❖ Patrol Neutral Zone
Mission - Space Characteristics: Neutral Zone region, Nebula, Mission. Rule hint for this cardThis card has an erratum: Revised lore: Adds Nebula. Counts as Neutral Zone Region now. Taken form Glossary - Version 1.9.5.This card has an clarification: There are “no opposing ships in Neutral Zone” if your opponent has no opposing ships (including landed and docked ships) at any location that is part of the Neutral Zone (see regions of space). See unopposed, cloaking and phasing. Taken form Glossary - Version 1.9.5.Card logging info: Logged by openCards team at May 1st, 2009. | |
This Card-Review article was written by Kathy McCracken and was published first on "Decipher's Website (decipher.com)" at Jan 11th, 1998.
This unassuming mission can provide a real bonanza for a Federation or Romulan player. Because it's universal, you can seed more than one, and the more you seed, the more each one is worth. The only skill required is Leadership, abundant enough within both affiliations.
The strategy is most beneficial to the Romulans, because they already have three unique missions located "in the Neutral Zone," two of them planets. They can build an all-Neutral Zone section of the spaceline without running afoul of Balancing Act, and still have a couple of standard "backup" missions in case they can't get rid of an opposing ship.
That's the catch, of course. Your opponent only has to park a ship - even a cloaked one - at one of the Neutral Zone locations to prevent you from completing any Patrol Neutral Zones. Defenses might include Isabella (PNZ is a "Nebula at Neutral Zone"), Incoming Message, and La Forge Maneuver or Tachyon Detection Grid to force decloaking prior to attacking and destroying the intruder. If you're playing Federation, you'll need a Husnock and a totally non-aligned crew to use the last. And none of these will work against a Borg Cube.
Its universal nature also means you can use it as a substitute for a duplicate unique mission. If you're playing the right affiliation, it will be worth at least 10 points more than �Space or �Nebula, and can save you from tripping a Balancing Act penalty if one of your two unique space missions is the duplicate.
Combos:
- Patrol Neutral Zone x4 + Covert Installation + Iconia Investigation: four missions worth 60 points each.
- Patrol Neutral Zone + Assign Mission Specialists + Benjamin Maxwell or Tallus: 5 extra points for every one you complete.