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:  A nice shot of Data's various commendations, including the Medal of Honor with clusters, the Legion of Honor, and the Star Cross.  It's also an Easter Egg that collectors and fans will appreciate moreso than some of the others Decipher put into their cards, perhaps... I give it a thumbs up.

PLAYERS:  So, why would you use this card?  The short answer is that - ordinarily - you wouldn't.  If I was wanting to score points from battling my opponent's ships, Phaser Array Power Cell would enter my thinking before Data's Medals - in fact, if I was bent on it, I'd play Dominion (using Ultimatum).  If I was wanting to score points through personnel battle, playing Jem'hadar smackdown I'd use Victory Is Life (getting a crucial equipment as well as the points), and if playing Klingon smackdown I'd try to set-up Council of Warriors beforehand - which I can also adapt to service my armada.

As I see it, there are two main problems with this card.  The first is that it can only be played once, and will only confer you a bonus of 5 points.  The second is that those points can very easily be lost - I would not rely on keeping *any* personnel alive for a full game with the multitude of hazards that abound in the environment today.  Killer dilemmas, ship armadas, personnel battle... it's a dangerous world out there, and those 5 points could very quickly disappear, and it will have cost you a potentially crucial card draw in the process.  The points advantage gained weighed against the card advantage lost isn't good enough, especially when it will have to be stocked in multiple or Tent-ed for in advance to be of any good.

I'm afraid that for the dedicated armadas and close-combat hordes, there are generally better ways to score points off their violence, and even for the opportunistic lurkers seeking some easy points once in a while, a Phaser Array Power Cell (which doesn't require you to actually win the combat, and can't be nullified once it's in the points area) or a Latinum Payoff (maybe set up with a Punishment Box/Crisis/Hazardous Duty dilemma combo) might prove more fruitful.  The Greedy Goss even special downloads a Payoff, and a couple of D'Kora Marauders should be able to see off one mission-attempting ship.

TREKKERS:  I think it fits well with the theme, actually - plays on someone who deserves to be recognized, but isn't worth anything once they've departed this mortal coil (maybe their family pawned the medals or something like that...).  I can't be too critical, especially considering the antiquity of the card.

COMBOS:  Errmm... none.  Maybe a future version of Data might have a special download (any interrupt with 'Data' in the title?), but until that - altogether not too likely - moment, I can't recommend it in any way.

OVERALL:  A shorter review than usual, but there aren't enough situations where this could be used that would allow me to ramble for a while, I'm afraid.  One of the least valuable in this series in terms of gameplay, but that doesn't diminish the reason it's being reviewed in the first place...
 

Craig
 

Answer:  The countenance reflected in Data's display case belongs to the Great Bird himself, the late Gene Roddenberry (although there was some speculation amongst Easter Egg hunters back in 1996 that the reflected visage was that of Decipher CEO Warren Holland!).