No Disintegrations - Imperial Evolution

Welcome one and all to this weeks installment of No Disintegrations. We will be concluding the “Evolution” series this week by going over the Imperial faction to see the changes that have occurred to their diverse arsenal over the course of the past few force packs. As with the Rebels what we have here in the Imperial faction is a highly aggressive play style that lends itself to blowing up objectives and winning through sheer force of power. At times this seems a bit counterintuitive since as the dark side player you have a guaranteed win condition in at most twelve turns. So why be hyper aggressive and risk losing on a quick push by your opponent? The main reason is that as you start racking up those objective kills you are also pushing the dial higher and higher in HUGE chunks and burying your opponent more quickly than they can even imagine.

At the release of the core set most people started with the following as their general idea for an Imperial Navy Deck. There were also some Trooper variations of the deck that saw some play around this time, but they felt a bit gimmicky and didn’t have the consistency or raw power of a Vehicle based deck. Versions of the vehicle based Navy decks can swing in hard, dealing massive chunks of damage and then have enough tricks up their sleeves to hold off a crafty opponent long enough to secure a win. You will notice that this version showcases quite a few Starfighter units making Talon Roll an extremely useful tool in the deck. Not only can it be used to push through that last bit of damage on offense, but it can also be used to ready a Starfighter to go on defense during your opponent’s turn. Also Defense Upgrade is a key tool for this deck as well because it helps you win that race with the Light Side by putting your objectives a turn or two out of reach from their attacks giving you the time you need to win. Overall this first installment of the Imperial Navy deck was able to deliver the pain.

Imperial Navy v 1.0

Affiliation:
Sith (Core)

Total Objective Sets: (10)

2x Black Squadron Assault (Core)
Vader's TIE Advanced (Core)
TIE Advanced (Core)
Black Squadron Pilot (Core)
I'm On the Leader (Core)
Target of Opportunity (Core)

2x Kuat Reinforcements (Core)
"Backstabber" (Core)
TIE Fighter (Core)
TIE Bomber (Core)
Tallon Roll (Core)
Death from Above (Core)

2x Death and Despayre (Core)
Devastator (Core)
Imperial Officer (Core)
Control Room (Core)
Defense Upgrade (Core)
Heat of Battle (Core)

2x Defense Protocol (Core)
TIE Attack Squadron (Core)
TIE Fighter (Core)
Tallon Roll (Core)
Death from Above (Core)
Twist of Fate (Core)

2x The Endor Gambit (Core)
AT-ST Commander (Core)
AT-ST (Core)
AT-ST (Core)
Aft Armor Plating (Core)
Target of Opportunity (Core)

Strengths:
- Objective Damage
- Survivability
- Unit Damage

Weaknesses:
- High cost units
- Lack of Resources
- Reliability
- Tactics Icons

With the release of the first Force pack and the inclusion of an Imperial Navy version of Darth Vader everyone was excited for a pure Navy deck that revolved around Troopers. The deck was finicky and would often underperform, but when things went your way and you were able to get the Imperial engine running your opponent better watch out because they are about to get steam rolled. The biggest issue all around with Imperial Vader and a Trooper deck all around is that the units are generally pretty fragile and since Darth Vader’s ability is only active during an engagement he participates in it causes you to make weird attacks to gain the full benefit from having him in play. Also unless you have the time to setup the board and get things working correctly the deck lacks much objective damage. Sadly even with the power of Darth Vader the pure Trooper deck just wasn’t meant to be yet.

