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

Knives in the Night (273-1): 17 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – I like the fact that we’re getting some more Night cards. We’re almost to the point where you can make a deck around that trait and have it do something. Maybe one more set. In the meantime, getting an extra gun on up to three of your units isn’t a bad deal. Having that gun be edge enabled, and only on units that would need to double focus to use it is less good. Still, you’re getting something for nothing out of this, and that something could be consequential during a key conflict.

yodaman (4/5) – Getting an extra gun, even if it’s edge-enabled isn’t bad. Although sometimes you commit units you may not want to use in combat so you’ll need to be careful when you decide what units you want to commit and who to use in engagements.

Rio (5/5) – More Night cards! I’m giddy with excitement! I love the idea of the theme, and this objective starts out with a bang. More guns is always awesome, and Sith units love to be committed to the force. This objective works well with a lot of Sith units GA Palp loves it, so does Dark Lord Vader, core Vader and Mara Jade. The list is long of the units that will find this objective extremely useful.

Majestaat (5/5) – I've come to hate this objective. Even cheap defenders easily become lethal threats, which is very relevant early, allowing the DS to go for more greedy openings without getting punished. Fortunately, the gun is edge enabled, so if you have a good hand, you can take up the risk and go hard on the enemy objectives anyway.


*Nightsister Matron (273-2): 18.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Now here we have a Swiss Army character worth talking about. Good defender? Check, with two guns and black tactics. Can she contest the force? You bet, with three pips. Can she be easily locked down? Nuh-uh, she’s elite. What about resources? Yeah, she has one of those too. But what about special abilities? Well, do you like drawing cards? Because she can easily get you three, or more with a few other cards. Or, if you don’t like drawing cards, if you get enough Night around, you can empty your opponent’s hand. That’s a pretty good trick. Admittedly, to do that before they’d get to refill it anyway is a bit more challenging. But still. Lots and lots of utility, all in one card.

yodaman (4.5/5) – The Nighsister Matron is decent for her 4 cost and 3 health. She comes with 2 guns (1 black, 1 white) and a black tactics. She’s also elite. Her ability helps you to keep cards in hand since you get to draw a card when you commit a unit to the Force and draw 2 if you control 3 or more Night cards so you’ll want to build around that. On top of that you get to do that twice per turn. Any tricks you may have to commit or uncommit units like Echoes of the Force or Abandoned Hideout can help you trigger her even more regularly.

Rio (5/5) – I’m not sure there can't be anything bad said about this unit, 4 cost, 3 pips, elite, AND a black tactic. Sign me up. The ability is really good too, getting to draw a card for something you want to do anyways is always a bonus. I’m personally not sure the discard ability is needed. Oh and she has a resource in case that’s ever needed. Yeah this is what a main should look like.

Majestaat (5/5) – The Matron does a ton of things and doesn't seem to give anything up for that versatility. She's got good stats, elite, a powerful, easy-to-trigger ability and even a resource, which admittedly won't be used often, but just having the option is great.
She can even discard enemy cards if going for the Night dream, and like the resource, it's an unnecessary option, but an option nonetheless. Talk about overloaded.


Nightsister Warrior (273-3&4): 14 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – Remember the days when Sith had trouble blowing up objectives? Well, how about getting a couple of units that have black blast and cost two? Good deal. And they can hold the force (or do a good job in the edge stack). On top of that, they can start throwing damage around when they get committed to the force. Force chokes on for the cost of a force card. There’s just about nothing to dislike about these units. Unfortunately, that blast damage will slow down considerably once you commit them, as they aren’t elite. I keep waffling between giving them a four, but I’m trying not to get carried away.

yodaman (4/5) – The set comes with 2 of these chuds to help support the Matron. They synergize with her well since they have the Night trait. When they’re committed to the Force, you get to deal 1 damage to a target non-Vehicle unit of your opponent’s. They even have a black blast if you need to push the tempo as DS. Abandoned Hideout with the sisters allows you to do a lot of damage outside of engaements.

Rio (3.5/5) – Is the pack of good chuds? Hot damn, these girls know what’s up. The black bomb makes up for the mains lack of a bomb, their ability (and objective) make up for the lack of gun and we get 2 of them! The 2 pips make them very good chuds to commit to the force, however their ability makes you not want to commit turn 1. So I guess that’s balance?

Majestaat (3.5/5) – Let these gals stack up that blast while your mains work on defense. Once you start grinding your opponent, commit them to finish damaged units. If none of those appeal to you, they're decent in edge with 2 pips. They also have the Force User and Night traits, which gives them extra synergy with other cards. I want to push them to 4, but with no gun of their own, they're weak defenders even when commited with Knives out.


