The Mos Eisley Mafia: SWCLG "Power of the Force" Force Pack Review - Light Side

MEET THE FAMILY (aka - THE REVIEWERS):
-doctormungmung (codename: Salty), Massachussets' evil genius;
-yodaman (codename: Candy), he who you seek when numbers are involved;
-pantsyg (codename: Spicy), jankmaster general;
-Majestaat (codename: Bitter), 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 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:
1 – *Hera Syndulla (Haunting the Empire), with 19 out of 20 possible points.
2 – Tricks and Nonsense (On the Run), 19 with out of 20 possible points.

3 – *BoShek (On the Run), with 19 out of 20 possible points.

Top 3 DS Cards:
1 – Twist of Fate (Lure of the Lost) with 20 out of 20 possible points.
2 – *"Howlrunner" (Cloud Cover), with 19 out of 20 possible points.
3 – *Obsidian Leader (Cloud Cover), with 19 out of 20 possible points.

Overall best rated Objective Set:
Cloud Cover, with 19 out of 20 possible points.


THE REVIEWS:

Stand Together (251-1): 15 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – If you are running a Specter deck, it won't be very hard to turn on this objective. And getting an extra two to the force for free can help you steal it for a turn or two, giving you that much more time to get to three objectives. But needing two Specters to turn it on hurts the splashability of the objective. As such, I’ll split the difference and give it a three.

yodaman (4.5/5) – Anytime you can get icons counting for the force struggle that don’t involve committing units to the force you have a pretty powerful effect and this objective gives you 2 icons as long as you have 2 Specter units on the board. That’s fairly easy to do if you build for it and all Specter decks are going to see some play, but your odds of getting this turned on drop if you start using some objectives without Specter units. That aspect keeps the objective from being a perfect 5 in my eyes.

pantsyg (4/5) – While Master’s Domain isn’t played a ton in the current meta, no one disputes the strength of Yoda’s Hut. This objective is less flashy than Spark or Gamor and thus less obviously game-changing, but getting those extra 2 force pips without needing to have a ready unit can be crucial in slowing down games. Influence on top makes this a better than average objective.

Majestaat (3.5/5) – This will allow you to be more aggressive with your units without just giving away extra dial ticks for free. Though you won't be dropping two Spectres on the board right away unless you're getting lucky with Spark, they're for the most part rather durable, so one should stick around enough for another one to hit the table and activate this. Chopper hasn't been revealed yet, but I'm hoping he'll be pretty cheap, in which case this objective should become MUCH better, as it will be easier to get several Spectres in play early.


*Ezra Bridger (251-2): 16 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – From a cost effectiveness standpoint, Ezra would be pretty good if he didn’t have any text. Two black icons, including a black blast, for two, with two health and two force icons is super efficient. That’s kind of the gold standard for a LS chud. His text is just icing, and really forces the DS into some awkward decisions. Do they ignore the chud to focus on bigger threats? If they do, they lose two cards from their hand or let one of their defenders get locked out before they strike. If they focus on Ezra, you just managed to divert attention from a main to a chud. Maybe I could be convinced to go up to a five (maybe), but I hate his character in the fiction so much he’s got a hard cap at four from me.

yodaman (4/5) – Ezra gives you a black gun and blast for 2 cost and has 2 health which is cost effective, but certainly not what you typically see in a main unit in terms of power level. His ability is really annoying to play against because it forces your opponent into decisions they might not want to make if he gets to strike. The 2 cost makes him vulnerable to Moment of Triumph and his 2 health makes him a bit fragile since it’s certainly not uncommon for DS units to have 3 guns. Plus you can put a focus token on a unit already focused down, if needed to minimize Ezra’s ability during an engagement.

pantsyg (4/5) – When this card was spoiled, I was less than excited. After a little play, I have to admit that I was very wrong. If he gets to strike, both of his effects are phenomenal. The random discard in particular can be totally savage and can really disrupt your opponent’s edge game. I’ve found that opponents tend to sink tactics or removal into him to keep him from striking, which is both thematically cool and helpful for my other characters.

Majestaat (4/5) – Damn Ezra, you were always ugly, but what the hell happened to your face? Anyway... superior chud stats already make him good for his cost, plus his useful Specter and Force User traits. The real money is on his reaction though. You're forced to block this midget or you'll be losing valuable cards, which will spell doom if there is any big threat on the table.


