The Mos Eisley Mafia: SWLCG "So Be It" Force Pack Review - Light Side

MEET THE FAMILY (aka - THE REVIEWERS):
-chunkygorillas, host to the Ion Control Podcast;
-doctormungmung, Massachussets' evil genius;
-yodaman, he who you seek when numbers are involved;
-pantsyg, jankmaster general (absent this time around);
-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:
1 – Dark Lair (Fearsome and Foul), with 25 out of 25 possible points.
2 – Endor Entrapment, with 25 out of 25 possible points.
3 – Gladiator-class Star Destroyer, with 25 out of 25 possible points.
4 – *Ephant Mon (Schemes and Intrigues), with 25 out of 25 possible points.
5 – Alliance B-Wing (Turning the Tide), with 24 out of 25 possible points.


Overall best rated Objective Set (our first tie ever in this section!):
Feigning Captivity and Endor Entrapment, each with 23 out of 25 possible points.



THE REVIEWS:

Turning the Tide (201-1): 22 out of 25 possible points.


chunkygorillas (5/5) – Super strong, this makes missions free, and it can also help you kind of refresh when you play events like Rebel Assault on turn 0.

doctormungmung (5/5) – This objective is almost as good as Mobilize the Squadron. |While you can’t guarantee two resources out of this one every turn, you can go a good way if you have some rebel events in your deck. With Ackbar’s Orders, you get a free mission out of your choice. Or you can get a Rebel Assault for one. That’s a deal I’ll take anytime.

yodaman (4/5) – The ability on this objective is sneaky good since you get to essentially reduce the cost of an event or mission by 1 each turn. Use it to play a Rebel Assault as the game starts and get 1 (or even 2) resources back to use or play Infiltration for free to sneak someone in to an engagement. Put out the Final Battle or Shield Generator Assault for free to make sure you don’t lose tempo. If you build your deck with this bonus in mind, you can take advantage of it.

pantsyg (4/5) – Good effect, but reliant on having Rebel events to play—right now Infiltration and Rebel Assault are the only high-level candidates, or maybe Ready for Takeoff. A bonus, but nothing game-changing. It does make the Mission free, though, hence the bump to 4.

Majestaat (4/5) – Neat ability, somewhat similar to Emperor's Web. You need a resource open in the first place though, making it a bit more difficult to use in the combat phase. Still, missions suddenly becoming free, and Rebel Assault going down to 1-cost is quite the big deal. Just wish Rebels had a few more tricks to get more mileage out of this.


*Admiral Ackbar (201-2): 21 out of 25 possible points.


chunkygorillas (4/5) – Super strong stats wise, but the fact he only works while attacking missions is a little limited.

doctormungmung (4/5) – Fish face is back, and he’s looking solid. Good combat icons (black tactics will alway go a long way), good force icons, good health, a resource, elite. That’s a very nice laundry list. On top of that he’s got a nice passive that can lead to some very short lived missions. Free black blast is just about as good for the LS as black tactics. And there are no shortage for cheap vehicles for him to pump up, allowing the swarm to do serious work before it gets wiped out. Or with the perfect storm of sending Home One after a mission, and reaping the rewards on a separate objective.

yodaman (4/5) – For 3 cost you get a main whose elite, has 3 health, generates a resource, has one of each combat icon and an ability that gives all your vehicles an extra black blast when attacking a mission. Much like the objective, the new version of Ackbar calls for you to build a deck around his ability and make sure you include missions. Ackbar’s 3 force icons also helps Rebels potentially win force struggles more often, especially since most of the time you’re going to want him to sit safely out of engagements so you can use his ability.

pantsyg (5/5) – I’m amused that both cards in this set featuring Ackbar show him in almost exactly the same pose. As a unit, Ackbar shines as an elite 3-drop with tactics and an absolutely bonkers passive ability given the number of Rebel vehicles you can ram into a deck. He’s a lynchpin card for sure. Also, Rebels have been steadily gaining a number of good elites and 3-pip edge cards, so edge battles have become much less rough.

