When SWU launched, I wrote an article on SWU’s cost curve and how units from that set fit into it. Now that Jump to Lightspeed is upon us, it’s time to expand that series with an examination of Set 4’s cards and mechanics. Let’s have a look at the new mechanics and cost trends hitting us this week.

As a reminder, the basic formula of the game goes like this:

A basic, 1-cost ground unit has four stat points. Space units have one less stat point than ground units. From there:

1 resource = +2 stat points = 2 direct damage = drawing 1 card = 1 shield = 3 healing

New Mechanics: Token Units, Piloting, and Indirect Damage

Token Units – Jump to Lightspeed gives us two token units – TIE Fighters and X-Wings. Their costing is straightforward – 1 resource to create a 1/1 TIE Fighter and 2 resources to create a 2/2 X-Wing. However, the designers have gifted us multiple cards that will improve on this standard rate- like Darth Vader and Covering the Wing. These rates are better than what we got for Battle Droids and Clone Troopers in Twilight of the Republic simply because we’ve moved to space- a unit of stats goes slightly farther in space even if the cost is the same. However, it also appears the designers recognized that the cost of producing tokens in Twilight was too prohibitive and lowered the average payment across the board.

One additional note, in the latest Comprehensive Rules, it was clarified that when a token is created, any keywords it has been given (say Ambush or Shielded) will trigger. The most useful application seems to be that Admiral Yularen will now shield all your created tokens!

Piloting– The Piloting keyword allows a unit card to also function as an upgrade on Vehicle units. This gives them extra flexibility, which will generally lower their expected unit stats by one. The example above showcases how a 1-cost ground unit that would normally be a 2/2 is a 2/1 with piloting. However, we’re not typically going to evaluate pilots for their ground unit stats, instead we’ll look at their piloting ability. A 1-cost pilot should give the receiving vehicle +3 stats (reflecting the limited options where the pilot can be played and the risk in doing so.) From there, their stats scale at the same +1/+1 rate that an upgrade normally would, making a +2/+3 pilot upgrade on curve.

Rules note: pilots are upgrades (even leaders!) just like any other and can be removed by anything that defeats upgrades. Bamboozle will also defeat leader pilots since they can’t be bounced. This another reason why we’ll look for them to have powerful stats and effects.

Indirect Damage- Indirect damage gets to be distributed by the receiving player instead of the dealer. This means they can put it where it works best for them. Typically, if they’re playing the control, they’ll put it on their units- if they’re playing the aggro, they’ll put it on their base. To compensate for the less effective nature of the damage, this means it’s going to be discounted versus normal direct damage. Look for an ~25-50% increase in damage, depending on the quantity. As an example, compare the card above with the standard Open Fire.

The Best and the Worst

In the second year of SWU, the designers are proving more adept than ever at making cards that fit within the good enough but not too good zone. That doesn’t mean there aren’t still some standouts in this set that push the curve!

Undercosted: Biggs Darklighter

Biggs has standard 3-cost unit stats for a pilot, but his ability is where he shines. He’s delivering the +3 stats we’d expect from a 1-cost pilot, but with an additional point worth of value from his ability. Combine this with the new Wedge Antilles leader and you’re looking at effectively a +2/+2 pilot for 0 cost.

Overcosted: Power from Pain

In Set 3, we got Grim Resolve that gave a unit Grit and allowed it to attack. That effect didn’t turn out to be constructed playable, because you would have needed a unit with at least 4 damage on it to consider paying 2 for the effect. Somehow, we’ve gone backwards? This costs 1 more AND doesn’t allow the unit to immediately attack, leaving a window for the opponent to interact. While there’s niche upside in layering this onto a unit that already has Grit or onto a large leader unit, that’s not nearly enough to make up for the step backward in cost and effectiveness we’ve taken.

Undercosted: The Invisible Hand, Crawling with Vultures

A 6-cost space unit should have 13 stats, so the IH is slightly under on a simple reading of the stats. However, the ability can not only fish a card out of your deck (equivalent to drawing a card) but also play it if it’s a 2-cost droid unit. In total, that’s 8.5 resources worth of value for the 6 you paid. Pairing with Triple Dark Raid is where this really goes off the charts. You pay three for TDR, bring out the IH (1 Resource Equivalent), grab a droid (1RE), play the droid (2RE), hit base for 6 (3RE), grab another droid (1RE), and finally play that droid (2RE). That’s value equivalent to 10 resources for your originally investment of 3!

Overcosted: Blade Squadron B-Wing

A three-cost space unit should be giving us 7 stats, so we’re looking to the ability to provide us enough value to get back to curve. However, the ability is highlight conditional, putting proper value largely out of reach.

Undercosted: Devastator

You’ve probably heard people singing Devastator’s praises already, but it’s work cataloguing just how over curve it is. The damage ability alone is worth two cost points, meaning we’re effectively getting a 15-stat ship for 6. Given that a 6-cost ship would normally have 13 stats, that means Devastator is a full point over the curve. And that’s before we explore all the utility of its static effect on indirect damage!

Overcosted: Sith Trooper

A three-cost ground unit should have 8 stats, meaning we better have a dang good ability to compensate. However, the On Attack here just isn’t very powerful- especially in the early stages of the game where an opponent is highly unlikely to have more than one damaged unit in play.

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Thanks for reading today! Please reach out to @DJStormtrooper on Discord with your thoughts.