Loth-cat (251-3): 17 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – This creature is interesting. There are plenty of targeted removal or focusing effects out there on the DS (too many in my opinion), and very few methods of defense. Here we get one more, although it’s got some awkward restrictions. Protecting Specters is great (and probably needed). But there aren’t that many neutral units you’re likely to want to protect. The top two that come to mind are Blockade Runners and the Speeder Bike from Luke’s set. Other than those, and perhaps a handful of others, the DS isn’t likely to spend resources (cards, focus, actual resources) to deal with what is likely just a chud.

yodaman (5/5) – I might be overrating this card, but potentially repeatable cancel for card effects, including events, is incredible for the price of 1 cost. Even though it’s limited to Specter and neutral units, the fact you can recycle this back into your deck cannot be underestimated. You can use it to stop Captured or Force Lightning or prevent a Heat or Seeds. Then, just as the theme suggests, the cat goes through its nine lives and just comes back.

pantsyg (4/5) – Another card I underestimated quite a bit. It offers really wide protection for the most important units in your deck, and can come back again and again if you’ve got the resources to get it out. Adorable!

Majestaat (4/5) – In general, this is a better version of the DL-44 in No Match for a Good Blaster. That one plays really well for its set's theme, but the Cat is basically protecting most of your mains simultaneously, ultimately making it superior for that purpose. Because focusing it down doesn't do anything, the DS will have to go out of its way to deal with the Cat, or simply assume it'll need double the removal to effectively remove threats, and that's if the Cat doesn't show up again before you get more removal.


Stolen Helmet (251-4): 14 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – Card draw is good, but I’d much rather use this card in an edge battle, which it’s three force icons just beg to do. Although, since this is limited by phase and not by turn, you could fairly easily get a card during your opponent’s draw phase followed by one in their conflict phase if Ezra get’s to strike. In the end, though, mostly this is an effect that the DS can play around, and thus limit the benefit you gain. Still, if that makes them play sub-optimally, then maybe it’s worth it?

yodaman (4/5) – It’s a 0 cost enhancement with 3 force icons. The ability is neat since your opponent will often discard a card at some point and that allows you to draw a card. Use it to trigger BtS Luke’s and get a damage on a DS unit or just take advantage of the three pips for edge.

pantsyg (3/5) – Surprisingly, a pretty nice utility card. A free enhancement is great for a deck that features a few Well Equipped fates. The real value is in the reaction, which you’ll probably be triggering fairly reliably in the opponent’s draw phase, otherwise known as one of the best times to draw cards. In a pinch, it’s a massive edge card.

Majestaat (4/5) – Much better than I originally thought. Any 3-pips card is bound to be useful, but when it's free and so easy to trigger its text, it becomes really good. Don't waste it on your more fighty units, that's just putting a bigger bounty on them. Instead use it on small fry or support units that won't even see combat, then let the the Helmet buff your hand while your opponent tries to cycle his. Because it's only limited to once per phase, if you're running some discard tech, then you can get a ton of value out of this.


Improvised Demolition (251-5): 14 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – If this card didn’t give a way for the DS to cancel it, it would easily be a straight up five. Giving a horde of chuds blast for two is totally worth it. All of Brainiac’s droids become even bigger bombs than they already are. Luke’s Speeder Bike becomes a double threat. Or just blow stuff up with a Nudj or two. And it lasts the whole phase! Unfortunately, the DS can cancel it by pitching a pair of cards. Now, that’ll likely help you win an edge battle, as well as protect a main or two from some hidden tricks. But you’re also down two resources and a lot of blast. Even still, this card will win games.

yodaman (3.5/5) – On the surface, this card looks really useful. In practice, it seems like it’s been too conditional. The potential to give your Specter and neutral units an extra blast for an entire phase is incredible. However, since your opponent can cancel it, you have to make sure you time it right to get it off. The combo dependent nature of all those factors coming together brings it down a bit for me.

pantsyg (3/5) – I’m a bit of a sucker for combo cards. I can see this being completely disgusting in certain decks. The all-Specter deck itself is a decent home, but I’m sure players will be finding ways to set up massive bursts of damage from wide swarms of cheap neutrals, who often need help to close games. The blast lasts until the end of phase, which means any of your double-strike tricks gain massive value. Sure, your opponent can cancel it, but discarding 2 is a pretty harsh cost that should let you walk all over his edge hands for the rest of the turn, especially because the discard is random. But but but, you need the units and resources out to make this worthwhile, so it’s a dead draw in some situations.

