SWLCG: "Ready for Takeoff" Force Pack Review

"Ready for Takeoff" Force Pack Review


THE REVIEWERS:
-Majestaat, 2014's Chilean champion.
-chunkygorillas, 2014's Canadian champion.
-colsanders, author of the Fearless and Inventive articles.
-doctormungmung, Massachussets' evil genius.

Toqtamish is on a ton of projects and has officially left the party. I really wanted a fifth reviewer for more consistency with the scores, and Neil (RedSquadronK) from the Smuggler's Den team kindly offered to help us for future articles, so look forward for his review on our next entry!


THE RATING SYSTEM:
It's to be noted that due to the SW:LCG's unique way of deckbuilding, it's impossible to just pick the stronger cards. You're likely to stick with some undesirable cards no matter what. Hence, the different scores could be seen as:
1 – Poor – Edge fodder. Drops the total value of its objective set.
2 – Bad – Most likely edge fodder. Either too situational or not strong enough for its cost.
3 – Average – Not stellar but does its job decently.
4 – Good – Solid card with guaranteed impact.
5 – Great – Gamechangers you will always be glad to see and play, if able.
* = indicates unique card.

THE BIG DEALS:


Top 5 Cards (they're actually 6 this time, don't mind us):
1 – Baron Fel (The Empire's Elite) with 19 pts.
2 – Black Two (Black Squadron Formation) with 19 pts.
3 – Rogue Squadron X-Wing (Rogue Squadron Assault) with 19 pts.
4 – 181st TIE Interceptor (The Empire's Elite) with 18 pts.
5 – Rogue Squadron Assault / Black Squadron Formation, both with 17 pts.


Overall best rated Objective Set:
The Empire's Elite, with an overall score of 19 out of 20 points.


THE REVIEWS:

Rogue Squadron Assault (141-1): 17 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (4/5) – A great effect to boost the Rebels' normally poor edge or simply feed Defense of Yavin IV. Though it doesn't trigger off of Speeders, playing this with Attack Pattern Delta can work pretty well. Use APD to get a fighter in play during your opponent's turn and draw that extra card, maximizing the benefits from this objective.

chunkygorillas (4/5) – This objective is really strong, drawing a card after playing a card is a great way to keep card advantage, and synergizes really well with “Defense of Yavin 4” to keep your hand size up. I do wish this objective was not limited to fighters though, it was disappointing playing this with speeders and realizing I was not able to draw after playing a speeder.

colsanders (5/5) – Card draw. Almost nothing else has to be said here. The fact that it works so well with Defense of Yavin is just crazy. So good.

doctormungmung (4/5) – What a fitting way to start off the vehicles cycle than with an objective focused on Rebel fighters. Rebel vehicles have been tier 1.5 for a while, but lacking the consistence necessary to really get them there. What better way to help with that than card draw! Replace that card in hand when you put out a vehicle or pilot. Keeping hand size is important, obviously for edge battles, but also for things like Defense of Yavin IV. The thing keeping this objective from being a 5 / 5 is the limit once per turn on the draw. But that could get a little nuts if you keep hitting Attack Pattern Delta.


*Derek "Hobbie" Klivian (141-2): 14 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (3/5) – He can arguably be the ultimate pilot in the sense that he will, theoretically, always be available thanks to his interrupt (as long as you don't discard him. He must be in play to use his interrupt). However, the big letdown is that he doesn't really provide anything for the vehicle by himself, so he's completely dependant on the text of the card he is being attached on.

chunkygorillas (3/5) – This card is strange, by itself it doesn’t really do that much, other than fulfill a vehicles pilot condition, or be a pretty decent edge card. He gets to be a pretty card if you can get him on one the new X-Wings in this set, but if you don’t have one of those to attach him to he becomes not so great again. In the future if my vehicles come out that do things just for being piloted I think he will get better.

colsanders (4/5) – At first glance your like, "This is terrible! I would never play him as a normal unit, and when he is piloting, he doesn't do anything!". Not so fast my friend. Derek is possibly the most annyoing looping card you are going to see for the Rebels. All thanks to those 3 force icons and the next two ships...

doctormungmung (4/5) – Here we have a nigh immortal unit. Did he get choked? Don’t worry, he’ll be back. His X-Wing get shot down? Give him a minute. The only way you’re losing him is to capture, or pitching him in an edge battle. While he’s nothing flashing in the cockpit, he is just about the perfect pilot for a Rogue Squadron X-Wing. Pay one for double striking this turn, or guaranteeing a single attack after getting focused out. And do it again next turn. Although until we get some more vehicles that like to be piloted, he is a bit combo-restricted. At least those combo cards come in his own set, which is always good to see that internal synergy.


