SWLCG "Meditation and Mastery" Force Pack Review - Dark Side

Inexorable Destruction (244-1): 14 out of 15 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – If you haven’t seen it in action, getting to strike before edge is even resolved can be very powerful. Just ask Farlander and his tricks. And if you wind up also winning edge, you get to strike twice in a row before you opponent gets to strike at all. Now that’s some serious economy. Triggering the ability isn’t too hard, but not guaranteed (you at least need to have one of the fate cards in hand), but like the Rebel set’s ability, you don’t have to worry about Twists, as you just have to reveal the card in your stack. The ability pairs really well with black icons, because you haven’t won edge yet, and thus won’t get any of the edge enabled icons. Still, navy has no lack of three back gun units to just outright kill most units in the game in one blow.

yodaman (5/5) – I’ll be honest, this is the set I’ve played with the most since Meditation and Mastery dropped and I really like it. I used it in a tourney recently and it did pretty well. The objective itself is great. If you reveal a Navy fate cards during an engagement, you can immediately strike with that unit. Obviously, this is before edge stacks are resolved which means you can only use edge enabled icons, but if you can use something with black tactics, like Thrawn, to focus down their best attacker or 3 black guns like Chimaera or the Defense Platforms, it won’t matter as much. Add in the fact that if you win edge, you still get to strike first during that part of conflict and will essentially get the first two strikes off in the engagement. That’s pretty darn good. If more Navy fate cards ever come out besides the ones in this set, than this objective will be insane. It is Navy only, but I think you want to play this with mono-Navy anyway to really take advantage of its tricks.

Majestaat (5/5) – Navy got a crazy objective to stand up to the Rebels. Instant strikes are stupid strong, as Keyan and Thrawn have showed to some extent. Plus Navy's got plenty of powerful black icons to make this devastating. Unique officers with tactics; fat vehicles with triple guns or tons of blast. Every time you can trigger this, it should be making a big difference.


*Admiral Screed (244-2): 7.5 out of 15 possible points.


doctormungmung (2/5) – As a unit the Admiral is very underwhelming. His cost is only for his stats, but typically and two guns and a blast you want a pretty decent ability as well and the ability to contribute decently to the force struggle. Screed does not have these things. What he does have is an interesting pilot ability that still seems to fall a little short. He only works on capitol ships, which isn’t a problem for navy. His ship needs to survive the engagement, then he gets to do two more damage to a participating unit. So in effect, the Admiral is on clean-up duty. Two damage is not anything to sneeze at, but usually you’ll have something better to do with two resources. And as you’re not playing him as a unit either, he’s edge fodder, and his one icons kind of sucks.

yodaman (3/5) – As much as I like the objective, I’m not a big fan of Screed. Sure he’s 3 cost and has 3 health, but he only has 1 force icon and his icons are okay (1 black gun, 1 black blast, 1 white gun). He is unique so you could potentially use him with Fist. However, as a pilot he has a cool ability in that if he’s on a capital ship, then he can do 2 damage to an enemy unit at the end of an engagement, but I find myself wanting to use the 2 resources on something else rather than play him as a pilot.

Majestaat (2.5/5) – A little too late to start getting Capital Ship pilots, and sadly, it's a pretty poor start. I'm accustomed to pilots having poor stats when played as units. In a way, that's done to avoid them being too cost-efficient due to pilot resources. But you're probably not playing Screed in a deck with such resources. You won't get to SoT him either. This leaves us with just a poor unit/decent enhancement.


*Demolisher (244-3): 13.5 out of 15 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – This makes up for Screed. A four cost capital ship with standard icons and a keen ability is some to take a serious look at. It has four health, so it’s fairly sturdy. And it gets to put a damage on an unengaged objective when the engagement it’s in ends. I doesn’t even need to strike. Now that’s interesting! It can sit back and defend, and then toss a damage across the board, turning off a “while undamaged” objective, or just getting one close to destruction. Attacking it acts like Blue Leader. And what’s extra interesting is that you can damage your own objective this way, setting up a full effect Imperial Fist.

yodaman (5/5) – The Demolisher is a beefy unit that I think is worth the cost. For 4 cost, you get a 4 health unit with 4 combat icons (2 black guns, 1 black blast, 1 white blast) and a great ability. After the Demolisher survives an engagement, you get to do a damage to any non-engaged objective. That means that much like Fist and Thunderflare, you can do this damage when you are defending! Speaking of Fist, Demolisher is also unique so it will trigger Fist. The only real drawback is the lack of elite, but that’s why you want to be playing Might of the Empire with this set.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – Strong main that sacrifices a keyword for a point of extra HP. Guess we could argue about the lack of a third pip, but might have been too much with two other 3-pip cards in the same set, so I'm fine with that.
What I like most about the Demolisher is that, like the Thunderflare, it can deal objective damage on defense, which makes it a great target for Early Warning System. That's incredibly strong, further allowing Navy to heavily pressure the LS even when turtling. Disgusting.


