Major Rakal's Romulan Review #88: Senator Cretak

(11/17/1999)

Aefvadh! For the 1999 STCCG World Championships, each finalist received twelve cards from the as-yet-unreleased Rules of Acquisition expansion, including several new, powerful counter-cards and one personnel for each non-Borg affiliation, which they were allowed to use in their championship decks. The new world champion's deck got a boost from his one Romulan RoA personnel...

SENATOR CRETAK
Romulan Personnel, unique, rare
Integrity 7, Cunning 7, Strength 5, Command star
V.I.P.: Honor, Law, SECURITY, Physics
Your [Rom] ships at same location are each WEAPONS +2.
"Female Romulan. Kimara Cretak was liaison to Deep Space 9 / Terok Nor in 2375. Coordinated a fleet of warbirds attempting to deliver weapons to a Bajoran moon."

Compared to the other affiliations, the Romulan headquarters has been more limited in the personnel who could play for free there, but fortunately the last season of DS9 provided us with some new senators to call the Office of the Proconsul their home. Like Senator Letant from Blaze of Glory, Senator Cretak has a command star to allow her to help staff a warbird (Senator Vreenak's one significant lack). That and her special skill of boosting Romulan ship WEAPONS by +2 at her location put her in the company of Martok, Dolak and Admiral Hayes--the one personnel you want aboard the flagship of your armada.

Since the Romulans have something of a glut of V.I.P.s now, her SECURITY skill will prove more valuable, whether you need to pass Berserk Changeling dilemmas or take a captive with Extradition or Captured. Her Law skill not only enables you to trigger that Extradition if she's at the right location, but also doubles your chances of passing a Drumhead or Vendetta now that Vreenak isn't your only source of that skill. And if you've hesitated to use the Khitomer Research mission because of its Honor x3 requirement, Cretak gives you one more option to meet that requirement while supplying other valuable skills.

Her CUNNING is average for a Romulan and STRENGTH rather weak, but that's a trivial shortcoming in exchange for an INTEGRITY of 7.

With 16 female Romulans now (counting the Sisters of Duras as two), I'm ready to build my all-female Romulan armada deck. Matching commanders for four ships, all seven personnel types for a Kurlan Naiskos, two Tal Shiars for D’deridex Advanced ships...topped off with Senator Cretak to enhance the WEAPONS of every ship at her location. Better stock up on Defense System Upgrades if you hope to keep your outposts intact.

The Major's Combos:

• Senator Cretak + Senator Letant + Office of the Proconsul + Going to the Top + Senator Vreenak: Two senators play for free at the Office of the Proconsul, and their command stars then allow you to download the third with Going to the Top.
• Senator Cretak + Tamarith + Dr. Koramar + Toreth + Wormhole Negotiations: A very un-Romulan way to solve this mission.