Genocidal Plans

“You in the Central Command have neglected the security of our people and allowed peace with Bajor and the Federation to blind you to the real threat, the Dominion. I intend to remove that threat. Let history be my judge.” – Enabran Tain, The Die is Cast.

In 2371 Enabran Tain commanded a fleet of advanced Romulan D'deridex Class and Cardassian Keldon Class warships into the Gamma Quadrant to launch a preemptive strike against what he perceived to be the greatest threat to the Alpha Quadrant: the Dominion. His plan, carried forward and supported by elements within both the Obsidian Order and the Tal Shiar, was particularly Cardassian in nature – his intention was to element the Founders. Cardassians have a history of being comfortable with war crimes, and so the words, “let history be my judge” are particularly chilling when spoken by Tain as they call to mind some of humanities worst atrocities committed in the name of “securing the peace.” Unfortunately for Tain and his fleet, the Founders had been made aware of the plot, and the doomed fleet was heading into an ambush.

When we set out to create Far Beyond the Stars, our original pitch for 9 matched pairs of ships and commanders, and we also intended to make sure that each season of the series was represented by at least one matched pair and as many affiliations or factions featured in the series as possible were included. When it came time to give the Romulans some attention, we worked on several options, but the one that seemed most fun and most interesting was a green Tain and a matching Serrola. So, I present to you Enabran Tain, Prideful Director and the Serrola, the Tip of the Spear.

Tain's Romulan affiliation is meant to represent his having turned his back on the Cardassian Central Command and the whole of the military hierarchy. That he chose to make his command post on a Romulan warbird and not a Cardassian cruiser is telling. Both cards support the interference strategy of New Romulus (Romulus, Patient Stronghold) and Imperial Entanglements by adding a capture and a discard option to those builds. Will you use Tain to fuel your Psychological Pressure, your Hidden Strings, or your Torture? Or, will you use your Serrola with a stop pile, like Chula, and perhaps the Gal Gath'thong, Pride of the Praetor and Keras, Creature of Duty to strip away an opponent’s resources. The possibilities are numerous, and we hope these cards bring some excitement to the Romulan interference mechanic. Playtesters received these cards well, and I hope Romulan players received these cards more warmly than the Founders received the joint fleet. I feel comfortable speaking for my fellow designer when I say I look forward to seeing what Romulan players do with these cards.

The deck below is built on the theme of Tain's ill-fated excursion into the Gamma Quadrant. It takes advantage of relatively new cards like Covert Collusion to get a needed ship to begin ferrying personnel back and forth to prepare for engagements or missions. Seska, Pragmatic Agent is here to power These are the Voyages and because she'll almost certainly play for free. The Die Is Cast makes an appearance to help grease the skids at these Gamma Quadrant missions. I've even thrown a copy of Labor Camp just in case those bonus points are needed. Optimism in play to give this player the ability to draw without fear to get what the need, or to recycle a ship you need for Imperial Entanglements. The dilemma pile is pretty straight-forward. Interstellar Exigence is there to take advantage of having two headquarters missions. The Chula portion of the pile should gel well with the Serrola, and Unsound Logic makes an appearance if you’ve got Imperial Entanglements in hand.

Enjoy, and stay tuned for more from Far Beyond the Stars!

See corresponding deck "Genocidal Plans" here!

by Michael Shea, Chief Ambassador