A source of constant amusement in my life (I don't get out much) is the number of jokes inserted onto Star Trek: CCG cards by the designers, either into images or in the lore or game text.  Decipher's official "Easter Egg" policy ended with Q-Continuum, but those cunning PD folks have still managed to slip a number of sly jokes in since then.  To misappropriate that popular Pokemon catchphrase, "You gotta get them all..."  Or not.

The joke can be in the card image or design, or in the wording of the card title, lore or gametext.  Answer at the bottom of this review...

COLLECTORS:  This was the card release that made me actually think about doing these reviews, and as such forms the basis of the inaugural outing.  As the card extra on Decipher's site suggests, everyone had been anticipating a Romulan Picard and Data for a long, long time, but I don't think anyone really expected a dual-personnel.  I feel that this increases the card's appeal for collectors, anchoring the actions of the pair together better.  It's a very good looking card at any rate, featuring the "main" mains together in an unusual scenario, and is fairly easy to get hold of yet retains the appeal of a premium collectable.

PLAYERS:  As with the other dual-affiliated Romulan/Federation cards (Major Rakal, Koval, U.S.S. Prometheus and, er... Stefan DeSeve), the Federation affiliation doesn't really gain from this card.  The alternate Enhanced Premiere cards featuring these two are better, and in most circumstances Jean-Luc Picard and Data on their own would be preferable to the conjoined pair (their First Contact versions are enhanced by Make It So when commanding the Enterprise-E, Stargazer and/or Sutherland).  JLP also passes Drumhead, which is a much better space wall now, thanks to the advent of The Weak Will Perish.  The colossal strength total and flexibility of affiliation might be of use defending Visit Cochrane Memorial, but there are more efficient ways of doing that - Captured with Michael Eddington and Miles O'Brien, for instance, as both allow you to probe as well.

It is on Romulus that Data and Picard appear, and it is on Romulus that they are most welcome in deck-building.  Two staff stars means easy staffing for your D'deridex fleet, or increased card efficiency if building a D'deridex/Launch Portal weenie armada, as well as getting you two-thirds of the way past Oops! - a dilemma seeing more play thanks to the fashionable Delta Quadrant Spatial Scission archetype.  Cybernetics Expertise allows Data (and thus Picard too) to report for free if Cybernetics present - the Romulans can very easily get Telak into play, and also have within their affiliation two other solid Cyberneticists, Sorus and Orum.  As an additional bonus, the pair can be recovered from your discard pile using Cybernetics Expertise if, heaven forbid, they are lost in the ever-continuing pursuit of glory in the name of the Star Empire.

Every Romulan deck will use Temporal Micro-Wormhole to download Dr. Telek R'Mor on the first turn, but otherwise Parthok is currently the only ENGINEER who reports for free (including at Deep Space Station K-7).  Mirok will see play thanks to the Apnex, but Data and Picard give you a greater variety of skills than any of these personnel, much like Keras and The Centurion - they have an odd mix of planet and space skills.  Astrophysics and Archaeology are the deck archetypes which can claim primacy above all others a Romulan player may choose, and the affiliation is hardly short on Stellar Cartography, SCIENCE and Treachery to back those up.  Combining space and planet themes is a prudent endeavor, with Balancing Act, The Big Picture, Q's Planet, 62nd Rule and Hero of The Empire all still powerful enough to force your hand in that regard.  Picard's Anthropology is also of some importance, as a backup to the Tal Shiar's efforts in subduing Primitive Cultures and executing Intelligence Operations.  More vital still (and the reason, I suggest, why Sela let the two live) is the need for that skill in space to ward off Aggressive Behavior from large pink astronomical seashells.

On the down side, a potential drawback with a great number of recent (and otherwise excellent) Romulan personnel, including Data and Picard, is their lack of Treachery.  Not only does it create a minor issue concerning missions such as Expose Covert Supply or Strategic Diversion, the problem is intensified due to War Council.  This card drawing engine, immune to the counters faced by Kivas Fajo - Collector, would otherwise seem made to measure for all those Treacherous Romulans, if only more of them saw any play recently.

TREKKERS:  Trek fans will be pleased at the card's title, using the more formal surname rather than the prenames used on other Enhanced Premiere cards.  Not only would Data and Jean-Luc not fit, thanks to the dual-affiliation status, but the U.S.S. Enterprise's second officer would never refer to his captain on first-name terms.  Dr. Crusher, though, gets that privilege, as we see on Jean-Luc and Beverly.  Upon reflection, most should now be satisfied by their Romulan affiliation, rather than complaining about their lack of a Romulan infiltration icon.  To reiterate, games designer Tim Ellington (currently seconded to The Lord of The Rings, but I believe he may be back to Trek before long) confirmed that the way infiltrating personnel work in the game is not the way that the Federation would approach the issue in the show.  Jodmos, Riker Wil, Data and Picard, etc, were not trying to destabilize their respective governments by impersonation, they were ostensibly trying to help them.  So, while they may have 'infiltrated' in the show, that does not translate into game terms as an infiltration icon.  Makes sense to me, and as a Romulan fan, I'm glad.

COMBOS:  Three things stand out when considering why and how to use Data and Picard.  First is the attraction of a genuinely six-skilled Romulan (unlike Vreenak and Keras).  Second is the attraction of free-reporting as an android with Cybernetics.  Third, is the double CIVILIAN status which screams, to my mind, "Colony! Colony!"

Tal Shiar Android Division - Use Defend Homeworld to get Telak on the first turn (or tent for him, and report him free at the Continuing Committee).  A seeded Cybernetics Expertise allows free reporting of Data and Picard, Lore, Ruk, Dr. Roger Korby, and all the STAs your heart could desire.  This gives greater flexibility in redundant skills than either Romulan HQ (although you could combine it with the Continuing Committee and/or Office of the Proconsul for the benefits they provide).  Incidentally, Lore and Telak also provide 3 of the Treachery required for War Council plays.

Colony - Combined with a Romulan/Klingon Treaty, Tokath and Gi'ral might be a strategy worth revisiting.  Tokath can be easily got via Assign Support Personnel, and Q's Tent works as well as it ever did for Gi'ral.  If you build enough Colonies, your opponent can't possibly Wake of the Borg them all... ;-)  Data and Picard will score you quadruple points.  Combine with the above strategy (and all the other free reporting personnel the Romulans have available to them) to rack up the points at an exponential rate.

OVERALL:  In my humble opinion, an excellent card for the Romulans, and certainly a better deal from Enhanced Premiere than the Klingons and Ferengi got overall.  Data and Picard tend to find a home in most of my green decks nowadays without too many questions asked.
 

Craig
 

Answer:  First sentence of lore reads, "To search for Spock...", an obvious reference to Star Trek III: The Search For Spock.