Five Underplayed Rare Cards from Jump to Lightspeed

I’m going to tell you something that you may already know about Star Wars: Unlimited. Ready for it? Here comes…

…Rare cards are rare, but GOOD Rare cards are even rarer. Is your brain in a twist yet? Don’t worry, it will be. Follow along.

By my count (which, let’s be honest, is dicey at best due to my remedial math skills) there are 193 Rare cards in the first four sets of Star Wars: Unlimited that are neither Leaders, Bases or Promos. That's 193 options to be excited about in the Rare slot of your booster pack. 

And yet, among those 193, I would be hard-pressed to think of more than 25-30 that have seen consistent levels of competitive play since March of 2024 when the game was released.

Sure, in the Spark of Rebellion meta when we had one set to tinker with in the sandbox, there was a wider array of Rare cards that saw significant action. But, like my attention span, those have fallen by the wayside as more and more options have been revealed. Cards that once were indispensable are now tossed in with the other misfit toys.

You remember the good old days, right? What times we had when we could give Rukh, Thrawn’s Assassin (SOR 85) Ambush to wipe out a non-leader unit at will, or when Wolffe, Suspicious Veteran (SOR 160) was in every Aggression deck’s sideboard. When’s the last time you even looked at a Wolffe? (Poor Wolffe, he didn’t think he’d be catching strays today.)

But as the database got larger, the amount of impactful Rare cards slotting into decks seems to have gotten smaller.

Now, this isn’t new. Not all Rare cards are created equally, and if they were, there would be a larger problem with game design that I won’t even go near because I’m not qualified to do so. 

Rather than wax poetic about the Rares in Star Wars: Unlimited that are consistently recycled to make up those 25-30 impact cards, I want to take some time out for the underdogs. The rarer of the Rares, as it were.

And with several Planetary Qualifiers and Store Showdowns still to come before the release of Legends of the Force, it’s the perfect time to re-examine the Rare cards from Jump to Lightspeed to see if we can find any hidden gems. 

Pilot Error?

First, I should acknowledge a bias before we get to the first card I want to discuss, because this entire list could be comprised of Pilots, in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong: I know Pilots are challenging to play because there are so many ways to disrupt a semi-constant flow of upgraded units. 

But out of the swath of Rare Pilots in JTL, there is one that stands out to me as a wellspring of untapped potential, and that card is Iden Versio, Adapt or Die (JTL 36). 

Fortunately for all of us, Iden’s power level is not really a secret. Paying 4 for a 4/3 Shielded ground unit seems solid in theory and in practice, and the upgrade cost is also well worth the payoff, getting a +3/+3 with a shield. This way, even if Iden is immediately removed from the unit, at least the shield remains.

I’ve seen Iden floating around sporadically in a couple fringe decks, but with Vigilance Villainy playing around in the space arena fairly consistently, it would stand to reason that Iden would be slightly more prevalent in the current environment. 

The main deterrent that I see, aside from a general apprehension that still surrounds Pilot units (rightfully so), is the cost to deploy as an upgrade. If you drop a Round 1 space unit and spend all your resources in Round 2 playing Iden onto that unit, you have basically gone all-in on this one particular unit, leaving yourself open to counters.

Most specifically, No Good To Me Dead (SOR 186), the scourge of single-unit decks for more than a calendar year straight. 

A well-timed bounce card will also make you a very sad person, like the classic Waylay (SOR 222, TWI 226) or something spicier like a new card in Legends of the Force that was recently previewed, The Will of the Force (LOF 227).

But despite the counterplay, the upside of Iden is fairly tempting, especially if you drop Iden onto a 3-power unit. That six power can threaten almost anything in the space arena, and with a shield to boot, the upgraded unit can provide you protection against a cheeky Millennium Falcon/Han Solo wombo combo - a tandem that is quite intimidating currently!

Bombs Away

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in countless hours of playing Darth Vader, Victor Squadron Leader (JTL 6), it’s that when my opponent drops a beefy spaceship on the other side of the table, I get :: Jar-Jar Binks voice :: berry berry scared!

Without an immediate answer, something with more than four HP has the potential to pick off at least two of my units, and maybe more. Maybe it’s for that reason that I’m befuddled that Tactical Heavy Bomber (JTL 152) is nowhere to be found. 

Look, I get it, ok? 5 HP for 5 resources is rough in this economy, even though I remember a time when we would be thrilled to get that statline on a space unit. But these are dangerous times for a 5-HP unit, when all it takes is a Fleet Lieutenant (SOR 240) or some other instant buff to absolutely ruin your day. 

