Collectible Card Game Corner
Part 1 - The Humans

First of all, a note:  this is not intended as a comprehensive review of the entire game, but just a brief overview of the various factions of the Babylon 5 CCG.  By taking this approach, I hope to keep this feature (and the three to follow) interesting to the casual reader.

Judging from the local response, Humans are a popular starting choice. This isn't surprising since there are many familiar faces:  Ambassador Sinclair, his Assistant Ivanova, Garibaldi, Dr. Franklin, Talia, and Lyta Alexander.  Other lesser lights include Frederick Lantz, General Hague, Miagi Hidoshi, and a generic Captain, Aide, and Agnt.

Despite his picture on the Earth stater deck cover, it's very unlikely you'll get John Sheridan:  he's a Rare card that can be used to replace Sinclair.  Sheridan is superior to Sinclair, but expensive to bring in (sort of - see below).  Other familiar Human characters you have to get from booster packs are Warren Keffer, Bester, Zack Allen, Senator Voudreau, General Franklin, and Luis Santiago.

(Author's note: something I found out recently, which IMO is not clear in the rules, is that you can "replace" an Ambassador or Assistant "without" paying their listed cost.  The cost is only paid if you wish to bring them in normally, as a Supported character in "addition" to your current Ambassador/Assistant. It also takes an action to do such a replacement, even though it isn't mentioned on the list of available Actions.)

The Earth character's primary strength is Diplomacy.  Sinclair is weak compared to the other Ambassadors, meaning you'll lose Initiative pretty consistently early in the game.  However, Lantz, Hague, Hidoshi, Santiago, and Vondreau all have high values.  It can take a while to build up Earth's diplomatic strength, but well worth the effort when you do.

Garibaldi, Zack, and Hague are no slouches at Intrigue.  There is also a good average value of Leadership among the various military commanders, including Sinclair, Sheridan, and Ivanova.

Earth has the strongest starting echelon of telepaths.  The Minbari are the only other race that gets a starting telepath.  While there are only two entirely Psi-based Conflicts, cards such as Psi Bodyguard, Commercial and Military Telepaths, and Psi Force Intelligence assure that there are plenty of things for Talia and Lyta to do.  And Bester, a rare card, is out there if you can find him.

Earth's fleets are not particularly strong nor weak.  Typically, a stronger fleet has a higher cost, which increases the Influence required to mobilize.  Fleet strengths vary from the Narn (somewhat weaker, but quick to mobilize) to the Minbari (powerful fleets, but requiring significant investment).  Earth, like the Centauri, fall somewhere in the middle.

Earth is the standard starting Location (rotate to gain one influence).  In addition, Earth has three other Locations:  Mars Colony, Proxima III, And Transfer Point Io.  This gives it more Locations than any other race.

So what strategy should Earth players follow?  The game is oriented toward Earth improving Babylon 5.  Many of Earth's starting cards can raise B5's Influence.  As noted above, Diplomacy is Earth's major strength, and many related cards can raise the station influence as well.  A card like Alliance of Races, a starter deck agenda, lets Earth transfer its influence to B5, and use B5's influence as Power if it reaches 20.  This is a difficult strategy to oppose, and requires a determined effort by the other races to thwart Earth from improving the station's Influence.  Always assume that the Earth player will have Alliance of Races in his hand.

A good starting Agenda to pursue is Power Politics, which gives Sinclair a +1 Diplomacy and lets him initiate Diplomatic conflicts.  The Hope of Peace, a weaker version of Alliance of Races, is also a good choice.

What should Earth watch out for?  Primarily, the Minbari.  They also are good overall diplomats.  A determined Minbari player can easily start a war with Earth (thanks to the Finish the War starter deck agenda).  This can take a while to set up, since both Minbari fleets and their better Leaders are expensive.  However, if the Minbari players gets everything set up, they can pick off Earth's other Locations, then move on to the homeworld, crushing the Earth fleets in its path.

Overall, playing Earth is a relatively straightforward proposition.  It has a single powerful attribute (Diplomacy), and is good at the others, including the relatively rare Psi talent.  This lets it win many Diplomatic conflicts, while making it a vital participant in thwarting or aiding the other races in their Intrigue and Military conflicts.