Rogue Squadron X-Wing (141-3&4): 19 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (5/5) – Huge, huge boost for the Rebels. Sure, it's no Black Sun Headhunter, but it has very impressive stats for its cost regardless. Add a cheap pilot like Hobbie and you got yourself an unkillable, hard to lock, heavy-hitting powerhouse.
I don't personally think the lack of force icons can drop it to less than a 5, as you'll probably want to play these anytime you can, but they do leave the set with a mediocre number of force icons, which can hurt the health of your deck.

chunkygorillas (4/5) – Straight up upgrades to previous X-Wings, with their fabulous 3 health and black icons, they also have a sweet ability to let them strike twice if you can get a pilot on them, and like I said they combo super well with “Hobbie”. Only downside is the lack of force icons, really brings down this sets total edge count, but I am still happy to get 2 of those in the set.

colsanders (5/5) – Bam, that is why Hobbie is so good. He has one goal in life, to pilot these starships, unfocus and heal them, then come right back into play the next turn or via Stay on Target. The no force icons isn't really an issue, your going to play these guys when you draw them and attack with them, so they wouldn't be committed anyway.

doctormungmung (5/5) – For two cost, you couldn’t ask for a better unit. Three health is very robust, and scoffs at Vader and his reaction. Two black icons, including a blast is also great for the cost. But the real kicker is the built in Force Rejuvenation. Locked down by Palpatine? Pitch Hobbie and clear off all those focus tokens. Don’t worry about adding things like an Astromech Droid, since the only thing that’s likely taking this unit out in a single shot is a Force Lightning or Deadly Sight. And if the DS wants to use something like that on a two cost unit, that seems like a good trade. The only real downside to the unit is the lack of force icons, but at two cost, you’d want to be deploying all of these that you see anyway, so it’s not that big of a loss.


Pilot Ready Room (141-5): 15 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (4/5) – A non-limited, Rebel resource, that's quite strong. Not much use for the ability right now, though it can help to play Hobbie for free as a pilot or pay 1 to play him as a unit, which is pretty decent. Considering most sets in this cycle should include a pilot, I can see this becoming a very important resource. Lack of force icons hurts again, and until we get a few more pilots, you're better considering this a 2 for 1 resource.

chunkygorillas (4/5) – I gave this card a high rating even though right now there may not be enough pilots to get a lot of value out of it because in the future when we have a couple more light side pilot sets this resource will be crazy good, in the right decks even better than the force resources from the last cycle. It’s also non-limited, what is fantastic for resource acceleration.

colsanders (4/5) – Same as the other Pilot resources.

doctormungmung (3/5) – The first of the cloned pilot resources. For a resource with an ability, it’s got the usual cost inefficiency, but if you can time it with also playing a pilot that turn, you’ve nulled it out. Currently there aren’t all that many pilots to take advantage of it’s ability, but as the cycle progresses, that’s bound to change. So if vehicles can muscle their way into the meta, this card will surely go up in value.


Stay on Target (141-6): 16 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (4/5) – Honestly, I think this might be the strongest fate card not called Twist of Fate if it weren't because it's inconsistent, especially where we are now: with a lack of pilots.
Whereas Heat of Battle and Target of Opportunity have an impact over 90% of the time, Stay on Target requires a vehicle in play and a pilot in hand or your discard pile to be useful, so it does demand some setup. However, with how diverse the abilities on pilots are, this one can be an extremely versatile card, making it much more difficult to prepare against it. You can predict Heats, Battles and Seeds. In this case, while that's also true, you can't predict the exact effect of the card until you already have some information on your opponent's deck.

chunkygorillas (4/5) – This fate card is super solid, it does three things really, it can save a pilot from the dead, it can save you resources and get a pilot in for free, and it can also allow you to catch your opponent off guard with a surprise pilot. Only downside is when you have no targets for it, and then it is just a 2 pips in the edge.
In this set it also works really well with “Hobbie” since you can throw him in the edge for his high edge count, then save him later and attach him to a vehicle.

colsanders (5/5) – Why more than the DS version? Right now the LS just has better candidates. Luke, Wedge, Hobbie, Rookie Pilot, are all more annoying than the DS pilots. Well, maybe not the Rookie Pilot.

doctormungmung (3/5) – Another card that’s going to go up in stock as the cycle progresses. As far as fate cards go, it’s fairly situational. You need a vehicle in play, and a pilot in hand or discard. But under those circumstances you can pull off some nifty things. Like bringing Hobbie back from the jaws of death to fly again (and head back to hand after refreshing his Rogue Squadron X-Wing). Or get that Rookie Pilot onto a Rogue Squadron X-Wing to show the Emperor he’s worth something after all.


Overall: 18 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (5/5) – While the set is has some issues (ex: low edge count, relative dependency on pilots) that can really prevent it from shining outside of pilot/vehicle decks, it's simply too strong in that particular archetype, and should be the core of Rebel fighter decks for a very long time.

chunkygorillas (4/5) – I really think this is the kind of set a rebel fighter deck needed, it offers all really solid cards, and I think it will definitely be a staple in future fighter decks.

colsanders (5/5) – Great way to start the cycle for the Rebels. It has card draw, resource, fate card and really good units. Solid all the way around.

doctormungmung (4/5) – I think this set adds a lot to LS vehicles (specifically Rebel vehicles). If you can get the combo rolling of a Rogue Squadron X-Wing and Hobbie, you’re good to go for consistent objective damage. And if the objective was out, you’ve got another card in hand to help you keep up the tempo. Only time will tell if this set will be enough for vehicles to make their mark, but if nothing else they are in a much better place than they were before.