Majestaat (4/5) – All-around good stats for any role, with a resource to boot should you need to pull some tricks mid-battle. His score suffers a hit because, even if his passive ability is strong and only requires him to be alive, it also demands some setup, with both a mission and Rebel vehicles in play.


Alliance B-Wing (201-3&4): 24 out of 25 possible points.


chunkygorillas (5/5) – Super efficient one drops, puts the vanilla Snowspeeder to shame.

doctormungmung (5/5) – These guys are FANTASTIC! Black blast for one cost with two health, and you can have four in a deck. These are the mirror image of the X-Wings from the core, but because they trade their icons, B-Wings are much more efficient. And being Rebel affiliated, Ackbar buffs these guys when they get sent on a mission. That’s some good internal synergy right there.

yodaman (4/5) – 1 cost for a unit with black blast? Sounds good, especially when attacking a mission with Ackbar out. 2 health brings them down a bit, but having 2 cheap units with black blast in a set is always a good thing since you can swarm and get some shots off.

pantsyg (5/5) – Who decided unchokable, 2-health black blast should cost 1? Insane, double insane with Ackbar.

Majestaat (5/5) – Cheap, somewhat resilient blast. Very simple yet very efficient. They go along nicely with Ackbar, increasing your blast exponentially.


Ackbar's Orders (201-5): 23 out of 25 possible points.


chunkygorillas (5/5) – This is what missions decks really needed, a way to tutor them out. It’s properly costed, and it should do a lot to improve Rebel mission decks.

doctormungmung (3/5) – Part of the problem with missions is that you want to get them out there early enough to have an impact. If they show up too late, it’s just not worth playing them, as you might only need a few damage on one or two objectives. So effectively doubling the missions you might have in your deck will help you see one early. Now, I’m still not super impressed by missions in general, but they do get around all the damage mitigation that Endor Entrapment has to stymie the LS.

yodaman (5/5) – Any card that lets you search for other cards without restriction is always good. This lets you find a mission and put it directly into play. Even though this set has a mission, I could easily see using it to find other missions like Shield Generator Assault instead. It has 2 force icons so if you already have a mission out, you have decent card for edge battles too.

pantsyg (5/5) – Given how important the Mission is to an Ackbar deck’s strategy, being able to find it whenever you want is gold. Also, who doesn’t want to warp in a new objective in the conflict phase? Well-designed with 2 pips for when you already have a mission out.

Majestaat (5/5) – This may be just what you need in decks that rely heavily on missions. It's great here considering how big an impact Ackbar can have when missions are in play, allowing you to meet your victory condition much faster.


The Final Battle (201-6): 16.5 out of 25 possible points.


chunkygorillas (3.5/5) – I have never really liked things that force you to concentrate so much on one attack, you generally get more value out of spreading attacks out. However with Ackbar boosting the attack against missions you could get this destroyed pretty fast, and getting 2 objectives in one is pretty strong.

doctormungmung (2/5) – Speaking of not being impressed with missions, here’s a prime example. On the surface, it’s a mission that when you complete it, you get to destroy an objective of your choice. That’s great! Two objectives for the cost of one. But then you look at the health, and this one requires you to do 10 damage to it, which is the same you’d have to do for just two generic objectives. And you have to do it without doubling up on unopposed damage. Now, the set helps out with Ackbar’s buff. And you can take out a problem objective that the DS has damage mitigation going for (like Endor Entrapment). Then there’s the corner case of if the DS has Defending the Trench or Heart of the Empire out, you can win the game with just 10 damage, just like with Trench Run. Still, I’d rather have something that had more of an impact to the board stake for the effort I put in.

yodaman (3/5) – In general, this mission is only going to be worth it if you can have the bonus blast from Ackbar himself. It has 10 health so you can concentrate your attacks on it and when you blow it up it you can take out an objective of your choice that’s causing trouble. But with Navy so prevalent in the meta right now, not being able to take out an objective (or mission) in one attack leaves the LS open to a Yularen or Imperial Fist counter.

pantsyg (5/5) – In my opinion, this mission is what you build your Ackbar deck around. As a non-Navy objective it gets around Endor Entrapment, and with Ackbar destroying it in one shot is very doable unless you face an absolute wall of tactics. If you can kill this in a single conflict phase, you nuke 2 objectives with no opportunity for Yularen or Fist to come back and bite you in the ass. You do have to play to this mission, building up the strike force over a few turns, but the result is very, very worthwhile—and as a bonus, you oppose aggressive decks that assume you’ll be all in as Rebels.

