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0
No Disintegrations - Rebel Evolution
May 21 2013 05:05 PM |
Ketricel
in Star Wars
Star Wars No Disintegrations Ketricel
Welcome back once again to another week of No Disintegrations, this week I wanted to go over the evolution of a deck from its first creation back when all we had access to was the core set up until our current card pool (Search for Skywalker). I chose to use a Rebel deck for this article for two reasons, 1) in my opinion Rebel decks have changed the most over the course of the 2 force packs and 2) I am personally a huge fan of Rebel decks, especially the vehicle variety. So without further ado let’s go over some of the changes that have been brought about over the past few months.The very first version of this deck was rather wonky. It didn't have much synergy as nothing really worked together and everything just seemed clunky. You could do some amazing objective damage but that was about all as the deck had only one unit with tactics icons, and that was edge dependent. With the right opening hand and some Rebel Assaults you could get an early lead, but if your opponent was able to stall you out somehow then there was zero chance of you coming back. When this was “the†Rebel Vehicle deck I would have 100% agreed with TinyGrimes that Rebels were terrible, mainly because they had zero consistency and zero survivability. Thankfully we had some great changes coming out to fix a few of those problems.
Jedi/Rebel Vehicles v1.0:
Affiliation:
Jedi (Core)
Total Objective Sets: (10)
2x A Journey to Dagobah (Core)
Red Five (Core)
R2-D2 (Core)
Twi'lek Loyalist (Core)
Double Strike (Core)
Target of Opportunity (Core)
2x The Defense of Yavin 4 (Core)
Red Two (Core)
Y-Wing (Core)
Astromech Droid Upgrade (Core)
Hidden Outpost (Core)
Rebel Assault (Core)
2x Mission Briefing (Core)
Mon Mothma (Core)
Battlefield Engineers (Core)
A-Wing (Core)
Heavy Blaster Emplacement (Core)
Heat of Battle (Core)
2x Fleeing the Empire (Core)
Leia Organa (Core)
Fleet Officer (Core)
Stolen Plans (Core)
You're My Only Hope (Core)
Twist of Fate (Core)
2x The Rebel Fleet (Core)
Home One (Core)
Y-Wing (Core)
Repair Droid (Core)
Hidden Outpost (Core)
Target of Opportunity (Core)
Pros:
- Lots of objective damage
- Can run VERY fast
Cons:
- Survivability
- Tactics icons
- Consistency
- Synergy
- Edge Battles
Jedi/Rebel Vehicles v2.0:
Affiliation:
Jedi (Core)
Total Objective Sets: (10)
2x A Journey to Dagobah (Core)
Red Five (Core)
R2-D2 (Core)
Twi'lek Loyalist (Core)
Double Strike (Core)
Target of Opportunity (Core)
2x The Defense of Yavin 4 (Core)
Red Two (Core)
Y-Wing (Core)
Astromech Droid Upgrade (Core)
Hidden Outpost (Core)
Rebel Assault (Core)
2x Fleeing the Empire (Core)
Leia Organa (Core)
Fleet Officer (Core)
Stolen Plans (Core)
You're My Only Hope (Core)
Twist of Fate (Core)
2x Hoth Operations (The Desolation of Hoth)
Wedge Antilles (The Desolation of Hoth)
Rogue Three (The Desolation of Hoth)
Snowspeeder (The Desolation of Hoth)
Hoth Survival Gear (The Desolation of Hoth)
Target of Opportunity (The Desolation of Hoth)
2x The Rebel Fleet (Core)
Home One (Core)
Y-Wing (Core)
Repair Droid (Core)
Hidden Outpost (Core)
Target of Opportunity (Core)
Pros:
- Lots of objective damage
- Can run VERY fast
- Synergy
Cons:
- Survivability
- Tactics icons
- Consistency
The second force pack; The Search for Skywalker, was more than anyone could have asked for to help improve this deck in so many different ways. Two of the three negatives were addressed in this force pack with the inclusion of the objective Preparation for Battle and the unit Renegade Squadron. The former gives you early game survivability to gain board presence and the latter gives you some control to lock down your opponents board. Additionally the inclusion of Echo Caverns gives you even more tricks to play as it acts both as an offensive and defensive boon for the deck. The only downside to Echo Caverns in this deck is that you will more often than not be stealing icons from your units as the trait match won’t always work in your favor. Even with that slight downside the card is hands down amazing and can lead to some huge swings in your favor if your opponent isn’t paying attention. This deck is an absolute blast to play and allows you so much utility that at times it can be scary what this deck is able to pull off. It still has a bit of consistency issues mainly because you have some very specific set pieces you need out to really get rolling, but as you are given more and more of these it takes some of the stress off needing one or two specific units.
