Imperial March - Capital Ships

Been a while, but welcome once again, everybody!

And so it comes to our fourth installment in the Imperial March articles. We've already reviewed Trooper (there's also a brief and generic overview for Navy as a whole), Walkers and last time it was Fighters, leaving Capital Ships for this entry.

But Navy does not have just any capital ship, they have the terrifying Star Destroyers (or SD for short), starring some of the coolest starship designs out there. Each one of these galactic monsters is like any other affiliation's "main" (think Vader, Luke), replacing their cool abilities and niches for sheer combat prowess: more icons and more damage capacity.

It may be boring by now, but like in the rest of our articles, we will go through a list of pros and cons.

PROS:
+Sturdy units --> Every Star Destroyer has at least 3 damage capacity, making them rather hard to one-shot (thus they always get to strike).

+Mixed damage --> Whereas walkers had decent blast damage and good unit damage, Star Destroyers have decent unit damage and the highest (printed) blast damage withing all factions and archetypes in the whole game. They can defend, but you really want to focus your efforts on attacking and taking objectives.

+Strong without edge, stronger with it --> Their high damage capacity enables Star Destroyers to survive the first strike when losing the edge and still deal noticeable damage thanks to a good number of black icons. Many of them do have some white icons though, and while winning is not mandatory for them to work properly, the edge battle is worth contesting at times.

CONS:
-Very expensive units --> The cheapest capital ship (Victory-class SD) costs 4 resources. More often than not, a single Star Destroyer will use up all your money. Even when cheating with Deploy the Fleet and/or Kuat, don't expect to flood the table with units.

-Sleuths --> None of your core units can block them. Unlike walkers, however, capital ships are more likely to win the objectives destruction race. #deletesleuths

-Tactics --> Capital Ships might very well be the weakest DS deck against tactic icons. We can't stress enough how much they will ruin your day. Having just a couple of big units makes it very easy for LS to lock them down (thank the Emperor LS can only have 2 Hired Hands in their decks now).


Keeping our usual format, we shall now look out for some objectives to use, distinguishing what should constitute the core for a Star Destroyer deck and what other sets can effectively support their strengths and/or minimize their weaknesses.

Obviously, a Star Destroyer deck must have Star Destroyers, and you know what? Even faceless vehicles like these can have big, mean mains.

First we have the Devastator, 1.600 meters of pure destructive power. An impressive array of combat icons, 5 damage capacity, 3 force icons, elite and a reaction that can really speed the game in your favor. Always try to leave a resource open to trigger its reaction, as it could mean the difference between having to destroy 3 or 4 objectives, between a Nudj laughing at your face or burning under your thrusters, between utter defeat and glorious victory.

Next in line is the Thunderflare. While statistically not as powerful as its brother, it has one nasty reaction that not only brings you closer to victory, but also takes your opponent farther away from his own. This adds up over time, making a huge difference. With 2 force icons, elite and up to 3 unit damage when winning the edge, the Thunderflare is best suited for defense and force holding.

That's it for uniques, making both Death and Despayre, and Repair and Refurbish a good place to start with. Not only do we get some mechanical monsters, but also resources for our expensive ships, defenses to keep our objectives healthy even when going overboard on offense and some fate cards for the surprise factor during edge battles.

Even so, we still need more Star Destroyers and a stronger economy to keep pumping our ships into the battlefield. Deploy the Fleet has just what we're looking for. The objective is incredible in capital ship decks. Provides virtual resources for a considerable price, but when you have Defense Upgrade, Repair and Refurbish and Thunderflare you can mitigate that cost. Even if you don't have such cards at hand, don't be afraid to use the objective liberally. Getting your starships into the fray as soon as possible is of the utmost importance.

The rest of the set was thoroughtly reviewed in our Walker edition. Summarizing though, the Death Squad SDs being nigh invulnerable are a nightmare for the LS, the officer provides some much needed tactics, Death Squad Command is a fantastic resource (remember to remove tokens even when your own objectives get destroyed, so consider blowing up Deploy the Fleet if it means you can get another 3 resources) and Admiral's Order further accelerates your Star Destroyer production. You may want to play with only one copy of this set if you feel 4x Death Squad SDs are too much, but we strongly recommend you use both copies.