Majestaat (3/5) – Quite flavorful, though I would have prefered a more standard 5-HP mission. From playing Heart of the Empire and Defending the Trench with DS I know it's usually a bad idea to focus your attack on such a big objective, since you may be losing some unopposed bonuses. Still, there are a few cards that can greatly boost your damage output: Ackbar, Rogue Two, Advanced Proton Torpedoes. They all require you already have a swarm on the table, however, and that can be hard to achieve when everyone is playing Moment of Triumph.


Overall: 21.5 out of 25 possible points.

chunkygorillas (4/5) – This set has really strong units, and is a great core for a Mission deck, but the edge count is very low.

doctormungmung (4/5) – I think the B-Wings make this set. Anytime you can get such cost efficient blast, you have to take the set seriously. The objective comes a close second with it’s situational free resource. Ackbar is a solid defender / force hound / edge card. The rest of the set is hit or miss, but if you have a mission in your deck that is a linchpin, then this set will most likely a key element to making that strategy work.

yodaman (4/5) – I think this will fit in well with any deck that focuses on missions. The discount on events, cheap blast and Ackbar’s bonus make this a decent pod that may fit in well in a variety of decks. Just make sure you have Rebel vehicles to take advantage of it. 8 force icons is average, in general, but certainly welcome for Rebels.

pantsyg (5/5) – A great set, super thematic and very fun to play. Ackbar and Final Battle suggest a strategy that feels new and different from the way other decks play, and Alliance Bs are just crazy good. This guy and Solidarity of Spirit were designed to be best buds.

Majestaat (4.5/5) – Despite its focus on going all-in against The Final Battle, this is a rather versatile set. The objective helps to play events without sacrificing other deployments; Ackbar is a fantastic addition who allows Rebel vehicles to actually contest the Force, and supports their swarm playstyle nicely once a mission hits the board, which isn't hard to achieve when you basically have 4 missions by just playing 2 copies of this set. Even if you're not going a vehicle-only deck, you are offered a pair of cheap, efficient ones here to get some mileage out of Ackbar regardless.


Feigning Captivity (202-1): 22 out of 25 possible points.


chunkygorillas (4/5) – This really helps fuel the other self capture sets like Cracken, and the upcoming Leia (in Galactic Ambitions), and since you almost never see the bottom card of your deck it’s really at no cost.

doctormungmung (4/5) – So I want to preface this by saying that my ratings for this set assume it’s in a deck that focuses on capture and has Cracken in it. That said, being able to guarantee a capatured card a turn can turn on a whole host of other cards that are in your deck. Getting that card from the bottom of your deck means it’s not a card you were going to see anyway, so it takes away the “aww, I wanted that in my hand” reaction capture sometimes produces. And with a few of the other cards out there, you can actually set what the bottom card of your deck is, giving you more control over what you get to “give” to your opponent.

yodaman (4/5) – A very interesting ability that pairs well with Cracken’s objective. You get to thin your deck out by placing the bottom card of your deck as a captured card at an enemy objective. The rescue deck just got another useful tool on the objective side.

pantsyg (5/5) – This is halfway to “draw a card,” as it gets stuff off the bottom of your deck and onto objectives, where LS has many tricks to get them into hand or play.

Majestaat (5/5) – A perfect score for a Cracken deck; quite underwhelming anywhere else. If you see good units at the bottom, set them for an easy Rescue Mission. If you don't, you still get to gain the bonuses for some of your cards without really losing anything.


