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Baby Jemmie Smackdown Deckbuilding Guide
by Alidar Jarok Well, apparently my recent tournament report gained a lot of attention. There were a lot of requests for my deck and other general discussion. Well, this is a continuation of it somewhat, and the basic idea around my deck, and how I built it in the first place. It's probably a good model to follow when building any deck, really, but I'll use my Dominion deck as an example. First, you have to think of a theme to your deck, and the affiliation you'll use to accomplish this. Do you want to battle, capture, steal, assimilate, go for bonus points, or just plain solve missions? For my deck, I wanted to go for personnel battle, and to do this I'll use the masters of STRENGTH, the Dominion. Right now is probably the best time to set aside all the cards that you absolutely have to use to get your strategy to work. In this case there's only one that I must have, and it would be best if I seeded it. Invasive Beam-In Obviously this is an important card to achieve my goal. Without it, I couldn't beam onto my opponents' ships, and I'll have to wait for them to get stopped on a planet. And seeing a Jem'Hadar assault squad around, they'll probably be very careful around missions. Now would probably be the best time to decide how you will go about keeping up with your opponent. Like it or not, all good decks today almost are required to have a card-drawing engine in place to draw additional cards, plus a way to report those cards at an accelerated pace. For card drawing, I chose two methods. Deyos If I'm going to be playing all those Jem'Hadar personnel, why not draw cards as well? Basically, whenever you play a Jem'Hadar (except for Young Jem'Hadar) to Deyos' location, you get to draw a card. Very nice feature to have, and one that every Jem'Hadar player should try to exploit as much as possible.
34th Rule of Acquisition Every time anybody picks a (non-Rogue Borg) fight, you draw two cards. Also, any time your opponent's ship gets damaged, even from dilemmas, you draw two cards. If that isn't an encouragement to fight, I don't know what is. But how do you get this into play? Well, there's two ways. First, you can use Hanok's special download to grab it immediately. However, I have other plans for that ability, as you'll soon see. The other option is to get outside help, and a way to call upon that help quickly. Tower of Commerce Whoa, that's a lot of cards for this purpose! I'll have to seed Ferenginar (Deliver Message) as one of my missions plus a Headquarters. The seeded 1st Rule will allow me to download and play Grand Nagus Gint (for free to the HQ) on the first turn, along with the Latinum. This will leave your card play open. However, I used a Gold-Pressed Latinum as well, which I used my card play to report to Gint on my first turn. This allowed me to convert into his Scepter (he's on a Homeworld and he has Acquisition), which keeps the 34th Rule from being nullified plus it'll probably keep Gint alive (by allowing him to stun his adversary) for the first few turns until the Jemmies take over. Hold on just a minute, because Gint has an AU icon. That means that we'll need either the AU Door or the Space/Time Portal to get him into play. Seeing that I won't be using many more AU cards in this deck (I believe that Reflection Therapy was my only other one) and that STP has more useful side functions, I'll take the STP. Space/Time Portal Now that the card drawing setup is complete, we'll move on to getting those cards into play quickly. The best way to do that for Jem'Hadar is to use the Jem'Hadar Birthing Chamber This allows you to report a Jem'Hadar for free each turn for each Birthing Chamber you have. At the end of the turn, you can swap a Baby Jemmie for a full-grown universal Jemmie in your hand. And none of this even takes up your card play. OK, now that we generally know how our deck will work, it's time to remember the whole point of the game - scoring points. With that comes the missions. We'll need at least one in the Gamma Quadrant for our home base of operations. We also already took up one mission slot with Ferenginar. So we're left with four missions that we can place anywhere plus the one in the Gamma Quadrant. Rescue Founder I chose to go primarily with the Alpha Quadrant, as I want to chase around my opponent, so why not solve missions there too? My Gamma Quadrant mission is there for my outpost, and not all that much else, as it's major Sheliak bait. However, if you scan it and see no Sheliak, then go for it. Any Gamma Quadrant mission would work. However, this one I can actually attempt without having to seed or play a special card, plus it's immune to the Borg. As for the Construct Depots, the four missions will allow me to overlap my skills very well. I don't have to worry about getting Astrophysics for one mission and Geology for the next. All the requirements are the same, they're unstealable, and they're short. Yes, with ships like those in the Dominion, the 2 span on each one will go a long way towards helping your Attack Ships speed up a bit, in a