The Mos Eisley Mafia: SWCLG "Trust in the Force" Force Pack Review - Dark Side

Blizzard Assault (283-1): 15 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – Remember what I said about Hoth before? It goes for the DS as well. I’ve always wanted a full walker deck. So seeing this makes me happy. It’s not as flexible as the LS counterpart, in that you can’t use the discount for multiple units, and you can’t use it on the smaller walkers, but getting in an AT-AT for two, Blizzard 1 for three or the AT-AT Assault Formation is a significant discount. Now, finding the Hoth that you need to build around is a bit tricker. So I’m guessing discounts of one or two will be more common.

yodaman (4/5) – While not as good as the new LS Hoth objective, the ability here is pretty good. Walkers are typically costly so being able to play the first one each turn for a discount of up to 3 if you have 3 Hoth objectives out certainly can help get units on the board. I wish the minimum would have been 1 rather than 2 since there are some 2 cost walkers in the original Veers set.

Rio (4/5) – This is very similar to the Rebel Hoth objective. It reduces the cost of the first walker, by 1 to a minimum of 2 for each Hoth objective out. It’s a little less versatile than the Rebel set, as it only hits Walkers. It’s still a nifty objective that the deck wants to see on the flop. Cuz walkers be expensive.

Majestaat (4/5) – Like the Rebel objective, this is a very strong economic tool. Walkers are mostly very expensive, and although strong, they don't bring as much to the table as similarly costed unique units.
But this objective makes it possible to play, say, an AT-AT for combat purposes along another cheap unit who can hold the Force. Over the course of a few turns, you can get insane value out of this.
It's harder to go ham on Hoth objectives as the DS, but you have a solid core for Walkers in this, Unstoppable Assault, Shadows in the Ice and Sabotage in the Snow, so getting at least 2x Hoth objectives right from the start shouldn't be terribly hard.


*General Veers (283-2): 14 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – Veers gets to pilot his AT-AT, which is cool and thematic. And his ability is really good. Frequently using a walker’s alternate strike ability vs the icons is a tough choice. Now as long as Veers is on the board, you get both. The AT-AT’s a pretty solid, but looking ahead to Blizzard 1 you get a very powerful unit combo. As an actual unit, Veers is rather overcosted, although the tactics is nice. But he has terrible force icons, so really you want him piloting something.

yodaman (4/5) – As a unit, Veers is Meh, but he does have a black tactics, black gun and white blast for 4 cost and 3 health, but only 1 pip. Also the Officer trait which can come in handy sometimes. However, this version of Veers can be played as a pilot for the cost of 2. One of the problems Walkers always have had is their lack of elite and the fact some of them forced you between using combat icons or an ability. Veers being on the board at all gives all your Walkers elite which is great. Then for any Walker he’s piloting you can actually resolve both its combat icons AND any special ability it has (just make sure to do the ability first). That’s not bad.

Rio (3.5/5) – He is a pilot this time! As a pilot he allows the walkers to use both their ability and their icons. Which could be useful because some of the abilities are really good. Just being on the board he gives the Walkers elite, and he has a black tactic which is always useful. However, with one pip he doesn’t do much for edge if you draw a second one.

Majestaat (3.5/5) – New Veers is a pretty mediocre unit. I would say that even more so than his previous incarnation. BUT, he can be played as a pilot, and that's when he shines, allowing the enhanced walker to use both their combat icons and abilities during a single strike, and also granting elite to ALL your walkers.


*Blizzard 1 (283-3): 16.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – This is a very solid unit. Good main icons, very good health, good force icons and elite. And like the other AT-ATs, it has an alternate strike ability, which is very dangerous to go again. Instead of using its icons, you can just outright kill a participating enemy unit. No damage, no shields, no protect. Just dead. When you could that with Veers, you also get a bunch of icons, which makes this unit just about on par with Chimaera. The problem is that that’s almost on part, and it’s a combo. Without Veers, it’s a very good unit, but I’m not quite sure it’s worth five resources. And it really wants a shield to help make sure it strikes, which you get from other walkers, but not in this set.

yodaman (4/5) – For 5 cost you get an elite, 4 health unit with 2 black guns, 1 black blast and 1 white blast. As with a lot of Walkers, you can choose to either resolve it’s combat icons or its ability when you strike. Blizzard 1 can actually discard a target participating enemy unit without an enhancement on it when it strikes. Whenever this unit is in an engagement, the LS will have to be very careful about their strike order and participants. 3 Force icons is good too.