That would be it for the "Absolute Core" and should be in pretty much any imperial capital ship deck. But we're only halfway there for a complete deck and there are some sets flying around that, while not mandatory, contribute so much for our build's health that not including them is hard to justify. One such objective is Kuat Reinforcements. While the cards in it don't particularly synergize with our SDs, Kuat itself is so important for consistency that it makes up for the rest of the set. With it, we can now have up to 4 objectives that reduce the impact of our Star Destroyers' high cost, making even the most expensive of them playable right away. Having a Devastator turn one can be just as powerful if not more powerful than a Vader. If the LS doesn't get a good start, it's bound to lose an objective the next turn, or have it severely damaged by (most likely) sacrificing a unit in the process just to win the edge battle and shut down some of the Devastator's blast damage.

Next would be Imperial Blockade. Standard 5/1 objective with an annoying ability that is, sadly, dependant on it being undamaged. Forcing the LS to pay one extra resource for its first unit deployed each turn is not to be underestimated. On your opening flop it can severely cripple the light side's early game, time when Star Destroyers are arguably at their weakest. Your opponent WILL attempt to deactivate Imperial Blockade. Act accordingly; if you're absolutely certain you can completely deny the attack or gain a significant lead by defending, go ahead. If not, it might be wiser to let your opponent through and then stike him with the full force of your fleet.

On to the rest of the set, we first have Captain Needa. He's hands down amazing in a capital ship deck, and he is honestly the main reason to play this set. The amount of resources he can produce is crazy, and he doesn't have to focus to use them, meaning he won't be stopped with tactics like the Escort Carrier in a TIE fighter deck. When combined with your objectives and enhancements, paying for any ship is a breeze. He has one very critical weakness though: only 1 damage capacity. Anything will kill him. While most support officers will die to a Rebel Assault or targeted strike, Needa must also watch out for Let the Wookie Win. The Ties of Blood Jedi set also provides an annoying amount of direct damage, against ready units, so it's safest to keep focusing Needa and get as much resources from him as you can. Pay attention to what you're playing against!
We then get a couple of Imperial I-class Star Destroyers. Quite lackluster, honestly. Unless you already got your economy running, this is the last ship you would want to pay for. Seriously, investing 5 resources for 3 damage capacity and only a pair of black icons is not good. Yes, it also has a couple of edge-enabled icons, but you're Navy and you're also feeding your cards to Kuat Reinforcements, you shouldn't be expecting to win the edge, not consistently anyway.
Apology Accepted is a cool event (dat artwork), albeit costly. 2 resources + sacrificing an officer who is an important part of your economy can hurt. However, and to be fair, this event ends games. Given the destructive power of Star Destroyers, each strike often means another objective in your victory pile.
Finally, there's Tractor Beam. With 3 force icons it's normally used as edge fodder. That's not to say it's a bad card. Anything that helps refresh your big rigs is greatly appreciated, but it's quite situational in the current meta. You do have a few fighters to make this card more usable, but look forward to the next cycle when everybody will be playing vehicles. Refreshing one of your units while exhausting an enemy one is a big deal. Not only your resume your attack, you also shut down the enemy defender.

Still 2 objectives away from a complete deck. Here's when things stop being as obvious and get more interesting, as we now have quite a few options to choose from and not enough space to add them all. Some of these are Imperial Command, The Endor Gambit, The Ultimate Power, Victory or Death, Sabotage in the Snow, Unstoppable Advance, Across the Jundland Wastes and Endless Reserves.

Annoying as it will be, we shall not analyze what each set contributes to our capital ship deck.

Imperial Command

This old friend always shows up, so we'll be brief. Resources, lots of resources for a deck with many expensive units. More officers for Apology Accepted, with Motti in particular also being good countermeasure against tactics. Cheap troopers for defense and Orbital Bombardment for a little extra firepower during the final push.

