So You Pulled a Lando Showcase

Picture it…Sicily, 1923. Wait, that’s the wrong show. Prepare to fast forward…fast forward!

The pack opens and you see the glint of foiling at the front of the pack. Your mind (and maybe your vocal cords) scream “IT’S A SHOWCASE!” With pulse and breath quickening, you slowly turn over the pile of cards to reveal… Lando Calrissian, Buying Time (JTL 3). 

On the surface, there would be a number of understandable reasons why you might be crestfallen at your fortunes, despite already winning the Star Wars: Unlimited booster pack lottery by opening a Showcase Leader in the first place. The list is not short.

• Lando deploys at 7 resources.
• His ability costs a resource to use.
• His costly ability requires a specific board state.
• His deploy ability is similarly over-specific.

This list previously included a nod to the market price of Lando’s Showcase, which was hovering around the $50 range. However, listings for Lando seem to be slowly on the rise recently, and that – combined with my natural Star Wars deckbuilding curiosity –  inspired me to take a deep dive into a Leader that I (among others - looking at you, GDP Brian) was blessed enough to pull in my Jump To Lightspeed boxes. 

You Got A Lot Of Guts Coming Here

Remember when Energy Conversion Lab (SOR 22) was the menace of the SWU-niverse? Those were the good old days.

Now, Tarkintown (SOR 25) is king, and the JTL meta isn’t doing anything to release the stranglehold that this little red base has on the tournament tables. 

With so much of a focus on damaging units, it stands to reason that shields could have their moment in the sun in Set 4. Sure, indirect damage – new to Star Wars: Unlimited – can always sneak through shields and damage your units that way, but if that happens, the shield token remains, preventing a cheeky Tarkintown Epic Action from ruining your day. 

For a time, we saw the effectiveness of shields in decks featuring Luke Skywalker, Faithful Friend (SOR 5), a Leader that consistently placed well in early Store Showdowns and even a handful of Planetary Qualifiers. One of the issues with Luke decks, though, has always been action efficiency, with the shield costing an extra action in addition to the extra resource. 

But what If I told you there was a Leader who could give a shield to a unit when it is played for the same ability cost as Luke?

Enter Lando, who streamlines that process into one action…provided, of course, you meet a small amount of conditions.  

This Deal Is Getting Worse All The Time

Keeping units on the board – especially in a world where Tarkintown exists – is more difficult than it ever has been in Star Wars: Unlimited. So it stands to reason that on paper, Lando’s Leader ability might seem a bit problematic. 

Yes, paying the additional resource upfront to get a shield is handy, but that only occurs if you already have a unit either in both the ground and space arenas or in the opposite arena of the unit you’re playing. Not only does the Round 1 Tarkintown affect that strategy, but an early Power of the Dark Side (SOR 41) can make you sad also, forestalling the chance to use Lando to his full effectiveness until at least Round 3. 

I also have, on more than one occasion, found myself wishing that when Lando deployed onto a vehicle unit, the shield from his deploy text could be applied to that very same unit, rather than a unit in a different arena. Giving such a high-powered Sentinel a shield would make a world of difference in increasing his overall desirability.

Although, have you seen his cape closet? Pretty desirable. 

I know what you’re thinking: “What kind of article is this?” After all, I have spent the last several paragraphs outlining the obstacles you’ll face if you are looking to sleeve Lando up. Shouldn’t you just take the path of least resistance and fire up yet another Tarkintown deck? The Galactic Championships are coming up, bro!

The fact of the matter is you just can’t look at Lando without seeing the card’s challenges. But fortunately – there are also an equal amount of opportunities for him to shine. 

Hello, What Have We Here?

Let’s face it: waiting until your 7-resource turn to deploy your leader, no matter who it is, means that leader better be worth the wait. In Lando’s case, he gives you value on either side of the board, depending on where you choose to deploy him.

Opponent hammering you on the ground?

A free 5/7 Sentinel is definitely nothing to sneeze at. As a unit, Lando is one of just 12 cards across the first four sets of Star Wars: Unlimited that has 5 or more power and Sentinel. Dropping that in front of your opponent has the potential to slow them down considerably. 

Deploying him as an upgrade?

Lando’s bonus power and HP are only matched by Darth Vader, Victor Squadron Leader (JTL 6). While Vader deploys one resource earlier, adding Sentinel to the mix makes a world of difference as opposed to two TIE Fighter tokens. 

If you are able to add a shield token to the mix in the opposite arena, suddenly, you’re providing yourself even more ability to either trade into your opponent’s units or survive long enough to get some extra attacks off.

While Lando is on his Leader side, he benefits from a great many useful low-cost units in the Heroism stable, with which to build his empire.

If you only needed one reason to play Lando, Concord Dawn Interceptors (SHD 42) would be it. Giving a Shield to that already pesky space Sentinel is sure to frustrate your opponent, especially in a Jump To Lightspeed set that throws so much hardware into the Space arena. 