But those same buffs, in the form of events or Pilots or otherwise, are precisely what make the Heavy Bomber so intriguing to me. If you’re dealing enough indirect damage to the point where your opponent has nowhere else to put it, that’s a free card draw every round that the Bomber is able to attack. 

And by the way, I know it’s too much to ask, but Tactical Heavy Bomber meets Targeting Computer (JTL 171) is a match made in heaven. Now you’ve paid 6 total resources for what is essentially an 8/6 in space. That’s one less resource than the Raddus (JTL 104) for the same statline… although the Raddus has a more concretely-useful ability on defeat. 

Come to think of it, all three cards named in that last paragraph are Rares that barely see any action. Maybe it’s time to change that. 

Bottom line is this: whether you’re able to pump up the Tactical Heavy Bomber or not, this Rare unit represents a 6-damage threat and the possibility of a drawn card in every subsequent round after playing it… unless you can pull off the reset combo with Han Solo, Never Tell Me The Odds (JTL 17) and Koiogran Turn (JTL 179). Then things get WILD. 

That magical Christmas-land scenario is enough to get me excited about testing out a Han4 deck…someday. But even without Han, the Heavy Bomber has a ceiling that shouldn’t be ignored, and hopefully the day will come soon when it isn’t. 

You Have Hate, You Have Anger…But You Don’t Use Them

Let’s stay in Aggression Heroism for a moment and talk about They Hate That Ship (JTL 155), because this one really does astound me.

Since the dawn of time (and by dawn of time, I mean the inception of Star Wars: Unlimited, of course), we’ve known for a certified FACT that playing cards for less than their cost was a good thing. This is verifiable, indisputable, concrete.

So why, then, are more decks not leaning into the 2-resource discount provided by They Hate That Ship? Is it the TIE Fighters? I bet it’s the TIE Fighters.

OK, sure. Giving your opponent two ready units is not amazing, I’ll concede that point. But the payoff on your end should be so much greater if you’re… wait for it… playing your cards right. :: eye roll ::

If you’re really that worried about those pesky TIES, use THTS to play a space Sentinel. It’s not hard at all to imagine a scenario where you’re playing a Luke Skywalker, Faithful Friend (SOR 5) deck with an Aggression base, and your Round 1 actions consist of:

1. They Hate That Ship to play Concord Dawn Interceptors (SHD 42)
2. Shield CDI with Luke’s Leader ability
3. Laugh maniacally

Small potatoes? Fine. How about some immediate firepower? As early as Round 2, you can play THTS to drop a Blue Leader (JTL 96) and already have enough resources left over to pay for its When Played ability. Now, for 3 resources and the cost of two enemy TIE Fighters, you have a 5/5 unit in the ground arena. 

And I hope I don’t need to say anything about the pairing with the card’s own art piece, the Millennium Falcon, whose Piece of Junk (SOR 193) version works seamlessly in tandem with They Hate That Ship… almost as if it was designed with that in mind. Curious!

But I won’t ever stop giving up on my dream of playing THTS on the 4-resource round when my opponent already has a space unit in play. That gives me the opportunity to drop a Home One, On My Mark (JTL 204) and threaten with a 7/8 while my opponent is hopefully still playing 4-drops.

Home One isn’t the only big ship in Heroism that can benefit from They Hate That Ship. Want to play The Starhawk (JTL 105) two rounds early? Now you can, and snag yourself a hefty resource discount for all of your other cards in the process.

Want to immediately eliminate those TIEs you helped create? Enter Resolute (TWI 151) at an untold discount determined by your base damage to swat them out of the sky when played.

Remember, it’s not just Villainy who gets to play around in the stars. Heroism can use They Hate That Ship to get out impactful Vehicles even more quickly than Villainy can in some cases. Aren’t a couple of TIE Fighters worth that?

And oh, by the way… Round 2 Tactical Heavy Bomber. You’re welcome. 

You Have Something I Want

Let’s play a fun game. Without looking, think of as many 4-cost Cunning Villainy units as you can. How many did you come up with?

If you answered more than six, you’re wrong. If you answered exactly six, you are either really good at remembering cards… or you cheated. Shame on you.

Here’s an even MORE mind-blowing stat: In the crossover of Cunning and Villainy aspects - that is, CV, just C, just V, and Neutral - there are a mere 23 units that cost exactly 4 resources. Of those 23, there are…maybe two? Yeah, two that see a healthy level of Premier play.

