Written by Sarah Evans & DarkAngelAz
Star Wars: Destiny may “officially’ have ended, but it is still alive and well. Thanks to the SWD Player Committee, we have our first look at what that will look like. Without farther ado, let’s take a look at the first 9 spoilers from their first set, Faltering Allegiances…
Spoilers from Destiny Jr.
Sarah – He looks like a blast to play! I love the design of the lower points for him Elite with the drawback of taking indirect every time your die is rolled or turned. I’m finding it hard to determine if he will be good or bad. I hope he sits somewhere in the middle, making him the perfect choice for kitchen table play. Who doesn’t enjoy rolling big scary dice! I don’t think he’s playable at 17, unless we get something else in the set to help. I wonder if the design team was concerned about Ewok Ambush. Too many action cheat options with him could be a negative play experience for the opponent. For partners options, Padme seems like a very aggressive way to go. I do think he’ll be better suited in a 3-wide to soak up the mass amount of indirect he’ll be taking.
Az – Absolutely the best card from the first six previewed, in terms of theme and creative design. The first, although there maybe more, character who has a lower points cost because he is Elite. His ability which will trigger whenever his dice are rolled to do indirect damage to his controller is an amazingly well, thought out, drawback for some very powerful dice and entirely in-keeping with how Saw is in the universe. At 17 for a single die, even for 12 health, he feels too expensive. But, at 15 Elite, even with the increased damage that feels playable, especially if paired with a Red character such as Tarfful to gain access to Bubble Shields in a more extended format. If there is anything similar that will be legal in the neo-standard after the Legacies block rotates, Saw could be a real powerhouse. First turns of dealing eight and taking two, seem very possible when combined with any action cheating activation events. Fantastic card.
Sarah – This card looks OK. There are certainly stronger, more inspiring options for around this points cost. I think the cards playability is going to come down to what we get to synergise with the Partisan subtype. As for the die, you’d prefer the 2 indirect or the resource, but you’ll probably take whatever it gives you.
Az – A decent 8 for 8 non-unique who can be used to flesh out a Partisan deck or add in a colour if needed. The triggered ability could prove as much of a hindrance as a help against an efficient mill deck. Not willing to decide this is binder yet until the rest of the cards are known and how much synergy there will be with the subtype.
Sarah – Zero cost mitigation is pretty limited in Hero. If you compare it with the likes of Forsaken, then it looks bad, but that card is way above curve and this is what zero cost removal should look like in my opinion. The spot requirement will limit it’s playability, but that’s fine. No one wants to play against a deck packed with 8 zero cost removal cards by the end of a cycle (looking at you rainbow Villain).
Az – I should start this by saying I like this kind of mitigation, if it is free, it should have a drawback and a limitation. This card has both of those things. Dealing two indirect may or may not be a massive drawback, but having to spot a Scoundrel or Partisan to use it as well as it being a non-character die that is mitigated make it balanced, if weaker than existing mitigation, much of which is likely too strong.
A Renewed Hope Sneak Peak
Sarah – A big Red Hero! What a treat! Jyn has some big sides and she won’t go down easy with 13 health. My initial reaction to the Detect mechanic was concern over it being a negative play experience. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that Jyn needs it, plus her ability to be viable. Bigs have suffered in the history of Destiny by just getting their dice removed. Much like how Vader3 can combat this with his built in dice protection, Jyn is hindering the opponent’s hand as a way of protecting herself. If the opponent removes her dice they are now down to a 3 card hand, limiting their play or reroll options. I’m liking the look of Jyn a lot.
Az – I feel the detect mechanics, introduced in the very first Faltering Allegiances preview, may be a turn off for some and make in person play more difficult and pfaffy. I am aware that I am in the minority with this view as well. The idea of using Spy for something like it is a great idea however. To Jyn herself she has a good die with 50% damage sides , a very good cost to health ratio and in a Detect focused deck a passive ability that could be very limiting for one’s opponent and a useful power action to control the opponent’s hand. It will be interesting to see if this is the start of a new direction of play the design team for the project are looking at as an alternative to mill and if so how it will play out.
Sarah – As this card is limited to a Hero Spy character, I don’t expect it will see a lot of play. The special costing 1 looked harsh to me at first, but you are getting to resolve the die, and therefore also remove it. Sitting across the table from a Force Throw or a Boba1 special was always pretty scary. Leaving this special on the table will give your opponent lots to think about, and may have to be targeted, eating their removal.
