Desolation Of Hoth Sith and Imperial Navy Review

Welcome to Part two of the Star Wars LCG Desolation of Hoth Objective Set Review! This time our reviewers will be covering the Sith and Imperial Navy, going over their thoughts on the new cards.

Imperial Navy comes out alittle better than Sith which likely needs more expansions and Hoth cards to really shine.

First Up Objective Set 40 The Killing Cold (40-1)

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The Killing Cold (40-1): 3/5
This objective is really good IF you have enough Hoth Objectives to make its ability relevant and have units that you do not mind dumping to it such a Probe Droids or other units that have effects when they leave play. If you have no other Hoth Objectives or no units you can sacrifice to its effect it becomes rather useless and very easy to play around.

Icetromper (40-2): 3/5
I really like this card, the ability to remove an attacking unit from an engagement is huge and then tacking on an extra damage to that unit is just icing on the cake. The only downfall of this card is its cost, at 2 it seems a bit steep for a unit that nine times out of ten is going to be sacrificed for its ability. In order to get the most out of Icetromper you have to hold it back on defense, win the edge battle, strike with it, and then use its ability. While this scenario is easily accomplished most people will be expecting it and find a way to avoid getting wiped out by it. Still this is a solid combat trick and easily fits into a Sith Control based deck.

Fear (40-4): 5/5
This card is good on so many levels, most Sith decks are going to try to always control the force using Palpatine, Vader, or some combination of smaller guys and sit back and play defense. So the ability to permanently remove a Light Side unit from the force struggle is a huge swing for control decks and means they don't have to be as aggressive in order to knock opposing characters from the force struggle. Also if your opponent is playing a Vehicle/non-character based deck this card having two Force icons means that it is a good card to pitch for an edge battle as well.

The Desolation of Hoth (40-5): 3/5
This card gives me fits because deep down I really like it, but I just think it's a hard card to play to your true advantage. The reason I say this is two fold, first if your opponent sees you are playing The Killing Cold they will realize that you are running this card and either hold on to a counter or attempt completely destroy any objectives they attack in a single turn. The second reason is that there just aren't enough Hoth objectives to make this viable currently, in the future there may be and I am more than willing to adjust my stance on this card later on, but as it stands now there are just too many ways for this card to go wrong.

Twist of Fate (40-6): 5/5
You know it, you love, and you want more of them.

Overall: 4/5

The Killing Cold (40-1): 3/5
Seeing the way that the dark side is going, having a way of sacrificing units may become a boon with cards like probe droids etc. However I don't like the fact that these objectives are pushing players into making decks from Hoth oSets just to get any real synergy with the set. Having no other Hoth objectives makes this less useful and if you have units you wish to sacrifice its basically blank.

Icetromper (40-2): 4/5
Love this kind of control card, being able to stop that super unit from coming across for a turn AND hitting it for a point of pain is pretty impressive, however as mentioned already the cost is a little steep at two resources but when this thing can single handedly fend off an objective been smashed and give you another turn I'm sure it'll prove its worth.

Fear (40-4): 4/5
Being able to easily dominate the force battle to the dark side at the cost of one resource can be a huge tempo gain. Not only does it kick them out of the force struggle it prevents them from committing again, just be wary of putting it on Yoda

The Desolation of Hoth (40-5): 2/5
This card looks on paper, amazing. Been able to dump all damage tokens from an objective onto a unit is a very powerful action, no denying that. The problem comes this dependency again from the Hoth Keyword being on the objective and players being forced again to build decks with oSets they may find sub-par just to have synergy again. Luckily it has three force icons so at least it can be used in an egde battle if nothing else.

Twist of Fate (40-6): 5/5
Great staple in all decks.

Overall 3/5 (marked down from 4/5 purely because of keyword dependence from an emerging set)

The Killing Cold (40-1): 3/5
Currently, a very average objective. As the cycle continues will likely become a lot better. As pointed out, works quite well with the droids from Vaders objective as well as Viper Probe Droid from the core set. Its hard to judge how often you will use the ability on this card at the minute but certainly has potential.

Icetromper (40-2): 4/5
I really like this card. Yes it only removes characters from the engagement but that in itself is priceless, dealing a point of damage is just an added bonus. DS decks naturally have the LS player on a clock and this card certainly helps that clock keep ticking. Of course, there is nothing to stop the character from attacking again but it helps in defending a particular objective and limits damage capabilities on units with Trust Your Feelings. Its well costed at 2 resources.