Nightfall (273-5): 13 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – Well, here’s a nice free event that will let you get an extra use out of one of your Nightsisters. Or, if you have enough Night, a cheap event that can get you an extra use out of all of your Nightsisters. Not bad. Outside of those situations, you can make sure Yoda isn’t sitting there holding the force for the LS, although that’ll probably mean that they can use MTFBWY again. In general, getting half an Echoes of the Force that you can use on event timing isn’t a bad thing. It’s just not that super exciting either.

yodaman (4.5/5) – A free event that synergizes well with the set and is versatile. Remove one of your own units like a Nightsister Warrior, from the Force so you can recommit her and trigger her damage again. Use it to get balance back from your opponent by uncommiting one of their units. If you happen to have 3 or more Night cards, you can spend a resource to remove all units from the Force which could make your opponent’s units vulnerable to things like Force Storm or Power of the Dark Side.

Rio (2.5/5) – This card is really good at 1 cost to decommit everyone, not as good only decommiting 1 unit. It’s still useful, but I think it’s a turn 1 discard card if it’s in your opening hand. Late game it could be clutch in a force struggle that you need to keep to get the dial to 12.

Majestaat (3/5) – I like Echoes, so it´s only natural to like this. Get an extra use of the Nightsisters here or simply free a Force card for whatever you need it. Uncommiting enemy units will always be rather risky due to MTFBWY, so I'm not particularly fond of the pay 1 to uncommit everyone, but it can come in handy sometimes to snatch the Force without having to overcommit.
I mostly dislike its single pip, but considering the set has 10 icons already, there's no reason this should have more.


Echoes of the Force (273-6): 15 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – Speaking of Echoes, you get one of those too. Great combo card with the set, less interesting and more niche in the larger world of the game. I could give this one a four, similiar to the chuds, for set synergy purposes, but I’m going to hold back and be the curmudgeon of the group (maybe, who knows…).

yodaman (4/5) – Still a good fate card, especially against MTFBWY based decks as it can negate that. Very good addition here.

Rio (4/5) – Seeds is the ideal lightside turn 1 fate card. Echoes is the darksides ideal turn 1 fate card. It’s always fun to commit Yoda before MTFBWY can activate. Plus it’s a bonus with the Nightsisters if you want to commit them, and you get to draw a card with the Matron. So much winning with this card in this pod.

Majestaat (4/5) – Although Echoes may be one of the weakest fate cards in a vacuum, there's enough (strong) synergy here to make it real good. Plus, screwing any LS main T1 when they have MTFBWY out always brings a smile to my face. An elegant card for not so elegant players.


Overall: 15.5 out of 20 possible points.

doctormungmung (3/5) – I really like this set, but I don’t think I’ll play with it until I can get a Night deck out of it. That’s not far off, but until then, it’s still a solid utility set with a great character, and lots of ways to mess with your opponent. And if nothing else, it’s a good drop into a Sith deck to get some cheap blast to close out those games when you’ve gotten the board well and truly controlled.

yodaman (4.5/5) – I really like this set. It has 3 units, which is good for Sith since Sith sets often only have 2. It has great internal synergy and naturally seems to pair with the Force Hunters archetype and Djas Phur’s set to take advantage of Night bonuses. The Matron has a resource for you to use in a pinch and 10 force pips overall is certainly good. I suspect this set will see a decent amount of play.

Rio (4/5) – Although it lacks a proper resource, it's got a good mix of offense, defense and some control. Also an impressive count of 10 pips. This is an easy fit in Sith decks.

Majestaat (4/5) – Solid set with strong internal synergy. It's certainly good enough to contribute to most decks, but I think you could often find better choices unless going for a dedicated build that tries to be annoying with a lot of commit/uncommit shenanigans. I'm still trying stuff because that's the kind of build that I find very fun to play, and it is! Also decent enough to win semi-consistently, but nowhere near top status. I wish the core Nightsisters weren't so darn expensive, so I could try a decent Nightsister deck that pings everything to death.


Automated Assassin (274-1): 14.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – More free damage for the DS. Great for them, bad for the LS, and maybe not that great for the game (there are a few too many ways for the DS to remove LS characters at this point, but that’s another topic for another time). You have to jump through a few hoops to get it, but basically getting a free heat when a battle with one of your droid ends is pretty good. Just make sure you have enough droids to trigger it. Guri really loves this objective.

yodaman (4/5) – A potentially great ability. As long as you can keep a droid around at the end of an engagement you can deal 1 damage to a participating unit when the engagement ends. Since this can be triggered after every engagement, it can certainly come in handy. Droid swarm here we come.

Rio (3.5/5) – This objective has a simple ability but a scary one. Dealing damage to a unit after the combat ends is really good. This makes blocking math a possible nightmare for the Lightside. It also synergies well with the other IG pods. The K4 from IGB’s set damages an enemy entering combat with it, so this will ping them on the way out as well. So the droids can become a mass of non-combat direct damage just killing there units for blocking.

