Are you looking to get into Star Wars: Unlimited but just can’t afford the top-tier cards? Or maybe you’ve bought a box but don’t have a playset of any rares, let alone legendaries? Well, today, I have just the thing for you.
My IG-88 Command deck contains zero legendaries, zero rares, and can still compete with decks that contain plenty of those. But don't worry – I'll also show you how to upgrade this deck with some rares once your collection grows!
Hello there, everyone! My name is Shane (aka TwinSunz77). I have been playing card games and miniature games for as long as I can remember. I’ve made content for other games (like Legends of Runeterra and Marvel Snap) and now I am starting my journey into SWU content! I pride myself on coming up with some weird and janky decks that can still compete on a higher level.
That brings us to IG-88, Ruthless Bounty Hunter (SOR 12) paired with Command.
First off, no card in this deck is currently worth over $0.50. You could easily buy the singles for this deck for under $10. Now let’s talk about the actual deck and its game plan.
This deck focuses on an aggressive play style with a late game focus on the keyword Overwhelm. Our goal here is to be quick, efficient, and aggressive. We are utilizing some classic aggression early drops such as Death Star Stormtrooper (SOR 128), Benthic "Two Tubes", Partisan Lieutenant (SOR 156), First Legion Snowtrooper (SOR 130), and Partisan Insurgent (SOR 159).
These early drops can help you pressure the opposing base with heavy damage in the early game. We need this to set us up for our later turns.
As we move through the rounds, we want to keep the pressure on. We have a tiny bit of removal in the form of Open Fire (SOR 172), Imperial Interceptor (SOR 132), and Overwhelming Barrage (SOR 92), which should be used to kill high value targets, or – more importantly – kill Sentinels so we can get back to swinging at the base!
Once we get a little bit later into the game, we introduce our Overwhelm units. We have Wampa (SOR 164), Steadfast Battalion (SOR 116), Mercenary Company (SOR 117), and AT-ST (SOR 232).
Of course we can also use our leader's Epic Action to bring out unit IG-88 to give our other units Raid 1 for even more damage! This pairs especially nicely with Overwhelm units, because any extra damage you get will ultimately go to the base, regardless if you are attacking an enemy unit or not.
Overall, this is a very straightforward game plan. Play lots of high attack units, trade efficiently, and finish strong with even bigger units. Make sure to stay focused on the base and only trade when you have to!
Here's the full list, available on swudb.com:
More Power!
Now that you have a solid understanding of our game plan with this deck, let’s upgrade it with some rares, and add a new level of spice to it, mainly focused on the Ambush keyword. Here we have swapped in Energy Conversion Lab (SOR 22), Frontline Shuttle (SOR 110), Wolffe, Suspicious Veteran (SOR 160), and Agent Kallus, Seeking the Rebels (SOR 115).
The most important rare here, in my opinion, is the Energy Conversion Lab (ECL). This card can add a ton of power to your 5 or 6-cost drops. First off, adding Ambush to a unit with Overwhelm is a nice way to get some instant additional damage on the opposing base. So this card used with the Steadfast Battalion or AT-ST can add some serious damage output.
One of the best plays with this deck is using both IG-88's and our base’s Epic Actions in the same turn. First we can deploy IG-88, and then we can bring out the Steadfast Battalion with ECL’s Epic Action. Steadfast can then ambush attack with Overwhelm and give another unit (IG-88 perhaps?) +2/+2.
This is a huge swing on a turn as it can blast units off the board, deal additional damage to the base, and potentially even save one of your units, either in a trade or from removal with the +2/+2 boost. The AT-ST is our second choice with ECL, as 6 attack with Overwhelm is no joke!
We also add Wolffe and Agent Kallus to this version of the deck. Wolffe is just an all around solid unit. 3/2 with Saboteur and the ability to stop opponents from healing their bases is huge for an aggro deck. Agent Kallus provides a solid Ambush unit that offers some additional card draw, which is much needed in a deck with such a low curve cost.
The last rare is a bit more spicy. Front Line Shuttle allows you to ready another unit by destroying the shuttle, but that readied unit cannot attack bases once reset. Luckily we have some rather large Overwhelm units that can attack other units, and still get damage through to the opposing base.
One tip: you do not really want the Front Line Shuttle out early. It is much better to play this card later, and use its ability right away when you already have a useful unit on the board. You also don’t have to exhaust the Front Line Shuttle for its Action. You can use it the same phase you play it in!
Here's the upgraded list, also available on swudb.com:
Regardless of where you find yourself on your Star Wars: Unlimited journey I hope you found something useful in this article. If you are new and looking for a deck to play for as cheap as possible, I think this is a good option. If you are experienced and looking for a janky deck, give this a shot! I hope it does not disappoint!
If you want more content on these decks, check out my Youtube video breaking them down! Youtube Link: Budget IG-88 is SO Fun | Deck Breakdown
Thanks for reading, cheers!
Shane
TwinSunz
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