Lando also can feature a trio of 2-drop Restore units to clean up some of the damage being thrown around to table: Restored ARC-170 (SOR 44), Kuiil, I Have Spoken (SHD 41) and Hera Syndulla, We’ve Lost Enough (JTL 45). The goal of keeping these units on the board to maximize that Restore gets a lot easier if they are shielded.

You can also pull off a cheeky combo with the new Red Squadron X-Wing (JTL 51), giving the vehicle a shield before using its When Played ability to draw a card without having to add damage to your unit. In a deck where you are looking to make sure you have ample units for either arena, card draw feels like a win!

That Thing’s Operational!

As I was poring over the card pool to figure out how to build my Lando deck, the answer appeared pretty quickly and rather obviously. I was briefly tempted by the promise of Cunning, simply because the prospect of playing a shielded Millennium Falcon, Piece of Junk (SOR 193) seemed quite attractive. That, combined with a robust and disruptive event suite, could be enough to put Lando in a good position. 

But when it all came down to it, the power level of Command Heroism was too much to ignore. Combining staples like Battlefield Marine (SOR 95) with new additions like Blue Leader (JTL 96) presented a mouth-watering combination on paper, and after much deliberation, that aspect pairing turned into this. 

View deck on SWUDB.com

Before you ask - no, I did not specifically attempt to field the exact same number of ground units and space units. But you have to admit, it makes sense in a deck where both arenas need to be featured. 

This build is notably different from some other Lando decks I’ve seen floating around the interwebs because it has less of a reliance on flooding the board with smaller units. Instead, my goal is to find efficient ways to use the units I have to both survive and also be a difference-maker in the damage race. 

Don’t get me wrong - small units are essential here. Of the 40 units I have put into my list, only 7 of them cost more than 4 resources. With Lando, you will be playing below curve as much as your opponent will allow you to. That is to say, as long as you are consistently able to keep board presence to maximize the use of Lando’s ability.

However, you shouldn’t be afraid to skip his ability for a round or two. If you have the choice between a meaningful swing like trading with a unit your first action, or having enough resources to play 2 cards where you would have only played one with Lando’s ability, the hope is that this version gives you the freedom to make that choice. 

Bringing Back A Few Things

It’s the Rebels, sir… they’re here! Rebel synergy has a chance to impact the meta once more in Set 4, and the fact that Lando himself is a Rebel made this archetype a worthwhile avenue to explore.

But on first glance, I realize there’s one Rebel unit in particular that may stoke the fires of doubt in you, dear reader, and that’s The Ghost, Heart of the Family (JTL 53).

Allow me to explain. This was a slot that was initially reserved for Gold Leader (JTL 54) since that card was so clearly designed to work with Lando. 6 resources, play Gold Leader…7 resources, deploy Lando onto it. Easy money, right? 

But the more I looked at it, the more I realized that the exact same thing could be accomplished with the Ghost, but with one additional HP (provided you have a ground unit in play). On the 6-resource turn, you instead are getting a 5/6 shielded Sentinel, which also has the small chance of giving some of your other units Sentinel as well.

Obviously those units have to be Spectres, and luckily for us, there are some Spectres in this aspect pairing that we might have already wanted to play anyway, like Hera and Kanan Jarrus, Revealed Jedi (SOR 47), as well as another new addition in Sabine’s Masterpiece (JTL 250).

Consider giving Sentinel to these units a bonus - I’m playing The Ghost more for its other qualities - but when it lines up, it should be helpful!

Another fun interaction with Lando’s ability comes from the Fleet Lieutenant (SOR 240), a classic from Heroism aggro decks past. At 4 resources or more, and with a unit in space, the noble Lieutenant can enter play and provide a boost to whichever Rebel unit you are shielding before it attacks with a +2 buff to its power, giving that unit a harder punch and potentially a way to punch up to one of your opponent’s larger units without having to take damage from the attack. 

In a deck that may play a little more slowly, the Lieutenant helps with tempo, and so does Rebel Assault (SOR 103).

Between speeding yourself up with some tried-and-true Rebel tricks, and slowing your opponent down with some shields and Sentinels, pace should not be enough of an issue to prevent you from holding out until Lando deploys. At least, that’s the theory! 

Come On, Old Buddy, Don’t Let Me Down

There are three things I can say for certain when it comes to the new Lando Calrissian Leader in Star Wars: Unlimited, and a lot more things I can’t say for certain. Those three certainties? 

1. Jump To Lightspeed Lando is more exciting than Shadows of the Galaxy Lando (and several other JTL Leaders too)
2. Lando’s Showcase art is pretty sweet
3. Playing with Lando will require some patience

Beyond that, the time Lando is buying will be the time it’ll take to tell just how far this pilot can fly. I, for one, am excited to keep tinkering with this build. Even though I will always be a Villainy player at heart, it’s going to be a fun change of pace to drop Lando on the table and make some magic happen. If you’re in a similar boat, best of (Lady) Luck on your Lando crafting! 

Kevin
Roll On Gaming
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