The Mos Eisley Mafia: SWLCG "Attack Run" Force Pack Review

THE REVIEWERS:
-Majestaat, 2014's Chilean champion.
-chunkygorillas, 2014's Canadian champion.
-doctormungmung, Massachussets' evil genius.

"Only 3 reviewers? Blasphemy! Reviews have no weight with only 3 people".
Can't really deny that. However, stuff happens. Heck, Luke lost his hand and Darth Maul his legs. In our case, RedSquadronK went MIA. And colsanders, our fearless and inventive bounty hunter, is on a new, classified mission.
To avoid more delays, we're offering the Attack Run review with what we have at present. Shame, really, because this is quite possibly the most exciting pack in the whole cycle.
We should once again count with a full roster for the Chain of Command review. Hope you can forgive this... late and lackluster entry.


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 5 Cards (actually 6 this time, since we have a tie and none was a reprint):
1 – Boba Fett (The Hunter's Flight), with 15 out of 15 possible points.
2 – Darth Vader, (Defending the Trench) with 14 out of 15 possible points.
3 – I Have You Now (Defending the Trench), with 14 out of 15 possible points.
4 – Blue Nine (The Secret at Shantipole), with 13.5 out of 15 possible points.
5 – Keyan Farlander (The Secret at Shantipole), with 13 out of 15 possible points.
6 – Closed Formation (Defending the Trench), with 13 out of 15 possible points.

Overall best rated Objective Set:
Defending the Trench, with 15 out of 15 possible points.


THE REVIEWS:

The Secret at Shantipole (156-1): 9 out of 15 possible points.

chunkygorillas (3/5) - It’s a blank 5/2, like a lot of this pack, so there isn’t much to say other than it’s nice since the extra resource can lead to more explosive first turns or it can help you get your Home One out.

doctormungmung (3/5) - As far as vanilla objectives go, having two resources and five health is the way to go. It allows for those plays on your opening turn of a five drop, or a three and a two drop, which can allow for some great momentum out of the gate.

Majestaat (3/5) – I always like having a few 2-resource objectives in my deck for some flexibility in plays. Jedi sure can use the extra resource to help play their mains. Curiously enough, we get this in a rather cheap set that works better with Rebels, who depend on 2-cost units instead of 4-cost. Then again, you may see this set favors running a deck with a good mix of 2 and 3 cost, for which one of these kind of objectives is strong in the opening flop to make sure you get at least a couple units in play.


*Keyan Farlander (156-2): 13 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (4/5) - I really like this pilot, 2 cost is great and his ability works great on things like Rogue Three or any vechile with the proton torpedoes attached. His stats aren’t great if you have to play him as a unit though, dropping a gun and adding another blast would be nice.

doctormungmung (5/5) - As a unit he’s slightly overcosted, but not by much. Three cost for a pair of black unit damage, and an edge enabled blast is almost there. If his health was three, he’d be a perfectly fine, if dull, unit. But where he really makes jaws drop is his pilot ability. For two, he can be put on ANY vehicle, and then focused to have that vehicle strike if it’s in an engagement. Think about that. When is a unit in an engagement? Well, the engagement needs to be declared, and if attacking, it needs to be declared as well. That’s it. You can strike before edge (which limits you to units with black icons). You can even strike before defenders (allowing you to get around pilot Vader). That is AMAZING. There are so many tricks you can do with this. Home One to do a guaranteed four damage spread across three objectives. Rogue Three for a minimum of three damage to a single objective, with potentially more depending on what else is on it. Or just a random unit with Advanced Proton Torpedoes with enough other units to destroy the objective outright. Wow.

Majestaat (4/5) – Decent unit. Strong pilot, albeit dependant on what he's attached to. You can even strike before defenders are assigned or the edge battle is played, making the damage on the enhanced vehicle nigh impossible to stop. Because you want to strike in these oppotunities, edge-enabled icons don't mix well with Keyan. Still, there's quite a handful that can make good use of Farlander, like Blue Leader, Gray Squadron Y-Wing, Home One, Corellian Corvette, Renegade Squadron and Red Five and Rogue Three.
Resupply Depot should be of consideration. Any extra black icon you can get is fantastic with a vehicle piloted by Keyan. You could potentially try a whacky build with A Hero's Trial and Command & Control to turn Speeder Bike into Palpatine. Would it be good? No idea, but it sure would be annoying as all hell.


*Blue Nine (156-3): 13.5 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (4.5/5) - This is a very awesome vehicle! Great health and icons all around, elite is also very good. And on top of the great stats Blue Nine comes with a great ability too, what works great on pilots like Wedge.

doctormungmung (5/5) - By itself, Blue Nine is a great card. Two black blast and a white unit damage for three that has three health and is elite. And it’s also solid either holding the force or being pitched for edge with three force icons (three sets of three is nine, get it?). But it also has a situational, but super good reaction. After it strikes, you can remove a focus from a pilot enhancement (so unfortunately no unfocusing Rookie Pilot, still the crappiest card). This combos really well with Farlander if you can then bounce him to another ship (which you can with another card in this set). Or, even better, take that focus token off of Wedge! Now you can get a fighter or speeder to strike three times with him! You have to work things a bit to get the most out of the ability, but getting multiple strikes out of your blast houses is incredibly powerful.