The Endor Gambit

If you feel confident about your economy, you may want to consider this one. The objective is crucial to comfortably contest the Force (doesn't mean you will effectively take it or necessarily invest in it) and helps against tactics in general. The AT-ST Officer and the Aft Armor Plating go in the same direction. Shields block tactics, making sure your fleet can strike even the most salwart defense.

The couple walkers are pretty decent for their cost, making for beefy defenders/force holders that can deal some objective damage when needed.

Target of Opportunity is super valuable in any aggressive deck. Love it.

The Ultimate Power

Not much to say about the objective, it's just extra resilient against swarming.

Tarkin is serious bussiness. He's basically 3 virtual blast damage as long as he stays alive. He also provides a resource and is one of Navy's strongest Force holders. Like most officers, he's one juicy target for direct damage and targeted strike, and since his potential to close games is so strong, you may want to play him later into the game, when LS objectives are already damaged and automatically explode when Tarkin hits the table.

The Stormtrooper is rather fragile, but with 3 black unit damage, it can deal with most LS mains. The engineer is meh, that is, unless you get lucky and find a Superlaser Blast with him. Anyway, he has shielding and that could make the difference in an engagement.
Superlaser Blast is yet another tool to seal a game. Expensive and strong, people using it turn one to get rid of a particularly threatening objective (ex: Gamor Run) is not unheard of.

Control Room is more resources in a deck that can always use them.

Victory or Death

This is the set of choice for the ultimate thematic experience. Sadly, it has one (or rather, two) crippling weaknesses: the two copies of the Victory-class Star Destroyer. Edge-independent, solid defender with 3 force icons, making it good for both edge battles and the Force Struggle. What's the catch? No offensive firepower unless the balance of the Force is with the Dark Side. But it should be easy to get the Force with these 3 force icons on them, right? Theoretically yes. It's rare to see so many force icons in a non-unique unit. In practice, however, it's not so easy. You ought to have the Force right from the start of your turn, so it's no use taking it on your turn if the Light Side snatches it back on its own. Furthermore, if your Victory-class is commited, you automatically restrict it's rate of action due to the extra focus. So let's assume you have the ship commited and you didn't defend with it so you could take the Force and attack with have your ready Victory-class. You do so and deal those 2 blast damage. Now it will take two turns for the SD to be completely refreshed, time in which you probably lost the Force, so now you must add an extra turn to take it away, making, under normal circumstances, the Star Destroyer useful only once every 3 turns. Certainly, you could take the Force with other units, but most have 1 or 2 icons at most. See where we're going? The Victory-class is just too unreliable an attacker to be worth including in a super aggressive deck.

The rest of the set lacks the "wow" factor as well. The objective is interesting, but since it has to be undamaged to do it's stuff it's likely useful for one turn only; the PRO and Echoes of the Force can remove your Victory-class from the Force Struggle at the right moment so they'll be ready for action sooner. Not enough to make them worth, as you will still need that extra turn to retake the Force. If anything, hey help counter your opponent's own Echoes. Control Room needs no further comments,

Sabotage in the Snow

While not as strong as in a Walker deck, this pod still provides some very useful cards. Though the LS has now a bit more shielding than before, the objective is still situational. The Snowtrooper is small fry, he might draw some attention or deal a bit of unopposed damage, but expect him to die a pathetic death without accomplishing much. The Snowtrooper Vanguard is a whole different story. Being able to dish out and sustain heavy damage, plus shielding to protect itself from tactics, it is one of the strongest defenders in the game, no doubt.

Forward Command Posts double as resources and great offensive support for your main attackers: the Death Squadron Star Destroyers.
Battle of Hoth won't do much here except... win an edge battle, and that's plenty.

