As you may have heard, The Ninja Scot and Dr. Telek R'Mor have decided to do a one-page review of every card in Holodeck Adventures.  That's right, all 131 cards!  Better set aside lots of reading time for this…  (DTRM is doing evens and TNS is doing odds)  The opinions, of course, are those of the authors :-)

Some missions look good on the surface, but when one looks a bit deeper, it is revealed that looks can be deceiving.

Before discussing the “special skill” of Seal Rift, it’s probably best to take a gander at the points and requirements of it. Surprisingly, SCIENCE x2 and ENGINEER x2 is not the easiest thing to get out. In fact, for a normal Delta Quadrant deck, barring equipment enhancement or the likes of Naomi Wildman, the only two person crew who can do this is Dr. Telek R’Mor and Seven of Nine. Now, not all missions can be solved by one or two personnel crews, but the fact that Seal Rift will almost always require at least three personnel to complete (or pass Lack of Preparation) is something to consider, if you plan to simply just use it for the points. The span is average and the points are plenty, protecting it from Fair Play while still being useful (take note, Mine Gallicite and Hunt for Alien).

The mission’s ability to let Alternate Universe ships report to its location is interesting. The largest benefit is for the Federation because, as a whole, the Non-Aligned Alternate Universe ships are fairly sub par. For the Delta Quadrant Federation, there are really two good targets: Starship Enterprise and I.S.S. Enterprise. The Future Enterprise and U.S.S. Pasteur may both seem tempting, but since you’ll need other Alternate Universe personnel to keep them staffed, it becomes more difficult to keep them around (especially since Voyager, Delta Flyer, and Equinox are already three powerful ships).

Of course, the power of the Starship Enterprise and its Mirror Universe counterpart is in their downloads. The best personnel for them to download, in my humble opinion, is Security Chief Sulu. His download will boost him up to two SECURITY, something which the Delta Quadrant severely lacks. First Officer Spock is always a good choice (no once can complain about SCIENCE/Diplomacy x2, plus he can get the same download as Sulu), as is Dr. McCoy (better now, with Scientific Method making a comeback because of Cyrus Redblock), and Kirk (make Voyager a battling machine).

In conclusion, it’s an odd little mission. Using Sigmund Freud, it’s possible to make a mini-theme, running some of the Original Series Alternate Universe personnel in conjunction with the Delta Quadrant Federation. They supply needed skills
(MEDICAL/SCIENCE on Spock and McCoy; SECURITY on Sulu, etc…) on a small number of personnel, but be careful before crowding your deck full of them: they can’t report for free in the Delta Quadrant and they aren’t Scissionable. They give powerful skills, but use them in a small amounts or their macho presence in your draw deck will turn around and bite you in the behind. Also, don’t forget that once you or your opponent solve Seal Rift, no more ships. As for the mission itself, another solid one for the Delta Quadrant.

Combo(s):

Seal Rift + ISS Enterprise + Security Chief Sulu = One step closer to bringing more SECURITY to the Delta Quadrant.