Assault on Echo Base - Imperial and Scum Review

The General's Imperative (56-1) - 3/5
When it works, it works. Flipping over one of these in setup is really nice. Even when the effect is short-lived, the card advantage can be a game-changer. Sometimes I enjoy the "While this objective is undamaged,..." objectives, because they create tempting targets for your opponent, often leaving other objectives around longer, such as A Dark Time for the Rebellion. It creates difficult choices for your opponent.

General Veers (56-2) - 3/5
Veers is a decent card, but I still sit and stare at him, wishing to the gods that he would have added a black blast damage icon and not a black unit damage icon. Would that have made him silly broken? Maybe. In my humble opinion, Veers is good but not great. A solid card, but not jaw-dropping.

Blizzard Force AT-ST (56-3) x2 - 2/5
I would rather have an edge-dependent blast damage icon than the shielding, making this thing a bipedal Tie Bomber. It is a nice minor unit that cannot be left unattended by the LS. This unit is fragile but cheap. Han eats these things for breakfast, of course.

Turbolaser Battery (56-5) - 2/5
I don't know exactly how to feel about this. It seems like the type of card that you play near the end of a game that you are already winning, just to increase the humiliation factor. Three cost is expensive, and its ability is conditional. If you have the resources to play it, and if your opponent has some annoying enhancements in play, and if you have this in play after destroying an objective, it could be good. That seems like a lot of ifs...This thing also sends your own enhancements to the discard pile, which is something to consider.

Battle of Hoth (56-6) - 3/5
Edge stack boss that helps keep the card draw turned on.

Overall - 3/5
This objective set is nice, but feels lacking in some subtle and complicated ways.

The General's Imperative (56-1) - 4/5
Very solid Objective that fills in the missing piece to The Killing Cold-based decks. Good for a strong start, even if it doesn't last very long. Though it doesn't really have too much synergy with Counsel of the Sith and Reconnaissance Mission, you can really live the dream by having all three out.

General Veers (56-2) - 3/5
The man does what he came to do. Black tactics icons are always welcome, and Trooper decks everywhere are excited to see Veers show up. Though he does only have one Force icon and falls under the "Rebel Assault Bait" heading, Veers is usually a welcome sight. His one resource is unexciting, but he can create some awful situations for your opponent to attack into.

Blizzard Force AT-ST (56-3) x2 - 3/5
One damage capacity is not exciting. What are they making Walkers out of these days...tin-foil? Tauntauns have as much health as this guy. Anyway, while he may not be durable, he fits nicely into the Trooper/ Walker and Killing Cold decks, especially with shielding being at more of a premium on the Imperial side of things. With Veers and/or Forward Command Post, he is a very good attacker.

Turbolaser Battery (56-5) - 4/5
The only reason this isn't a 5 is because it is a situational card. That said, the ability on this is nuts, and the threat of it might make certain decks play differently. If Yoda already has 2 enhancements, a Jedi player may think twice before loading him up. Over the course of most games, this card will get 1-2 enhancements at least, and though it does destroy ALL enhancements, right now the Light Side has a clear advantage in that department. I'll take the Forward Command Post for Echo Caverns trade any day of the week.

Battle of Hoth (56-6) - 4/5
Killing Cold and other Hoth-based Imperial decks will make the most possible use out of this card.

Overall: 4/5 - It's a quality set that will see play in a few different builds. It's doesn't hit amazing or auto-include status by any means, but I like what the design team has done here.

The General's Imperative (Assault on Echo Base 56-1) - 3/5
I really like this objective as card draw means more units for a Navy deck. Also in combination with Defense Protocol or Kuati Reinforcements it means that discarding or lowering your reserve doesn't hurt you as much. The fact that the extra reserve value is only active while the objective is undamaged hurts it from being better in my book as the Light Side not only has countless ways to damage an objective, but since this is their main win condition it means that a higher percentage of the time this will be inactive. Overall a solid objective that will help you at least for 1 turn.