Majestaat (3.5/5) – This is really hard for me to rate since it involves so many variables. It's dependant on your deck, then your board, resources and your hand vs the DS hand. If you can set it right, you'll wreck face either because of all the extra blast or because you'll have an easy time winning edge battles that turn. If not... it's just poor edge fodder. This is either a dead draw or a game-winning play.


Specter's Concentration (251-6): 16 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Like with the objective, in a Specter deck (or even a partial Specter deck) this card will be a bomb in edge. Again we get some weird DS card in hand restrictions, but when this card turns face up, your opponent is likely to have pitched cards to edge down to the requisite three, so it’s more of a soft limitation. Couple this with Strike Team Assemble and you could get seven edge from a single card (ten if you have two out). Now that’s an edge trick worth a thing or two.

yodaman (4/5) – The potential for this to be a 4 icon card can’t be underestimated and, if nothing else, your opponent will have to play around this card during Edge anytime they see something from Ezra’s set on the board and a Specter unit in the engagement. However, the conditional nature is a drawback in my eyes.

pantsyg (4/5) – 4-pip edge cards are just phenomenal, but the fact that your Specter has to be participating means it won’t be operational in every edge battle you’d want it in.

Majestaat (4/5) – 3-pips cards have become more and more common, while 4-pip ones are still really rare. This makes it so that the DS can often feel safe just playing a 3-pips card in edge, which is good for this. The card requirement is also easy to fulfill, as your opponent needs to deploy stuff and burn some cards in edge if he's hoping to win anyway.


Overall: 13.5 out of 20 possible points.

doctormungmung (3/5) – I really like a lot of what this set can do to mess with your opponent and their hand, as well as reap benefits from it. Unfortunately it’s also hampered by having effectively just one unit, and that one is an (admittedly very good) chud. Running two of this set and you run the risk of dead draws. Double or triple that threat if you pair this set with Sabine (I love her set, just not her lack of units). Specters are really looking like they’ll fall into some of the same traps that Jedi does, which a little less oomph as compensation. Which is sad, because the LS really needs more good deck options these days.

yodaman (4/5) – A decent set which adds to the Specter deck archetype. But Ezra is a bit of a lackluster main and it doesn’t have a resource. 8 icons is just average too for Jedi, although the fate card can certainly bring that total up. Whether or not it really sees a lot of play depends on the how popular and effective all Specter decks become.

pantsyg (3/5) – A decent, fun support set that obviously fits into the Specter deck, but has enough utility to earn a spot in other combo builds based around Improvised Detonation. He’ll probably want to tag along his master Kanan even in those decks, but there’s a variety of sets that can fill out that theme. I’m interested to see if he makes Ewoks a stronger deck.

Majestaat (3.5/5) – Unlike previous Specter pods, this one isn't nearly as versatile, wanting to be paired with more Specters or many cheap neutrals to abuse the event. While the cards are individually rather good, the whole package feels lackluster, probably because it's pretty much a pod with a single chud and no more units.


Haunting the Empire (252-1): 16 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Again I’m feeling generous on the 5/2 blank objectives today. Although thinking back, I usually feel generous (I can’t remember the last time I gave one of these a rating of three), so maybe I should just say that I like these objectives and be done with it. Being able to put out five resources (or more depending on how many you have out) just provides such an increased number of play options, and really gets you out of a jam if you can’t find any resources.

yodaman (4/5) – A vanilla 2-5 objective, but having the potential for 2 resources is never a bad thing.

pantsyg (4/5) – I like 5/2 objectives for Rebels, who have a lot of 2-1 resource enhancements.

Majestaat (4/5) – The LS doesn't get enough 2-resources objectives, so it's good to get one in such a playable set to boot. This will allow for more flexible openings.


