Mot's Useless Card Review #71: Isabella

With the new ruling requiring a ship for the attempt of space missions, the powerful Patrol Neutral Zone deck that was so popular shortly after the release of First Contact lost much of its appeal. It was no longer so quick, and could be more easily thwarted. By the time you get a ship into play yourself to begin attempting from, your opponent might well have ships in the Neutral Zone himself, and maybe even an Alternate Universe Door in hand to counter your Temporal Rifts.

But there's more than one way to deal with opposition. Patrol Neutral Zone is a nebula location, so any opponent trying to oppose you there may be vulnerable to the wrath of Isabella. An all-nebula theme deck using FGC-47 Research, Study Nebula, and other missions might also benefit from the offensive edge Isabella could provide. Not to mention the surprise you can deal someone trying to hide from battle at the universal Nebula location.

Of course, this is a two-way street. Isabella can at the same time be a strong defensive card, and a wonderfully effective counter to a Patrol Neutral Zone deck, targeting the ship trying to complete the mission. Either way, this one Interrupt can come as a real surprise to most decks.

As long as you're stocking it in your deck, you might use a Worshiper or two among your dilemmas. More often than not, Worshiper is good for stopping an Away Team. Anthropology is a less than common skill, and few players are using Edo Vessel, which leaves exploitation as the best way to get around the Worshiper. You can punish such behavior, and use an Intermix Ratio to potentially even deny the points your opponent gained.

All in all, this little girl can be quite lethal, and thus may be worth including in your deck.