Which Display of Power card has offered the most creativity and joy? Who is Obi’s best partner? And how would you configure the Echoes of Destiny list as we approach rotation for Faltering Allegiances?
May is an interesting month for the SW Destiny community. On the one hand, there’s a “calm before the storm” feeling with a number of top players heads-down in playtesting, a meta that (while still very diverse) has begun to surface some consistent themes since the February balance update, and a shiny new Star Wars: Unlimited announcement that has generated its own excitement, angst, speculation, and banter.
At the same time, IRL scenes are picking up steam in Wisconsin/Illinois and New England, we’ve got major competitive events coming up in the next 2 weeks with “Fight the Empire” Prime weekend in St Louis on May 26-28 (DETAILS) and the UK Grand Championships in Birmingham on June 3rd (DETAILS), and the new Resurgence set arrives next month!
To mark the moment, we’re sitting down with a group of players from across the globe to look back at Display of Power and look ahead to Resurgence…
Introducing our Player Roundtable
To warm up, we asked each player for their “origin story” and for some deck-building advice. Thanks so much to each of you for taking the time to share your insights and making this community so great!
Keco’s SW Destiny Origin Story: I started playing Destiny at Outpost, a game story in Ghent where @whoopsteroids works. Unfortunately this was near the end of the game’s FFG life as I only started after SoH was released.
Keco on Deck-Building: Do not overthink combo’s as they rarely work out. The game is too fast to wait for all the stars to align. I had most success with very straightforward cards/dice which all could stand on their own. As for numbers I try to keep to: around 10 upgrades, 10 mitigation cards (4 of them removing multiple dice and at least 2 zero costs), 4 cards making resources and then some supports or damage out of hand.
StevDav’s SW Destiny Origin Story: I started playing in the Spirit of Rebellion days. In person play with limited cards available made for some really great deck building constraints. Seattle had a very strong in person scene in the FFG days and I’ve made some good lasting friends and community through that. But with the pivot to TTS I’ve also been able to play really strong players and meet folks who are friendly from all over the world.
StevDav On Deck-Building: I tend to start with a few card interactions that I want to make work out really well. Then I look for character pairings that will maximize point value and synergize well. Next add either supports or upgrades depending on what the deck is going to do. And leave room for the mitigation suite of cards which are typically events and are now constrained to the character colors that you are working with. Usually I will sort the events by cost in the deck builder tool and try to mostly include lower cost events so they are easy to play when you need them.
Bastmaster‘s SW Destiny Origin Story: I first came into contact with the game in 2017 via some videos of the Yogscast playing it. I bought my first booster box and the Two Player Set in September the same year, so I have been playing casually for almost 6 years and started playing semi-competitively in 2018.
Bastmaster on Deck-Building: I’ve always enjoyed going through my collection and trying to cobble decks together with the limited pool I’ve had. I am by no means a great creative deck tinkerer like some players. I tend to stick to certain archetypes, but I recommend everybody just look at what is not being played much and see if they can make something fun with it. For me that is what lies at the heart of a CCG: trying to build fun and creative decks.
Nute’s SW Destiny Origin Story: I started playing Destiny with Awakenings, just before Spirit of Rebellion released.
Nute On Deck-Building: Choose an archetype that you enjoy playing, then build from there and don’t be scared to take risks, meaning it’s ok to sacrifice a little consistency or synergy for a spicy combo. You can build fun and spicy and still float within the realm of competitive…at least in the current meta.
Beaconfire’s SW Destiny Origin Story: I started playing right before Spirit of the Rebellion came out. I had gotten a box of the fabled Awakenings from an online store in Canada, and then bought some singles to play Kylo/Dooku in my first LGS event for SoR release.
Beaconfire On Deck-Building: I generally don’t like paying 1 resource and 1 card for 1 removal so try hard to avoid these cards. Instead, I aim for removal that costs 0 resource and 1 card for 1 removal, or 2 resource and 1 card, for 2+ removal. Generally I want some kind of advantage in that 1+1 for 1.
Ekiler’s SW Destiny Origin Story: I’ve been interested since the game was announced by FFG and started playing when it first launched.
Ekiler On Deck-Building: There’s an article about deck creation that I can’t remember from where it was, but use the following guidelines: 8-12 dice cards, 8-12 defensive cards (general dice removal or heal), 8-12 offensive cards (can be direct damage, but also resource generator to play the dice cards early). Until today, I try to stick with something near these numbers, and I never regret it.
Gameslayer’s SW Destiny Origin Story: I’ve never had a local scene that plays Destiny so my playgroup has always been the online community. I have been playing since September 2016, just before the pre-release.
Gameslayer On Deck-Building: Start with a dream, and build around it. A dream can be anything… Go for a turn 1 tank. Play those Blizzards. Give Luke 6 upgrades and roll specials for days. Give Talzin an Emperor. Reroll all of the dice with Finn & Ezra. Tydirium is built of dreams. Find something that you think will have a big pay off, then optimise the highs, and then afterwards start fixing your lows and making it consistent.
