Visions of the Force: 5 Predictions for Twilight of the Republic

It’s the end of August, and the hype train is chugging along at full throttle for Star Wars: Unlimited. We are almost two months into the Shadows of the Galaxy meta, the first Planetary Qualifiers are on the horizon, and pretty soon there will be another wave of Store Showdowns to att…

**record scratch**

… let’s try that one again.

It’s the end of August, and the hype train is already on OVERDRIVE for the upcoming third set of Star Wars: Unlimited - Twilight of the Republic! CHOO CHOO!

OK, maybe that’s a little dismissive.

The Shadows environment has been very fun to explore, with some really cool cards, combinations, and decks that have risen to the top of both the competitive standings and casual local tables across the country.

I will personally be attending a PQ as well, so I’m very hyped to see the prizing and atmosphere of that tournament in just over a month!

However, ever since the Fantasy Flight Games In-Flight Report took place at Gen Con in early August, the new hotness that is the upcoming set, Twilight of the Republic (TWI), has been at the forefront of my mind.

What few cards and accessories we’ve seen so far are setting the bar very high, and November can’t get here soon enough.

So while we’re still on the fringe of TWI spoiler season, I thought it would be fun to make some predictions about what Set 3 will bring to SWU - predictions that we can look back on together and either marvel or laugh at when all the cards are revealed.

Some of these opinions will be hotter than others, so I’ll be assigning what I consider a “spice level” for each of my thoughts. Let’s get into it!

PREDICTION: Initiative will be more important than ever
SPICE LEVEL: Lightly Seasoned

Look, I don’t think I’m telling any tales out of school here. As you sit down to play Star Wars: Unlimited right now, there’s always a consideration you have to take for initiative… but a lot of that underlying strategy doesn’t show up until the mid-late game.

If you lose the roll-off (or however you determine initiative – we don’t judge) and your opponent ends up with the initiative to start the game, it’s not the end of the world.

Frequently, the ebb and flow of the game will balance things out to where you and your opponent are going first in a round approximately the same number of times – unless you’re playing a wildly slow deck and are fine with the prospect of acting second all the time.

But even in that scenario, the initiative plays a crucial role in the late game. Questions like, “Do I have to claim here to avoid losing on the first action?” or “Will taking the initiative here allow me to strike the killing blow?”

There are sacrifices to be made sometimes, and in order to get that sweet, sweet dub, make them you must.

With that said, I believe the two newest game mechanics revealed in Twilight of the Republic are going to make the initiative race much more aggressive and impactful throughout the course of the entire game.

If you are employing, or facing, a strategy that involves either of the two new keywords:

 … either you or your opponent is going to be wary of the shenanigans involved with both, and seek to disrupt said strategies.

Ergo, if your opponent takes the initiative, they could very easily remove one of your units with their first action, thus shutting down your Coordinate or Exploit play for that round. 

Now, obviously, it remains to be seen how much these new mechanics will take root when TWI releases. Not every shiny new tool sees its way out of the toolbox (looking at you, Capture).

But with the developers already confirming that Coordinate and Exploit will be faction-specific (Republic and Separatist, respectively) I would anticipate a decent amount of attention will be paid to both keywords, at least early on. And when that happens, having the initiative will be oh so important. 

PREDICTION: Set 3 will contain more damage manipulation
SPICE LEVEL: Mild 🔥 

This prediction, to me, could also be considered Lightly Seasoned, just because I think there will be, or are already, others on the same page. The idea stems from a tidbit of information in one of the FFG information streams post-Gen-Con, where it was confirmed that there would not be any cards in Set 3 that generate either Experience tokens or Shield tokens.

The tokens in this set are being reserved for Battle Droid and Clone Trooper tokens - SO hyped for those!

It was the omission of Shield tokens that was most surprising to me. In an era that not only included the protectors of the galaxy (Jedi) but also plenty of units with the potential to be shielded (Droidekas, namely, but also Gungans and others), it felt odd that we would soon exist in a meta without shields. 

All right, not REALLY – there will still be shield generators from Sets 1 and 2, but that makes me believe that some of the units – or types of units – I mentioned previously would have other ways to reduce incoming damage. 

Some have already speculated that something like a Destroyer Droid would have an ability similar to Boba Fett’s Armor (SHD 224), which prevents a specific amount of each chunk of damage.

Editor's Note: FFG previewed some of the Set 3 artwork on their Livestream on 8/28, and I'm sharing some of that art here.

But, with so many lightsaber-wielding heroes and villains floating around in the Clone Wars era, why not take it a step further? I think there is a high likelihood that Twilight of the Republic gives us our first deflect-type ability.

Among all the Jedi, Sith, and other Force users that we are likely to see in Set 3, there HAS to be at least one that can reflect a blaster bolt back at its enemy, right? In lieu of shields, this would be a fun way to make Jedi feel like Jedi, while adding to their inherent power level and also setting them apart from non-Jedi units. 

Yup. More bomb artwork from Set 3. Could there be a lightsaber/jedi deflection in our future?

Also, without Shield tokens in play, there’s definitely a world in which we could see some additional effects that interact with damaged units.

Currently, with the exception of Director Krennic, Aspiring to Authority (SOR 1) and the handful of Grit units that see play, units and cards that deal with previously-damaged units aren’t highly prevalent in the competitive environment. This niche strategy receiving a little more support might make more room for some existing cards to blossom.

PREDICTION: At least two-thirds of TWI’s Leaders will have the Force trait
SPICE LEVEL: Medium 🔥🔥

Yes, I realize this is a big number.

