SWLCG Core Box Review: Smugglers and LS Neutrals

Introducing the new Reviewers:

CobraBubbles:
I’ve been playing on and off since around the start of cycle 2. Unfortunately there are very few players in my area so I don’t get too many games in these days, but I’m an LCG nut and like the mechanics of SW a lot so I do spend plenty of time thinking and theorycrafting about the game. When I do get to play I like to experiment with pods and decks that aren’t considered tier 1 - if you’ve ever heard of me, it’s probably because I gained some notoriety by taking a Sith deck with Virago in it to the top 8 of UK nationals last year..
In writing my reviews I’ll be judging the design of the pods as well as their competitiveness, trying to highlight what was good about the design of good pods, and how bad pods might have been better design. I’ll also be looking at how these old sets are/might be used in modern decks and what new pieces could be released to make them more viable. And finally, as a regular AGoT and Netrunner player, I’m hoping I can bring some insight by comparing this game to the other LCGs. Looking forward to it!

BakaMatt:
I'm a passionate casual of the game who has played since the start, although I've been constrained to a very small playgroup and haven't once taken part in any tournament level. I originally got my ears wet with a little-known game called Magic: The Gathering in the 90s and have been a card game fan ever since, naturally gravitating to Decipher's Star Wars CCG when it arrived on the scene and dabbling into other games along the way, like the old VS System, the Lord of the Rings LCG and 1st edition Game of Thrones. I describe myself as a "passionate casual" because despite my limited direct involvement in the competitive scene, I am still very much on top of the latest news - what's making rounds in regionals/nationals/worlds, what's being said amongst numerous podcasts and what is up-and-coming in the future. I'd like to think what experience I have is made up with heart.


THE RATING SYSTEM:
We'll only be rating the pods as a whole in these series. No in-depth analysis on the individual cards, as everyone already has an established opinion on them and it would take more time than what we can afford. Sorry to disappoint.
While the following isn't particularly precise, the different scores could be seen as:
1 - Poor - Probably a combination of subpar cards, low edge and lack of synergy. Should prove to be a weak addition to a deck even when building around it.
2 - Bad - Overall a weaker pod that can have its moment when properly supported, but usually stays within the realm of "just fun".
3 - Average - A fair choice that is simply outclassed by other options in most cases. May prove to be the superior pick in very particular decks.
4 - Good - All-around solid and can most likely pull its weight by itself.
5 - Great - Cohesive set with with several strong elements which can fit in a plethora of decks. Or it may be somewhat niche but incredibly strong in certain archertypes.


THE REVIEWS:

Questionable Contacts: 13.5 out of 15 possible points.


CobraBubbles (5/5) – The first Smuggler pod in the game, and it’s a doozy. I like how evocative this set is of the Smuggler flavour. The events show that S&S are all about their tricks, while the objective shows off the faction’s propensity for gaining advantages by taking risks. At only 6 pips, the set also showcases the Smuggler trait of avoiding the edge battle instead of trying to win it, something that served them well in the heyday of the Sleuths and the Han/Chewie/Lando/Falcon decks following the release of Edge of Darkness, but has come back to bite them in recent times.
Speaking of flavour, ‘shoots first’ Han is up there with the best representations of a SW character in the game, from his abilities, his icons and his traits, right down to his cocky expression. And he remains a damn good main. Yes the 2 health is a downside, but to be honest it keeps him balanced. No other LS card in the game can dish out 3 targeted damage a turn by itself, without any kind of support. If you can keep him on the board for a few turns, Han can win you games. The rest of the set does work too, bringing plenty of tricks to keep the DS off-balance, plus one of the better 2-cost vanilla units around. It feels weird to give a perfect score to a 6-pip set, but if Han and his Smuggler friends have taught me anything it’s that sometimes you gotta take risks.

BakaMatt (4/5) – Our first sampling of Smugglers and Spies is very tasty. Han Solo is a powerhouse of stats with targeted strike that suffers a bit from a lower damage capacity. He really should have been three damage capacity based on his cost, but that hasn't stopped him from making showings alongside Protect, whether it comes from the in-faction Wookiee Life Debt or joining forces with Jedi. It's hard to beat striking for any target you want and tactics downing another, and the set would almost be worth it just to run Han. Fortunately, the rest of the set keeps up and there really isn't any dead weight here. Questionable Contacts puts in its share of work against non-aggressive dark side decks, we get a 1-for-1 resource enhancement, and the Twi'lek Smuggler is a decent unit. Crossfire would probably have been better replaced with a Heat of Battle or Target of Opportunity, but the flexibility of icon choice and ability to potentially stack with Han's Targeted Strike almost makes up for it - I'd probably have given it a second force icon, though. Swindled works well to round things out, either to mess up combat (the premier dark side Protect unit, Emperor's Royal Guard, is a great target for example) or to help with clearing the way alongside Han. Overall, this was an excellent teaser for Smugglers and still a great set today if you can shore up the weaknesses it has (low damage capacities, low edge).

