I wanted to talk briefly about 2 common cards that seem underused in the Star Chamber community. The two cards are Spoilage and Overtime. Wuppin and Zorro recommend trimming the card Spoilage from the Clave Starter deck in their article Making the Jump from NOOB to New Player. I disagree. In fact, I auto include 4 of them in most of my decks that include either order, or entropy. I usually auto include both if playing Ixa! Here's why.

What the Cards Do

Let's first look at what these two cards do. Both cost one tech, and you get to draw an extra card during your next draw phase. Spoilage causes your opponents home world to produce one less build point in a turn. Overtime gives one of your minor industrials one extra build point this turn. Their effects don't seem all that great, but their potential lies not in what they do, but what they are.

Something for Nothing

The first value of these two cards is that you get something for nothing. These cards draw a card to replace themselves so they don't "cost a card" to play. They also have a one tech requirement. I don't know about you, but I find I often have a turn where I have an extra tech lying around. If you have a Spoilage in your hand, that extra tech is of use. Hence, something for nothing as any tech you don't use during a turn is wasted.

Never a Bad Time to Play

Unlike their mind, cyber, and life counterparts, there is almost never a bad time to play a Spoilage, or Overtime. I rarely plan to play these cards on a given turn. I play them when I have them in my hand, and have the spare tech to do so. Something for nothing doesn't work if you have to hold the card in your hand waiting for the right time to play it.

Deck Dieting

Unless I am planning on playing a very odd card drawing deck, I always try to trim my decks down to 40 cards. I find that very rarely, do 2 player games run long enough for me to worry about running out of cards in a 40 card deck, and by trimming down my deck, it makes it more likely that I will draw any given card in that deck. This is especially important for combo decks where you want to draw two or more specific cards, but it is also good for new players who don't have as many cards as well. Are you especially proud of your one rare capital ship? Want to have a better chance of drawing it? Then keep your deck size down! Here is where Spoilage and Overtime really shine. These two cards, are like atkins for your deck. Because they draw a card to replace themselves, there is never a bad time to play them, and are virtually free to play, they allow you to effectively lower your deck size to 36 (or 32 if you have six eyes, eight arms, and squirt ink!)

So try 4 of these cards in your next deck that includes order or entropy. You won't regret it.