Nebulon B2-Frigate (244-4): 9.5 out of 15 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – Now here’s an interesting ship design! Black tactics on a capitol ship is pretty much unheard of, so is worthwhile just for that. But it also has a black unit damage (eh, ok), and can copy an edge enabled icon of a participating unit. It doesn’t steal it, so you can safely copy the Gladiator’s tactics, allowing you three tactics between two ships. Or you can copy something from an opponent’ unit. Admittedly, if you don’t win edge, it’s effect is pretty useless. Which is why it loves Gladiators so much. Three cost for black tactics and three health is decent. It’s major weakness is its complete lack of force icons, meaning you really need it to get on the board to get any use out of it. It’s because of that that I didn’t rate it a four, which is sad, because otherwise it’s a really cool ship.

yodaman (3.5/5) – I may be overrating this card, but I think it pairs well in this set. I don’t like that it has 0 force icons, but it costs 3, has 3 health and comes with 1 black gun and 1 black tactics. Also, when it’s focused to strike, it gains 1 edge-enabled icon from any other participating unit (could be yours or your opponent) and that can be pretty powerful, even if it’s situational. I’ve found these ships to be really good to use in conjunction with the objective and Tactical Planning since they have the black tactics.

Majestaat (3/5) – Flavor text says "extra shielding". Doesn't have shielding. Logic.
Anyway, this is usually a decent defender with its black tactics. Its ability is rather inconsistent, as you can only copy a white icon, which means you also need to win edge for it to have any value. And the extra icon only lasts for the strike, so you can't even use, say, Tractor Beam to refresh and then go for a huge strike. Couple that with a lack of force icons and you have a displeased Majestaat. The capital ship trait does improve it fairly if you're running discounters. Maybe it's time to give Needa another chance.


Tactical Planning (244-5&6): 13 out of 15 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – The mirror of the Rebel version, it performs similarly. Three force pips goes a long way to winning an edge battle, particularly if you have a couple of twists floating around in your deck. Rebel units tend to have a lot of blast or tactics, so you’ll always have a good option on what combat icon to remove. It’s also good at lessening the impact of Luke’s Speeder Bike. One black tactic is a lot less scary than two. Getting four in a deck helps with consistency and triggering the objective if it’s out.

yodaman (4.5/5) – Much like its rebel counterpart, I really like Tactical Planning for the Navy side too. First and foremost, it triggers the objective when it’s revealed which is incredible. Then, if you are able to remove a combat icon from an enemy Rebel or neutral unit, it’s just as helpful. Add in the 3 force icons for edge and I’m sold on it.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – Just as good in Navy as it is in Rebels. Getting to deny a few points of blast damage can be enough to royally screw Rebel vehicles. Against characters, shut down their tactics and proceed to utterly destroy their low HP units. Good on its. Great against Rebels. Amazing if you also happen to have Inexorable in play.


Overall: 12.5 out of 15 possible points.

doctormungmung (4/5) – Overall this is a pretty good set. Screed brings it down, as does the lack of resources. At least there’s nothing too expensive here (but it’s also not a cheap objective set either). It’s got good edge, tricks, blast, tactics and durability. Really, except for the resource, you couldn’t really ask for more. As people like to say, “Navy likes getting good stuff”. Or something.

yodaman (4.5/5) – Navy gets another pretty powerful set. While I’ve tried it in a capital ship build with Deploy the Fleet, I think it really fits better with Yularen since it ties in with the indirect damage to objective theme of Yularen and Fist. Toss it in with a core of 2x Enforced Loyalty, 2 Tarkin Doctrine, 2 Might of the Empire and then pick 2 other sets and it should be good. It doesn’t come with a resource, but it still has 9 icons total, even with a unit that has 0 pips.

Majestaat (4/5) – Another powerful addition to the Navy arsenal. Goes well in a Capital Ship deck or a Fortress build, allowing you to experiment around a bit. Although it has no resource and its most unplayable cards have abyssmal edge counts, the other assets here are powerful enough that I can get past all that. This will be contesting for the last few slots in your Navy deck.