Turning the Page: DoP to Resurgence
Which non-Tydirium DoP card have you had the most fun experimenting with?
Keco: Who else? Luke: One With The Force.
StevDav: I like Maul: From the Shadows for two reasons: getting the blue/yellow options and the head games with your opponent around hand size during each round to trigger his power action.
Nute: While I love the multicolored characters, Chain of Command is probably my favorite. I like the redeployment of character dice and the leader subtype can be of some use too…haha.
Beacon: So much you can do with Maul: From the Shadows. Dual color, awesome PA, and cool passive. Play with blue, you get to spot blues; play with red, you can put emperor on him. You can also play with Qi’ra for cool synergy too, but I do hate losing out on his dual color hotness.
Ekiler: I really like Aayla Secura: General has a range of possibilities that give me many ideas for decks.
Bastmaster: So far the most fun I had was playing around with The Path, as it allows building some interesting strategies around protecting and healing.
Gameslayer: It never works, but the potential of moving dice around is really fun so I’ll say Chain of Command. My DoP release party deck was 2x eINSL and Rook, with the idea of using Chain of Command and Light-Repeating Blaster combined with Endless Ranks to bring back the INSLs, and then Chain of Command could stack at maximum 4 dice on them.
Which non-Vibrosword card from FA will change the meta the most when it rotates?
Keco: Don’t see a whole lot of those cards anymore. Kyuzo Petar goes in every villain yellow so I guess that one? As a Luke player, I also liked Apt Lesson, BD-1 and Force Affinity.
SteveDav: Well… Cassian Andor is already banned 🙂 Looking through the FA list I will be happy to see Jyn Erson go and a bit saddened to loose the Kyuzo Petar as a solid yellow weapon
Nute: I don’t think any will “change the meta” outside Vibrosword. FA is not the strongest imo, though some cards that had some spotlight time were Force Affinity and Unending Hate.
Beacon: The +4 side of Sith Warblade is so cool with SoH Maul……I kid. Seriously: I don’t think there is a major meta loss here, but Force Affinity, Kyuzo Petar, and Change of Plans will be 3 that I will miss. Not in all decks, and not meta defining, but great cards.
Ekiler: I will be honest, FA was the weakest collection so far, so I don’t think the meta will be affected beyond Vibrosword.
Bastmaster: Not sure any single card will affect full meta, but Extremist Campaign and Force Affinity leaving will have a big impact on deckbuilding inside their colour/archetype. Extremist Campaign is a favorite for building mono-yellow since the cards it adds still synergise well with most yellow decks, help against mill and allow for some nifty character combinations. Force Affinity has been a staple in Blue Hero decks since its release due to the refund so unless Resurgence introduces some other kind of easy way for Blue Hero to go through their deck faster, its absence will be felt.
Gameslayer: I’d say Force Affinity is basically an auto-include in hero blue. It’s not their source of strength, but it’ll definitely hurt them to lose it.
If it was up to you, which 3 FFG cards would you add to the Echoes of Destiny list as we enter the Resurgence era?
Keco: Since I’m committed to Blue Hero, I’d add R2-D2: Faithful Companion in order to play my favorite movie “couple.” Niman Mastery probably won’t happen since it’s so strong for its cost, but I bought 2 for €100 at the start of the pandemic and I’ll take every chance to pull ’em out again. And Bitter Rivalry would open up a whole lot more choices and I think the drawback is very fair to get a -1.
StevDav: I’d add Jar Jar Binks because he is inexpensive yellow and has an interesting reroll mitigation mechanic, Palpatine: Unlimited Power because the ARH Palpatine isn’t getting any play, and Rout because it’s mitigation with a high ceiling and an interesting restriction that doesn’t help much early in a round.
Nute: I think all form abilities should stay on the EoD list, but the three specific cards I would choose are Allies of Necessity (plot), Qi’ra: Street Savvy, and Vow of Vengence. All lend themselves to unique ways to build decks which is my favorite part of this game.
Beacon: I know everyone thinks it is a joke, but I would love to see Vader’s Fist. I would actually like to see if it is top tier anymore, as the power level has increased. Palpatine: Unlimited Power was always a very fun deck, and would love Deathfield back, for some Bane love.
Ekiler: I miss Lando: Smooth & Sophisticated, Wat Tambor, and Satine Kryze.
Bastmaster: Phew, that is a big ask since there are so many to choose from. Maz Kanata: Canny Negotiator‘s PA was so much fun to play around with and cards like Dejarik would actually allow you to build a gambler/game themed deck. We have also had such a focus on weapons with Blue Hero, that maybe we should bring back a nice old ability like One With The Force or There Is No Try was always fun to play around with. And some might groan about Separatist Embargo, but I like its ability to disable one-trick pony decks that rely on drawing one or two very specific cards… looking at you Jar’Kai.
