High Stakes Spoilers, Issue #1: This is the Way

Written by DarkAngelAz

Introduction

First of all I want to apologize for a lack of Star Wars: Destiny articles of late. Unfortunately real life events have taken their toll on the time we have had to do these pieces, but hopefully now things are getting back to a more normal situation, that will change. I certainly hope so. 

At I rebel we have been lucky enough to be given three spoilers for the new set from A Renewed Hope – High Stakes. It has long been known that the set will introduce characters from The Mandalorian and here they are. The set is due for full release on June 11, with a release party on June 12. 

Without further ado lets get into the new stuff. The Mandalorian is not to everyone’s tastes, but it has certainly revitalized and reinvigorated the franchise in terms of live-action releases after the mixed reception that The Rise of Skywalker received. For this writer, I feel the story of Din and The Child really is the way forward and will open up the post Return of the Jedi Universe to a wealth of storytelling. Because lets be honest we need to know where the First Order came from.

The Spoilers

Well, this is a first for Star Wars: Destiny. A Double Elite character who can start the game with three dice. This was a concept that has been seen in the leaked Wild Horizons set that has circulated. To all intents and purposes, characters with three dice in this form are elite and any effects that reference elite will apply to them. With such a wide range of available points from 14/18/22, the list of pairings for the Star Wars “Father of the Year” finalist is considerable and you have to assume there will be some thematic pairings available in the set as well. 

Looking at his dice, they are impressive indeed with three damage sides, and this will synergize well with after activate ability. At double elite he has massive damage potential, even before he has upgrades attached. Other people can do the hypergeometric maths on how likely he is to get a resource back after activation, but with a 50% chance on each of three dice, it is very high. 

His power action offers excellent tempo, meaning his first activation is most likely four dice every game, as I can’t see people playing him at two dice or single die much. The major weakness he has at three dice is going to be a low health pool (especially now Lumpy was balanced) and once he is defeated, like all big little pairings, it would be hard for the little to finish the job. His Power Action isn’t limited to Yellow upgrades though, so there is the potential for a collection of redeploy upgrades to be equipped to him. 

Up next we have Din’s ship. The Razor Crest. It is a 2 cost vehicle support, which has the ability to resist being discarded by opponent’s card effects. I am not sure how much this will be used, but it is thematic and a nice idea. With two 2 ranged damage sides and a 2 focus, this should see some play in Hero decks, possibly even those that are not support focused. Interestingly the support won’t be discarded if another damage is moved onto it after it has one damage, except via the ability on the Razor Crest. So there may be some clever builds moving damage around on supports that this could take advantage of, maybe. 

This upgrade is seriously good. The enter play ability means it has the potential to do lots of damage to three wide decks, but a one shot of an even 2. Lots of 2 damage is good from a 2 cost equipment, with three damage sides. It fits well with Din and other Mandalorians. Like the Razor Crest, this card feels well placed at 2 resources, but almost certainly would not see play at 3. 

Conclusion

Overall these three cards feel like The Mandalorian has really come to Star Wars: Destiny. We can all wait with eager anticipation to see what the rest of the set brings and how much of the space western feel the designers have managed to capture in the cards related to The Mandalorian. 

Here at I Rebel we will continue to offer our observations on all new spoilers as they are revealed over the coming month.

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