Written by Bill Yankosky (aka Yodaman)
We continue our look at Spark of Hope by focusing on the Yellow and Gray hero cards in the set. The Ewok tribe has spoken and they are now part of the game.
As usual, I’ll be using a 4 point rating scale with the numbers generally representing the following:
4 – Potentially powerful card. Definitely thematic and useful in multiple decks.
3 – Solid card that could be very effective in the right build and fun to build around.
2 – Very situational card that will need the right deck and matchup to shine.
1 – Binder Fodder.
As a reminder, I like to look at cards both from their potential use in both casual and competitive settings. Feel free to agree or disagree with my thoughts about cards, just please do whichever in a respectful way.
My Top 3 Favorite
1. Mr. Bones – A fun addition to hero droids.
2. Han Solo’s Blaster – Great 3 cost weapon, especially on the man himself.
3. Fateful Companions – Don’t play R2 and 3PO without this plot.
My Least Favorite
1. Reassemble – Lots of conditions and might be more expensive in practice than it even seems.
2. Chief Chirpa’s Hut – The special just isn’t that special.
3. Rolling Logs – It’s free, but the other traps seems better.
Onto my thoughts and ratings!
Chief Chirpa: 2
I’m going to start by saying that I think Ewoks will end up being better than people expect and certainly fun to play. However, Chirpa is kind of expensive even at 1 die for his 7 health. You do get to add a 4 point, 4 health Ewok Warrior for free so it’s as though you’re getting 11 health total for the cost. His die sides aren’t great although the special can potentially do 3 indirect damage if you go all-in on Ewoks.
Chopper: 3
Chopper is pretty good value at his 8/11 cost. The discount when playing a mod on him can help with resource ramps and there’s probably some fun deck out there where you run Chopper with C-3PO and R2-D2.
Ewok Warrior: 2
The little Ewok Warrior is good value for 4 cost and 4 health as long as you have a unique Ewok on your team since that’s a condition on including him. As long as you get to activate him, he’ll immediately do an indirect damage. Being able to put an extra Ewok Warrior in with Chirpa is nice too.
Han Solo: 4
The newest version of Han seems great for his cheap 9/12 cost and 10 health. That flexibility should allow him to slot into a lot of decks. His Power action gives you a way to autofocus a resource die on a Scoundrel which means it works on himself. You also can use his Power Action as a pseudo Bait and Switch if you use it on a Wookiee die. Maybe the Convergence Chewie could finally get some play with this Han and you’d still have enough points left over for a plot.
Wicket: 3
Jeremy certainly gave us lots of options for Ewoks and they seem like they could be fun to play together and will have synergy. Wicket seems like decent value for his point cost and health. Being able to potentially replay a trap is good since all the traps get discarded after use.
Ensnare: 3
In general, I think the traps look fun, especially since all are “after activation” abilities which means you still get to take the next action. This one could be decent value for the 1 cost if your opponent rolls out damage sides that aren’t big as you might be able to deal them almost as much damage as they roll.
Net Trap: 3
This trap is like a targeted Suppressive Fire although it’s got the advantage that you can remove the character or upgrade dice on the character you put this downgrade on. Against a character with big damage sides like Vader3 or other critical sides like the discard sides on Leia2, this would certainly be worth the 1 cost.
Rolling Logs: 2
This trap is okay considering it’s free. It does give you a free reroll of the character’s character and upgrade dice you put the downgrade on and that may come in handy depending on the outcome of that reroll.
Ewok Ambush: 3
In an Ewok deck this is great since you get to action cheat after activating 3 Ewoks at once because of the Ambush action. Even in a non-Ewok deck, if you have a loaded up non-unique character, you can roll it in and potentially resolve some dice without your opponent being able to mitigate them.
Glider Attack: 3
It’s disrupt or damage, which is very thematic with Ewoks. This 0 cost card will put your opponent in a bad position since they’ll have to choose to take indirect damage or spend resources to block some of the damage. Exhaust one of the diceless Ewok Warriors with this card and it’s well worth it.
Jump to Lightspeed: 3
What Hyperspace Jump probably should have been in the first place. This is more fair and thematic since it requires you to spot a vehicle in order to play it. That condition should help keep it in check along with the sheer existence of Desperate Measures making supports vulnerable. Fast decks like Han3/Biggs/Falcon will really take advantage of this as long as they can keep the Falcon on the board since they can deal damage, then end the round and cut short what their opponent can do.
Reassemble: 1
Not really sure about this card. You’re having to pay the cost of the droid + 1 to get it out of discard and play it, which means the droid has to already be in your discard pile. Then you do get discounts of -1 on upgrades that modify droids, but if any cost more than 1 you still have to have resources. It seems a little out of place since Yellow hero was so Ewok centric in this deck. The big issue is the existence of Desperate Measures since it could completely invalidate what you do with this card.
Chief Chirpa’s Hut: 2
This support is a bit of a let down because of the effective cost involved with using its special. The die sides other than the special (and blank) are decent for the 2 cost. But the special means at best you’re having to pay 3 resources total to get an extra Ewok Warrior out if you don’t mind discarding the support (the 2 upfront to play the Hut then the 1 for the special). If you want to keep it in play, that extra Ewok is costing you 6 and that seems like a steep price.
Mr. Bones: 4
There are some non-Ewok Yellow hero cards in this set and Mr. Bones is great. For 2 cost you get a die with 4 damage sides and no blanks. On top of that, if you can time the damage right and defeat a character with one of Mr. Bones’ melee sides, you get to ready him. Should fit well in a droid based deck and it’s nice to see this is hero since villain usually seems to get cards like this.
Ewok Bow: 3
In an Ewok deck, this is another great card. It only costs 1 and it has Redeploy while on an Ewok. In other decks, it’s fine for the 1 cost.
Han Solo’s Blaster: 4
While similar to the original DL-44 Heavy Blaster, Han’s Blaster actually is better. It has 4 sides that are damage and only one blank, unlike DL-44. It still has Ambush and when you play it your opponent has to remove a die showing damage. On Han, you get to activate him as well.
Han Solo’s Dice: 3
On any version Han, his Dice are great since you can guarantee Han never rolls a blank because of the phrasing of the card. You should be able to get your money back pretty easily with this card even though you’re only netting 1 resource each time unless you use Rendezvous on a pay side. The interaction with Han is great, but it’s probably not as good on other characters.
Support of the Tribe: 3
In an Ewok deck, this could potentially heal for 5 or more pretty easily for the 2 cost which puts it in line with Bacta Therapy although not dependent on a bunch of upgrades being on a specific character. The design team has definitely emphasized subtypes this block so maybe it will find some value in other builds that maybe have 3 characters that share a subtype.
Fateful Companions: 4
Clearly meant to synergize with R2 and 3PO and well worth the 2 points in a deck with them. Being able to repeat an “after you activate this character” ability a 2nd time is very flexible in terms of what can be done.
Thanks for reading. In the next review article, we’ll start looking at the neutral cards in the set. May the Force be with you!
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