Majestaat (4/5) – Don't let my fanboyism for B-Wings fool you. Blue Nine is a very impressive unit with those stats. It can take some punishment and it's hard to keep locked thanks to elite, which also makes it a potential Force holder with its 3 pips. Obviously, this means it's also a strong edge card. The reaction will feel lackluster in most situations, as most pilots do their stuff just for existing, not requiring to focus. The most notable exception would be Wedge Antilles, and he's an incredibly strong exception, letting Blue Nine deal tons of damage in a single turn.


Temple Hangar (156-4): 10.5 out of 25 possible points.

chunkygorillas (3.5/5) - I’m really starting to like these resources more and as we get more solid pilot sets they are really starting to do some work. It’s nice to be able to get 4 of these types of resources into a deck now too without having to run the smuggler sets.

doctormungmung (3/5) - Jedi get their pilot resource. Now it’s reasonable to have a total of four pilot resources in whatever fighter deck you create, so all those great two cost pilots are free (like Farlander, or Wedge). Otherwise, it’s a resource that will still likely pay off it’s inefficiency quickly.

Majestaat (4/5) – Same as other pilot resources and so I'll give it the same score. A Jedi resource is probably not as valuable as a Rebel one in the kind of decks this set will be included, but I don't think that's enough to drop this to a 3.


Reassignment (156-5): 11 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (4/5) - This card is great, works really well with a lot of the pilots we have been getting, moving a Grey Squad Gunner to get the extra unit damage to kill off a defender is always nice, or moving Keyan around is pretty awesome too. It can also mess with your opponents pilots, get them off a unit that is getting an advantage or move it a unit that you can kill easily.

doctormungmung (4/5) - Here’s how you get the most out of the Farlander / Blue Nine combo. Have him piloting his ship, and use his ability to strike before edge. Blue Nine then unfocuses Farlander. Now use Reassignment to put him on another ship to do it all over again. Getting in blast that your opponent has very few ways to prevent will help get you your three objectives quickly. As mentioned earlier, Reassignment also does wonders with Wedge and Blue Nine.

Majestaat (3/5) – This can work fantastically with a Blue Nine + Keyan combo, but it most cases it will be edge fodder or a way to save a valuable pilot when things don't go as planned. Much better in a character deck, but not enough to include this pod in one of those.


Stay on Target (156-6): 12 out of 15 possible points.

chunkygorillas (4/5) - This card also has gotten way better since the first pack, with the amount of pilots you can shove into a fighter deck now it has a ton of uses. Really glad my fighter deck can run 4 copies of this fate now.

doctormungmung (4/5) - It’s still a situational effect, but now we’ve got enough ships and pilots that that situation is pretty easy to come by. And the LS has some great pilots that can really mess with combat math that a surprise pilot can be super effective. It’s also great fishing pilots like Farlander and Wedge out of the discard pile.

Majestaat (4/5) – I looove Stay on Target. There are enough pilots to make it very good now. Do note that by the time you're recovering Keyan you're already susceptible to the DS tricks, including their own fate cards. Not like that's too big a deal. As long as the vehicle managed to survive and stay ready, it will get to strike, even if you lost the edge.


Overall: 12 out of 15 possible points.

chunkygorillas (4/5) - This is one of my favourite fighter sets so far, and my rebel deck will definitely be splashing Jedi to run this set from now on. You can’t go wrong with a super solid pilot and fighter backed up with great support cards.

doctormungmung (4/5) - I love this set. The amount of combat tricks that it can pull are amazing, and pretty much all of those tricks involve a lot of black blast. But there are still counters out there, which is why I can’t give it a five out of five score. Lots of tactics will keep your units from striking before or during combat. New Vader forces potentially sub-optimal usage of those tricks, if not shutting them down entirely. Corrupt Officials are a real pain for large amounts of burst objective damage. Even with all that, I think this set can and will go far, if for no other reason than helping to define the DS decks that are going to see play in the developing meta.

Majestaat (4/5) – This one's got all the standard stuff you could want in a pilot deck. Not necessarily optimal for more swarmy decks since Blue Nine costs three, but it's a great addition if you're going for a main vehicles deck that leans towards a cost curve of 3, which is great considering how well it pairs with Wedge.


Running the Trench (157-1): 7 out of 15 possible points.

chunkygorillas (2/5) - It’s a blank 5/2 again…. Almost, the rebel affiliation only really hurts this sets playability since a lot of fighter decks will want to splash another faction to get a few more pilots and this just makes that hard and awkward.

doctormungmung (3/5) - This is almost the exact same objective as Secret of Shantipole, but it’s Rebel, and limited to Rebel affiliation. That’s kind of a bummer, because you still can’t stick Rebel Luke on Jedi Red Five. There are some other deck building limitations, like making it hard to fit Rebel Luke in a deck with Farlander, but Rebels have enough good vehicle sets to keep this set relevant. Thus, I’m still rating it a three.

Majestaat (2/5) – In a capital ship pod I would like these two resources. For what's here, not so much. Rebels don't need that much resources, less so thanks to Defense of Yavin IV. The restriction to Rebel affiliation only is a big downside for deckbuilding.


