Flippin' Scum

This was originally written for FFG but due to time it takes to get approval it is a bit dated now with the new cycle having a few packs out. Still I know I was asked by more than a couple people about this deck so posting for those who expressed interest in the deck.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flippin' Scum Deck

Today's article will be about a deck I have been developing for the last few months and have received a few questions about. I will go over the deck, its evolution and suggestions on how to play it for those interested. One of the main differences in this deck is that it is purely a Scum deck.

The decks current version consists of the following objective sets:

Feeding the Pit x2
Hive of Scum & Villainy x2
Jabba's Reach x2
Lucrative Contract x2
Trandoshan Terror x1
The Tatooine Crash x1

Development

I started work on this deck late last summer. In one of its earliest forms it had two copies of The Tatooine Crash objective set. The issue this had was it could create a situation where you had too many Jawa Scavengers in your hand making it harder to dig for your big threats like Krayt Dragon or Jabbas Pleasure Barge. This also created times where you could end up with two of the objective and that was also not desirable as you only want to trigger it a few times. Triggering it every turn creates a pile of captured cards that can make it a very tempting target to the LS. Once they destroy the objective they can get a full hand or more of cards. Now this can also work to your advantage in that it makes your opponent predictable in where they will likely concentrate their attacks. This can give you time to then build your own forces and advance the dial. However the extra Jawa problem proved after a number of games to not be worth the frustration so the set was dropped to a single copy.

The number of Hive of Scum & Villainy and Trandoshan Terror has changed a number of times during the process for the most part in order to increase the number of Captured. This card is one of the few capture effects in the deck that works very well for helping control the board. I have also had a version that increased to 11 objective sets by adding a second copy of Trandoshan Terror. This gives an extra copy of a two resource objective and Bossk who is a great unit both for attacking and for his ability.

Playing the deck

The deck needs to be played somewhat aggressively. You want to control and keep control of the force early on to advance the dial a few extra clicks. You also want to attack the LS objectives as often as you can but spread the damage around. I find Paid Informant is a great attacker when unopposed as he will do two damage to the objective. It is also a good early unit to get out with maybe a Trandoshan Hunter to save for defense.

The deck has a lot of resources and these are particularly useful for helping to get out the heavy hitters like Jabbas Pleasure Barge and Krayt Dragon. The Krayt Dragon is a very powerful unit and is great both on the attack and defense. It can destroy objectives on its own and kill pretty much any opposing unit that gets in it's way. Once you get one or both Krayt Dragons out it is often just a matter of time before the game ends. Krayt Dragon is also a good unit to use in conjunction with Spice Visions allowing it to strike twice in the same engagement. Of course like any powerful unit it is vulnerable to tactics.

Jabbas Pleasure Barge is also a good attacker for helping to damage objectives. It's ability is quite good as well but I rarely use it. I almost always use it for its blast damage icons instead.

The capture that the deck does have is used to help feed the pit. This objective is great for helping purchase multiple cards but also helps you to remove certain big threats from the game once captured. Feeding a Falcon to the pit was a personal highlight for me.

To help you keep in the game and give you time to build up your board and bring out your Krayt Dragons the deck has 4 Corrupt Officials in it. This is not a unit you play from your hand but you save it for helping to prevent the largest amount of damage possible or prevent that last point that would destroy an objective. A well timed Corrupt Official can be a game changer and cause significant frustration for your opponent.

In many ways the deck plays similar to Navy in that one of its primary ways for winning is to advance the dial by blowing up objectives. This is why I spread the blast damage around early in the game when getting an unopposed attack or two in can be an easier task. Then once your big units are out you finish off the objectives and end the game in a single turn.

Jabba is in the deck in two copies and when you can get him out he is useful in a number of ways. He has two black tactics icons making him useful for helping to lock your opponent down either on the attack or one defense. Now he is also useful for his ability. This can allow you to bring out a 2 cost unit on your opponents turn, an extra resource enhancement or even a Bounty after your opponents conflict phase has ended. All very useful depending on the circumstances of the game.

I hope you have enjoyed this look at my deck and it’s evolution over the past few months. I have really enjoyed taking the time to develop the deck and running it in games.

Until next time, may the Force be with you.

Matt "Toqtamish" Nott