*Tamtel Skreej (202-2): 22.5 out of 25 possible points.


chunkygorillas (5/5) – In the right deck it is super easy to have at least one card captured, so Tamtel ends up having amazing stats.

doctormungmung (4/5) – Four combat icons with three health for three cost is nuts! Now, you do need a captured card somewhere, but that’s now that really all that difficult to achieve. And you don’t even need to be engaging that objective, making it all the more easy to turn on good old Lan.., er Tamtel. Don’t forget that he has a tactics icon as well. The only thing that keeps him from being a five is that there will be rare occasions where he’ll be overcosted for his icons. But in those instances, he makes a solid edge card or force hound.

yodaman (4.5/5) – The undercover version of Lando has good stats. For 3 cost, you get a main with 3 health who becomes elite and has 4 combat icons, including a potential for 2 blast if you win edge, whenever an objective has at least one captured cards. 3 icons helps during force struggles too which gives you time to set up the capture shenanigans.

pantsyg (4/5) – I like units that are undercosted when certain conditions are met. Tamtel isn’t burning down the house, but he comes with tactics and 2 blast on an affordable package with a condition that’s super easy to achieve, and he has 3 pips—always great in Smugglers, for both Force struggles and edge battles.

Majestaat (5/5) – Same reasoning as above. It only takes a single captured card for Covert Ops Lando to become great, which will be a piece of cake if you're playing this alongside Planning the Rescue. 3 resources for 3 HP, 3 pips, elite and 4 combat icons is Jedi-level good.


Infiltration Specialist (202-3&4): 20.5 out of 25 possible points.


chunkygorillas (4/5) – Continuing the trend of this set just being made to be played with Cracken, these guys do a ton with the cards in that set. Plus cheap blast icons are always nice.

doctormungmung (4/5) – One cost blast is very good, as we previously established. These guys aren’t quite as good as B-Wings, as they’re edge enabled, but even still, it’s not hard to get a one cost unit past enemy lines. And they also love Cracken. If they are in a conflict with him and they pop, start putting those rescued cards into play. You can fill your hand with good cards by killing these guys en-masse, like with the False Report.

yodaman (3.5/5) – To get cards like Cracken and Skreej to really do their thing you need captured cards. These 2 chuds help with that. For 1 cost, you get a white blast which can do some damage if they go in unopposed. If your opponent chooses to block them, then you don’t even care if they get killed with their 1 health because their text allows you to rescue a captured card and put the specialist as a captured card in its place. This means you can throw them in the line of fire in order to get a power unit like Falcon or a Freeholder back. Great synergy with the text. Might pair well with things like Core Leia or Wookiee Life Debt to give you more ways to control getting the units off the board.

pantsyg (5/5) – What’s not to like? Except maybe the dull name, who comes up with these? Remember how I said Feigning Captivity was halfway to “draw a card?” This guy is the other half, with an absolute worst-case scenario that he dies and grabs you a captured card—so you drew a card when you already knew what it was going to be. Unblocked, he’s 2 damage.

Majestaat (4/5) – Cheap blast that gets to be useful even when Force Choked. You basically get to draw a card, boosting your edge for future engagements the same turn, and you still keep the capture bonus for your other cards. I don't mind having up to 4 of these guys.


Secret Objective (202-5): 22 out of 25 possible points.


chunkygorillas (4/5) – This fate card seems to be getting better (as I slowly figure out how to use it properly…), plus 3 in the edge is always great.

doctormungmung (4/5) – Three force icons on a fate card is always good, as you are never going to do anything else with that card. And with the prevalence of the Tarkin Doctrine out there protecting objectives, having a sneaky (and free) way to get around that is becoming important. It also allows you to engage the same objective multiple times in a turn, potentially getting multiple unopposed bonuses as well. Overall, a situational effect, but a good fate card none the less.

yodaman (5/5) – The set comes with a mission so, as typically happens, this fate cards gets included. Still love this card with its 3 pips and ability to get around Tarkin Doctrine.

pantsyg (4/5) – This card mainly shines to get double-strikes on pesky Navy objectives, but at 3 pips I’m not complaining.

Majestaat (5/5) – I've been giving this a 4 in the past. Time has shown I underrated it, especially when one-shoting objectives is becoming more of a necessity than a privilege. This allows you to do that, while providing your edge a substantial boost.