Memories of Taanab (142-1): 13 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (3/5) - I'm not sure what to make out of this. The effect is decently strong and you can keep using it over and over as long as you have the pilots to feed it. Of course, you need some pilots in the first place -hopefully attached to vehicles, otherwise it would seem like you're losing more than your opponent-, and of course, the enemy units having at least one edge-enabled icon.

chunkygorillas (3/5) - This objective isn’t bad, just not exactly what I wanted out of it I guess. It doesn’t stop the unit from actually striking, but it does help lock them down what is okay, but this objective is too restrictive, they need to have an edge-enabled icons and you have to have a Pilot out. Most the pilots aren’t affected by being focused so it’s not much of a cost at least.

colsanders (4/5) – Okay, so right now there are not that many pilots available to trigger this reaction, but there are going to be more. When there are enough to have say, 10 pilots in your deck, this Reaction is going to be Uber annoying. Rookie Pilot can trigger this, just sayin'.

doctormungmung (3/5) – I’ll revise the score up when there are more pilots out, but right now the ability is a little starved for payment sources. Still, if you can afford it, the effect is solid. Shut down most non-elite units for a turn. Unfortunately, the big guns like Vader or the Emperor have become more shy about committing to the force due to Seeds, although if they aren’t fearing that, you could shut them down too. Although I have a feeling that this objective will have a similar effect to Seeds. Which isn’t a bad thing, if you can somehow grab the force for a turn or two. Ideally you want your pilot to be piloting something, so that the focus token on them doesn’t reduce their combat effectiveness, but in a pinch they can still help you out while in the ready room. If nothing else, it gives the Rookie Pilot something else he can do!

*Lando Calrissian (142-2): 13 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (3/5) - While the first Lando focused on the sneaky aspect of Smugglers, this one focuses on the gambling aspect of them, which I love. His effect can be crazy strong, but it is unreliable. I hated Gamor Run because it was way too safe, no risks associated. With Lando, however, you're investing quite a lot, and in a set that has only 7 edge icons and no strong edge card. Where is Lando's ace up his sleeve? No true gambler gambles without one, and I don't see it here. Just one card to make an edge battle easier could have easily pushed Lando up to a 4.
chunkygorillas (3/5) – I really wanted to give this card a higher rating, but I just can’t seem to get him to work right, you really need to be able to win the edge to make it work and smugglers have problems doing that consistently.

colsanders (4/5) – As a normal unit, Lando gets a little cheaper than his predacessor, but loses his elite. Keeping that tactic is good though. But if he is in a ship, your opponent HAS to win edge. I'm picturing him on the new Falcon that was spoiled. Attack with him on the Falcon, your opponent blocks with Palpy, if you win edge, dead Palpy or at least no tactics coming. If they burn thier hand and win edge, you simply remove the Falcon, then use Memories to lock down Palpy, then attack a different objective. Win win.

doctormungmung (3/5) – Lando keeps his original stats, which are pretty solid. But without his old “get out of dodge” ability, he’s much riskier to send into battle. And being effectively blank unless he’s piloting something, most of the time he’ll see use on a vehicle on some sort. If he is, and you can swing edge, you’ve got a monster. Palpatine, Vader and the Executer all defending? No worries. Or, the same crew all attacking. The only problem is that Lando needs to win edge, and Smugglers aren’t that great at that. The best shot would be to mix Lando in with some Jedi, and hopefully get him on the Crow or Red 5. But in a Smuggler deck, he loses a bit of his luster.

Systems Patrol Craft (142-3&4): 8 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (2/5) - Major letdown. With no blast damage of their own and no smuggler affiliation to gain, for example, the bonus from Across tje Anoat Sector, having two of these in the set really hurts it. Protect is nice, but it's not enough to make them worthy. I can only hope we get more powerful, self-damaging Smuggler objectives to perhaps meke the Patrols shine at some point.
chunkygorillas (2/5) – I really hate getting two of these guys; they really make it hard to fit Lando into a pilot heavy deck since they really want to be in a heavy Smuggler and Spies deck. They also aren’t great targets for Lando to pilot, they just aren’t great at attacking… the protect is nice though, keeping “Trust Me” alive longer is pretty awesome.

colsanders (2/5) – The two chuds in the set I am not really high on. Yes there are some interesting things to mix them with like Questionable Contacts or Trust Me, but more than likely I am going to be ditching these guys in an edge battle. I'm lightside, I want blast!

doctormungmung (2/5) – Here’s where the set starts to fall apart a bit. Lando wants to be running with edge powerhouses (read Jedi). But these guys want to be helping out the edge starved sets like Raise the Stakes, or Trust Me, or Questionable Contacts. They will also help out if you’re facing an aggressive DS deck, although that’s more of a delaying tactic, as they’re not going to be doing much damage to the DS objectives while protecting yours. Maybe if there weren’t two of them, or if they cost one, or had an edge enabled objective damage, something, I’d be more enthused by this unit. As is, I’d be pretty sad ever seeing more than one of these in my hand.

