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The Non-Aligneds
by Lazarus Long When Premiere was released, there were four distinct colors for players to choose from. The Federation, aka Big Blue, was probably the best developed of the affiliations in the beginning. Following behind that, were the Red Klingons and the Green of the Romulans. Lastly was a group of yellow/gold cards, the Non-Aligned. These yellow cards weren't really an affiliation unto themselves at this point, but merely fallback personnel to help the Klingons and the Romulans round out the skills they were lacking in comparison to the Federation. The Non-Aligneds' power came from a handful of personnel that were pretty powerful in their own right. These personnel, such as Roga Danar, Banar, Bok and Dr. Reyga gave some needed skills to the Romulans and the Klingons. They couldn't complete missions on their own, but they could supply the needed skills to help the others. Then there were the ships. Let's face it. Of the five, all but three were laughable. The Yridian Shuttle and Zilbanian Transport dropped from sight except in Sealed deck tourneys. However, the Mercenary Ship, Husnock Ship and the Combat Vessel stayed around. Good Combat power, along with easy staffing requirements kept these ships alive. Even the equipment found aboard the Husnock Ship kept it in the Romulan and Klingon deck's to allow for Holograms. Besides, who needs a cloak when you have the most powerful ship in the game at your command? A Kurlan Naiskos made it even better. Then came the set that started Decipher's subliminal push towards Non-Aligned greatness. Alternate Universe provided, along with some of the best Non-Aligned going, two missions that required them and even some ships with unusual powers. Of the personnel introduced in this set, none have had a more lasting impression than Dathon. He could easily nullify some nasty dilemmas that the Feds could breeze through, Shaka, When the Walls Fell and El-Adrel Creature. He also provided some much needed honor and Leadership abilities to go with the flagging Green and Red's. But we can't forget Maques, the uncommon, unique VIP that could subtlety help many a deck. Or Ajur and Boratus, or even the tricky Berlinghoff Rasmussen. As for the ships, the Tama, with the new Captain's Log made for a powerhouse in many fighting decks. Even the Feds took small forays into the combat scene with this combo. Also designed to throw more spice into the game were Gomtuu, with its throwing weapon that could kill in one shot, and the Edo Vessel, whose mere presence nullified dilemmas and had a 50/50 chance of being hit in combat. However, these ships soon faded from the spotlight as the Decius, Fek'lhr and Future Enterprise all arrived and cast there own spells over the players and collectors alike. Then there were the missions. Two of them creaked the door open in to the world of the Non-Aligned. One of them, Diplomatic Conference required an Non-Aligned VIP, while the other, Qualor II Rendezvous was an Non-Aligned only mission that was quickly overshadowed as the possible subject of one of Mot the Barber's Useless Card reviews. In all, this set did little to promote the Non-Aligned's line of action. The next release (not including the Warp Pack or the 2 Player Game) that had the Non-Aligneds was the Q-Continuum. What special about this set, was aside from providing two missions the Non-Aligned could do, was that all but two of the personnel had a special skill.
There was only one ship for the Non-Aligned in this set. The Zalkonian Vessel usurped the Combat Vessel due to its superior RANGE, if not that it required two Non-Aligned's to staff. The Zalkonian Vessel also could kill John Doe, preventing the combo mentioned before. Two new missions also appeared for the Non-Aligned. Samaritan Snare as a 15 point Fed trap quickly fell into disuse. Q's Planet didn't score points, only increased the amount needed to win by 40 and gave a player a second chance to grab an artifact. After an extremely long wait, Decipher released the six-card First Anthology, designed to give a small preview of what Deep Space Nine and Voyager were to be like. Garak and Thomas Paris quickly found homes in many decks. Garak, along with introducing the Cardassian colors, gave us a Non-Aligned capable of making the John Doe combo almost unstoppable. Also, he gave us one of the few Non-Aligned with Honor as well as Computer Skill and a CIVILIAN/SECURITY personnel. Thomas Paris, from Voyager was used for his Transporter Skill in many decks and his convertible skill worked well in the Romulan flavor of things. After even more anticipation and being one of the tightest secrets in the CCG business, Decipher gave us the Fajo Collection. As well as introducing the Borg (ie Locutus of Borg) and some nifty cards, they gave us four more Non-Aligned. Lore rocketed to the forefront of the revitalized Non-Aligned as, with his seven skills became a must-have in many decks. As with many Non-Aligned from the Premiere Set, painting him Green would have been no problem, as he found best employment as a Rommie supporter. Dr. Soong gave rebirth to the Non-Aligned STA Colony. Then there was Tallera. A Fed/Rom/Non-Aligned personnel, she found use, true to form, with the Klingons. Then there was Kivas Fajo