Happy Monday! Thanks to another official FFG stream and some more Content Creator reveals, it was a fairly big week of reveals!

FFG posted the second spoiler for this month’s social media poll (Double aspect cards) on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram

Justin – Reach is always something we’re excited to see, but this one is a bit awkward. Hero Command definitely seems like it will have some legs for going wide to take full advantage of all 3 buffs here, but it will be difficult at times to sequence this in a way where your buffed guy doesn’t get blown off the board. Interested to see what the 3rd double Command card will be, as I don’t see double Command currently being viable set 1 (minus a few strong card reveals of course).

Tyler – This strikes me as 100% win-more. How often are you going to have three units alive at the same time and not already have the game in your hands? Making this effective is going to require some serious multi-deploy action in Green- think Home One’s ability x3. Until then, leaving this one in the metaphorical binder.

Jayson – I think the math is plenty good. I would much, much rather spread stats across multiple units than I would buff up just one dude. I’m not sure it’s just win-more, personally. It seems more complex than that, as Command is gonna have plenty of cheap efficient dudes to get on the board, and I imagine maintaining 3 units is going to be possible against all but the most fastidious control decks. I could be wrong about that, and if I am, then of course this is a tough include. But I think this is sneakily a very good card hiding in an aspect (double green) that just may take a while to get going.

The next 2 cards were revealed by The Nerds Strike Back on YouTube!

Justin – I was starting to wonder if we would ever see any more true “burn” effects aside from the Fighters for Freedom! While a 4 cost 4/4 body is a bit awkward to fit in a lean aggro deck like Sabine, 3 damage to base guaranteed or slapping it for 4 every round is too good of value to pass up! I’m interested to see how often K2 ends up in other decks and the discard gets used. Since the opponent chooses, it’s a much weaker effect unless they are very low in hand size.

Tyler – The option on his effect has interesting potential. He could be a burn compliment to aggro decks, or we could combine him with cunning tricks like Spark of Rebellion to limit the opponent’s hand. We’ve now got four cards (Cunning, Bodi, Spark and This) that do the latter- maybe there’s a hand control deck to be built? While I honestly hope not, since that kind of deck is pretty oppressive, it’s one I’ll look to build.

Jayson – Seems like an auto-include to me in aggressive Heroism decks, which for the moment is all of them in these colors. As a rule, I’m really high on effects attached to bodies, as has been well documented on this site. 3 burn damage is a solid effect, and it’s kind of nuts to me that it’s stuck on a 4/4/4 Overwhelm. I’m really curious to see how the inevitable Cassian leader fits in with this, as I very much doubt FFG wouldn’t fit them together like a glove. And for what it’s worth- that discard option is way worse than the rest of him and I wouldn’t think too hard about it. This is a burn card, 100%. And a good one.

Justin – The theme of Saw’s insurgents lacking the Hero aspect continues! 2/2 for 1 seems to be a common going rate but adding an extra Raid 2 is quite spicy if you can make another red unit stick to the board! I’m enjoying the way the designers made a lot of variety in the cheap units with restricted effects that can be played around!

Tyler – The Rebel and Trooper traits are nice hooks for any unit to have, making him eligible for Medal Ceremony or General Tagge. But the real potential here is with ready effects. While the Grand Inquisitor can’t target Benthic with his leader side, Benthic can buff another unit (say Fifth Brother?) who could then strike multiple times for big damage. Excited about the combo opportunities with 2Toobz!

Jayson – TWO TUBESSSSSSSSSSS.
…great card.

The next 2 cards were previewed by Hunter & Friends here and here!

Justin – A 3/3 for 3 with Restore 1 is fine on paper, but that ability increasing the costs of events can be super powerful when played at the right time. In the middle of a round when an opponent has mapped our their gameplay and started spending resources, pushing the cost of a Shoot First or Suprise Strike out of play can be killer! Excited to see if Del Meeko can find a home in a control deck.

Tyler – SWU makes it hard to keep units on the table. Since any unit can pick out another across the table to attack, somebody like Del Meeko is going to need serious Sentinel support to survive more than a single round and get value out of his ability. The only deck I reckon can summon that level of protection right now is Mono-blue villain (thanks to Lt Childsen), but that deck needs a couple more Blue/Blue cards to make it viable.

Jayson – I do think the floor on this card is pretty darn low, but for the timebeing, he ought to add yet more interesting wrinkles to Villain/Blue. The subtheme of that aspect combo really seems to be about restricting what your opponent can do or reducing the efficiency of their options. I think a critical mass of those effects probably makes all of them better, as your opponent can’t keep everything under control and has to pick and choose what fires to put out. Del’s got enough going for him to be a solid piece of that kind of gameplan. Somebody just needs to tell him how to hold that rifle and he’ll be hell on wheels.

Justin – The Grand Inquisitor continues to see more love with another way to ready his cheap weenies! The combo deck continues to grow closer to being more consistent and viable.

Tyler – This is more fuel for the GI combo I outlined above with 2Toobz. The dream play is this on the GI himself- then he can ready another unit multiple times in the same turn with his leader side. Red/Red GI is closer to being a thing. Maybe with another Inquisitor unit we’ll be in business?

Jayson – Spicy. Solid draft pickup, maybe a little too pricy to see consistent constructed play, but the thing is I could definitely be wrong. There’s a ton of exploration to do with readying effects, especially in a fairly unrestricted fashion like this one. This card is hard to nail down an exact grade on, and I can seriously see it landing literally anywhere between “draft filler” and “3x staple”. We’ll find out!

The next card 6 cards were shown off on the FFG gameplay stream here!

