Welcome to the first episode of SWU OVER/UNDER, where the GarbageRollers crew tackles various topics related to the game and decides whether they’re OVERRATED, UNDERRATED, or PROPERLY RATED. This format lets us tackle almost anything, and today’s subjects are pretty broad, ranging from individual cards to archetypes to the game’s publisher itself.

As with any internet opinion, we encourage you to take these…takes (??) with a grain of salt. Let us know in the comments how off-base you think we are, but keep it professional. You know we at the GarbageRollers always do.

First up in our inaugural episode, everyone’s favorite buckethead is gonna get knocked down a peg…or will he?

BOBA FETT (Collecting the Bounty – SOR#15)

Justin – Resource advantage is always a strong effect, and Boba has that on both sides of his card. It’s hard not to also compare his body to Jyn who costs a whole extra resource to deploy! He’s Villain and Cunning, so he can play all the sweet cards like No Good to Me Dead, Bossk, Boba Fett, and Fett’s Firespray which specifically gets amazing with only him (until we get a Jango)! Heck, you can even splash green to play Overwhelming Barrage. It’s no secret everyone has a lot of love for Boba, as he was the most played leader by a long shot at the Inaugural TTS Tournament. I have to say he’s currently PROPERLY RATED.

Tyler – If you’re looking for a leader with the best combo of stats, ability and colors, (which we obviously are!) Boba is your man. Everyone seems pretty high on what he offers, and I don’t see any reason what that assessment is off- therefore Boba is PROPERLY RATED. What could change that perception? Well, the recent TTS tournament featured a Vader/Ramp deck that outclassed it. Maybe it turns out that bigger leaders with bigger payouts are just better?

Jayson – I obviously love to think about how the boogeyman might be bested, and it’s tempting to pour cool water on a card that everyone has been enthusiastic about, but at the end of the day, I think Boba Fett is PROPERLY RATED. It really comes back to that incredible unit side that both increases the potency of the resource refreshing and gives you a free 4/7 on turn 5. It’s exactly the kind of tempo boost that midrange decks dream of in more games than just this one. Do I think he’s busted? I do not. We’ve already seen in our first tournament that even when Boba’s like half the field he can lose. I think Boba’s an incredibly cool card that players of all skill levels will have a blast with, and while I don’t expect him to be oppressive, I think the community is right to be high on him.

THE SPACE LANE

Justin – I’ll just say it up front, I think a lot of people are treating the space lane as UNDERRATED. I often see decks on SWUDB that have 8 or less space units, and some that have 0! There are too many good, cheap space units that can just run away with the game if left unchecked. I’m not here to say an all space deck can realistically work yet (though devs hinted in the Q&A that it should someday), but I firmly believe you have to respect it still.

Tyler – The designers have been very clear that their view the Ground lane as the “primary.” It’s where the most pushed units are, it’s where leaders deploy, and that means Ground is where the game is often decided. My impression is that the community views the two lanes as roughly equal right now which would make the space lane OVERRATED. I’m very reticent to load out a lane with cheap ships just to watch it get cleared by a single Overwhelming Barrage.

Jayson – All I want to do all the time is fly X-Wings, so it breaks my heart to tell you that for the moment the space lane is OVERRATED. I do think all-space decks are going to fun, but in competitive constructed, I see space settling into an auxiliary role. I don’t think the massive space units are going to dominate, I don’t think vehicle rush is going to be very consistent, and I definitely don’t think any deck is going to be able to reliably ignore the ground lane, which is at this point obviously being designed as the “primary” field of battle. Space is fun. But it’s going to be crucial to learn how to effectively use it in a game that doesn’t seem to design it equitably.

RESOURCE RAMP

Justin – This one is tough, because its hard to gauge truly where people are rating resource ramp. It almost exclusively lives in Villain green, which is by far the most popular archetype in the way too early meta, but how much of that is because of ramp vs. the trophy wife Overwhelming Barrage? As Jayson mentions below, I think Resource Ramp is even stronger in Star Wars Unlimited than other TCGs due to the leader deployment system, so for now I’ll stand by PROPERLY RATED until people stop running it.

