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The Dilemma of too many dilemmas
by Terrill
In 2e you are no longer restricted by the the number of dilemmas in your deck. You can have as many as you want as long as you have at least 25. You are restricted by the number of the same dilemmas you can have in the dilemma pile and that is where the problem begins. You may have 3 copies of Kelvin Show of Force but in a 60 card dilemma pile your odds of pulling that card at the right time are only 1 in 20. The odds go up to 1 in 40 with a planet only card like Assassination Attempt.
The key to building an effective dilemma deck is to have a good mixture of effective dilemmas. Not just the high-cost killer dilemmas, but a good mix of everything. Keep it down around 40 cards or less. Believe it or not, you actually want to reshuffle your dilemmas a couple of times during a game. It allows you to select dilemmas you passed over or couldn't play before.
Once you have built an effective dilemma deck you need to know how to play it effectively. One rule is to watch your opponent play. When they play a personnel, was it someone like Kamala? Did they go back to the Headquarters to get her to attempt or reattempt the mission? If so, dilemmas like Antedan Assassins will become freebies unless she is stopped or killed before that dilemma is encountered. The same goes when your opponent finishes a mission using say, Pran Tainer. If the same person is used in the next mission attempt, dilemmas like Microbrain are not going to work.
Secondly, don't overload the mission with dilemmas. You may be able to stop them this turn, but on the next turn you will not have left yourself enough breathing room to draw your dilemmas. Example: If the mission requires strength > 36 and they only have 7 people on the planet, chances are that a single assassination attempt will kill their chances of doing the mission and they can only subtract 1 from the attempt on the next turn.