Just when you think things can’t get any more exciting, we get a new set of spoilers for Empire at War. Thanks to a video release by Team Covenant, we are now able to explore a new set of cards from the upcoming set! We collected the thoughts of several members of The Chance Cube Family as well as our Patreon supporters about all the new cards we got to see.
PINNED DOWN (EW124)
Jason – I love seeing supports get a little love. This removal card which has a very low cost associated with it, will give some credence to anyone looking to get into a vehicle deck.
Amanda – I love seeing more control cards, especially with no limitations on what you can remove. Spotting a vehicle is new, however it suggests that they are going to be pushing vehicles as a mechanic. I love that. The cost of 1 is fair, but I do wonder if, considering how expensive vehicles currently are, if 0 would be better. Maybe we will get some cheap vehicles? A must play in vehicle decks.
The Ken – FINALLY Vehicle love!!!
Joe – Nice to see die removal for vehicle decks. If this came out today, it would be unplayable, since no one really plays vehicles decks, but this give me hope that we will see tons of vehicles/supports in the Empire at War.
Mike Hill – This card is a step in the right direction for a meta shift to stronger vehicle heavy decks. Supports and vehicles need a stronger presence and I think this card will help.
ROLL ON (EW151)
Jason – I love it! Rolling… rolling… rolling… till you get it right… you hope. I just wish it had an ambush to it, or else your reroll could get removed out from underneath you.
Amanda – Another card I love. This card gives you three chances to roll what you need, maximizing the reroll mechanic. It would be better with Ambush, but honestly then it would too good. I do not know if this card is auto-include, but I do know it is probably going to be one of those “not a bad card to include”. Also… I love how “punny” this card is.
The Ken – Blink… Blink… Blink… I get to reroll a die 3 times to get it right? If only we could give it ambush.. OH WAIT, HELLO SWIFTNESS MY OLD FRIEND!!
Joe – I expect at least one of this card will be almost every deck, the ability to just keep rolling over and over again is too good to pass up.
Ben – Deck slots are tight, so taking cards that only fix one die seems questionable to me. Could be good in decks that want to keep cost curves low for Boundless Ambition, though.
Mike Hill- I believe this card will be an auto include in most all decks. Maybe a 1 slot though.
THERMAL PAINT (EW116)
Jason – This is almost a hero’s backup muscle… sure the damage is blockable, but this upgrade is relentless, doing one damage per turn. And, its only removed when you choose to do that second damage. Pair this up with Sabine, and you’ll be using the 2 damage each turn!
Amanda – We knew it was coming and I am not disappointed. Before this card was shown, it was my intention to play Sabine. This card enforces that interest. One free damage after you active her is not only awesome, but discard it for another one and cycling it the next turn for one resource only to do it again is really strong.
The Ken – The combination of Sabine is nice, it is a guaranteed 1 damage across the board, and we know how that works with Palpatine.
Joe – A two cost for one damage per round, not sure if it’s worth the cost. I know this will see a ton of play initially with Sabine, but I wonder how much play it will see on other characters. If this was a 1 cost upgrade, I think it would be played more. That being said, then it would be free for Sabine and make Amanda way to happy!
Ben – The effect seems a touch weak for 2, but this will be great on Sabine and awesome in end-game scenarios against only 1 remaining opponent.
Mike Hill – As a Palpatine and stricly villan player I don’t look forward to seeing this card. If looped, it is very relentless.
WEAPONS FACTORY ALPHA (EW160)
Jason – This is an interesting direction for the Battlefields to go! While you do not get the immediate benefit from claiming, you set yourself up for the next turn. Again… we have a vehicle enhancer. Can’t wait to see what supports actually come in this set.
Amanda – Another first, an ongoing ability on a battlefield. The potential of cards like this is both new and refreshing. As to the ability on this card, I like it. It definitely adds a new layer to the game where you opponent has to think about picking your field for the shields that may help them. Also, it will be nice to have more niche battlefields to bring to your game that helps your deck, but doesn’t really help your opponent. More push for vehicle support is even more awesome.
The Ken – More Vehicle love is AWESOME. We need that in this game as the Vehicles we have while not bad, are quite hard to bring out with their high costs. I’d like to see more stuff like this brought into the game.
Joe – More potential vehicle love, does this mean we’ll actually see Tie Fighter decks?
Ben – Great battlefield for vehicle decks. Does little for your opponent, and you don’t have to stress about controlling it all game: just make sure you control it the turn you want to play your key vehicle. I could see decks running Lockdown making good use of this battlefield.
Mike Hill – Again this a step toward a vehicle heavy Meta and I can’t wait! Director Krenic may get a resurgence after all.
K-2SO (EW26)
Jason – This card definitely packs a punch, and the combos that will come out of it seem pretty interesting. I would not be surprised if we see 3 cost non-weapon upgrades replaced with one cost weapon upgrades to fire off his ability without needing the pool of resources. That brings even more value to those cheap upgrades in the mid- and late-game.
Amanda – I have to say, I did not see this coming. I did not see him coming as a character, nonetheless a legendary. He is an interesting character card, one that you have to build your deck around. Since you can not build him up without triggering his ability, you are going to want to make sure you have a game plan to maximum his effect when he triggers. His die sides are solid, so he will be hitting strongly even before you put a weapon on him. The question I face with this one is, “do you run him elite?” If you do, he will be the target most of the time and you most likely will want his ability to trigger in that late game for that winning or tide turning swing. Right now, this is a character card that I honestly need to see more of Empire at War befoSOre I can even think of good combos. Though if you can pair him with a bigger target to take advantage of his ability though Redeploy weapons, that may be a good way to go. As mentioned in the video, it is very thematic indeed.
Joe – I love how his ability ties into the movie, where he finally gets his weapon and he becomes a bad @$$ droid! But I’m not sure how his ability will play out. Knowing what his ability is and the kind of craziness he could do in the mid to late game, he will be a massive target. Good dice sides though, and really glad to see a droid that is not a support but an actual character. Now they just need to redo R2!
Ben – His dice are great, even before looking at his ability, but at 15/20 he’s hard to pair with. If Red suddenly gets access to ways to optimize his dice a la Force Strike or Bait and Switch, we’re in business. Likewise, Redeploy weapons will be very powerful with him.
Mike Hill- I’m excited to play around with a K-2SO build. I think with the right upgrades, vehicles and events, he will be a beast. Pairing will be tricky but who knows, maybe we see his partner in crime Cassian with a vehicle trigger or ability.
LR1K SONIC CANNON (EW46)
Jason – I just hope you’re opponent doesn’t have deflect! I see even more stormtroopers getting played in the near future.
Amanda – Wow, this card’s die is bonkers. Expensive as it should be, but sudden that Thrawn/Unkar deck is looking even stronger. Not to mention Ruthless Tactics, 9 for 3? Ouch! Also do not forget about exhausting Imperial War Machine to resolve it for free. There are so many options with this card, and we do not know everything yet.
Joe – Say hello to my BOOM STICK! Er boom card? This card is terrifying but will make that First Order Stormtrooper just hanging out with no upgrades on him do something useful. Is this the new favorite poe/maz card?
Ben – Very expensive, very explosive. Probably best played in villain 4-character decks for access to Imperial War Machine and the upcoming Ruthless Tactics, which is bonkers with this. It remains to be seen if any deck will be able to reliably get a 5-cost support in play.
Mike Hill- Rewards for playing 3-4 character decks! I love this card and can’t wait to build a deck to run this whomper.
We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
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