After Blaze of Glory came out, the Cardassians were tops in card-drawing ability.  With Examine Singularity downloads and Ore Processing, they could easily draw several cards free every turn, and Reactor Overload had not yet reared its ugly head.  The Bajorans, on the other hand, had plenty of cards that played for free at the Chamber of Ministers, but no real card-drawing power other than the occasional returned orb and renewal scrolls.  But between Rules of Acquisition and The Trouble with Tribbles, the Bajorans now equal, if not surpass, the Borg in their ability to bring cards into play.

The Card Draws
The Bajorans have access to two of the best facilities in the game, Deep Space Nine and the Chamber of Ministers.  Each helps the Bajorans start drawing cards quickly.

Orbs - The hallmark of the Bajorans, the Orbs provide a variety of useful abilities; Return Orb to Bajor also nets you card draws.  The popular strategy of seeding the Orb of Wisdom and Sarjenka at Bajor can grant the Bajoran player 3 card draws, free card plays, and 15 points on the first turn of the game!  (Just report an Orb personnel, such as Vedek Dax, free to the Chamber of Ministers and play Return Orb on her - instant points and draws!)

Cargo Run - With Kasidy Yates (who can be downloaded to the Cargo Bay) running equipment between facilities, you can pick up 3 draws every other turn simply for passing one mission.  Since the Orbs are artifacts, you can run them to get started; you can also run Morn's latinum and the equipment it downloads.  Since DS9 and the Chamber of Ministers are both in the Bajor region, you should have no trouble getting them close to each other.

Quark's Bar - Who says the Bajorans can't get a little help?  Download Morn to the Cargo Bay and have him walk to the Bar for a free draw every turn.  Use the Gold-Pressed Latinum he special downloads for a Cargo Run, then discard it to download a Plasmadyne Relay or other useful equipment.  Surrender the bar to Quark, let Leeta special download Dabo!, and you'll score points or draws each turn as long as your discard pile holds out.  HQ: Ferengi Credit Exchange can be played (or downloaded by Grand Nagus Zek) to the Bar to allow you to discard Latinum for draws, pumping up your discard pile for Dabo!

Bajoran Shrine - The newest addition to the Bajoran player's draw-drawing arsenal, this site replicates the power of Ore Processing for the Bajorans, but without the worry of Reactor Overload.  An Orb is required to draw two cards using it, but the Bajorans should have no trouble earning one quickly.  A Prylar, Vedek, or Kai is required to hold services, but they may be downloaded here with Ops or (if DS9 is at Bajor with the Chamber of Ministers) played here for free!  Just be sure you can hold the station…the Cardassians would like nothing more than to destroy the Shrine!

Renewal Scroll - While the Renewal Scrolls cost you a card play and no longer receive free fodder from Examine Singularity downloads, they are the best way to draw a large number of cards when you desperately need a particular card in your deck; simply pitch your entire hand to draw, then Regenerate later or use the cards for Dabo.  Of course, on the rare occasion when your hand is empty, or if you simply don't want to lose anything, you can always play Renewal Scroll and discard zero cards to draw two; you could also discard your other renewal scrolls!  While this isn't as powerful as the other methods, its versatility makes it a worthy inclusion in Bajoran decks.
 

The Card Plays
Of course, filling your hand with cards isn't too useful if you have no way to play them; you simply open yourself up to a Scorched Hand.  The Bajorans, fortunately, have no lack of ways to play cards for free.

Chamber of Ministers - A staple in Bajoran decks, the Chamber allows any Bajoran Vedek, Minister, or Kai to play free, once per turn.  This covers an incredible variety of useful personnel, from Vedek Dax (a great science personnel who has an orb icon as well) to Vedek Winn, one of the few Bajorans with integrity low enough to pass In The Pale Moonlight.  It also allows the free play of useful HQ cards, such as HQ: Orbital Weapons Platform, which protects your ships and facilities at Bajor from attack.

Orb of Wisdom - Allowing the most unrestricted free plays in the game, the Orb of Wisdom requires only that your orb icon personnel be present in order for any of your cards to play free to that location each turn.  Free ships, personnel, equipment…the Orb of Wisdom is amazing in its flexibility.

First Minister Shakaar - Shakaar was already a staple in Bajoran decks for his special skill…this new version may encourage persona swapping!  Download him to the guest quarters and move him to Bajor to allow you yet another free card play every turn; in this case, a civilian.  While more restrictive than the Orb, the Bajorans have no shortage of useful civilians, such as Tahna Los, who passes In The Pale Moonlight, and Ro Laren, one of their best sources of astrophysics.  Once you finish reporting your crew, swap him out for Shakaar to give everyone +2 strength, or keep him in as a valuable source of Law.

Quark's Bar - While Quark's Bar may be managed by a Ferengi, it helps the Bajorans with some free plays as well.  Dual-affiliation dabo girls like Leeta and Aluura can play free to the bar, then walk to another site and switch affiliations to join your Bajoran crews.  They also help power the card draws at Quark's Bar, keeping you with plenty of cards in hand.

Docking Ports - While the Bajorans usually prefer Docking Pads for the free download of Establish Landing Protocols and the trouble it can give other affiliations trying to dock, they'll need Docking Ports so their freighters can make cargo runs.  Both Bajoran Freighter and the nine-range Xepolite Freighter (Kasidy Yates' choice for cargo runs) report free here.
 

"Other" - Of course, other free plays and draws lend themselves to specialized decks.  Pire for Hire, for example, benefits from downloading a Bajoran Interceptor with Hidden Fighter, playing a Ready Room Door to staff it, then getting the RRD back with Bajoran Shrine the next turn!  For draws, take advantage of the Ferengi in the bar, specifically Grand Nagus Gint, to download the 34th Rule of Acquisition, then trip a Borg Ship dilemma and draw two cards every time it attacks as it makes its way down the spaceline!  Promenade Shops can provide yet more draws, and Guest Quarters adds a bit of selection.  With all of these tricks, a Bajoran deck could potentially be drawing and playing six or more cards each turn!  While Bajoran decks may be a little low on dilemmas, due to all the extra cards taking up seed space, they more than make up for it in sheer speed and power.  May the prophets guide you as you return the Bajorans to their rightful position as one of the most powerful affiliations in the Star Trek: Customizable Card Game! 

William 'Spock' Springer
Spock@wnohgb.com