Conner Net (142-5): 8 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (2/5) - Rather strong against Navy Capital Ships and Walkers. That's about it. Other vehicles don't have that many icons to really care, or belong to factions that don't have that bad an edge. Worse when you consider whis own set has subpar edge, so even against the ideal targets, you may not get anything out of this.
chunkygorillas (2/5) – I really don’t like this card, if you’re playing against characters it’s useless and you still have to be able to win the edge against the unit you put it on to make it do anything. It does help you use “Memories of Taanab” though, what I guess is okay.

colsanders (3/5) – Could be useful, a lot of the times it won't be though. TIE decks have tons of Edge now, so they don't really care. If you run into a capital ship deck though, this could be pretty usefull.

doctormungmung (1/5) – Is Lando facing down an AT-AT Assault Formation? Well, now there’s a solution for that. Zero cost anythings are nice, although this one is fairly limited. It’s Lobot in enhancement form. But to get anything from it you’ll have to win the edge battle, which again circles back to the lack of synergy in this set. Not being able to affect characters or creatures just adds to the handicapping of this card. If it had an extra force icon, then it might be decent for the edge, but as is, the corner cases are just too limited to make me think this card is any good.

A Little Maneuver (142-6): 15 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (4/5) - A panic button for when you lost the edge in that critical edge battle. Cute. Would have liked something to actually win the edge instead. Mind me not, as this is a really strong card that can prevent you from losing the game, and the only con it has is that cost of 2, which is big, actually.
chunkygorillas (4/5) – This card is pretty interesting; it can be used to make the waste their best defender. It’s a little expensive though.

colsanders (3/5) – I have not yet run into the situation where this could seal a game for me yet. Normally its just getting use in the actual edge battle. I could see that late in a game, when the winner could come down to one edge battle for tactic icons, this can make things interesting.

doctormungmung (4/5) – Now here’s some Smuggler synergy! Lose that all important edge battle? Well, now you can just cancel that whole battle and try again (admittedly at a different objective). This works really well with units with Edge (like the Falcon), as you can whittle your opponents edge hand down to a much more manageable level. If you weren’t hamstringing the Falcon by doing so, Lando would be a great pilot for it, especially if this card is in hand. It’s cost is on the high side, and having this in hand means you don’t have as many cards to draw down your opponents edge hand with. Still, if this means Han gets to shoot first twice, then that’s almost worth the price of admission right there.


Overall: 10 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (2/5) - FFG hasn't done the best job at making me want to play Lando. That's disappointing. I really feel like this will need an entirely new set dedicated to strengthen it to make it worth running. Hope I'm wrong, because I really want to see Lando hitting the tables.
chunkygorillas (3/5) – I’m not really in love with this set right now, but if it gets some help from the rest of this cycle I could se it getting much better. With the two copies of “Systems Patrol Craft” I think only 1 copy of the set will be run.

colsanders (3/5) – It started really really well with the objective and Lando, then it lost a lot of steam with those units. The remainder of the set is situational most of the time, but that objective ability is still something to keep an eye on down the road.

doctormungmung (2/5) – The two different directions that this set wants to go in keep it from really shining. Maybe if Smugglers get something that boosts their edge ability, this set will see more use, but as is, I feel like half the set will be fairly useless in whatever deck it’s in.


Black Squadron Formation (143-1): 17 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (5/5) – Getting to choose what you retrieve makes this incredibly versatile. None of the current options available are mind-blowing, but except for the Black Squadron Pilot and "Backstabber" (they are too expensive for what they contribute, normally), Black Squadron cards are actually quite decent and fulfill very different roles. Black Two is a great defender and protect is invaluable given how fragile TIEs are, generally. "Mauler" Mithel is a cheap pilot for when you want to trigger your vehicles's abilities, TIE Advanced are overall decent attackers and Vader's TIE Advanced (Core set) is big in edge battles. The Pilot Vader set should provide another good array of choices for this objective.
On the bad side, pure TIE decks have weak economy, which means losing that resource can hurt a big deal. But two DS sets that in this pack that work very well together have a resource, yay!

chunkygorillas (4/5) – This objective is great, it can get your best units back for the dead and can make sure you always have tie fighters to play. If we get more Black Squadron units this objective will surely be a staple of Black Squadron themed decks.

colsanders (5/5) – Standard 5/1 with a fantastic ability. In any card game, getting cards back from discard/dead/whatever pile is always good. The fact that it is not limited to just the fighters makes it even better down the road.

doctormungmung (3/5) – Card recursion is great, especially if you can pull a key unit back from the discard pile. In this case, though, you are doing that at the cost of a resource, so it’s effectively a one cost event. Then you have to pay the cost of playing that unit again. It’s no Return of the Jedi, but still, in a deck archetype where you are going to have a lot of low cost units, it’s not that bad. And the art on it is really awesome!