*Luke Skywalker (157-2): 8 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (2/5) - Honestly he is way too expensive at a Pilot cost of 3. His ability has the best chance of doing 0-2 extra damage. MOST Darkside decks don’t have that many cards with 3 or more force icons. So far he has almost always got me 1 or 0 extra damage what just doesn’t seem worth it. Also he doesn’t work with trench run!!!!

doctormungmung (4/5) - Luke keeps his standard stats from core and hoth, which are solid to begin with. Not being elite or having a way to refresh is disappointing, but if you really want to use him as a unit, there are plenty of ways of removing focus from him. His pilot ability is what defines him though. Being able to do some additional random damage to an objective can be huge. You can’t count on it, though, which makes the combat math a bit more iffy. Still, there are ways the LS can at least get some knowledge of the top card of the DS deck. And a lot of DS decks these days have pretty good edge counts, so odds aren’t bad that Luke will be doing two to three damage in addition to whatever he’s flying. The dream, of course, is to flip the emperor and one shot an objective. He also discards said card, so he will be removing options from the DS player. Even if he doesn’t get a good damage draw, discarding a Force Lightning, Deadly Sight, or Galactic Scum can still help quite a bit.

Majestaat (2/5) – Other factions keep getting the smuggly feel of gambling. I don't like that. And definitely not at a cost of 3. Honestly, if Luke had Pilot [2] he would be much better, as he would not screw your whole turn if you played him. You're paying too much for a very inconsistent effect (rather, a weak effect, since you'll likely get 1-2 extra damage). At his current pilot cost, he should, perhaps, give a tactics icon to the enhanced unit. As it stands, I'll pick Advanced Proton Torpedoes over Luke any day of the week, which is really disheartening. At least you can pull him for free with Stay on Target.


*Red Five (157-3): 11.5 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (3.5/5) - This is a really good fighter, but not quite as good since it doesn’t have elite and the ability is a little bit less useful, but the stats are still super good.

doctormungmung (4/5) - Rebel’s finally get their version of Red Five, and it’s very solid. Like Blue Nine, there are a lot of threes on this card, but this time including three black combat icons. Two blast and one unit damage is good for the LS on just about anything, but Red Five has the option of turning that into three black unit damage. In that manner, he makes a great escort. Flying with a group of other fighters, it can take the lead on damage and help out if the LS lost edge (and thus a bunch of edge enabled blast), or it can help clear out troublesome defenders. Unfortunately, since you don’t activate blast icons on defense, the reaction can’t be used to help protect your own objectives. It goes without saying that you can also knock out a unit if Luke already blew up the objective with his ability. In a way, Red Five with Luke on board helps alleviate some of his randomness. Unfortunately, Red Five is not elite, which in the tactics heavy world we currently live in could be a problem.

Majestaat (4/5) – Now we're talking. Solid statline that, as most Rebel threats, doesn't care much about edge. Red Five's interrupt only works on offense, but it's still quite strong, allowing it to instantly remove most defenders, potentially even two of them, cases in which you'll be getting unopposed damage on top of clearing a good amount of enemy bodies.


*R2-D2 (157-4): 11.5 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (3.5/5) - This card is definitely above average, the lack of force icons is a bummer though. I do always love cheap enhancements in rebels though since Rogue Three is a thing.

doctormungmung (4/5) - R2-D2 it IS you, it IS you! He’s back and this time to help out a ship like he was originally designed for. Giving shielding to a vehicle for one cost is a fair price. He provides tactics protection for your heavy hitter. He loves Rogue Three, since he does double duty and also adds a couple of combat icons. Throw on Wedge (or anyone, really), and you get a monster that will come close to one shotting objectives that is really hard to take down with unit damage, thanks to the repair R2 provides. Being unique he doesn’t mesh well with Following Fate, but there’s not much synergy there, so I don’t really see that as an issue.

Majestaat (4/5) – R2 gives you incredible value for one resource. True, Rebels don't need to win edge to deal tons of damage, but tactics can still screw them if they're not called Rogue Squadron X-Wings. Like its other versions, R2 problems come from it being unique and having zero edge icons. Because it basically makes the enhanced unit unkillable, your second copy will be as good as useless.


Use the Force, Luke (157-5): 7 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (2/5) - I think this card is bad, I hate drawing it, it’s not good in the edge and the effect just doesn’t do enough. You can get lucky and tuck one of their big mains on the bottom or set up a good card for Luke’s ability but there is way too much chance involved for my tastes.

doctormungmung (3/5) - Deck knowledge is useful, and being able to know what’s coming up combos with a few things that the Rebels have going. Pilot Luke definitely likes to “Use the Force”, but then so does Attack Pattern Delta, as well as Winter’s set. Even without either of those, knowing what your opponent will be drawing (if it’s a bad card), or sending a good card to the discard pile is a solid play. Particularly since it’s free. It could use another force pip for edge, but you can’t have everything.

Majestaat (2/5) – I dislike it. Doesn't really do anything to help you. At least it's free, so you may mindlessly play it right away, and you get a bit of knowledge to boot. That's not necessarily your best course of action though, as you're weakening your edge slightly. Sure, Rebels don't care much about it, and it's only a single icon (sadly), but sometimes that's enough to make or break your game.