*Hera Syndulla (252-2): 19 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (5/5) – Along the lines of Ezra, Hera is almost brutally efficient. Three icons (including a black tactics) with three health for three resources is great. She’s a little lacking in the force icon area, but two still isn’t bad. And she comes with multiple abilities. She’s got a passive that will really help you keep the DS board from exploding, by passing out black guns to all her crew and neutral units. Luke’s Speeder can now ping for damage while locking down a couple of defenders. Brainiac’s droids just get so much more pop. Then she gets a reaction that basically makes any one Specter of your choice elite. It’s a toned down Motti/Kanan. All that for three cost is a huge bargain.

yodaman (5/5) – Hera is an outstanding and versatile main. She costs 3 and has 3 health and a decent spread of icons (black gun, black tactics and white blast), but she comes with a plelthora of keywords and abilities. She’s a Leader which means she could go well in a deck based around that theme (i.e. GA Leia). She’s Specter of course which means you could cheat her in with Spark and turn on other Specter bonuses. She gives all your Specter and neutral units a gun and she has also has the ability to remove an extra focus token from a Specter unit, including herself, after you refresh to make them pseudo-elite. It’s great to see a card that does so many things. It will make her a big target though so do what you can to keep her around. It would be nice if she had more than 2 force icons, but you can’t have it all.

pantsyg (4/5) – She’s not the most exciting 3-drop, but the black tactics, 3 HP, and pseudo-elite make her a decent play on her own. I like the Leader trait for synergy inside Rebels, and if your deck features other Specters or lots of neutrals, her utility text gains a lot of value.

Majestaat (5/5) – Although she's a bit lacking in the Force, Hera is all around a very solid unit. Useful traits, nice combat icons and health to cost ratio. Then we have a passive buff for Specters/neutrals which can go unnoticed or become completely brutal depending on your build.
Finally, her reaction is like having elite, which you can also happen to use on other Specters if Hera herself doesn't need the extra refresh.
Just like Kanan, she does a lot of stuff for your game but doesn't get enough recognition because she's not the best brawler.


*Ghost (252-3): 18 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – While Hera isn’t going to be blowing up the objectives, the Ghost is. Solid main stats for four cost, with an extra bit of health to keep it around. On top of that, it’s elite, so it’s hard to lock down, and you can use it’s blast turn after turn. When it does get locked down, you can turn things around and use it’s protect to keep you other Specters alive. Keeping Zeb or Hera or Sabine around will really help get your milage from them. Lastly it has some interesting effect protect capabilities, but needing to focus to do it makes it very awkward, because you really want the Ghost blowing things up. Although a poorly timed Capture is probably worth giving up the opportunity to blow stuff up.

yodaman (5/5) – Ghost is another outstanding unit in this set. It’s elite, has 4 cost, 4 health and 4 combat icons (2 black guns, 1 black blast and 1 white blast). Protect is one of the most powerful abilities in the game and being able to protect any Specter unit with a 4 health unit is incredible. If that wasn’t enough, Ghost also has a great ability in that you can cancel card effects that target a Specter or Rebel unit if you focus it. Of course, there is a tradeoff when doing that, but it’s one that can be well worth it in many instances. 3 force icons is also great since you can commit Ghost and help keep the force with Rebel.

pantsyg (4/5) – Great 4-drop icons, 4 HP, and elite all add up to a high-impact unit on their own. The interrupt offers a ton of protection for your most important units in either a Specter or Rebel-heavy build. Focusing a monster unit seems like a massive cost for that protection, and she has to be ready to use her ability, but I can see this saving games and you get a card out of the deal. The really cool combo is with Kanan’s Concentration, since the effect isn’t limited to once a turn.

Majestaat (5/5) – The Ghost has had everyone excited for a while, and with good reason! Great main on its own, packing good offense and defense. But it's also a great support unit for your other mains.
Not only does it protect for Specters from damage, it also protects them and any Rebel unit from those annoying targeted effects. Sure, focusing one of your heavy-hitters is a steep price, but if your opponent was already investing 3+ then it's well worth it. You'll keep more healthy units for future turns and even get to draw a card to boost your edge.
All in all, I'd say there's nothing to dislike about the Ghost. Just be careful about commiting it, or you may never get to use its reaction again, even if its elite.


