Stay On Target - Moves Like Jabba

At about the same time I am finished writing this, Edge of Darkness will be arriving on store shelves everywhere, jamming a whopping 22 new objective sets into the Star Wars metagame and ushering in loads of speculation on what will be the deck to beat in the coming months. While it will probably take a little while for the dust to settle on what decks will be top tier, I can certainly say that I am excited to see what Scum and Villainy will have to offer now that it has a reputable card pool to build from. While the Smuggler faction was always just as small, it seems to have received a little more in terms of card quality and overall set effectiveness since the game’s inception. Comparing Bespin Exchange to Questionable Contacts was akin to comparing the original Star Wars Trilogy to the prequels… Han Solo was an immediate all-star, while poor Boba Fett remains, to this day, unplayable. It was clear that Scum and Villainy had some catching up to do right out of the gates.

Fast forward several months, and Edge of Darkness is poised to shake things up. For the first time, Scum and Villainy may have the tools it needs to stay competitive. At the very least, many of their cards and sets have great interactions and fun synergies that will make deckbuilding an exciting prospect. Since the first spoilers for EoD were released several months ago, one card has piqued my interest more than any other in the set – a handsome devil whose card design immediately got the wheels turning.

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Jabba the Hutt (81-2).

Jabba is one of those cards that doesn’t necessarily jump off the page at first glance. In fact, I am not really sure what I thought about him initially… 5 is an awful lot to pay for a unit; he only has 2 icons; and his ability causes him to focus to play much smaller cards. He didn’t seem as outwardly powerful as, say, The Millennium Falcon – a card with easily identifiable value across the board. Jabba did, however, have me intrigued. As more of the set became spoiled, he became the one card I couldn’t wait to try. Let’s take an in-depth look at what makes Jabba such a tantalizing prospect, other than his chiseled physique and private yacht. We’ll also take a look at a first blush S&V build using his new objective set, Jabba’s Reach.

The Set Makes the Man

As I talked about a little bit last time around, the importance of analyzing the objective set a card appears in is just as great as analyzing the card itself. With this in mind, let’s start at the beginning with a quick look at Jabba’s objective set: Jabba's Reach (81-2).

The objective itself is passable – a standard 5/1 with a useful ability that can sometimes be a game-changer. Depending on how much capture capability you’re sporting, this can net you some decent card advantage. Even one Bounty or Capture can be a huge boon to your draws. The rest of his set is a balanced mix, featuring an ever-important resource, a small unit, a good support unit, and an Edge trick. Overall, it’s certainly not the best set S&V has to offer, but it compliments Jabba nicely and provides a good foundation to build from. Jabba’s Pleasure Barge (81-3), in particular, has obvious synergy with Jabba’s printed action, as well as a number of other new S&V cards (Bossk stands out). The resource is a very attractive feature, especially in a set with a 5 cost character. In general, it’s very hard for me to turn down resource sets, and I feel like many players severely underestimate how important it is to have enough resources in a deck – especially a deck that runs expensive units. Killing Cold/ Trooper builds can get away with a skeleton resource set, but most decks will find it very hard to operate without 5-8, depending on your overall costs.

There are other little synergies about Jabba’s set that I find interesting as well. The Carbonite Transport (84-1) objective can move previously captured cards to Jabba’s Reach, upping your reserve value significantly if you can protect it. And, although having all three out is not something you can always count on, adding in The Tatooine Crash (82-1) suddenly ups your reserve value every turn. Kudos to the design team – there are some very cool interactions there. Reversal of Fate becomes stronger with effects that look at your opponent’s hand, like Get Me Solo! And Jabba’s Orders. Jabba’s Pleasure Barge, while it does cost 3, does a lot of cool things, like allowing resource-generating characters to be effective combat troops and helping to unfocus Bossk after you use his comes into play ability. Now those resource guys with Tactics icons can provide resources AND be valuable in combat.

The Swiss Army Hutt

What really stands out to me now that the whole set has been spoiled is just how flexible Jabba is (sorry for the gruesome image). Though he does have a hefty price tag, his contributions are many. So what can he do for you?

• Two black tactics icons is huge. Like Emperor Palpatine huge. Multiple Tactics icons is incredibly powerful, particularly ones you don’t have to worry about turning on. Jabba is certainly good at holding the fort down if need be

• Though you may never want to use him for an Edge Battle, his Force icons are sizable in a pinch. More relevant though, is his strong ability to hold the Force during your turn and use his action during an opponent’s turn to gain more advantage. This is some real flexibility, and Jabba can make the LS player overcompensate badly to get on top of him (again, sorry for the imagery; it’s not intentional). Commit him to the Force and take it.. if your opponent wants it back, he has to commit a sizable amount to the cause, in which case you can just use Jabba to play something else. Add his black tactics into the mix and he can fulfill whatever role is most necessary: Force holder, amazing blocker, or tempo king. The LS player will often have to make some poor choices to get around his versatility.

• Jabba’s Action is what really makes him shine. Again, it’s the versatility that makes it powerful. Sure, you are focusing a 5 cost unit to put a 2 cost card into play, but the fact that you can do it during any turn AND ignore resource matching is very enticing. Add to that the surprise value of your opponent not knowing what to expect, and you have a winner.

• He is also immune to your opponent’s events. While this is not a crazy good ability (like a Targeted Strike), it is a nice stumbling block that ensures you will get the most out of him. Rebel Assault, Jedi Mind Trick, and a host of Smuggler events are great ways to get around bigger characters, and Jabba shrugs them off, forcing your opponent to get rid of him the old fashioned way. His black tactics icons also help with the Targeted Strike problem. While 3 health is not outstanding, combined with his other attributes it is enough to keep Jabba standing (sitting?) for quite a while.

