The Blog

The Chance Cube Reacts: Spirit of Rebellion Yellow Preview

Yesterday, Fantasy Flight Games gave us a preview of Yellow Heroes in Spirit of Rebellion.  These are the cards we have been looking for, as the Yellow heroes are finally getting some love!  Below are some thoughts from The Chance Cube family.

Bowcaster (SR48)

Ruben: Redeploy is one of the best parts of the card. Massive damage potential. A deck being able to generate resources shouldn’t have too much of an issue. 4 damage side is hard to come by and this upgrade hits hard. The disrupt side could come in handy. The special is okay, but not great. Expensive card, but could be a turn-2 play over another upgrade.

Amanda: While I do love a weapon that has redeploy, I can not help but feel that, between its cost and special, the card is a bit underwhelming. Having said that, its damages sides are nothing to take lightly.

Nate: Anything with Redeploy gains a thumbs up in my book, especially when it has some AMAZING damage sides on it. The downside to the Bowcaster is its steep cost investment, but in the right deck that shouldn’t be too much of a drawback.

Joe: I really like this card, mostly because I like Flamethrower, and this pretty much the same thing. The +3 side is probably the best part of it. With some of the other new cards, this is going to be in a good chunk of hero decks.

Jim: The Big Gun. 3 damage sides, a Special that deals unblockable damage to more than one character, and Redeploy. This will be nasty in any Hero deck with ranged damage. All that awesomeness does come at a heavy price, and that is, well, its cost. 4 resources is a lot, and almost guarantees that this will not be coming out before the second or third round.

Chewbacca (SR43)

Ruben: You can’t have Han Solo (AW46) without his loyal friend, right? Good damage side all around. He is also able to get resources. Expect to see him paired with Han for thematic purposes and some nice damage output. His special is dangerous for you and your opponent. The right play would be to use the special for a knockout punch or massive damage while making the opponent backpedal some. 12 health is really good.

Nate: Chewbacca is interesting as he has a very powerful ability that could potentially backfire on you since the dice is not removed after you pick it, so you could pick a modified side to lessen some of the drawbacks from this card. Also if you are able to fit him with a Blue Hero, giving you access to Force Throw (AW57), watch out for some massive damage swings. What makes me slightly sad is that you cannot pair 2 dice Chewbacca with 2 dice Han, that would have been so much fun.

Amanda: Just as Lukas said, Chewbacca joins his partner in Destiny. I love the effect of his special, but it is important to note that it does not remove the die from the pool. Your opponent can then resolve the damage back to you unless you pick a modified side. 3 damage sides and his health is fantastic, but at this time, I can not say if his cost is fair or not due to not being able to take the time to look into it.

Joe: Chewy finally makes his way to the game, and he’s a BIG threat. His special is crazy, since it doesn’t say RESOLVE. Those big damage sides your opponent can’t afford are now even worse to roll. Chewy is also tanky enough to take a few hits, 12 health is pretty beefy, especially for his points. I expect either a mid-range mixed damage hero deck, or a ranged aggro deck to spring up shortly after launch.

Jim: Finally, Han’s partner in crime shows up! 3 damage sides, high health, and the perfect point requirements to pair with Han. His special, however, is a double-edged sword. Sure, he can force damage to an opponent, but it also give the opponent a chance to deal it right back. Of course, you could always turn the die to a damage modifier side if they’re not showing any damage sides of that type, or turn Darth Vader’s (AW10) 3-melee to the 2-melee as a sort of mitigation.

Diversion (SR144)

Ruben: This card is okay. Spending a resource to disrupt a resource early is not cost effective. It does get stronger late game when another is in your discard pile. Spots are limited already and this card would more than likely get cut.  I’ll wait to see what happens with more spoilers but right now this doesn’t thrill me.

Nate: Resource control is something that many other games build entire deck archetypes around and now Star Wars: Destiny is getting the beginning of that deck type. We already had the Disrupt dice side, but couple that with this card and you could easily see a deck that can choke your opponent out of resources for an entire game.

Amanda: I love this card. Resource disruption that gets stronger when you use it again later in the game is sweet. This is a card that has been needed in the game, though I am weary of it’s cheap cost and slowing down the game too much. Great card, however may be too good.

Joe: Of the two cards with this mechanic, I like this one more. It still does something when you play the first copy, and just ramps up with the second. Resource denial is also really strong, especially at this price. Control/mid-range will have a bigger meta presence with this, especially since it’s neutral.

