tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 4h#MTG #StarTrek #MTGTRK Card of the Day: Stomping Ground Design: C Limited Grade: C+ Somewhat limited in scope, but it checks out. 010
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 09/10/2026#MTG #StarTrek #MTGTRK Card of the Day: Steam Vents Design: C+ Limited Grade: C+ The Cardassians are DEFINITELY worth a spot here. 020
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 08/10/2026#MTG #StarTrek #MTGTRK Card of the Day: Breeding Pool Design: C+ Limited Grade: C+ The DS9 fan in me loves this nod to the Trill 020
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 08/10/2026SAY IT WITH ME NOWstatic.klipy.comYankees Lose Da Yankees LoseALT: Yankees Lose Da Yankees Lose 001
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Limited wise, I'm not sure there are any differentiators based on the colors of these shocks. Black Green is likely to be the slower deck, so will have an easier time using an extra turn to avoid paying the life, but as the slower deck 2 life is more costly. It's about a wash. 000
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 07/10/2026"Spaceship graveyard" is definitely a cool enough thought to build the card all on its own, and I'm sure there are a couple tie-ins there that add to the flavor for some people. Very cool card. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 07/10/2026I forget whether Unification, parts 1 and 2 was a good enough episode to get a nod here, but I do think it's perfectly serviceable idea for a card even without tying it to a seminal cultural Star Trek moment. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 07/10/2026the first upgrade makes it much worse, IMO. Still a solid card; I think you will play 1 or two of these in most black decks, but it's bad enough at blocking that you may not want too many of them. Good enough with removal that I'm guessing you always play the first one. 000
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Limited wise, it's going to be interesting whether this is good. I think if this were a 3 mana 2/2, it would be excellent, but this on 2 feels like it might be a good click worse. Trading on turn three is so easy to do, that running this out a turn earlier and having to manually give it... 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 07/10/2026That this gets stronger by feasting on the creatures around it, starts off in a weakened state, but is still terrifying enough to beat the first defender on its own feels like a very good design though, and the execution of this card mechanically is sound, even if I disagree on the subject. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 07/10/2026There is a rawness to this trope that I feel the Klingons might not have. Maybe in TNG, but in DS9, raw spite at that serious a level felt reserved for other factions. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Now, I recently watched the plight of Manusos Oviedo, so maybe I'm a little biased when I say this, but I feel a little bit like a Klingon is not the right species for this. Klingons feel honorable, yes, tough, yes. Spiteful enough to depict surviving in the desert on will alone? Perhaps not. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 07/10/2026This card, to my knowledge, does not have an actual trek analogue, and is more based around the idea of a Klingon warrior making it through the rough terrain of wherever they crash-landed than an actual instance. I think that's a very good idea of a card. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 07/10/2026#MTG #StarTrek #MTGTRK Card of the Day: Relentless Drednok Design: C Limited Grade: C+ I suspect the graveyard ability means this has to be good enough. 020
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 07/10/2026I watched a group of children walk around in high-vis vests today and my heart broke a little bit 0535
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 06/10/2026#MTG #StarTrek #MTGTRK Card of the Day: Overgrown Tomb Design: C+ Limited Grade: C+ Nod to the Zakdorn is just okay, IMO 120
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Literally call an ambulance but not for me. 000
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Like if you think the ground rule is bad, fine, but the rule is clear as day and this is literally the first time I’ve heard it cause a problem, though that could just be me 000
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 04/10/2026I have a slight Brewers bias because I went to high school with Sal Frelick, but the Ty France thing is about the most benign Ground Rule controversy ever. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 04/10/2026#MTG #StarTrek #MTGTRK Card of the Day: Battle-Scarred Survivalist Design: C+ Limited Grade: C- Another pretty good generic design. 120
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026For all the other decks, it's a strong play on Turn six, that obviously doesn't get better if it survives, but doubles as some minor redundancy. This is a good card. 000
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Anyway, limited wise, this is basically syndicate Liquidators, but as a landcyler, which I think is hilariously both better for the Landfall deck and all the other decks. If the landfall deck needs a land, it's a two mana land drop. If it needs a spell, it does the same job in the near term. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Imagine if we had 26 episode NU Trek seasons where the end of season arcs were mutlipart Gorn engagements, in addition to random run-ins with the Orions, or missing Xindi factions. Way more interesting! Flex those creative muscles! 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Was quite annoying. Picard went back to the Borg as an important faction. Show us some interaction with some random belligerents in a small scale conflict! It should not be the case that every season needs a major crisis. Minor crises also make for good stories! 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Since I've spoken both about the Orions and the Gorn today, I'd like to use both of those to make a point about NU trek that I think gets overlooked; they aren't picking belligerent factions well enough. Season 2 of discovery had Section 31 as this existential threat in a way that I thought.. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026The Gorn might be enough of a thing in SNW that I feel that they missed an opportunity here, but from what we got for all of Star Trek's history up to SNW, I think this is a fine representation. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Flavor-wise, it's got all of the same things; a Green, expansionist faction, a representation of the basic infantry of a federation belligerent, and a decent representation of that Belligerent's plot points. The name here being a pun really helps 101
