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Part 1 of 3 separate deck articles
As proven at the World Championship competition at DecipherCon, Tank decks
are a serious threat to Young Jedi Light Side decks. What does a Tank deck look
like? The design is usually straightforward. Here's an example, followed by some
serious "how to use" notes, plus extensive counterstrategy information.
This Young Jedi deck includes cards from Menace of Darth Maul (DM) and The
Jedi Council (JC) sets.
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RED
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ORANGE
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88 - DM - Trade Federation Tank, Armored Division x10
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113 - JC - Trade Federation Tank Laser Cannon x6
120 - DM - Blaster Rifle x4
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BLUE
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YELLOW
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80 - JC - Trade Federation Tank, Assault Division x 10
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124 - JC - Open Fire x6
127 - DM - Opee Sea Killer x4
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GREEN
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PURPLE
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94 - JC - Sith Probe Droid - Hunter Droid x10
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135 - DM - Tatooine: Desert Landing Site
136 - JC - Coruscant: Galactic Senate
137 - JC - Naboo: Battle Plains x2
139 - JC - Droid Starfighter x6
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Working for the Dark Side
It's that simple. You don't need any kind of transport since all your characters
and weapons are non-unique. If you start the game, start with the Naboo o Battle
Plains.
How the deck works: Along with being entirely non-unique, there are a few other
cool things about a tank deck . Average Destiny is fairly high ... 26 6's, 10
5's, 6 4's 2 3's 10 2's and 6 1's = 4.37 average with 49% chance of pulling a
6 .
Average power of your characters is pretty high - there are ten 5's, ten 4's and
ten 1's. Plus, one third of the deck's twenty tanks have a weapon that adds 2
to their power. You're looking at an average power of 5.5. Place them on Naboo
and add 1.3 power. They're fearsome foes on any planet, especially so on the battle
plains.
Light Side Counterstrategies
But what you Light Side loyalists want to know is, how to beat the tank deck.
Obi-wan and Jedi, and other character driven decks that depend on having the major
character and weapon on the table, fight a losing battle against Dark Side tank
decks. These Light Side decks were popular at the World Finals, but the Tank deck
cut through them with ease. The Tank deck can deploy, note huge power against
it, and then surrender with little fear. Then it comes back strong on the next
planet while you maneuver transports and characters.
Here's a Light Side deck style that's an exception: Padme-Queen decks. They are
not as vulnerable, because destiny is higher, and at certain locations, Padme
is equal to a Tank. The stackable aspect is a problem, but if you are building
a deck like this, you are at least prepared. The other advantage of the Padme
deck over the power decks discussed above is that you can overrun a Tank deck.
You can continually pop two or three characters and even a weapon or two every
turn. Sacrifice the weak to the Tank. Over-run for lots of breakthrough damage
and deplete the Tank deck resources straight from the Deck! Remember also that
when you get a power combination - for example, Padme + weapon + battle card -
you'll probably take out a tank - and then they have damage to satisfy also. The
average destiny of Padme-Queen decks is usually somewhere around 4.5.
More good opposition to the Tank deck is the Light Side "super destiny overrun"
deck. It's a simple approach. Take lots of moderate power characters and selected
high power characters. Get a power character on a planet, give them a weapon,
and back up with "grunts." Break through, protect your main character as necessary
to avoid damage, and kill anything you can. Average destiny can be as high as
5!
Dark Side Tanks have serious troubles against the Super Destiny Overrun model.
They can sometimes take out the main, but then, any grunt can take out a Tank,
especially with the possibility of a 1 or 2 destiny draw killing the Tank, while
a 5 or 6 on the Light Side is highly probable.
And here's one final Light Side deck design - Royal Guard decks. I'm serious,
with the use of battle cards, and because they have ultimate overrun capability
and low damage, the Royal Guards can wipe out a tank deck just by sticking around
and fighting in teams. Efficiency is the key feature of the Guards deck. Basically,
there are too many cards that work together well. Now be combined with a Coruscant
variation also, which offers similar power, easier combos and more dots to select
from.
If you have a terror Tank deck ruining your tournament fun, remember these tips
and go get 'em. The tank deck is tough, but no deck lasts forever!
In Part 2, Mark will show us his Handmaiden
Deck as well as his alien variation on the Royal guard deck - Jawas!
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