The Mos Eisley Mafia: SWCLG "Desperate Circumstances" Force Pack Review - Light Side

MEET THE FAMILY (aka - THE REVIEWERS):
-doctormungmung, Massachussets' evil genius;
-yodaman, he who you seek when numbers are involved;
-pantsyg, jankmaster general (missing this time);
-Rio, prophet of falling and rising skies;
-Majestaat, the one to blame for typos and delayed articles.

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 (more or less) as:
1 – Poor – Edge fodder. Drops the total value of its objective set.
2 – Bad – Most likely edge fodder. Either too situational or clearly 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 3 LS Cards (4 due to a tie):
1 – The Lost Commander, with 19 out of 20 possible points.
2 – Clever Distraction (Bait and Switch), 19 with out of 20 possible points.
3 – *Captain Rex (The Lost Commander), with 18.5 out of 20 possible points.
4 - Seeds of Decay (Bait and Switch), with 18.5 out of 20 possible points.

Top 3 DS Cards:
1 – *Nightsister Matron (Knives in the Night), with 18.5 out of 20 possible points.
2 – *IG-88D (Automated Assassin), with 18.5 out of 20 possible points.
3 – Bounty Listing (Automated Assassin), with 17.5 out of 20 possible points.

Overall best rated Objective Set:
The Lost Commander, with 19.5 out of 20 possible points.


THE REVIEWS:

Desert Recruitment (270-1): 16 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – No-limit abilities tend to be at least decent, in that while you might only get a minor effect, you have the ability to trigger them multiple times in a turn. Healing is usually welcome (and fairly rare). It saves vs all the direct damage kill methods, which include things like targeted strike and Vader pings (outside of just direct combat). You can almost always find neutral units to help meet the triggering conditions, even in a mono-Jedi deck (Luke’s Speeder is a great example). But wookies really like this effect, particularly core Chewie. Letting him rip out a few extra arms is super fun.

yodaman (5/5) – Really like this objective text since it give you the ability to heal on both your own turn and your opponent’s turn just by declaring 2 units that don’t share an affiliation in an engagement. Ought to pair really well with Core Chewie since you can damage him, remove a damage then use his ability again.

Rio (4.5/5) – A very simple ability but another powerful one. The ability to heal any unit just from attacking is cool. The restriction isn’t that difficult to pull off either, even in a mono Jedi deck, they have a lot of neutral units to fire off from.

Majestaat (3.5/5) – Matchup and build dependant. It's very easy for DS to pack a ton of ways to instantly remove your units, either via triple guns or some other events, in which cases this objective does next to nothing.
But if for some reason your opponent is lacking in such strong removal options, or you're running a few protectors to distribute the damage and then heal back up, you could get a ton of value from this.
More than anything, make sure you have enough affiliation diversity to be able to trigger the objective on a consistent basis.


*Dice Ibegon (270-2): 14 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – Dice’s stats are decent for her cost. Black tactics among three other icons, three force pips and good health for four cost is usually welcome. She’s missing elite, which always hurts. But her ability is really interesting. The amount of tricks this enables are not insignificant. Couple her with a few other cards, and your opponent will have real trouble figuring out how to defend against you, at least for one engagement. Although if they have a bunch of tactics, you can bet they’ll be in the first line of defense either way. Still, knowledge is power, and seeing what you’re up against before committing is good. Also, worth noting, is that she has an all important numeral in her text, which partners with Yodaman’s favorite big brained nemesis….

yodaman (4/5) – Nice spread of combat icons, but only 2 are black. 4 cost for 3 pips and 3 health is decent, but lack of elite could hurt. The ability is really interesting since you can force your opponent to declare defenders and then declare your attackers accordingly. Should make for some interesting plays.