Tyler – The victory of the Vader/Ramp deck against a field of decks prepared to beat it has me thinking ramp might be UNDERRATED. I took a look today at some similar games like MTG and Legends of Runeterra, and they tend to have costs for ramping about equivalent to SWU. Bringing out a loaded leader rounds early has compounding value we may not have even scratched the surface of yet.

Jayson – I’ve been skeptical about resource ramp and big units since day one. A lot of the other games that I’ve played that share DNA with SWU have super diminishing returns on this kind of thing, and small efficient plays rule the day. The wrinkle here lies in the Leader system. Ramp in SWU doesn’t just give you resource advantage- gives you faster access to a free unit that is guaranteed to make a huge impact on the battlefield. Is this adrenaline shot enough to make ramp a huge deal in the meta? I’m not ready to predict that yet. Let’s say the community hype and inherent vulnerabilities wash each other out…for now. PROPERLY RATED.

PRINT & PLAY/TTS GAMES

Justin – I’m not sure Jayson could have picked a more UNDERRATED idea. As I mentioned in the Thanksgiving article last week, playing print and play proxies weekly right now has been one of my favorite TCG experiences of all time! With the steady trickle of cards from FFG, we have had an exciting, dynamic meta to explore, while also drilling into the foundations of Star Wars Unlimited. There is a lot of knowledge to be gained from just playing the game more, so why not have some fun and get better at SWU before we sit down in March at the LGS and duel it out!

Tyler – I’m gonna date myself, but I designed my own Deep Space Nine expansion for the Star Trek Customizable Card Game on a Windows 3.1 computer in 1995. You don’t have to convince me that printing and playing is a helluva fun time. UNDERRATED

Jayson – You know, the waiting really is the hardest part. Obviously the GarbageRollers crew is gonna be biased on this one, but I really do think jamming games right now is some of the most fun I’ll probably ever have with SWU. Don’t listen to the crowd that says games don’t mean anything now. Not only is having fun the entire reason we play, but competitively, SWU is a game that really rewards reps within the system. There’s a lot of piloting knowledge to go get right now that will serve you well when the game launches, despite the set only being half-spoiled. I think the time to jump in is now! UNDERRATED.

FFG

Justin – It’s no secret how I feel about this, as I’ve been pretty vocal about this in the discord, but anybody that has played previous FFG games has definitely built up a bad taste in their mouth leading to this moment. From games being killed off early, to FFG losing the algorithm to print Keyforge, to poor/non-existant communication, and empty promises of Organized Play, we’ve all seen the bad with FFG in the various games. Forunately, this time around has been a complete 180. They hired a Community Engagement Specalist (Xander Tabler) who’s role is to engage the community! From the steady trickle of spoilers, to getting Content Creators and other outlets involved with the game, the communication has been stellar thus far. We even got extensive streams covering all the Booster Packs, products at launch/Casual OP, Competitive Organized Play, and other regular streams just discussing the game! FFG’s past is forcing people to criminally UNDERRATE FFG, and while I can’t blame them, I look forward to seeing everyone come around on the new FFG!

Tyler – I’m still waiting for that final promised Destiny OP play kit…but yeah, there seems to have been a huge turnaround at FFG. The level of communication, engagement and planning are all lightyears ahead of where they were just three years ago. UNDERRATED.

Jayson – I think we’ve seen enough here. Yes, the other shoe could drop with distribution and SWU could be yet another CCG that’s impossible to find during the first set. But I don’t see it. And in every other respect- communication, design, accessibility- FFG seems like it’s grown a lot from the days where it routinely let us down with its competitive offerings. People are sleeping on the return to form happening before our eyes, and it’s UNDERRATED how much growth FFG has already shown us. I think we’re in safe hands.

That’s all folks! We’ll see you next time for another riveting episode of OVER/UNDER!