*Phantom (252-4): 17 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Hera comes with her own tactics chud that is also a protect unit on steroids. For the cost of two you get a “get out of jail free” card that you can use to save any character (or presumably Chopper) from destruction or capture. That’s pretty significant. And considering the removal floating around these days on the DS, getting to stop even one is worth the cost of admission. The one tricky thing with the Phantom is that when you use it as a tactics chud, you need to make sure that your opponent can’t kill it in the engagement, because then it’s primary purpose cannot be utilized.

yodaman (4/5) – So Phantom makes this set have 3 unique units which is certainly something to consider when deckbuilding. It’s a bit defensive and LS wants to have blast damage, but for 2 cost, you get a 2 health unit with a white tactics and a good ability. You can sacrifice this unit to stop a Specter or neutral unit from being destroyed or captured. On top of that, you remove all damage from the unit. Keeping your best units alive is never a bad thing.

pantsyg (5/5) – Just an amazing 2-drop. Rebels love more tactics, especially on non-character units with 2 HP. Like Ghost, Phantom protects most of your important units from some of the big swing effects in the game at a cost that makes it easy to get on the board.

Majestaat (4/5) – If focusing the Ghost to keep your mains safe isn't your cup of tea, then perhaps sacrificing the Phantom will be. For two resources you get a standard tactics chud, with the upside of being a vehicle to protect itself from several annoying events and effects. It also packs a reaction that will protect your mains from fatal damage and most instant-removal effects, while also bringing them back to full health!


Hidden Outpost (252-5): 15.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Yay resources! This is something that is needed for the LS. It seems like a lot of the good sets have been a bit light on the resources recently. And even if that’s not the case, getting a resource in a set with three units is incredibly good, because usually resources sets are thinning your unit count.

yodaman (3.5/5) – Resources are always welcome. Having this neutral 1-1 which has been standard for Rebel sets since the start of the game seems appropriate here.

pantsyg (4/5) – It’s just a 1-1 resource, but we haven’t seen one in a Rebel set for awhile so it’s nice to see here.

Majestaat (4/5) – Rebels have been all about 2-1 resources lately, so it's very welcome to see the standard 1-1 again. Between the objective and this enhancement, you have a solid economy to roll the expensive units here.


Call to Action (252-6): 12.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (2/5) – Missions can be pretty impactful. But normally they don’t give your opponent any benefit. This one, though, gives them a resource, which is bad. So unless you are going to pop this one the turn you play it (which is never an easy accomplishment), it’s probably not worth putting on the table. Luckily, it’s got two force icons, so it’s an ok edge card. Still, in a set of winners, this card is a big dud.

yodaman (4.5/5) – This mission is really interesting. It’s free to play, but comes with a drawback in that it generates a resource for your opponent. The ability is bonkers if you can get it to go off since it gives all your Specter units an extra black blast after you complete it allowing you the opportunity to swing big on a single turn if you set up your attacks correctly. Also, once it’s completed you get to return a unit to your opponent’s hand if you want. The trick with this mission is going to be the timing so you can get the extra blast and also remove your opponent’s most effective blocker at the same time. You’ll almost always want to play it on the turn you can hopefully destroy it in order to prevent your opponent from getting the extra resource. I’ll be curious to see how much this actually gets played.

pantsyg (3/5) – In Specter decks, completing this mission will really speed up your wins. Outside of Specter builds, the Sap effect shouldn’t be underestimated—note that it has no restriction, so you could bounce an expensive, crucial defender like Palp or Xizor. It does give the opponent a resource, so only play this if you have a good shot at killing it in the same turn. It is free, though, and has 2 pips if you can’t set up the kill. Might be interesting alongside Ackbar, who buffs the vehicles in this set against the mission.

Majestaat (3/5) – Hard one to assess. If you can't blow it up right away, you may be helping your opponent too much with that extra resource. Then again, even if you're giving them a better deployment, if you can destroy this next turn, you could be completely nullifying that advantage thanks to the bounce. However, things won't always go as smoothly when you helped to deploy someone who can deal with several units at once, like Palp, Xizor, Chimaera.
On the upside, it's free and has two pips, so no tempo loss when you would go all-in, or decent edge if you can't do so.


