Apologies for bringing up a topic that must have been well and truly gone over in the past. I have just had my first two games of TI, and was wondering how many people prefer the Imperial II SC from the Shattered Empire to the original SC. Is there a clear consensus that the new card is better, or is it contested?

Also, how are new Public Objectives revealed when using the new card? As I understand it, it does not, unlike the original, cause a new objective card to be revealed.

Most people play with just the expansion Strategy Cards (Leadership->Bureaucracy). But, the Imperial II card was very popular before the expansion came out. It was a nigh unanimous House Rule, before the Official Variant came out with the expansion.

The Imperial II card is leaps and bounds ahead of the original.

I think I'm one of the few who doesn't mind the original Imperial card, but I have to admit, I do like Imperial II better. I don't really have a preference between Imperial II and Bureaucracy, though I usually play with the latter because my opponents usually like Bureaucracy more.