Hunter in the Night (245-1): 9 out of 15 possible points.


doctormungmung (2/5) – So I guess this is one of those days where I’m not feeling generous and don’t rate a blank objective with two resources as a three. See, they do happen. Although keep in mind that if perhaps it weren’t so cold out I might have rated this one higher. Such is the life of a 5/2er. This one does give you Night on the flop, although currently there’s not much to take advantage of that.

yodaman (3.5/5) – A generic 5 health, 2 resource objective. Having the 2 resource potential is always nice. The objective also has the Night keyword which has synergy with other cards in the set and might be more important later on if more sets come out with that keyword. For now, it’s a bit too situational for my taste.

Majestaat (3.5/5) – Standard two resource objective with a little upside with that night trait, though that's more of a necessity than an advantage if you want to make the set work anyway.


*Djas Puhr (245-2): 9.5 out of 15 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – Sans text, this unit is ok. It’s got the same stats as Admiral Screed, but with two more force icons, which is a significant improvement. Then there’s the text. We get our first card that cares about Night. With only six Night cards in the game (all in this set) getting both abilities turned on will be a bit of a chore (unless you like dull but resourceful objective flops). But turning Djas elite gives you a unit that can hold the force and defend with two guns every turn, which is decent. Turning on his targeted strike, though is where it’s at. Two damage elite TS goes a long way to keeping the LS board clear. It’s still going to be fairly rare, but as more Night comes out (presumably), Djas’ stock is set to rise.

yodaman (3.5/5) – Djas is an interesting unit, but a bit too situational for me. He gets bonuses from the Night keyword, but there are only a max 6 cards total in a deck, including objectives with Night on them so far. He gets elite if at least 1 card with the Night keyword is out and targeted strike if 2 or more Night cards are out. His icons are decent for 3 cost, but for the 2nd bonus, you’d definitely want a way to get him more guns. Luckily, the set comes with a way.

Majestaat (3/5) – Very dependant on what you already have in play. So he'll be edge fodder most of the time, and only will see play as a unit if you have the objective or other night cards out. Sad thing is, even at full power, he isn't super impactful due to his selection of combat icons. Seems like he needs too much setup just for an okay reward. His 3 pips really save him from mediocrity in my book.


Defel Hunter (245-3): 9 out of 15 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – This guy is in a similar boat to Djas. Sans night, he’s underwhelming. Three cost for a white tactics and a black gun is a poor investment (since he’s got the Night trait, he’ll always have at least the one gun). Three health and two force icons are nice, but still not worth three resources. But as more Night makes it onto the board, these guys turn into mini-Yoda’s (how small would a mini-Yoda actually be?). Currently these shadow monsters will max out at six black guns each, which is enough to kill pretty much anything in one shot. Add in tactics and you get some real beasts on defense. Still, usually you’ll maybe see them hanging out at two guns, which still isn’t bad. Just perhaps not three cost worth (or just barely).

yodaman (3/5) – Another interesting unit. The Defel costs 3, has 3 health and only is guaranteed 1 white tactics and 1 black gun since his ability is that he gets a black gun for each Night card in play. That could be incredible if you end up getting 3-4 Night cards out on the table, however it’s a bit situational since he could just as easily be a 3 cost 1 black gun, 1 white tactics unit. That gives him icons like Nein Numb for a greater cost. If more Night cards are released later though, it could make him a devastating defender.

Majestaat (3/5) – Underwhelming on his own. Okay with another night card out. Rather good once he reaches three guns. Again, seems like a lot of setup. Unless you already have the ideal conditions in play, you're likely not playing him. Would have prefered some sort of nerf to his stats and just make him 2-cost. Having a couple 3-cost units in the same set, and both requiring setup seems pretty bad overall.


Master of the Night (245-4): 8 out of 15 possible points.


doctormungmung (2/5) – This card is both interesting and underwhelming. You can enhance any of your cards (even your affiliation, although that’s mostly a waste, except for the safe addition of the Night trait), and protect it once from a killer effect. The problem is, the LS doesn’t have the swath of effects that the DS has to mess with cards (Force Lightning, Deadly Sight, Capture, etc etc etc). So you’re not really protecting all that much. Then there’s the fact that to get the protection you have to shuffle the enhancement back into the deck. That’s at least better than discarding it. Still, I’d like to see this card do more. Maybe if it could stop all things vs a single card (like combat icons), I’d like it more (well, no maybe about it). As is, I’m just going to say meh, and use it to give a Defel a gun.

yodaman (3/5) – This 1 cost enhancement is basically like the gun in the Han/Chewie set. It can be discarded if the card it’s enhancing is targeted. So you could potentially cancel a unit getting hit with a Shien Training or a Heat or Seeds, or you could stop a Target from doing a damage to an objective. It’s also a Night card so it can help Djas and the Defel, although if you have to discard it, it could hurt your bonuses. However, it seems too situational to me.

