Obstacles that destroy support characters aren't really anything new. Salish Spirits, Carnivorous Creature, and Corrosive Spray were among the more commonly seen options in SG-1, and System Lords offers several new ones. At first glance, Battle Losses (one of those new options) might not seem as tempting an option as the others -- the destroyed character is chosen by its owner and not you, so it's sure to be the least valuable character available. But nevertheless, a kill is a kill, and there are situations in which Battle Losses really shines.

It's a great card to wield against an opponent who is skipping Science or Combat missions. For the same amount of power you'll receive when your opponent continues after failing one mission, you can thin out his support characters a bit. That same low cost also makes Battle Losses an easy play early in the game --you'll still have power to spend on another obstacle, where a card like Brainwashing might use up all your available power. Not to mention that early in the game, your opponent won't have as many support characters in play, so losing even the "worst" of them will pack a strong punch.