general sense. This way, you can travel three missions as opposed to one. Sure, your opponent can too. But your opponent probably won't have to worry about White counting down also. After this is all figured out, I usually seed just the essentials and then do the rest of the seed deck later. So I'll get my outpost chosen, and any other important thing that I feel that my deck must have to be successful. Q's Tent Face it, Tents are just plain useful. Also there's the fact that I only have one Deyos, he's very important to this deck, and there's no way to download him. The Tent is the way to go. I'm choosing the Primary Supply Depot as my outpost. I'm allowed to seed up to three non-weapon equipment cards there. Since the Birthing Chamber that I mentioned earlier is critical to my deck, I'll put that there. And since I'll be using Jem'Hadar, the two Whites are definitely necessary. Ultimatum it just great. First, it lets you (essentially) seed the Bajoran Wormhole for free. This way, we won't have to worry about drawing them like in the pre-Blaze days. Second, and also extremely useful, is that if I take a Dominion ENGINEER to a Dominion mission, I may immediately download a Remote Supply Depot there with up to two equipment cards. Just nice. On the third or fourth turn, I can just move in and set up a base of operations, a place to refill my White, and grab a few hand weapons for the upcoming battle. Third, it serves as a way to score those final five points that always seems to plague me. If you're up to 95 points or so, just throw all your ships against any one ship, and score points equal to its highest attribute. Every ship except for the Phoenix will get you at least 6 points. Very good for a late-game point scorer. That brings us up to ten seed cards. Since I pretty much never use less than 18 dilemmas, that gives me up to two slots to use in my seed deck. But we'll take care of that later. Now on the draw deck itself. First, the Birthing Chambers are totally useless unless we have Baby Jemmies to play there. Also, Ultimatum doesn't work all that efficiently without the Wormholes or Remote Supply Depot. Young Jem'Hadar x4 Remember, all you really need to draw is one Young Jem'Hadar. Then, you can use that one Baby Jemmie to report, replace, report, replace, etc. Any extras are just extra bodies to throw at missions or in battles. Speaking of battles, we need equipment. Kar'takin x5 Kar'takins are the weapon of choice in this deck, as it's heavy with Jem'Hadar, and they're the only ones that are going into battle. If you do the Ultimatum trick and choose two Kar'takins as your equipment of choice (as I did), each of your Jem'Hadar will be STRENGTH +4 and be able to mortally wound two people that they just stunned per battle. Not bad. The White's there just because it's so essential. The three that I included were probably a bit more than was necessary. On the other hand, you do need an equipment still in your deck in order to use Victory Is Life, plus remember that all equipment reports for free to the Remote Supply Depot. So it can't really hurt. As for the Birthing Chamber, it's always good to have an extra one in case your first one is destoyed somehow. On the other hand, having two in play will allow you to report two Baby Jemmies for free each turn, and hence replace two Baby Jemmies per turn, and with Deyos around draw an extra two cards. And again, you'll still have your card play. Hey, I'll take it. Oh, and speaking of Victory Is Life... Victory Is Life x3 Ah, such a nice card. Basically, if you battle or solve a mission, you download any equipment and score 5 points. It's not hard to win a battle with four Jemmies and two Kar'takins, even against an Away Team twice the size of yours. As for the missions, just about all of my Jem'Hadar can contribute something to the mission. Q's Tent x6 I usually add these early before I forget. I included six in what will turn out to be a 67 card draw deck. This should be enough to draw one within the first two or three turns, expecially since a number of the cards will be downloaded by the end of the first turn (the two Wormholes, Gint, the Latinum, the 34th Rule, and the Scepter). Then again, I only have six Tents with me here at college, so it's not like I have much of a choice... Now, the Babies can't grow up unless you have adult Jem'Hadar in your deck. Azet'izan x3 Azet'izan is the only univeral Jemmie that can actually pick a fight, so he's very useful. Temo'Zuma has the ENGINEER that is necessary to download the Remote Supply Depot (plus it's a requirement on Construct Depot), plus his Transporter Skill is necessary to actually get you on your opponents' ships. Virak'kara's skills of Navigation and Physics are both required on Construct Depot. Duran'Adar also has ENGINEER and Physics, plus his Geology will help with planet dilemmas. Plus he's an Alpha, so you can report him to your Remote Supply Depot in a pinch in case anything goes wrong. Other than that, this group almost form their own mobile outpost with the Birthing Chamber in play. No need to go back to the Gamma Quadrant for resupplies, for the most part.
