Unbalanced Characters
Unbalanced characters have been around since the beginning. Who can forget, in Awakenings, trying to figure out how to make Luke Skywalker (AW35) work? The desire to play old man Obi-Wan (SR37) was another piece of the problem. Then we added points to both Poe (AW29) and Sabine (EW40), which killed their use in both competitive and casual gaming.
Trying to find a low-cost, but good-fitting character to pair with these types of iconic characters have left people scratching their heads. Even in today’s Meta we are having the same issue. Think about Vader (AG1), he has great sides and was a Meta deck for a bit. Now, though, he has no adequate partner to keep him at the forefront. The same thing is happening to both Maul (SH3) and Thrawn (SH23) from Spark of Hope. These two characters are being pushed with everyone possible to find a good team up. Unfortunately to no avail.
Don’t Give Up
Do the higher-point characters work when it comes to top tier decks? That is truly a question we need to ask. When we look back at the type of decks that are winning, what do we see? Except for Sabine decks and the occasional Vader – TTB, the most common decks don’t dare pass 15 points per ELITE CHARACTER. Think about that, this means to be competitive we need to go with characters that don’t have a lot of “bells and whistles.”
Once we understand this we can start to put together a plan. Sure, it may make you feel bad not using the major players of the movies you may have grown up with, but sometimes we must go past this. There are many different character pairings that could bring us the competitive advantage we may be looking to gain. One thing we must not lose sight of, though, is the fact that we can put together decks and try.
What I mean by that is, don’t give up. If you really want to play Maul, try out the different pairings. I have a friend at my Local Game Store that paired Maul with Enfys Nest Marauder (CV142). Along with that he added Mr. Bones (SH106), with the marauders ability, and had a great time playing the pairing. He went 2-2 but was excited because it was his own creation.
One of our own The Chance Cube Family Members, Chris Ainsworth, took Maul and paired him with Watto (CV38). He wanted the extra resource generation and with the melee sides on the dice, using Watto’s Power Action is almost a win every time. Chris went 3-1 with his creation; that is a great showing in the current Meta.
Well It’s All About the Rolls
The problem with a 3-die start is they need the rolls to make them viable. When you have 4, 5, or even the elusive 6-die start, you can survive if one of your dice get mitigated, or rolls a blank. With a 3-die start, that scenario would kill a turn. Having no dice, unless you’re playing the (In)famous Ewoks deck, is never a good thing. Unless you are playing Mill, you need dice to roll damage to get the kills necessary to win the game.
The Chance Cube Universe, I would never tell you not to run a deck you are excited about. I believe you should get your hands on the cardboard and create fun, interesting, or even “jank” decks to play. What I would tell you is to be mindful of the past. The past shows that the Higher Point Characters do not have the kind of success that we, the players, always hope they will. Until next time my friends – May you always roll what you need and need what you roll.
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.