I’m Blue: The Remix – Vigilance Villainy Control in SHD

The Wild West of deckbuilding (or Wild Wild West, if you’re a Kenneth Branagh fan) which accompanies any new card game set release is truly a melting pot of innovation…sometimes.

For others, it is a reaffirmation of what used to be good, and is now even better.

Take, for example, Shadows of the Galaxy, the still-sort-of-new second set of Star Wars: Unlimited. What were some Leaders that used to be strong in Spark of Rebellion, who got even stronger in Set 2? 

Well, of course, there’s Sabine Wren, Galvanized Revolutionary (SOR 14), whose lens got a lot clearer when SHD dropped. Before, you could make the argument for playing almost any flavor of Sabine… now there appears to be one clear leader in the clubhouse, and it’s Green Sabine (or Green Bean, shoutout Unplayable’s DHaus and whoever else came up with that name).

The addition of some massive cards that Sabine can play with has made Energy Conversion Lab (SOR 22) that much more dominant with her, and The Darksaber (SHD 126) doesn’t hurt either.  

There’s also Han Solo, Audacious Smuggler (SOR 17), whose powerful builds have doubled since the last time we met, Count. Now thanks to the downright nasty combination of DJ, Blatant Thief (SHD 213) and Tech, Source of Insight (SHD 248), scoundrels everywhere are trying their hands at both the established Command variety and the fresh double Cunning version, with all the tricks that the trick-siest aspect ever did trick.

And of course, there’s Boba Fett, Collecting the Bounty (SOR 15), who got… well, everything.

Now, if you’re feeling blue… you should be, but not the sad kind of blue. Rather, with the many exciting options that now exist at your fingertips thanks to the joining of Sets 1 and 2, I’m here to tell you that you should be feeling BLUE - Vigilance Blue, that is!

Pyke’s Peaks

The Star Wars: Unlimited community has already seen some significant play out of leaders like Qi’ra, I Alone Survived (SHD 2) and Director Krennic, Aspiring To Authority (SOR 1), and that is simply due to the strength of the Vigilance suite that control decks were provided in Shadows of the Galaxy.

While I’m not going to advocate for any one pairing or Leader combination within this article, I wanted to highlight some of the reasons why I will be giving this aspect a VERY long look as we approach a new Store Showdown season and Planetary Qualifiers soon after. 

I have to begin by showing my adoration for one of the earlier Set 2 spoilers, one that was revealed while I still had hopes and dreams of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Patient and Insightful (SOR 16) being relevant in the Set 1 meta.

The Pyke Sentinel (SHD 29) is the *perfect* addition to any control deck. It is the least-expensive unconditional Sentinel in the game. Gamorrean Retainer (SHD 112) is technically also a Sentinel, but only when you control another Command unit, so you can’t expect it to protect your base when you play it Round 1, Action 1. That small detail makes the Pyke Sentinel mighty in ways that Villainy decks may not have needed, but were definitely looking for.

Sure, Lieutenant Childsen, Death Star Prison Warden (SOR 35) is a thing, but you can’t always guarantee maximum value with him. Also, by the time you get him into the fray, you might already be staring at double-digit damage on your base.

Now, instead of waiting an extra round to play an under-statted Cell Block Guard (SOR 238), you can put a 3 HP obstacle in the way of your opponent post-haste, and use your Round 2 play for something that can capitalize on the extra breathing room provided by the Pyke Sentinel. And speaking of Pykes…

Shields Up!

There’s a good chance you’re already familiar with what a Vigilance-focused control deck can do when it comes to removing units. The staples of this package include a bevy of options that don’t necessarily care about what your opponent’s unit is sporting - whether it’s a high health total or a bunch of upgrades, including shields, that unit is still going down.

But shields can still protect your units, especially if you’re putting Sentinels out on either side of the board. So wouldn’t it be great to have a unit in Villainy that helps you disperse shield tokens the way that Heroism gets to do? Enter Lom Pyke, Dealer In Truths (SHD 32).