Rio (4/5) – This is the unit you want Veers on. His ability allows you to destroy a participating unit without enhancements. That’s powerful to say the least and it makes your opponent less likely to block with a powerful main against it. But if you use his reaction, you are giving up 2 black guns and a bomb. Depending on the situation, it may or may not be worth it. At 5 cost he is a hefty investment. But he always has elite and 3 pips to help with the force struggle.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – Solid, if straightforward stats, including the much needed triple pips with elite.
The reaction is pretty strong, even against small fry that would die with the guns anyway, as the ability gets past shields and protect.
With its 4 HP, the light side must rely on tactics to stop Blizzard 1 from downright desintegrating somebody in the engagement. With Veers, it could be dealing with two units at a time.


*Blizzard 2 (283-4): 16.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – Blizzard 1’s wingman is also a very solid unit. Edge is good, black tactics is great. It’s a bit light on guns and blast, but really you want those other two qualities. It’s not elite, though, no shielding, and it’s alternate strike ability is definitely kind of meh (take the force, skip the force phase). Still, that is useful for Navy, who aren’t known for their force holding abilities. Three health is standard for a four cost unit, but when all the other AT-ATs either have shielding or four health, Blizzard 2 feels a little flimsy.

yodaman (5/5) – I actually like Blizzard 2 better than Blizzard 1 since it’s cheaper and also comes with a black tactics (something Navy Hoth is short on). For the 4 cost you get a 3 health unit with Edge 1 and 4 combat icons (black gun, black tactics, white gun, white blast). It also gives you the option of flipping the Balance of the Force to DS and skipping the Force phase when you strike rather than using its combat icons. That can certainly mess with LS plans that rely on freeing up units with tricks like MTFBWY.

Rio (3.5/5) – Another unique Walker. This one cost 4 and has a black tactic instead of a bomb. Which puts this set at 2 black tactics. That’s a rather large amount for a pod. This walker has edge 1, and its reaction is a bit less devastating than Blizzard 1. It sets the force to the dark side and skips the force phase for the round. That can be useful in some situations, but far less useful than Blizzard 1.

Majestaat (4/5) – The utility Walker, with tactics, edge and an ability that allows you to take the Force even against the likes of Yoda. This is my favorite target for Veers, as the combo allows to play an aggressive style while retaining the Force and having some control over a big enemy threat.
Would have loved a third pip here, but it's hard to ask for anything like that when the set already has 10 icons total.


Decisive Victory (283-5): 10 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (2/5) – Look, it’s a reskin of Turbolaser Battery! Woo, uh, hoo? It’s actually considerably better than TB, in that it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, and doesn’t kill your own enhancements. But what it gives up in making up for those shortcomings is a lot of utility. Now you can destroy one enhancement for one resource, which actually is pretty good. But you can’t play it unless you blow up an objective, which is considerably less good. That means you have to let the LS make use out of that enhancement when it really counts (like Shien Training, a Bo-Rifle, etc). Still, it can kill Echo Caverns or resource generating enhancements, which is more of a rare thing.

yodaman (4/5) – While situational, this 1 cost event can be pretty useful. Navy Hoth tends to be aggressive so you’ll probably be destroying some objectives. If you can spare the resource you can also get rid of a LS enhancement at the same time.

Rio (2/5) – Enhancement hate is Navy’s thing. However, the price of destroying an objective is kind of steep and I can’t imagine holding onto this card for more than a turn. At one pip it isn’t really helping you win an edge battle either. Very lackluster card.

Majestaat (2/5) – Even though I like it, it's hard to defend a situational event with a single pip.
If you get rolling with your Walkers, this can be the final nail in the coffin for your opponent's economy, AT-ATs dealing with non-limited resources -of which there are a lot more now-, and this destroying a limited one, but not much else going on here.


