#1)Initiative to Leadership: Now there's another effect besides going first. plus, the command counters you receive can go to strategy allocation, echoing Initiative's ability.
#2)Diplomacy to Diplomacy II: Yay!! A reason to pick Diplomacy before turn 4-5! Annex a planet or Signal Jam everyone...Choices, choices.
#3)Political to Assembly: Control what the current agenda will be? Much better than what will be voted on in a later turn. And giving someone else the speaker token causes some interesting decisions...Take first pick of strategies or select the agenda. And the secondary ability is nice, refreshing planets is always good.
#4)Logistics to Production: The original Imperial SC had one of the greatest secondary abilities in my opinion. Building and moving is a very potent combination. That ability is copied here, but with a two resource bonus.
#5)Trade to Trade II: Removing the ability to break the Hacan's trade agreements is a bit of a downer, but it seems like a better card because of it. No longer requiring a command counter to receive trade goods is great and avoiding the one good tax is a good incentive to take Trade II for the turn.
#6)Warfare to Warfare II: ALL SHIPS ON HIGH ALERT!! +1 bonus to combat rolls until end of turn. The original ability, although fun, didn't always match the idea behind the card. Build in a system, remove the command counter, and build again is warfare?
The new secondary ability is much more relevant, allowing any ship to move to reinforce an attack or defend against one should be seen much more often than patroling.#7)Technology to Technology II: In the games I played with the original SC's, few players hit some of the higher techs, like Advanced Fighters or X-89 Bacterial Weapon, without exclusively taking Technology every chance they got (or they played as the Jol-Nar). Two technologies a turn should help make the higher ones more relevant.
#8)Imperial to Bureaucracy: The big one. Its my belief that a good game mechanic give interesting choices, and Imperial failed at that. Get a free technology advance or two points? Bureaucracy is much better. Imperium Rex will still be revealed between turn 7 - 10, although some bonus counters will be stuck on the SC for awhile. Get a free technology advance or get x number of bonus counters where x goes up every turn is a much more interesting decision.
Well, thats my comparison between the old and the new Strategy cards of Twilight Imperium. Feel free to disagree with my thoughts, and please share yours with me.
Pax Magnifica Bellum Gloriosum
(edit: fixed some typos)
Last edited on 2007-11-27 18:41:22 CST (Total Number of Edits: 1)
Posted Tue Nov 27, 2007 1:42 am
. but it is good to know I analysed them pretty well.
I do admit that Warfare II secondary is unquestionably better than original Warfare, though.
Of course, after that, the other two players present were so scared of my technologically awesome fighters that they ganged up to beat me into submission. 
That was also the game in which I learned to hate Automated Defense Turrets.
