When your opponent has savagely beaten you into the ground, so all that stands between him and a full win is your dilemma combos, they better be good. So I'm here to give you the low down on the 10 hottest dilemmas Decipher has put out and why you should use them.

        First, Dilemma 101.

        Dilemmas are sorted into four categories Filter, Wall, Killer, Global

        Filter: These are designed to slow large away teams down by stopping or displacing
numerous personnel and make them vulnerable to the next dilemmas. i.e. Chula: The Chandra, Blended.

        Wall: Like the name implies wall dilemmas will stop your crews cold and prevent them from going further, usually preceded by a filter.   i.e. Shaka, When the Walls Fell, Q Gets the Point.

        Killer: They remove personnel from play, simple as that. Some just kill personnel; others put them on top of the draw deck. i.e. New Essentialists, Armus - Skin of Evil.

        Global: These alter the environment in which the game is plays, such as rearranging the spaceline. i.e. Q, Ferengi Bug

        Naturally the next 10 dilemmas possess many of these qualities, which is what makes them stand out. Here we go.

10) Hide and Seek: The best filter out there, it potentially stops all unique personnel
which is a serious blow to any away team.  Also it is a pretty good counter to Q-bypass decks. It is its versatility that I like, as it can be seeded as dilemma or as a hidden agenda. The best way to use it is to throw it in your Q-Flash side deck; that way you can use either ability if the situation calls for it.
Runner up - Chula: the Chandra

9) Cytherians: A very effective space wall, it's a great because lasts for a couple of
turns, as long as the spaceline. Against affiliations with short range ships like Ferengi or
Bajorans it could take a while to get to the end, more than enough time for you to take the
lead.
Runner up -  Borg Ship

8) Kelvan Show of Force: An effective killer but its filter ability is what makes it
stand out. You can look through the away team and deprive your opponent of his necessary personnel. Plus it's great against red shirting, or squads of holograms.
Runner up -  Strict Dress Code

7) Scientific Method : A great wall; it's tougher than you think to protect 3 Science
from filters. Throw a Kelvan Show of Force and a Unscientific Method in front of it and your opponents, especially Borg ones, will have a fit.
Runner up -  Berserk Changeling

6) Friendly Fire : When decks revolve around a dilemma in must be special. While most away teams plow into missions with 2-3 Security, most don't pack more than one Leadership. First, it's versatile: you can seed in anywhere (i.e. Empok Nor). Second, if you fail not only do you lose a guy but you have to wait two turns  before you can attempt again. This is murder to decks depending on Empok Nor. But wait, there's more: Seed it after some filters and play with End Transmission, that way you can stop the countdown and your opponent will never attempt that mission again. Groovy.
Runner up - Oops!

5) Q-Type Android : The nastiest of the Q dilemmas. It's first ability is somewhat weak,
changing androids to humans and vice versa is only good if you follow up with a Shot in the Back or want to stop Soong from reprogramming. But you can just use the second ability to get rid of a personnel. The second ability has two stipulations, first, the opponent must not be playing Borg, and second, there must be a Q-Planet is play unsolved.  Those conditions are easily attainable, so it allows you to take one personnel of your choice and seed it under the Q's Planet. This is brutal, as you can deny your opponent anything, mission requirements, staffing, filtering, anything your
heart desires. Q2 can't stop this puppy either; the only thing that will nullify it is Mortal Q or a William T Riker persona and not many people carry those (Admiral Riker is not a persona).
Runner up - A fast ship would be nice

4) Ferengi Infestation : The best wall out there. First you a seed it at Empok Nor, goody goody.  Second it's a huge wall that you'll need at least five people to pass. This alone shuts down Mister Mister decks. Second you can download 2 Ferengi to a facility there. This, my friends, is the best way to get Brunt and his Writ out and you might as well download Leck also and kill someone of your choice or download Gaila and get Quark's Treasure and get out of there. I know I just use it for that fact and I don't play Ferengi. If you do play Ferengi, your opponent will be in trouble.
Runner up - Founder Secret

3) Q : These next three dilemmas have entire decks made around them, hence they deserve the top spots and there can be no substitute. Back in its day the Q dilemma was the way to go, play all unstealable missions, get a bunch of personnel (AMS usually), hit the dilemma and you're home free. This dilemma revolutionized Star Trek as much as AMS. Then Deep Space Nine came along and gave us Hide and Seek which slowed it down a bit (they had to use more Fire Sculptors or Countermandas), Then RoA came and Writ shut it down. While still a viable archetype, you now need to Pain Stick a Brunt First so no one can bring Writ in easily and this makes the deck less appealing than before.

2) Ooby Dooby : One of my friends said if a dilemma lets you draw up to 8 cards, it's got to be godly. I agree. Combine Ooby Dooby with the dilemma Rascals and you can at least draw up to 4 cards. Combine this with STP drop and Devidian Doors you have a lethal combination. The trouble with these decks is that they are extremely dilemma intensive. This leaves little to put under the opponent's missions, so speedy decks such as Mister Mister, Guardian of Forever, Bajoran or Ferengi can steal the win from you before you can get step up.

1) Female's Love Interest/ Garbage Scow : The trouble with the last decks is that they have a severe weakness that is easily exploitable. This one doesn't. With the coming of Enhanced Premiere Destroy Garbage Scow decks have come back in the spotlight now that they can be seeded at planets. First seed a Mission Debriefing, since you have to complete the attempt to move it, Debriefing will stop them, then at planet locations seed huge wall in front of Garbage Scow (Ferengi Infestation, Founder Secret) to prevent redshirting and when they hit  Garbage Scow, detonate it with Destroy Radioactive Garbage Scow killing everyone on the planet. Pack some Kevins incase of Thermal Deflectors and you will kill 5 personnel every mission attempt and reduce its worth by ten. Combine this with a good Hero of the Empire deck and Q-flashes (Bailiffs). Your opponent won't make it past fifty points.  At space locations it's a little less effective; seed a huge wall, then Borg Ship or Cytherians then the Love Scow. This prevents Senior Staff Meetings from hurting you big. Get out Big Picture to prevent an all space win and
then get out a Q-planet, get a Love Interest / Scow from the discard pile and burn him there. Man, this is nasty. What makes this strategy good is it fit easily into most kind of decks and it's main counter (Deflectors) are easily removable.

// Editor's note: there actually are weaknesses in this strategy…for example, it will probably lose to a good Borg deck.

        Well that's it. I hope you found that informative and insightful. If you have any
comments send them to esprusak@telusplanet.net.

NEXT MONTH: I'm going to shed the light on the Top Ten Deck of today. A must read for any player going to provincial/state qualifiers.

Peace.

Mastere