As Justin wrote in one of our first articles, the SWU starters feature a solid lineup of competitive cards. The Hero side of the starter has Luke Skywalker as its leader and the Administrator’s Tower as its base. It turns out this combo was a powerful one, and Luke and his Cunning Cloud City (CCC) friends are a Force be reckoned with!

We’ll try and keep this deck updated as it evolves on our SWUDB account.

This deck doesn’t feature a singular power card that drives it, but instead relies on a solid cast of efficient units, augmented with Luke’s shields, to achieve maximum midrange value. It’s complemented by a suite of great control events like Asteroid Sanctuary and Shoot First.

Play Style

The deck has a very even spread of unit costs, so you shouldn’t have to mulligan often. Only if you don’t draw any 2-cost units should it really be necessary. Leia is a conundrum in your opening hand. While she only costs 2, the exhaust effect gets more valuable the later you wait to use her. Given the choice between playing her round 1 and playing nothing, you might opt for holding her and passing.

Key to playing this deck well is using Luke’s shield ability. Unless you’re facing Vader and his damage ping, smart players will typically play under the current curve (i.e. play a 2-cost unit with 3 resources) and then supplement with a shield. A shielded 2-cost unit will give you a lot more opportunities to outplay your opponent, so don’t feel pressured to play on curve. Ideally, you’ll come out of the first few rounds with Ezra or a couple droids giving you card advantage in the mid-game.

Round 6 is where this deck will often succeed or fail- and dropping Luke at the right time is key. Ideally, the play to is protect him behind an Obi-Wan to prevent opponents from attacking him immediately. Backup options include having General Dodonna in play or having a Binds in hand to prevent shenanigans. Bottom line is that Luke needs to attack and produce a shield to control the board going forward. This is the round where that Leia you stashed Round 1 could come in handy and exhaust a threatening unit. Once Luke is up and running, the game should swing in your favor.

What cards are we looking to add?

• Cards that leverage the Force trait – The designers have teased repeatedly that the Force trait is the most powerful one in the set. Currently, we only have Binds and Obi-Wan to take advantage of it. I’d welcome a new event or upgrade that leveraged our five Force-users.
• Shield augmentation – Luke provides the shields, but we don’t have any units or events that key off of having said shields. Ideally, we get a card that lets us synergize off being shielded.
• A closer – Currently, this deck tops out at Obi-Wan in terms of cost and power- but he’s a defensive card. What we could use is a beefy 6-7 cost unit that could put the game away if Luke doesn’t make it.

What cards are on the chopping block?

• 2nd Waylay and 3rd Binds – Both these events provide real value, but the quantities are negotiable.
• Wing Leader – He’s perfectly on curve, the only concern are the corner cases where he doesn’t have a valid Rebel target. Open to replacement with a better stand-alone unit.

Additional Flavor you could slot in

Everyone has a bit spice they add to their builds. Here are a few options you might consider swapping into the list above.

• Vanquish – One of the last cards we took out of the current build. If un-Takedown-able, high-health units are a problem, this could fix them.
• Milennium Falcon – I doubt we’ll see the Falcon much outside of Han decks, but if you feel like you have a spare resource often enough, her maintenance cost might not bother you.
• Chewbacca – If you’re looking for another way to keep Luke alive, Chewie’s sentinel ability could fit the bill.

That’s all for today! Have you gotten any games in with CCC Luke? What’s your favorite deck to play so far? Check out some gameplay below from last week and keep an eye on our YouTube in the coming weeks if you want to more Luke in action!