So, what exactly do we do with Jabba’s Action to maximize its effectiveness? Several cards in Edge of Darkness are obvious choices, including Bounty (80-5), which can be played during an opponent’s Force phase for maximum effectiveness (no chance of it being discarded). How about an Emperor’s Royal Guard any time you want? Stormtroopers of all sizes and Ice Trompers also make for exciting surprises against certain attacks. A handful of cards makes Greedo a real threat. Dropping extra Control Rooms during your opponent's turn also lets you ramp up the resource advantage. Jabba lets you keep extra cards handy for Edge Battles if you really need them too, as you can always use his ability to play them later if things work out. As the card pool increases, so will his usefulness, and while nothing about his action is in any way broken, its versatility makes it a powerful weapon.

Tying it all Together

So where does Jabba fit into a DS build? That question will probably take a little more time to answer correctly, but, in the mean time, here is a first pass at a S&V-focused Dark Side build, splashing a little Sith for good measure. When in doubt, go with what you know, and this build certainly bears a passing resemblance to some of the classic Sith control variants. This is all completely theoretical, as Edge of Darkness has yet to hit the shelves at the time of this writing, but it should serve as a nice testing ground for some of the new cards.

Big Green Bus

Affiliation: Sith

2x Jabba's Reach (81-1)

• Jabba the Hutt (81-2)
• Jabba's Pleasure Barge (81-3)
• Gamorrean Guard (81-4)
• Prized Possession (81-5)
• Reversal of Fate (81-6)

A resource set that also sets us up with Jabba and his Pleasure Barge. Even at 1 captured card, Jabba’s Reach can generate great card advantage. Jabba’s Pleasure Barge does some cool things with Bossk as well as Jabba himself. A great foundation set to begin with.

2x Trandoshan Terror (85-1)

• Bossk (85-2)
• Trandoshan Hunter (85-3)
• Trandoshan Hunter (85-4)
• Bounty (85-5)
• Heat of Battle (85-6)

Wow, is this set good. I mean really good. Bossk is an amazing value, with or without using his comes into play effect, and his two Trandoshan Hunters are solid units that will be very valuable against the destined to be popular Wookies. Heat of Battle and Bounty are also perfect fits for added character control. Bounty makes a wonderful Jabba target also, ensuring a quick capture. Overall, this is probably my pick for best Bounty Hunter set out of the gates, although I am sure that analysis will change. There's not much subtlety here, just pure power.



2x Carbonite Transport (84-1)

• Slave I (84-2)
• Traitorous Wing Guard (84-3)
• Prized Possession (84-4)
• Tractor Beam (84-5)
• Target of Opportunity (84-6)

Slave 1 can act as a Devastator-like hitter in this build. If you are forced to go into aggressive mode, there are not many cards that will be better. Carbonite Transport can boost Slave 1’s icons, as well as Jabba’s Reach. Tractor Beam combos very well with Jabba’s Pleasure Barge. Also, Carbonite Transport has a resource, upping its value immediately in a deck with so many high cost cards.

2x The Emperor's Web (23-1)

• Emperor Palpatine (23-2)
• Emperor's Royal Guard (23-3)
• Sith Library (23-4)
• Force Lightning (23-5)
• Force Choke (23-6)

The Emperor’s Web gives us a quality set, adding to our character control and giving us another large control character to compliment Bossk and Jabba. The Royal Guards are very valuable, protecting all of our main characters – they also have some added synergy with Jabba. We are also sitting flush with 6 limited resource cards. A worthy splash.

2x The Tatooine Crash (82-1)

• Jawa Scavenger (82-2)
• Jawa Scavenger (82-3)
• Sandcrawler (82-4)
• Utinni! (82-5)
• Twist of Fate (82-6)

The last two slots for the deck were the toughest to figure out. In the end, the Crash’s free Jawas, Twist of Fate, and overall synergy with the other sets grants it a trial spot. Feeding the Pit and Lucrative Contract are out due to our inclusion of Palpatine, and Hive of Scum and Villainy is probably not necessary for the same reason, as Force Lightning does the brunt of the work anyway. The double Utinni! is a huge bonus here, giving targeted enhancement capture which can also fuel Jabba’s Reach. The Tatooine Crash/ Carbonite Transport/ Jabba’s Reach opening is something I have to try just once. We’ll see how it pans out. I will make a bold prediction that the 0 cost Jawa is going to be an all-star.

What we end up with is a build that plays a lot like Sith control in theory – big threats to dominate the game and plenty of character control. Slave 1 and Palpatine can go offensive if the game swings that way, and there are plenty of ways to deal with your opponent’s threats via capture (Bossk, Bounty) and kill (Force Choke, Force Lightning). Our resource count is decent (at 6 limited resources), and we have several good targets for Jabba’s Action in Emperor’s Royal Guard, Bounty, and Trandoshan Hunters, not to mention a sneaky second limited resource play during the LS player’s turn.

Scum and Villainy has tons of synergy between their new sets, and I am excited to try out all kinds of wacky builds in the coming weeks. Though I am certainly afraid that the Smugglers will be more powerful overall, the S&V has some inspired design mechanics, and I can't wait to explore them further. So what are your favorite Scum and Villainy cards and interactions? Am I crazy for not playing Capture? Let us know!

Until next time!

You can't name an article Moves Like Jabba and not include this video - Darksbane
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2ftVPk-WZw