Today’s article is a little fluffier than usual- after yesterday’s articles, our major overhaul of our Tier List and a deep dive into the first two months of stats, I want to talk a little bit about what can get a little lost in the sauce sometimes.

Namely, the deck I’ve been playing that’s the most fun.

Don’t get me wrong- the meta is in such a good spot that I’ve been having a blast playing all sorts of decks, even ones that are outside of my wheelhouse. And even my Johnny behind has caught the bug of competitive aims. My increased success in tournaments over the last few years amongst various games has given me a new bar for personal success at events. But sometimes, I just like to sit down and play something that I really like, even if I’m not sure it’d be good at a tournament.

And lately, what I really like is this:

Krennic Red Midrange

Decklist Link

I’ve been high on Krennic Red for a while. In fact, to my memory it was the first deck writeup I ever did for the Rollers! But it hasn’t seen a lot of play, including by me.

Lately, I’ve been making a point of breaking it out more in casual games and on Karabast. What I’ve found is that not only does it have a surprising win rate against the field, it’s also just a blast to play. It’s exactly my brand of a good time- just a bunch of good cards in a pile that work really well together.

Here’s just a few of the things I love about this thing and why it stays forever sleeved up in my case, ready to go (in sweet Jet Dragon Shield mattes…)

• I love that Fifth Brother with an extra power from Krennic’s buff can be an absolute terrorist if not respected.
• I love that Veers has real play here, giving everybody extra wiggle room and demanding to be removed. This is one of my absolute favorite Imperial tribal decks, and it really sells that fantasy.
• I love that the top end of this deck, Ruthless Raider into Count Dooku into Emperor Palpatine, functions so well to close games out.
• I love that Death Trooper doesn’t need Director Krennic to be awesome, but they’re a match made in heaven anyway.
• I love Power of the Dark Side. That’s…that’s all.
• I love that time with the deck and actually jamming games has shown me that a card that seems perfect, like Scout Bike Pursuer, actually has pretty rough matchups into other decks’ R1 plays, and that slot is much better occupied by a staple like Viper Probe Droid.

So much of the deck just works well with itself, and it’s got good answers to a lot of the biggest threats in the field. Its ceiling is a little less high than a lot of the known best decks, and I think that’s why it hasn’t taken off. I know I don’t trust the Control matchup in particular enough to feel 100% comfortable taking it to a tournament. But man, I want to, because it’s just that much fun! If you’ve never given it a shot, I can’t recommend it enough.

Endless Possibilities

I love that SWU is the kind of game where smart deck construction and good piloting can get almost anything you want to a level where you can have a good time playing games with it. Leave a comment and a link to your favorite under the radar deck from Set 1! We’d love to hear what you’re having fun with.

May the force be with you!