Hello and welcome back to another article that is attempting to build even MORE hype for Shadows of the Galaxy.
As an avid deck builder, the one thing that excites me more than anything is all of the new possibilities when it comes to brewing fresh decks when Set 2 of Star Wars: Unlimited drops on July 12. Today, I am going to take you through (in no particular order) the Top 5 cards I am most excited to deck build around.
First, there’s a few things I want to make clear here. This list is NOT about power level. In no way, shape, or form do I think that these are the strongest cards.
What excites me about these cards are the multiple deck options I can envision myself building around them. And with all that said, let’s dive right in!
Rose Tico
Up first, Rose Tico, Dedicated to the Cause (SHD 45)! Rose is a shielded, 2/6 4-drop for Vigilance Heroism. Those are some solid base stats and a great keyword, but her On Attack is what really excites me. This ability essentially allows you to use Shields as another type of resource for a different payout, as Rose allows you to turn a shield into 2 experience tokens.
This gives you some interesting options, and it lets you value your shields in a new way. Gaining raw stats allows you to play more aggressively as you will have higher damage to dish out and more health for your units to survive.
My first thought with Rose obviously goes to Leader Luke, Luke Skywalker, Faithful Friend (SOR 5), since he has a consistent way to put shields out.
Then, with his Lightsaber (SOR 53), along with cards like The Force is with Me (SOR 55), you could have easy ways to get those shields back. New shields would help you keep those newly boosted units safe!
Beyond that, Vigilance is getting a lot of upgrade support in the form of some awesome Mandalorian cards in Shadows of the Galaxy. I see Mandalorians playing as a Midrange style deck that wants to finish the game relatively early.
Rose can help in this as she can easily boost the stats of your units. Cards like The Armorer, Survival Is Strength (SHD 47), The Mandalorian, Where I Go, He Goes (SHD 49), and Mandalorian Armor (SHD 73) give you some really nice access to shields.
The best part of all of this is even if you do not see Rose in a game, you are left with Shielded units, which is not a bad thing at all!
Enfys Nest
Up next on my list is one of the visually coolest characters in all of Star Wars, Enfys Nest, Marauder (SHD 219)! Here, like Rose, we have another uncommon unit, but this time a 6-drop with slightly underwhelming stats. Looking deeper, though, Enfys has the Underworld Trait – which has some serious importance in this set – and Ambush.
But the really interesting part of Enfys is her ability. Units (including Enfys!) that use Ambush and attack give the defending unit -3/-0 for that ambush attack. Suddenly, her underwhelming stats are a lot more appealing.
Not only could Enfys get some valuable trading done in the ground arena, but if you can keep her out on the board for future turns, your other ambush units can also get some really beneficial trades.
In terms of deckbuilding, what really opens up options with Enfys is the fact that her only aspect is Cunning. This allows full flexibility to put her into a lot of different decks.
Immediately, this makes me evaluate all of the Ambush units in the game, as this is just the type of card that really peaks my interest in building around. When I go back and look at past cards, I know there’s a lot of strong possibilities, such as Bossk, Deadly Stalker (SOR 182), Agent Kallus, Seeking the Rebels (SOR 115), and Mace Windu, Party Crasher (SOR 149).
And don't sleep on the Underworld tag. Building around that has me very interested, especially with cards like Ma Klounkee (SHD 229)! Bouncing units with Ambush back to your hand to Ambush again seems really fun and I am very excited to build that!
Maz Kanata
Up next we have the one and only Maz Kanata, Pirate Queen (SHD 96)! Maz is what the Vanguard Ace (SOR 191) wants to be. This unit starts as a 1/1 for only 1 resource, and gains an experience for every time you play another unit.
There are multiple ways to build around this ability. The first that comes to mind is a “Zoo” style deck, in which you flood the board with a ton of units and overwhelm your opponents. This is similar to aggro, but units like Maz are important in those styles of decks as you need something with the potential to get very big and threatening.
Beyond that, the Underworld trait on this Heroism unit also intrigues me for a completely different reason than it does with Enfys, who shines with Ambush units.
Here, returning your cheap units via Ma Klounkee and replaying them will allow Maz to increase in size even more! Also, being in Command, Maz gives you access to Bright Hope, The Last Transport (SOR 99) which offers another great bounce mechanic.
I envision this deck as Command Cunning and I am very excited to build it!
Give In To Your Anger
Give in to Your Anger (SHD 144) is one event I am so excited to try out because of how unique it is. If my memory is correct, this is the first card in SWU that forces your opponent to take a specific action.
Since this is a villainy event, I can see this in an Aggression Cunning deck, where you could utilize Bib Fortuna, Jabba's Majordomo (SOR 177) to decrease its cost to 0 and then Bossk to get that extra ping damage for playing an event.
What I am really interested in with this card, though, is utilizing Sentinel units with high damage, to force your opponent to make bad trades. I will certainly want to try this with a large variety of sentinel units or shielded units in multiple colors. There are also some new Shadows cards that receive a benefit for being attacked, such as the Phase-III Dark Trooper (SHD 84) and Clan Saxon Gauntlet (SHD 35).
There will be some very interesting lines of play with this card, and I can not wait to get it on the table.
Triple Dark Raid
And up last, we have the absolute insanity that is Triple Dark Raid (SHD 194). Triple Dark Raid essentially acts like a Sneak Attack (SOR 219), where your unit only lasts 1 turn, but there are some key differences here.
Firstly, this is restricted to vehicles only. On top of that, this card pulls from the deck, instead of your hand. That means to utilize this card correctly, you’ll want to populate your deck with a high percentage of vehicles.
There are two other major bonuses to this card outside of Sneak attack, as it reduces the vehicle by 5 resources, and that vehicle returns to your hand at the end of the phase (assuming it has survived).
For deck building purposes, we are going to be mostly restricted to Villainy as paying for this out of aspect might not be as intriguing. But even still, there are so many interesting vehicles to bring out in a ready state. Obviously, anything with high attack can be a massive threat as they can attack the base directly, but that doesn't have to be the only
The Imperial Interceptor (SOR 132) is an interesting option, as you will get its When Played effect (dealing 3 damage to a space unit), and then have it back in your hand to possibly do again next phase. But let's go even bigger!
Avenger, Hunting Star Destroyer (SOR 40) is an amazing option because (1.) it has high attack value of 8, (2.) a When Played ability, forcing your opponent to defeat one of their units, and (3.) the same On Attack ability, forcing your opponent to defeat another of their non-leader units. This is possible because Avenger would enter play ready thanks to Triple Dark Raid! And don't forget you're also getting Avenger out with a 2-resource discount via TDR, and then you can play it again in a future phase.
There are just so many cool options with this card, and it's not limited to just space – Triple Dark Raid works on ground vehicles, too! You could buff your damaged units with an Academy Defense Walker (SOR 37), clean up the ground arena with a Blizzard Assault AT-AT (SOR 88), or heal up your base with a Reinforcement Walker (SOR 119).
So that’s my Top 5 list so far! So what did I miss? What are you looking forward to brewing with first? I cannot wait to start brewing decks once Shadows of the Galaxy releases on July 12th!
Shane
Twin Sunz
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