I spent some time with the Jaffa cards and I think it will take a little more practice. They are missing - completely - one of the four base skills, science. This requires that I pass on those missions unless I have a lot of support in play or some really amazing gear. I don't have this worked out just yet. So, rather than a larval Goa'uld in the belly...

I've been working with the Tok'ra. You know, snake in the head but a good guy. Don't use the sarcophagus for regeneration; use volunteer hosts; live a few hundred years not a few thousand; and they aren't monomaniacal psychopaths bent on power and destruction, at least not yet.

Here's the team I've been working with:

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Most interesting about this deck is the lack of specified glyph text. The text that Jolinar nee Samantha Carter carries is the same that all five versions of Samantha Carter carry in one form or another. She's a problem solver - period. Even with a Tok'ra symbiote in her head.

Martouf is a starter card from the first deck, yet you see this card frequently in all decks. Being strong in three out of four skills makes him very useful for completing missions but it's the ability to use any glyph to boost any number of characters that makes Martouf a desirable team member. Charisma goes a long way.

Because Jacob is a human with a Tok'ra symbiote he has two glyph options, each allows him a bonus when playing with either an SGC or Tok'ra CHARACTER. This is important: it doesn't have to be a team member for Jacob to gain the boost. Although I've built this deck to be almost exclusively Tok'ra, giving Jacob that second glyph means that playing him with SGC support gives him a +2 to all of his skills.

Notice, however, that Jacob and Jolinar/Samantha use the same glyph. Put that glyph on Martouf as well and the two Carters are immediately boosted. Play Jacob with a Tok'ra and he's boosted again. It can be a hefty gain.

And Aldwin? What does he bring to the team. Cost.

The number of points you must score in order to win is based upon the total cost of the opposing player's team. The more powerful they are, the less they cost to balance them. Jolinar/Samantha has the best skills in the game less Jack O'Neill/Cameron Mitchell. She costs three (they cost two). Aldwin doesn't have particularly strong skills or what appears to be strong text so he costs six.

The team is worth 11 before Aldwin. Most characters are four or five. A strong four point character would make a team only 15...with missions worth five points a piece one might easily lose inside of two turns before ever winning a mission! Aldwin boost the team to 17.

And then there's the text.

The best way to use Martouf is to match his glyphs to another's. But, placing them on Martouf first has no real benefit. Placing them on Aldwin first and Martouf second shows an immediate benefit.

Aldwin's removal of cards from an opponent's hand is cumulative. The first glyph removes one card; the second unique glyph two cards; the third three and so on. Place it on Aldwin first and if it is the same glyph on Martouf, otherwise Aldwin again and the benefit can be incalculable if the right card is tossed - wow have I learned this the hard way!

Ok, more time with this deck and I'll toss in a few events, gear and support and we'll see if this really is the team I want!