Majestaat (4.5/5) – The lone Smuggler pod is still really strong by today's standards. Han is a beast who can wipe a board by himself in just a couple strikes. The chud has black tactics, we don't see that often. An efficient resource, and very handy events. Swindled is a tempo hit for your opponent that should open some space for an attack. Crossfire is super versatile, especially with someone like Han. A third gun or double tactics are devastating.
Where the pod falls is in its low edge, which isn't all that important when you're getting two units with tactics for feint attacks and almost all black-icons. But it does actually matter because of the other weakness here: the units low HP, which is also anti-synergistic with the objective, and why it got absolutely wrecked by Sith's choke spam.
This means you may only want to run the set as a 1x, or couple it with a protection set. I usually go for the former, since Secrets of Yavin 4 and Wookiee Life Debt have poor edge as well, while the Survivors is better suited for mono-jedi.


Rumors at the Cantina: 4.5 out of 15 possible points.


CobraBubbles (1/5) – Putting this tricolour-enabling pod (and it’s DS equivalent Looking for Droids) in the Core was an interesting and brave design decision, but ultimately a mistake in my view. These sets are a. not that good at doing what they’re designed to do and b. Out of place in the core set. To prove that first point, we need only look at Kiramode’s now infamous Cracken deck. Here’s a deck that is both trying to play all three affiliations, and can get amazing use out of Rescue Mission. If Rumours fit anywhere, it would be here, but it’s still not good enough to make the cut. Tells you something about how big a deal it is when a pod has no good units in it.
The main reason I think Rumours and Droids are out of place in Core is because the third affiliation on each side only gets one pod here. I’d have rather seen these pods, or something like them with better units, in Edge of Darkness once SW was truly a 6-faction game. The slots could have been better used on exploring some other neutral themes or just giving the main affiliations more cards to play with.

BakaMatt (2.5/5) – Obviously intended as the "resource smoother" for multi-factions decks, we can chalk this one up as a failure. I can understand the designers playing it safe, since if this neutral set were too powerful, it would turn into an auto-inclusion in decks, regardless of faction. However, it feels like they played things a little too safe and it ultimately hasn't seen a lot of play outside of some Leia Organa combos that solely wanted Rescue Mission (and the newer Cracken set that includes the same event outclasses this too much to point of obseletion). Deck space and flow of the game is just too tight to waste spots on marginal units like Rebel Sympathizer, and that fact that we have two copies eliminates any hope of the set providing any real punch on its own. It Could Be Worse and Rescue Mission are decent events, but horribly out of place when it comes to cohesion of the overall set. The fixing that is provided isn't even particularly great. All we really needed to get multi-faction decks going is slapping the Influence keyword on a few objectives and enhancements. Look to the new Specter sets for a revisited, more successful implementation of resource fixing and don't bother trying to shoehorn in Rumors.

Majestaat (1/5) – Not only is the set designed to support a particularly inconsistent kind of deck (tri-color), the cards in it are also individually weak for the most part, with Rescue Mission being its only redeeming piece thanks to Cracken decks (in which it's super strong).
What little niche this could have had was lost with the release of Explosives Artist. Influence on the objectives will ignore resource match requirements, while Custom Paint Job is Common Ground on crack. Thanks to that new pod, I don't think it's even worth discussing what would have made this one better. We already got the updated version.


Tribal Support: 7 out of 15 possible points.


CobraBubbles (2/5) – I’m not generally a fan of neutral pods in this game. The pod system means that the cardpool for each faction grows more slowly than in other LCGs, and filling up space with neutral sets only exacerbates that problem. That said, I think this pod and the next one both do things that neutral pods are well suited to do, so their inclusion doesn’t bother me so much as some of the later neutrals.
Tribal Support fills the most obvious role of a neutral pod, introducing a subtheme from the fiction that doesn’t fit into any of the main factions. I’m referring of course to everyone’s favourite cute little bundles of cultural appropriation, the Ewoks. But the more interesting thing that it does is introduce a mechanical theme that isn’t present in any other LS faction cards from Core: enhancement destruction. It makes sense to have this mechanic in neutral because it’s kind of a silver-bullet type of effect. No deck needs to have enhancement control in order to function. But if DS enhancements are ever tearing up the meta (Abandoned Hideout anybody?) it makes sense for you to be able to use the counters in any LS deck. Admittedly Yub Yub! was basically unplayable for a long time as there were only 2 Ewok units in the game… Put it down to teething problems.
Of course all this is pretty irrelevant to most people who play this pod. The reason it sees play is because of the sweet stealth ability on the Ewok Scouts, who represent one of the only times FFG have managed to make effectively-iconless chuds an attractive prospect. Getting one of these fellas alongside a boss main like Home One or BtS Luke can create a really disastrous situation for DS. The set still gets a two because the rest of the cards are pretty poor, but it’s definitely a high two as the Scouts can win games.