Kudak'Etan They all report to your Remote Supply Depot. Kudak'Etan is just plain nice. He can lead your team into battle with his 11 STRENGTH, and then download Victory Is Life when you win. (He could download Commandeer Ship too, but I don't see it being too useful in this deck; I'd rather use my ships with Invasive Transporters, plus I'd just destroy the empty ship for Ultimatum points.) Lamat'Ukan can also lead a battle with his double-digit STRENGTH, he can operate the Transporters if no one else is available, and his Computer Skill x2 makes him a good guy to protect your scans with. Umat'Adan provides Navigation for the missions, plus his SCIENCE (the only Jemmie that has it) is needed for the popular new Scientific Method. What of other support personnel? O'Brien Founder I like to be able to beam all my Jem'Hadar over to ships, and still have enough personnel on board to staff my Warship. Deyos will be one person. So I'll need two more, and one of them should have Transporter Skill. The first four on the list fulfill that. Also, O'Brien's ENGINEER and Physics helps with Construct Depot, as does Lovok's Navigation (and his SCIENCE is nice). Lore, well, is just a nice personnel to have in every deck, and has many hidden uses for this deck. Can't draw a Jemmie leader? He can lead the troops and survive even with no STRENGTH bonuses. His Computer Skill will help commandeer a Nor with Sisko 197 Subroutine, and his Treachery x2 helps a lot with Reflection Therapy. Nick Locarno is great in this deck. His Navigation x2 is great with Construct Depot, for the most part. The Albino's double Exo will help pass Odo's Cousins, MEDICAL is just generally useful, plus he can pick off any of the You Killed my Brat Pack (the three Warriors and Jadzia) that happened to somehow survive a fight. But we need Vorta too, plus other loose ends. Weyoun The Vorta are there primarily because they're Vorta, for Constuct Depot and rationing. However, I try to get as much MEDICAL and SCIENCE from them as possible, plus the Diplomacy to get by any Q-Net in my way. Goran'Agar, in addition to being a great battle leader who doesn't need any White, can nullify one of the most commonly seen dilemmas in the game. Hanok Hanok can solve Deliver Message all by himself, keeping the mission from being a wasted seed slot. (Far from wasted, as I solved it every game in the tournament.) He also downloads any Rule card, so the 75th Rule is just made for him. Since he can contribute to every mission, he turns one of my missions into a 40-point mission, which is enough for the win. Add in a Victory Is Life or two to make up for lost points, and that's the win. And the best thing about Hanok and the previous group is that they're the only Gammas that you have to worry about, and none need White. So while you keep your Jemmies reporting and attacking in the Alpha Quadrant, you can report these guys to your Primary Supply Depot. When you're ready, download or report an Attack Ship and have them join the forces. And speaking of ships...
Jem'Hadar Warship Generally, I put my main assault group on the Warship, as it is the only Dominion ship that has any chance of chasing opposing ships. The Attack Ships are great support ships, letting any Vorta hop on one and come to the Alpha Quadrant, or they can help blow up other ships. (Combo: have the Jem'Hadar kill all the drones on a Borg Cube, then have two Attack Ships and your Warship take potshots at the empty Cube for an easy 45 points.) Use the Attack Ships to redshirt at Construct Depots as necessary. Just a few extra cards to help you out... Remote Supply Depot When you complete a Construct Depot, you must download a Remote Supply Depot if necessary. However, I find it easier to just build one there beforehand. When you travel to your missions on the other side of the spaceline, build one to reset your White. Q2 will help keep your Invasive Beam-In safe. Scans are, well, just generally useful. Now on to the Tent. In addition to Deyos... Nog Why these two? Well, Hanok is the only personnel you have with Acquisition, so if something happens to him you'll need another option. These two can both report directly to your Tower of Commerce and solve the mission all alone. They make great redshirts if you need them to be, and Quark even reports for free there. What if you're up against a Dominion deck? What would you do then? Omet'iklan Simple. Play Omet'iklan, and take the battle to them. Being able to fight on their ship is a huge advantage, as they won't be able to realistically protect their Vorta and Founders, and you don't have to worry about killing them anymore. Hanok is a backup incase you need him and his 75th Rule quickly, or his Diplomacy. A Baby Jemmie is there in case you just can't seem to draw one. Bajoran Wormhole What if your opponent closes one end of the Wormhole before you go through? Tent