Majestaat (4/5) – Since it's very common for LS decks to focus on packing high amounts of blast instead of guns, it can actually be quite hard to get rid of every pesky droid thrown at you, making this objective more consistent and annoying that I initially thought. Combine this with all the pinging the IG-B set provides and you can make short work of the LS board.


*IG-88D (274-2): 18.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (5/5) – For a five cost character, IGgyD does have a good icon spread, although you’d want to really see one more. He is a bit flimsy, though, for the cost, and he (it?) isn’t elite, so really what are you paying for here? Well, a free way to kill units, that’s what. It’s always frustrating when you capture a big unit only to have them show up again next turn (or later that turn (thanks YYSY)). Now, you have the ideal way to take care of that. Really what IGgyD does is double the effectiveness of your capture effects. Get rid of one card, to then get rid of a second one. And that second one is coming from the board, so you’re messing with the LS board state in the process.
yodaman (4.5/5) – Iggy-D is a bit expensive for his 5 cost and only 3 health. But his combat icons are decent with 1 black of each type and a white gun and he had 3 pips. His ability is where he really can shine though since once per turn you can discard a captured unit to destroy a copy of that unit. This is a great way to keep pesky LS units like Luke or Yoda from returning if you capture them early. The ability certainly needs to be built around, but Scum has the tools to do that. Lack of elite is a bit of a drawback, but his ability makes up for it.

Rio (4.5/5) – 5 cost is a bit expensive, but you aren’t paying for a unit you’re paying for his ability and man what an ability. Discard a captured card to just flat out kill a unit your opponents turn. That’s solid and may actually be one of the best capture abilities in the game. His icons are also really solid, the black bomb and tactic cannot be underestimated. However I don’t think you ever really want him IN combat, so I think he is essentially a 5 cost enhancement that you leave out as a threat with the black tactic and use the 3 pips to control the force and his ability to control the board.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – In spite of its high cost, lowish HP and lack of a keyword, IG-D manages to be a powerful main that has those weaknesses as a way to balance how stupid strong its ability is. Coupled with some direct capture tools or some luck with the likes of Tat Crash or Forgotten Droid Factory, IG-D becomes a nightmare. If your opponent knows that X unit is captured, it becomes harder to play his extra copies. If he doesn't know/remember what has been captured, the new copy will be shortlived.


Rogue B1 Battle Droid (274-3): 15.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – A two cost unit with three icons? That’s a steal. Even if two of them are edge enabled. The DS hasn’t had trouble winning edge for a long time, so edge enabled icons aren’t that much of a worry. Plus it’s a droid, so you get all the droid bonuses floating around these days for a super efficient chud.

yodaman (4/5) – As 2 cost chuds go, this one is decent. He has 2 health and the potential for 3 combat icons if you win edge. He’s a droid which synergizes with the set and also a Bounty Hunter which means he could come in free with Jabba’s ability.

Rio (3.5/5) – Mr.Bones? Is that you? “Yes Master Timmon…I am here to rescue you…Roger…Roger.” I think this is art for Mr.Bones, anyways… This pack is full of extremely good chuds, and this guy is no exception. The white blast is much appreciated. As I stated with the objective if you attack with this dude and the K4 that’s a main dead, or 3 blasts on an objective. It puts the lightside player in a no win position and that’s what I think droids do as a whole. Also this dude is a Bounty Hunter a very important key word for a Scum chud. At 2 cost he is free with Jabba.

Majestaat (4/5) – Vanilla chud with an extra gun, that's okay. But being a cheap droid, it can become way more threatening with IG-B and/or Automated Assassin. It's also a Bounty Hunter, so you could drop it for free with Jabba.


Bounty Listing (274-4): 17.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – Another two for one non-limited resource with a focus ability. Those are generally not bad, as you can always just use the resource. Here you’re really tempted to hold the enhancement open, though, as you can get a captured YYSY’ed Yoda, or a Heroes and Legends’ed Kyle. Heck, just leaving this resource open will likely keep your opponent from triggering either of those effects. There are a few other “put into play effects”, although YYSY is really the only one you’re likely to see on a regular basis. Is a two cost enhancement worth it to keep Yoda from showing up at action speed? Probably.

yodaman (4.5/5) – I have to admit, I misread this card at first and thought it said “play” not “put into play”. That would have been broken! Still this 2-1 resource is great value considering what it can do even if it is a bit more situational. As long as you can keep the resource open you have a way to immediately capture a LS unit that is put into play for 1. This counters Falcon drops, YYSY, Unfinished Business, Wolfmen, cards rescued by Cracken, etc… Your opponent may definitely have to change plans.