Rio (3.5/5) – This lady gives me a headache. The ability is extremely interesting and a better player than me will figure out how to maximize its efficiency. (because it is good) However the Icons are amazing and they are what I actually wanted to see on Chirrut last pack. The black tactic is what the 4 cost Jedi main slot has needed. This is a different Jedi main and I would be excited to try her out in my Jedi deck. The lack of elite does however put her in tier 2 of Jedi mains.

Majestaat (3.5/5) – One of those mains that mostly hurts because of the lack of a keyword, as her stats are decent overall, though I think she didn't need double white icons since she's already lacking a keyword, as said.
Her ability is interesting, and may force bad decisions upon your opponent, while minimizing risks for yourself, but I don't think it's strong enough to cover for her other shortcomings.


Twi'lek Con Artist (270-3): 14.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Standard chud stats are nothing to get excited about, but a defensive powerhouse that can always push out the DS’s strongest attacker is super keen. And when you get the combo going with Dice, you can do that on offense as well. As long as there is rough board parity, she becomes a good force multiplier when you can trigger her ability, which shouldn’t be that infrequent. Plus, if your opponent wants to focus their efforts on a chud, all the better.

yodaman (4/5) – This 2 cost, 2 health unit with a black gun and white blast is nothing special for a chud, but it has a somewhat situational ability that could be extremely powerful in the right scenarios. Being able to remove an participating out-of-faction enemy unit from an engagement really could punish a mixed affiliation DS deck.

Rio (3/5) – I like her, she is a solid Chud, and she is neutral to help fire off the objective and has an ability that actually synergizes with the main while attacking, but works another way on defense if the main isn’t on the board. What a well-rounded unit.

Majestaat (3.5/5) – Wanted to give her a little extra, but she needs Dice to work on offense, and her icon spread make her very weak on her own when defending. Things are very different if you have some tactics at your disposal, which is admittedly pretty easy to achieve.


Necessary Alliances (270-4): 16.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Resources are good. Influence resources are better. Non-limited influence resources are even better. It’s a tempo hit, but it’ll solve matching problems for the rest of the game, so I think it’s worth it. Particularly if you can also throw out a Dagobah Training Grounds or the equivalent on the same turn that you play this.

yodaman (4.5/5) – Still like this 2-1 resource that give you a matching resource for anything you want thanks to Influence. Jedi can always make use of sets with resources.

Rio (4/5) – It’s a resource in a good Jedi pod! Has the world ended? Wow, when was the last time we saw that? Honestly it may have been Between the Shadows with Masters Domain. Anyways it’s been awhile is all I’m saying. Much needed, and its Jedi based by default so Luke’s saber!

Majestaat (4/5) – Yes, you can rely on neutrals to trigger most of the juicy new effects featured this cycle, but you can strengthen your combos by adding an extra affiliation, plus you then get to use the new affiliation cards as well. This is the perfect resource to do that and keep your deck consistent. Viva Influence.


Unseen Sabotage (270-5): 15.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – A free event that will mess up your opponent’s strike plans? Sure, sign me up. Still, your opponent will get to strike with probably their best unit, but if you can avoid the lockdown, or save a character, or something equivalently good, it’s worth it. And if they just have one unit in the battle anyway, then just pitch this card in the edge. Two pips is decent enough for that.

yodaman (4/5) – I’m always a fan of free events and this one can be pretty useful in the right situation as you can remove one of your opponent’s units from an engagement after they strike with a different one. Then you get to draw a card.

Rio (4.5/5) – I like this event. I think it can save you a game if you’re close to winning and the Navy is bearing down on you with enough bombs to win the game. You just kick a unit out save the game, and live to fight another day. It also cost 0 so they won’t see it coming.

Majestaat (4/5) – This event shines in bigger battles, especially when there is more than one enemy heavy-hitter. Then it replaces itself, which is relevant when you're packing more cheap events or there are more edge battles to contest the same turn. You'll either save your units, objectives, or will take less focus tokens than necessary.
In the early stages of the game when you mostly see single units, this is still somewhat useful thanks to its two pips.