Unstoppable Advance

We're stretching things here, but there are some pertinent comments to do. Orbital Ressuply Station is out of this world on paper... until you realize that unless you already have a very strong economy established, you're unlikely to play more than one Star Destroyer per turn, in which case this enhancement is just like any average resource. You already have enough expensive units, making the AT-ATs more of a hindrance than a help. They're good defenders but rather poor attackers if you can't win the edge, which can be particularly difficult if you're using Kuat Reinforcements. The trick would be on their shielding and its synergy with the Forward Command Posts if you're using Sabotage in the Snow.

Across the Jundland Wastes

Incredibly strong in any vehicle-based build when the LS meta revolves around characters. Sadly, and though it's been nerfed, May the Force be With You is still dominant and a good counter to this objective. The Bantha and Tusken Raiders make for a lot of defenders and much needed tactics. Gaffi Stick is edge fodder. Lack of resources can be a problem.

Endless Reserves

Rather useless objective, you don't want to see it. Vast Resources, on the other hand, can accelerate your game nicely. Not much point to them if you're playing with and have Kuat Reinforcements out though. Keep that in mind.

A lengthy analysis thus far, so let's leave the boring stuff behind and get on with some decks to put this all into practice.


The Imperial Mixer
Affiliation:
Imperial Navy

Objective: (10)
1x Imperial Command (Core 26-1)
2x Kuat Reinforcements (Core 27-1)
2x Death and Despayre (Core 29-1)
1x The Endor Gambit (Core 31-1)
2x Deploy the Fleet (The Search for Skywalker 46-1)
1x Imperial Blockade (Edge of Darkness 88-1)
1x Repair and Refurbish (Balance of the Force 95-1)

Unit: (29)
1x Admiral Motti (Core 26-2)
1x Duty Officer (Core 26-3)
1x Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (Core 26-4)
1x Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (Core 26-5)
2x "Backstabber" (Core 27-2)
2x TIE Fighter (Core 27-3)
2x TIE Bomber (Core 27-4)
2x Devastator (Core 29-2)
2x Imperial Officer (Core 29-3)
1x AT-ST Commander (Core 31-2)
1x AT-ST (Core 31-3)
1x AT-ST (Core 31-4)
2x Death Squadron Star Destroyer (The Search for Skywalker 46-2)
2x Death Squadron Star Destroyer (The Search for Skywalker 46-3)
2x Fleet Navigator (The Search for Skywalker 46-4)
1x Captain Needa (Edge of Darkness 88-2)
1x Imperial I-class Star Destroyer (Edge of Darkness 88-3)
1x Imperial I-class Star Destroyer (Edge of Darkness 88-4)
1x Thunderflare (Balance of the Force 95-2)
1x Logistics Officer (Balance of the Force 95-3)
1x Logistics Officer (Balance of the Force 95-4)

Enhancement: (9)
1x Orbital Bombardment (Core 26-6)
2x Control Room (Core 29-4)
2x Defense Upgrade (Core 29-5)
1x Aft Armor Plating (Core 31-5)
2x Death Squadron Command (The Search for Skywalker 46-5)
1x Weapons Upgrade (Balance of the Force 95-5)

Event: (8)
2x Tallon Roll (Core 27-5)
2x Death from Above (Core 27-6)
2x Admiral's Orders (The Search for Skywalker 46-6)
1x Apology Accepted (Edge of Darkness 88-5)
1x Tractor Beam (Edge of Darkness 88-6)

Fate: (4)
2x Heat of Battle (Core 29-6)
1x Target of Opportunity (Core 31-6)
1x Supporting Fire (Balance of the Force 95-6)

A solid base. You can easily swap Imperial Command and Endor Gambit for something else, or even one Death and Despayre or Deploy the Fleetif you'd rather have the utility from other objective sets.

For our purposes, this is overall a healthy deck combining a bit of every imperial archetype: troopers, walkers, TIEs, and obviously clear focus on capital ships. Endor Gambit aside, there are extra resources on every set here. Depending on your initial setup, you might start by playing the few cheap units in the deck and, more importantly, expand your economy; or alternatively abuse Kuat/Deploy the Fleet to get the big hitters on the table.