I Have You Now (157-6): 9 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (4/5) - This fate card is pretty amazing, it’s a bit of a risk since if you lose the edge battle it doesn’t really do much with its 1 force icon but when you do get it to work it’s a crazy powerful effect and one Rebels could really use.

doctormungmung (2/5) - Flat out destroying a participating unit is HUGE! Vader? No problem (well, Sith Vader, at any rate). Palpatine? Ha! Even the Executor isn’t safe. So why only the two rating? Well, you still have to win edge, and Rebel’s aren’t really known for their ability in edge battles. So more often than not, I see this card helping the LS lose edge with it’s one force icon and causing the sad trombones to pipe up. But if you can fit this set in a deck that can reliably with the edge, watch out!

Majestaat (3/5) – Crazy effect... if you somehow manage to trigger it. Obviously, at one edge icon that will be hard, but this set offers you two cards with 3 icons to make your life a tad easier. Even so, you should't count on triggering it more than once every few matches. If anything, I've learnt it's main effect is psychological. Even knowing Rebels' got crappy edge, your opponent will be wary once he realises this card is a possibility, and that conditions a lot how the game is played.
I might give this a go in my Speeder deck, as Hoth Ops can often give you a nice edge boost.


Overall: 10 out of 15 possible points.

chunkygorillas (3/5) - The set isn’t terrible it’s just not as good as a lot of the other pilot and fighter sets we have been seeing so far.

doctormungmung (4/5) - There are a lot of solid cards in this set, but even combined together, it’s not really more than the sum of its parts, unlike the Secret of Shantipole. But it also doesn’t have as many direct counters as SoS, so it remains a very solid set. Luke fits in well with the various Rebel fighter builds out there, and can also be worked into a few other decktypes as well, like capital ships, or with his good buddy Han when the new Falcon set comes out.

Majestaat (3/5) – Tried to give it a two, but quite honestly, it's not bad, not as a 1x at least. Red Five and R2 are solid. You use Luke as a powerful edge card and then retrieve him with Stay or Target, or hopefully you already got one or two pilot resources out to pay what you should pay for his effect. I Have you Now can completely turn around a game and has impact just for existing in your deck, even if you don't get to play it, leaving the event as the only really mediocre card. Still, there are overall better pods out there, and though I've been winning with this one, I wouldn't run it in a serious tournament. Great for demo decks though.


The Smuggler's Gambit (158-1): 4.5 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (2.5/5) - It’s almost always a blank 5/1, what just is not very good… Maybe one day if the Dark Side gets more reserve value tricks it will be better though.

doctormungmung (1/5) - This objective is almost blank. Unless I’m missing something, it’ll turn off just Jabba’s objective and Veers’ objective. Considering that Jabba’s objective needs to be turned on before turning it off, and Veers’ objective can be turned off with just a single point of damage, stopping them isn’t all that useful either. Maybe there are some other things coming down the road where this objective will have more use, but until that happens, I’ll stick to my “meh” opinion.

Majestaat (1/5) – Maybe the Endor cycle will give us more ways to increase the reserve value. Even then, I expect that to be something hard to achieve, more akin to the Command and Control Rebel objective. As it stand, the Smuggler's Gambit will only work against Recon Mission, Jabba's and Veers' objectives. I like the first one, and it's still a strong inclusion in rush deck in my opinion, but ultimately this is way too situational to be worth it. I sure hope this ability becomes more relevant in the next cycle. If not, I will forever question why they couldn't give this a second resource.


*Platt Okeefe (158-2): 10 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (3/5) - This unit is pretty good for 2 cost, not a huge threat but a pretty decent support character. Her reaction can help you know what to play in the edge battle.

doctormungmung (3/5) - Platte is a nice little unit. White tactics with two health is solid for two. Add in two force icons and she becomes pretty good for two. Then add in shielding, and she becomes very good for two. On top of that, you get to look at your opponent’s hand when she shows up, which is great. Now you know edge status for the turn, as well as what tricks and units might be coming down the road. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have any blast, so she needs someone else to help you win the game. Still, she’s a solid enabler.

Majestaat (4/5) – At two resources you can't really ask for much more. Tactics are always relevant. Shielding can make her durable or help someone who actually packs some blast damage. Two force pips make her decent for the Force Struggle or edge battles. Her reaction can be crucial to determine your course of action. You can easily adapt with that knowledge, potentially getting a very safe all-in.


Information Broker (158-3): 6 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (2/5) - The one health really hurts this card, it’s just way too easy to remove. Also the Dark Side often does not keep many cards in their hand going into their turn, except if they did not block or have to block at all, so a lot of the time he will still only have 0-2 force icons.

doctormungmung (2/5) - This guy has a very cool effect, although it’s a bit counterproductive. At the end of your turn, you’ve likely attacked, and thus whittled down your opponent’s hand, thus not getting much in terms of force struggle help. And at the end of your opponent’s turn, they might have a good sized hand, but they also have a plethora of units to choose from to commit to the force. Still, it throws the math into disarray. Having a pair of white icons (one being tactics) for two is also good. Unfortunately, having a health of one really hurts, particularly vs Sith. In the end, I think you probably won't get much bang for your buck with this guy, but I’d need to see him in action to be sure.

Majestaat (2/5) – Givint him a 2 because tactics are always powerful. They can enable a big attack in a pinch or save your bacon on defense. That 1 HP make him a risky play, especially against Sith, but he's also terrible in your hand since he has 0 icons. If he gets to stick around, very rarely will you get more than 2 force out of him, making him a very weak card in most circumstances.