Allies of Necessity (270-6): 15.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – I love this fate. It’s a heat and target in one, and getting to trigger it isn’t hard at all. The hard part is making sure the units you give the gun/blast to actually get to strike. But even if they can’t you will usually force your opponent to defend in at least slightly inefficient manner. And making your opponent do things they don’t want to is a plus.

yodaman (4.5/5) – The staple fate card of the cycle shows up in its first Jedi set. Lots of potential use here.

Rio (3/5) – Still does the same thing.

Majestaat (4/5) – With all the white icons here, this is some much needed extra firepower.


Overall: 16.5 out of 20 possible points.

doctormungmung (4/5) – I think this objective set has a lot of potential. It’s definitely a combo set, though, so sometimes the pieces won't all come together at the right time. When that happens, the individual pieces are still useful enough, although they’ll tend you towards a slower game. I just really like mechanics that mess with core aspects of the game like this, so this set is really right up my alley.

yodaman (4.5/5) – A very interesting addition to Jedi. Good combat tricks, a resource, a fate card and 9 icons total. Lots of interesting possibilities with this one.

Rio (4/5) – Overall I think this pod is an exciting new addition to the Jedi arsenal. Dice has cool icons and a fun ability that may lead to cool plays. It’s another pod that doesn’t have a bad card in it.

Majestaat (4/5) – Well-rounded pod, with tactics, blast (all white tho'), high pip count and a resource with Influence. Only the units leave me somewhat disappointed. They're good, but still within the realm of "too fair".


The Lost Commander (271-1): 19 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (5/5) – Remember what I said about repeatable effects? Well, this one is a beast. As long as you have the enhancements out (things like weapons or non-resource enhancements in general are the best), you can free up six units after your conflict phase ends by the time your opponent conflict phase starts. That’s just absolutely nuts. And on your turn, this pretty much completely negates Dark Lord of the Sith’s ability. If you like May the Force be with You, you should like this, for the same reasons.

yodaman (5/5) – This ability can be bonkers with the right set up. After any phase begins (so that means you can do this on your turn or your opponent’s) you can focus an enhancement to remove 1 token from a character. Since the enhancement doesn’t have to be on that actually generates resources, you can use it on things like Luke’s Saber, Custom Paint Job or the Bo-Rifle. In the case of Luke’s Saber you could even focus it, then pitch it free up Luke, then do it again the same turn. Free up someone for combat or to get balance. Take an extra token off as you get ready refresh to keep a character from being locked down. Very versatile if you build your deck around it.

Rio (4/5) – This card is really good, and it’s nice to see that ability in the game. It seems like the designers know that rotation is coming soon, and May the Force will not be around any longer. The reaction mirrors MTFBWY but it’s tougher to pull off so the reaction is better balanced. The cool thing is that it’s also a DLotS killer, since on your turn you get to choose the order of effects. In the right deck however being able to free up a main that is tacticed down by using the ability at the start of every phase is really powerful. The balance is in the amount of enhancements that maybe needed usually brings down your unit count. One play that comes to mind is Luke’s Saber he can pitch it every turn which could mitigate some of the “cost” associated with the reaction. Another LOLZ card is Artoo from Scrap Metal, every card under him is an enhancement that could be used to fuel Commanders reaction. There may be a deck in there somewhere that a better player than me can build.

Majestaat (5/5) – Repeatable refresh? Damn, that's strong. It can make it harder to manage your resources, but having extra options is always nice. What's more, if you can fit enough weapons like the Bo-Rifle in your deck, you might not even need to spend resources at all, making the card go from "usable" to "abusable".
Your deckbuilding choices will depend on what you expect from this objective, but honestly, you don't need to go ham on enhancements for this to be very impactful when it counts most.


