Challenging the Pack: Universus and Lower Decks

Recent months have taken me away from writing for a variety of reasons however with the arrival of UVS' Universus card game there's a lot to talk about.

And while we await the arrival of Magic: The Gathering's new Star Trek line it's worth not forgetting another card-based entry into the sci-fi gaming market.

Launched at the end of 2024, the Lower Decks series has been fully utilised to create four new character packs which are ready to play straight out of the packaging. Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford are all here along with a full stack of cards meaning you're ready for combat straight away.

Each 60 card deck also comes with a foil wrapped 6 card booster pack which contains a random selection of alternative art and foil cards to supplement the packs.  For note, these seem to have dropped in price significantly in recent weeks at some retailers so now is the perfect time to grab the set.

At the centre of the packs are the character cards. Each of the Lower Decks characters has two options as their character plus a lenticular version of their "main" version. A Universus deck also comprises of Attack and Foundation cards with which to build and launch your attacks however the Challenger series also packs in two further card types with Asset and Action variants.

Each of the two character options is itself varied providing a trade off between hand size (number of cards you can have at your disposal) and health. More options means a lower health bar but that can all change depending on how you play out your rounds.

Each character will also have traits to enhance your defence or attacks as you move further into the game.

I'm not going to detail the rules of this because, honestly, they are a whole post in themselves and the videos online from Universus are far better at explaining the systems and dynamics of the game but I can say that there are multiple variations and possibilities that I'm only beginning to scratch the surface of.

The benefit is that you can mix and match across the ranges to provide better and more apt abilities to your characters. That said, I'm more than likely to stay Lower Decks pure. With four packs detailing each of the four main characters that offers 2 x 2 player games running at the same time. Each of those characters has their own tweaks and traits starting right back at their character cards.

These sets also come with a bonus blind booster pack which features alternative versions of some of the cards in the main deck. These might be foils or alternative artwork and can be tracked using the leaflet included that details all of available options. Across the four boosters of the four characters here I didn't get a duplicate which was lucky and added extra cards to each of the four basic packs.

The only thing I could grumble about here is that a search of the ol' internet turned up very little hopes of locating any more of the booster packs if you were determined to locate all of the variant cards.

One more point to note, unless you're a totally hardcore Universus player it's unlikely you will have purchased one of the table mats which provide health points and reminders for actions. In that case make sure you have a pencil and some paper to hand in order to keep track of your health points and potentially a few pointers on what order to complete actions. Unfortunately there are no instructions included for quick reference so if you do want to check a point you'll have to skip through one of the online vids to jog your memory.

While this isn't multi-player and therefore not a good one for group gatherings, it's a gem to play if you have a spare half hour to kill with a friend or sworn enemy. The variations in results, character combinations and choices certainly ensure that no two games will play out the same although I would say you do need to confirm a deck size limit especially if you happen to have added s few more options thanks to the blind boosters.

Whether of not it will survive the onslaught of the highly recognised Magic: The Gathering is a point I would rather not dwell on but given the size of that licence I tend to believe it will overshadow this entry into the Universus catalogue. A big shame yes, but with only these four packs in existence the lifetime of Lower Decks Challenger Series seems limited. Had there been further packs from Strange New Worlds or Picard for example it might have extended the interest but as of now I'm unfortunately convinced this will be it. 

Go out and grab a few packs or the full set while you can because it's still worth playing and an enjoyable way to delve into a bit of Lower Decks antics while you have the opportunity!

No F'in Space: The Return of the XLs

A title like that needs perhaps a little explanation alongside it!

With the demise of Eaglemoss, the halfway house that was Master Replicas and their "found" stock we have now come to a point where FanHome have picked up the gauntlet and taken on the Star Trek Starships Collection.

Focusing exclusively on the Kurtzman era (apparently with the exception of Discovery), the model series has chosen to skip the small scale vessels that marked out Eaglemoss' 180 edition series and instead focus on the mid-scale replicas that, ironically, were showcased by the Discovery collection. 

Due to size, storage, cost and the chances that my family will disown me if any more space is taken up by undisplayed, boxed spaceships I've had to be a bit more picky when it's come to the new FanHome line.

Rather than collect everything I've taken the decision to focus only on the XL ships meaning that the next review after this one is likely to be the Enterprise-G Constitution III. 

But for now let us crack open the box on the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-F. A veteran of Star Trek Online, the F has already received three regular sized editions thanks to Eaglemoss. First there were the two different paint schemes of the original giving collectors the chance to display their Odyssey Class ship in the STO colours or the more "realistic" greys of the TV and movies. As part of the later 20 issue STO line there was also the Yorktown Class upgrade players would be familiar with.

Picard's third season chose, wisely, to remain faithful to the original set up when it debuted the Enterprise-F as it was about to be retired effectively making the Yorktown subclass upgrade a "What If". It also played more to the "realistic" paintjob rather than the striking whites and blacks of the online craft.

It's a solid and logical choice to follow and gives collectors a truly stunning model that ticks all the boxes and makes these XL editions a must.

