Mot's Useless Card Review #12: Raise the Stakes

First, a few words about etiquette. This card is the one and only card that is banned from tournament play. A small part of this is the simple reason that you should play the same deck throughout a tournament, and not be losing a card (or cards) along the way. Moreover, though, is the fact that, well, you are losing cards.

NEVER play this card against a new player. You don't want to give a prospective player the impression that this is a cut-throat game.

If you win a card from your opponent in this manner, ALWAYS offer to trade it back to them, and offer a reasonable deal. Don't extort half their collection in giving back their only Data (Prem). Don't even demand a bridge crew in return.

Okay, all that said, why would you WANT to play Raise the Stakes? Because it's fun. Honestly, it is. I have played it in games with my friends, and they have played it on me. The card demands that a player "put their deck where their mouth is." Sure, you say you can wipe up the spaceline with your hapless opponent. Prove it! And remember that Raise the Stakes can just as easily be turned against the person who played it if they lose. (So always keep a Kevin Uxbridge around in case things get ugly.)

Decipher may not have realized it when they created the card, but the Q-Continuum expansion brought us the ULTIMATE card combo for Raise the Stakes: Q’s Tent. Note that Raise the Stakes says the loser will loose a card from their "60-card deck." Side decks don't count. So you build a sixty card deck out of uncommons and commons (or any rares you can afford to risk), and keep your thirteen valuable rare cards in your Tent. If you lose, they are safe from your opponent! How about the Romulan All-Common or Greed Armada decks?

If you feel bad about playing this card, or obviously if your opponent does, then don't play it. But first, pull out one of your decks and thumb through it quickly. How many rare cards did you find? Probably less than 15. Many of the best cards in play are NOT rare. Red Alert!, The Traveler: Transcendence, Hyper-Aging, Tarellian Plague Ship... it's a long list. The odds are less than 1 in 4 that you'll take something really valuable with Raise the Stakes (I've gained a Matriarchal Society and lost a Cosmic String Fragment playing this card...) It's the thrill of playing the card, the idea of risk, watching your opponent sweat under the collar, and maybe feeling a little nervous yourself. It really makes the game more exciting.