*Smuggler's Handbook (158-4): 12 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (4/5) - This card is really good, worst case it’s 3 in the edge, what is really good for Smugglers. Getting an extra card is pretty strong and really strong in 2v2 since it helps your teammate as well.

doctormungmung (4/5) - If I’m not mistaken, this is the first reserve bump for the LS! That’s worth considering just for that alone. This game lives and dies by what cards you see, and what you can keep for the edge. Thus, having a larger reserve can have a tremendous impact on the game. It’s why Vader’s Fist is so brutal. If you can see this card early in the game, it’s well worth the two cost. As the game wears on, it’s value diminishes, but still, that one extra card might be the one you need. And while it’s unique (probably a good call by the designers), it also has three force icons, so it’s a good edge card.

Majestaat (4/5) – This would be the main reason to run the pod. Affordable, high edge count and an extremely strong effect if seen early. More cards in hand means more options for play and stronger edge even if you have less icons per card. I truly believe that one resource on this card could have been all the pod needed to make it worth consdiration for competitive play. Yeah, would likely overload this single card, but the set has enough weaknesses to make that acceptable.


Evading Authority (158-5): 8 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (2/5) - This just seems too expensive and unless you get an effect to look at their hand it probably won’t do much. It does thin their hand down for edge battles but there is just better cards I would rather spend the resources on.

doctormungmung (3/5) - Making your opponent discard is generally a good thing. They’ll have fewer edge cards, and they might have to get rid of something they’ve been holding on to that they thought was important. But, they get to decide what to discard, which mitigates the harmful effect a bit, and indirectly helps them by allowing them to cycle through their deck. Unfortunately this card runs completely counter to the Information Broker, who wants more cards in your opponent’s hand, not less. The potential card draw you get out of it is nice, but very situational. Although with Platte giving you hand knowledge, you can make your opponent have a tough decision.

Majestaat (3/5) – Interesting one. To maximize its effect you should probably name units/enhancements on your turn or events/fate during the DS deployment phase, hopefully getting to deal some nice damage to their edge while strengthening yours. If you just played Platt, your choice is even easier.
Is is rather pricey however, and it is your opponent who gets to decide what to discard despite your efforts. A balanced card, if nothing else.


Supporting Fire (158-6): 9 out of 15 possible points.

chunkygorillas (3/5) - Not the best fate card, but it is good, especially in a set with a 3 force icon card.

doctormungmung (3/5) - I’m not one of the haters of this edge card that some are, but you want to have decent cards to hold back for the double use it provides. You get one good edge card in this set, and a pair of decent ones, so that’s not bad. Although unless you suspect a twist, you’re definitely edging the Handbook if you have one out, and are playing it otherwise. The added reserve you’ll likely have does help give you more control over what you need to use or keep, and as always, SF is a good hedge against a twist.

Majestaat (3/5) – Big fan of this, but it's been abused so much in recent sets it's become rather boring. I like having 1x of these in my decks, maybe even a second copy, but more of them can be really detrimental to your build if you don't have tons of cards with high edge.


Overall: 8.5 out of 15 possible points.

chunkygorillas (3/5) - It’s not a terrible set, but it’s just not great. It doesn’t add any real threats to the board and it also doesn’t really do a great job of supporting anything. Maybe you play it as a one of in 2v2 for the Handbook but it just doesn’t seem worth a deck slot.

doctormungmung (3/5) - This set is very solidly a support set, and a decent one at that. It’s not great, and I wouldn’t really want to run two of them, but one definitely provides some good options. It is a little scattered as far as internal consistency goes, though.

Majestaat (2.5/5) – It does have some neat support cards, but it's still rather underwhelming. The objective is beyond weak and the Broker is normally a bad play. The event isn't situational, but... irregular, I guess? Same can go with Supporting Fire. The Handbook, while strong, you really want to see early, which could be hard at 1x (I think it's a really bad a idea to double up on this set).


Defending the Trench (159-1): 12 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (3/5) - This objective is weird to rate, the text isn’t a big downside at all so it’s basically the same as a blank 5/2. I don’t really know what else to say about it.

doctormungmung (4/5) - It’s a vanilla objective that isn’t really a vanilla objective. Two resources are good, ten health is great. But counting as two objectives in the victory pile mitigates things. Still, the LS has to be pretty sure of their offense if they want to start going after the trench. Eating through five health usually takes a few turns, getting through ten will take twice as long. During that time, the DS gets more time to find it’s key cards. And it becomes very inefficient attacking all three of your objectives, so this winds up reducing the number of objectives you need to defend. If this flips later in the game, it’ll never get attacked. And having an objective that never gets attacked is a good deal for the DS.

Majestaat (5/5) – I may very well be overrating this objective, but after getting a TON of play done with Heart of the Empire (thanks BobaFett!), I've really grown to appreciate it, and that one's quite more risky than Defending the Trench. Unless your opponent pulls some crazy blast bombs with the likes of Advanced Proton Torpedoes or a heavily upgraded Rogue Three, for example, it should be very safe to have in play. Without those, it will be nigh impossible for LS to take it down, so in reality they can waste attackers against it or lose a bit of unopposed damage by ignoring it. So far, it hasn't disappointed me once.


