Deal With the Count Man | openCards

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Deal With the Count Man

    (3) Deal With the Count Man

    Event Event

    Decay: 3. (When there are three cards on this event, destroy it.) To play this event, you must command a Thief. Plays in your core. Name a personnel. At the start of each Execute Orders segment, each personnel who has that card title cannot use abilities, attributes, and skills until the end of each turn. At the start of each of your turns, place the top card of your deck on this event.

    "What? No tip?"

    Characteristics: manipulate opponent's attributes (personnel), plays in your core, manipulate your deck, Decay, manipulate opponent's ability to use skills and abilities.
    Requires: Thief.

    Card logging info: Logged by at (Q1 by Roga Danar at Sep 8th, 2010 & Q2 by eberlems at Nov 4th, 2010)
     

    Deal With the Count Man

    This Card-Review article was written by openCards user KaiserK and was published first on "The Continuing Committee (trekcc.org)" at Jul 27th, 2009.

    There is no doubt that This Side of Paradise will add a whole new dimension to the game. The 2010 World Champion will not only have to be a veteran deck builder and a great player, but he will also have to be a master of concentration. Once the new expansion is legal, many players might well end up looking at all those new cards and forgetting about focusing on their game plan. Just imagine, while you were busy examining the text of the new events in your opponent's core, you completely forget to pay attention to what skills they just put into play. And sometimes, a sneaky little diversion can make all the difference...

    Deal With the Count Man is a Decay event that simply shuts down a personnel. When you play it, the named personnel cannot use any of his or her skills, attributes and abilities during the Execute Orders segment (of each player's turn) – which includes mission attempts. While this does not affect actions that happen during the Play and Draw Cards segment (e.g., K'tal and Korath would still trigger), it can still throw a big monkey wrench into your opponent's strategy. You can either put key Orders or other abilities on hold, or simply name personnel with crucial mission skills or big attributes. So your opponent just spent six counters on Lore? Too bad he won't be able to exploit his ten Cunning and "unstoppable" game text for three turns.

    Keep in mind, though, that Deal With the Count Man affects both players, so naming a personnel that you also planned to use can backfire. Also, do not forget that in order to play this event, you have to command a Thief personnel. However, this should not be a problem for most non-Borg decks, as popular Thieves like Maras and Navaar can easily fit into most decks (and they even can take advantage of core events). Borg have to put a bit more effort into it, since they do not have easy access to Thief personnel, but here's a thought: stock a version of the Borg Queen who has Diplomacy, add Locutus, then use Interstellar Treaty to fetch Maras or D'Nesh (Manipulative Gift). Now you can play Deal With the Count Man, and you can keep it in play for longer than its natural Decay of 3 by using Fifth (Neonatal Drone) each turn. Worth the trouble? You decide.

    Deal With the Count Man can be used to keep several annoying personnel (when your opponent plays them, that is) in check for a couple of turns:

    Dukat (Pah-Wraith Puppet): Keep your discard pile safe until you have recovered the cards you need, and deny your opponent the luxury of a two-cost, ten Cunning personnel.

    Shran (In Archer's Debt): No dilemmas back!

    Kruge (Instinctive Commander): No ship for you, Kruge! (Just be aware that equipment freak Korath can take advantage of that little window of opportunity between playing Deal With the Count Man and the first Decay.)

    Borg Queen (Guardian of the Hive): Prevent her from swapping Drones back in, and use those turns to remove them from the game with your own Dukat.

    Goval (Follower of the One): Against a deck with hardly any personnel anyway, it's easy to name the right guy.

    Mot (The Barber): Allows you to draw one more dilemma, which might make all the difference.

    James T. Kirk (Original Thinker): He will need at least three turns to outthink you this time.

    The list goes on and on. Have a look at Kevin Jaeger's recent article, and I'm sure you will find a suitable target (or targets – Deal With the Count Man is not limited to one copy at a time) in each of the decks he discussed.