To Save a Friend (202-6): 22 out of 25 possible points.


chunkygorillas (5/5) – For sure the best mission in the game so far, it’s free, it has an immediate effect, and it’s a super strong effect. With a Rescue Mission in hand this card can tutor anyone and play it for 2 resource.

doctormungmung (3/5) – When your deck has multiple ways to rescue cards without having to actually blow up objectives, getting to pick what those cards are becomes very powerful. Do you have this mission and a Rescue Mission in hand? Get a Falcon (or Freeholder or Home One or Obi-Wan) for two! Get a False Report to pitch all your Infiltration Specialists and get a hand for next turn that has all your heavy hitters and killer edge. Still, the mission doesn’t actually do anything other than help set up combos, so in that way it’s kind of lacking. I still think it has more potential than The Final Battle.

yodaman (4/5) – I really like the fact this mission is free so putting it out on the board won’t cost you tempo. It allows you to bury some good cards solely with the intent of rescuing him later. If you’re playing this set, you’re most likely playing Cracken’s set too so you can set up cards you want to be rescued more easily. The one drawback is that even though you might know where you placed that Falcon or Freeholder, sometimes it’s better to have those cards on the board. However, there’s always the chance you bury a good card and are unable to rescue it. If the mission would have allowed you to put a card captured under it directly into play after it was completed, that would have helped.

pantsyg (5/5) – Free mission! Always solid. This one searches your deck for 2 units and captures them, an obvious setup for Rescue Mission or the Cracken. Gold.

Majestaat (5/5) – It's free? You don't even need to damage it? AMAZING. This makes Rescue Mission absolutely incredible . Look for your best unit and play it for 2. Crazy. If you don't have that event and are worried you may not get to play those units in time, just pick a couple chuds and make use of the capture bonus anyway.


Overall: 23 out of 25 possible points.

chunkygorillas (5/5) – Pretty decent edge count and the set has a ton of internal synergies, and synergizes o so well with some already existing sets (mostly Cracken).

doctormungmung (4/5) – In a Cracken deck, this set is amazing. It helps set up so all of the combos that the deck relies upon, while also adding in a heavy hitter. Outside of a Cracken deck it’ ok, but still has pretty good edge (at a count of nine).

yodaman (4/5) – It has 9 force icons which is good for Smugglers, but it definitely calls for being paired with Planning the Rescue in order to maximize its effectiveness. The fact it’s a bit too combo dependent at this point makes it less versatile than other objectives, but I’m sure someone will find good decks to make it work well.

pantsyg (5/5) – This is a shenanigan-laden set custom-built to compliment General Cracken, so naturally, it’s my favorite. I love all the ways it shuffles cards around; playing with it feels like running a shell game on the opponent. With ways to dig up cards and set up big Rescues, your opponent should never feel safe. Definitely the set I’ve had the most fun with out of this pack, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some clever players make competitive decks with it.

Majestaat (5/5) – Any doubts I may have had on Planning the Rescue disappear with this set. Their synergy is off the charts. High edge, a lot of blast, 3 units, that's all great. While a lack of resource may hurt your final build a bit, this set is so cheap that every card should be super playable regardless.


Tribe of the Trees (203-1): 17.5 out of 25 possible points.


chunkygorillas (4/5) – The effect is super strong, but inconsistent since you can only run 1 per deck. (though you would only ever run 1 of the set anyways…).

doctormungmung (3/5) – Getting all those squishy ewoks immunity from the likes of Force Choke and the like is a step towards making them a competitive archetype. It will also help with the likes of Tarkin blanking Wicket. It won’t save the furrballs from boardwipes like Moment of Triumph though. Now if only ewoks weren’t so resource starved, they might have something to bring to the tournament scene.

yodaman (2.5/5) – The objective has a cool ability as it can help keep your Ewoks safe from things like Vader’s reaction, Force Chokes, Snoova, etc... Remember if you make something like Luke or Yoda part of the Tribe they’ll be safe too. However, it’s limit 1 and it doesn’t protect the cheap Ewoks from Moment of Triumph. Not great.

pantsyg (4/5) – Awesome effect to stave off those Chokes, but with 1 in the deck it’s nothing to count on.