Although it's rather weak on defense, it packs phenomenal offensive firepower and good enough utility to keep your Star Destroyers somewhat safe from tactics.

Since pretty much every set has been commented on and the deck is quite straightforward, there's probably not much to add here.


Victory or (most likely) Death
Affiliation:
Imperial Navy

Objective: (10)
2x Death and Despayre (Core 29-1)
2x Deploy the Fleet (The Search for Skywalker 46-1)
1x Imperial Blockade (Edge of Darkness 88-1)
1x Repair and Refurbish (Balance of the Force 95-1)
2x The Dark Trooper Project (Heroes and Legends 101-1)
2x Victory or Death (Lure of the Dark Side 105-1)

Unit: (28)
2x Devastator (Core 29-2)
2x Imperial Officer (Core 29-3)
2x Death Squadron Star Destroyer (The Search for Skywalker 46-2)
2x Death Squadron Star Destroyer (The Search for Skywalker 46-3)
2x Fleet Navigator (The Search for Skywalker 46-4)
1x Captain Needa (Edge of Darkness 88-2)
1x Imperial I-class Star Destroyer (Edge of Darkness 88-3)
1x Imperial I-class Star Destroyer (Edge of Darkness 88-4)
1x Thunderflare (Balance of the Force 95-2)
1x Logistics Officer (Balance of the Force 95-3)
1x Logistics Officer (Balance of the Force 95-4)
2x General Mohc (Heroes and Legends 101-2)
2x Phase I Dark Trooper (Heroes and Legends 101-3)
2x Phase I Dark Trooper (Heroes and Legends 101-4)
2x Victory-class Star Destroyer (Lure of the Dark Side 105-2)
2x Victory-class Star Destroyer (Lure of the Dark Side 105-3)
2x Political Reliability Observer (Lure of the Dark Side 105-4)

Enhancement: (11)
2x Control Room (Core 29-4)
2x Defense Upgrade (Core 29-5)
2x Death Squadron Command (The Search for Skywalker 46-5)
1x Weapons Upgrade (Balance of the Force 95-5)
2x Experimental Tech Lab (Heroes and Legends 101-5)
2x Control Room (Lure of the Dark Side 105-5)

Event: (4)
2x Admiral's Orders (The Search for Skywalker 46-6)
1x Apology Accepted (Edge of Darkness 88-5)
1x Tractor Beam (Edge of Darkness 88-6)

Fate: (7)
2x Heat of Battle (Core 29-6)
1x Supporting Fire (Balance of the Force 95-6)
2x Heat of Battle (Heroes and Legends 101-6)
2x Echoes of the Force (Lure of the Dark Side 105-6)

Not nearly as consistent as the previous deck. This one goes super heavy on Star Destroyers, adding the questioned Victory or Death objective set, and offering it some support hoping the Victory-class can shine. Not being able to play the Star Destroyers early from the lack of Kuat Reinforcements is a big risk. The addition of Dark Trooper Project, however, can potentially help a lot with the Force Struggle and defense. The objective can make the Victory-class elite so they can actually hold the Force, defend and even attack next turn. The Dark Troopers also help in that deparment, as they are unaffected by Victory or Death. Between the DTs, the Victory-class and the extra Heats of Battle, this deck has a very nice amount of unit damage, making it better at comfortably turtling for a couple turns to build up economy and then swing for a huge attack.


BIG RIGS
Affiliation:
Imperial Navy

Objective: (10)
2x Kuat Reinforcements (Core 27-1)
1x Death and Despayre (Core 29-1)
2x Deploy the Fleet (The Search for Skywalker 46-1)
1x Sabotage in the Snow (Assault on Echo Base 58-1)
2x Unstoppable Advance (The Battle of Hoth 63-1)
1x Imperial Blockade (Edge of Darkness 88-1)
1x Repair and Refurbish (Balance of the Force 95-1)