Majestaat (3/5) – LS doesn't have a whole lot of targeting effects, and while this card is more flexible than Han's DL-44, it doesn't provide any stat boost. So it seems like it's only a tool to boost the units here with the night trait, but as said, even in ideal conditions, they're not particularly strong, so is it really worth the bother? A single pip to boot. Not looking good. The Well Equipped in this set is what saves it with a 3.


Blaster Pistol (245-5): 13 out of 15 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Now here’s an enhancement I’ve been wanting to see for a long time. Free black gun to anyone who wants one (well, any character)! There are tons of DS units that would become a real threat if they just had a single extra gun. Well, here it is! If only it came in a set that was more palatable than it’s original set (going in the way back machine to core Boba’s set).

yodaman (5/5) – Another reprinted card. 0 cost for an extra gun. Nothing wrong with that. Can really go well with units that have targeted strike like Djas wth bonuses, or Vader/Mara with lightsabers.

Majestaat (4/5) – Simple and effective, I like that. It's free and it can enhance any character. Useful for 2 gun chuds and bigger units with targeted strike, like Djas. Shame it doesn't work with droids. Iggy-B would like this.


Well Equipped (245-6): 12.5 out of 15 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Taking any token off of a card can be pretty key. Strike in multiple engagements, heal a damage to prevent otherwise assured destruction, or free up someone to later contest the force. Admittedly, the target needs to be enhanced, but this set comes with a pair, so the opportunity cost isn’t too high. Still, it can be a little tricky to set things up right.

yodaman (4.5/5) – I still really like this fate card. Build a deck with enhancements (and this set comes with 2) and this can certainly shine.

Majestaat (4/5) – Well Equipped keeps proving to be a really good card, and we get two cheap enhancements here to make it playable. Wish I could say double striking with Djas is good, but that takes roughly 4 cards to pull. Kallus does much more for less.


Overall: 9.5 out of 15 possible points.

doctormungmung (3/5) – Currently this set is, as mentioned earlier, rather meh. Under the right draw conditions, though, you could have a four gun elite targeted strike unit plus two six gun defenders. But really you’re more likely to have over costed or underwhelming units and cards available to you. In the future, when more Night cards come out, I see this set becoming something really powerful (how many guns can the Defel actually strike with….?). Until then, it’s more of a fun set to mess around with, except that in practice it’s not likely to be all that fun either.

yodaman (3.5/5) – After a string of really good Scum sets, it really isn’t a surprise this one seems a bit weaker. If the pieces fall right, it could be pretty good, but if not it’s too situational. I like the fate card and Blaster pistol more than the units and that’s usually not a good sign. Maybe it will gain more prominence if other Night cards are released, but for now Scum just has better options when deckbuilding. It’s not awful, but it’s not on the level of the typical Scum sets that see competitive play.

Majestaat (3/5) – Wanted to give it a lower score because these night cards are really bad on their own, and only decent when comboed. However, the whole set is rather cheap at 7 total cost and it does have 9 pips. The objective kinda compensates for a lack of resource. This awards it a doubtful 3.


FINAL WORDS:
Coming in one week later than planned. My dad kicked me out of the house until I had Christmas presents for everybody. Then we had an earthquake, then summer rain (WTF?!) that flooded my room and serious family issues afterwards. Thanks a ton, Santa. Definitely an unforgettable Christmas.
Anyway, my sincere apologies for the delay.

On to the the pack, this seems to be the weakest in the Opposition Cycle so far. Scum winning streak is finally over. Kinda deserved though, so I guess that's fine.

Next will be Scrap Metal. Hopefully, Mr. Pants (aka Spicy) will be back to review with us. Again, we'll take roughly a month to test and review, having it ready by the time Power of the Force is uploaded to the site.

Many thanks to the reviewers for their hard work and the readers for their continued support.
You can check past reviews in our forum thread here.

Also, yodaman has basically turned his home into a cinema. If you're interested in watching SWLCG matches, pay a visit to Yoda's Hut.

May the Force be with you all in 2017!