Lom Pyke’s stat line at 4 resources is truly insane. For reference, there are only two other cards in the game that have 10 points of stats at that price point:

• Consular Security Force (SOR 46), which sees almost no play in the competitive environment, and
• Sugi, Hired Guardian (SHD 52), which requires playing double Vigilance unless you want to smuggle her for 6 resources. Heck, even Lom Pyke’s smuggle cost is cheaper than Sugi’s!

Combine that with the fact that Lom can protect your units with his On Attack ability, while doling out what could be meaningless shield tokens to your opponent, makes him a very crafty inclusion in a Villainy control deck, should you wish it.

Healing Is A Complicated Profession

Since when did the bad guys learn how to heal? Since The Client, Dictated By Discretion (SHD 31) decided that he would like to see the baby, naturally.

The combination of The Client and Top Target (SHD 71) gives the Villainy control player as many as NINE CHANCES to heal 5 damage or more from their base, when you take into account the fact it could already happen with Vigilance (SOR 58).

What’s more, the Bounty effects from The Client and Top Target can also be DOUBLED if you’re fortunate enough to have Bossk, Hunting His Prey (SHD 10) deployed on his Leader Unit side.

These massive swings of extra base health can be severely demoralizing to your opponent, having worked so hard to get damage across only to see it wiped clean by the wrath of the cards.

While upgrade removal will help with Top Target, make sure to save a bit of that for The Client as well, because he’s also Shielded. If your opponent is without any way to deal with upgrades, though, you could find yourself combining the forces of both Bounties to heal up to 11 damage from your base by defeating a single unit. That’s a one-two punch that nobody can scoff at!

Where There Was Weakness, Strength

As the Olympic Games continue in France, I would be remiss not to conclude with the pièce de résistance of the offerings Shadows of the Galaxy provides to the Vigilance Villainy player. Oh yes indeed, programs - Supreme Leader Snoke, Shadow Ruler (SHD 37) is here, and he’s a monster.

While paying a whopping 8 resources for a 6/6 Ground unit might not seem so fantastic (hey, it worked for Palpatine!), it’s his ability that really puts Snoke into a category of his own.

Giving each enemy non-leader unit -2/-2 is deceptively powerful, in a way that is multi-faceted depending on what your opponent brings to the table.

For starters, the mere presence of Snoke prevents your opponent from playing any more of those pesky Lurking TIE Phantoms (SHD 187), as well as anything else you can think of that is limited to 2 HP. That accounts for roughly 60 or so cards in the current pool, though admittedly only a fraction of those see regular competitive play.

On top of that, the effectiveness of every other unit on your opponent’s side of the battlefield is drastically reduced. There’s a big difference in Wrecker, BOOM! (SHD 154) hitting for 5 damage instead of 7, or being faced with a 1/1 Phase-III Dark Trooper (SHD 84) instead of a 3/3.

Additionally, some of the staple high-impact units your opponent can put out, like Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight (SOR 51) or Darth Vader, Commanding The First Legion (SOR 87) are now automatically within range of your Takedown (SOR 77).

Snoke improves your efficiency across the board. He helps you make better trades, use a wider variety of removal cards, and decreases the amount of damage that both your units and base are receiving on any given attack. When he comes out, he should immediately become Target No. 1 for your opponent.

Luckily, you’ll have Sentinels, shield tokens and a lot of removal at your fingertips to help protect him. And even if Snoke goes down, that’s one less card or batch of resources that is directed at your base!

Control, Control, You Must Learn Control! 

In a meta that’s only getting faster, sometimes it’s beneficial to slow the game down and allow yourself to catch up. As the card pool stands, perhaps the best combination of aspects to execute that strategy are Vigilance and Villainy.

Whether you are pursuing a mono-blue build to spam Vigilance earlier and add more Sentinels to the pot, or leveraging the strength of the Boba Fett or Qi'ra leaders in combination with powerful removal cards, or messing around with my favorite Thrawn Blue concoction, Vigilance has a wide array of tools that you can use to great effect in the Shadows of the Galaxy environment. 

It’s funny - I never thought of myself as a control player, but some of these new options are too strong – and too much fun – to completely ignore. I believe that, regardless of your general playstyle, you won’t be short of options when it comes to playing Blue Villain!

May the Force be with you as you continue to explore new ways to succeed in this aspect! 

Kevin
Roll On Gaming
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