*Captain Rex (271-2): 18.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Four cost for a unit with edge and three icons is a bit pricey, particularly without elite. But four is on the cheap side for a unit with four icons, and is an absolute bargain for a unit with five icons. In the less and less crazy rainbow deck, Rex will be a monster. Need tactics? Pick up two? Want to blow up objectives, get a three blast unit. Or just do three unit damage to a troublesome DS unit. Just having the flexibility in picking your icons is great. Everyone knows how good Dengar is. Now there’s an equivalent on the LS.

yodaman (4.5/5) – On the surface, Rex’s combat icons don’t seem that great for a 4 cost, 3 health unit. However, he has 3 pips and edge 1. On top of that, his ability can turn Rex into a powerhouse. You get to add different combats icon to Rex based on the number of different affiliations you have on cards you control. Rex will always give himself an extra icon and it isn’t that tough to get 2 or more additional icons since his set will naturally lead to multi-affiliation builds. He isn’t elite, but at least his objective can help with that.

Rio (5/5) – Edge 1, 3 pips, a solid reaction, what’s not to like? People may gripe about the lack of elite, but I think his objective makes him quasi elite, so it’s not really relevant. His ability is exactly like Dengars but offensive base stats while Dengars are defensive. This dude can easily get 3 bombs, which is big on the lightside, and since he wants to be run in a multi faction deck he isn’t limited to rebels lack of double strike events and attachments. Trust Your Feelings, Bamboolzed, and Force Rejuvenation all come to mind as fun things to test with Rex. You could also go the Sabine Paint Job route then he will have 4 bombs and whatever else you want to give him. I fear this man with a Paint Job and Bo Rifle….

Majestaat (5/5) – I can see nothing wrong with Rex. Solid main that trades elite for edge. On his own he has 3 combat icons already, one being whatever you want it to be. Add in extra affiliations and he becomes a complete monster with multiple guns, blast or tactics, and thanks to his free edge, the white icons you may choose will be easier to enable.
His reaction lasts for the strike only, so if you can find a way to refresh him during combat, he can lock down the DS units first for safety and then blast the objective or gun someone down with his second strike. Who said old dogs can't learn new tricks?


Battlefield Engineers (271-3): 13 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – Typically these guys are rather niche, but if you can at a minimum free up a resource for double duty, they’ve done their job. If they let you use Echo Caverns twice, then you’ve gotten a lot more than you paid for. Now being in a set that likes to drop focus on enhancements, these guys will see a lot more play, and perhaps change a few minds as to whether you like to see them show up in your hand...

yodaman (3.5/5) – An appropriate reprint here from the Core set. Still no blast, but the ability to clear focus tokens of an enhancement certainly fits the theme of this set.

Rio (3/5) – Here is a reprint of a core set card. I never really gave these dudes too much thought before this set, they are actually pretty decent. They have the magic 2 cost for Spark decks, and 2 pips for edge or a good lead on an early force struggle. Their ability is quite good here, they can free up a resource for a surprise event, or card draw form a moister vaporator (or cache…) these guys are solid dudes. I like them so much that I am looking more at core Mon Mothma.

Majestaat (3.5/5) – They're back, in a good set! I always liked the Engineers. Unfortunately, they were in a terribad pod. They can prove much more useful here. Normally, refreshing resources outside the deployment phase wouldn't mean much unless you had a cheap event in hand. But The Lost Commander offers you another option to put that resource to use, or any enhancement for that matter. And since you probably want to add more enhancements than usual in this deck, you may find some pretty strong double-uses, like Echo Caverns or Kashyyyk Resistance Hideout.
Now, obviously, they won't do much with a single gun when you have no way to take advantage of the enhancement refresh. That's when their second pip comes in handy to contest the Force or pitch them in edge if there's no real reason to play them in the first place. I so wish they had an extra white gun.