Rio (5/5) – The standard Scum 2/1 resource, I hear those are tempo killers, but I think this one is worth the hit on turn 1. Its ability is relevant on the lightside turn one to stop the ever present Yoda seeking play. Its ability also stops a Falcon bounce an Infiltrated Dash, or numerous other lightside combat tricks. This card is powerful.

Majestaat (5/5) – A bit of a niche counter, but also a super hard counter when it goes off, and being a 2-1 resource, it's not like it'll sit there doing nothing when your oppponent isn't running those put in play tricks. But let's be honest, he'll at least have Yoda, You Seek Yoda. And because that's card can make most initial hands playable, dropping this enhancement T1 and leaving it free can even mess with the whole LS turns.


Droid Uprising (274-5): 11 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (2/5) – This is basically a poor version of a global droid refresh. Giving all your droids elite will be helpful on occasion, but a lot of the times, not so much. If nothing else, you either really focus your deck on droids, or you have a two pip edge card. And honestly, I think those two pips will be more useful even in a droid deck. But what do I know? I’m just trying to finish this review.

yodaman (4/5) – Droids tend to not be elite. This 1 cost event lets you make them elite after the refresh phase starts. That can be worth it if your droid swarm is locked down. It has 2 pips too so it’s fine if you have to put it in an edge battle.

Rio (2.5/5) – I really wish this card had 3 pips and IGD had the 2 that this one has… Oh well. This isn’t a “bad” card. Granting all the droids elite for a turn could free up a locked down board and get you out of a jam. It’s essentially free being that you will refresh the resource after you play this card. However you will need the 1 left over from last turn. I think that isn’t that hard to do if you’re leaving Bounty Listing open as a threat to stop some tricks on the Lightside turn. It’s a situational card that you will pitch 99.9% of the time, but if you every find yourself in that situation you will wish you hadn’t pitched this card.

Majestaat (2.5/5) – Ehhh, it's okay. Save for the original, none of the IG-series has elite, so having at least one way to keep your big investments online can prove useful against LS tactics. Unfortunately, it's somewhat wonky in its timing, and you may not have a resource available when you need it. At least it has two pips.


Security Protocols (274-6): 16.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – I loved this fate card when it showed up with Childsen, and I love it now. It’s got internal set synergy, although a bit less so than in it’s original set. But picking a card to capture out of three will help set up IGgyD on occasion, which is well worth it. Of course, you also get deck knowledge, and LS draw control every time you use this.

yodaman (4.5/5) – I liked this fate card when it came out before and really think it’s a good inclusion
here.

Rio (4/5) – One of my favorite fate cards, and bonus IG 88 is in the picture!

Majestaat (4/5) – Really cool fate card. It's still good information and helps IG-D a bit, but that's about it, as most other droid pods don't quite benefit from capture. It's somewhat ironical that Cell Block Detention, a Navy pod, would benefit more from this than a Scum pod, but I guess the former is a green set in disguise anyway.


Overall: 18 out of 20 possible points.

doctormungmung (4/5) – This is a solid set. Lots of board control in multiple forms, although you’ll need to build your deck to enable them (you can’t just drop this set into any deck and expect it to have an impact). You have a potentially back breaking expensive unit with a resource to help pay for it (him?). An efficient chud, and a high utility fate card. Someone loves their droids on the design team, and it shows.

yodaman (4.5/5) – Another strong Scum pod here that definitely helps with capture decks and droid based decks. It has a resource and 9 pips which is never a bad thing. So far, it’s been fun to try to use in my testing and I suspect someone will come up with a really good build that utilizes the tools in this set.

Rio (5/5) – This set is solid. It fits into any capture scum deck as at least a 1 of, but it could be the feature of your deck as well. IGD will give your opponent nightmares especially if they don’t know what you’ve captured.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – It covers the fundamentals, with solid units, resource, high edge and some utility. But you want to build around IG-D because of how dumb it can be, and quite possibly go semi-hard on droids for the objective.
If your meta is into put in play effects, playing this set for the enhancement alone is fine too. That thing can single-handedly murder some decks. It murdered mine.



FINAL WORDS:
Back to being super late with the review. Unfortunately, I was super busy throughout November, so I wasn't able to test and work on the article until just recently.
I don't think those exceptional circumstances should show up again, so the next one should come in way earlier.

We got another strong pack, with no bad pods, and while they all have some niche to make them unique, they're overall generic enough to be fit in a plethora of a decks and perform decently.
It's a shame pantsyg couldn't make it this time so we could get more accurate final scores, but having Rio, we still get a very decent 4-man review.

Swayed by the Dark Side comes next. You'd thing it would be out by now (well, it is in some parts of the World...), but seems like it'll take another couple weeks, so we're back to waiting until we start work on the next review.

And that's about it this time.
Many thanks to the reviewers for their hard work and the readers for their continued support.
You can check past reviews in our forum thread here.

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

May the Force be with you all, and happy holidays!