Majestaat (4/5) – Sweet. The little Ewoks get to stay alive to be useful, while the bigger Ewoks will be kept ready to... well, be useful. Anything that protects the furballs is great.


Ewok Ambusher (203-2, 3, 4 & 5): 10 out of 25 possible points.


chunkygorillas (1/5) – This is a bad unit, and just because you can ambush it into play as a surprise doesn’t make it good….

doctormungmung (2/5) – Under the right circumstances (basically, Warrior of the Forest out), these guys could really bring some heat, dealing tons of blast damage for cheap. Otherwise, quite lackluster and rather telegraphed.

yodaman (1/5) – Sorry, I’m not impressed a set that has 4 copies of a unit that all have 1 cost, 1 health and 1 black gun so they don’t really help you achieve your win condition. I guess they could be fodder for something like Noble Sacrifice or if you have Warriors of the Forest out, they could get white blast. I guess you could potentially sneak them in and maybe there would be a good combo with Native Support to help free up that resource during conflict to drop one of these guys in unexpectedly. Ultimately, these appear to be some fairly useless units.

pantsyg (4/5) – The value of these guys is almost 100% dependent on having either Warriors of the Forest or Chief Chirpa in play. With Warriors, they become devastating late-phase attackers you drop in when the opponent is out of blocks. With Chirpa, they’re competent defenders, or fuzzy Mouse Droids.

Majestaat (2/5) – Over reliance on Warriors of the Forest makes them quite poor. Since they won't enter combat in the current engagement, they won't really work as a backup plan if you are one blast short or need an extra gun to deal with a DS unit.
On the bright side, they are so inconsequential you will feel even better than usual when sacrificing them with Funeral Pyre; and with how cheap they are, it also becomes easier to get the bonus from Sacrifice at Endor.


Battle of Endor (203-6): 22 out of 25 possible points.


chunkygorillas (4/5) – Wow they have printed this fate card a lot, but as before in an Ewok deck this will have 4 force icons most of the time so it’s really good)

doctormungmung (4/5) – In an ewok deck, you’re going to have Endor objectives out the wazoo, so this will be a four pip card, which is incredibly powerful. Now if only ewoks had resources…..

yodaman (4/5) – At least you get a fate card that pairs well with Ewoks since every Ewok set is Endor traited. That will allow you to typically get all 4 icons for this fate card, but it probably won’t matter.

pantsyg (5/5) – The rating here assumes an Ewok deck, in which this is always a 4-pip edge card.

Majestaat (5/5) – Every Ewok objective is Endor-traited, and Ewok objectives mostly want to be paired with other Ewok objectives, making Battle of Endor most certainly a 4-pips card, which is what you need to win edge battles even when you're playing your whole hand.


Overall: 11 out of 25 possible points.

chunkygorillas (1/5) – I don’t really want 4 crappy Ewoks in a deck just so I can have a chance of flopping that objective. This set feels lazy (Majestaat's note: yet not as lazy as Endless Reserves).

doctormungmung (2/5) – This is a situational utility set that under some corner cases really have a big impact. But otherwise it’s a rather meh. What this really needed were a pair of ambushers, and a pair of resource enhancements.

yodaman (2/5) – Maybe someone will make an Ewok swarm set work, but the fact this set is Limit 1 makes it harder to count on the objective’s ability to protect the Ewoks and get use out of it, but I just don’t see it. Battle of Endor is really the only plus for this set.

pantsyg (4/5) – I wasn’t expecting much from this set, but surprisingly, it adds a lot to Ewok builds. I don’t think Ewoks will be taking down major competitive events any time soon, and they still have resource issues, but a bunch of 1-cost dudes to carry various buffs is exactly what a swarm-style deck wants to see. That you can drop them in whenever is gravy. It’s definitely a fun little set for a fun little deck, and the art is adorable!

Majestaat (2/5) – It's sad such a good objective ability is in a limit 1 per deck, Ewoks could use that Choke immunity. It's even more saddening to think that if this was allowed to be played as a 2x you wouldn't do it anyway because you would have 8 Ambushers. Oh, the irony.