General Veers (Assault on Echo Base 56-2) - 3/5
Veers is a nice set piece for Navy decks as it gives them a bit of an extra boost in taking out those pesky Light Side units. While his ability won't win you a game on its own it does provide that extra twist that will make your opponent think better about attacking or defending. The tactics icon that he comes with also makes him a threat in and of himself as if you don't need his resources you can still swing in and lock down an opposing unit. A solid role player card for the Navy decks that you will never be disappointed to draw in your vehicle decks.

Blizzard Force AT-ST (Assault on Echo Base 56-3) x2 - 4/5
Some of the best cards in this game come in small fragile packages and the Blizzard Force AT-ST is a prime example of this. At two cost it is priced perfectly for what you get, especially with the Shielding ability. Sure he is vulnerable to a Lightsaber Deflection or Rebel Assault, but in a Navy deck if my opponent is wasting either of those two cards against this guy then he must be doing some absolutely amazing work against them. While these little guys are better suited going on the offensive, the shielding ability means that in a pinch they can sit back on defense and protect your objectives when needed. These guys make The General's Imperative a top notch objective for many different dark side decks.

Turbolaser Battery (Assault on Echo Base 56-5) - 3/5
While a score of 3 might not shout "PLAY ME!!" don't let that fool you, I think Turbolaser Battery is a very very good enhancement. However it does have some drawbacks that keep it from garnering a higher score from me. First is that it targets ALL enhancements in play, not just your opponents. This means that you might not see Turbolaser Battery being used in certain situations because it will cause you more harm than your opponent. Second it requires that you destroy an objective, in a Navy deck this is easy and since it is in a Navy objective set it fits perfectly. This means that you won't necessarily see Turbolaser Battery splashed into Sith or Scum decks (yet?) because they lack that high powered offense. In the right deck this enhancement is fantastic, but that is the same thing that limits it.

Battle of Hoth (Assault on Echo Base 56-6) - 4/5
As we get more Hoth based objectives this card keeps getting better and better. Plus at 3 force icons it is an excellent edge card even if you aren't able to actively use the ability on it.

Overall: 3/5

The General's Imperative (56-1) - 3/5
Something about these objectives that work while undamaged bugs me, besides the fact that a rebel assault or heaven forbid the LS keeps hold of the balance ofthe force (likely in the Navy vs Jedi match-up) +1 hand size in this game can make such a difference as anyone who has played with reconnaissance mission will tell you.

General Veers (56-2) - 3/5
Anything or one that makes troopers or walkers better cant be bad right ? Well the black tactic icon helps fill where IN tend to fall short and his cost is manageable but that's where the fun stops, the resource is wasted on him as you're more likely than not gonna be wanting to use that tactics icon and the 2 damage capacity means he's a rebel assault magnet right up therewith Motti.

Blizzard Force AT-ST (56-3) x2 - 4/5
A very solid 2 drop indeed which can be so clutch for dark side decks, solid objective damage coupled with shielding can make him quite the robust little chud slowly kicking your opponent in the "objectives".

Turbolaser Battery (56-5) - 1/5
You know what I hate doing, having to pay three resources and having another condition to destroy a god damn trust your feelings, oh did I mention my own command centres or Sith libraries etc as well. FAIL

Battle of Hoth (56-6) - 4/5
With more and more Hoth objectives seeing play this thing keeps getting better and more versatile and the 3 force icons goes along way to helping navy win edge battles

The General's Imperative (Assault on Echo Base 56-1) - 4/5
That extra card makes a world of difference and because it is a Hoth objective you'll be getting that extra card for quite a while. Very nasty.

General Veers (Assault on Echo Base 56-2) - 4/5
Adding icons for not one, but two different keywords is great! He really bumps up Navy swarm decks a notch or two. It'll be interesting to see just how many officer characters they put out. Maybe one day we'll get an officer deck instead of a trooper deck...