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026I think this card is better than Syndicate Liquidators, mainly because of the Landcycling, and as a result, the joke doesn't really land in the original post. BUT, most of the things I had to say about Liquidators apply here. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026#MTG #StarTrek #MTGTRK Card of the Day: Cold-Blooded Crew Design: C Limited Grade: C+ "We Have Syndicate Liquidators at Home" 120
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Limited wise, it is a C+, and better than most of your random playables. LSV and Marshall made a great point when they said that the more of your picks that you can spend on mana (lands), the better, as this makes all of your cards easier to cast. 000
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026The Bajorans are a very religious faction, and their are a couple of weird nods to Devil Himself Gul Dukat in DS9, so the fact that he sells out the Union to the dominion as a part of this card really ties the title into it nicely. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026There's also a nice bit of imagery here with the Cardassians, who in many ways sold their soul to the dominion, as if they left God, or morality, behind in allowing them here. You could also consider, as related to the Bajorans, that the Cardassiens themselves are the devil. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Unlike Starfleet, the Dominion DOES have a religion associated with it here, and the Founders, the Dominion's leaders, ARE considered to be gods by their subordinates. So it's a nice, subtle bit of ridicule by the sets designers that their headquarters are called a Godless Shrine. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Sacred Foundry is a nice nod to non-religious spaces serving religious purposes; Spacedock is not necessarily a religion, per se, but it is a wonderful feat of engineering, and monument to it's builders' beliefs. In that way, it is VERY much a temple. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026I am reviewing the shocks in the most unconventional order known to man, because apparently, two points determine a line around the cycle. But this and Sacred Foundry both appealed to me because of the nods to religion within them. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026This card is pretty bad as the last card out of your hand, which makes the four mana part a little worse, but more importantly, makes the splash even more costly. I think this will make UB and not necessarily get poached, which is always nice. 000
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026You're not going to be down more than a mana in most relevant cases.. It might be a full B, in fact, though it's certainly not a B+. You will use this as an engine in UB, you will play UB as a result of this card, though I wouldn't splash it. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Limited wise, I think this card is going to be pretty good. It's four mana, so you won't always be able to play a dilemma card the turn you cast it, but four toughness means that that won't necessarily be a problem. You can still block to buy time, and if your opponent points a removal spell at it.. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026I also like that this card represents Voyager's dilemmas, which are not unique to Voyager, but there are some pretty good ones, though the couple I can remember, 7 wasn't around for. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Blue representing Seven seeking knowledge is a nice touch, though I'm not sure what the black is for. Could certainly be a choice to represent her individuality, in a way that differs from the Borg, or a way to represent the robotic Borg themselves. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026I really like the flavor of this card. It basically shows Seven of Nine's font of knowledge grow as she becomes faced with dilemmas, both everyday and existential, along with her crew. Seven's life is constantly a dilemma, as she figures out how she wants to live, and I enjoy this representation. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026I suspect that if you are in the artifact deck, you will play two of these and be very happy. 000
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026You can't rely too much on the effect when your opponent has mana up, because getting this blown up mid-combat may invalidate trades, but that should temper the ceiling of the card, not make the floor unusable. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026It's a four mana three four with variable upside, but the ceiling is quite high. And the floor is "My attack with my two drop into their three drop is now viable, and my three drop is dealing another point of damage" 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026I want this card to be good, though as a common four drop, it does need a little bit to be good enough. However, there's enough support for artifact creatures in black that I think this should be good enough. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026This being a drone that could support other drones for Force Projection, or join a line of other assualt drones for a serious siege, feels like the type of flexibility that the Borg would value. And the hive being better the more of them there are is a nice nod to the hive mind archetype. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026And they likely wouldn't punish new drones either, so the punishment text feels very alien to me. I do like the idea of Assault drones being better in multiples, and supporting other types of drones either way. Feels like a good way to give the Borg some differentiation. 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026I don't know if the flavor text is a quote, and if it isn't, I don't like it. (I don't like it if it is, but that's another blog). The Borg didn't care if you resisted. They were nonchalant enough and confident enough in their mission that "Resistance was Futile" 100
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026I think there's room for more here. A dedicated landfall deck that can meaningfully retrigger it will probably want one of these, but I can't see the 1/1 counters deck wanting this, even if they do get 1 to 2 triggers. We'll see, but I bet this is a hair slow. 000
tgrantjames.bsky.social @tgrantjames.bsky.social · 03/10/2026The fact that it has trample and can distribute the counters elsewhere does mean that the ceiling on this is pretty good. And the ability to just replay it and play a land means that it's better against bounce than your average 5. But as a functional six that only makes 6 power and six toughness... 100
