Military Might, An Exclusive Spark of Hope Spoiler Article

Welcome everyone to a very special article release from I Rebel. That’s right, we have spoilers. Usually we record a podcast episode going over all of these spoilers but due to Spark of Hope coming out VERY soon and the limitations of time to do a podcast right now, we are instead going to cover them in this article. Before we get started however we need to send a special shoutout and thank you to Fantasy Flight Games. Without their generosity, we could not present these spoilers to you. We also need to do the same for you the reader, thank you for taking time out of your day to read this. Without farther ado, let’s begin.

First up we have a character card for you…

JediGeekGirl – Yes, another character and one that someone would suspect we would have by now. To be honest I am a little underwhelmed by the card itself. Clearly, this is a control/mill character and in that retrospect I think it’s pretty solid. To be honest I am not a control/mill player nonetheless a Villain control/mill player so evaluating this card is a bit challenging for me.

His die I think is great for his purpose and for what he is trying to do. Two focuses is always good and the double discard is great to make sure you get off his ability easily and often. The rest of his die is solid and overall I would put it slightly above average.

His ability however I think is strong since it is not a Power Action and it turns any card in your hand into free removal. At first glance, you may think “Why would I want to discard a card to remove a die” but then you realize the effectiveness of not only turning any card into your hand into FREE removal but it makes the pace of your deck quicker since you are doing two actions in one. The more I sit on this ability the more I like it, especially if Villian control/mill becomes a thing.

The artwork lacks for me in its originality. It is the exact same scene in the movie. It does get credit however in how good it looks. It looks like the scene from the movie and in one glance you could say it was a screenshot from the film.

I would have to say in closing that while I was underwhelmed by this card, the more I think about it, the more I like it. I have no idea where to put him right now outside of maybe Whulf.

Sarah – My first throughs was oh good a mill character, but on further reflection with Villain mill being nowhere right now this could be a very welcome addition to Star Wars: Destiny (for some).

His die is pretty solid for his cost. The double focus on another low-cost character is borderline disgusting. As the double discard side costs a resource, I see him needing to sit in a 3-wide with the money engine being provided by a Watto or Jabba3. Saying that, he could work in a deck that runs quite cheaply. We know how good zero cost removal is in Villain and he has a built-in Sinister Piece like ability, with no restriction on the die he removes! This seems super good, and he will be frustrating to play against if he can consistently resolve those discard sides. I think we’ll need to kill this guy quickly.

Being a Leader is another tick after all the love the subtype got in Convergence. How playable this guy will be in Spark of Hope will come down to what other tricks FFG give us for Villain control/mill. He may end up having to be tucked away in the binder waiting for his time to shine.

Next up we have a support card whose effect has been long overdue…

JediGeekGirl – YES! Prohibition is here in Star Wars: Destiny! The ability to lock your opponent key card out of the game is VERY strong and is a great counter to get around decks that rely on one key card. Having said that most decks do have more than one ace card and this card can be gotten rid of very easily though Vandalize or Dismantle but honestly, it is about time we have a card like this in the game. It is fair and balance and will see play.

The artwork on this card is amazing. Automatically any card from the prequel era I am going to love. It features an iconic scene from The Phantom Menace and an equally iconic ship. Say what you will about the film but I am glad we finally have this scene and ship pictured in the game

Overall not only do I love this card and think it will see play but I think it is a really great solid card. The only strikes against it could be the small deck size in the game and how easily it could be gotten rid of. You can not go wrong with it as a staple but Villian control decks will love this.

Sarah –  Wow! How good would this have been in the Convergence meta? Being able to call Mega Blaster Troopers against a Phasma3 deck or Entourage to stop the Villain rainbow decks ramping so quickly.

It needs to come down quickly and you need to know your matchups to make the right call. The wording on this card needs some clarification. If the card is Vandalised is the ban lifted on the named support? It’s not clear from the card text, it needs a ‘while this support is in play’ adjustment.

It’s one of those cards that just by its existence will cause deck builders to think twice about going all in on certain supports, it may not actually need to see much play. This will go some way in aiding the return of the smaller support/vehicle decks, and dare I even dream the return of upgrades?

Our final card is a powerful event…
JediGeekGirl – Another very very solid, and in my opinion, competitive card. A great way to disrupt your opponent and control them. I love what it brings to the game and the synchronicity it has with cards that does thing based on your opponent’s hand. Thrawn (one & two) being an example, Kylo2 being another. I kind of think it will see play but with Probe in the format, you have to wonder if it would be worth the inclusion.

The art is very basic. There is not much to add except I think it brings a lot to the table when you think about the universe itself. The Empire is in control and it is watching you.

Another great card that I think will see competative play and one that eventually will see play in Trilogy and in Standard after rotation. Even though they will draw that card next round, you set them back and you do so selectively. Imagine if you can combo this with some sort of discard from deck effect or my favorite, using Thrawn2’s Power Action.

Sarah – The return of Friends in Low Places! Well not quite, but this is the closest we have. Knowledge of your opponent’s hand is very powerful and has been missing since rotation, especially for Villain. Thrawn2 will love it, but I can see other Red Villain decks making room for this. As long as they can keep a Leader on the table to keep this online that is.

Final Thoughts:

Amanda – Overall I REALLY like these cards. I think they all have potential and will see play. Maybe not right now but in the future, especially if Villian control/mill becomes a solid archetype. These are not Golden Dice level spoilers but they are not Jabba2 level ether, looking at you Discard to Reroll. 😉

Sarah – Some solid cards here, which may not see play straight away but could have more of an impact in a set or two. I’m most excited for Separatist Embargo to see how it affects deck building, and if it shakes up the very heavy support meta we had during Convergence.