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The premise of this deck is "swarm." However, I didn't want your normal, everyday swarm. I wanted something novel—something more on the edge of the game.

I knew that if I planned on swarming (with the Light Side, at least) it would be in the Ground and Space arenas. Not only does the Light Side have lower build units that are far more effective than those of the Dark Side, but it also has some amazing pilots, so I decided to increase this already large advantage.

The Ground Arena: Damage Prevention

The hard-to-hit factor was my biggest concern, whether providing this with Armor, damage prevention, or damage removal.

Two units immediately caught my attention: Yoda (E) and R2-D2 (E). With both units out, that's 3 damage I could prevent for free, every round. Next, I added Rebel Trenches, giving Armor to all Ground units. And when it came to choosing pilots, I picked the lowest build pilots with the best prevention. If they couldn't prevent damage, they simply weren't cut out for this deck.

Next, I needed a way to remove damage, so I added Rebel Hangar. It removes 2 damage each round from a Ground or Space unit, and since those were the two arenas in which I planned on fighting, the card was exactly what I was looking for.

The Ground Arena: Speedy Units

I wanted to be able to secure Ground and Space without spending too much build, so speeders were my obvious choice for Ground. They're cheap, fast, and extremely effective.

Luke's Snowspeeder (A), with low build, great stats, and its awesome ability (Pay 2 Force Arrow Evade 2) was a must. However, it does have the minor penalty of losing 4 Force whenever it hits the discard pile. But Wedge Antilles (B), with his ability to prevent 2 damage, added with this "Pay 2 Arrow Evade 2," kept Luke's Snowspeeder out of the discard pile on a consistent basis.

The next unit fit for Ground was Wedge's Snowspeeder (A). It's not so cheap, but what drew my attention was its ability to give your Ground units Accuracy 3 when attacking the unit Wedge's Snowspeeder damaged. With my Ground units faster than most of Dark Side's, and with at least 3 units in that arena, Wedge's Snowspeeder worked out perfectly. In fact, one combo I found has Sebulba (A) piloting Wedge's Snowspeeder. If attacked, you can deflect damage, giving your other units Accuracy 3 against this damaged unit—extremely helpful when faced with AT-AT Assault Group, Trade Federation Control Core, or the new Gungan Grand Army.

Anakin's Podracer (A) was practically made for a swarm deck. At 3 build, 80 speed, 2 power, 4 health, Lucky 1, and "Pay 1 Arrow Evade 1," it fits all prerequisites: it's cheap, quick, and tough to damage.

Still, I just wasn't drawing enough Ground units, and knowing that my Ground units thus far were unique, I needed a few non-unique units as well. Unmodified Snowspeeder, at only 3 build, had amazing stats. Plus, the addition of the Rebel Hangar almost nullified its Upkeep. After a quick search through The Phantom Menace set, I also chose Flash Speeder: cheap, damage effective, and with the bonus of Critical Hit 2.

The Space Arena: Dealin' Damage

With so many options, it took me awhile to figure out what I was going to do for Space. Eventually, I settled on starfighters because they were cheap, fast, and could deal damage—and thus fit in with the swarm theme.

Luke's X-wing... all I can say is "Wow!" With four different versions, it gave me a Space unit that I could focus on, something that could stack and enable me to draw more cards during setup. Next, the Inferno (A). 5 build might sound high for a 3 power, 3 health unit. But add in Lucky 2, and now you're talking. Not only does it consistently deal more damage, but it also negates damage against it, including crucial Critical Hits.

With Luke's X-wing and the Inferno (A) both unique, I had to find a cost-effective non-unique unit. This happened to be the Delta Six Jedi Starfighter. For 3 build, you get 50 speed, 3 power, and 3 health. Similar to Jedi Starfighter 3r3, it's already an efficient unit—but wait, you also get "Pay 1 Arrow Evade 1" and Critical Hit 1? This unit quickly went from good to amazing.

Battle and Mission

To me, Battle and Mission selection is key to any deck, as well as one of the toughest areas to decide. In the current metagame, Change in Destiny is a must. If you can't disrupt certain Dark Side battle cards—such as Rebel Surrender, Vendetta, Dark Sacrifice, Imperial Misdirection, or Down in Flames (which kills this particular deck, by the way)—it really puts a hurt on your plans.

Also, I noticed in playtesting that I consistently ran out of units to build, and so I had to include drawing cards. Adding Wedding of Destiny and Podrace filled the gap, and I now had units when I needed them, every game.

I also had trouble with Force Denial decks. It's not that my units use too much Force, but against Nexu and Darth Sidious (D), I would have to pay Force for the tap prevent abilities of Yoda (E) and R2-D2 (E), as well as all of my units' Evades. Add Carbon Freezing Chamber, and things start to get ugly. So I included Homing Missile, perfect for hunting Nexus, Admiral Firmus Piett (C), Nute Gunray (C), or Rune Haako (A).