Jim: I’m kind of ambivalent on this card. Forcing your opponent to lose a resource can keep them from hitting you with a heavy damage side, but at the cost of one of your own resources. But then there’s the ability to force a removal of 3 resources later in the game if you’ve already used/discarded a copy of this card. This one will need some playtesting to see how it feels in actual game situations.

“Fair” Trade (SR145)

Ruben: This card has a situational upside that has to be timed just right. I do see this hosing Hired Gun (AW47) decks that focus on getting many resources. I just feel right now better cards can be used.

Nate: Of all the newest spoilers from this article, this is my least favorite for two reasons, it is highly situational and, unless you are playing against something using Crime Lord (AW23), most people don’t hoard their resources each round. That may change if some of the new cards start costing more, but until I see an upswing in people holding onto more than 2-3 resources, I think this card stays in the binder.

Amanda: Another interesting card. This has the potential to be a game changer, although I am not sure it warrants play due to its cost of resolving a resource die though it is cheap at zero cost. This card can be played around, but being neutral, it will be hard to know if you opponent has it or not. Great one of as a out of nowhere card, but I don’t see it happen twice in one game.

Joe: This is the first card that I’m not really a fan of, right now. On the surface this card is just bad. Playing it is always awkward, and it’s going to be dead more often than not. I do feel that it is going to be a sleeper hit. I have a feeling that some time soon, we’ll see control deck that can really utilize it, we just don’t have the proper resource control yet.

Jim: On one hand, it’s free. On the other, it’s too specifically situational to be useful in many decks. Granted, it’ll hurt against a Crime Lord deck, but otherwise, it doesn’t seem very useful.

Lone Operative (SR48)

Ruben: This is what is needed for mill. Put this with Amidala (AW48)/Jyn (SR44) and you can mitigate quite a bit of damage. Minus the blank, all of the sides are solid. The cost is just right for this. Using a Cunning (AW65) or any card with focus can make this shine. I’ll be including two copies of this in my future mill deck. Very good.

Nate: YES YES YES!! So many times yes. This is the card for Yellow Heroes that I have been waiting for. Just think of how long you can draw a game out if you splash Red into your deck to gain Field Medic (AW105) and have Second Chance (AW137). I can see this fitting in well with a melee centered deck or with a Mill deck such as Padme/Ackbar (AW27). One of my favorite cards that has been spoiled thus far.

Amanda: Yellow Heroes just got harder to kill. This card has an amazing effect that may put yellow heroes on the next level. In addition to its special, its die is not that bad as well, and works perfectly with Jyn’s card due to its discard side. I expect this card to see a lot of play.

Joe: This card feels like a bait card. It’s good, but pricey, and also doesn’t have any color restrictions, all on a decent healing effect with two special sides. I just feel that people are going to lean on the secondary effect too hard. They’ll lose tempo and not really care, then wonder why they lost. Good card, just don’t get comfortable if you actually have one character left with this on it.

Jim: If you hate seeing Second Chance or Field Medic across the table from you, look away now. An upgrade that heals, heals more if it’s attached to the lone remaining character, and has a melee damage side? Yellow Heroes just got a lot more annoying/awesome (depending on which side of the table you’re on).

Long Con (SR113)

Ruben: I hope Spirit of Rebellion plans to utilize more discard effects, but this card is weak. It’s a re-roll card. Then you can get 3 resources if you play the second card. Basically you use 2 slots in your deck to gain 3 resources one turn. Not impressed.

Nate: The Long Con has the possibility to be good, the problem is that the first one does absolutely nothing so until you can get one in the discard pile you aren’t gaining anything other than re-roll fodder.

Amanda: This card is one that I am looking forward to. It does require having two copies in your deck, but it’s effect at 0 zero cost is strong and helps put the momentum in your favor.

Joe: While I like the mechanic on it, the first copy of this card is always blank, which is nice for re-rolls, but it’s always a bad draw the first time around. I really just don’t think a blank card now is worth three resources, especially when you might never draw the second copy.

Jim: This card is iffy at best. Free resources are great, but not at the cost of two cards in your deck.

Maz Kanata – Pirate Queen (SR45)

Ruben: Maz is a good support character. Focus sides are always a good time. Her ability after activation truly makes her shine. You roll her after your main character(s) activate, and then reap the rewards. At 11 points, her elite version will be paired with numerous heroes. Should be fun seeing what combinations people come up with.