Fear (40-4): 5/5
Control. Pure and simple. Stopping your opponents characters from contributing to the force battle for the cost of 1 resource can be game winning. The DS player has to keep the balance of the force on his side and this helps no end. Just dont play it on Yoda.

The Desolation of Hoth (40-5): 5/5
Currently limited by the number of Hoth objectives available but later on in the cycle, this card will be incredibly powerful. Another method of control in the form of character removal is always welcome. Especially one that circumvents shielding and protect (I think). I feel this is a card the LS will learn to fear. Its also nice that it can target anything. None of the usual character/vehicle restrictions. Oh, and it can target objectives...damn this card is good. 6/5?

Twist of Fate: 5/5
Yeah....

Overall 4/5
Much like all the current Hoth objectives, its hard to be able to judge this properly. It does have some very powerful cards in though and as a result will see a lot of play. 4/5

The Killing Cold (40-1): 2/5
Right now this objective is not great. You probably are not going to get to remove much damage from Hoth objectives unless you get to put out 2 or 3 of them. However, you can do some cute tricks like sacrificing the Probe Droid to do a damage to an objective. This is an objective that will be 5/5 in an all Hoth deck. This combined with Desolation of Hoth will mean destroying Hoth objectives will be nearly impossible.

Icetromper (40-2): 4/5
This guy is one of the all stars of my "The Hoth Lockdown" deck, which I will be writing up this week. Icetromper + tactics icons = Jedi decks in big trouble. Yes you have to sacrifice him, but you can knock a Jedi out of an engagement and then stick a tactics icon on him with another blocker. On top of that he crushes poor Yoda. So your opponent has 4 enhancements on Yoda and is feeling good. Guess what they have to win multiple edge battles in order to get those icons and that is a tall task against Sith control decks.

Fear (40-4): 2.5/5
This is a solid card. It can be useful at times. It is nice to stick on Yoda and knock him out of a force struggle bc in order for a Sith control deck to win they must must must have the force. Yoda is the number 1 obstacle to this. However, on the flip side you have just given Yoda an enhancement. If you plan on giving Yoda enhancements, I highly suggest you have access to some Icetrompers.

The Desolation of Hoth (40-5): 2/5
At first blush this card seems insane. But guess what smart opponents are not going to just attack Hoth objectives for 2. They are either going to use their Rebels to knock them out in one turn or just ignore them and deal with the annoyance that is Succumbed. The three force icons are great though and this would be a 4/5 in a deck with a lot of Hoth objectives.

Twist of Fate: 5/5
Twist in a control deck is amazing. There is a reason why I ran 3 in my Hoth Lockdown deck at Kingdom Con.

Overall: 3/5
This is a difficult oSet to grade. When I look at the oSet I think hmm it looks pretty terrible. However, in conjunctions with Shadows on the Ice it is extremely useful. It helps reduce the insane Wampa and it helps activate the amazing Succumbed. Throw in 2 Ice Trompers and in the current meta it's amazing. As more cards become available that control Jedi decks more this oSet may decrease in value. However, as more Hoth objectives are released its value may increase substantially. So for now I'm giving it a 3 with the realization that this could change at any moment.

The Killing Cold (40-1): 3/5
This is another one of those objectives that will get better as the Hoth cycle depends. Also depending on which unit you sacrifice there could be some benefit to it, like the Probe Droids in Lord Vader's Command OSet. Being able to remove damage will certainly help to slow down the LS win condition. Just needs more time to really evaluate it's usefulness especially as it is unclear how many Hoth objectives Sith will end up with.

Icetromper (40-2): 2/5
Being able to bounce one of their attackers and damage it at the same time is a very useful action. I think the unit might be over costed at 2 as you will just end up sacrificing it eventually. The major downside is it works only on Characters. In a Sith/Jedi match this card will be very handy, but against Rebels it will be a dead card and only has one force icon for the edge battle. What would work best would be bouncing their character from the battle and then striking with a unit with tactics icons like the Emperor to prevent that same unit from simply engaging a different objective. Anything that helps you slow down the LS and stall for time only goes to helping the inexorable march of time towards completion of a fully operational battle station! Especially as the Sith who quite often have the force on their side and are getting two clicks of the dial on each of their turns.