for the Bajoran Wormhole right before you're ready to go. The Dead End is Q's Planet defense. It's Only A Game limits the only way your opponent can mount a comeback after you kill their crew - a turn where they report a massive number of crew and rush off to complete missions. Reflection Therapy, the Tent staple, will get you whatever skill you need (Goran'Agar is the only personnel with Honor in this deck, so you won't have trouble using it). Regenerate also has its obvious uses. Invasive Beam-In is there as a backup in case you use your first one. And Alas, Poor Queen is just a plain Borg killer. The probability of you killing the Queen when you beam onto her cube is very high. Be more efficient. Back to the seed deck, I have two slots left. You know what really sucks? When you beam over ten Jem'Hadar with all their equipment and such, and then right before you totally decimate their crew, your opponent Space/Time Portals his ship back to his hand, and all your personnel are suddenly in your hand again! There's a way around this, just seed... Commandeer Ship Now, whenever you have a personnel on their ships, they can't do this. Finally, it's always good to grab a ship when necessary. Spacedoor You can now get your one Warship when you need it. Also, when you need to get a few new Vorta to the Alpha Quadrant, just download any Attack Ship, even Alpha Attack Ships. This way, you can use them there, and report them to the Alpha Quadrant otherwise. As for the 18 dilemmas, just pick your favorite 3-card combos. Use dilemmas that damage ships for an added bonus, as you'll get to draw two cards if this happens. Well, that's about it for this deck, and how it transformed from an idea to an actual deck. Of course, this is a rough draft of the deck. It could be made more efficient if I gave it time. However, being in the middle of finals and all, I barely had time to build it. One day I'll probably go back and fix it, cutting down the deck size a bit. However, it still worked pretty darned well, if I may say so myself. In one game, it proved that it can even solve missions pretty efficiently as a primary goal. There are a few ways to modify it too, but I ended up going with this deck. You could replace a Construct Depot for Intelligence Operation, allowing you to seed The Great Link and report whatever Founders you add for free. Second, you can choose another planet mission over Deliver Message, and seed a Trading Post there if you want to get Gint. Or you could even just get Hanok quickly and download the 34th Rule quickly, saving you two seed slots. However, this doesn't allow you to download the 75th Rule as well, plus it would take yet another Tent to accomplish. One idea I was really toying with was seeding a Starry Night at Ferenginar (or a Trading Post, as I was considering earlier), and then downloading two Phased Cloaking Devices. These things work very well for the Dominion. Your Warship will suddenly have RANGE 13, and one of your Attack Ships will be RANGE 10. Not only that, but after beaming personnel over to a ship to battle, you can cloak your ship to prevent a counterattack (if you're playing against the Borg or Federation, it's easier to just move the ship to another location after beaming, so your opponent can't counterattack). It also allows you to just ignore some nasties, like Q-Nets and such. I thought of doing this on the way to the tournament, which was a bit too late. Basically, to play this deck, first turn download Gint and his Latinum. Play Gint for free to the Tower. If you feel your opponent is stocking counters, play the Latinum as your card play, and exchange it for the Scepter. Then download the 34th Rule. Also, whenever you have any Young Jem'Hadar, play them, and replace them whenever you can. Next turn, Tent for Deyos. If things go right, you can download your ship on the third turn and move to the Alpha Quadrant. Move to a Construct Depot and download a Remote Supply Depot, providing you have a Dominion ENGINEER. If not, wait. (Note that it's wise to seed Ultimatum after your opponent seeds his facilities so you'll know where to play the Wormholes.) When you download the Depot, download two Kar'takins. Then move to your opponent's facility or ship, beam over, and kill things. Remember, you get a card draw whenever you report a (non-Baby) Jemmie to Deyos' location, and an additional two each time a battle occurs. After you beat your opponent into submission, go and solve missions. Hope you like the deck! Alidar Jarok
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So, you get a card draw just for reporting personnel so far. Why stop there? The whole point of this deck is battling, so wouldn't it be nice to get card draws for doing that too? Well, you can.
Since we want to be self-sufficient in the Alpha Quadrant as much as possible, let's look at the Alpha Jem'Hadar.