*"Mauler" Mithel (143-2): 16 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (4/5) – Cheap pilots like him are fantastic, as they make it easy to play both the vehicle and the pilot in a single turn, even early game. Unlike "Hobbie", "Mauler" does provide some extra utility. His ability should feel fairly strong because even a single TIE fighter can wreck faces thanks to cards like Tallon Roll and Death from Above, forcing the opponent to defend. Then you can retreat and focus your damage on another objective, facing less opposition. Heavy tactics can indeed ruin your plans, but Black Squadron Assault and, again, Tallon Roll, can help against that.

chunkygorillas (5/5) – I love this card, the Pilot cost of 1 is such a good deal and the ability has so many uses and “Mithel” doesn’t even have to be in the engagement to use it. It can really help keep a tie fighter alive or it can make your opponent waste a blocker.

colsanders (3/5) – With all of these pilots that we are going to be getting, to be good I feel as though that they will be able to function even out of their ship. Stat wise, Mauler isn't bringing that much to the table. Only two health for three cost isn't good. His two force icons won't help much since he is not elite. He is fantastic on a fighter though, being able to Lando your fighters out of conflict can do some combat math problems for your opponent.

doctormungmung (4/5) – As a straight up unit, he’s kind of ho-hum. His icons are decent for the cost, although the health is low. But if you’re playing him as a unit, things are going poorly. As a pilot he’s dirt cheap, and has a decent ability. He’s effectively “Lando-lite”. While you can’t pull an opponents unit out of a battle, you can save a key unit of your own. You can also throw someone in on defense to make your opponent spend some edge cards, then pull out the defender to defend again in the next engagement. And with Black Squadron Assault removing that focus, Mauler can do that twice a turn.


*Black Two (143-3): 19 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (5/5) – Emperor's Royal Guard for vehicles. For the price of one extra resource and unique (why there are so few cards that interact with the unique keyword is beyond me), you get one black tactics instead of the white unit damage, the possibility of recurssion thanks to the objective and a huge ability for a unit that has protect. Granted, you need a pilot and there aren't many to choose from yet. Hopefully that will change soon. Anyway, this is an awesome defender that can potentially provide a ton of extra survavility for TIE-based deck.

chunkygorillas (5/5) – Protect and black tactics is something tie decks really needed, and this unit is an extremely efficient protector while it’s piloted. This card will just get better and better as we continue to get more pilots.

colsanders (5/5) – This is a great addition to TIE decks. It gives you two important things that they have needed, protect and tactics. I really don't mind that it has no blast damage, you'll be getting plenty of it from your other TIE fighters. The fact that it ignores the first point of damage is just icing on the cake. Don't forget that its any vehicle it can protect...(wheels turning).

doctormungmung (4/5) – DS gets some vehicle protect. Admittedly, it’s only for fighters, but really, they’re mostly the ones that need it. TIE Bombers get a lot less squishy with Black Two on the board. And along with that protect, DS also gets some black tactics to go with those vehicles. That’s really really good. Particularly when you realize you can Talon Roll and turn that single tactics into two or three. The damage reduction is almost like shielding that can be used once per phase, which helps with the fact that Black Two is unique, and thus you’re never going to get the protect wall that Sith can achieve. Although it does need to be piloted to get that extra protection, and with a grand total of three pilots currently that might be a little tricky.


TIE Advanced (143-4): 14 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (4/5) – Would normally rate it with a 3, but this set has enough support to make the TIE Advanced a royal annoyance: recurssion, survavility and maneuverability, in particular. A solid 2-cost unit to go aggressive.

chunkygorillas (4/5) – This is one of the best if not the best 2 cost tie fighter so I am super glad to see this get reprinted. Having 4 in a deck is totally welcomed by me.

colsanders (3/5) – The first reprint of the cycle, an all-around good sturdy TIE. The Black Squadron trait is even better now.

doctormungmung (3/5) – A reprint of a good card is good. TIE Advanced bring Talon Roll-able black objective damage with the all important two health. And with the TIE swarm, it’s not all that difficult to make sure you can get that extra unopposed bonus. Being tagged Black Squadron helps with the recursion or built in Talon Roll of Black Squadron Assault. And it’s pullable by Superior Numbers. It’s a good, solid, aggressive unit.


Death Star Ready Room (143-5): 15 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (4/5) – I was complaining how TIE decks didn't have resources, and here we got an excellent one. "Mauler" can pilot stuff for free, or get into play as a unit for only 2 resources, in which case he has actually rather good stats.
Oh, and Black Squadron Pilot becomes an amazing enhancement for one resource. The Jedi Lightsaber of DS fighters!

chunkygorillas (4/5) – Same thing applies as the Rebel version of this card; it is an extremely efficient resource that will continue to get better as the cycle progresses.

colsanders (4/5) – The new must need resource for the cycle. Its only really usefull if your going to be playing at least 3 or more pilot sets, which TIE decks more than likely will. I really wish that it had a force pip like the other unlimited resource enhancements. It's a Sith resource which I like as well.

doctormungmung (3/5) – The Sith version of Pilot Ready Room. What I said there applies here, with nothing really to add or subtract.


