The Day 0 Tactical Pack is a nice starter set for a cool, fast game. Each contains one of six pre-constructed 24-card decks decks representing one of the game's six specialties, plus one directive to match that deck, plus a 26th card drawn at random from a pool of 24 Day 0 Elites. The Day 0 Elites include some very nice cards, such as Avenge Valencia (a directive allowing you to search your deck for Jack Bauer!) and the game-deciding Head Shot. The 12 Elite characters in Day 0 are split six-and-six between CTU and terror, covering all specialties, and any of them can get the job done in the right deck, if not outright dominate. Eleven of the Day 0 Elites are usable in good or evil decks. The fixed cards go light on big guys, especially big bad guys. The Terrorist, Infiltrator, and Statesman decks lack any character costing more than 4 Time (although Alexis Drazen, Hard At Work serves something of the same role for the Infiltrators). On the other hand, your other 24 TCG option, First Edition, has little basic equipment. It tends toward specialized reward-for-winning stuff and rare big guns with drawbacks. Every Day 0 deck has some useful, basic equipment such as pistols, laptops, and Kevlar vests to provide cheap boosts with few strings attached. The Suppressed Pistol and Accurized USP in particular have a good balance of skill-boosting and defense. Overall, Day 0 is rich in widely-usable, non-specialized cards at both rarities, making it a good way to start a 24 TCG collection. The guarantee that you will absolutely get Elites and working decks makes a first purchase of Day 0 essentially a sure bet.

  -- By Ross from Kelso, WA USA on February 26, 2008