No, I will not back down from it.

We’re already looking at a 50% split with 16 leaders to go!

In all seriousness, the number of Force-trained Leaders in Twilight of the Republic is probably going to end up closer to 9 or 10. But as I sat thinking about how many non-Force-users could end up being leaders, the list wasn’t very long.

As a disclaimer that should be blatantly obvious by the future hilarity that this article will provide, I do not have any inside or advance knowledge of who the Leaders in this set or any set will be. But, since we’re making predictions, here are my thoughts on who we could see as a Leader WITHOUT the Force trait. We’ve already seen General Grievous, General of the Droid Armies (TWI 15), so that leaves:

1. Padme Amidala
2. Captain Rex
3. Commander Cody
4. Nute Gunray/insert other Separatist Leader here
5. Chancellor Palpatine
6. Satine Kryze
7. Jango Fett

… that’s pretty much it. I suppose we could also pull out some random Senators, like Bail Organa or Onaconda Farr, and add them to the mix. But I don’t think I’m going to be correct on all seven of those names, and it’s hard for me to imagine who else might go on that list.

So by that logic…12 of 18 force-users doesn’t feel too unrealistic!

PREDICTION: The IG-88 Leader will have a renaissance
SPICE LEVEL: Hot 🔥🔥🔥

I bet some of y’all forgot IG-88, Ruthless Bounty Hunter (SOR 12) existed, huh? Well, he’s got his eye (eyes?) on a glow-up when Twilight of the Republic drops, and it’s not too hard to imagine.

There has been a truckload of obstacles standing in the way of greatness for IG-88 since Spark of Rebellion released back in March. In fact, greatness is probably too strong a word… standing in the way of playability, is more accurate.

For the villainous droid, too much had to go right for you to have any shot at a victory when choosing him as your leader.

Is your opponent consistently defeating your units? Is your opponent playing the same amount of units, or more, than you? Does your opponent play removal that targets low-health units?

If any of the answers to those questions was “yes”, you were probably going to have a bad time, and even if you answered “no” to all three of those and then some… you might still not have a shot.

Well fear not, IG-Gang, because the advent of token unit generation in TWI is going to set it off for this criminal bucket of bolts. At least, the potential will finally be there to give him a better chance!

We’ve already seen several examples of cards that give you multiple units on the table at a time in the reveals for Twilight. Most notably, in IG-88’s case, the Battle Droid Escort (TWI 229) should provide a consistent way to keep your side of the board looking a bit more flooded than your opponent’s, making way for IG-88’s ability (giving an attacking unit +1/+0) to proc more consistently his Leader side.

Add to that the fact we will likely see a bunch of support for Droid-traited units in Set 3, and things are looking up for the oft-neglected IG-88. I’m not predicting he’s going to win a Galactic Championship, but with so much of the newest set still unknown, there is always that possibility!

Could Battle Droids help IG's case? "Roger, Roger."

PREDICTION: Energy Conversion Lab will no longer be the best rare base
SPICE LEVEL: INFERNO 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

“Whoa, take it easy there, Kevin, you’re talking crazy.”

I know, I know, but hear me out: We know already that rare bases are making their triumphant return in Set 3 after sitting Shadows of the Galaxy out. I, for one, think that’s awesome. While it stinks to get your fourth copy or more of a base in your rare slot, right now the market on rare bases continues to be VERY heavily skewed in favor of Energy Conversion Lab (SOR 22).

And why shouldn’t it be? ECL, as the cool kids call it, provides one of the strongest abilities in the entirety of Star Wars: Unlimited for the mere pittance of 5 base health as compensation.

The base continues to be the most popular one to utilize in a wide variety of top-tier decks, kitchen table decks, jank specials and everything in between.

But doubling the amount of rare bases in the decision pool means there has to be at least (one more) base that provides an ability so powerful, you can’t just leave it at home. Those are the rules of gradual power creep, I don’t make them up.

And with that in mind, I think it’s not ridiculous to think that ECL’s time at the top is in jeopardy.

Just sit back and let the clouds part as you imagine a Kaminoan Cloning Facility or a Geonosian Droid Foundry which allows you – as an epic action – to create a number of Clone Trooper or Battle Droid tokens greater than zero.

Commander Cody and Clone Troopers have entered the chat.

Would you pay 5 base health for that? How about 3? There’s no guarantee that the margins will be the same as the Spark of Rebellion bases.

What about a Republic Armory base that allowed you to play an upgrade that cost 3 or less from your hand or discard pile for free? That sounds like it could be worth 5 health!

However they decide to allocate these new rare bases, it stands to reason there will be one of them that fits within the themes and archetypes of Twilight of the Republic. With that synergy in mind, I am very much looking forward to what these new bases do, and how they might supplant ECL as the top dog in the base hierarchy.

(Regardless of what the new bases do, they will already be better than Security Complex!)

Begun, the Clone War Has

We are just about 2 months away from the release of Twilight of the Republic for Star Wars: Unlimited, which means that new leaders and spoilers will start to be revealed very soon.

As those new cards are discovered, the likelihood of these predictions coming true will either increase or decrease (likely the latter, but who knows?!)

I definitely look forward to looking back - taking a look back on these thoughts when the set drops, that is - to see how close we came. Until that time, I’ll keep trying to find new decks to fit my favorite characters in.

This one's for Kevin, who – like myself – is a big Maul stan. 

Kevin
Roll On Gaming
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