Overall: 18 out of 20 possible points.

doctormungmung (4/5) – This set is great! You get a couple of tactics units, a force enhancer, lots of blast, unit and effect protection, and a resource. You aren’t even sacrificing edge count for all of that (I rate an eight edge count in a set as average). The only card you don’t really want to see is the mission, but mosts sets have a card you don’t really want to see, even the good ones. Besides the mission, my only gripe is that the Ghost isn’t also a Specter unit, and so doesn’t get all the potential benefits that being a Specter can offer.

yodaman (5/5) – This is an excellent set that really rounds out the Specter deck archetype. It gives so many tools and tricks that it will certainly form the foundation for those types of decks. It also has some interesting tools that could very well be useful in other types of decks ones once people start crafting ideas. It comes with a resource along with 8 icons so that’s not bad either for a Rebel based set.

pantsyg (4/5) – Obviously this goes into the Specter deck, but I really like this set for mono-Rebel characters. The resource is super welcome in that deck, while Hera offers another strong 3-drop and both vehicles protect your most important units. The mission becomes much weaker outside of Specter decks, but is still strong for the unrestricted bounce effect. I like this alongside the Endor Character deck, Character-Vehicle hybrids with Ackbar and perhaps Wedge, and possibly Capitals for the protection offered by Ghost.

Majestaat (5/5) – Really great and quite versatile set. Sure, you get more mileage from Hera, the Ghost and the mission in a Specter deck, but you don't need to go out of your way with such a build for most cards here to be pretty good anyway, making this a fantastic core pod for for character decks, with plenty of resources to run their mains and protection against the annoying removal the DS can field.
Only unique units is a weakness for sure, but in the end, it's not enough for me to rate this lower. Rebel characters could use the protection.


On the Run (253-1): 18 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Having one of this objective out turns all your nifty new Smuggler fate cards into Suporting Fire, kind of. The nice thing is that while you can’t guarantee you’ll win edge, just looking at the top card of your deck has no downsides, so this is just a plus. Having two of these objectives out gets you nothing more. Still, getting more ways to help win edge is something that Smuggles can really use, and the fact that that comes in as a trick is just about perfect.

yodaman (5/5) – This objective is really interesting. Following the precedent of the cycle, it’s Smugglers only since it contains the affiliation matching fate cards. It comes with 6 health which is rare so it’s going to be harder to destroy (although it’s still vulnerable to Shadows of the Empire burying it). Extra edge for virtually no cost is a very good addition to Smugglers, and while you do need to draw and play a limited number of cards to trigger the objective, I can't really complain with all its upsides.

pantsyg (4/5) – If your deck struggles in edge, On the Run is here to help. Obviously this feels like the old Col Serra objective, but significantly improved: now, you aren’t forced into painfully putting the top card in even if it doesn’t win you the edge. This has definitely won me edge battles, and sometimes games, that I thought I was dead out of. I was tempted to give this a 5/5, but it is conditional on seeing the Smuggler fate. That said, the set includes a way to ensure you can trigger this turn after turn.

Majestaat (5/5) – Massive edge boost? For Smugglers? I'm in. All objectives dependant on affiliated fate cards have been pretty strong so far. On the Run is no exeption, and it has 6 HP to boot!
Edge battles can become very troubling for your opponent while this is out, especially if you're running Twists as well, because then it's quite easy to run into a lose-lose scenario. Playing a single card and passing will make for some nice mind games. No need to be a Jedi to mess with other people's heads.
Can't really find many downsides here. Would normally say "well, you only have a limited amount of affiliated fate cards", but that's not necessarily the case here thanks to R4-E1, as we'll see.


*BoShek (253-2): 19 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Yet another efficiently costed unit. This pack is really hitting the mark here. While he doesn’t have Hera’s tactics, he does have an extra force pip. He’s also elite, which is a bit hard to find sometimes, and he has a resource. But the real interesting thing is that he again helps get double duty out of your fate cards. While you can’t get his edge in an edge battle where you drop a fate card (because the edge stack goes to the discard after edge is determined), every future edge battle he’s involved in gets you a bonus. And if you need to pitch a fate card during the draw phase because you really need to dig for something else, you can still get some use out of it. Must be the sideburns….

yodaman (5/5) – Boshek is a great main. He’s cost effective since he only costs 3 and fairly sturdy with 3 health. He has 3 force icons and even a resource if you need one in a pinch or if you just want to use that early to help build a board. His combat icons are not the best, but he’s elite and has a crazy Edge ability in that he gives you Edge [X] up to a maximum of 3 where X is the number of fate cards in your discard pile. Certainly, it doesn’t take too long to get full value from his ability in a game so you want to keep him around and take advantage of it. Coupled with other cards like Falcon or Speeder Bike, Boshek’s presence can pretty much guarantee you’ll come out on top of the critical edge battle that you need to win.

