Erika Benteen and U.S.S. Lakota

We know Brad loves the "4 or more" concept that was introduced in In a Mirror, Darkly. Erika Benteen (Leyton's Adjunct) is a good example of this new mechanism.

Mission selection is crucial when playing with Erika Benteen. You might consider Practice Orbital Maneuvers, Military Exercises, Genesis Planet or even Survey New World. 

Erika Benteen is a two-cost, four-skilled Earth Federation personnel with 5-6-6 attributes. That's not all that exceptional, but since one of her skills is Intelligence, she will be welcomed in plenty of decks. Her game text makes her even more quickly welcomed: when she uses a skill to complete a mission, you can discard a personnel from hand who costs 4 or more to unstop all your stopped Federation personnel at that mission.

The first thing that should catch your eye is that all your stopped Federation personnel at the mission are unstopped, not just those who were part of the successful attempt. The second is the cost for this ability, discarding from hand a personnel that costs 4 or more. To rely on being able to do this once – or hopefully twice – each game, your deck will need to contain several higher-cost cards. We all know that Play and Draw Cards counters are a limited commodity, and that playing high-cost cards slows down your deck. Erika Benteen both creates and fixes this problem, resulting in a net gain: you get the chance at an extra mission attempt just when you thought you'd be ending your turn due to a lack of personnel.

So, at this point you must be thinking, "All these unstopped personnel are great, but if I don't have enough Range remaining on my ship to get them to another mission, what good are they?" Well, the answer is just one Benteen keyword away: Commander: U.S.S. Lakota.

The U.S.S. Lakota, Modified Starship  is a unique version of the ubiquitous U.S.S. Excelsior. As such, she costs one more than her non-unique counterpart, but that additional counter buys you a fantastic ability: This ship is attributes +2 for each corresponding Commander aboard it. With Erika aboard, the modest 8-7-7 attributes jump quickly to 10-9-9. That 10 Range is perfect for the typical 'two-span headquarters' and 'three-span space mission' hop. Also not to be overlooked is the 9 Weapons, which can ensure you'll never be Outclassed. Ship-to-ship battle popular in your area? You'll appreciate those 9 Shields as well. And if that's not enough brawn for you, consider taking along Khan Noonien Singh, Bold Man to get those attributes up to 12-11-11. Not even the Borg could be so fortunate.

Still not enough? For just one counter more, you could add an Inspiring Leader to the mix. How does a 14-11-11 ship grab you?