The Good: Some powerful and worthwhile cards, Fun and intriguing packaging
The Bad: PRICE!
The Basics: With only eighteen cards, the Fajo Collection is a wonderful, but not indispensable, exclusive set of Star Trek CCG cards!
When the Star Trek CCG was reaching its early zenith of popularity, Decipher, Inc. decided it had the perfect way to cash in on that popularity . . . literally. Decipher decided it would bypass the expense of putting cards in packs and boxes and release a limited edition set exclusively through the company. That release, known as the Fajo Collection, immediately became one of the most sought-after and desired sets Decipher would ever produce.
In the process, collectors found something expensive, players found something powerful and dealers found something that cut them out, leaving them offended.
Basics/Set Composition
Released directly from Decipher originally and now available in the secondary market through many many dealers, the Fajo Collection is an eighteen card exclusive set that was released with a few little extra goodies. In addition to the eighteen cards, fans who purchased this set were given a heavy folder to store the cards in and a copy of Dixon Hill's business card. Dixon Hill was a popular alter-ego for Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
The eighteen card exclusive set is designed to be a treasure trove, much like Kivas Fajo's collection was in "The Most Toys" (reviewed here!). As a result, these severely limited cards are some of the most highly sought after and it is rare to see them actually played because of the expense of acquiring the complete set.
The Fajo Collection includes eighteen super rare cards. The set is broken down as: 2 Artifacts (unique items in the Star Trek universe, like a 1962 Roger Maris Baseball Card), 1 Dilemma (obstacles faced by the crew and players), 1 Doorway (an entrance to allow other cards to be played, in this case one that destroys everything), 1 Interrupt (cards that indicate an immediate changer in circumstances), 1 Event (longstanding changes to gameplay, like solving a mystery for Dixon Hill), 9 Personnel (1 Borg, 2 Federation, 1 Neutral, 3 Non-Aligned, and 2 Romulan character cards), 1 Q-Artifact (a unique card that allows Q side-decks to introduce Picard's artificial heart into play), and 2 ships (1 Federation, 1 Klingon ship)!
The set has some pretty incredible character cards, like Guinan and Locutus.
Playability
At its most basic level, this is a board game where one constructs the board and pieces out of a selection of cards. The starting purpose of the game is to get 100 points, points most often are derived from completing missions by thwarting dilemmas using the unique attributes of your ship and crew. The Fajo Collection set continues the game with the same types of cards introduced in "Premiere" (reviewed here!) and expanded on through "Q-Continuum" (reviewed here!). The basic idea is to assemble a sixty card deck (for beginners), lay out the board (spaceline) and play against an opponent.
These eighteen cards, then are designed to supplement existing decks. It is completely impossible to play the game using just these cards!
Anyone who has played the initial game will have no problem incorporating the new cards into their deck. Playability is not significantly changed in this expansion.
Rule Changes
This set follows the rules laid out in "Premiere" and does not change the rules at all.
Highlights
This is a wonderful set for fans and players. Players might enjoy things like the powerful DNA Metamorposis Dilemma and the Qapla'! Interrupt, but the best cards are always ships and personnel! The Fajo Collection has some gems in both of these categories. While players and fans might well enjoy the U.S.S. Pastuer, they are likely to be amused by the CCG appearance of Spot.
But this set is all highlights with powerful characters like Locutus of Borg, Dr. Soong, Lore, Tallera, Kivas Fajo, and the Duras Sisters as a dual-affiliation (primarily Romulan) card called "Sisters Of Duras."
But the best of the bunch has to be Guinan. Guinan finally appears as a serious and powerful character/card that fills in one of the most significant gaps in the CCG up until this point. Guinan is a Federation Personnel and she has some special abilities that work like her character on Star Trek: The Next Generation did and she becomes an essential power card to players. She's worth the cost of the set alone . . . almost.
Collectibility
The Fajo Collection is one of those weird collectibles because it is both very rare and far overpriced. The cards are all powerful and worthwhile, but at an initial price of $100, the set is cost prohibitive to players, who are less likely to use the powerful cards. And the collectors will need them for their collection, but the investors looked at this set and thought it would be pretty much impossible to make money off it. In the long term, they were right. The set was priced at it's peak and while it has never significantly depreciated, it has never gone higher.
This has something to do with the fact that there are some 10,000 Fajo Collection sets in existence and for a Star Trek collectible, that is hardly very rare.
Overview
The Fajo Collection is worth owning, but it's a tough sell to the casual fans. Players who play Federation or Romulan decks will want to pick up this set, but the lure of the IKC Chang is not enough to sucker in the Klingon players. Of course, Borg players will want this set because of the virtual invincibility Locutus gives the Borg against Federation players.
But casual fans, not so much. It's just a bit too expensive for only 18 cards for them.
This set culls images from Star Trek: The Next Generation, reviewed here!
This set followed "Star Trek: First Contact" (reviewed here!) and preceded "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," reviewed here!
This is a set of gaming cards I proudly sell in my online store! Check out my current inventory and buy by clicking here!
7/10
For other card reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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