Today on echobase we will be sharing a few impulse deck’s that all relate to the Gandork’s unofficial (but were all using it) Holocron.

I don’t know about you, but my favourite part of a new holocron is the balance of the force. Literally, if it’s a work day and I’ve got new character points to adhere to, work’s not getting done and I’m on swdestinydb crafting jank.

I spent my Friday evening building the decks and spent most of the wet weekend inside play testing the following lists. I’d like to apologize in advance that only one of the decks is villain [echo7: not too surprising: there were 10 newly discounted characters and only 3 of them were villain]. I spent a long time on the db trying to figure out how best to utilise Asajj Ventress but I just couldn’t find the right partner for her. I have not included an Anakin build on the list as we are looking to publish a deck analysis covering Anakin in the week, look out for the write-up soon. So, without further ado let’s get into a few impulse deck’s that utilize the characters on the balance of the force.

(DISCLAIMER – By no means are our implications that these decks will be top tier. The purpose of the article is to build upon characters featured within the new Holocron. Some of the decklists include a few janky cards for testing purposes & are first draft lists)

Deck 1. Kylo Ren – Tormented One (14/17) & Dengar – Ruthless Tracker (11/14 NOW 10/13)

With this build I wanted to construct a deck that will deal damage without necessarily relying on the dice rolls. So in theory: play a Bounty on an opponent’s character; activate Dengar to deal 1 damage; activate Kylo, (hopefully) choose the right color and theoretically we have already dealt 3 damage and all we have done is play a bounty and activate our characters. Worth mentioning that both characters sport 50% damage sides so damage consistency is relatively high.

In addition to the activation damage from our character line up we have other cards within the deck that deal damage upon play: Crossguard Lightsaber, Dengar’s Fire Blade, Taken By Surprise, Dangerous Escape, Polarity & Act Of Cruelty. Dangerous Escape is pretty good mid-late game when you’re struggling to push through the last few notches of damage. Discarding the downgrades to deal the damage may be worth the kill over the bounty rewards in certain situations. Chancellor’s Edict removes shields upon play so it is in keeping with the deck’s direction.

Dagger of Mortis is for redeploy and shield stealing. Pulse Cannon can be game winning when you’re down to one character, especially as it forces the opponent to mitigate it where possible regardless of what you roll if they’re low on health thanks to the Power Action, putting you on the front foot in the event of a close finish.

This deck is pretty strong and I’d actually consider taking it to a tournament [echo7: after writing this, eKylo/eDengar won the Entourage Gaming weekly event. We saw the decklist before publishing, but decided to leave this article as is and hope to do a more thorough review of the winning deck later in the week].

Deck 2. Padme Amidala – Resolute Senator (11/14) & Obi-Wan Kenobi – Ardent Avenger (14/18 NOW 12/16)

I’ve always liked the look of Obi-Wan – Ardent Avenger but he’s always seemed over priced, so now with his reduction he is looking like a pretty worthy 16pt character. Throughout the history of the game the weirdest point slot has been at 16pts; I remember the Hyperloops put together an article a few months ago highlighting this fact and how Kragan Gorr is just absolute value and above curve for the unlucky points cost. Now Obi finds himself at this infamous points slot we may finally have a decent partner for Padmé, who has also been missing the right partner despite her incredible die and ability [echo7: I also like that it turns the double focus on Obi-Wan into potential damage].

For the build I’ve gone with a lightsaber damage suite and a ton of mitigation to keeping your characters on the table.

Obi-Wan has a lot of dice to target with his PA and it is this versatility which makes this deck pretty strong. Push through melee damage from his own die or from Anakin’s Lightsaber, increase Padmé‘s die for additional indirect, increase the two resource side on the Royal Starship for 3 resources (!) increase the double shield side for 3 shields. For the blow out play resolve focus for a potential 4 focus to get your other dice exactly where they need to be to apply pressure on your opponent. If you pull this off during a Seize The Day play you’re looking pretty good. Anyway, yep his PA’s lush and playtesting this deck felt pretty damn good.

Deck 3. K-2SO (11/14 NOW 10/13) R2-D2 (8/11) & C-3PO (9/11)

K-2SO – Incognito at 13pts is playable. I had an idea to pair him with New Anakin but I decided to go with a different Ani build to be featured in a later article. Anyway onto Droids. R2 and 3PO have dominated the meta in various forms for a year now and I’m pretty bored of it. This deck seems fair (unlike the previous Chopper variant) it doesn’t have the Bullshit action cheat that yellow brings to the table with Ewok Ambush and Instigate. Ah, hang on, that’s a lie: Off The Sensors. It’s a solid deck after playing it over the weekend but it doesn’t feel broken, it just feels like where droids should have been at all along. The deck can ramp and deal some serious damage. With includes such as Run To Safety, Field Medic, Fortitude and Republic Cruiser these guys can stay on the table a long time (I’ve always like Republic Cruiser in my droid builds.)

K-2′s top side is a two melee which works pretty well with R2. Also he sports a 3 pay one melee if you have the cash to flip to it, throw in the Salvaged Arm and you can potentially boost this to a 5 pay 1 after activating Threepio. His Power Action can be used in a psuedo-mitigation way which feels pretty good. Re-roll one of your own die, if you hit a value of two you can potential re-roll two of your opponent’s dice if they are showing some decent sides or alternatively you can use this as a re-roll on your own dice without pitching to re-roll. His passive ability is insanely situational but could come in clutch. You could theoretically Crash Landing a die onto K2 to a value that would defeat him to then end the round. If your opponent gets stranded with several dice in the pool then K2 has become the sacrificial lamb and your opponent gets left with no value from his remaining dice.

Deck 4. R2-D2 (8) Satine Kryze (8/10) & Amilyn Holdo (10/13 NOW 9/12)

Amilyn Holdo. Where to begin. Well, it seems hero vehicle swarm decks and drive-by shooting are a 2018 meta archetype. Had Holdo released during the Legacies Meta everyone would have been playing her, dropping T-47’s and Y-Wings left right and centre with Holdo Specials (can we please get a reprint of the T-47!) Holdo‘s die sides are pretty decent, but lets face it we all want to play her for that special. I’d have loved to have seen two specials but that would have bumped her cost, and then the cost to health ratio would of been out of whack. She is what she is.

Anyway, it’s 2020 and we’re trying a 5 die start/vehicle swarm deck. Not much to report, not too many tricks. Make your money, play your supports, or impulsive into those Holdo specials for value. After playing a few games with the deck, round three+ has a high ceiling and can be blowout – however, the deck is very slow and can struggle into direct aggro builds. R2‘s inclusion is that the top side of both Holdo and Satine‘s dice both have the same two indirect, don’t be shy to push through that indirect [echo7: with 4 top sides boasting double indirect, you stand to actually do quite a lot of damage with these sides alone if you roll or focus into them occasionally]. I feel the template and potential is there, I’m not 100% sure that the vehicle selection is right, I’m all ears for your suggestions for includes. Anyway, here’s my first draft. #MakeHeroVehiclesGreatAgain

(Post testing; V-Wing’s are a great include for the 3 ranged top side flip with R2)

Thanks for checking out our impulse decks – far from meta but maybe one or two of these decks might inspire you to take the pairings and make a splash somewhere.

In addition to Reylo & Mill I’m expecting Admiral reset decks to reach the top of the meta along with Double Imperial Death Trooper / Luce builds keeping the 5 die villain aggro alive.

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