Research Phage

This Card-Review was written by Chris Heard and was published first on "Decipher's Website (decipher.com)" at May 13th, 2001.

Curing the dreadful phage, the bane of Vidiian existence, has become that species' obsession. This accounts for the presence of a Vidiian as one of the mission requirements. Research Phage is surely the most characteristically Vidiian of all the Vidiian missions.

At first, Research Phage's requirements look intimidating. A closer look, however, shows that this mission is perhaps not as difficult as its 40 points might suggest. The Vidiians' chief surgeon has all the required skills (and species) except for SCIENCE. So does The Doctor, who can attempt the mission if accompanied by a non-aligned personnel (say, a SCIENCE/Physics personnel like Seven of Nine). And don't overlook the alternate requirements: Kurros can complete the mission alone.

Borg players shouldn't overlook this mission either. Its high point box number makes it targetable by Assimilate Planet. You could snatch Avery III right out from under your opponent's nose. You might also wish to include Research Phage in your own Delta Quadrant based Borg deck, but be careful: with wise seeding, your opponent can steal the mission from you almost as easily as you can steal it from them (and they get 40 points instead of 25).

Combos:

• Research Phage + Sulan + Science PADD + The Vidiian Sodality: Kurros isn't the only one who can solve Research Phage by himself, and he can't play for free.
• Opponent's Research Phage + your Assimilate Planet: They may never get that disease cured after all.
• Research Phage + Vidiian Outpost + Ancestral Vision + War Council + The Vidiian Sodality: Since there are no Dead Ends, Dal'Roks, or Sheliaks in a Voyager-focused environment, you could build a solid Vidiian infrastructure around Avery III.