One reason that Star Wars Destiny is such a popular game is how quickly the game evolves. As the meta game ebbs and flows with new sets, errata and card adjustments, players are continually seeking new character pairings and spicy combos. When the meta game becomes stagnant, the player experience becomes stale, especially when characters or upgrades are overpowered. Despite the dominance of Snoke, Watto, and Force Storm in recent organized play events, players must find ways to work around these popular choices in tournaments or even at the local table. Even with the recent Rules Reference Update, I think we will still see a healthy dose of Force Storm, Snoke and Watto in decks moving forward. For your consideration are six cards from standard format that I think you should consider using when the opportune moment arises. These cards aren’t top dogs of the meta because they are either too expensive or too reliant on a specific sequence to occur with any amount of reliability but they might just be the clutch play you need at the right time.
Unfetter | Convergence #81
For those of you who still love Padmé Amidala – Resolute Senator (CV75), Unfetter becomes a great first round option and consideration for a hard mulligan in your opening hand. Many Padmé decks have a minimal number of upgrades due to the innate power of her character dice and passive ability. With Armored Reinforcement plot (AG129), playing Padmé Amidala’s Royal Starship (CV85) in first round is a quick way to have access to a potential nine indirect damage between the ship and Padmé’s character dice alone. Then, imagine rolling her in a second time! The ideal sequence is to get the Royal Starship out first action, roll in the ship die, add a shield to Padmé and roll out her character dice. If you stay in the round until your opponent claims, you can play Unfetter and attempt another six indirect as they sit and watch. In addition, this same sequence may be possible round two or three if you don’t play any upgrades on Padmé.
Dismantle | Across the Galaxy #138
In the age of the support, we have seen the unholy trinity of Vader’s Fist (AG13), Megablaster Troopers (CV31) and Entourage (CV152) represented in nearly every competitive deck. This is due, in large part, to the ease of resource acquisition in the game. Getting five resources in the first round was unheard in the early days of Destiny, but today’s landscape allows for the wealthiest economy Destiny has ever seen. Although Dismantle requires that you spend the same amount of resources that your opponent spent to play the support, the card could potentially land you a win. Another downside is that vehicles with mods are immune, making a matchup against a Shadowcaster reset deck or a fat vehicle deck ineffective.
Law And Order | Legacies #138
Similar to Dismantle, this card is a reaction to one of the most prominent upgrades in play; Force Storm. With the rules update we received, Force Storm is no longer the rage quit/table flip monster it once was with the ability to win the match round one or two consistently. Yet, with no blanks and powerful sides all around, I think Force Storm will still be a popular choice in upgrade suites. Spotting a red character and cost of three make this event fringy for many players, but it could be the right card to save you when you need it most. What’s better than discarding the upgrade your opponent spent all round saving up for?
Flames of the Past | Way of the Force #112
I think it’s more likely that you can strategically discard from your deck to set up the right play with Flames of the Past than waiting for your opponent to discard a duplicate of one of their cards in play. Both scenarios offer intriguing options that may sneak under the radar, catching your opponent off guard. Perhaps you have Vader’s Fist in play and you draw the second one in your deck (you know, gotta have two in case one gets milled). Discard the second copy to reroll, followed by Flames of the Past to discard your opponent’s support from play. The Fist example may seem unlikely, but I can imagine a few potent upgrades that many decks may hate to lose in the middle of round two or three as well.
Mind Extraction | Convergence #5
Covered in detail by fellow Chance Cube creator Jason, Mind Extraction has yet to get its due credit. Two cost initially seems too expensive for a card that can be removed for free by activating the attached character. However, when played at the right moment, it’s sneaky good. A few things to remember: the attached character loses both their passive ability and their Power Action ability while Mind Extraction is attached. It’s best used when a character has been activated and not yet used their Power Action. Imagine preventing Snoke from using his PA or suddenly gaining ability to remove Watto’s dice in the pool or limiting Padmé’s indirect damage output for one round. Probably my favorite use for Mind Extraction is to greatly hamper or even kill Palpatine – Unlimited Power (CV2). Imagine a built-up Palpatine with six upgrades attached and 13 damage assigned to him. Lay down this downgrade and he removes upgrades down to the natural limit of three and he dies from damage already assigned to him. Even if you can’t line up the kill, forcing Palp to remove upgrades severely limits his damage output and makes him easier to kill as his health diminishes.
Scorched Earth | Legacies #87
I’ve been faced many times with a scenario where both my opponent’s and my characters are both close to death in a tight match. The love/hate relationship of dice games is that the randomness of dice decide our fates. What I love about Scorched Earth is the potential for a win in the face of a sure defeat. My opponent rolls out 5-7 dice from a beefy Palpatine or a loaded Captain Phasma – Stormtrooper Commander (CV18) with a legion of troopers following her and shows more damage than I can mitigate. With Scorched Earth in hand, those dice may just be enough to hand me the last second victory with my back against the wall.
Overall, these cards are likely either too expensive or too unreliable for many players to buy in but perhaps there is a place for some of them to be included in the right decks to be played in the perfect moment. At the very least, it helps us breathe some fresh life into our familiar decks that have become tightly regimented and routine while we wait for the next Spark of Hope teasers to drop. Please let me know what you think of these additions or any other cards you would like to add to the list!
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