*Darth Vader (159-2): 14 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (4/5) - This is an amazing pilot, the effect makes everything so hard for the Light Side, stopping all fate cards from having any effect is pretty crazy… Vader only loses a point for not being a great unit for 5, you really don’t want to be playing this Vader as a unit, except if the blast damage will win you the game….

doctormungmung (5/5) - The best star pilot in the galaxy is here, ready to show his stuff. And he doesn’t disappoint! Out of the cockpit, he’s still Vader, with his usual spread of icons (force and combat), four health and elite. In the cockpit, he’s a monster. His ability shuts down just about everything the LS can do that isn’t already a passive on the table. No need to worry about fate cards, shielding, targeted strike, events, protect, etc. That is just brutal. Stick him on a 181st, and you get a double Yoda’s Hut helping with the force, and three health protecting the Dark Lord. Use Talon Rolls or Mauler Mithel to use him in multiple engagements. He works best as a defender, but can help make sure attacks get through as well. He will pretty much singlehandedly shut down multiple deck archetypes. All for two cost and a ship to fly.

Majestaat (5/5) – Beast pilot, plain and simple. His ability is a big middle finger to all things LS, completely warping how the game is played once he hits the table if there's a bit of support so his ship doesn't instantly get blown up by printed unit damage (basically the only way to get rid of him), which again, can be pretty difficult to accomplish if he's on a sturdy vehicle like the 181^st Interceptor or if Black Two is out. Since the Interceptors came up, remember Vader will be contributing his 4 force pips to the Struggle no matter what. There are many other cards that pair very well with him. Guarding the Wing grants him a resource. Mauler Mithel can allow Vader to participate in more than one engagement (if not locked down by tactics). Stay on Target can and will completely ruin whatever the LS was planning for that battle. Black Squadron Formation can return him to your hand over and over for an edge powerhouse. The list goes on.
Like most if not all pilots he is slightly underwhelming as a unit, but once you get a pilot resource out, he more than pulls his weight. There's absolutely nothing to dislike here. Vader is, simply put, strong in every situation.


*Vader's TIE Advanced (159-3): 12 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (4/5) - Tactics is huge for TIE decks and the ability to get even more TIEs for free is huge. The stat line on this ship is great and 3 health makes it a great candidate to be piloted.

doctormungmung (4/5) - Navy gets a decent unit with tactics! I think this is a nice touch, particularly being Vader’s TIE. Cost and health are good for a fighter, and the icons are decent as well. Having another tactics on a fighter opens up a lot of board control when combined with Talon Roll, or Black Squadron Assault. Even though it’s edge enabled, between Fel and Precision Flying, TIEs have a lot of edge access. The ability is like APD: situational, but when it hits, can be very powerful. What’s interesting to note is that it’s not limited to once per turn, so it can provide a lot of mileage fast. Another interesting thing about it is it can get by resource restriction, pulling in Black Two or Mauler Mithel even if there isn’t a Sith resource on the board.

Majestaat (4/5) – In a Black Squad heavy deck, I definitely think this one is a 5/5. Even out of those, he's close to that score. Maybe one more force icon would have done the trick. Anyway, it's got a very solid statline with that much needed tactics icons. Coupled with Black Two, you should fave a fair bit of control. More importantly, its reaction is huge in a Black Squad deck. It has no limit to the number of activations per turn, so if you can refresh via BS Assault or Tallon Roll you may suddenly get a free swarm of TIEs, maybe even a free Vader. Then there's the fact it's not limited to BS UNITS, and there are a couple of good enhancements out there with the Black Squad trait. I really like it.


Black Squadron Fighter (159-4): 9.5 out of 15 possible points.

chunkygorillas (3.5/5) - An above average 2 drop with the blast being black. I really love being able to put even more of these guys into my deck to help to a huge swarm of TIEs out.

doctormungmung (3/5) - These guys are cheap blast that combo with all the other Black Squadron cards. Useful in a pinch on defense, but good to just throw at enemy objectives trying to whittle them down. Although if Fel is in play, holding them back for edge help on defense is a good option.

Majestaat (3/5) – Can be kind of a drawback with all the extra copies in Guarding the Wing (with both sets pairing so well, it's just normal you want to play them together). Then again, it synergizes with enough cards to make this fighter very efficient. Guarding the Wing, Elite Pilot Training, Fel, they all make it much more efficient.


Closed Formation (159-5): 13 out of 15 points.



chunkygorillas (5/5) – This card is insanely good, and I think is an auto include in any TIE deck. Shields is what fighters need to be able to push through all the tactics the Light Side has, and so far this card has helped me win many games.

doctormungmung (3/5) - Another black squadron card that helps make fighters less squishy, and more tactics resistant. You want to see this card early to get the most use out of it, and two don’t do anything for you, unless you have Guarding the Wing out, in which case it’s a one for one Black Squadron resource. If you want to stretch things a bit, you can include Sabotage in the Snow for the Forward Command Posts to use a blast enhancers.

Majestaat (5/5) – Absolutely love it. Cheap by its own, even cheaper with Vader's TIE, Guarding the Wing and/or Elite Pilot Training. Even though the shield is temporary, it's super impactful, making sure many of your fighters actually get to strike. Furthermore, you can get some recursion from the Escort Carrier in Superior Numbers or Black Squadron Formation. I'll admit the second copy will be fairly useless in most cases with zero edge pips, but the card is powerful enough that I don't mind at all.


