The Mos Eisley Mafia: SWLCG "Press the Attack" Force Pack Review - Light Side

MEET THE FAMILY (aka - THE REVIEWERS):
-chunkygorillas, host to the Ion Control Podcast (absent);
-doctormungmung, Massachussets' evil genius (absent);
-yodaman, master of Yoda's Hut;
-pantsyg, jankmaster general (absent);
-Majestaat, the one to blame for typos and delayed articles.


THE RATING SYSTEM:
It's to be noted that due to the SW:LCG's unique way of deckbuilding, it's impossible to just pick the stronger cards. You're likely to stick with some undesirable cards no matter what. Hence, the different scores could be seen 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 (more due to ties):
1 – Natural Cover (Strike Team Assemble), with 10 out of 10 possible points.
2 – Promotion (Protect the Generator), with 10 out of 10 possible points.
3 – Scouting Ahead (Strike Team Assemble), with 9.5 out of 10 possible points.
4 – *Bane Malar (Hunter for Hire), with 9.5 out of 10 possible points.
5 – *Major Bren Derlin (Strike Team Assemble), with 9 out of 10 possible points.
6 - Juyo Training (Maw of Madness), with 9 out of 10 possible points.
7 - Protect the Generator, with 9 out of 10 possible points.


Overall best rated Objective Set:
Strike Team Assemble, with 9 out of 10 possible points.


THE REVIEWS:

Lost in the Forest (207-1): 4 out of 10 possible points.


yodaman (2/5) – I’m not a fan of this objective text. Typically you’d want to probably be playing this set in a swarm deck and the text works against you. It does affect both players so it would be good against a swarm deck, but good players will find a way to play around it.

Majestaat (2/5) – I've got mixed feelings on this. It's really crappy on Ewoks, who are all about their swarms and the bonuses they get from swarming, so this objectives is like shooting yourself in the foot. However, there can be a sensible argument for playing this in a traditional Jedi build. Not only are you relying on a few big bodies, buy you also have a few tricks to keep more units refreshed, like Trust your Feelings and Force Rejuvenation. Core Luke and Force Cleansing also work to some extent.


*C-3PO (207-2): 6.5 out of 10 possible points.


yodaman (3/5) – An underwhelming main. At least this version of 3PO only costs 1 and has 2 health. More blast is never bad as LS. You’re going to want to play this with Ewoks though to get force icons on him.

Majestaat (3.5/5) – While you want Jedi 3PO to sit around and hold the Force, he still works well as a cheap attacker in a pinch. Nothing impressive here.


Homeland Defender (207-3&4): 7.5 out of 10 possible points.


yodaman (3/5) – These Ewoks synergize well with the objective. You could leave them focused if the objective is out, then free them up during conflict. For chuds, these 2 ewoks aren’t bad since they have black blast, but to get mileage out of them, you probably really need to win edge and have bonuses from something like Warriors of the Forest.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – Now we're on to something. With black blast and an ability that synergizes very well with the objective, these furballs can do some work. Their text also allows you to pay some costs (ex: Unexpected Assistance) and still have them ready for combat. With two pips, they're even good edge cards or Force Holders with that pseudo-elite.


Forest Awareness (207-5): 8.5 out of 10 possible points.


yodaman (5/5) – Elite is one of the best keywords in the game and this enhancement makes a Jedi unit or Ewok elite for free. Probably the best card in the set. Can always put it on BtS Luke for enhancement shenanigans too.

Majestaat (3.5/5) – I remember giving Niman Training a perfect score. Yeah, back then pilot Boba and Threat Removal were ruining everybody's day. While this doesn't have the Force Sensitive/User restriction, its single force pip hurts. Furthermore, few Ewoks are worthy of enhancements, and elite doesn't bypass the objective. Again, the set may silently scream Jedi mains (though the most played ones are already Elite, so...).


Battle of Endor (207-6): 9 out of 10 possible points.


yodaman (4/5) – Always like this fate card since you’ll probably be pairing any set it’s in with other Endor sets so you’ll get full value for it.

Majestaat (5/5) – Same as always. Every Ewok pod is Endor-traited, so this is always at 4 pips, allowing you to contest even against Scum with their Schemes and Sith with their mains.


Overall: 6.5 out of 10 possible points.

yodaman (3/5) – The enhancement and fate cards are the best cards in the set. Jedi continues a run of so-so pods.

Majestaat (3.5/5) – This does solve some Ewok weaknesses, providing blast and a handful of good Force holders, plus another BoE for edge. But again, you're working without resources and an extreme vulnerability to Moment of Triumph.
For standard Jedi decks, I'd rather pick Mysteries of the Rim or Forgotten Masters over this as a filler pod.