Trooper Beatdown

Affiliation:
Imperial Navy (Core)

Total Objective Sets: (10)

2x Imperial Command (Core)
Admiral Motti (Core)
Duty Officer (Core)
Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (Core)
Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (Core)
Orbital Bombardment (Core)

2x The Ultimate Power (Core)
Grand Moff Tarkin (Core)
Superlaser Engineer (Core)
Stormtrooper Elite (Core)
Control Room (Core)
Superlaser Blast (Core)

1x Death and Despayre (Core)
Devastator (Core)
Imperial Officer (Core)
Control Room (Core)
Defense Upgrade (Core)
Heat of Battle (Core)

2x Take Them Prisoner (Core)
Death Star Trooper (Core)
Death Star Trooper (Core)
Detained (Core)
Trooper Assault (Core)
Tear This Ship Apart (Core)

1x Corporate Exploitation (Core)
Espo Trooper (Core)
Espo Trooper (Core)
Espo Trooper (Core)
Espo Trooper (Core)
Espo Trooper (Core)

2x Lord Vader's Command (The Desolation of Hoth)
Darth Vader (The Desolation of Hoth)
Communications Officer (The Desolation of Hoth)
Probe Droid (The Desolation of Hoth)
Probe Droid (The Desolation of Hoth)
Imperial Suppression (The Desolation of Hoth)

Strengths:
- Unit Damage
- Cheap units

Weaknesses:
- Reliability
- Objective Damage
- Survivability
- Tactics Icons

The Search for Skywalker was a turning point for the Navy deck as it shored up one of the weaknesses of the first vehicle based navy decks by giving them ways to reduce the cost of their Capital ships, and adding in one of the best resources enhancements in Death Squadron Command. By giving you access to potentially four additional Capital ships the true might of the Imperial Navy was finally recognized and all their firepower was turned against unsuspecting Light Side decks. However the deck in this format lacked ways to interact with your opponent, few of your units have Unit Damage so even if you do hold back for defense all you are really doing is stalling your opponent because you have trouble destroying their units. You could choose to run Defense Protocol in the deck to counter this lack of unit damage, but then you run into issues with not being able to draw enough cards and the simple fact that you cannot rely on always having access to a specific objective. Even with that gaping hole this deck come out at a perfect time where most Light Side decks were slow to get setup and allowed an aggressive Dark Side deck to exploit that.

Big Navy v 1.0

Affiliation:
Imperial Navy (Core)

Total Objective Sets: (10)

2x Imperial Command (Core)
Admiral Motti (Core)
Duty Officer (Core)
Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (Core)
Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (Core)
Orbital Bombardment (Core)

2x Kuat Reinforcements (Core)
"Backstabber" (Core)
TIE Fighter (Core)
TIE Bomber (Core)
Tallon Roll (Core)
Death from Above (Core)

2x Death and Despayre (Core)
Devastator (Core)
Imperial Officer (Core)
Control Room (Core)
Defense Upgrade (Core)
Heat of Battle (Core)

2x The Endor Gambit (Core)
AT-ST Commander (Core)
AT-ST (Core)
AT-ST (Core)
Aft Armor Plating (Core)
Target of Opportunity (Core)

2x Deploy the Fleet (The Search For Skywalker)
Death Squadron Star Destroyer (The Search For Skywalker)
Death Squadron Star Destroyer (The Search For Skywalker)
Fleet Navigator (The Search For Skywalker)
Death Squadron Command (The Search For Skywalker)
Admiral's Orders (The Search For Skywalker)

Strengths:
- Objective Damage
- Survivability

Weaknesses:
- Unit Damage
- Edge battles
- Tactics Icons

What the Imperial Navy decks needed was a way to get pressure on your opponent early, often, and reliably. And A Dark Time did not disappoint with the addition of A Dark Time for the Rebellion. The objective itself is well worth including in many deck types, but pure Imperial Navy decks are where it calls home. Being able to force your opponent to damage either a unit or objective at their start of their turn is a very good ability, not to mention the times when you have two of this objective in play. In combination with Defense Protocol and the hyper aggressive tendencies of a Navy deck you can see where you are digging a hole your opponent cannot get out of, and it starts on the very first turn. Heavy Fire is another subtle addition to Navy decks that on the outside doesn’t look huge, but during the course of play can be a game changer. That extra unit or objective damage changes combat math ever so slightly that your opponent doesn’t truly know if they are safe or not, and since it costs zero their day can end badly at any given time. Colonel Starck and his legion of MTV-7’s fit into the same role as their abilities are both active against damaged objectives, so once you are able to get that first point of damage onto something your opponent will be shaking in their boots when they see any of these units hit the board.

