Deck Analysis 101: Deck Building On A Budget

So you are trying to build your first deck, but like so many people you are finding it hard to get your hands on booster packs because of the new wave of Star Wars: Destiny product being short shipped…. again.  Or you are on a budget and have limited funds but still want to have a good deck you can walk into a tournament with now that Game Night kits are hitting stores too. The good news is that many stores have extra Starter Decks and it is very possible to build a very competitive deck out of just a few of these.  Let’s take a look at 3 different points of entry into the game and see what we can concoct for our first round of budget decks.

Let’s say you walk into your FLGS and they have one of each starter deck left, this puts your budget at $30 but don’t fear you can still make a decent deck.  However; your only option really is to make a Hero deck as the point total just isn’t there for a Villain deck, and it is going to require you to cannibalize the Villain deck in order to get to 30 cards and to beef up a single deck.  Here is what the deck could look like:

Total Cards: (30)
Character: (25/30)
1x Finn (AW045)
2x Rey (AW038)

Battlefield:
1x Starship Graveyard (AW174)

Event: (18)
2x Aim (AW151)
2x Block (AW153)
2x Dodge (AW155)
1x Draw Attention (AW128)
1x Let the Wookiee Win (AW130)
2x Take Cover (AW157)
1x Unpredictable (AW162)
2x Use the Force (AW149)
2x Close Quarters Assault (AW154)
1x Daring Escape (AW126)
1x Heroism (AW117)
1x Flank (AW156)

Support: (4)
2x Awakening (AW124)
1x BB-8 (AW043)
1x First Order TIE Fighter (AW006)

Upgrade: (8)
2x F-11D Rifle (AW008)
2x Lightsaber (AW059)
1x Force Throw (AW057)
1x Mind Probe (AW060)
1x Jedi Robes (AW040)
1x Rey’s Staff (AW044)

As you can tell the deck is really all over the place, it is very light on dice and is generally very expensive. The good thing with this deck is that it has some synergy starting to take shape because Fin is letting you double up on the F-11D Rifle (Awakenings) and also gain access to the First Order TIE Fighter (Awakenings) from the Villain Starter Deck.

Alternatively you could buy two of a single starter deck which makes the Villain Starter Deck an interesting option because of the increased starting health totals that it provides.  The downside to going this way is you lose access to a very strong card out of the Hero Starter Deck in Force Throw (Awakenings). But that can be alleviated by adding in the consistency of two copies of some of the better Villain cards.  Here is a sample of what a double Villain Starter Deck could turn into.

Total Cards: (30)
Character: (27/30)
2x Kylo Ren (AW011)
2x First Order Stormtrooper (AW002)

Battlefield:
1x Frozen Wastes (AW168)

Event: (16)
2x Block (AW153)
1x Disturbance in the Force (AW146)
2x Dodge (AW155)
2x Enrage (AW081)
1x Flank (AW156)
1x Intimidate (AW084)
1x Nowhere to Run (AW091)
2x Use the Force (AW149)
2x Take Cover (AW157)
2x Aim (AW151)

Support: (4)
2x First Order TIE Fighter (AW006)
2x Power of the Dark Side (AW089)

Upgrade: (10)
2x F-11D Rifle (AW008)
2x Immobilize (AW014)
2x Infantry Grenades (AW017)
2x Lightsaber (AW059)
2x Mind Probe (AW060)

The odd thing about building a deck out of two Villain Starter Decks is that it starts to focus heavily on Ranged Damage thus making Aim (Awakenings) a very appealing card for this deck. As mentioned earlier the deck also has a starting Health total of 25 which is a few points more than what you would have in a Hero deck using only Starters. The main problem you will have is that the resource curve is still rather steep for the deck and because you have so many Upgrades split between Melee and Ranged Damage it is going to take a few extra actions to dish out all your potential damage.  Where things really get interesting is if you have access to two of each Starter Deck because then you can build a deck with either side and have a few interesting options.  Going Hero Side gives you access to the greater number of dice because you can bring the two Red Villain Weapons and Supports using Fin’s ability.  It also gives you access to the better Event cards in my opinion that Heroes have access to; especially Unpredictable (Awakenings). Without further ado here is what I feel is the most consistent deck you can make with nothing more than Starter Decks.

Total Cards: (30)
Character: (28/30)
2x Finn (AW045)
2x Rey (AW038)

Battlefield:
1x Starship Graveyard (AW174)

Event: (12)
2x Unpredictable (AW162)
2x Use the Force (AW149)
2x Draw Attention (AW128)
2x Block (AW153)
2x Dodge (AW155)
1x Let the Wookiee Win (AW130)
1x Heroism (AW117)

Support: (6)
2x Awakening (AW124)
2x BB-8 (AW043)
2x First Order TIE Fighter (AW006)

Upgrade: (12)
2x F-11D Rifle (AW008)
2x Lightsaber (AW059)
2x Force Throw (AW057)
2x Mind Probe (AW060)
2x Jedi Robes (AW040)
2x Rey’s Staff (AW044)

While the deck may not be winning any creativity awards, it is a very solid option and in all honesty you could probably just trade/buy for the First Order TIE Fighters (Awakenings) and do without the Mind Probes (Awakenings) if you were looking to stay inside the $50 budget mark.  Add in a few lucky pulls from booster packs and you can quickly see how Fantasy Flight Games did a good job in making the Starter Decks viable options for foundation of a good deck or two.

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