Strategy

The general strategy of this deck isn't overly complicated. Your main objective in setup is to deploy as many units as possible, giving you the best unit-to-unit advantage, as well as allowing you to go through more of your deck. The optimal setup has at least one Luke's X-wing in Space, with a pilot as well. Also, try to finish by putting build counters on Yoda (E) or R2-D2 (E), so that you can deploy them directly to your Reserves.

It's a solid deck. However, it's important that it fit your own style of play. Depending on your particular style, you might try modifying the deck with Disturbance in the Force, Obi-wan's Guidance, Luke's Garage, Han's Promise, or Dagobah System.

In closing, I'd like to give credit to teammate Jason Czapansky for many ideas that went into this deck. I hope you've enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it!




Pilot: Swarm Style

character
Wedge Antilles (B)
Yoda (E)
Adia Gallia (A)
R2-D2 (E)
Anakin Skywalker (G)
Sebulba (A)
Luke Skywalker (E)
Yoda (D)
ground
Luke's Snowspeeder (A)
Wedge's Snowspeeder (B)
Unmodified Snowspeeder
Tatooine Flash Speeder
Anakin's Podracer (A)
space
Luke's X-wing (A)
Luke's X-wing (B)
Luke's X-wing (C)
Luke's X-wing (D)
Delta Six Jedi Starfighter
Inferno (A)
battle
Change In Destiny
mission
Wedding of Destiny
Podrace
Homing Missile
equipment
location
Rebel Hangar
Rebel Trenches
Totals:
15 Character
15 Ground
14 Space
3 Battle
9 Mission
0 Equipment
8 Location

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If you've played the Star Wars Trading Card Game since the very beginning, you probably remember the days when Anakin's Inspiration was a staple in every Light Side deck. The goal was to have all your units attack first, thus crippling your opponent's strategy. However, Anakin's Inspiration wasn't the only card that fed into this "blitz" type of deck. Usually, the winner was the person who controlled more Luxury Airspeeders.

Soon after, Sith Rising came and brought with it Unfriendly Fire. This card alone shifted the metagame away from Light Side blitz-type decks.

Fast forward to today and the release of The Phantom Menace. The TPM expansion breathes new life into this strategy, specifically in the form of Discuss It in Committee.

Discuss It in Committee is simply the best card for speed decks. Unlike other "fogs," it doesn't carry the restriction of playing it only if no unit has attacked. This allows you to attack with your units first, then play Discuss It in Committee to protect these units. Since you can play it during damage prevention, Discuss It in Committee also allows you to wait until the results of the dice roll, to see if your unit hits—and it even counters Unfriendly Fire.




Feed a Little Speed to Your Ride!

character
Elan Sleazebaggano (A)
R2-D2 (G)
Han Solo (C)
Han Solo (I)
Dark Woman (A)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (B)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (E)
Princess Leia (A)
Anakin Skywalker (E)
Anakin Skywalker (H)
Guri (A)
Orn Free Taa (A)
ground
AT-TE Walker 23X
Luxury Airspeeder
Unmodified Snowspeeder
Anakin's Podracer (A)
Luke's Snowspeeder (A)
space
Luke's X-wing (B)
Luke's X-wing (C)
Delta Six Jedi Starfighter
X-wing Red Ten
Obi-Wan's Starfighter (A)
Obi-Wan's Starfighter (B)
X-wing Attack Formation
Virago (A)
battle
Discuss It in Committee
Anakin's Inspiration
Starfighter's End
mission
Homing Missile
Podrace
equipment
location
Podracing Course
Totals:
14 Character
14 Ground
14 Space
9 Battle
7 Mission
0 Equipment
2 Location




The deck basically plays itself. Set up units with high damage output, attack first, and then play a Discuss It in Committee to win. It also has its fair share of tricks as well. Luckily enough, the more speed you have, the more they truly shine.

Character

The Character arena has a few surprises. Elan Sleazebaggano (A) has never really fared well in most decks. Discuss It in Committee finally gives him his chance. Attack with everyone, play Discuss It in Committee, and suddenly his drawback no longer matters. As a side effect, R2-D2 (G) and Elan Sleazebaggano (A) offer speed boosts under Blockade {TPM}. And while Orn Free Taa (A) has nothing to do with speed or power, sometimes your character swarm can be held off by certain units, such as Darth Vader (K). In this scenario, Orn Free Taa (A) comes in handy.

Ground

Luxury Airspeeders boost the overall speed of your units and thus are key to fuel your Podrace and Podracing Course engine. Remember to retreat down to one unit if Dark Side retreats from the arena and Podracing Course is out. If you have more than two units in the arena, Podracing Course still takes effect (and backfires against you).

Space

Space is fairly straightforward; just try to save your Starfighter's End for Virago (A). Make sure to give it the +20 speed—and if R2-D2 (G) is out as well, that's 110 speed and 11 points of direct damage!

Conclusion

As I said, this deck pretty much plays itself and punishes Dark Side decks that don't have or don't draw answers for it. With Gen Con fresh in our minds, a lot of us are looking for new strategies, but we must remember not to overlook solid strategies from the past!


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