Republic Supply Cache (271-4): 17 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Two for one resources aren’t great, especially when they are limited. Add in a focus ability, and you have to decide between the resource or the ability. But when that ability can net you one or two cards, you all of a sudden are looking at edge battles a whole new way. Coupled with the Engineer, you can use the resource and get your cards all before an edge battle anyway.

yodaman (3/5) – This 2-1 enhancement is interesting. Clearly you want to be able to use Battlefield Engineers to free it up after you use it to either draw cards or get the resource. But it seems like that could cause you to lose tempo. Might have been better as a 1-1. Still, it’s an enhancement and the objective wants those around.

Rio (5/5) – WOW. This is the card of the set. It’s amazing. Card draw is really powerful. The closest in game parallel I can think of is moister vaporator and that allows your opponent to draw as well. Even at 1 card that’s super powerful, but if you get the option of 2 cards the card becomes absolutely bonkers. Easily the best card of the set and probably the cycle so far.

Majestaat (5/5) – This card is great. I'd like to deal a small hit to its score due to it being a 2-1 limited in a set with a 4-cost main, but really, it's just that good.
It's a resource than can double as a draw engine. With the Engineers, it does both. Go Engineers! And if you're ballsy enough to go triple-affiliation, which you actually can with all the Influence resources available now, this nets you 2 cards instead. That's crazy edge advantage.


Necessary Alliances (271-5): 15.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – There’s an influence resource in this set as well? Not bad (especially considering the non-limited aspect). Playing both in a turn will be a big tempo hit, but the reasons I’ve mentioned before still hold here for why I think this is good.

yodaman (4.5/5) – Nice inclusion here that fits with the theme.

Rio (3/5) – This card is necessary here. In a set that wants multi faction it’s a must.

Majestaat (4/5) – This is the proper resource of the set, since you'll want to use the Cache for draw as often as possible. The set benefits greatly if going a multi-affiliation build, and this will help you to make it consistent.


Allies of Necessity (271-6): 15.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Still good, although not being able to trigger this off of units just in this set is a bit of a downer. But the rest of the set really pushes you towards a multi faction deck, so I don’t think triggering it will be that difficult.

yodaman (4.5/5) – Always nice to see this fate card.

Rio (3/5) – Still good here.

Majestaat (4/5) – Kinda want to substract a little from the score since you have no way of triggering it only with the cards available in this pod. But if you pick it, you're not going mono, so I don't think it matters, really.


Overall: 19.5 out of 20 possible points.

doctormungmung (5/5) – We get a multi-resource rebel objective set. Personally, I think that’s huge. LS has always been a bit resource starved, and getting a double resource set really helps that out. Now you can just include a single copy of this set when you need to fill in the resource curve, and the deck will run a lot better for it. Being multi-affiliation enabled just helps make this almost a universal LS resource set. And you get a lot more utility out of the rest of the set than just resources. By itself, it’s still solid, but filling the general gap that’s been missing since the core set means that this set will be seeing a lot of play.

yodaman (4.5/5) – 9 icons for Rebels is pretty good. It comes with resources including one that has influence, but the other enhancement seems a bit pricey and Battlefield Engineers are combo enablers that really won’t do much on their own to get blast on the table. Allies can at least help with that, but while the set is decent, in practice I’m not sure just how prevalent it will end up being going forward.

Rio (5/5) – Overall this is an extremely interesting pod. It wants to be in multi faction decks, which is a good thing in the current environment. Rex is a powerhouse in the right deck, and the Cache is the best card in the pack I would say. The objective is an interesting alternative to MTFBWY, and It could actually be better in the right deck.

Majestaat (5/5) – Amazing support set with a heavy-hitter. With high edge, a refresh engine, a draw engine and two resources, this set alone can patch many weaknesses for any given deck. On the one hand, that'd give you more freedom on what else you can pick. On the other hand, you'll also want to get the most out of the objective, Rex and the Cache, more or less forcing you to go the multi-affiliation route with several enhancements.
If you can balance all those variables, you've got yourself an absolutely incredible set. If you can't, it's still a pretty solid pick.