Stay on Target (143-6): 15 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (4/5) – Same things I said in the Rogue Squadron Assault set. I do think recovering "Mauler" is better than recovering "Hobbie".

chunkygorillas (4/5) – This fate card is super solid, it does three things really, it can save a pilot from the dead, it can save you resources and get a pilot in for free, and it can also allow you to catch your opponent off guard with a surprise pilot. Only downside is when you have no targets for it, and then it is just a 2 pips in the edge. Bringing in “Mauler Mithel” as a surprise is pretty amazing also.

colsanders (4/5) – One of the two new fate cards were going to get this cycle, and I really like it. Another way to use your cards multiple times, just like the objective, makes this big time card advantage. Putting your Baron Fel or Mauler Mithel in the edge battle, then getting them back on their ship let's you get the most out of those cards.

doctormungmung (3/5) – See my comment for the Death Star Ready Room. Although the Black Squadron Pilot or Fel can be a very nasty surprise if they suddenly show up during an edge battle. Fel’s edge will apply to the edge total, so that can be a really unexpected swing if the LS was thinking they were set to take the edge. And sometimes an extra unit damage and blast damage can tip the scales.


Overall: 16.5 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (4/5) – Great addition for TIE fighter decks. It has enough internal synergy to work without more Black Squadron sets, which is fantastic. While it lacks the punch other fighter sets have, this one compliments them nicely with its utility.

chunkygorillas (4.5/5) – Every card in this set is fantastic and it really helps improve tie fighter decks. I think this set will be a staple in tie decks for some time.

colsanders (4/5) – A very good inclusion into TIE decks, or any vehicle decks depending on what other type of pilots we get. The Protect is the big winner from this set though.

doctormungmung (4/5) – TIEs get a big boost from this set, as well as the fledgling Black Squadron sub-archetype. It’s got a good mix of offense and defense, although it’s tipped more towards the defensive side. If it’s enough to help out TIEs when they don’t see the offense they need to close the game out quickly is yet to be seen, but it’s a big step in the right direction.


The Empire's Elite (144-1): 16 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (4/5) – It's finally here! Was spoiled aeons ago, and man have I been looking forward to this set. The objective is situational, but really, a great insurance for the heavy investment of getting a pilot into a fighter, which on average should cost around 4 and requires two cards. The objective will make sure you can keep your combos going. Or worst case scenario, gives a slight boost to your edge with that card advantage.

chunkygorillas (5/5) – This objective is insane, it can give you some great card advantage and it can help keep your best units alive.

colsanders (3/5) – Normal 5/1, with a potentially good reaction. The fact that it is very situation is what keeps the score low. Most of the time this is going to be a blank objective. However, when you do happen to lose that TIE with Fel on it, he won't be gone for long.

doctormungmung (4/5) – TIEs are a dime a dozen, but as the cycle progresses, there will be more and more fighters that you’ve invested in that you really want to make sure affect the war. Same thing with some pilots. Fel, for example, is someone you want to keep on the board as long as possible. This objective helps with that. Bringing a fighter and pilot back to hand means that at most you’ll be out a LS turn before they come back to the table. You still have to prioritize your current forces, since it’s only once per turn, but that’s a lot better than losing them for the rest of the game.


*Baron Fel (144-2): 19 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (5/5) – Hands down the best pilot in the game at this point. Like others, he is subpar when played as a unit at full cost. His combination of stats make him a decent force holder and defender, though you will rarely play him as a unit. He shines when piloting, and man is his bonus huge. In the correct deck, basically all your units will become elite and gain edge (1). I can't stress how strong that is, patching most of the TIEs' weaknesses, allowing you to keep pumping fighters to win edge and maybe even snatch the Force. All hail the king of pilots!

chunkygorillas (5/5) – I can’t find a reason to not run this set in a tie deck because of this card. Giving all your fighters edge (1) and elite is just insane! Tie fighters have always had troubles with their units getting locked out and losing the edge battle and this helps with both.

colsanders (5/5) – Honestly, there is no way that I can see to not give him the 5/5. He does everything well, three icons for the force struggle/edge battle, if he has to be played as a unit, I'm perfectly okay with that due to that nice black tactics icon. When he is piloting a fighter is where he really shines. Elite and Edge are HUGE for TIE's, no more attack on your turn then BTS Yoda locks down all your fighters forever.

doctormungmung (4/5) – Fel is a fantastic pilot. For a cost of two, you get to give all your fighters, Navy, Sith or Scum, edge 1. That can add up very fast. The fact that he has to be on a fighter to provide that makes him a bit vulnerable, but with Black Two, that’s less of a worry. If you absolutely need a unit on the table, he has good health and a black tactics, but is a bit overcosted for that, which pulls his score down a bit. But in his element (a TIE) he’s going to be a cornerstone of fighter decks for a while.


181st TIE Interceptor (144-3&4): 18 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (5/5) – On the fence about giving these units 5 because that white blast is a big downside, yet in can be patched with Fel and/or Precision Flying. Plus, 3 damage capacity shouldn't be taken lightly, as that makes the 181st great targets for your attachments, unlike most other TIEs. And you even get a little extra here for attaching pilots. "Mauler", Fel and Vader in the future will all give a nice boost for the Force Struggle.

chunkygorillas (5/5) – This unit helps Tie’s with the last thing they needed help with, what is winning the force struggle. With pilots like “Baron Fel” and “Mauler Mithel” that were have already got this card is insane and will only get better as we get more Tie fighter pilots.

colsanders (4/5) – This is borderline 5/5, but that edge-enabled blast keeps it at 4. Everything else about this card screams value. Only two cost for three health, the Fighter trait for Talon Roll, and the passive ablity that can shore up one of Navy's biggest disadvantages, the Force Struggle. You also get two of them in the set. Okay, I just talked myself into making it 5/5.

doctormungmung (4/5) – Here’s another solid unit that can be brought in by superior numbers. With a health of three, these are great ships to stick your pilots on, as they’ll be sticking around for a while. The icons are good for the cost, but not great. And since they will likely have pilots sitting in them frequently, their text will really help keep the LS from having a cakewalk all over the force struggle. Contributing pilot force icons is great, since there is no cost to you. Nothing needs to be committed to the force. Nothing needs to be ready. They’re just free force icons. Free is good. Free force icons are great. Particularly when you have named pilots like Fel or Mauler contributing two or more.