pantsyg (5/5) – Like Dengar, I feel someone at FFG really loves this guy: both his X-Wing and LCG incarnations are really strong. He offers help for the 2 traditional Smuggler weaknesses, holding the force and winning edge battles. His icons are nothing to write home about, but he’s a great cheap elite Force hound. In most decks you should be able to get him up to edge 3 pretty quickly, and that’s a massive advantage for those crucial edge battles. In the world of highly aggressive DS decks he makes a great defender, forcing your opponent to overcommit to edge on their turn if they want to attack and emptying their hand for when you counter-swing. I may be overrating him slightly as he’s not the sort of beat stick that can seal games when he comes down, but I’ve waited so long for a unit with exactly his utility in yellow.

Majestaat (5/5) – Combat icons aside, BoShek has really great stats. And oh boy, that edge. Needs some setup, which just so happens to be really easy to set. But if for some reason you're not drawing your fate cards, this guy is still good at holding the Force and providing a resource in a pinch.
Once he comes online, you won't have to worry about edge even if you're 1-2 cards down, so you can be more aggressive with your deploys while still having your white icons available. Couldn't possibly ask for more.


*R4-E1 (253-3): 16.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Here we get a one for one affiliated resource that can be used to blow up objectives. That’s very good. If the droid had nothing else, he’d be a good unit. But of course, that’s not all it does. Getting to recycle your cards during edge battles is just great. You get to keep hand advantage, which means options, while reducing your opponents. What’s really interesting is that this provides you some twist protection. Just put Han into the edge stack in a must win battle to see your opponent flop a twist? Well, pay the one and do it again.

yodaman (4/5) – On the surface, I want to like this droid better than I do, but I still like him. For 1 cost you do get an affiliation matching resource and a white blast. He also gives you a passive ability that lets you return a Smugglers card from your edge stack to your hand at the price of a resource. This could be critical as you could pitch a high force icon card like Falcon or Boshek and then get it back. The main thing I have against him is that he’s limited so you can’t play him along with other resources on a turn. I’m not sure why they made a unique droid limited.

pantsyg (4/5) – If this guy wasn’t limited, he’d be an easy 5/5. Living resources do have downside in being vulnerable to tactics, but this one has tons of upside. One of my favorite combos in the game involves using a living resource to pay for a Cloud City Operative, then tossing that token across the board with the reaction. Previously that usually meant running Impersonating a Deity, but here we get a much more widely playable set. On top of that, he comes with 2 pips for edge or Force holding, a recursion mechanism for that Falcon you had to pitch in edge or to keep the On the Run/Tricks and Nonsense engine running, and a white bomb! What a droid! Jedi R2 wishes he was this good.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – Cheap blast, resource or Dark Lord sponge if needed. Also an amazing ability to keep fueling On the Run or simply be more aggressive with your valuable cards in edge battles. Although it's unique, it's got two pips, so the second copy will come handy in edge anyway.
Its only real downside is it being limited, but considering all its pros, that was probably the best way to keep it balanced.


Make Your Own Resources (253-4): 14.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – With all the edge boosts you are getting from this set, winning a battle by two doesn’t seem all that out of place. And when you do, you can get a pretty big resource ramp. Since you aren’t playing the new card, you can get around limited. Or if that card is a unit (Like BoShek or Crix) you get a pretty solid unit into play for a discount. Still, this is a combo card that requires a lot of pieces to be in place to pull off (usually at least three cards (this one, the resource card, and at least one for the edge battle, perhaps more).

yodaman (3.5/5) – Again, on the surface, this seems like it could be useful as the event gives you a way to cheat in a resource generating card at the cost of 1 resource. The ideal thing would be to drop in unit that generates resources (like Boshek, Crix, Mon Mothma, Ackbar, Kanan, Sabine, are some that come to mind etc..) for the cheap cost of 1. On the downside, you have to win the edge battle by 2 in order to do that so it takes some set-up and that might be easier said than done. The card also doesn’t have any force icons so it’s pretty much useless in an edge battle other than putting it in with a Twist to try to draw out more cards from your opponent. I’d rate it higher if it weren’t so conditional and combo dependent.

pantsyg (4/5) – No pips kind of sucks, but this card offers the potential to be really busted. Think about the great cards with a resource on them. Crix. Independence. Blissex. Echo Cavern. Clearing House, which is basically unplayable on its own. Getting a “free” unit onto the board late in conflict is always going to be a strong trick. With the tricks available in this set, the odds of winning edge by 2+ increase quite a bit in any deck with a competent edge count. Really the main downside is needing to have a free resource available, and an eligible card already in discard.