Smuggler/Rebel Vehicles:
Affiliation:
Smugglers and Spies (Core)
Total Objective Sets: (10)
2x The Defense of Yavin 4 (Core)
Red Two (Core)
Y-Wing (Core)
Astromech Droid Upgrade (Core)
Hidden Outpost (Core)
Rebel Assault (Core)
2x Fleeing the Empire (Core)
Leia Organa (Core)
Fleet Officer (Core)
Stolen Plans (Core)
You're My Only Hope (Core)
Twist of Fate (Core)
2x Hoth Operations (The Desolation of Hoth)
Wedge Antilles (The Desolation of Hoth)
Rogue Three (The Desolation of Hoth)
Snowspeeder (The Desolation of Hoth)
Hoth Survival Gear (The Desolation of Hoth)
Target of Opportunity (The Desolation of Hoth)
2x Renegade Squadron Mobilization (The Search For Skywalker)
Renegade Squadron (The Search For Skywalker)
Renegade Squadron Operative (The Search For Skywalker)
Munitions Expert (The Search For Skywalker)
Echo Caverns (The Search For Skywalker)
Target of Opportunity (The Search For Skywalker)
2x Preparation for Battle (The Search For Skywalker)
Hoth Scout (The Search For Skywalker)
AAC-1 Speeder Tank (The Search For Skywalker)
AAC-1 Speeder Tank (The Search For Skywalker)
Tauntaun (The Search For Skywalker)
Shelter from the Storm (The Search For Skywalker)
Pros:
- Lots of objective damage
- Can run VERY fast
- Synergy
- Survivability
Cons:
- Consistency
This is the latest version of the Rebel Vehicles deck I have been trying out. TGO actually won the Chicago regional piloting this very deck and as I am a huge fan of Rebel decks I jumped on the chance to try it out. I haven’t had a ton of hands on time with the deck, but from my first five or so games with it I must say that it is loads of fun to play with. The deck does a great job of keeping the board cleared of opposing units with Heavy Blasters and Rebel Assaults all the while pumping out some massive objective damage with Rogue Three and Red Two. The addition of a few more units with the “Character†trait mean that you are able to steal icons from a Sith deck on a more consistent basis. Also don’t overlook that Battlefield Engineers are able to remove a focus token from your Echo Caverns so you get even more utility from it. At times I find myself wishing Mon Mothma was a clone of Motti because while her Edge (1) is good I would much rather be able to remove extra focus icons during my refresh step. You also lose out on Preperation for Battle with this build which means you lose some of the survivability provided by all the shielding. Outside of that minor complaint I have found that this deck hits all the notes I want to see in a Rebel deck.
Rebel Combo Vehicles:
Affiliation:
Smugglers and Spies (Core)
Total Objective Sets: (10)
2x The Defense of Yavin 4 (Core)
Red Two (Core)
Y-Wing (Core)
Astromech Droid Upgrade (Core)
Hidden Outpost (Core)
Rebel Assault (Core)
2x Mission Briefing (Core)
Mon Mothma (Core)
Battlefield Engineers (Core)
A-Wing (Core)
Heavy Blaster Emplacement (Core)
Heat of Battle (Core)
2x Fleeing the Empire (Core)
Leia Organa (Core)
Fleet Officer (Core)
Stolen Plans (Core)
You're My Only Hope (Core)
Twist of Fate (Core)
Wedge Antilles (The Desolation of Hoth)
Rogue Three (The Desolation of Hoth)
Snowspeeder (The Desolation of Hoth)
Hoth Survival Gear (The Desolation of Hoth)
Target of Opportunity (The Desolation of Hoth)
2x Renegade Squadron Mobilization (The Search For Skywalker)
Renegade Squadron (The Search For Skywalker)
Renegade Squadron Operative (The Search For Skywalker)
Munitions Expert (The Search For Skywalker)
Echo Caverns (The Search For Skywalker)
Target of Opportunity (The Search For Skywalker)
Pros:
- Lots of objective damage
- Can run VERY fast
- Synergy
- Tactics icons
Cons:
- Consistency
- Survivability
Hopefully this article has sparked everyone's interest to either try out Rebels for the first time or to keep tinkering with them as each new expansion and force pack is released. Next week I really do not have a plan yet for what deck(s) I plan to dissect, so if you have something you would like to see discussed please either post a comment below or PM me on the CardgameDB forums. Thanks again for tuning in to No Disintegrations, if you have a particular deck you would like to see discussed in the coming weeks please leave a comment. As always without each and every one of the valued members here at CardgameDB.com I would be writing to no one so I thank you for your time and may the top deck always be with you!
11 Comments
The other pod I'm surprised to not see get at least a mention is Draw Their Fire. For Rebel vehicle decks, both are common and have interesting synergies.
I personally have had some luck using 8, 8, 11, 11, 12, 12, 13, 13, 38, 38. It may not be the *most* competitive, but it can do well, even in the current meta.
Ackbar requires you to leave up 3 resources to play him, so your opponent typically will see it coming and you want to win that edge to utilize his tactics, otherwise there is very little reason to play him. That puts you in a tight spot because
a. you need to win the edge which you might not be able to do
b. 3 open resources telegraphs your possible intent, that or a rebel assault either way the DS knows to win the edge
b. if you lose the edge you lost tempo if you dont get to play Ackbar. Those 3 resources would have been better spent on a unit.
I have tried Ackbar and just dont like the deck with him in it. I would rather spend all of my resources each turn and maximize my board or try to eliminate their board with Rebel Assaults.
As for future plans I had a great time writing this article and I have been considering doing one for the Jedi and Sith decks in the coming weeks.
Fleet Command Center can just be left open. It's something I commonly do since in other cases I'd rarely want to Focus it 2 or 3 times. Ackbar's 1 damage to everything alone is useful enough at the right time. He can also be a surprise defender. Ackbar is just flexibility and if you are "telegraphing it" then that is one more thing for your opponent to worry about even if he isn't in your hand atm.
@Budgernaut
Yeah, I never found Leia's pod to synergize as well.
Rebel fighter decks have some glaring issues, but if you stack their tools right, the tools they do have can be quite strong (which is why I've used the setup I listed above).