Thon

Something I really like about playing a game like Star Trek CCG Second Edition is seeing the characters portrayed on screen turned into cards. We have all seen a character in a particularly gripping scene and thought, "That would be a cool card!"  If you have ever thought that, then check out Thon. I know what you are thinking, "Who?"  Thon, you know, from Enterprise; he was in that one episode where they did that thing.  Anyway, even if he is a lesser-known character from the show, his card is awesome.

Thon costs three and has the skills of Astrometrics, Navigation, and Programming. He has lower-than-average stats at four Integrity, five Cunning, and six Strength. He is Non-Aligned, so any affiliation (except Borg) can take advantage of him.  His game text allows you, if you have not completed a space mission, to discard a random card from hand to place the ship he is on at your incomplete space mission. This reduces the trouble associated with completing a space mission first. You could get to it without using any of your ships' range and then, if you complete the mission, move on to another mission. Thon will be especially good if you are running a Deep Space 9 Gamma quadrant deck or a Dominion Alpha quadrant deck.  Perhaps you just attempted that mission and failed, losing several crew members in the process. You need to go back to your headquarters mission (next turn) to rebuild your crew, but if you fly back you will not have the range to make the round trip. No problem.  With Thon around, you can fly home and have him show you the shortcut back to that space mission. Now you can throw out that copy of Astrometrics Lab and flush those copies of Quantum Slipstream Drive. Thon can be used turn after turn, and if you don't use his ability, then the card slot is not wasted because you can still attempt missions with him.

Ahhh, efficiency, now there's something the Borg could appreciate.