With the multi-heat Mandalore Open on the horizon (Nov 16/17, details dropping soon), ARH is excited to share some Holocron updates designed to keep the meta as dynamic as possible. The changes below are intended to take effect immediately for the ARH Standard format and will soon be reflected in the ARH database and rules documents linked above.
Echoes of Destiny List
The release of Awaiting Fate included a relatively significant overhaul of the Echoes of Destiny list – dropping many FFG cards, adding others, and adding ARH cards for the very first time.
Rearm was likely the most impactful addition to the list and we have enjoyed seeing folks playing with an old favorite. That said, we’ve concluded that the “play a discounted upgrade from your discard pile” serves as above-and-beyond rocket fuel for a red hero faction that already has similar tools in place. Rearm will be removed from the Echoes list.
Character Point Increases
Two characters see a points increase in the updated Holocron.
Senate Guard +1/+1 (7/8)
Leia Organa (SA) +1/+1 (13/15)
With its ability to “splash red” in any deck and multiple relevant abilities, the humble Senate Guard became an immediate star of the Awaiting Fate set. While we absolutely want to continue supporting multiple deck archetypes (big/little, “unlikely heroes,” three-wide) enabled by the Guard, our hope is that boosting its cost by a point will force deck-builders to make more creative tradeoffs.
Leia Organa – The Princess receives the same +1/+1 points increase for very different reasons. One of our most powerful “charm users,” Leia has proven herself as a classic two-way threat: chewing up her opponent’s deck in a mill pairing or quickly building a big board by playing high-cost cards from her own deck for free. Recent leaderboards prove the point, with the “AnnihiLeiator” deck (Leia and Aphra) winning the Awaiting Fate release party and a Leia/Daughter mill team ultimately taking Team Toronto to the promised land in the Destiny World Cup.
In full transparency, the team considered nearly a dozen different options to address Leia’s power – ranging from an outright ban to free up design space for a new set already in playtesting (!) to errata changes that directly address her ability. Ultimately we believe this point increase – paired with the removal of Rearm from her toolkit – is likely to tune down Leia’s utility without undermining her unique design.
Character Point Reductions
Fenn Rau -1/-1 (9/12)
Ponda Baba -1/-1 (10/13)
Black Krrsantan -1/-1 (21/28)
Cassian Andor 0/-1 (12/14)
Enfys Nest 0/-1 (16/19)
Periodically, ARH uses balance changes to prompt deck-builders to give a “second look” at characters who may have gone unnoticed. This time, we’re spotlighting 5 characters with point reductions – including a red hero with a unique battlefield ability and very relevant subtypes, a pair of yellow villain bounty hunters, and some yellow hero scoundrels in search of new partners.
As always, the ARH team will continue monitoring the effects of these changes and consider others that might keep the meta fresh. For example, we’re certainly taking note of some purple-hued Mace Windu love and a thirst for yellow villain multi-die removal, so don’t be surprised if we’re back with some other adjustments before too long.