Nate: Maz’s cost coupled with her ability make her a stellar addition as a support character in combination with someone like Luke or Han who want to resolve their dice as quickly as possible. She also has really good die sides, with two Focus sides, so if your initial rolls are bad, you can roll her in and possibly fix them using her ability as well.

Amanda: Finally, Heroes have a cheap support character with an Ability that is amazing. I love her ability, allowing you the speed to activate her and then resolve is something that, in my opinion, should not be overlooked. Not to mention her die sides are perfect for the support role.

Joe: She’s the reverse Jango (AW21)! Well sort of. You really want to activate her last, to maximize her effect. You also don’t need to take her at elite. So effectively she let’s you resolve 2 dice at once, while allowing you to have up to 22 points of other characters to take advantage of. I see her being good with Luke (AW35).

Jim: Maz’s ability makes her almost a must-include in any hero deck, especially at her cost. She’s basically a more powerful Tusken Raider (AW22), with less damage output.

Maz’s Castle – Takodana (SR155)

Ruben: This may be the best battlefield in the game right now. Drawing cards and filtering your hand is incredible. I love this battlefield. It favors a deck who is aggressive and can end their actions in a round quickly. Maz Kanata will help make this truly shine. Wow!

Nate: This Battlefield is a little underwhelming to me, because it comes too late to have any real impact on the current turn. I think in slower mill/control decks you will see them bringing this Battlefield as it is less threatening than some of the others, but overall this one doesn’t excite me much. Being able to cycle through your hand is always a plus, but on a Battlefield I am not 100% sold that this will be what I want.

Amanda: This card is amazing for those who are looking to help themselves get what they need, when they need it.

Joe: Hands down, one of the best battlefields so far. Being able to curate your hand is so valuable. You effectively get to mulligan whenever you claim, but can also slow down mill. This helps with consistency a lot, and will help fringe decks become more viable. Though, mostly for two character decks, you trooper swarm players should stay away. Will also be interesting to see with elite Palpatine.

Jim: Being able to clean out your hand without actually discarding is huge. Mill decks will love this, as it lengthens the time you can play while getting to the cards you need. Aggro decks can get to their good upgrades and/or damage cards. Defensive decks will be able to get their Second Chances and Field Medics.

Planned Explosion (SR116)

Ruben: Planned Explosion is a game changer. This is the Heroes version of Fight Dirty (AW95), but better. If you combo this with It’s a Trap (AW107), expect something beautiful to happen. A potential one-shot kill card. It costs 0, but it’s situational. Huge upside if setup correctly.

Nate: This card can be huge, and honestly, the deck I think that will benefit from it the most is It’s A Trap decks that can change all their dice sides to specific sides in one pass and then drop this with the Ambush action. Alternatively decks that run Han and have a lot of high valued pay sides can gain value out of this because you can do similar damage with fewer resources. This is definitely a card to watch out for because it can ruin your day.

Amanda: Wow, this is a card that despite its high cost to get off (not to play), is one to watch your opponent’s dice for. This card change the game quite easily.

Joe: This is an interesting card, big requirement, but giant effect. It kills most unshielded characters. Big tempo swing, but at the cost of all your dice. If you rolled a bunch of big numbers, but either didn’t have resources for the damage, or just didn’t have much use for the dice, it’s a good choice. Though most of the sides that have big numbers are either damage or shields or focus, all of which are probably better on their own. Being hero also means you miss out on some of the biggest die faces 4 damage on flamethrower and 5 on AT-ST (AW5).

Jim: Big trade-off here. All of your dice for 10 damage. This card screams to be paired with Launch Bay (AW31), which can meet half the cost requirement with one roll.

What are your thoughts on these Yellow cards from Spirit of Rebellion?  Let us know in the comments below!


Support The Chance Cube

Do you enjoy the content provided by The Chance Cube? Would you like to connect even further with The Chance Cube Family? Consider supporting this content by joining our Patreon. We are a team dedicated to media coverage and community building, committed to bringing you the best of this game, sharing the joy and community that comes with it. Our Patreons enjoy membership in The Chance Cube Hangout, our Facebook group for supporters of the channel, and we have additional tiers that include gifts from us to you as a thanks for the generous support. Find out more at patreon.com/thechancecube.