Battle of Hoth (283-6): 17 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – See above, although with the DS, I find that you’ll be using it less for healing (as you’re less likely to have Hoth objectives out). But vs a LS Hoth deck, which I’d be surprised if they didn’t show up in more numbers, getting a Target out of it is really nice. Particularly when you don’t even need to be engaging the target….

yodaman (4.5/5) – Makes sense to see this reprinted here especially with 3 pips and an ability that is definitely useful for a DS Hoth deck.

Rio (4/5) – Same text that we know. I like the art on this version way more than the Lightside one. Great in Hoth decks. The ability to heal objectives is better for the Darkside.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – Objective healing is more valuable for the DS than LS. That bit of extra life could make the difference when racing your opponent.


Overall: 15 out of 20 possible points.

doctormungmung (4/5) – I really wish I loved this set as much as I loved the LS Hoth one, but I don't. I really want a walker deck (well, an AT-AT deck), but there are really only two AT-AT sets, and neither have an actual resource, and both are chocked full of really expensive cards. So getting a single reduction for an expensive unit doesn’t go nearly as far as multiple reductions for any unit. To add to that, very few DS Hoth sets have a resource in them period, which means you need to dilute the Hoth to make the deck, which dilutes the reduction. I think Veers is what was needed to help make AT-ATs really good with that elite buff.
The set itself has great edge, but the other AT-AT set has terrible edge, so that’s more a wash than an actual benefit. In the end, I think this set will find home, just not in a dedicated Hoth deck, which makes me sad.

yodaman (4/5) – A decent addition to DS Hoth with 10 force pips and a limited discount, but it still feels like it didn’t do quite as much to help with the resource issues DS Hoth sets can face. In playing this set, I’ve found it to work better by not going all in on DS Hoth sets and adding in some Navy sets with resources like Might, Enforced Loyalty or even Motti. The tradeoff is the resource help makes you run the risk of not having 3 Hoth objectives out to fully take advantage of this objective’s ability and other Hoth related bonuses.

Rio (3/5) – The set is only good in Hoth. The walkers are kind of pricey for what they do and Navy has better options for the same cost. The set also falls apart without the objective. I really wanted this to be powerful but it’s very limited in what it can do. Outside of Hoth it has no synergy with other walkers, the AT STs all cost 2 anyways so they can’t even benefit from the reduction. I would say that this would be a good place to start in revamping Hoth but with the game ending we know that won’t happen.

Majestaat (4/5) – Does a lot for Walkers, but unlike Speeders, they were already much harder to play, and this set doesn't do as much heavy-lifting as the Rebel one, even if it does contribute positively in a number of ways.
You're still lacking in proper resource enhancements. The objective doesn't stack well with the old Orbital Resupply Station. And most of your units are super expensive to begin with, so if you don't see the correct economic engine early, you might just lose right there and then.
Now, it's not all that grim. Between Blizzard Assault, Unstoppable Advance, Shadows on the Ice and, say, Might of the Empire, you have a ton of resources from objectives alone, but you're also giving up powerful abilities that other decks will have in their objectives.


Patrolling the Wastes (284-1): 19 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – MTFBWY for Mercs and Scum vehicles. Yes, please. Admittedly, there aren’t that many Mercenaries, although there are a few. If this also worked for Bounty Hunters, then it would be an auto include in just about any scum deck. As it is, being able to attack with a Headhunter then free it up for defense is pretty awesome. Those shields go a long way. Even longer with this set...

yodaman (5/5) – Being able to free up units when you commit something to the Force is pretty powerful as we’ve seen for years with MTFBWY. Even though the effect is limited to Scum mercenary or vehicle units, it is pretty powerful. You can strike with a Headhunter for instance then free it up to get the shielding effect on defense.

Rio (5/5) – Are they for real? A May the Force for Mercenary and Scum Vehicles? That’s just absurd. This should not have been given to the faction that has Abandoned Hideout. It’s really good. Freeing up and double striking with units like Headhunters, Slave One, Ponda Baba, and even using the Outer Rim Space Pirates for some crazy ramping potential all seem like good ideas. It is nice that it is limited to what units it can affect.

Majestaat (5/5) – Somewhat limited in use , but it's a very strong ability nonetheless. Attack, then take the Force and have someone available for defense. A Black Sun Headhunter could easily save two damage to an objective between the shield and preventing unopposed bonus. That might be the extra turn you need to get the dial to 12. Of course, you don't really want them commited, but these are the little decisions that add extra spice to the game. I like it.


