Today, we’re joined by our guest contributor, wooooo! This is the third in a multi-part series on draft for SWU. We’re excited to watch him break down every card in the game for its utility in draft. Check out his initial guidelines for these ratings in the intro article here. Take it away wooooo!
Command common and uncommon card review:
97th Legion [u]: (C-)
An okay top end for decks, nothing flashy here. It has key word “Big” and that’s about it.
Academy Training [c]: (C-)
A solid yet unexciting upgrade, it can certainly help make combat math favorable, and its best use is usually to attach it to your leader.
Admiral Piett [u]: (C-)
I don’t like 1/4s on the first turn of the game, as they provide very little in terms of on-board combat utility. Piett is mostly a late game card, but if he can be protected to enable even one ambush from a big boy, that can be game changing.
Alliance Dispatcher [c]: (C-)
If you knew you were going first every game, this little guy’s grade would rise, so consider bringing loaded dice if you have lots of these. It gets wiped out pretty easily, and one activation might not be enough value. Too bad we can’t play the Luke leader in draft.
Attack Pattern Delta [u]: (D+/C)
The grades for non-mono green and mono green are pretty similar here, and this isn’t really a reason to push towards mono green. This card isn’t terrible, and mostly will be used as a finisher.
Battlefield Marine [c]: (B)
Sometimes simple gets it done. This is the best turn one play in draft right now. It brawls favorably vs basically anything, and at worst trades evenly.
Blizzard Assault AT-AT [u]: (C-)
As far as big chunky things, this is okay. Costing eight is a lot, and it has no immediate effect on the game, so it’s not a huge payoff for getting to this resource count.
Bright Hope [u]: (C+)
This is a really good stabilizing force in space, with a slight upside with its bounce effect, if you find a good time to utilize it.
Colonel Yularen [u]: (C-)
Another 2/3 two drop, again not special, again pretty playable. The heal is minimal but not irrelevant.
Consortium StarViper [c]: (C+)
A decently stated space unit with some healing upside, this brawls well with the two drop space units that come out before it, but does have the downside of getting nuked by the previously mentioned Imperial Interceptor, and a couple of yellow ships that will be discussed later (Seventh-Fleet Defender, Auzituk Liberator Gunship).
Echo Base Defender [c]: (B-)
Another pretty uneventful but extremely powerful green hero common unit. This hits really hard, has a very relevant ability, and relevant traits as well. It does bear mentioning that it trades down in to quite a few two drops, and because of that, timing when it comes out is very important.
Escort Skiff [c]: (B-)
If your curve includes a lot of two and three drop green units, or the Alliance Dispatcher, this might even deserve a higher grade. It’s just important to get that ambush (it’s probably the strongest keyword in the game), because it’s a bit below curve otherwise.
General Tagge [u]: (C-)
The general here is understated, but if you can get an experience token from him, he becomes okay. It’s when you get two or three that you can really generate value. This isn’t easy to do, which is why the grade isn’t very high, but there is upside here.
Gladiator Star Destroyer [c]: (C+)
This is a very solid six drop, offering a big space body which is hard to come by, while also affecting combat the round it comes in to play, often saving you some health or protecting an important unit.
Hardpoint Heavy Blaster [u]: (D+)
This is basically a weaker version of Academy Training, and it’s rare that this is any more than a +2/+2 upgrade. I don’t think I’ve ever triggered the extra effect on this, which is incredibly situational.
Homestead Militia [c]: (C)
Just a decently stated three drop that has some upside later in the game. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have any useful traits either.
Mercenary Company [c]: (B-)
Ambush is a fantastic keyword, it has good numbers, and a bonus overwhelm. This is one of the higher value basic six drops in draft, and a very solid addition to your deck’s company.
Mon Mothma [u]: (C-)
This card is decent if it always draws you a card, so make sure you have a good number of rebel cards before including it.
Overwhelming Barrage [u]: (A+)
So here we are. This is likely the best draft card in the set, and that includes Rare and Legendary cards. This is as close to a one-sided board wipe you can get, and due to the nature of draft games being so unit dependent, this card almost always guarantees a blowout. I’d argue that having this card at uncommon is the biggest mistake in the format currently, as it all but guarantees one or two of these will be in every draft. I’d grade this a B+ for any deck that needs to pay seven for it, which still makes it an extremely high value pick.
Patrolling V-Wing [c]: (F)
I have never played this in any draft, and I don’t think I’d plan on doing so in the near future. This might push in to the D range if drafting for Emperor Palpatine.
Prepare for Takeoff [u]: (D+)
Paying two to potentially draw two isn’t terrible rate, but the miss chance on this will likely be high in any draft deck, and even when you hit, the loss of tempo can often be problematic.
Rebel Assault [u]: (C-)
Not quite as powerful as it is in constructed. This can still push through damage quite well, it’s just definitely slanted towards hyper aggression, and most limited decks can’t go that all in all the time.
Recruit [c]: (D-)
This might get a small bump up if you drafted some crazy legendary unit, but it’s too much of a tempo loss for minimal value most of the time.
Reinforcement Walker [u]: (B-)
This walker has impressed me more than I thought it would. It can be quite a strong stabilizing force, getting immediate heal on play, and more every turn it sticks around (which it generally will). The option to draw as well is just added gravy.
Resupply [c]: (C+)
Ramp is pretty strong, but likely a bit less strong in draft than constructed (constructed decks can usually capitalize on the extra resource more reliably). Resupply does generally cause you to fall behind on board, but you can often catch right back up by deploying your leader earlier.
Rogue Squadron Skirmisher [u]: (B-)
Just like Mercenary Company, another very solid ambush machine. The unit buy back is decent, but not incredibly relevant at the stage of the game it comes down.
Seasoned Shoretrooper [c]: (C)
Oh look, another 2/3 for two. It’s fine, and comes with the added upside of being a pretty good card late in the game.
Steadfast Battalion [c]: (C)
A bit clunky, but it has decent numbers. Works much better with the cheaper leaders.
Strike True [c]: (C)
Although this is removal, it’s very dependent on what you have in play, and because of this, it’s hard for this to catch you up, something I like my removal to do.
Superlaser Technician [c]: (B+)
As mentioned, ramp is very strong. What’s even stronger is when your ramp can also kill something and become a readied resource.
Tactical Advantage [c]: (F)
If you’re in the market for one cost deal two to your opponent sometimes…
Vanguard Infantry [c]: (D+)
I would actually bump this to the C range if I was drafting for Emperor Palpatine, but otherwise I think it’s too difficult to get good value out of it.
Top 5 Command Commons:
Superlaser Technician: (B+)
Battlefield Marine: (B)
Echo Base Defender: (B-)
Mercenary Company: (B-)
Escort Skiff: (B-)
Closing:
Command is highlighted by having access to ramp, an incredibly powerful mechanic in limited. Additionally, Command has some very powerful ambush units and a very deep card pool with only a handful of truly unplayable cards. Also, it doesn’t hurt that it has what is likely the best draft card in the entire set (Overwhelming Barrage). Just be aware that this color gets drafted pretty aggressively and be ready to pivot if you notice that the card quality drying up very quickly.
Previous Articles in the Series
Garbage Rollers 
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