If you’re wondering, it’s 4-LOM (SHD 188) and Fett’s Firespray (JTL 240). But shh, don’t tell anyone.

This, then, begs the question: why can’t Cunning Villainy decks find a place for Moff Gideon, I Know Everything (JTL 188)?

On paper, the good Moff has lots of things you would want in a serviceable unit. More power than his cost? Check. Solid traits? Check. Useful, disruptive ability? Check. 

It’s that last one that seems the most puzzling to me. Disrupting an opponent’s resource curve with something as simple as an attack seems like it would be a desirable thing to do. More than that, forcing your opponent to play sub-optimally in order to get around the ability is just as enticing.

Too long have I watched my opponent go to 7 resources and known, for a stone-cold fact, that Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight (SOR 51) was about to hit the table and there was nothing I could do about it. I have to think that having an extra round to thrive before Luke comes down is a proposition that many would gladly take.

To me, Moff Gideon feels like a useful deterrent… a nuisance to be put down before causing any real trouble. While it is slightly annoying that an Open Fire (SOR 172) can just as easily take care of that threat, I envision the positives outweighing the negatives in Moff Gideon’s case.

But, just like the primary antagonist in The Mandalorian, perhaps my (over?)estimation of his strength is also the card’s greatest weakness. 

A Few Maneuvers

You’ve been so brave and strong sticking with this ranting old fool throughout this whole article. If you made it this far, I would ask that you hang on for just one more card - the titular card of Set 4, and that’s Jump To Lightspeed (JTL 232).

Am I going to give you another stat? You bet I am. There are a whopping 72 space units in Star Wars Unlimited currently that feature a When Played ability. Generally speaking, the entire reason you play these cards is for their When Played abilities.

So why not use them again?

Jump To Lightspeed allows you to do just that for the low price of 2 resources. That alone is a massive selling point for this card in my book. But the possibilities here are truly endless. (You thought I was going to say the possibilities were “unlimited”, didn’t you Squidward? Not today!)

While the Cunning/Vigilance Heroism pairing isn’t super popular at the moment, it does boast perhaps the most phenomenal of interactions with Jump To Lightspeed. I can boil it down to one word: Redemption (SOR 52). 

Oh yes indeed, programs. I do mean to tell you that you can heal 8 damage from your base with Redemption, then the following round play Jump To Lightspeed and DO IT AGAIN. For two resources. Not 10, not 8… TWO.

Did you read that last sentence in a young Ron Weasley voice? If you did, ten points to Gryffindor.

Not looking to wait around until the 8-resource round? That’s perfectly fine. How about getting a cheaper Wing Leader (SOR 241) to make an even beefier Rebel unit? Or try to pull off a casual 15-damage swing over two phases with the OTHER Fett’s Firespray (SOR 184)? Or keep returning your opponents’ units to hand with Geonosis Patrol Fighter (TWI 215)?

Now look, I’ll be realistic here: Jump To Lightspeed, despite literally having the word “Lightspeed” in the name, is a bit slower than some other options. You need to take an action to play the event, then take another action to replay the card. We already have a similar event that does both things in one action with A New Adventure (SHD 207) and that card is lost to the abyss.

But it’s important to remember that while ANA is a double-Cunning card, JTL is only a single-aspect event, allowing for much greater flexibility in decks that feature Cunning at all. The limiting factor in this case is not the aspect cost, but the fact that it needs to be a space unit.

If you could add all 124 ground units in SWU to the mix… hoo, boy. Maybe then, the set’s namesake could get some darn respect around here. 

That Wizard’s Just A Crazy Old Man

This is the part where the rap breaks down…wait, wrong song. This is actually the part where I couch all my insane theories by telling you that I’m neither the foremost authority on Star Wars: Unlimited, nor is this article a bible that you should pin your cardboard hopes and dreams on.

But even if you look at one of these five cards in a new light after reading this, I’ll have a leg up on Alexander Hamilton, because I will be satisfied.

There are 1002 cards to choose from across the first four sets of Star Wars: Unlimited, and as such I refuse to believe that you need to limit yourself to picking from the same 100 cards over and over again. The talented players that play this game have a lot figured out… but they haven’t unlocked everything.

Perhaps it’s your turn. 

Kevin
Roll On Gaming
YouTube | Spotify | X/Twitter