Heavily detailed, the Enterprise-F displays one impressive hallmark that sets FanHome above Eaglemoss - they can line things up.

The hull itself is covered with white and black window markings, RCS thruster emplacements and lifeboat hatches as well as the distinct charcoal grey striping along the centre line. All of these points are perfectly aligned to the hull features whereas previously some of these might have been off by a fraction. It easily outdoes the smaller original given the increase in scale and therefore ability to emphasise the surface features of the Odyssey Class.

Comprising of a metal upper primary hull and upper secondary hull as a single piece, the lower primary and the remainder of the Enterprise-F are moulded in plastic and there is no distinction in detail between the two sections. Back in the earlier Eaglemoss days the metalwork would have less precision in some of the finer shapes but here the intricacies of the model traverse both mediums. It feels complete with the best examples of where the painting alignment has nailed it being found on the underside.

Certainly around the charcoal segments of the saucer and on the lighter grey underbelly of the secondary hull the marking out of the lifeboat hatches is spot on and I don't think there's been a finer example to date. Around the lower sensor dome this is also evident with the light and dark edging perfectly in place.

Trailing right to the back, the F even has a decent level of detailing around the support craft which is docked in the tail end. Known as the Aquarius, this looks almost as if you could lift it right out of its dock. The recessing on it works perfectly and even highlights the hull features of this small vehicle.

While we're back here, the warp engines are nicely finished. Retaining the hallmark translucent bussard collectors and warp field grilles of the original collection, there's a definite sleek finish to the warp engines on the Enterprise-F. There is a little "give" in the thin engines so be cautious however they are meticulously completed with Starfleet pennants, RCS thrusters and the ship registry right on their end points. 

It would be amiss not to mention the unique "double neck" feature that makes the Odyssey Class really stand out. While the deflector dish is rather striking in its bronze paint. your eye is easily drawn to the negative space just above it. You can just make out the detailing on the top of the secondary hull even if it is shadowed by the overhanging primary hull and FanHome have certainly ticked an important box in not lazily ignoring this part given that it's almost hidden away.

The effect of the two connecting arms between the hulls is very satisfyingly created here and the larger scale emphasises how magnificent the effect is.

What I really, really appreciate with the Enterprise-F is the precision in the painting and marking up. It's a grand step above the sometimes haphazard finish of the Eaglemoss line and cements that the new holder of the licence is keen to manage quality control a bit more astutely. They got it right and it shows. Solid ship and one you've got to get.

Update: Where You Been?

 It's been a fun ol' year to say the least and has resulted in a significant drop in content.

Always good to be honest and there it is.

So, what has happened?

Well, if we go back to March 2023 I was part of a team that set up a new chapter of the UK's Starfleet International (SFI) Region 20 called the USS Mercia. Growing a lot faster than expected, we became quite an active chapter in our first year with regular online and in person meets in the Midlands and out as far as Market Rasen and down to Stafford. 

With a membership that covers both the UK and into Europe the team have been working super hard to ensure we offer the best. Some of our membership have even been involved with SFI at the regional and international level through different auxiliary units such as Sciences, Medical and Tactical.

Personally I've also been running the regional magazine called The Runabout for the last two years, producing 8 editions containing news, reviews, fun articles and fiction from around the UK and Ireland. It's taken a lot of spare Trek time up but it's been amazingly rewarding resulting in the team winning two awards last year at the International Conference for Best Newsletter and also Best Cover - truly a fantastic accolade for a brilliant group who have worked tirelessly to produce a top quality read each quarter!

The USS Mercia also won the International Shakedown Chapter of the Year award at the same conference which was a monumental result and reflected the efforts the team had put in over 2023/24 to go from a new group to fully commissioned.

2024 saw the Mercia run an hour live broadcast in November raising £730 for Breast Cancer Now as well as being the host chapter for the SFI stand at Blackpool's Destination event in July. If you were there, hello! If you didn't find us or know we were there, I understand why!!!!!

While I  stepped back from The Runabout in November I decided to stand for the role of Regional Coordinator for Region 20 and was elected to the position on January 1st this year. It's an incredible opportunity and one I truly relish. Of course, lots of thoughts and ideas are spinning around at the moment and I will officially take on the role from March 1st this year. 

So this site might see a bit of an evolution. I'll still try and keep up with reviews and opinions but I'm also going to use it to document my journey as RC for Region 20 - who knows what's coming? Well, in fairness we know Destination is on the way in August and there will be a Regional Summit in May so there's two things I'll absolutely be covering!!!!

For now, I hope you're all good and well out there and I look forward to updating you all very, very soon.

LLAP

Clive

Into the Trek Universe: Section 31

 

Where to start on this one.

Firstly, it's not as bad as the slew of reviews have made fans believe. It's (and I've said this a few times today) not as great as it could have been but by no means is it absolutely horrific.

Originally planned as a full series, Section 31 was retooled into a 95 minute made-for-streaming movie following COVID-19, the writers' strike and also Michelle Yeoh winning an Oscar.