Gameslayer: No one will remember Salvaged Parts but it sets aside 2 non-events from a discard pile and then gains a resource if you are a scavenger. I’m not sure how healthy this would be for the game, but it might be interesting to support scavengers and add a bit of Luke’s Offer hate into the mix. The original Admiral Ackbar: Perceptive Tactician always holds a special place in my heart as the first character I fell in love with. His ability turning mill into kill, or taxing the opponent’s discard adds an interesting dimension to decks. I still love Pulse Cannon and think decks are relatively healthy enough to allow for it to exist now. Plus, with Vibrosword leaving us Yellow villain could do with a big upgrade.
Which DoP character did you expect to see more play than it has?
Keco: No surprise, but Luke. Such a well known character but I guess his ability is too much hit or miss.
StevDav: I thought Han Solo: Charming Smuggler would have found some synergy somewhere.
Nute: While I have seen Gar Saxon plenty, he read like he would be top tier. To be fair, the mix of characters used right now validates how balanced the game is currently, which I love.
Beacon: I expected Darth Vader: Driven by Revenge to hit harder. Seems like, he might actually be a little overcosted, as his partners can’t carry the game most of the time after he is gone.
Ekiler: I thought Vizago Cikatro appeared to be promising but i never saw anyone using it.
Bastmaster: Probably Gar Saxon, as he seemed pretty decent when first revealed. But in the current meta giving your costed events a ping has not worked out yet it seems.
Gameslayer: I’ve played Han Solo: Charming Smuggler a decent amount and he’s genuinely good. That effect is strong and the resource sides are great for his cost, but I’ve never seen anyone else play him. Currently there are only 2 decks on the DB containing him but this is one of the most popular characters in Star Wars!
Who is Obi’s best partner(s)?
Keco: I’d say Aayla Secura: General as she has access to Heroic Protector. A well timed one can destroy a character in one go.
StevDav: Aayla Secura: General
Nute: Ummmmm, anyone that fits with him? I personally like Aayla Secura: General with him because of Heroic Protector and many other reasons…
Beacon: Currently, probably Owen Lars and Beru Lars. I also love Old Man Luke: Reluctant Instructor, which I started but LiquidSnake is making it his with his great recent performances.
Ekiler: Probably Aayla Secura: General
Bastmaster: Anakin obviously! But since we don’t have a fitting one in standard right now, I’d say probably Leia: The Princess.
Gameslayer: Whilst I’m partial to Kallus as an aggro deck, it’s probably Old Man Luke: Reluctant Instructor. Yeah you don’t have the Heroic Protector from red, but abilities feel strong right now and there’s big upside in rolling one out twice with Luke’s ability. Plus, both characters are effectively immune to damage removal, since neither one shows damage outright. I learned that the hard way once with a Let’s Make a Deal stuck in my hand.
Imagine you’re playing at a major tournament next week. Which deck archetype will you bring? (i.e. mono yellow villain, blue hero mill, jar’kai, etc)
Keco: Probably yellow/blue hero with both characters being able to dish out the melee hurt. My last Armorer team-up with Luke was straight up aggro with lots of specials to make use of. No Jar’Kai but evenly distributing weapons and yellow has the best redeploys methinks.
StevDav: I usually don’t go for the meta deck but instead find things that can counter it or are fun to play. The fun to play decks for me are usually ones with lots of triggers and actions or decks that have control. Thrawn: Master Strategist and Tarkin: Uncompromising Tactician would likely be at the top of what I’d look at.
Nute: Most likely 2x character aggro as I like winning/losing fast. Most likely blue villain.
Beacon: Lars family ramp, baby! Specifically Obi-Wan Kenobi: Jedi Guardian, Owen Lars, and Beru Lars. Too much value all around and great cards you can play.
Ekiler: Today i would go with big Darth Vader: Driven by Revenge, so it should be monoblue aggro.
Bastmaster: I don’t play much competitively these days but if I had to choose, I would probably bring either No Allegiance Yellow (Boba Fett: Daimyo of Tatooine and Embo: Stoic Kyuzo) or Hero Rainbow Reroll Mayhem. The first because it is a ton of fun to play and the latter because it probably would do better and be fun, at least for me.
Gameslayer: If I am evil? Probably my Yoda: Patient Jedi Master and Ezra Bridger: Freedom Fighter deck. Its goal is to get into a position where your opponent can’t stop a Jedi Trials and then go off with Ezra, but Yoda is not a nice character to bring to a tournament.
If I wasn’t willing to become a social pariah, probably a villain big red yellow deck. I like Soontir Fel a lot, and have experimented with him, Qi’ra and Armoured Reinforcement to guarantee a turn 1 tank. The most fun deck I’ve played in this set has been my Cad Bane & Nute Gunray deck, which aims to hyper ramp with Extra Firepower to play Emperors and Grand Moffs, and then use Xanadu Blood to move my big upgrades between my characters. A shared Emperorship is very scary.