Az – The change in wording on this card after it was spoiled hopefully demonstrates one of the key advantages that releasing cards this way can show. If a card needs to be changed for whatever reason, it can be quickly and comparatively easily. The card itself is an okay upgrade in a Spy deck and it has been clarified by those involved with rulings for the project that they will update the rules to allow cards worded like this to resolve any die in play not just in the controllers pool. The card is quite limited in that it can only copy the subtypes of a character in play (Note: a character cannot have the same subtype twice) and for my mind that coupled with the one cost on the special makes this a nice but niche card.
Sarah – We need to see the whole set and how many characters have Detect before determining how viable this card is. I don’t think it’s playable with just 1 character with Detect. It will be a dead card once they die, and you’ll want to increase your chances of detecting a card with a high value. The card being Neutral is interesting. Does that confirm we’ll be seeing Detect on the Villain side at some point?
Az – Another free mitigation card with a drawback and a limitation. I like this consistency of design however it feels unusable outside of a Detect deck and highly susceptible to being unable to hit anything except blanks and special and not even those if the only detected card in an opponent’s hand is zero. I do not currently see this card getting much table time, even if mitigation is very light on the ground. The Intel subtype will most certainly be developed further, probably with search effects and that may well increase its usefulness.
Spoilers from EchoBase
Sarah – I loved the video game Jedi: Fallen Order, so I was super excited to see this set of spoilers. His dice sides are underwhelming (especially the modifier). You’re going to be playing him to get that ability off. Needing an equipment, weapon and ability upgrade on him will be harder to achieve than it is with Transformations Luke. It will also force you to build your deck with cards you wouldn’t usually add if you’re choosing them on pure value. The 11 health worries me. It feels like 12 should be the standard for 15 point Elite these days. Will 11 health give you enough time for the ability set up? Pairing him with someone who can help keep him alive will help. He’s certainly an interesting design, and hopefully a character which will prove to be good after a few reps. Currently I need to be convinced.
Az – The inevitable appearance of the star of the video game Jedi: Fallen Order will be much heralded by those fans of the game and character. I am a little underwhelmed by the character as other characters at the same cost and health appear much stronger such as Rey-BBTF, who, ironically, might be one of his best partners. That said I like the cleverness of design and if this is to be the power level then it is a good thing to not jump straight to cards which are always better than what existed previously. The restriction of not being able to play non-Blue upgrades on him pushes him to an upgrade based mono Blue deck and encouraging that archetype would be a welcome addition to the game.
Sarah – Now here’s the real star of the Jedi: Fallen Order video game! The Inferno Squad ID10 Seeker Droid saw a good amount of play in my household, and I think this fella will to. The special is the side you’ll want to find. Healing 2 feels above the curve for a 1 cost. With many of the special chaining options rotating out, you won’t be finding his best side as consistently as you would have if he’d been released in the current block. The Power Action could be very strong. Remember the special is only for the attached character, reducing how often you could get that double heal for 4 dream off. If you’re playing BD-1 with Cal then you’ll need to be careful not to move him away before resolving your increased dice.
Az – Cal Kestis’ faithful droid companion, but certainly not one limited to solely being part of a Kestis deck. For one cost and with three shield or healing sides and the capability to move to whichever Jedi is being targeted could prove very strong indeed. I see this being an auto include in any Blue Hero deck that is even slightly defensive.
Sarah – This is a great design space. Like Talzin, you’ll need to build your deck around his ability. Unlike Talzin, you do get severely punished if you miss. You may not want to pilot a high value vehicle, just incase you miss and your opponent gets to remove the die. Certainly a deck for those high risk, high reward, thrill seekers!
Az – I like this character if only for the subtitle. The after activation ability will encourage two different types of deck construction to be used to maximum advantage. The first is loading the deck with 20 plus cards all of the same cost, thus maximising the damage potential with Piloting, as well the ability to roll and turn in one action will constantly keep ones opponent scrambling for mitigation. I would expect this to be 1s, as he can pilot Merchant Freighter. Playing him Elite with a Jawa Junk Dealer, would still leave 14 squad points to play with. The other way to maximise the ability, is via deck manipulation, so when you activate you know what is on top of the deck with cards such as Gathering Intelligence or Investigate if partnered with Blue, although this will currently be limited to older formats due to rotation. But, I do think there will be a lot more of that played in the future. All in all a good and interesting direction to go in for the designers.
Thank you for joining us for our first look into Faltering Allegiances. We will be back with Issue 2 soon, for another looking at even more spoilers from Faltering Allegiances.
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