*Klaatu (284-2): 13 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – Here we get a tactics mercenary, and with two pips, no less, so he can attack and lock something down and then stand back up again for defense while sneaking the force back to the DS. Or, use his resource and do the same thing. He can also heal up your vehicles, which isn’t super useful, but it’s still not something to overlook. He is a bit squishy, and his icons are on the lacking side for his cost. But it’s not like Scum is lacking in protect.

yodaman (3.5/5) – As a main, Klaatu feels a bit lackluster. He does have a black tactics and white blast along, but he only has 2 health for his 3 cost. Also the fact he comes with a resource means you might have to choose between getting more units out or having access to his black tactics. His ability of being able to remove a damage from vehicle unit whenever he gets exhausted synergizes with the vehicle in the set at least. And the Mercenary trait synergizes with the objective.

Rio (3/5) – I like this guy. He is a solid turn one dark side play. Has 2 pips, a tactic, white blast, a resource and an interesting ability. Anytime a focus token is placed on him he heals a vehicle. That can become very useful in lots of vehicle decks. Could he get splashed into Navy? Prolong the life of a Gladiator or Chimera? His only real weakness is his cost to health ratio.

Majestaat (3.5/5) – Klaatu is like a glorified Upnaught. Costs one more, but has better combat icons, including black tactics. Also an extra pip, and while his ability is only limited to vehicles, it's way easier to trigger. He's not doing much by himself, but if I have a Cargo Skiff, then I'm much more tempted to take the tempo loss and play him.


*Barada (284-3): 14.5 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – More underwhelming icons for his cost, along with some underwhelming health. But it’s not his icons you are using here. Being able to let a unit pitch a shield to get a black gun and black blast will turn Scum aggro into hyperdrive. Those Headhunters become UUBBb units that cost two. That’s Energy Spider crazy. Throw in the Spice Trade and you have dead objectives all over the place. While Barada can’t give the benefit to non-Mercs, he can do any vehicle, which makes the DP20’s stock go up even more. Throw in some Forward Command Posts, and you get to pop objectives left and right, while keeping all of your extra shields. That’ll make for some very short games. I’m just glad that BK isn’t a Mercenary. That would be too good.

yodaman (4/5) – Barada is a 3 cost, 3 health unit with a black blast and white gun. Edge [1] is nice and the Mercenary trait means he synergizes with the objective, like Klaatu. His ability is interesting as it allows you to trade a shield on a unit for giving that unit a black gun and black blast. For an aggressive deck, that extra firepower is probably worth the shield.

Rio (3/5) – Another unique scum unit. He is a 3 coster and a little more beefy at 3 health. This guy has edge 1, a black blast and a white gun. His ability discards a shield to give a mercenary or vehicle unit a gun and a blast, limit once a turn. That can come in handy to kill a unit or get that last damage on an objective. Ponda Baba with 3 guns sounds painful.

Majestaat (3.5/5) – The Black Sun Headhunters new best friend. Sacrifice a shield for more firepower. Great when you want to speed up the game. Especially if there are no opposing tactics. Then using Barada becomes an easy decision.


Cargo Skiff (284-4): 19 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – While the objective doesn’t work with Bounty Hunters, the skiff sure does. A two cost protect unit that has four health?!? They only way that would be “worse” is if there was a way to heal it that didn’t cost you anything. Oh, wait, right, Klaatu. At least it doesn’t have shielding….

yodaman (5/5) – Protect in any form is always useful and a 2 cost unit with 4 health that protects Mercenary and Bounty Hunter units is certainly worth the price. It really doesn’t even matter that it has a black gun and white gun since you want to use the Skiff to keep your important Mercenary and Bounty Hunter units alive. The fact Klaatu can actually heal damage from the Skiff synergizes really well and can help keep alive with his low health.

Rio (5/5) – What?! 2 cost, 4 health, protect Bounty Hunter or Mercenary? That’s crazy! I really don’t need to go into all the applications of this! You can keep all of your sweet bounty hunter mains around for a long time. Even longer because Klatuu can heal this thing for one damage every turn. I can’t imagine a scenario where I don’t want this card on the board.