Strike Team Assemble (208-1): 8.5 out of 25 possible points.


yodaman (4.5/5) – This objective’s text is great. Being able to resolve fate cards an additional time can be game changing in the right scenario and early on you’re most likely going to be able to use it so make sure your deck has its fair share of fate cards. Double that Heat, Target, Seeds or even I Have You Now to really do some damage to the DS board. If this wasn’t while undamaged it would be OP so it’s good they made it possible to turn it off. It is an Endor objective though which means you can potentially get damage off of it with Shield Generator Assault’s text or the enhancement in this set to keep it turned on.

Majestaat (4/5) – DS has the tools and mentality to play much more aggressively nowadays, so better not count on this for long. Crix's and Page's pods provide some good fate cards. So does Hit and Run, though I'm not sure I want to play that yet. Just in case you didn't know, this effect doesn't work with Battle of Endor, as it can never go past 4 pips. Guess what fate card the design team decided to include here.


*Major Bren Derlin (208-2): 9 out of 10 possible points.


yodaman (4.5/5) – For 3 cost, you get 2 black guns, 3 force icons, a white blast and the passive ability of gaining targeted strike and a black blast if you place a fate card in your edge stack. The only thing keeping Bren from being a 5 in my book is his 2 health. That’s always a drawback.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – Except for his low HP, Derlin's got a pretty good statline, which makes me think he may actually see a decent amount of play once Sith swap core Vader for his GA counterpart (it'll happen, face it). With fate cards he can hit objectives hard and provide some good control via targeted strike. Again, the issue is having enough fate cards, and at the right time. But unlike the objective, any fate card you play synergizes with Derlin.


Strike Team Specialist (208-3): 6.5 out of 10 possible points.


yodaman (3.5/5) – As chuds go this isn’t too bad. He costs 2, has 2 health, and his combat icons are so-so. But like Tydirium, the Strike Team Specialist’s presence in an engagement will alter how they approach it. This is great for making your opponent have to balance what they’ll want to put in for edge since every card they use gives you an edge bonus.

Majestaat (3/5) – The extra value from this guy is really marginal compared to average chuds, so he gets the same score.


Natural Cover (208-4): out of 10 possible points.


yodaman (5/5) – This enhancement is great. It costs 2, but it gives you a way to repeatedly prevent damage to one of your characters or Endor objectives. That can keep one of your important units alive for a strike or keep objectives that only trigger while undamaged (like Strike Team Assemble or Commando Operations) turned on just a little bit longer.

Majestaat (5/5) – Most Rebel (character) mains are 3 costed, so 2-1 resources work perfect for them. Having to choose between resources and protection is though until later into the game when you shoudl have some resources to spare, but Rebel characters were so desperately in need of damage mitigation that the sole fact of having an option for that is incredible.


Scouting Ahead (208-5): 9.5 out of 10 possible points.


yodaman (5/5) – I’m always a fan of free events that manipulate things and this card certainly does that. You can use it to get yourself the best possible card of the next 4 coming up while at the same time giving your opponent something they may not want and shuffling their good cards back. Always worth playing.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – I think this is a better Rahn's Guidance. While the DS is gaining a card as well, you get to pick what they get, so you're taking the best possible option for yourself, may that be a better unit, an edge card, that necessary event or fate card; while your opponent is most certainly gaining a single force pip for edge.


Battle of Endor (208-6): 8 out of 10 possible points.


yodaman (4/5) – It’s an Endor objective, so Battle of Endor is always welcome.

Majestaat (4/5) – Not only does this set provide you two Endor cards, but Rebels actually have a pretty decent selection of Endor pods now, so it should be fairly easy to get this to 3 pips, at least. Shame you don't get double the bonus with the objective undamaged.


Overall: 9 out of 10 possible points.

yodaman (4.5/5) – This is a very strong set that ought to pair well with Rebel character decks and Rebel/Jedi decks. Just make sure to have fate cards to take advantage of the objective as well as Bren.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – A few misteps stop this from being perfect. Why include a Battle of Endor when it doesn't work with the objective? Why a single fate card given the pod's focus on that? While I like Scouting Ahead a lot, it should have probably been a second fate card for consistency purposes. Now the chud... why not allow him to gain edge based on your own fate cards instead of your opponent's?
Finally, and this has nothing to do with this set itself, why not make Commando Raid Endor-traited? That sets screams to be played along this one, so if STA is going to have a Battle of Endor, allow it to synergize with the most obvious choice to play along with.