The Battle of Hoth Dark Side Review

Today we are going to take a look at the Dark Side cards in the (sort of) recent Force Pack The Battle of Hoth. Let us know in the comments what you think of the cards.

Vader's Fist (62-1) - 4/5
My reviews of this set will be short and pithy, since I reviewed it in detail here. This objective has an amazing ability. Furthermore, there are a bunch of DS options for removing damage and turning the effect back on after the objective is damaged. Playing as LS and seeing two of these hit the board after setup is really disheartening. Great card. I really enjoy this one. It could really be a beast if both DS players flip two of these over in 2v2 mode; your LS opponents start the game with 2 cards left in hand after the draw phase begins. Ouch.

501st Trooper (62-2) - 3/5
This is a great support card. The objective damage is nice, and the potential for some extra is even better. Solid support unit.

501st Legion (62-4) - 4/5
No messing around here. 4 unit damage, all black icons. This card says, "deal with me or die." I love that it is a 4-cost unit, so that the Sith can drop it on turn one regardless of objective draw, should they choose to.

E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster (62-5) - 2/5
This is decent, but not amazing. I wish that it was a static effect, and not something that had to be focused. Although, I am aware that that could have made it too good. Perhaps if it cost one or two more resources, but added an edge-dependent blast icon to troopers?

Battle of Hoth (62-6) - 3/5
Same old edge stack beast.

Overall - 4/5


Unstoppable Advance (63-1) - 3/5
The more resources the merrier, when it comes to Navy cards. So, the two resources are great here. The Hoth trait has obvious benefits (e.g., The Desolation of Hoth, Succumb to the Cold) and hazards (e.g., Preparation for Evacuation).

AT-AT (63-2) - 4/5
This is a solid unit. For four resources you get four icons that are what the Navy does best -- kill things and deliver blast damage. Furthermore, the shielding is nice. Also, the ability to choose to discard a non-limited enhancement is nice. This card just has so much utility for the price. I like it. It isn't an amazing game-changer in the way that Vader, Palpatine, or the Devastator can be. But, it is rather solid.

AT-AT Assault Formation (63-4) - 3/5
As others mention, in the current era of the game, this card is great; many LS decks are running Hoth objectives. But, over time this unit has potential to become less useful. Three black blast icons, shielding, and four health are nothing to laugh at. Even when your opponent is not running any Hoth objectives, this unit can be brutal. That said, this card is definitely good, but not great. I would rather spend the six resources on a Devastator or a Palpatine.

Orbital Resupply Station (63-5) - 2/5
Resource advantage is good. But, slow resource advantage in a very specific deck, which prides itself on delivering a ton of objective damage quickly might not be that good. This could get better in multiplayer, since it doesn't stipulate who has to be playing the Navy vehicle for its cost to be reduced. In 2v2 mode, this could be really effective if one or both people dropped a couple of them (nice that it is not unique). If a two person team had three or four of them out, it could get silly in the long game.

Aggressive Assault (63-6) - 4/5
I like this card a lot. Two force icons are nice for an affiliation that often struggles to win edge battles. Also, as others mention, this shuts of any "While this objective is undamaged" abilities of your LS opponent. And, in 2v2 mode you get six objective damage with this, and shut off all of the "While this objective is undamaged" abilities of the LS team. Two resources to do three objective damage is excellent efficiency and utility.

Overall - 3/5

Vader's Fist (62-1)- 4/5
Card advantage is such a huge thing in all card games, and being able to alter your opponents card draw potentially every turn is huge. FFG did a good job balancing the power of this card by requiring it to be undamaged to maintain its effect. Especially threatening is the use of this on first turn when you may have kept a loose hand hoping to discard and draw into what you need, instead you are facing a Vader's Fist (and heaven forbid two) and all of a sudden you are having to discard in order to meet the minimum hand requirement. A very solid objective that will see play just for the impact it can have all by itself on a game.

2x 501st Trooper (62-2) - 3/5
A nice solid middle of the pack unit that is pretty comparable to the Kuati Security Team. The fact that it gains an extra objective damage when attacking Hoth objectives is nice, though at times it will never play a factor in a game. The 501st Trooper gives pure Sith decks a good unit to help combat the ever present Sleuth Scouts and Blockade Runners. Also since we get two of these in the objective set it helps boost the overall effective unit count in a deck.

501st Legion (62-4) - 4/5
These guys truly are the best of the best.... on defense. They can form a very intimidating wall to get through as they can single handed take out anything thrown at them and keep on ticking. True they have a downfall against Blockade Runner and its ilk, but they are immune against Swindled and quite resilient against a Rebel Assault or Han Solo. The four cost may be a bit prohibitive at times, but for the beef you are getting it is well worth it.

E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster (62-5) - 2/5
This is yet another of those cards that confuses me because of how good it could have been. When compared to the Heavy Repeating Blaster that Light Side has access to this seems rather limited. If you were able to give the bonus to all attacking Troopers or even 2-3 of your choice this card and the objective set as a whole would make the backbone of a very solid Trooper deck. As it stands it is just a mediocre card.