Fear (40-4): 5/5
A great control card for the Sith to add to their suite of cards. Being able to forcibly remove one of their units from the force struggle can really make it a lot easier to control the force which is something the Sith really want to do. Playing this on Jedi can really hurt them as they tend to want to control the force and often use a relatively high force value unit to help them win the struggle. Anything that keeps the force on the DS speeds up your win.

The Desolation of Hoth (40-5): 5/5
This card is really good but again needs more Hoth objectives to really shine. I am rating it 5/5 as it is simply so good and can cause a massive swing in the game. What will really need to be seen to truly determine how played it is, is how many Hoth objectives Sith can have out at one time. If they can get it so all 3 of their objectives are Hoth then the LS will need to be very mindful of how much damage they do to each objective and also the units they have in play. LS wil want to ensure they destroy the objective and do not just leave it with a lot of damage as otherwise on your next turn you will be removing ALL of that damage and taking out their Luke or Obi-Wan or one of their Hoth objectives.

Twist of Fate: 5/5
It's good we all know why. Nuff said.

Overall: 3/5
Overall I think this objective set is very interesting in that it helps to highlight the control elements of the Sith affiliation. The only limitation right now is the lack of Hoth objectives for the Sith but hopefully they will get a couple more to increase the chances of having all Hoth objectives out.

Next up Lord Vader's Command

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Lord Vader's Command (41-1): 4/5
I flat out love cards that mess with the cost of your opponent's cards, not only does it throw off their plans but it also starts to clamp down on their resources making it harder for them to play their own deck properly. I really wish that this card had either the Hoth or Coruscant sub-type though, because if it did you would have multiple ways to give it added protection through Coruscant Defense Fleet, The Desolation of Hoth, or The Killing Cold. Most opponents will be gunning for this objective as soon as it hits the table, so while it may not be in play long it will have an effect on the game. And just imagine if Dark side ever gets their own version of Defense of Yavin 4....

Darth Vader (41-2): 4/5
I really like how the stats are identical on the two Darth Vader's we currently have and I hope FFG continues along this path because that means that similar unique units can be valued on their abilities alone and they don't have to continually make them bigger beat sticks for people to replace the versions they are currently using. That being said Vader's abilities are very good in making hyper aggressive Dark Side decks a bit more reliable. With the ability to merge this Vader with either Imperial Vehicle, Imperial Starfighter, or Trooper based decks it makes him very versatile and allows for some massive objective damage swings.

Communications Officer (41-3): 1/5
In my opinion this card is terrible. Not only does it cost three; most other resource producing units are one for one unless they have additional abilities, but at only one health he can't even pretend to be a defender. Sure having a two resource unit is never a bad thing, but with Elite he is just an over priced waste of cardboard. At either 2 health or with some ability to make him viable he becomes a solid middle of the road unit, but without any of that he is overpriced.

Probe Droid (41-4): 4/5
There are so many things I like about this card, and all of them seem very irrational if you don't understand my love of leave play effects. Cards such as Probe Droid and Princess Leia are in my mind some of the best printed cards ever because they not only have an effect while in play, but they also have an effect when they leave play. This makes decisions harder for your opponent because they have to decide if killing your Probe Droid is worth the damage one of their objectives will be receiving. The added layer of how good this card is, is the fact you can pitch it to your own effects to trigger it as well so in combination with The Killing Cold you are gaining added benefit.

Imperial Suppression (41-6): 5/5
At first glace many people will look at this and scoff because it seems like a "worse" version of Counter-Stroke. But I would argue that it is actually a better version because not only is it a counter, but it also is a way to gain knowledge of what your opponent will be drawing and to also limit their ability to draw into something potentially more valuable to them. I think this will be a very solid addition for any Imperial decks, and could in itself be a reason for this objective set to be added to Sith decks as well.

Overall: 5/5

Lord Vader's Command (41-1): 1/5
Would be a lot better if the text was likely to be in effect for anything longer than a turn. I cant help but think of this as an essentially blank objective with average stats. Shame really.

Darth Vader (41-2): 5/5
Orbital Bombardment on legs. This guy is a beast. Useful in both vehicle and trooper based DS decks, he will see a lot of play. Much like the Sith version of Vader he fits his respective deck perfectly. One of the things I do like about Vader is the 4 damage capacity. Hes so hard to put down, and with a lot of potential damage dealing from his ability he will help the DS player dominate the game.