I Have You Now (159-6): 14 out of 15 points.

chunkygorillas (5/5) - “But wait, you only gave this card a 4/5 earlier in the review?!” I did do that but that is because I think this card is better in a TIE deck because I think they just having an easier time winning the edge then rebels now. With things like Baron Fel’s ability and high pip Pilot cards coming to the Dark Side I think this card can do some real damage.

doctormungmung (5/5) - Where the Rebel version of this card only scored a two, here on the DS, I think this card is fantastic. TIEs can have ridiculous amounts of edge, between Precision Flying, Fel (as a pilot or an edge card), Vader, Twists, and a plethora of Stay on Targets. In a lot of situations, winning edge battles almost becomes a foregone conclusion, in which you get to remove their best unit from the battle before striking (sans Farlander). This is up there with great removal cards like Force Lightning, Deadly Sight, Capture, etc. There is a risk you won’t win edge, but more often than not, I’m seeing DS fighters coming out on top in edge.

Majestaat (4/5) – Unlike the LS version, this one is far more consistent with TIEs thanks to Precision Flying, Fel and the edge powerhouse Vader is. But even with them, you might need some extra icons from your cards; and without them, it will be as weak as it often is with the Light Side. Seems fair considering how powerful the effect is.


Overall: 15 out of 15 possible points.

chunkygorillas (5/5) - I think this set is an auto include in any TIE deck, Black Squadron deck, or any deck that is playing a lot of fighters and pilots.

doctormungmung (5/5) - This is a power toolbox set that works well in multiple ways with what’s out there for TIE decks. Vader is a massive control unit, and will have your opponent groaning when he hits the board in a ship just as loudly as when core Vader shows up. You also get tactics, shields, and targeted unit removal. The only thing missing from this set is a resource, but you potentially have four if Guarding the Wing is out. And if not, most of your cards cost two or less, with one costing three. I think this set will pull TIEs up firmly into the tier one arena.

Majestaat (5/5) – Very strong pod which becomes insane once some pieces fall in the right places. Together with Fel, Vader is sure to become the core of every fighter deck. You may as well add Guarding the Wing into the mix since it pairs so well with it. That's a strong foundation and still leaves you with 4 free slots to tinker around a fair bit. You can go a very aggressive mono-Navy build with Superior Numbers and Training Procedures, or slower but safer Sith-splashed deck with a mix of Defense Protocol, Black Squadron Assault and Formation. Really, there are a lot of different, perfectly viable builds you can try. As a matter of fact, this very pack offers a third alternative in Scum.


The Hunter's Flight (160-1): 9 out of 15 possible points.

chunkygorillas (3/5) - Another blank 5/2? Well like I said before it’s not amazing but way better than a blank 5/1.

doctormungmung (3/5) - Yet another vanilla objective. Like the others, it’s a decent way to get a bigger first turn, or a little more on a key later turn. It does have the Tatooine trait, so you can put a Sarlac on it, if you want. Other than that, nothing really to see here.

Majestaat (3/5) – I'm running out of things to say on these blank 2-resources objectives. They do some work when you depend on 3+ cost units.


*Boba Fett (160-2): 15 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (5/5) - The ability on this guy is just insanely good, especially since there are many ways to get him to trigger it multiple times in a game. He is also a solid unit if you have to play him as one what makes him an easy 5/5.

doctormungmung (5/5) - Now here is a Fett capture machine I wish we had gotten from the beginning. Basically remove your opponent's best unit when he enters play. Sure, there are a few units that are immune, but they are fairly rare, while there are plenty of popular and powerful four drops in the prime target zone. The more enhancements show up, the fewer targets Fett has, but that will also mean fewer LS attackers as well. You can get multiple uses from Fett by letting the Headhunter he’s on perish, and either pull him back to hand with Slave One, or attach him again with Stay On Target. And even if you get a single use out of him, that’s still a unit captured for the low cost of two resources. That’s a bargain! And it doesn’t hurt that as a unit, he’s solid as well, with black unit and (two) objective damage, white tactics, three health and elite.

Majestaat (5/5) – Like DS-61-3, Boba triggers a one time effect more akin to an event, and a very powerful event it is. Most units in the game cost 4 or less, and while there are now many pilots and other enhancements, you should almost always find a worthy target for capture. If there are no available targets, it may mean your opponent has sacrificed playing more units in favor of protecting what he has with enhancements, in which case your other tools like tactics should become more powerful.
Stay on Target and The Empire's Elite are just some ways to have Boba keep capturing units over and over, making the Fel pod one of the best to run along with him.


*Slave I (160-3): 12 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (4/5) - It’s a little costly but it is a solid unit, especially for an aggressive fighter deck running some more pilots from one of the other factions. It can also help you trigger Boba more than once since when the vehicle he is on gets destroyed you can bounce him back to hand to play him again.

doctormungmung (4/5) - Slave One is pretty close to core Luke. Stat’s are identical, and Luke’s stats alone make a good unit. While Slave One doesn’t auto-refresh on your opponent's turn or have targeted strike, it does help with board control by turning all your pilots into the immortal Hobbie. Admittedly, it’s only once per turn, but still, being able to cycle Boba back to hand is great. Same with Fel, or Vader, or Marek. Pilot decks are combo decks, and Slave One helps you keep the combo going. I’d still have liked to see elite here, though, so in that way, it’s holding on too much to its past incarnation.

