A couple of weeks ago I was on The Chance Cube Podcast January round table discussion. During that podcast I mentioned that I was working on a rainbow deck with Stormtroopers, a Nightsister, and Bala-Tik. I stated then that my focus was to make as much use of the Nightsister’s ability by giving her shields as often as I could to keep her alive, and her ability going more often. Because, she adds another Action option for you. If you have shields on her, you remove the shield, and not deal actual damage to her when you use her ability. And, her ability works even if she has activated. Finally, it works as many times as you want each turn.
Anyway, on the podcast released recently, there was a question from a listener who was asking about the viability of using a four character deck. And, while Jason, Amanda, and Lyndsey gave great answers, I feel that talking about my deck would be helpful to those considering this type of deck.
The first thing I would like you to notice is, in the grand scheme of things, is that it is cheap to buy all the cards. There are no legendary cards in this deck, and for the rares, Miniature Market has them currently (as of February 8, 2017) priced at $115 for all of them. And, yes, it is cheaper to buy them individually rather than getting 2 Kylo Ren starters for the two Stormtroopers and F-11D’s. So, your first thought is, what, $115 is cheap for the rares? I say yes. When a Darth Vader (AW10) starts at $50, Han Solo (AW46) is $38. Even the vaunted Jango Fett (AW21) is $10 / General Veers (AW04) is $4.50, which is much more expensive than your characters.
The second thing you may notice is that there is very few cards in the deck that actually manipulate dice directly. Sure, you have everyone’s favorite Electroshock, but that’s really it. I am truly banking on getting several uses of the Nighsister’s ability each turn. Which is why I put in 2 Hidden in Shadows and 2 Force Training, because they give out shields very easily. For the first few iterations of my deck I did use Immobilize (AW14) for the 3 shield sides on its die, and a great action. However, as it is a Blue only card, it is limited to the Nightsister alone without any Sith Holocrons (AW16) – which takes this deck on a route that I didn’t want to go.
Force Training can go on any character as long as the Nightsister is still alive. And, putting two Immobilize’s on the Nightsister really makes her a major target. In the end, by making the most out of the Nightsisters ability, I am able to cut down on dice modification cards in the deck making room for new and more exciting things.
I also focus on Ranged damage alone, which is why I didn’t out in Kylo Ren’s Lightsaber (AW15) or any other melee weapon. There were two Flame Throwers (AW24) in the deck, but they just didn’t work so well for me, even though neither of their melee damage sides aren’t modify sides.. I also had an AT-ST (AW5) in the deck, but it cost to much to be practical and useful in this deck, the same with a First Order TIE Fighter (AW6). Also, having more cards that activate with dice kept my turn going far to long for not enough benefit.
And you round everything out with standard non-unique only items. Drudge work is great for early extra credits. I picked the Battlefield that I did because its ability doesn’t hurt me when my opponent claims it, and it only helps me when I do. But, with 4 characters to activate each turn (potentially), I find that I rarely claim it. Tactical Mastery is a lot of fun to surprise your opponent with, and Cannon Fodder keeps characters close to dying alive longer.
Changes to be made: I am still leery about Take Cover. While a nice free way to give my Nightsister another shield, I am very much considering trading them out for more dice manipulation, like Scramble (AW161), or something even more evil like Disarm (AW158). I would seriously consider removing one of the Force Trainings to bring back a single Immobilize. I would also consider putting in two Power of the Dark Side (AW89) for your own reroll potential, as you do have a lot of dice with 2 blank sides on them. However, I haven’t had enough time testing the current build to make any of these changes, yet. If future sets contain more weapons that deal ranged damage with Redeploy, I would seriously consider adding them as well.
So, how does it play? Honestly, quite well, if you understand certain limitations of the deck. The first thing I like is that I have 4 dice to start the game with. True, it is 1 die per character, but having 4 when rolling for the starting battlefield is nice. And, honestly, unless my opponents battlefield is seriously detrimental to me, if I win the starting dice roll, I choose their battlefield. I do this simply so that I can put a shield (or two) on Nightsister right at the start of the match.
Understand with this deck I’m not really playing for any shenanigans like you would with a Jango/Veers combo, or a Han/Rey, or anything like that. I am putting your strength in the number of characters you have, so that if my opponent gets a really nice damage roll, they can’t kill off 50% of my list (if I ran a 2 character standard meta build). I am planning on some of my character(s) to die, which is why I really like the weapons with Redeploy. I have a lot of actions and activations each turn, and that does slow down the deck somewhat, but it also makes me not “rush” so much. I have time to breath and relax and enjoy the match I am playing.
This deck is most certainly effective in casual type events. However, given the limited amount of cards that are currently available, this type is deck is relegated to a tier 2 status, maybe 2.5. Is it a blast to play? Yes. Is it unexpected? Yes. Can you win a game? Most assuredly. Will it change and/or redefine the meta? No. Will it win a major tournament? Probably not.
The honestly thing that I would love to add to this deck is more weapons and upgrades with Redeploy. Being able to shift them from one defeated character to another would greatly increase the potential of the deck. Ah well, we can’t have everything.
CHARACTERS
First Order Stormtrooper (AW2)
First Order Stormtrooper (AW2)
Nightsister (AW12)
Bala-Tik (AW19)
BATTLEFIELD
Echo Base (AW166)
UPGRADES
2x F-11D Rifle (AW8)
2x DH-17 Blaster Pistol (AW54)
2x IQA-11 Blaster Rifle (AW55)
2x Force Training (AW58)
2x Holdout Blaster (AW63)
2x Jetpack (AW66)
2x Hidden in Shadow (AW90)
SUPPORTS
2x Drudge Work (AW76)
2x Backup Muscle (AW99)
EVENTS
2x Cannon Fodder (AW68)
2x Tactical Mastery (AW74)
2x Firepower (AW140)
2x Squad Tactics (AW143)
2x Take Cover (AW157)
2x Electroshock (AW159)
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