Justin – I am so torn on Redemption. At 8, I’m really hoping for a bomb closer and what we got is a game extender. I’m pretty sad if I draw it early, and even if I’m dropping it at 8 resources, has the time to play extend come and gone? I reaaaaally wish this had been pushed at around 5-6 resources with a lesser effect, and I would have fallen in love! As it stands, I’m not sold I want to run this in many decks.

Tyler – I’m with you, Justin. Seeing this at 8 breaks my heart. At that price point, it directly competes with Home One and loses every time. What I wanted from this card was a 5-6 cost health sink that would enable healing shenanigans like Surgical Droid. What we got was a too-late-to-matter anti-aggro card. Maybe this finds a place in Chewie decks that are going to extra innings, but I’m not holding my breath.

Jayson – Ruthless Raider was a nice change of pace, but we’re now back to our regularly scheduled programming of me not thinking these Capital Ships earn their slots. Redemption is fine. I’m just not super down to pay 8 for fine, you know? Healing is one of those card game tropes that has been a bit historically disenfranchised, so I’m not holding my breath that a huge healing card has legs in SWU. I just like a bit more upside on effects like this.

Justin – Holy burn Batman, now we’re talking! This is the closer Sabine was looking for, and you should be able to deckbuild in a way to consistently see 3-4 damage here. Even crazier when you realize if you have Fighters for Freedom on the board, this can deal 5 damage in one action! Every day, we inch closer to a deckbuild where Sabine doesn’t even want to go past 4 resources! I expect this to be an aggro staple for heroes.

Tyler – I like that this pushes decks to specialize their build, but not in an oppressive way. It’s effects like this that will push players to reach deeper into their collections for a card that fits the criteria. As a hero aggro closer, this and K2 make a powerful team. The world in which 25-health bases are not a safe play is upon us!

Jayson – A good shot at being the best card we’ve seen in the game so far. It’s pretty much perfect.

Justin – I love a nice, solid space unit with a conditional effect. Cunning continues to get just about every card capable of exhausting things, and Mono Boba Cunning is starting to shape up to be a scary deck! I think you’re pretty happy to slot this in most every Villain cunning deck.

Tyler – The 2-cost spot was one of the few places Boba decks weren’t already optimized. This card will displace cards like Mining Guild TIE and Viper Probe Droid and raise the power of already popular Boba builds. We also shouldn’t forget that every stall effect we get potentially moves Thrawn closer to viability. A solid card that I expect to remain a staple!

Jayson – That entry effect is pretty unattractive on Turn 1, which does make this a little less attractive as a 2 drop, but like, who cares? I think I’ll trade that all day for the magical quality of being a low curve unit that you still love to play in later rounds. Villain/Cunning continues to eat well.

Justin – A solid card for mono Double Cunning, I think its safe to say you will never see this card played for 5 outside of the limited format. With most decks running 15 or less events, there’s a decent chance you whiff from time to time, but hand knowledge is never a bad thing!

Tyler – Both the Imperial and Rebel keywords are useful, and his ability is solid. Grabbing a card like Overwhelming Barrage or Change of Heart can swing a game. I’m a little confused by how they’re costing double-aspect cards. Some, like the Cantina Bouncer, are clearly pushed above curve in exchange for gaining the 2nd icon. But Bohdi’s stats and effect aren’t pushed much for his cost and icons. I’d be curious to see the costing chart on these…

Jayson – This seems okay. Villainy/Cunning in particular has so many freaking ways to know what your hand is and I do wonder how many of those you really need. This discard has a non-insubstantial chance to whiff. I’m skeptical Bodhi earns a longstanding place in the much-ballyhooed Cunning/Cunning shell, though in the first set at least I’m sure it’s a no-brainer. Like Tyler, I’m just not terrifically impressed with his cost for what he does, and that has me on the fence about his long-term prospects.

Justin – One of my favorite 2 drops in the game, this guy has great value coming in with a shield! One of these days we’ll get to see some synergy in the Underworld tag, but for now you’re happy to play this Smuggler as is. 

Tyler – Would you like a 4/4 for 2? That’s essentially what this guy is and I can’t find something bad to say about him. Synergy with Chewie on these Shielded units is real. They can essentially shut down an opponent’s attacks for a whole turn.

Jayson – This is pretty juicy for a single aspect unit. Shielded has been invariably good so far, and I love seeing it on a unit you can drop Turn 1 to really get that trade snowball going early. Super good.

Justin – Aspectless cards are a thing! While the ability can make this an effective 2-drop, it’s a 2-drop you will never be able to play Round 1. It might see play in a Set 1 trooper deck due to the smaller card pool, but I don’t expect to see it outside of limited beyond that. Interested to see if the aspectless cards get pushed harder, as some of them were staples in every deck in Star Wars Destiny!

Tyler – I’m not sure she will even see play in the trooper deck. There are already enough 2-drop troopers to make this unattractive. Given the prohibitive cost point, this isn’t going to get sleeved. We have a new contender for worst unit in the game!

Jayson – I actually kind of figured that we wouldn’t get neutral cards at all, but here we are. Snooze. Plain Heroism and Villainy cards already have a hard time earning slots compared to their more favorably costed peers in the morality/aspect combos. Neutrals are therefore going to be even dicier. This goes in your cute draft Trooper deck (…maybe) and that’s it. Also if anyone has a solid recommendation for a chiropractor, give Volunteer Soldier a call. That looks painful.

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That’s it for last week’s spoilers! What cards are you most excited about? Are there any specific archetypes you’ve been enjoying in the cards revealed?