Battle of Hoth (62-6) - 4/5
Solid edge card, that gets better in Hoth decks... seems like I have said this a few times before.

Overall - 3/5


Unstoppable Advance (63-1) - 3/5
A 5 health, 2 resource providing objective is pretty standard. What truly makes it shine is the Hoth trait which currently has some good synergy in Dark Side decks.

2x AT-AT (63-2) - 4/5
I like the AT-AT's because they offer you utility, both on offense and defense. As an offensive threat having two objective damage is pretty nice, even if it is edge dependent. On defense is where I think this guy truly shines, not only because he has Shielding but also because of his ability. Being able to get rid of enhancements is a big deal as you now have a way to deal with cards such as Obi-Wan's Spirit, Trust Your Feelings, and even Wedge Antilles. The AT-AT is rarely a dead card when it is striking as you can either use its icons or use its ability a large portion of the time.

AT-AT Assault Formation (63-4) - 3/5
When I first saw the AT-AT Assault Formation I was really excited because it looked like Dark Side was getting their own version of Home One. Sadly I was a bit disappointed; while the Assault Formation is good, it has limitations and the main one is that its ability only triggers against Hoth objectives. Right now with Speeder decks being the "new" thing and lots of Hoth objectives seeing play that means the Assault Formation is a very good unit as it can just wreak your opponents board. This is a truly fearsome attacking unit, however it will lose a bit of its bite as fewer Hoth objectives see play.

Orbital Resupply Station (63-5) - 2/5
In this objective set the Resupply Station is amazing, and in the right deck it is even better. The downside is that it is a very slow resource advantage card. Since it only works with units that cost 4 or more there is a decent chunk of most decks that it will not work in combination with. Also it doesn't work with off faction units, Events, or Enhancements which further limits its uses right out of the gate. None of those things make it a bad card, they just make it a bit less useful than it could have been. If this had cost two and provided a resource I think not only would it have fit better in decks as a whole, but it would have made this objective set one of the best Navy sets to date.

Aggressive Assault (63-6) - 5/5
I really really REALLY like this card, probably more than is healthy. Being able to do one damage to EACH objective with an Event card is huge, especially since it allows you to deactivate certain abilities on your very first turn such as Raise the Stakes. I have had a few games where my opponent was able to get 4 damage on each of my objectives and then play this Event during my draw phase. Do you know what happens after that? The Light Side player loses, plain and simple. The overall concept and design of this card is fantastic and the art work is even better!

Overall - 4/5

Vader's Fist (62-1) - 4/5
Standard stats with a really strong "while undamaged" ability. There's certainly a growing potential for nasty card advantage DS decks and this one being Hoth makes it easier to keep undamaged.

2x 501st Trooper (62-2) - 3/5
A solid addition to the toolbox of Troopers. The ability will likely become less and less useful in the future when we get out of the Hoth cycle, but even without it the unit is fairly costed.

501st Legion (62-4) - 4/5
Often 4 damage will be overkill which is maybe why I prefer the 3 cost 3 unit damage guys. But once he hits the board, he certainly is a huge defender that will make your opponent think twice about even attacking at all.

E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster (62-5) - 3/5
A decent card for Trooper decks, but not overpowered by any means. It can help make your measly unopposed attack do a little more or give you that one extra you need to blow up the Rebel traitors.

Battle of Hoth (62-6) - 3/5
Always good edge value and helps keep the objective's ability on.

Overall: 3/5
This feels like a solid, well designed set but with no real home. Maybe it's just me, but I'm not sure what competitive deck this belongs in to take full advantage.


Unstoppable Advance (63-1) - 3/5
I'm liking 2 resource objectives more and more recently. They give you so much more flexibility on your opening turn or two! Of course, this being Imperial Navy only makes sense, but makes deckbuilding a little more tricky.

AT-AT (63-2) - 4/5
A really solid unit all around. Shielding, enough unit damage to threaten weenie defenders or defend for itself, and a good amount of blast damage. The Reaction is very interesting and feels very well designed to me: because it has so many icons it always feels like a tough but satisfying choice when I have to give them up to destroy an enhancement. Really solid.

AT-AT Assault Formation (63-4) - 3/5
He feels a little over-costed to me. The piddling 1 unit damage doesn't do a whole lot for me and his blast damage feels like it's usually just short. Shielding is good, but his Interrupt is limited by what your opponent plays. It's not a bad card by any means, but for 6 resources I think I want a little more.

Orbital Resupply Station (63-5) - 2/5
Did you get one or two of these in your opening hand? No? Well then it might not even be worth playing them. If you get them opening hand then they're fantastic, but that limited scope of real use makes me wish they were a resource I could use more immediately on anything.

Aggressive Assault (63-6) - 4/5
I like this card a lot. The restriction is on your own board, so you can build around it and likely have a Hoth in play. While it's a little expensive, I really like it because it adds some tricks to Navy, which is traditionally a sledgehammer.

Overall - 3/5
I really want to like this objective set, but especially with the counters in the Speeder set it seems like it's just a little behind the curve. In deckbuilding it becomes tough because if you want to take advantage of Hoth synergies, you're stuck with few resources; if you want to load resources and play big units you don't get Hoth benefits.