Flight Academy (144-5): 15 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (4/5) – Third time we see this kind of resource. Nice for an archetype that had basically zero resources. Nothing else to add here.

chunkygorillas (4/5) – Same thing applies as the previous versions of this card; it is an extremely efficient resource that will continue to get better as the cycle progresses.

colsanders (4/5) – Pretty much copy paste from the Sith set.

doctormungmung (3/5) – Same new resource, same comments as for both the Sith and Rebel one.


Stay on Target (144-6): 15 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (4/5) – May be better than in the other sets simply because Fel is more expensive, so you obviously get more out of recovering him. Furthermore, you get all that extra edge from him right at that battle, I believe, which can make the difference in tight engages.

chunkygorillas (4/5) – This fate card is super solid, it does three things really, it can save a pilot from the dead, it can save you resources and get a pilot in for free, and it can also allow you to catch your opponent off guard with a surprise pilot. Only downside is when you have no targets for it, and then it is just a 2 pips in the edge.

colsanders (4/5) – Again, very, very cool fate card.

doctormungmung (3/5) – And the same new fate card, with the same comments for the one in the Sith set. I’ll just note that digging Fel out of the discard pile is going to feel really good.


Overall: 19 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (5/5) – This has about everything a fighter deck could want. Great 2-drops; an invaluable main that helps with edge, the Force and against tactics; resources and a fate card. Simply put, and much like the new Rebel set, this will be the absolute core of DS fighter decks to come.

chunkygorillas (5/5) – This set helps fix a lot of the problem Tie fighter decks previously had and it will surely be one of the top sets in all Tie fighter decks.

colsanders (5/5) – The new backbone of TIE decks. Don't even consider making a fighter deck without this set.

doctormungmung (4/5) – This is going to be a cornerstone set for a DS fighter deck for a while. Solid, robust fighters, and a reliable way to give all your fighters a boost in the edge battle are key things that a fighter deck needs. Add to the fact that nothing should cost you more than two each, and you have nothing that’ll slow the swarm down. Add in a resource, which is fairly rare for fighters, and you are looking at a set that can make a fast deck more reliable while keeping all that Twin Ion Engine speed.


The Grand Heist (145-1): 8 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (2/5) – It's not exactly weak, but it goes beyond situational in my opinion, and it's hard to imagine there will be much more support for vehicle stealing, as opposed to more pilots to simply counter it.

chunkygorillas (2/5) – This objective just doesn’t do enough, there just aren’t enough ways to steal light side vehicles, and it also lets your opponent know that you are running this set and that they should be worried about un-piloted vehicles getting stolen. So this objective may always be better off not being put out.

Colsanders (2/5) – Here we go with a Scum objective you have to really, and I mean really, work for. If your opponent isn't playing vehicles, this will never be able to be turned on anyway. Now, I do realize that vehicles are going to be played a lot during this cycle, but it still seems like not enough bang for your buck.

doctormungmung (2/5) – The effect here is potentially very powerful, but also very situational. At least half of the combo needed to use the bonus tactics are found in this set. Unfortunately, you also have to rely on your opponent bringing enough vehicles of the (potentially) right type to get the other half of the combo. Ultimately this objective will shine or not depending on the meta, although in some cases choosing this objective to start with is going to be a dud.


*Niles Ferrier (145-2): 15.5 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (4/5) – Although he can be countered by other pilots, he's solid both as a unit and a pilot himself. Because of that, I don't feel he's actually that matchup dependant, though of course you want to be playing against a fighter deck to have all your possibilities available.

chunkygorillas (3.5/5) – This is a really cool card, the effect is really awesome if you are playing against a certain deck and if you’re not playing against a deck running many vehicles then he is just very mediocre… 2 cost of 2 good icons and 2 health isn’t bad but it’s not great.

colsanders (4/5) – Niles continues the tradition of pretty cheap Scum units with tactics, and annoying ability. He covers my criteria of being a good unit even out of the cockpit. Now his Pilot text is absolutely crazy if you get to use it, talk about board advantage. The Moldy Crow is already seeing a boost in play, and that is an extremely good target for him. I am just hoping for the day that I can somehow steal the Falcon...

doctormungmung (4/5) – Here’s an interesting case where the cost and stats of the pilot as a unit are as good or better than other non-pilot units. And that’s a good thing, since Niles’ pilot ability is situational, just like the objective ability. If your opponent isn’t playing fighters or freighters, you’re out of luck (in the stealing department, at any rate). Which is where getting black tactics for two with two health is great at balancing the card out. If there are enemy ships around, spending three to steal one can be pretty huge. Sure, there are the plethora of X and Y Wings, but Niles can also steal Red Two, who is a better defender than attacker anyway. Or, on the very off chance that the Falcon is still on the board during your deploy phase, that bucket of bolts is all yours. Red Five or the Moldy Crow giving you fits? Niles can fix that, and in the case of the Crow, take away your opponents shielding and protect!


