USING DUAL PERSONNEL
Seeing Double in the Star Trek CCG

The Fajo Collection introduced dual-personnel cards -- two personnel on a single card -- into the Star Trek CCG universe. Although the rules carefully define how to handle dual-personnel cards in various circumstances, using dual-personnel cards continues to be one of the most confusing aspects of the game to many players. This directive reviews the rules that govern dual-personnel cards and provides an encyclopedic treatment of cards that might affect dual-personnel cards differently than standard personnel cards.

THE PRINCIPAL RULES

Complete rules for using dual-personnel cards are given in the Glossary and Current Rulings (s.v. "dual-personnel cards" in both documents). The critical rules components are:

  1. If a card or effect targets personnel individually, examine each personnel on a dual-personnel card separately for targeting purposes. When either personnel on a dual-personnel card is a valid target for a random selection, the card must be included in the random selection pool. (Selection of that personnel may trigger a "group limit" decision that your opponent must make; see rule 2.)
  2. Inclusion of your dual-personnel card(s) in a group may cause a "group limit" on personnel to be exceed. If the group limit is one personnel, it is automatically increased to two. If the original group limit is two or more, your opponent may choose whether to force a reselection or increase the group limit. Note well that your opponent chooses whether to increase a group limit involving your dual-personnel cards, and vice versa, in all circumstances where a choice is required.
  3. Once targeted, both personnel on a dual-personnel card may often pool their skills and attributes to resolve card effects. Typically, if a group limit has been increased (especially from one to two, automatically), the personnel may pool their skills and attributes unless a relevant card or effect is limited to a single personnel.
  4. Anything that happens to one of the personnel on a dual-personnel card automatically happens to the other.
  5. The two personnel on a dual-personnel card fight together (pool their STRENGTH against a single adversary) in personnel battle.
  6. Neither personnel on a dual-personnel card can be targeted by the Borg for assimilation as a counterpart.

Admittedly, these rules are easy to repeat but not always easy to apply. The biggest difficulty comes, perhaps, in knowing when to apply the "group limit increase" rule (rule 2) and the "what happens to one happens to the other" rule (rule 4). Simply put, apply the "group limit increase" rule if it makes sense to do so, or if it is not possible to target one of the personnel individually (as in a random selection, for example) and apply the "what happens to one happens to the other" rule if the "group limit increase" rule is inapplicable. Perhaps the following examples would help to clarify this principle.

Example 1: Suppose that any dual-personnel card is randomly selected when selecting for Volcanic Eruption. Volcanic eruption "kills one ... personnel present." Since a dual-personnel card was selected, the group limit is automatically increased from one to two, and both personnel on the card are killed. Discard the entire card. In this case, rule 2 applies. There is no way to discriminately target one personnel or the other in these cases, so rule 2 rather than rule 4 is at work.

Example 2: Suppose that the Sons of Mogh are in an Away Team when Trabe Grenade is encountered. Kurn is not a valid target for Trabe Grenade (he has neither SECURITY nor Leadership), but Worf is (because of his SECURITY classification). The Sons of Mogh must thus be included in the random selection. Suppose the Sons of Mogh are selected. The group limit cannot be increased, because Kurn cannot belong to the relevant group (SECURITY or Leadership personnel). Worf is killed, and Kurn goes with him by rule 4.

Example 3: Suppose that Data and Picard are in an Away Team that encounters Male's Love Interest. Since both Data and Picard are individually valid targets for Male's Love Interest, the card is included in the random selection. If the Data and Picard card is selected, the group limit automatically increases from one to two, and the card is relocated; rule 2 applies. If the card had been Jean-Luc and Beverly instead of Data and Picard, the group limit could not be increased because Beverly is not a valid target for Male's Love Interest; rule 4 therefore applies and the card is relocated. The outcome is the same, but the reason is different.

Applying the "group limit increase" rule (rule 2) before the "what happens to one, happens to the other" rule helps to explain why the two personnel's attributes add together in some cases but not others. If a group limit has been increased, the two personnel can usually pool their attributes and skills. They cannot do so in most other circumstances.

INDIVIDUAL CARD REFERENCE

The Unicomplex Computer Core includes an encyclopedic card reference describing, card by card, how all relevant STCCG cards (up through The Motion Pictures expansion) interact with dual-personnel cards. The cards are arranged alphabetically, with each letter receiving its own page, to help decrease transmission time.

Rules | Reference: 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

CREDITS

Many players have made helpful suggestions about this resource, but Marek Ctrnact deserves special commendation for his careful proofreading and assistance.

 

The Star Trek Customizable Card Game is published by Decipher Inc. and is based on the Star Trek series and films produced by Paramount Pictures. All copyrights and trademarks remain the property of their respective holders. Neither Decipher nor Paramount has endorsed this web site. Christopher Heard a.k.a. Unimatrix Zero One is solely responsible for the contents of this site.