbridge, The Muse, Sluggo, or Parting Shot, and combine them with an affiliation like the Maquis or Romulans to create an interesting deck. This card will make a huge difference in the way we all play the game; whether it is included as a "just in case" card or used as the backbone of a deck, expect to get caught in the trap.