What An Offer

If you've been playing the Star Trek CCG Second Edition for even a little while, you've probably heard of Personal Duty. This multi-faceted filter-wall has been the staple of space-only dilemmas since its release in Premiere. It is one of a handful of cards that single-handedly changed (or in its case defined) the way we assemble draw decks. Merely because it exists, and speaking just for myself, I try to keep the number of Leadership- and/or Officer-personnel in my draw deck to no more than six (which for my typical deck size, comprises about 10% to 15% of the stack).

I've often thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be great if there was a card that allowed me to 'turn on and off' the Leadership/Officer skills on my personnel?" To a certain extent, I got my wish with the release of Stricken Dumb. Unfortunately, that card 'turns off' all of the skills, not just the ones I'm interested in stifling (in addition, it is one-use only and requires me to have it in my hand at the moment I wish to use it). Looking at things another way, it would also be nice if I could simply 'turn on' that Leadership or Officer skill so that I can have it when it's convenient for me, and it isn't a hindrance at any other time. To Boldly Go takes this approach with the Leadership skill, and grants that ability to my Starfleet Diplomacy personnel via Diplomatic Offer.

At a cost of just two, this core event could be played for free with a discerning use of Party Atmosphere. Then, as long as you can keep it in your core, it's there when you need it, even after you've used it. Since it is granting Leadership to your Starfleet Diplomacy personnel, it works particularly well with a Vulcan Tricorder, which can stretch your skill-adding options to include Biology, Geology or Science. There's more to Diplomatic Offer, however, as it also grants an attribute increase: one more to the recipient's Integrity, Cunning and Strength. This can be particularly handy if you're looking to get past any dilemma requiring attributes, especially those such as Where No One Has Gone Before, Molecular Reversion Field, and Chulas: Echoes and Move Along Home.

So, at this point, you have to be saying to yourself, "This is all fine and well, Darren, but we haven't seen that many Starfleet personnel yet, let alone those with Diplomacy." Well, wait no longer, and try these on for size: Jeffrey Pierce, Jonathan Archer, Maxwell Forrest, and T'Pol. Relatively "slim pickin's" to be sure, but this is just the beginning for the Enterprise crew. Rest assured, they will get some attention in further releases to come... and when they do, we'll be right there to tell you all about it.