Novice Starship Thief (145-3&4): 10.5 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (3/5) – Talk about swingy. They are very good against the appropiate deck. Otherwise, weak edge fodder. Thus, I'll simply give them a 3 and call it a day.

chunkygorillas (2/5) - Like the rest of this set these guys are just so dependent on your opponent running vehicles. If they are running vehicles this guy is pretty cool, there is a good chance he could destroy some speeders or fighters, but if they aren’t this guy just isn’t very good. I dislike cards that are so dependent on your opponent running a certain deck type…. and we really don’t need 4 of these guys in a deck.

colsanders (2.5/5) – It got the 2.5 because I just don't know how to feel about this card. If your opponent is playing vehicles, GG. If not, total trash. The fact that you get 2 of them in the set makes me even more happy/ticked?

doctormungmung (3/5) – Again we have some more situational cards, but as such, they’re still decent. Most vehicle decks are rife with two cost vehicles, which these guys just love. Take care of that Rogue Squadron X-Wing before things get too hairy. Renegade Squadron Escorts are also great targets. If you’re opponent isn’t playing vehicles, they still have a black unit damage, and can go on the offensive in a pinch for a reasonable cost.


Pirate Hideout (145-5): 16 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (4/5) – This one I like a lot. It's cheap, provides nice long-term protection and works on all vehicles alike. Makes Explosive Charge better, though I admit I don't imagine both sets in the same deck.

chunkygorillas (4/5) – If Scum gets more vehicles this card is pretty awesome, it’s a great way to keep your vehicles alive since Scum lacks any sort of protect. For 1 cost I think this is a really great card, as long as it’s put into a deck with vehicles. I also like that it can “protect” vehicles from any faction so maybe in some crazy world you run this in a Tie fighter deck.

colsanders (5/5) – Wow, the ultimate in vehicle protection for the DS. Technically it's not even protect, so it gets around The Moldy Crow, and it only costs 1! Part of me really thinks that Navy should have gotten this card, but now Scum really has a card that helps in their own Fighter deck. Ironically, there are no vehicles in this set though...

doctormungmung (3/5) – Right now Scum is a bit lacking on the fragile vehicles side, so adding in some extra vehicle protect isn’t going to do all that much. But, you could splash this in with some TIEs to give them some more board time. Although Jawa Scavengers might get some new life from this card. I would have much rather liked to see some tactics/focus protection, as Scum vehicles are rather lacking in elite (I’m looking at you Slave One). One thing this card does do well is help you control when your Sandcrawler goes off, which takes away the big liability associated with that card.


Salvage Operation (145-6): 12 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (4/5) – I think this might be the best card out of this set, as it doesn't completely depend on your opponent's deck. You can save your own vehicles with it after they've been destroyed. If you like to dream, you can have Executor back at full health for only 2 resources in the most extreme of scenarios.

chunkygorillas (2/5) – This card seems awesome, but it requires too much set up. You have to be leaving 2 resources up and manage to actually destroy or capture something. So far I have found this card just ends up in the edge.

colsanders (3/5) – Another card that can be huge, or complete garbage, depending on your opponents deck. One man's trash is another man's treasure. Nine out of ten times though this is going to be an edge card.

doctormungmung (3/5) – And the last situational card in the set, we get a vehicle uber capture. While it might be problematic to leave a couple of resources open to use this card, there are a lot of situations where it can be a big boon if you do. This card will get you Home One. And, interestingly enough, it will also get you Slave One, as you can steal your own vehicles after they get destroyed. And if nothing else, two force icons are decent edge fodder.


Overall: 11 out of 20 points.

Majestaat (3/5) – I really, absolutely love the theme of this set, but I really, absolutely hate its design. It's basically the hardest counter against certain builds, and almost worthless against anything else, to a point where player skill may not even matter at all. I like "soft counters" and despise "hard counters". It's alright that X build has a certain edge over Y, but it should never be this binary.

chunkygorillas (2/5) – This set is too dependent on what your opponent is running, expect if the meta game shifts to where vehicle decks are just strictly better than anything else a lot of the cards in this set will just be subpar since you will still be facing lots of character decks.

colsanders (3/5) – This right now is a complete and total meta call set. If you have fighters and speeders running rampant, play this set. If not, play ANYTHING else.

doctormungmung (3/5) – I like this set as a one of in a deck to add some utility and a hedge against seeing some hard hitting LS vehicles. Still, if you’re going to be seeing lots of vehicles in your meta, two of this set will definitely pay off in the long run. If you don’t see any vehicles, you’ve at least got a good tactics units and some passable chuds, and depending on your own deck makeup, some unit protection as well. I think as the cycle continues, we’ll be seeing more of this objective.


FINAL WORDS:
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