Bait and Switch (272-1): 12.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – There are some interesting things you can do with this objective, although in general you’ll have to jump through a few hoops to do them. Having the cost restriction is probably a good thing, because it would be particularly nasty to swap out a Sleuth Scout for Home One. That said, you can still swap in a Speederbike for said Sleuth Scout, and you’ll probably be laying down a bunch of tactics if you do. I’m sure there are at least a few other interesting combinations like that out there.

yodaman (3.5/5) – The reaction on this objective seems interesting, but in practice it seems to be too combo driven for my taste. You can switch an attacking smugglers unit with a non-smuggler unit of equal or lower cost, but unless you plan to put something back in with something like Falcon or Heroes and Legends, it seems like it could cost you tempo. Sure you could switch a unit that is damaged with something that isn’t, so that might be the way to go. But, I haven’t been able to really get this one to work yet.

Rio (3/5) – This objective is really neat, and it lends to a lot of the Smuggler tricks out there. Bouncing a unit and replacing it with another after your opponent declares blockers is an interesting concept. Plays that immediately spring to mind is Core Han Solo into Core Luke, Blockade Runner into Crow then Swindle, just healing Chewie every turn. Lots of fun to be had with this objective. However the deck would have to be built around these tricks.

Majestaat (3/5) – I feel like I tried too hard to abuse this and didn't get the desired pay off, so I'd say just think of this as a way to swap damaged units for fresh ones and call it a day. You can get extra value from the likes of Wookiees and Cloud City Operatives by replaying them, but that was often too slow for the overall flow of the game.


*Lak Sivrak (272-2): 17 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – While Dice was a bit pricey, Lak is at the perfect price point. Three cost for three icons (one tactic), edge (this is apparently an edge force pack), and a three pips is a steal. But his text is really where it is. Getting unopposed against ever objective is super good. If you can hop him in and out to attack with multiple times in a round (Infiltration, for example), you can really start racking up damage across your opponent’s board. If only there were some way to guarantee that you’ll get that unopposed bonus…..

yodaman (4.5/5) – Lak is a pretty interesting unit. He only costs 3 and has 3 health along with 3 pips and 3 combat icons with one black gun, one black blast and a white tactics. His ability really can help get around DS “while undamaged” objectives since when he’s attacking, you can deal the unopposed bonus you have to each enemy objective. If you get him in engagements that end unopposed, he really does some damage and also coupled with something like Raise the Stakes, you can go to town. Lack of elite is really his only drawback.

Rio (4/5) – Lak is what the smugglers needed in a main, he has 3 pips, a tactic and Edge 1. He also has a pretty sweet ability granting unopposed damage to all of your enemies objectives could lead to a very quick game. He is a unit that your opponent needs to block, and to top that off the tactic makes them want to win the edge battle and the edge 1 makes them commit harder. He is the very definition of a bluff attack unit, with no downside if you do lose the edge. Solid dude.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – Lak has a lot going on for a 3-coster. 3 pips, 3 HP, triple icons, including black blast and a white tactics, which becomes better when you have the edge keyword. Wrap it up with a devastating ability, which makes up for his relative lack of raw firepower, and forces your opponent to always leave somebody to block him.
He only seems weak if he shows super early and you don't have other plays, as you won't have the board to outmaneuver your opponent, and Lak by himself can't even remove chuds to get the unopposed bonus. His powerful ability and lack of elite also prevents you from commiting him, because you want to keep him ready and threatening.


Wolfman Scout (272-3&4): 16.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Speak of the devil(s). Solid blast chuds are great, particularly with black blast and two pips. But what really takes the cake is that with just one of these guys in the conflict, you’ll get the unopposed bonus. Doesn’t matter if they strike or not. Couple them with Lak, or Raise the Stakes, and you can load up a lot of damage fast. You just need to make sure they survive the engagement (because unopposed is only checked after all strikes are complete). That’s a little trickier, but not too hard.

yodaman (4/5) – The set comes with 2 of these 2 cost, 2 health chuds. Black blast is always welcome and the passive on these Wolfmen synergize well with Lak since they make engagements considered to be unopposed. They have 2 pips too which is always good.