Majestaat (4/5) – Strong on offense, defense and edge makes Slave I useful in most situations. Its ability while powerful, suffers a bit from being support-like in nature but is stuck in a combat-oriented unit. Guess that's a fair way to balance it. Do you pay 4 and keep it out of combat to keep using its ability or do you send it into the fray, risking losing this sort of combo enabler? One way or another, it will definitely help you keep your puzzle pieces in the right places, which is to be appreciated in pilot decks.


Den of Thieves (160-4): 12 out of 15 possibe points.

chunkygorillas (4/5) - These resources just keep getting better and better, now I am building decks where I am glad to have 4 of these types of resources.

doctormungmung (3/5) - This is the last of the pilot resources. They’re all good, and in multiple numbers pilots like Boba become free. Free capture!!! ‘Nuff said.

Majestaat (4/5) – Pilot decks really like these resources, and once one hit the tables playing pilots as units isn't a bad call at all. It's unlikely you won't want to make use of Boba's capture ability, but I can see a fair number of scenarios in which his blast and tactics can be more valuable. A good resource in a good set, that's awesome.


Bail Out (160-5): 8 out of 15 possible points.



chunkygorillas (3/5) - This card is not bad but it’s hard to play since you don’t want to just hang on to it in till you get a chance to play it. But when you get lucky and you draw it at the perfect time it can be a pretty good effect, though I would usually just rather have my pilots bounce back to hand using one of the few effects that allow that or let it go to the discard so I can use Stay on Target to get them back.

doctormungmung (2/5) - This is less useful than Slave One’s ability. It’s situational, and it’s an event, so you would have to hold it in hand to get it to go off. And a lot of time, you’d rather have the pilot go back to hand or the discard pile so it can be re-attached via SoT. But if you need a defender in a pinch, pulling a pilot into ground duty when they get shot down isn’t terrible. Particularly since pilots tend to wind up being heavy on the unit damage. And it’s free.

Majestaat (3/5) – What saves this card despite being so situational is that it's free and DS have a decent amount of very strong pilots as units, like Fel, Vader and Boba. Particularly effective if you didn't have a way to replay the card as a pilot anyway.


Stay on Target (160-6): X ouf ot 15 possible points.

chunkygorillas (4/5) - Just like the resource this card is just getting better and better. I now love having 4 in a deck and it is a great tool with Boba Fett since you can bring him in unexpectedly during an engagement and capture their attacker.

doctormungmung (4/5) - We’ve all seen this before. Now with all the pilots, there are plenty of targets to use this on. Recycling Fett, Vader, Fel, et al is a good thing. This card does that. Thus this card is good. Logic!

Majestaat (4/5) – This fate is borderline a 5/5 by now, at least for DS. You have a wide array of pilots with very different effects, making this one of the most versatile fate cards ever if certain conditions are met. Can't get a perfect score since you sometimes will see it too early, with no pilots to discard.


Overall: 14 out of 15 possible points.

chunkygorillas (5/5) - I also think this set is an auto include in any Pilot Heavy deck, especially one with Navy. It works so well with the other Pilot sets we have gotten from Navy and this set adds some extremely good removal to help clear out the big threats. I mean how could it not be good, it already got restricted

doctormungmung (4/5) - This is a great set, but it could be a bit better. Slave one could be elite, and Bail Out could either be something else or have more force icons. Still, an easy to use Boba Fett that captures is what most people have wanted from the beginning. It’s a little odd that he has to be a pilot to do so, but I won’t complain. There are several decks that Boba will fit into, and this set should perform well in most of them.

Majestaat (5/5) – So here goes the third alternative for TIE decks. This pod, coupled with Xizor or maybe even Virago if in a more vehicle-oriented meta, will get a lot of work done. High edge count at 9, with 2 cards having 3 icons and Boba being a monster that can eat Jedi mains. Also a resource. Honestly, this set is a great inclusion in any deck that has enough cheap vehicles for Boba to enter play and hopefully die quickly enough to keep coming back from the grave as a bounty hungry zombie pilot.


FINAL WORDS:

Once again must apologize for delays. Hope you can understand our recent circumstances. I'd like to say next one will come sooner, but I guess we've disappointed enough times already, so better not make empty promises. I do think the Chain of Command review should be uploaded by August the 14^th or 15^th, so let's hope all goes according to plan this time.

Special thanks to chunkygorillas and doctormungmung for sticking up with me despite the trouble, and also special thanks to colsanders for his superb job until now. Best of luck for him in his new endeavors. Hope he will find the time at some point to help with a particular pod or force pack he's hyped about. The family will make sure his seat is always available.
Must also wish luck to RedSquadronK. No idea what he's up to, but hope he's doing well. Maybe he had to cover himself with a dead Tauntaun and is too ashamed to tell. Nobody will ever know.

Finally, many thanks to our readers. You've all got the Family's permanent protection!
On our next entry we will have old and new blood joining us for work! You won't want to miss it.

Feel free to comment below or in our forum thread.

May the Force be with you all!