Hello again, enthSWUsiasts! It’s Brian over at Golden Dice coming back at you again with another mediocre deck tech collection. (Say that five times fast!)
At the time of writing this article, PQ season is drawing to a close, and we are all about to make the Jump to Lightspeed! I wanted to try my hand at making some fun decks with the two leaders I am most excited to try out.
As the title would suggest, these are very early builds. We only have about 100 cards spoiled at the time of this writing, and I am the one making the decks, so the expectations are not sky-high.
That being said, let’s take a look at some of the potential builds for Set Four, Jump to Lightspeed, that have been rattling around in my head.
Deck 1: Admiral Piett 30HP Vigilance
"You are in command now, Admiral Piett."
Who would have thought that lowly Admiral Piett, a throwaway character with maybe three or four lines across the Original Trilogy, would be one of the leaders I am most excited for in this set? Yet my caveman brain sees the big numbers in this list and goes crazy for the possibilities at hand.
Admiral Piett, Commanding the Armada (JTL 5) has the ability to discount Capital Ship-traited units by one on his Leader side and two on his Unit side. This has mighty implications for the late game—or the mid-game, since Piett effectively brings the late game sooner.
In the name of transparency, I think that Piett can be extremely fascinating to play in either Vigilance or Aggression, since the Capital Ships in both colors can be impactful. However, the tried-and-true Green/Blue villain combo with its incredible removal package came to mind first.
This is a more conservative and defensive take on the Piett deck. Between the removal package and the potential for serious late-game swings, this deck can put up some serious damage. With Piett already being in Command, you can include new staples like Turbolaser Salvo (JTL 131) that can clear out an entire arena, or Resupply Carrier (JTL 119) to add a third ramp option to the mix.
While blue doesn’t really add anything new, it does allow for a solid removal and healing package that ensures real survivability. The main goal here is to ramp and control until you can drop some serious bombs on the competition. Between Resupply (TWI 127), Superlaser Tech (SOR 83), and Resupply Carrier, you should be able to ramp heavily into the late game.
Side note: I did consider Colossus (JTL 21), the new 35-point base here, but I worry that the consistency of Piett’s early-to-mid game might get disrupted, so I want to play things safe for now.
As I mentioned above, the idea of Aggression and Vigilance with Piett is very interesting, so I mocked that version up as well!
Deck 2: Admiral Piett 30HP Aggression
With any leader deck collection featuring the same leader in a different color spread, some of these choices are going to look a little similar. Obviously, we want to hold onto that ramp package that Command allows us so that we can race to the big bombs.
However, our spread of Capital Ships looks a little different, as does our event/removal package.
Our early game includes Kylo's TIE Silencer, Ruthlessly Efficient (SHD 135) and First Order Stormtrooper (JTL 132). I wanted to give the indirect damage a little light to shine in this iteration of the deck, as we’ll see as we roll down the list.
Our first Capital Ship, Ruthless Raider (SOR 134), is going to be an all-star this set—I can see it now. Coming out on turn five on the leader side or four on the Piett unit side, Ruthless Raider can put out some real damage. A 4/6 that does 2 and 2 on its way in and out for 4 or 5 resources is unbelievable. It’s going to demand an answer pretty quickly before things start to get out of hand.
Some other new additions to this set include Devastator, Hunting the Rebellion (JTL 143) and Planetary Bombardment (JTL 181), which heavily play off each other.
Firstly, Devastator, an 8-cost 9/6 that does 4 indirect when played and allows you to assign all indirect damage, is insane with Piett and can rack up damage very quickly.
The accompanying event, Planetary Bombardment, allows you to deal 8 indirect damage for 6 – or 12 indirect damage if you control a Capital Ship. Lucky for us, this is the whole gimmick here! Assigning indirect damage with Planetary Bombardment while Devastator is out is a whopping 12 damage for 6 resources. This can go toward clearing a board or piling almost half a base’s total HP onto the competition.
Regardless of the color, Piett is constantly dropping units that demand answers—and fast. While his unit side may not be particularly impactful, his ability and his longevity sure are. I can’t wait to drop him on the table and play out nothing but big bombs.
Piett might be my most anticipated leader this set, but let’s take a look at someone else who might have some lingering impact on the game.
Deck 3: Grand Admiral Thrawn2 - TarkinTown
Grand Admiral Thrawn, Patient and Insightful (SOR 16) was an interesting leader in Spark of Rebellion, but he didn’t always land favorably in the meta. I think this iteration of Thrawn – ...How Unfortunate (JTL 2) – has some serious potential, and we haven’t even seen the complete set yet. There could still be support with “When Defeated” tags that pop up in the next few weeks.
This is the center of the deck —Thrawn’s ability to recur “When Defeated” effects.
There are some great new units that get a chance to shine in this deck, including early-game plays like Director Krennic, On the Verge of Greatness (JTL 32), who makes a lot of the units in this deck cheaper, and the Onyx Squadron Brute (JTL 33), which can heal up some damage.
Mid-game units like Ruthless Raider can put pressure on the base and clear out units when dealing 4 to the base and unit(s) on its way out. The new unit Chimaera, Reinforcing the Center (JTL 39), Thrawn’s ship, also allows you to recur the “When Defeated” ability even more, flooding the board with Tie Fighters on its way out.
As mentioned before, the combo of Devastator and Planetary Bombardment is just too good to ignore, so why not toss those in here for some closing power? If you’re in a pinch, you could try using the Fleet Interdictor (JTL 40) to clear out some space units and stick on board as a sentinel.
Count Dooku, Fallen Jedi (TWI 138) from Twilight of the Republic can help bring on these “When Defeated” abilities through Exploit, as well as deal some more damage from the exploited units for a good one-two punch.
I think this deck has some really fun lines that may or may not make it off the drawing board, but for now, I am loving dreaming up some whacky plays for my teammates to roll their eyes at when I play them in Jack’s basement come March.
Who are you most looking forward to trying out when we make the Jump to Lightspeed in early March? This set is shaping up to be a real game changer, and I can hardly imagine you can go wrong with any choice.
Keep cooking up those crazy builds—you never know what list could end up striking gold.
“Rebellions are built on hope.”
Catch you next time!
Brian (ScuttlebuttGDP)
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