No matter how big or how small, every card in your deck is important, and it is important to look at to each card to evaluate its pros and cons. A card that may not often get that kind of attention is [infopopup tag=aw157]. While simple on the surface, it never hurts to break a card down to its core.
This Neutral Gray event can be found in both the Kylo Ren and Rey starter decks, and is also a common card that can be drawn from booster packs. You may take a look at it and wonder why are we devoting an entire post to this card, and I would respond, why not? Every card in the game deserves a look, a proper evaluation if you will, and this one is no different.
The ultimate question is do you include this card in your deck? It can be considered for inclusion in any deck, Hero or Villain, Blue, Red, or Yellow. The effect, give a character 1 shield. As we discussed in our podcast, shields, I believe, are currently under appreciated. We have not yet been made aware of cards that remove damage, but a shield effectively extends the life of your character in most cases (unless faced with unblockable damage).
Pros: This card cost no resources to play, so you are essentially just sacrificing an action. That is a much better alternative than rolling, hoping for a shield, and then having to spend a second action to resolve that die to get a shield. And, as I have experience in more than one game, a shield can extend the life of your character by a turn or more, giving you the chance to still have access to that character’s dice and upgrades. The card is common and included in the starter decks, so you will have no problems obtaining a playset.
Cons: This card takes up a slot in your deck which you may prefer to save for more specific upgrades, supports, or strategic event cards. In a 30 card deck, every slot is critical, and you must evaluate your ability to defend yourself verses a high powered opponent if you want to survive. It does take up an action to play. While we have often discussed the value of cards that do multiple things in one action, this is not one of them. Compared to generating shields with a die, it is an advantage, but overall, it will not help your tempo game.
Matchups to Consider: This card can pair well when playing Qui-gon Jinn (AW 37), whose effect is triggered by gaining shields. This could add an additional purpose, allowing [infopopup tag=aw157] to be a damage trigger. Also, remember any 0 cost cards in your hand will provide you protection from [infopopup tag=aw011] whose card effect deals damage based on the resource cost of a random card selected from your hand.
This card will be a must have in early deck builds as everyone is focusing in on their individual strategies, and if you happen to have a couple slots left in your deck, a card like this cannot hurt.
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