Han Shot First - Renegade

"I don't know where this ship came from but it is definitely NOT within legal specifications" - General Rieeken

Welcome to another installment of Han Shot First and this week we'll be taking a look into a great addition to the Smugglers & Spies arsenal, Renegade Squadron Mobilization (44-1) and how this can fit into and be used effectively in a light side deck.

First off let's take a look at the objective Renegade Squadron Mobilization (44-1). This Smuggler & Spies objective provides one resource and has the reaction: after an enemy unit leaves play, draw 1 card.

Lets start with the most quoted phrase in LCG's/CCG's, "card draw wins games" and this card provides it in spades.How much though depends on how much removal your deck has. Being able to turn Swindled (15-5) and Rebel Assault (8-6) into cantrips makes good cards great, but having repeatable draw by using things like targeted strike Han Solo (15-2) & Luke Skywalker and Heavy Blaster Emplacement (9-5) is pure card advantage that quickly adds up.

Next we have Renegade Squadron (44-2). This is a unique Smugglers & Spies unit which costs 5 resources has 5 capacity and has 1 unit damage, 1 objective damage 1 tactics, 1 edge dependant tactics, is elite and has the Reaction: "After this unit is focused to strike as an attacker, damage it to rescue one card captured at the engaged objective". Now 5 cost units need to justify their cost and Renegade Squadron does just that having similar icons to Obi-Wan (though less edge dependant) elite and 5 damage capacity to boot. Now while the reaction has limited uses right now, when the Scum & Villainy finally starts capturing your board this ability will become priceless.

The first non-unique unit we have is Renegade Squadron Operative (44-3). This is a two cost smuggler & spies unit with 2 damage capacity and 2 unit damage. Now while not as above the curve as say Emperors Royal Guard having 2 non edge dependant unit damage makes them good attacker/defenders when you have multiple engagements in one turn and your hand starts to dwindle due to edge battles.Other than that this unit is pretty vanilla and some part of me (the competitive side) wishes that the second unit damage was any other icon.

The second non-unique unit we have is Munitions Expert (44-4). This a 1 cost neutral unit with 1 edge dependant unit damage, 1 damage capacity and the action: " focus this unit to have a target unit gain 1 unit damage until the end of the phase". Now this little guy doesn't seem much other than edge battle bait or to be discarded at the beginning of the draw phase but his action is quite useful especially when combined with targeted strike or because its till the end of the phase, not strike Trust Your Feelings. Considering this guy is one cost and is neutral with a useful ability he fills a utility niche very well.

The only enhancement in the objective set is Echo Caverns (44-5). This is a two cost Smugglers & Spies unique enhancement which generate one resource and has the action: " Focus this enhancement to target 2 units that share a trait. Until the end of the phase, one of the those units loses a combat icon of your choice, and the other unit gains that combat icon. Card of the objective set without a shadow of a doubt, this provides Smugglers & Spies with one of the most versatile control cards in the game and while there are limitations on the targeting I have never found myself without a use for this card and if all else fails it can be used as a straight resource.

The last card of the objective set is the fate card Target of Opportunity. Now while Heat of Battle may of had more synergy with the objective, the pod on the whole is lacking objective damage so its still happily received.

Now onto how we can use this objective set in a deck. First thing we need to do is decide which other faction to combine with and for this deck it's going to be the Rebel Alliance.


Afflilation:
Rebel Alliance (Core Rebel Alliance)

Total Objective Sets: 10

2x Questionable Contacts (15-1)

Han Solo (15-2)
Twi'lek Smuggler (15-3)
Cloud City Casino (15-4)
Swindled (15-5)
Crossfire (15-6)

2x Renegade Squadron Mobilization (44-1)

Renegade Squadron (44-2)
Renegade Squadron Operative (44-3)
Munitions Expert (44-4)
Echo Caverns (44-5)
Target of Opportunity (44-6)

2x The Defense of Yavin 4 (8-1)

Red Two (8-2)
Y-Wing (8-3)
Astromech Droid Upgrade (8-4)
Hidden Outpost (8-5)
Rebel Assault (8-6)

2x Mission Briefing (9-1)

Mon Mothma (9-2)
Battlefield Engineers (9-3)
A-Wing (9-4)
Heavy Blaster Emplacement (9-5)
Heat of Battle (9-6)

2x Mobilize the Squadrons (13-1)

X-Wing (13-2)
Rookie Pilot (13-3)
Trench Run (13-4)
Rebel Assault (13-5)
Covering Fire (13-6)

This deck tries to maximise the card draw advantage out of Renegade Squadron Mobilization (44-1) and have good engagement tempo with targeted removal and Echo Caverns (44-5).

Battlefield Engineers (9-3) has great synergy with both Heavy Blaster Emplacement (9-5) and Echo Caverns (44-5) allowing you to maximise damage potential.