BakaMatt (2/5) – This core set is the poster child for the current state of Ewoks as a whole. In brief, they are below the power curve and don't have a place in a dedicated, themed deck. Ewok Scouts are too weak for their cost, the Log Trap even more so when you consider its targeting restrictions. Yub Yub is actually a pretty powerful effect, but it has the huge drawback of having to play Ewoks in the first place. I had glimmers of hope that this set might make a good splash in a future Ewok deck, and I'm still left waiting for it to emerge. Even after getting their share of new objectives throughout the Endor cycle, Ewoks remain underwhelming. They don't perform well enough at cost and their edge is horribly low. Ewoks are currently good at two things - being nuisances and causing problems for the opponent via a bag of tricks. The Scum and Villainy faction was in a similar spot from the beginning of the game's life cycle and have over time become a force to reckon with. A good Ewok-specific draw engine/edge booster/cost reducer might be all we need to change the tribe from a joke to competitive.

Majestaat (3/5) – Rated for Ewok decks. Surprisingly, I'd only ever want to retrieve Ewok Hunters with the objective, despite the wide selection of furballs. The Scouts value will vary wildly depending on the board's state. Their ability is strong, yes, but it was probably unjustified for them to be so cost-ineffective. Heck, at least make the gun black.
Log Trap's got some potential, but it's ultimately way to expensive for what it does, and Ewoks have no resources, so...
In my opinion, Yub Yub are the stars of the set, allowing you to deprive your opponent from resources. When you can limit what your opponent plays, then the Scouts become much better.
Set was fine as a first glance to Ewoks. And boy it spoiled them well. Like almost all their sets afterwards, this has no blast, no resource, low edge... all in order to gain some guerrilla tactics abilities. Ewoks will do a lot of annoying stuff if left alone, but they usually lack the punch to seal the deal. Guess they just reflect their role in the movies properly.


Hit and Run: 9.5 out of 15 possible points.


CobraBubbles (3/5) – This pod fills another interesting bit of neutral design space, in exploring a mechanic that is inherently neutral: fate cards. This will almost never be a pod you choose because it fits well in your deck, it’s too generic for that. Rather, it makes for a cool playstyle choice - if you really like messing with your opponents in the edge battle, you can splash this to give you a few extra ways to do that. The units let you pull some crazy tricks, and more importantly bluff those tricks to get your opponent sweating. The fate cards bring 3 different ways to swing an engagement in your favour during the edge battle. And the objective gives you a way to use that edge advantage to advance your win condition. Sure, on paper the effects here are not as good as many other pods you could put in your deck, but in the ends of a good edge battler they can still do a lot of work.
The one complaint I have is that you get two copies of this pod in the Core. Yes, it’s the pod that the rules recommend to round out the 8 pod starter decks, but I’m sure players wouldn’t struggle to move a single copy between their Jedi and Rebel decks when they switch over. And anyway, if there was just one of this and Rumours was cut, there could have been extra Jedi and Rebel pods, and we wouldn’t have that problem.

BakaMatt (3/5) – The light side wants to punch through damage and this objective gives it repeatedly and free. Twist of Fate is the absolute best fate card in the game, so any set with it is up for consideration in a deck. Heat of Battle and Target of Opportunity are also solid fate cards. This set would actually be nuts if it weren't for two very underwhelming units. Three resources is a lot to ask for any unit as fragile as Secret Informant, and while they sport average stats and a good reaction, it's better to pitch them in the edge battle, where they don't really offer much to your total, but hopefully draw you a better unit in the exchange. Despite that single flaw, Hit and Run is actually not a bad choice to shore up a deck with low edge count or fate draws. It isn't terribly flashy or strong, but it succeeds at being a neutral objective that can find a home in many deck designs.

Majestaat (3.5/5) – Fate goodies and "free" blast on the objective. This one got an important boost thanks to Rebel commandos focusing on Fate card tricks, especially with The Rebels' Hope. Sith not being as prevalent also helps the Secret Informants make it to the edge battle.
Really, the only downside here is the Informants weak stats for their cost, so it's like having a pod without units most of the time. And while they're still not something you'll want to play consistently, doing so is not as risky as it used to be. With the correct hand, they will be more than paying for themselves just by surviving the edge battle, and boy have I seen them wrecking faces thanks the some of the latest Rebel pods.



FINAL WORDS:
And so, we've finished with the Light Side pods in the Core Box. Next step will be Dark Side, starting with Sith. Should take a couple weeks.
On other news, The Ancient Rivals review is almost done. Should be up soon.

I extend my gratitude to the review team and the readers who motivated us to do this. I'm sure there's room for improvement. If you got any ideas, feel free to comment or PM me so we can make the next article even better.
I must say, however, that there's a limit to how many images can be uploaded. That's why I only selected a few images per pod.

If you're looking for more reviews, you can find them in our forum thread here.

May the Force be with you all!