A Second Look at Smuggler Ships, or We don’t need no stinkin’ Sleuth Scouts

Before the latest additions to the restricted list, That Bucket O’ Bolts was a central piece of my favorite deck, a Rebel/Smuggler vehicle build that used Well Paid to power out big turns, often fueled by draw from Ready for Takeoff. Well Paid seemed particularly suited to this type of fast deck; even without ridiculous Hobbie/RSX loops to unfocus the entire board, the ability to play an entire hand of RSXs and pilots often presented an extremely difficult board position to opponents. Strong 2-drops benefit the most from the Well Paid discount, and no 2-drop is stronger than a RSX.

With the new Bucket-Rogue Squadron restriction and its own Smugglers Only text, the new Falcon set seemed limited mainly to Unblockables builds. Since most strong pilot decks want to run Rogue Squadron, and Smugglers themselves saw little love in the vehicle/pilot department despite the focus of the Rogue cycle, Sleuths became the most obvious home for the new Falcon. Sadly, the current Restricted List rules also mean the Sleuth player needs to choose between Han and Dash; while Well Paid lets you play 2 Sleuths and have resources left over for events, HATC’s draw ability and the bonus damage from Against All Odds is generally more useful.

I’ve never been a big Sleuth fan; while I’ve crushed with and been crushed by them plenty, the games always seemed to hinge on whether the bonus blast objectives (Against All Odds, Across the Anoat Sector, and Raise the Stakes) were out, and if the Sleuth player could get a fast start. Sleuth decks are very vulnerable to being locked down by tactics, generally feature abysmal edge counts, and have little ability to come back in a longer game. Worse, Sleuth counters have been steadily improving; Thrawn can shut down unblockables without entering the engagement, while great 1- and 2-drops like Galactic Scum, Stormtrooper Assault Team, Decimator, and Black Sun Headhunter are prolific in current DS decks.

With a Rogue Squadron pairing illegal and Sleuths not my cup of tea, I sat down to think about other ways to put together a Smuggler Pilots build around That Bucket O’ Bolts. One of the great parts of the set is its super high edge count: 10 pips is far above the typical count for Smugglers, and as a bonus, two of the cards have 3 pips! My previous Bucket builds had all been fast decks that used Well Paid for big aggressive turns, but as I looked at the set again, I started to formulate a plan that played a slower game, contesting the Force and hitting hard when I could make openings, leveraging strong edge cards to make the strikes count.

Han is a particularly versatile card in this strategy; 3 Force pips and decent combat icons make him playable as a unit, especially if you need him to hold the Force, while his objective allows him to jump onto a ship for big engagements—a particularly nice move after he’s gone in himself to throw down a tactics. Even better, he’s a Pilot, so he can be recurred with Stay On Target, meaning I’m never sad to edge him.

The Daring Escape was the natural choice for Stay On Target and the Pilot cost reducer—playing Han on foot for 3 or in the cockpit for 1 is a steal. Outrider is a decent 3-drop, but importantly, it’s another 3-pip card for edge battles or Force holding. Leebo’s pilot ability isn’t stellar in my play, but I love having him around for his Tactics icon.

With Rogue Squadron off-limits, I looked to Secret at Shantipole for more Pilot tricks. While the Rogue X-Wings are flashy, I’ve come to appreciate Keyan’s set as probably the most versatile LS pilot pod. Although Bucket’s affiliation restriction means that I won’t always be able to resource-match the set, it has a surprisingly high edge count (at 9, with yet another 3-pip card in Blue Nine), and Keyan can always come in with Stay On Target—preferably onto the Falcon—or free in deployment with a cost reducer and Well Paid. Reassignment is an unassuming but key card as well, allowing me to get extra mileage out of Han’s ability.

With the core of the deck settled, I wanted to add a few extra tricks. Pilot Lando and his objective are great cards that are unfortunately paired with some do-nothing chuds and an expensive event in a set with an abysmal edge count. Fortunately, this deck has plenty of power in the edge battle, and 4 Stay On Targets means you have a good chance of maximizing Lando's ability. He also makes a good Reassignment or Bucket target; like Han, he’s also a strong unit, particularly if you can get him discounted.

I also wanted at least one Twist in the deck to amplify my edge advantage, and Smugglers have their Twist in one of the best sets in the game: Asteroid Sanctuary. In keeping with the theme of the deck, the set boasts a high edge count and a 3-pip card. The original Falcon interacts nicely with Pilots, allowing you to drop them into play as either units or enhancements as needed. The set also contains the excellent Cloud City Operative, who contributes another tactics icon and a way to clear focus from your important attackers while locking down your opponent’s chuds.

My final pick went to Breaking the Blockade, as I noticed the deck relied heavily on a relatively small number of unique units (mainly the Falcon and Outrider, and sometimes Blue Nine if I hit the resource match) for blast damage. While Smuggling Freighters are nothing special, they do bring cheap blast to the table, and they come with a 3-pip, 0-cost event that can be a game-changer if set up correctly, and is a solid edge card otherwise. Surprising Maneuver makes even System Patrol Craft have at least some use; piloted by Duros, they can become fuel for wipes. The Duros themselves are convenient for enabling things like Outrider’s or Memories of Tanaab’s text, or at the very least, hanging out on the Force.

The deck came together like this:

Smuggler Affiliation

2 That Bucket O’ Bolts
2 The Daring Escape
2 Breaking the Blockade
1 Memories of Tanaab
1 Asteroid Sanctuary
2 The Secret of Shantipole

So, that’s all good in theory; how does it play? I found the deck ran similarly to any Mains deck, relying on the Falcon and Outrider to do the majority of the damage while other units play a supporting role. True to my prediction, the deck is quite competent in edge battles, and does a fair job contesting the Force to draw out the game. It definitely requires a patient approach, and often I spent turns building up the board and my edge hand before sending in attacks. Don’t be afraid to drop any of the Pilots as units; unlike other affiliations, Smugglers mostly got pilots who are also good without a ship, and if you have Bucket out, you can maximize their utility by taking advantage of both their combat icons and pilot text. Well Paid works well even without tons of cheap drops to discount, and as a bonus, the pilot resources aren’t limited, so dropping Well Paid with a Spacer Cantina can be a net resource gain with the right hand. Even using Well Paid to get the Falcon out on 4 resources can be helpful to building up your early board. Memories of Tanaab is always worth starting for the extra control; if the set was better, I could see it being a 2-of in this deck, but alas.

Overall, the deck is fun and different. It plays a slower game than most vehicle builds, rewarding patient play and smart use of its tricks. While I wouldn’t bring it to Worlds, it’s viable enough that it doesn’t immediately fall apart against strong opposition. If you’re looking for something a little off the beaten track for vehicles, or just miss seeing yellow cards on the table, give this a shot. X-Wing players in particular should enjoy the list, as it features the Falcon-Outrider pair so often seen in that game. If only we’d gotten a Pilot Chewie, we could complete the analogy; though I hold out hope, sadly, that day may never come.