Blizzard Force AT-ST (Assault on Echo Base 56-3) x2 - 3/5
Han eats them alive, but they have such great synergy in their own set that it's hard to go wrong with throwing one or two on the table. They get really nasty if you get the Forward

Turbolaser Battery (Assault on Echo Base 56-5) - 2/5
This is terrible in some decks (that need big resources or important enhancements like Orbital Bombardment) and occasionally great in others. It's certainly powerful, but a little too niche and difficult to trigger for universal praise.

Battle of Hoth (Assault on Echo Base 56-6) - 4/5
Good most of the time, but amazing with this object in particular.

Overall - 4/5
This objective set makes a whole new kind of swarm deck competitive (largely in conjunction with the Neutral set discussed below). Maybe in the future this won't seem so great, but right now it feels very important and game-changing, at least for the moment.

The General's Imperative (56-1) - 3/5
An interesting objective that can allow extra options for the Navy in the early game. Chances are though after a turn or so it will be blank so there are certainly other objectives you will want to see. Compared to cards like Defence Protocol or A Dark Time for the Rebellion this is pretty damned average. Still, its not terrible by any stretch.

General Veers (56-2) - 3/5
In our meta the trooper decks are considered pretty weak compared to the other DS builds. Veers isn't going to change that anytime soon but he goes a long way towards making them more threatening. Black Tactics are what make this guy awesome as the Navy is still lacking in that department. Unfortunately for Veers he is Rebel Assault bait but that cant be helped. The thought of building an inpenetrable wall of defensive troopers/walkers does appeal a great deal though...

Blizzard Force AT-ST (56-3) x2 - 3/5
1 Damage Capacity...thats the only thing that stops this card from being a 4/5. Regardless of that, this is still a decent unit. Shielding is always nice and having access to another cheap attacker is just what the Navy ordered. Combined with Veers however this card is pretty damned awesome for 2 cost. Just a shame about the 1 damage capacity..

Turbolaser Battery (56-5) - 4/5
I honestly don't know how to score this card. I know full well it can ruin a Jedi players day but Navy can be just as reliant on the enhancements. In a cheap and dirty Navy swarm deck this card will be golden but in a more robust build it could be a double edged sword. Still, denying your opponents resources as well as any of the other utility enhancements can be game winning especially against Yoda heavy Jedi builds. Considering just how lethal this can be I will give it the benefit of the doubt and give it a decent score.

Battle of Hoth (56-6) - 5/5
Been here before...

Overall 3/5

The General's Imperative (Assault on Echo Base 56-1) - 3.5/5
This card shines in an imperial Hoth deck. With Battle of Hoth you should have a 7 card reserve for most of the game. In a non-Hoth build its impact will be substantially less as it's not that difficult to ping an objective for 1 damage.

General Veers (Assault on Echo Base 56-2) - 4/5
He makes so many decks viable. Trooper decks look reasonable now. With Orbital Bombardment or Vader out those free Espos are packing 2 guns and a blast. Oh my. He also provides a boon to dedicated walker decks and just random weenie swarm decks. Throw in a tactics and a resource at 3 cost and he's quite strong. I must admit I was expecting Veers to be elite or have more than 1 focus icon but he can't do everything. As it stands he's pretty darn strong.

Blizzard Force AT-ST (Assault on Echo Base 56-3) x2 - 4/5
Shielding is awesome. Blast damage is great. For 2 cost I get both? Seems like a steal to me. This guy slots nicely into about any deck that plans on blowing stuff up. Is his 1 damage capacity a bit frightening, yes. But LS doesn't have enough direct damage yet to scare me off of this beast.

Turbolaser Battery (Assault on Echo Base 56-5) - 3.5/5
This is a very interesting card. It's amazing in the Desolation of Hoth. However, most Navy decks are relying on their 2 and 3 income resource locations and in those decks this card is quite double edged. So it really depends on the build. If you are running a trooper/weenie deck its a 4. In a big walker type deck its probably 2.5. Since I think we will see this pod most often in Hoth decks for the moment I'm bumping up its number. I've already knocked out an echo caverns, training grounds, and 2 enhancement on Yoda in one turn. It can be a total blowout card.

