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New Dark Side Cards

• Mercenary Pilot
• Mighty Jabba
• Hutt Influence
• No Escape
• Power Of The Hutt
• Jabba's Palace: Lower Passages
• Tatooine: Desert Heart
• Racing Skiff
• Stun Blaster
• My Kind of Scum / Fearless And Inventive

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Ready To Rumble
Jabba and Lando Throw Down In Jabba's Palace Sealed Deck: Part I

Go to Part II for the Jabba tip:

So, you've had your first look of the hot,hot,hot new premiums found in the hot, hot, hot new Jabba's Palace Sealed Deck product. And I'm sure that you're hot, hot, hot about 'em, too.

Especially the new versions of fan favorite main characters: the smooth, sneaky Lando Calrissian and the decadent, corrupt, Jabba the Hutt. While both of these characters are hot, hot, hot in the Jabba's Palace Sealed Deck environment, you can also take 'em right out of the box and into your own decks for Constructed play. Why would you want to? Let's find out.

collector's box prototypes >>

New Light Side Cards

• Lando With Vibro-Ax
• Palace Raider
• Ounee Ta
• Seeking An Audience
• Underworld Contacts
• Jabba's Palace: Lower Passages
• Tatooine: Hutt Trade Route
• Racing Skiff
• Stun Blaster
• Agents In The Court /
No Love For The Empire

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Lando With Vibro-Ax doesn't need much incentive to find his way into tournament play. Lacking the combos and Interrupt support typical of other big-name characters, Lando often finds himself in a supporting role, usually as a stand-in for Han in space, or as a sabacc machine on Cloud City. His latest version takes this sly scoundrel to the front lines, as ground-poundin' Lando finally hits the scene. He's a solid fighting man, too, with good power, ability and forfeit values. His deploy cost may seem a bit high, but on Tatooine he stays at roughly the same cost as other main characters. He also draws an extra battle destiny on the desert planet, which is always welcome. Finally, he's both a gambler - Gambler's Luck, here we come! - and a spy, which can be very useful if you want your Main Squad to drop in unannounced for a quick battle. He's even a pilot, so Punch It! can still target him.

But his most prominent feature is his permanent weapon, which is - what else? - a Vibro-Ax. It may look subpar compared to Lando With Blaster Pistol's boom stick, but it can be much more useful in certain situations. Characters like Boelo or Sim Aloo, while not powerhouses like Darth Vader, still have impressive game texts that can give the Dark Side the edge in battle. Often, these sorts of "combo characters" have low power, which makes them ripe targets for Lando's Vibro-Ax. With their instant exclusion from a fight, the tables can instantly turn in the Light Side's favor.

Is that all there is to it? Of course not. The crafty tournament player can use Lando to really mess with his opponent's attempts to track high destiny draws. Since his weapon forces both players to draw destiny, the Dark Side is forced to draw that six she was counting on for battle destiny. Lando may have lost the battle, but, unless she keeps her destiny draws stacked in clumps, your opponent has just lost the war.

Which decks does Lando With Vibro-Ax fit well in? Obviously, any site-heavy deck will welcome his weapon and extra battle destiny, but they may wish to use Lando in Millennium Falcon or General Calrissian for space support. No, Lando With Vibro-Ax's true home is in You Can Either Profit By This/Or Be Destroyed decks. Not only is he right at home in the environment, with a cheap price tag and extra battle destiny, but he even causes direct Force loss when at a Tatooine battleground location. Pair him with his best buddy, Lieutenant s'Too Vees, from the Death Star II expansion, and you're looking at two battle destiny, plus an extra destiny added to your total power.

That's right. He is one bad mutha - (Shut yo' mouth!) I'm only talkin' 'bout Lando.

Nick Zube
Contributing Writer