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The small-bodied, big-brained Talosians generated mental rather than holographic illusions, but their scenarios were no less powerful for being all in their captives' heads. Only a truly powerful psionic force (in game terms, 3 Empathy) or someone well acquainted with the Talosians' mind tricks (Christopher Pike) can hope to withstand their power. If you think your opponent can muster the 3 Empathy, consider setting up Talosian Cage with Empathic Echo and Eli Hollander at the same location. (Oh, and speaking of them Hollander boys, notice that since Talosian Cage "discards" personnel instead of "killing" them, it works plenty well against those annoying holograms.)
Careful calculations underlie all Talosian actions - except, perhaps, when they are trying to penetrate a mental screen of belligerent emotions. Likewise, you'll need to be on your cognitive toes when your opponent encounters your Talosian Cage. Then comes the big question: should you discard two females at random, or the male with the most skill dots? Your decision will depend in large part, no doubt, on the remainder of your dilemma setup. Which brings us to:
Combos:
- Talosian Cage + Female’s Love Interest + Matriarchal Society - or maybe not: Using Talosian Cage as a setup for Matriarchal Society is as obvious as the veins on a Talosian's head, since Talosian Cage can eliminate two females, and Matriarchal Society requires two females to pass. But the strength of such a combo is debatable. If you eliminate two females with Talosian Cage, the affected Away Team will be stopped, giving your opponent a chance to bring over two more females to pass the expected Matriarchal Society. The Female's Love Interest in the middle makes that a little tougher - ideally, your opponent should need five females (or four and a couple of extra turns to go get the runaway) to get through that stack. However, if your opponent's initial Away Team includes only one female, the setup is thrown off track. It might be better to use Matriarchal Society as the setup, to guarantee you two targets for Talosian Cage ... but are you really that misogynistic?
- Talosian Cage under opponent's Assist Cooperative, Combat Training, Cure Deadly Virus, Establish Settlement, Kazon Conference, etc.: Use your Talosian Cage selection to pop off a [Com] Borg or two, a Maje, Danara Pel, or other personnel boosting the point value of the mission. It isn't a sure thing, since the females are selected randomly and, in either case, your opponent could add reinforcements to the "stopped" Away Team later on. But if you can deny your opponent one or two personnel and 5-10 extra points, and throw in a one-turn delay to boot, your seed slot has done you good service.
- Volcanic Eruption + Talosian Cage + hefty wall: Put the fact that Talosian Cage is a "stopper" to work for you by snagging three or four of their personnel before they have a chance to supply reinforcements for a second go at the mission. If you'd rather discard all four on a single turn, substitute a Horta for Volcanic Eruption. Or, if you have room for a four-card combo, use both.
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