Battle of Hoth (Assault on Echo Base 56-6) - 4/5
Amazing in Hoth decks and it synergizes quite nicely with the objective. Throw in 3 icons and wow you have a top notch fate card on your hands.

Overall - 4/5
This pod is the anchor to a whole new archetype, the Hoth weenie swarm deck. It also makes trooper and walker decks more viable. In the current meta and with more walkers in the next pack this pod provides new, useful, methods for building DS decks that are good and may even be dominant.

Lucrative Contract (57-1) - 4/5
Damage capacity of 5, and a resource value of 2. Nice. And, we also get a nice ability; whether you are simply trying to get rid of focus tokens delivered by your opponent, or use one of your own units as a nice resource ramp, this has definite utility. This also helps free up Bossk, if you use his ability when playing him. The design team is really challenging us to build mono-Scum & Villainy decks; because of the two copies of Corrupt Official, splashing this objective set seems silly. Even if the affiliation restriction was not printed on the card, the Corrupt Official basically achieves it.

Outer Rim Space Pirates (57-2) - 3/5
This thing is a nice resource ramp, a solid defender, and a nice edge stack card. No blast damage puts this card at a rating of 3, however.

Corrupt Official (57-3) x2 - 5/5
This card will change the game. For those of you familiar with the A Game of Thrones (AGoT) LCG, running two copies of Lucrative Contract is roughly equivalent to being able to run 4 copies of Burning on the Sand in a 50-card deck. The ability to simply cancel a big hit from something like Rouge Three, Red Five, or Home One (n.b., the Corrupt Official does not negate the collateral damage inflicted by Home One, but covers the main strike) is amazing. Did anyone see LeBron James' block on Tiago Splitter in the 2013 NBA Finals? That was an accurate representation of what this guy does to an aggressive LS deck. This card will see heavy competitive play.

Explosive Charge (57-5) - 2/5
A nice little conditional piece of attachment hate. The LS has a few nice zero-cost enhancements, making this thing potentially useful even when you have no enhancements yourself.

Twist of Fate (57-6) - 4/5
Combined with Corrupt Official, including this in Lucrative Contract just takes the frustration factor for the LS with this set to new levels.

Overall - 4/5
Corrupt official alone makes this set awesome; this thing would see play even if the other cards were blank.

Lucrative Contract (57-1) - 4/5
As much as I may wish this wasn't Scum and Villainy only, this is definitely a big deal for the Bounty Hunters. It has 2 resources and an ability that will only get better with time (right now it still gets Outer Rim Space Pirates, Weequay Elite and more). It helps with Force commitment, opposing tactics icons, and can essentially be a free resource with Outer Rim Space Pirates. The only real drawback, as stated above, is that it's Scum and Villainy only, meaning that to maximize it's effectiveness you will need to play all Scum and Villainy sets, as it can't be used with another affiliation splash.

Outer Rim Space Pirates (57-2) - 3/5
Five is a lot to pay for a unit, but this one has so many perks that it may be worth it. It has passable icons, a whopping 3 resources, and 3 Force icons. The really fantastic part is its synergy with other Objectives. With Endor Gambit and Lucrative Contracts, this guy can provide 3 resources a turn...shame he can't be Talon Rolled. A hearty 4 damage capacity is also a nice touch. This is a very versatile card that will most likely only get trickier with time.

Corrupt Official (57-3) x2 - 3/5
The Scum and Villainy only affiliation on his Objective hurts him, limiting his discard effect unless you play straight Scum Objectives. That said, he is a good 3 damage capacity blocker that has a great effect, even if it only happens occasionally. If Scum-only decks see any traction, this guy will be a major player in making them work. If mono-Scum decks get some traction with the release of Edge of Darkness, this guy will be a solid 5/5.

Explosive Charge (57-5) - 5/5
Targeted Enhancement kill is sooooo good, and this card is no exception. It gets Limited Enhancements as well.

