Written by Sarah Evans
Having a print and play set drop from FFG was a very welcome surprise! I just want to take a second to thank FFG for this. They didn’t have to do this, and I don’t think anyone expected to get this type of content from FFG with them ending their support for the game. Thank you FFG!
Much of the chatter and focus so far has been about the interactions with Fateful Companions. I’m going to steer away from that here as I feel it’s been covered enough already, and I hope we’ll see a ban/nerf/balance sooner rather than later.
Here are the cards I’ve got some games in with and my early thoughts:
Anakin Skywalker – Reckless One
We’re getting a good die for 12/15 and a power action which does 2 damage on activation. This is offset somewhat with his lower 10 health, and that he has to do one damage to himself.
I’ve been playing him with Luke3 which gives me the option to use Luke’s shield sides either defensively to get more value from Anakin, or to be even more aggressive. I can see him working well in a red build with all the healing available.
The transformation into Vader has been fairly consistent to get off, but I have taken the decision to just take the kill with dice rather than wait and risk a healing or action cheat card from my opponent. I think he is good enough to win games without having to turn to the dark side. It makes for an interesting decision point.
Darth Vader – Driven by Anger
It’s hard not to compare this version to A Terror to Behold. His die is much weaker which can hurt with the consistency of pairing up a modifier side which plagues Villain upgrades. His power action is really where his power lies – but is it enough? Resolving and pumping any die is massively versatile. My battlefield choice has been Bendu’s’ Lair as it’s another target, turning the 2 indirect into 3 melee has been spicy!
I’ve not had a great deal of success with him so far. I think I’m trying to play him too much like A Terror to Behold. The drop from a 1 in 2 to a 1 in 3 to hit his Melee base side seems much worse. I think he needs a different build approach to avoid the stranded modifiers.
Luke Skywalker – Fulfilling his Destiny
Is this the big hero we’ve been waiting for? I’m not sure yet, but it’s been fun trying to find out. His dice are a little on the frustrating side. That one focus feels like a blank. His power makes up for it though. I’ve had one dream game getting all three upgrades down on him turn 1. It turns out +2 health or 2 damage a round is pretty strong… who knew?
Once setup he’s very hard to kill. Satine has been my partner of choice so far to give a four dice start. She provides focus and money to help you set up his power action.
United / We Stand
Whilst not a particularly exciting card the A side (United) it’s one of my favourite card of the whole set. If you’re new here I should inform you I am very partial to mono decks. This gives them a bump for 0 points! I’ve only taken this plot elite (We Stand) once with Vader4 and it was a little underwhelming in that game. I can see it bringing more value with a different type of build. Your rerolls will be limited so you either want a good number of dice or focus options. I don’t think you build around We Stand. I see it more as a good 1 point filler.
Closing in / Captured
I was initially playing this really wrong and didn’t notice you had to exhaust it before flipping it to place it on my opponent’s character. Thank goodness by game two I spotted my error. I don’t think my opponent would have played Destiny with me ever again. It was disgustingly oppressive! Having to exhaust it means you can’t play it again that round. I’m still concerned this is too much of a negative play experience. If you have plenty of disrupt on your dice you can really lock them out.
Bounty hunter decks have really come a long way since the updated RRG and this certainly furthers them.
Han Solo – Cool and Confident
By starting with Han on his Cool and Confident side brings insane value. The 12 health for 10/13 is nuts! His 2 disrupt side feels very unfamiliar on a hero. Wasn’t FFG putting a cost premium on characters with Piloting? Did they just forget with this guy?
His drawback is you’ll lose your money to your opponent when he dies, as long as it’s not a surprise kill it seems to be ok to play around. It certainly doesn’t offset the value you get from him. It’s interesting nonetheless.
I’ve paired him with Poe3, which was a direct swap out from Sabine2, and he’s quite the upgrade. He’s also been doing the rounds with Padmé2. He might just be what hero vehicle decks needed to position themselves into the meta. However, I do expect him to be hit with a balance at some point.
Sweeper Droid Infiltration / Demolition Droid
I haven’t actually got this to the table, but I want to give it a mention as I predict this could be the sleeper of the set. I’ve watched the L8 Night Gaming crew give this a run out and it did some work! It fits nicely into a deck which is already doing a lot of indirect damage (such as Aphra). I think it will start seeing more play in the coming weeks.
Conclusion
So far I’ve gravitated towards playing the characters straight rather than working towards the flip. My slight concern with this set is the consistency the power actions and abilities bring. After the domination of droids I’d prefer to see that side of the game stripped back, and it become more about dice rolling again. Reusing old dice did mean FFG had to do this to bring their power levels up. From a nostalgic point of view it’s been great getting to play with these old dice again.
By far the best thing about the release of the Transformations set has been the buzz in the community. Long may it continue.
irebeldestiny.com 