Introduction

Commons are the backbone of any trading card game, and rares are those card that can give focus to your deck or give you that edge that is sometime needed to win games. Stargate TCG is no different. Where does that leave uncommons? Uncommons are those oft-forgotten middlemen that can give you those cards that will complete your strategy. So what do we have for Stargate? Let's first consider the top ten uncommons on the hero side.

The Top Ten

To be honest, deciding on the top ten uncommons in this game was difficult. Svetlana Markov (Brilliant Scientist), Frank Cromwell (Strike Team Leader) and Ocker (Tok'ra Operative) can all be good cards in their decks, but they all didn't make the cut, either. In a game with such a wide variety of strategies available it's hard to choose cards that can be ranked "best" for everyone. Some of the cards that made the top ten were put there because of the special gameplay they bring, or their popularity. If you have any opinions about them, feel free to make a comment.

1. 10. Recuperate
   • Recuperate was the only Event to make the top ten, competing only with Reconnaissance and Learning from the Enemy. Recuperate made it because it's one of the few cards that will allow you to negate the negative effects of Incapacitation. Jarrod Kane competes in your deck, as another card to help with Incapacitation, but Recuperate is cheap and you can play more than one. All this being said, Recuperate is situational, because you won't always be playing against a player that Incapacitates a lot. It's very useful for those few Baal decks you run into, though.
2. 9. Bauer (NID Patsy)
   • Next up, Bauer. At a 3 cost for 2 skills, he's not too bad. He was chosen for the top ten, though, due to his interesting mission control ability, the only one among the uncommons, if I'm not mistaken. He can set up the mission for the next mission or the next turn. He doesn't need to be assigned to the mission to use the ability, but assigning him to the mission does count as having an NID character assigned. And if he's assigned, then the cost of stopping him doesn't matter (since you'll only be using his ability after you completed the mission and he'll soon be stopped anyways). Again, he's only useful in the right kind of deck, and most will probably choose Walter Harriman (Technician) over him. In future sets Bauer will probably become more useful, when we have more NID characters to pull from.
3. 8. Healing Device
   • Healing Device makes it as the only Gear in the top ten. Symbiote Poison is costly and situational, and Quantum Mirror is mostly worthless (with so many other ways to discard cards out there). There's a lot of character killer cards out there, which is a good counter to cards such as Rodney McKay (Stargate Expert), Janet Fraiser (Brilliant Doctor), Oma Desala (Guide to Ascension), etcetera, etcetera. Healing Device will keep them nice and toasty warm on your side of the board. What if your opponent isn't playing character killers? Is this a wasted card in your deck? Not quite. It really shines when you use characters like Merrin (Orbanian Urrone) or Nicholas Ballard (Outcast Scholar). Now those beloved characters don't have to die at the end of the mission. Just remember to keep enough power to use them.
4. 7. Joe Spencer (Average Citizen)
   • The next one to make the list was Joe Spencer. At 2 cost for 1 skill he's nothing to right home about. Why didn't I choose Ocker instead? When you earn one glyph Joe Spencer goes up to 2 Ingenuity. Two glyphs can get him up to 3 Ingenuity. Joe is one of the few, if not only, support characters to benefit as your main team earns glyphs. Joe Spencer works best with decks like Makepeace (NID Mole), where you plan on placing all or most of your glyphs on one character. Besides, this actor was the voice of Homer Simpson. What's not to love?
5. 6. Aldwin (Tok'ra Agent)
   • Aldwin has become beloved by some. Six experience for 6 skills is nothing to be sneezed at. For his experience alone he's included in most villain decks. His ability to force your opponent to discard might, I repeat, might help you to complete a second mission, but it gives you no tangible benefits. Your opponent could very well discard a card he wanted to. Personally, I'd much rather put my glyph on Sam Carter or Teal'c, somewhere you know it will help you complete more missions. Because he's a team character, and a Tok'ra, he needs the right deck to fit in. For all of these reasons, Aldwin didn't make it to our top five.
6. 5. Gairwyn (Cimmerian Ally)
   • You like the mission Wormhole Xtreme, but the glyph doesn't fit into your deck? Gairwyn has the fairly unique ability to make your opponent's obstacles cost power +1 to play. That also means if you're opponent is running a lot of low cost obstacles that she can nearly double your opponent's power requirements. Better yet, you don't need an Ingenuity mission to play her, and at two cost she's very affordable. If you play her, consider playing 3. Use her as fodder when you get to destroy a support character so you can play another copy on the next mission and use her ability again.
7. 4. Kendra (Child of Jebanna)
   • At 4 cost for 3 culture, she's already not that bad. Add a science and she becomes versatile. But her ability is unmatched. Play her and you can destroy all complications. True, this resets the amount of power for the next complication (opponent needs only one power for the next), but hopefully you've played her after they've spent most of their power. Her ability combos well with Samantha Carter (Problem Solver) (the common version) or Khonsu (Goa'uld Imposter), since they can make an obstacle into a complication, then blow it away with Kendra. Perhaps a little seen combo is Kendra with the mission Survey Goa'uld Pleasure Palace. That mission is begging the opponent to play a complication. Later, play Kendra to wipe the slate clean.
8. 3. Garshaw (Grand Councillor)
   • While I don't like her much in the show, Garshaw comes through for us in the game. Three cost for 2 culture is good, but usually you won't be assigning her, at least not right away. Her ability to make complications cost power +1 will often give you that one edge to complete the missions. Still, she's only useful if you're playing one or more Tok'ra team members, so she doesn't belong in every deck. For this reason, you might consider bumping her down a couple notches in your own "top ten". Again I find myself saying, hopefully with future expansions and more Tok'ras she will become more useful in a greater variety of decks.
9. 2. Ishta (Leader of the Hak'tyl Resistance)
   • Some of you might be thinking, second place? Ishta only made it to second place? It was a hard decision, but top ten is somewhat subjective anyway. With your playing style you might think Aldwin deserves to be in the top two, for example. Ishta has the great ability to destroy adversaries upon completion of a mission. Unfortunately, you have to complete a mission to use her. But destroying an adversary is powerful, and very few cards do that. Her six experience is wonderful, but it gave her only five skill points. Her Jaffa trait may or may not limit her usefulness. Still, she didn't make it into the top spot because she's a team character and doesn't fit into all decks. Ishta would seem to combo well with Cameron Mitchell, as an example, matching up their skills and with Ishta offsetting Cameron's low experience.
10. 1. Jolan (Warrior of the Sodan)
    • Jolan made it to the top of my list because he is helpful to every deck but the pacifist. 5 cost for 4 skills is decent, but Jolan gives you the ability to train a team character in the ways of Combat and Ingenuity every turn, essentially giving him 5 cost for 4 Combat, 2 Ingenuity. Besides that, you can use his ability to discard a card and set up your hand, if you'd like, even if you don't need the skill boost. Because of his general benefit to most all decks, I chose Jolan over Ishta.

As always, comments are helpful. Let me know if you have any thoughts.