Twist of Fate (57-6) - 5/5
Yup, it's still one of the best cards in the game.

Overall: 4/5 - Very cool, although it lends itself to a mon-Scum deck that isn't viable currently. If that kind of a deck gains footing, this will be the cornerstone.

Lucrative Contract (Assault on Echo Base 57-1) - 5/5
From the standpoint of current Scum decks this objective has only a small number of units that it can effect, thankfully one of the best units it can target is in this objective set. Down the road when Mercenary and Bounty Hunter decks are their own unique themes this objective will be an instant inclusion not only for its ability but also because it provides two resources.

Outer Rim Space Pirates (Assault on Echo Base 57-2) - 4/5
At a cost of 5 these seems rather pricey, but they have an amazing 3 resources that come with them. Normally this would be a slight drawback as it would mean waiting three turns to use them again, however with the ability of Lucrative Contract you get to pull an extra focus token off them each turn which gives you access to your resources even faster. Additionally as an attacking or defending unit the Space Pirates are no slouches boasting 4 health and having two unit damage and an edge enabled tactics icon. This will be the backbone resource unit of many a Scum deck for the foreseeable future.

Corrupt Official (Assault on Echo Base 57-3)x2 - 4/5
At this time the Corrupt Official is going to be a bit underused because a pure Scum deck isn't truly viable, as soon as Edge of Darkness hits and beyond pure Scum decks are going to be running rampant. When that happens their ability is going to frustrate many an attacking player to no end. Add to that the fact that they have a beefy 3 health to soak up defensive damage and this guy looks appealing on the board or sitting in your hand waiting to use his effect. The fact that this card is never truly dead ratchets its value up.

Explosive Charge (Assault on Echo Base 57-5)- 4/5
On so many levels I love this card. It is a way to hinder your opponents resources, take away bonus' such as Old Ben's Spirit or Wedge Antilles, or deprive them of the combat tricks from Heavy Blaster Emplacement or Echo Caverns. I have been running this objective set in a Sith Control deck recently and with the amount of Sith Libraries I can get on the field there are very few enhancements that are out of reach for Explosive Charge. With the previewed enhancements coming for the Jedi in Edge of Darkness this card will become even more useful.

Twist of Fate (Assault on Echo Base 57-6)- 5/5
It's a Twist of Fate, does more need to be said?

Overall: 5/5

Lucrative Contract (57-1) - 5/5
While not amazing (but still solid) right now this thing wil become a firm favourite quickly if not only for having two resources but the ability will be very helpful when playing S&V against Jedi decks and by the looks of it S&S decks.

Outer Rim Space Pirates (57-2) - 3/5
Now I appreciate the obvious synergy between this card and the objective helping to speed your resources, but having to lay 5 out in the first place when I'm more than likely in a place in the game where 5 resources needs to be spent more shrewdly or spending 5 resources on a unit that's gonna help win me the game. The 4 damage capacity is very nice but i would have gladly lost the resources for some extra icons on this thing or a useful ability (see the renegade squadron)

Corrupt Official (57-3) x2 - 4/5
This guy is definitely useful in S&V, not even taking into account those chunky HP this guy can flat out make sure those captured cards you've gone to lengths to collect all game stay where your opponent doesn't want them, on the objective oh and keeping him from winning the game is also pretty cool

Explosive Charge (57-5) - 5/5
See this turbolaser battery, this is what you could of been. Now while having the correct amount of enhancements out could be a pain, once you reach that magical number of two this card is flat out awesome. F*ck you trust your feelings, suck a d!ck echo caverns, etc etc. this is what enhancement removal should be!

Twist of Fate (57-6) - 5/5
Love it or hate it, you're forced to admit that this card will forever troll the **** out of you along as you play this game.

Lucrative Contract (Assault on Echo Base 57-1) - 4/5
Really great ability AND 2 resources! Definitely a big downside with it being limited to S&V affiliation, but still a great objective to see in your opening flop (or any time).