Starck Navy v 1.0

Affiliation:
Imperial Navy (Core)


Total Objective Sets: (10)

2x Imperial Command (Core)
Admiral Motti (Core)
Duty Officer (Core)
Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (Core)
Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (Core)
Orbital Bombardment (Core)

2x Kuat Reinforcements (Core)
"Backstabber" (Core)
TIE Fighter (Core)
TIE Bomber (Core)
Tallon Roll (Core)
Death from Above (Core)

2x Defense Protocol (Core)
TIE Attack Squadron (Core)
TIE Fighter (Core)
Tallon Roll (Core)
Death from Above (Core)
Twist of Fate (Core)

2x The Endor Gambit (Core)
AT-ST Commander (Core)
AT-ST (Core)
AT-ST (Core)
Aft Armor Plating (Core)
Target of Opportunity (Core)

2x A Dark Time for the Rebellion (A Dark Time)
Colonel Starck (A Dark Time)
MTV-7 (A Dark Time)
MTV-7 (A Dark Time)
The Moorsh Moraine (A Dark Time)
Heavy Fire (A Dark Time)

Strengths:
- Objective Damage
- Unit Damage
- Survivability

Weaknesses:
- Edge battles
- Tactics Icons

The last deck we have is still a bit of an enigma because it adds a new twist to the Imperial Navy deck making Shields an integral part of the vehicle based strategy. My final judgement on this deck is still out because I haven’t had much time to mess around with it yet. So I will just leave you with this final deck as more of a launching point for new Navy decks, I am interested to hear the feedback on ways people have found to use The General's Imperative objective set.

Imperial Untouchables

Affiliation:
Imperial Navy (Core)

Total Objective Sets: (10)

1x Imperial Command (Core)
Admiral Motti (Core)
Duty Officer (Core)
Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (Core)
Heavy Stormtrooper Squad (Core)
Orbital Bombardment (Core)

2x The Endor Gambit (Core)
AT-ST Commander (Core)
AT-ST (Core)
AT-ST (Core)
Aft Armor Plating (Core)
Target of Opportunity (Core)

2x Deploy the Fleet (The Search For Skywalker)
Death Squadron Star Destroyer (The Search For Skywalker)
Death Squadron Star Destroyer (The Search For Skywalker)
Fleet Navigator (The Search For Skywalker)
Death Squadron Command (The Search For Skywalker)
Admiral's Orders (The Search For Skywalker)

2x A Dark Time for the Rebellion (A Dark Time)
Colonel Starck (A Dark Time)
MTV-7 (A Dark Time)
MTV-7 (A Dark Time)
The Moorsh Moraine (A Dark Time)
Heavy Fire (A Dark Time)

2x The General's Imperative (Assault on Echo Base)
General Veers (Assault on Echo Base)
Blizzard Force AT-ST (Assault on Echo Base)
Blizzard Force AT-ST (Assault on Echo Base)
Turbolaser Battery (Assault on Echo Base)
Battle of Hoth (Assault on Echo Base)

1x Sabotage in the Snow (Assault on Echo Base)
Snowtrooper (Assault on Echo Base)
Snowtrooper Vanguard (Assault on Echo Base)
Forward Command Post (Assault on Echo Base)
Forward Command Post (Assault on Echo Base)
Battle of Hoth (Assault on Echo Base)


That wraps things up for this installment of No Disintegrations and the Evolution series of articles.... for now at least. In the coming weeks I hope to go into depth on some specific decks that I feel are in a really good position to be hands down amazing with the release of Edge of Darkness. Also please remember to check out the contest that I am running where you can win a copy of Assault on Echo Base, it can be found here.

Thanks again for tuning in for No Disintegrations, if you have a particular deck you would like to see discussed in the coming weeks please leave a comment. As always without each and every one of the valued members here at CardgameDB.com I would be writing to no one so I thank you for your time and may the top deck always be with you!