Communications Officer (41-3): 3/5
More resources for the Navy. Nothing overly exciting though.

Probe Droid (41-4): 3/5
I quite like this card. Its cheap and expendable with the added bonus of pinging an objective when it dies.At times it will be amazing but most of the time, just a minor annoyance for the LS player.

Imperial Suppression (41-6): 5/5
The DS first counter card, and its free. Yes it puts the countered card back on top of its owners deck, ready to be used the following turn but when played correctly can scupper the best laid plans.On the closing turns of the game, this card will win games. All for the cost of 0 resources. Amazing card.

Overall: 4/5
Another good solid oSet. Vader and Supression are the hard hitters here but both of those are phenomenal cards that will ensure this objective set sees play.

Lord Vader's Command (41-1): 2.5/5
If you can flop this it's great. It really helps stop any first turn trickery strategies. Oh you want to Rebel Assault or Jedi Mind Trick my Motti, ok but it will cost you much of your first turn. It is also decent in a control deck with shielding. Basically, once it hits the table your opponent will do whatever they can to put a damage on it and once it gets the damage it goes to blank text. So while it's power is decent it won't be helping you long.

Darth Vader (41-2): 5/5
The DS does not have many bomb characters and they just got another. So really he is great in any deck that wants to run 3 copies of Vader. His real value though is anchoring Navy aggro decks. Card games are about redundancy and he provides great redundancy with Orbital Bombardment. Of course having both together would be great but having 4 cards in a Navy deck that provide blast icons is where Vader's true value lies. He is going to be a staple in the game for years to come.

Communications Officer (41-3): 2.5/5
If you are going to give me a terrible chud, give him resources. I love resources. Yes he is way overcosted at 3, but without the LS having much direct damage he is relatively safe. Go ahead waste your Rebel Assault on him.

Probe Droid (41-4): 3/5
If you are splashing this deck into a Sith control deck, this card is pretty terrible. If you are running it in a Navy Aggro deck it's pretty darn good. He is probably acquiring a blast icon and then doing a damage when he leaves play. Not just dying but Jedi tricks like Swindled trigger him as well. As far as 2 cost chuds go he is in the upper group.

Imperial Suppression (41-6): 5/5
If you have ever heard the Smuggler's Den you know that I wanted to see a DS cancel and this is perfect. Your opponent gets theirs back and you lose yours but it is perfect for what you need, control. Nothing is worse than using Force Lightning on Han only to see them play Counter Stroke. Now with some planning and hand crafting you can have a well protected Force Lightning.

Overall: 4/5
Vader is amazing and will be for years to come. Suppression is also amazing and fits well into a Sith deck. The problem is the Probe Droids don't fit well into many decks that want to splash a third Vader and add Suppression and the resource chud is overcosted. So what we have is a very strong Navy oSet (5/5) and a decent Sith oSet.(3/5)

Lord Vader's Command (41-1): 2/5
It is not a bad ability but this objective will not be undamaged for very long. Once this hits play it will be the next target for the LS very likely to shut down it's ability.

Darth Vader (41-2): 5/5
This is a great version of Vader for use with the Imperial decks in either a trooper or a fighter deck. Adding a non edge dependent blast damage to all of your units while attacking makes it so much easier to take out an objective while he is attacking. At first I thought he would be of best usage in my trooper deck but I am now seeing him as probably being better in a fighter deck. Used in conjunction with Orbital Bombardment and that is a lot of blast damage coming the LS way.

Communications Officer (41-3): 2/5
More resources is useful but he does cost 3 to get in to play. Strictly a resource card.

Probe Droid (41-4): 3/5
A great unit to sacrifice to something or send in to battle and force the LS to strike and destroy it with their unit damage, preferably after winning the edge battle and striking with the probe droid.

Imperial Suppression (41-6): 5/5
0 cost interrupt that cancels an opponents event, this card is so obviously good it is hard to really say anything about it. Simple and very effective. Now yes it does put that event back on your opponents deck but still played right this card can really hurt the LS and even potentially slow them down if they paid a number of resources to play the event in the first place.

Overall: 4/5
Vader and Imperial Suppression completely carry this OSet but still it is a great OSet for the Imperial Navy. Adding more blast damage to units while attacking is very effective and goes well with other buffs that the Navy has like Trooper Assault and Orbital Bombardment.