Outer Rim Space Pirates (Assault on Echo Base 57-2) - 3/5
For the huge expense, I wish it brought more than just resources. At least it has quite a bit of health so it'll stick around once you pay the big cost to get it on the table.

Corrupt Official (Assault on Echo Base 57-3) x2 - 5/5
This guy is crazy. The ability to surprise and ruin an opponent's plans is huge. He's also not an event, so he can't be Counter Stroke'd etc. He's even an okay defender with his high health. It's rough that he only affects S&V objectives, but even so with the objective already being limited, he'll make mono-S&V very playable.

Explosive Charge (Assault on Echo Base 57-5) - 3/5
A solid card to control enhancements, which are becoming more and more important. The requirements aren't too bad, especially once S&V get more and more interesting stuff they already want to play.

Twist of Fate (Assault on Echo Base 57-6) - 5/5
Always useful, always amazing.

Overall - 3/5
I think this objective set is a very important building block for mono-Scum decks that we will hopefully see very soon. Outside of those decks I don't see it getting much use and even in an appropriate deck, it just supports everything else rather than providing real firepower.

Lucrative Contract (57-1) - 5/5
I really like this card. Firstly, the S&V have been lacking for resources for to long now and I am very excited to see an objective with 2 available resources and a very cool ability. Having a little extra defence against tactic tokens is awesome, just look at The Endor Gambit for a prime example of this. Its also very cool having units be able to commit to the force with little drawback...I'm very impressed.

Outer Rim Space Pirates (57-2) - 3/5
Hmmmm...5 cost does seem a little expensive for this card but considering how versatile this card is it could prove to be worth every credit. There are resource tricks aplenty to be had by this card with the new S&V objective and some older cards like The Endor Gambit. 4 Damage capacity makes this quite a solid defender given its 2 unit damage icons, the edge dependant Tactic is just icing on the cake. Given how many shenanigans &V can do with focus tokens I feel this card will be a workhorse. Not only that but its Black Sun...awesome!

Corrupt Official (57-3) x2 - 4/5
I really like this guy. Being able to negate any damage done to an objective for the cost of discarding this card is pretty damned sweet. As an actual played character he is a little lacking but 3 damage capacity is still nothing to sniff at.

Explosive Charge (57-5) - 5/5
Enhancement removal is gold dust at the minute so this card is more than welcome. It does have an interesting requirement but that just goes to help balance the card. I'm very happy that S&V have this in their arsenal.

Twist of Fate (57-6) - ?/5
This card still sucks...same as it did a few weeks ago.

Lucrative Contract (Assault on Echo Base 57-1) - 4/5
Take out SV affiliation only and we may have a 5. This will only be good in a dedicated Scum deck, but in those decks it will be real good. Remember how good Endor Gambit can be, this will probably be even better.

Outer Rim Space Pirates (Assault on Echo Base 57-2) - 3/5
It's an interesting card for sure. With Lucrative Contract out its a 5 cost resource you can use for 2 every turn that won't die. It also has 3 force icons. I think more play will be needed to see if it's actually good. However, I had one game where it was great for me already.

Corrupt Official (Assault on Echo Base 57-3) x2 - 5/5
This card will absolutely change the game. This card makes me think SV might dominate after EoD drops. He's only good in a dedicated scum deck, but that's ok because the rest of the pod only works in a dedicated SV deck. He's going to shut down Rebel rush decks hard. This will be the first deck I build around when the box drops.

Explosive Charge (Assault on Echo Base 57-5) - 4.5/5
Simply amazing. You can essentially blow up any enhancement and it only costs 1 and is in a great pod. Yeah sign me up.

Twist of Fate (Assault on Echo Base 57-6) - 4.5/5
Great card.

Overall - 4.5/5
This objective set while not very playable now will become the lynchpin in a dominant SV build. It mitiages damage, removes enhancements (bye bye Echo Caverns), provides resources, and removes focus tokens. Yeah that's what a support pod should look like.