himself, able to use opponents Palors, he found him self in a few decks to counter or take advantage of the Recycling decks, that were formed around the soon-to-be-released First Contact. Speaking of which, First Contact was a godsend for Non-Aligned players. With the universal 'Planet' mission, the Non-Aligned finally had a deck that stood a chance of winning. The Vulcan Lander with the most unusual staffing requirements and ability combined with the three Vulcans found themselves in a most unusual situation. Being extremely valuable in their own right, they all had to report to the Montana Complex if it was on the table. This liability was suffered by all the Non-Aligned cards in this set, with the exception of the Phoenix, which had to be seeded there. Despite this, Cochrane, Lily, Solkar, Sevek, T'shorna and Kathleen found themselves used in many decks. Even the Phoenix got a workout with some people just reporting it at a planet mission and getting, in essence, 10 free points. Then, a few months later, as FC havoc died down, the Official Tournament Sealed Deck was released. Five Non-Aligned-attemptable missions, a Non-Aligned ship, personnel and outpost finally gave the Non-Aligned the ability to seriously compete. Suna provided the two most valuable classifications, while Darmok allowed almost any special card to be played (Holograms, Ship Seizure, and Particle Scattering Field) all found renewal in this set. Then there was the most important Non-Aligned card next to Lore: the Husnock Outpost. 40 SHIELDS, it seeds at any Non-Aligned mission (of which, at the time this was released, three, including one in the SD) and you could seed possibly the most powerful ship in the game right there as well! But, the true icing on the cake were the missions. With Establish Relations leading the way, the Non-Aligned found that there was hope yet. They could compete and WIN. The other five missions, most attemptable by the common Premiere personnel (ie Vekor, Dr. Reyga, Gorta...) was the catalyst that drove the Non-Aligneds in to their own. They would never be the same again. Deep Space Nine came along to continue the growth of the Non-Aligned. With it, we received a slew of new, universal Non-Aligned, including a few uniques, and players of the Non-Aligned were not disappointed. Altovar and Amaros, Sakonna, and Zef'no, the skill selection boomed to account for what skills were missing in the two latest affiliations, the Magenta Bajorans, and the Purple Cardassians. Also, we got Deliver Supplies, a 40-point Non-Aligned mission, that soon showed up in many decks, not just limited to the Non-Aligned. Finally, of the four new ships, the Xeopolite Freighter made quite a few people happy. High RANGE, easy staffing requirements, good SHIELDS, and it was a help for Deliver Supplies. Next came Starter Deck 2, which was an attempt to revive the original set, and make it more playable out of the box, this set introduced Memory Wipe, a neat Event that could turn an entire ship and crew Non-Aligned. This raised a few interesting possibilities, but in all, Starter Deck 2 had little effect on the game as a whole, or even the Non-Aligned. The Dominion focused squarely on this Gamma Quadrant based affiliation. The Non-Aligned were once again relegated to the roles of support, especially for the Dominion, who needed many of a few, yet vital skills, such as MEDICAL, which could easily be found on Vekor. And now Blaze of Glory is here, and from the card list, there is only one true Non-Aligned. The Albino, but unfortunately, the Klingons will take a great pleasure in killing him, so it looks like that once again, the Non-Aligned are passed over. Even the Tactics are not as great as they could be, with no NA-specific Tactic. The Non-Aligned are capable of being an affiliation able to compete with even the strongest of the affiliations. They have a tighter mission selection, more general personal, even some excellent ships, but it seems like Decipher just isn't yet concentrating on making the Non-Aligned into a playable force for the time being. I can wait, and plan my strategies for the day when a set contains many Non-Aligned and support for them. Then I will try my hand at a true Non-Aligned deck, and see how it works. Until then... Lazarus Long |
Galen, Nick Lorcano and Timicin introduced the Restriction Box. The first two couldn't work with the Federation, while Timicin had to be discarded upon earning 60 points. But what of Zon? This four-skilled Nausican provided the skill of Guramba. It just meant that you had to have two
leaders to fight against an away team with Zon in it, and to pass "None Shall Pass". Madame Guinan's nullification of certain AU cards was definitely a must in any deck. Kova Tholl's and Samuel Clemen's skills also made for some interesting strategies. However, some must argue that John Doe's skill was the best. This quickly led to the almost unkillable John Doe, Genetronic Replicators and 2 MEDICAL combination. But, The most surprising Non-Aligned to come from this set, was the Soong-Type Android. Able to choose its Classification and Gender, this Android became a staple in many decks faster than you can say Soong-Type Android. With the Colony card provided in this set, Android CIVILIANS quickly set up shop in their home away from home.