Major factors indeed which have led to the first Trek movie since Star Trek Beyond and the first to premiere outside of a cinema. The world has indeed changed since Beyond and this is definitely a sign of how Star Trek is attempting to fit into this new age and find, probably, a new audience.

Let's be honest, Star Trek fans aren't the youngsters they once were. The franchise is on the cusp of its 60th birthday and the recent Prodigy proved to be a bigger hit with the existing fanbase than attracting a new and younger audience. Kurtzman and co are about to try again with their young adult show, Academy but I fear the same result again.

But to Section 31 and to term it quickly, it's a fairly run of the mill action flick that is set in the Star Trek universe. Returning Michelle Yeoh as Terran Emperor Phillipa Georgiou, she is teamed with a group of Section 31 agents sent to track down a typically dangerous weapon.

As it turns out, Georgiou is more than familiar with the weapon, named Godsend, since she ordered its creation in the Mirror Universe. How inconvenient to run into it again during Star Trek's Lost Era.

Add in a bit of Georgiou backstory as to how she became Emperor and you have a fairly briskly paced and explosive hour and half to settle in for. But that's really about it. Section 31 is OK at best and disappointing at worst. It's not that its bland but something here just doesn't quite work. The movie is certainly an attempt to tell a story outside of the "norms" of Star Trek's Starfleet crew and starship combo but the nuances and subterfuge that made Section 31 so interesting in DS9 and Enterprise are long gone. Their activities are about as subtle as using a sledgehammer to open an envelope and we've diverged into areas of high tech and gunslinging rather than the shadowy manipulation and dealings that made Sloan such a great foil for the DS9 crew. Tailored more for the Fast and Furious audience, Section 31 is short and snappy with little to think about beyond the superficial action and pedestrian plot. Don't expect lengthy debates on the morality of the universe or one to ones that build on relationships because this is a very disposable cast.

Comprising of an Augment, a mech-suited soldier, a badly accented Irish robot piloted by a nano-being, a Chameloid and a Deltan, it's the perfect mismatch team accompanied by Starfleet observer Lt Rachel Garrett. The potential is great but just when you feel like it's getting going or there's another chance for Michelle Yeoh to perform some of her trademark martial arts work, someone drops an attempt at a joke or there's a humorous twist on a moment which just rips the heart out of the story and believability. In respect to the characters themselves there's very little if any form of development for them and Garrett's turn from "stick up her ass" scientist to embracing chaos is limited and rushed in seconds when it happens. 

None of the characters are dislikeable but none of them are particularly memorable either, maybe with the exception of Garrett because we know the name. Indeed, if it wasn't for the fact that fans will know she becomes the captain of the ill-fated USS Enterprise-C, you'd never know what era of the Trek franchise this is set in. Garrett could be interchanged for any other Starfleet officer from any era and the story would still work. It's a terrible use of what should be an enthralling experience to see this time period but there's generic rock planet, space station with bar and dark ship interiors which give no real feel to the setting. 

That's really the problem here. It's just OK. The effects are OK, the ships are OK, the script is meh and the use of the Godsend is another "weapon-o-mass-destruction" that is a path so heavily trodden it's turned into a ditch. A shame in a big way and I did wonder how this would have played out over a full series as I can't imagine they wrote the whole thing off and started again. Maybe the characters would have received more time to flex their wings and allow us to care more about them and that's perhaps another fail here in that for the first time we have a brand new set of characters (bar two at a stretch) who are brought in for 95 minutes and that's it. Every Star Trek movie before this has utilised an existing set of characters and built on the audience's knowledge of them. Section 31 has not been afforded that luxury which means that you're only really invested in Georgiou to any degree but then Michelle Yeoh isn't given the greatest script to work with.

The door is left open for a sequel as you would expect but I can't see it getting a green light. I'm not even sure if it justifies a rewatch for a considerable time if ever and that's not something I wanted to say. Kudos though to Kurtzman and al for their balls to try something different which has definitely been a hallmark of their journey from Discovery's first episode to this moment. Each show has been different, each iteration has offered a new perspective and stretched the Star Trek franchise in new ways that the Berman era of the '80's and '90's never really dared to. That's one thing to applaud as they've never shied away from being unique. But Section 31 just doesn't seem to fit in aside from a vehicle to bring Michelle Yeoh back and round of Georgiou's story  bit more neatly than it was in Discovery. Maybe reaching too far outside the original vision of Star Trek has now been proven to be a move too much and that this isn't what fans signed up for.

The counter problem to that is, TV and film have moved on a lot since 1966, 1987 and even 2009. Production is a machine turning out content at an alarming rate and Kurtzman's factory has produced more Star Trek variants since 2017 than were made between 1966 and 2005. That's a frightening amount of diversity if not equalling the number of episodes across those original four decades.

As a diversion until Strange New Worlds' third season drops later this year, this will make do but I suspect it will be some time before another of these one-off movie projects drops given the reception to this entry to the franchise. 

How did it got for you? Is this the worst Trek ever or a sign of the franchise stretching its wings that little bit further into the universe rather than just Starfleet?

Enjoyed this article? Why not like and share to spread the word!

Like our page on Facebook