Rio (4/5) – I will take a 2/2/2 chud unit with a black blast in any Lightside pod any day of the week. His ability to make the attack unopposed no matter what is just icing on the cake. That makes him the auto target for most unit’s guns, which is ok with me. The set comes with 2 of them so a 3 unit pod with no downside is always good to see.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – I love chuds with two pips. These also have black blast, and an ability that enables Lak to boot, or simply allow you to deal an extra blast despite defenders. That makes them chuds that must actually die, which in turn gives more breathing room to your other units, and at the end of the day that means some blast will go through, one way or another.


Clever Distraction (272-5): 19 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – This is a great card. Keeping a particular potential defender out of conflict goes a long way towards winning said conflict. Worried about Palp locking down your board (or any other tactics unit)? Just send them a singing telegram. Want to keep that shielding unit out? Invent the galactic candy gram and reap the benefits. Being limited to characters and creatures is a bit problematic, but there are usually plenty of those to go around. Just watch out for those Navy ship matchups, and you’ll be fine.

yodaman (5/5) – This 1 cost event is just incredible. If it just kept a character of creature from being
declared in a single engagement, it would be great, but this actually lets you keep an enemy unit out of an engagement for the entire conflict phase. Keep some power unit like Palpatine out while you attack or keep something like an Energy Spider from attacking to minimize blast coming back at you. Great event.

Rio (5/5) – A force stasis for Lightside is really good. The ability to render a blocker or attacker irrelevant is extremely powerful, I think it’s more powerful on the Lightside than Darkside. This card could win games.

Majestaat (5/5) – Cheap, game-winning event, unless you're facing vehicle or droid heavy builds, the latter being more usable now with their new additions. I guess Thrawn doesn't care much about this either, but he's the big exception.
Just keep the main DS threat away to crush objectives or save your own, and throw plenty of tactics on it while you're at it.


Seeds of Decay (272-6): 18.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Seeds is seeds. It’s been good since it’s inception, and it’s still good now. Just ask Yoda.

yodaman (4.5/5) – Always good to have a Seeds in a set.

Rio (5/5) – The best lightside fate card.

Majestaat (5/5) – More control tools for an otherwise pretty aggressive pod. Makes it easier to pull your nasty combos, since the DS will have less ways to retaliate. If Seeds indirectly keeps your Wolfman Scout alive, that's enough already.


Overall: 18 out of 20 possible points.

doctormungmung (4/5) – The amount of pure objective damage this set brings is nuts. Three blast units, multiple units to guarantee unopposed damage, ways to multiply that unopposed, edge, seeds, and a defender control card. It even comes with a total of ten force icons for edge or force holding. The only downside really is it’s lack of resources, but even then, the most expensive card costs three, with the rest either two or one. I’m expecting to see a lot of wolves around.

yodaman (4.5/5) – Really the only thing I’m not a fan of in this set is the objective itself. The units are solid and synergize together well. The event is incredible and it included Seeds as a fate card. It also has 10 force icons total which is as good as it gets for Smugglers. I could see this set getting a decent amount of play because of that, despite the lack of a resource in the set.

Rio (5/5) – Overall Bait and Switch seems like a combo set, but it’s extremely solid in its fundamentals and that makes it rather scary. You could just build with this set without wanting to use the objective, and personally I think that’s the way to go. I am not sure if it’s a 1 of or if you want to double up on it. Either way more Seeds is a nightmare for Darkside.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – The set lacks a resource, but it packs plenty of blast, high edge, powerful control tools and the potential for dumb combos, most of which may be enabled by the objective, which I don't think is necessarily worth the effort. All other cards here are quite strong individually, and you may be purposedlly going for subpar picks trying to maximize on the objective's text.