Majestaat (4/5) – I usually hate pip-less cards, but I'll make an exception. It's cheap, in a way even free since you'll get a replacement resource. You don't need to win a contested edge battle, so you could just send in any cheapo that'll be ignored by your opponent and burn a card to trigger this. Now, if you're outnumbered and/or your opponent is playing very safe, then this becomes a terrible card.
However, when you can cheat in some big boys like BoShek or Crix, it just feels wrong to give this a lower score.


Tricks and Nonsense (253-5&6): 19 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (5/5) – Two pip fate cards are pretty standard. But instead of doing a damage or placing a focus, these cards can totally shut down any tricks your opponents were planning on bringing to the fight. This isn’t quite Pilot Vader, as it only stops triggered abilities (Action/Reaction/Interrupt), but still there are plenty of those that really make the LS cry. Now, your opponent does need to have a Scum or neutral card in the edge stack, but since all fate cards are neutral, that’s not a big stretch. And if On the Run is out, this is also a Supporting Fire. That’s just nutty capability to get from any card, let alone an edge card.

yodaman (4/5) – As with all affiliated fate cards, this one specifically has an ability that triggers off the presence of a card from another affiliation, in this case that’s Scum. The ability will certainly be helpful in prevent Scum shenanigans during an engagement such as triggering His High Exaltedness, Doole or even playing actions), but in other matchups the card won’t do much. At least it’s got 2 force icons to make up for that.

pantsyg (5/5) – This has the easiest trigger condition of any faction fate, and the most broadly useful effect. Plus, you can recur it with R4. I’ll go ahead and say it: this is the best affiliated fate card.

Majestaat (5/5) – Big middle finger against Scum. Still quite triggerable in other matchups because it works off neutrals, and all decks have at least a handful of those. Worst case scenario, it's still got a decent edge value and it fuels On The Run for insane edge advantage. This is what REAL Tricks look like. Learn a thing, Gambler's Trick!


Overall: 18.5 out of 20 possible points.

doctormungmung (4/5) – Yet another great set. Smugglers get a real boost in their edge performance here. And the great thing is that this can be splashed without losing much impact. There’s a solid nine force icons before you get into the edge/card reuse/pseudo-Supporting Fire tricks. Unlike Ezra’s set, you actually get two units (admittedly one will likely be used as a resource most of the time, but as mentioned, the droid can toss some blast around). What the set is lacking is any sort of tactics, but that’s not something that is hard to find in other smuggler sets. And one of the more interesting things is that this set opens up a new deck archetype with one cost resources units getting dropped in during the conflict phase.

yodaman (4.5/5) – Despite the fact the set has some very conditional and combo dependent cards, I really think Boshek’s set is going to add some good options. It can help a Smugglers only deck win edge more than in the past. It has 9 force icons total and 2 cards that generate resources. I could also see trying Boshek’s set with Jedi or Rebels to take advantage of Make Your Own Resources and cheating in units. The set seems like it will work with lots of different types of decks and provides some hard counters to Scum.

pantsyg (5/5) – While nothing here screams “instant game win,” every card is solid. The best thing about this set is its broad utility; just about any LS deck can get good use out of a set designed to boost edge. Obviously mono-Smuggler players like myself are pretty excited to see this in-faction and I consider this pretty much an auto-include in yellow decks going forward, but I can think of Rebel and Jedi builds I’d splash this into as well. And it has a resource!

Majestaat (5/5) – Didn't quite expect this set to be so good, but it is. You're not getting huge threats and firepower, but you do get an immense edge boost. It's 9 icons even if you don't see the combo with the objective or can't feed BoShek. It's also got several resources to help your deck and is overall very synergistic.These factors combined give you a lot of flexibility on what else you can pick, so long as the restriction on the objective doesn't screw you.
You may not be blowing a lot of objectives with this set, but you sure are enabling your other cards to do so with ease.