Unit: (28)
2x "Backstabber" (Core 27-2)
2x TIE Fighter (Core 27-3)
2x TIE Bomber (Core 27-4)
1x Devastator (Core 29-2)
1x Imperial Officer (Core 29-3)
2x Death Squadron Star Destroyer (The Search for Skywalker 46-2)
2x Death Squadron Star Destroyer (The Search for Skywalker 46-3)
2x Fleet Navigator (The Search for Skywalker 46-4)
1x Snowtrooper (Assault on Echo Base 58-2)
1x Snowtrooper Vanguard (Assault on Echo Base 58-3)
2x AT-AT (The Battle of Hoth 63-2)
2x AT-AT (The Battle of Hoth 63-3)
2x AT-AT Assault Formation (The Battle of Hoth 63-4)
1x Captain Needa (Edge of Darkness 88-2)
1x Imperial I-class Star Destroyer (Edge of Darkness 88-3)
1x Imperial I-class Star Destroyer (Edge of Darkness 88-4)
1x Thunderflare (Balance of the Force 95-2)
1x Logistics Officer (Balance of the Force 95-3)
1x Logistics Officer (Balance of the Force 95-4)

Enhancement: (9)
1x Control Room (Core 29-4)
1x Defense Upgrade (Core 29-5)
2x Death Squadron Command (The Search for Skywalker 46-5)
1x Forward Command Post (Assault on Echo Base 58-4)
1x Forward Command Post (Assault on Echo Base 58-5)
2x Orbital Resupply Station (The Battle of Hoth 63-5)
1x Weapons Upgrade (Balance of the Force 95-5)

Event: (10)
2x Tallon Roll (Core 27-5)
2x Death from Above (Core 27-6)
2x Admiral's Orders (The Search for Skywalker 46-6)
2x Aggressive Assault (The Battle of Hoth 63-6)
1x Apology Accepted (Edge of Darkness 88-5)
1x Tractor Beam (Edge of Darkness 88-6)

Fate: (3)
1x Heat of Battle (Core 29-6)
1x Battle of Hoth (Assault on Echo Base 58-6)
1x Supporting Fire (Balance of the Force 95-6)

Dismiss any sort of early game for maximum lategame power. If you don't start with Kuat, hope you opponent is playing a slow deck. Otherwise you're most certainly screwed. If you do somehow manage to get into the lategame, the onslaught of big, shielded units should be too much for the LS to bear. With the Thunderflare arranging your AT-ATs on defense and the Devastator leading the Death Squadron on the offense, any opposition will soon see how futile their efforts are. None shall stand the imperial might.


With this, all four Imperial themes have been covered throughout these articles. So what awaits beyond the stars? Honestly... no idea. Until new cards are released, there's not much to do. As new imperial toys make it into the cardpool, we're likely to either revisit each of the featured archetypes and see how they change with the new cards (as we know, Between the Shadows should have an interesting set for troopers, while Ready for Takeoff will be a huge boost for fighters) or simply try to present the "best" imperial build up to the available expansions, combining every tool in the imperial arsenal.

Another option would be to visit other factions, and, as we did with the Imperial March articles, highlight their own strengths and weaknesses, identify possible thematic decks in each of them (they're not as clearly defined by traits as it happens with Navy though, so each faction should take less articles) and as always, present a few decks.

Majestaat's personal thoughts:

One thing I miss are the articles reviewing the individual cards/sets of every new expansion pack, and I don't know if they are as interesting for everyone else as they were for me. Of course, if I were to take that new route and expect to have some validity, I would need the help of other willing players who would share their opinions and ratings to get a, more or less, trustworthy average. Sadly, most high-level players are either too busy with life, competition or their own web/stream, and I can respect that, but if anyone's free and interested we could give it a shot.

So that's it, folks. It was a long journey and we had a blast writing these articles, which we hope motivated at least one person out there to try the underestimated Imperial Navy. The job's been done. Hopefully, that doesn't mean it's the last you hear from us, for we really want more Star Wars content here.

Comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated, so that we can better know what the community wants the most.

May the Empire keep marching, now and always!