Majestaat (5/5) – Remember the Emperor's Royal Guard? Of course you do. Well, here we go again. Sacrifices the pip for an extra health. The protect insn't as universal either, but it's very easy to extend the longevity of the Skiff with Klaatu, so it's a worthy contender. If anything, its main weakness is that's there's nobody worthy of protection in the same set, unlike the Guards who always come with a frightening Palp.


Shield Generator Modification (284-5): 18 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (3/5) – Ha, just kidding! Put that shield on your skiff to get more protect, or turn it into a unit killing machine with Barada. And if you don’t have a vehicle to put the shield generator on, well, use it’s two pips for edge. Oh, and I nearly forgot about the increased damage capacity this offers. That skiff, and all those Mercs and Bounty Hunters aren’t going anywhere.

yodaman (5/5) – For 1 resource you can enhance a vehicle and give it shielding and +1 health. That certainly helps the Skiff, but it can also work well with other vehicles if you want to go with a vehicle based deck instead.

Rio (5/5) – 1 cost enhancement that will go on a vehicle and gives it shielding and an extra health. This is really good. It also has 2 pips if you don’t have a target for it. It could also work in a Black Market deck. Lots of fun targets for this card. Again, the implications in Navy are interesting. Maybe drop this on a Golan?

Majestaat (5/5) – A perfect fit for the Skiff, making it much more durable, and allowing it to become a very worthy combatant with Barada's support.


Protection (284-6): 18 out of 20 possible points.


doctormungmung (4/5) – And just to get a bit more inter-set synergy, have a Protection for the emergency shield when you really need it. This is a frequently overlooked and forgotten about fate card that can have a huge impact on battlemath. Getting caught by a surprise shield is almost as bad as getting caught by a surprise Seeds.

yodaman (4.5/5) – Nice to see this fate card reprinted here. Shields synergize well with this entire set.

Rio (5/5) – One of the best fate cards in the game.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – Protection always comes in clutch to block tactics or keep one of your mains alive long enough. Add in Barada, and now you're getting surprise combat icons to finish your opponent instead. Neat.


Overall: 17.5 out of 20 possible points.

doctormungmung (4/5) – This is a great set, and if it wasn’t limited to just Mercenaries but a more broad Scum category, it would be in just about every deck. It’s got great edge at nine, a resource, three solid units, protect, shielding, damage (unit and blast) enhancement, tactics and free refresh. Scum were great before, and this set just continues the trend. Expect to see more Scum aggro decks going forward. I guess Scum would fit in well with the Army of Darkness.

yodaman (4.5/5) – This set has been a lot of fun to play and coupled with Unsavory Contracts, there are lots of shenanigans you can pull with attacking and freeing up Scum units. The set comes with 9 icons and a resource. Even though the characters in the set are not as good as many other Scum units, the other cards and objective ability make up for that and I can see this set slotting into different types of decks pretty easily.

Rio (5/5) – I think this set is very interesting. It has tons of potential. It can lead to super aggressive builds or extremely defensive ones. You could go the vehicle route or the Bounty Hunter route. It’s a solid support set that I believe scum needed, and now at the end of the game it’s here!

Majestaat (4/5) – It's good, but I've been struggling to find an optimal build.
That said, it works decently well whether I choose to go a mono-Scum or Scum/Navy deck.
Set provides some really nice utility, and while most aspects of it are limited in scope, the effects are strong enough that's it's really impactful when you get the correct triggers. It's just a matter of deciding what to focus on and build around it.



LAST WORDS:

Yes, it always takes long from one review to the other, but even so, this one took longer than I wanted. Should have been up last week, but everything that could have gone wrong went wrong, so I lost all the free time I have scheduled and had to wait until now. So sorry about that.

On to the important stuff, we get another great pack. I'm especially grateful about the Hoth pods. Yes, it sucks we have to wait until now for the pieces to fall in place, but hey, better late than never. Right?
Inhospitable Deployments is insane. Walker Assault is brought down by the event. I think it could have been much better with a resource or enhancement to support your Walkers, instead of having the event.

Now I can't help but wonder if the trend will follow and there's another older archetype to be "fixed" with some random pod in the next pack. Wait and hope.
On that note, just one more official pack for the game to be finished: Promise of Power. You can be sure we'll tackle that as well!

And with that, we wrap things up for 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!