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| None. Self-made deck here. |
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| None yet. |
Flaxative 375
- This deck went 4-0 (1st place) in 2/25 store tournament @ Eudemonia in Berkeley.
- It also went 2-1 (3rd place) in 3/11 store tournament @ Eudemonia in Berkeley.
- Lifetime win rate (tournament & casual) of 21-14. (3/5)
Backstory: I'd been running a Poe-Trooper-Gun list for a while, then tried Finn-Trooper-Trooper. I like gun upgrades, Rearm, It's a Trap, Reversal... my kinda cards. Stuff wasn't working super well so I decided last minute to enter a tournament with an Ackbar-Gun-Gun list. I read a bunch of decklists and didn't like the heavy emphasis on getting money for supports. Felt too ... all-in. Not enough cheap stuff that advances win conditions, and I was afraid that if Ackbar dies early, two Hired Guns are actually kinda crappy.
So enter my favorite friend Rebel Trooper! He keeps Ackbar alive AND makes my sole Hired Gun a bigger target (turn off my Electroshocks and Reversals? Sure, if you want Ackbar to wreck your business). UPDATE: Losing Hired Gun early is pretty bad. If you've played 2 Electroshocks and one Reversal, though, it's totally fine to let the Gun die. Second Chance is also in the deck to keep him alive through crucial turns.
This list ends up being a cross between the "catfishing" archetype and my previous jank decks. A good mix of early upgrades, high-damage upgrades, heavy supports, control cards, and burst combos.
Mulligans: Keep Hunker Downs except against full melee teams. Keep Promotions, Pistols and Scouts (1-2 total). Keep Rearm vs. Vader, as long as you have a promotion, pistol, or scout. A starting hand with 1x Falcon/Black One and one or more Logistics is also a keeper.
Battlefield: If possible, pick your opponent's battlefield. Yours won't hurt you, and has some synergy with Hunker Down, but you want the shields.
Pace: You're not in a rush at first. Play slow. Use supports and Hunker Down in order to not activate characters. Don't be afraid of your opponent claiming. Try to end rounds with at least 1 money remaining for potential Reversals. Once Ackbar is fairly damaged, make sure you have 3 upgrades on him. Then start playing faster, using Hit & Run and It's a Trap to pounce on juicy enemy targets.
Winning: Get lucky. This game is like 55-60% dice luck. All In is a powerful card if Ackbar rolls focus, also, and will close out games for you.
In tournament games (2/25):
- vs. eGrievus Dooku: 1-0. Focus Grievus, keep upgrades on Ackbar only, force damage onto your other characters. Aggressively remove damage dice; if you survive long enough you can power through whatever Dooku tries to do.
- vs. eVeers Bala Nightsister: 1-0. Kill Nightsister first to turn off Blue-only cards. It's a Trap decides this match.
- vs. eLeia Han: 1-0. Get lucky discarding your opponent's tricks (especially It's a Trap) and then win with your own tricks.
- vs. eJabba eDooku: 1-0. IDK. Get lucky. My opponent didn't roll damage, and I focused Dooku down quickly.
In tournament games (3/11):
- vs. eBala Jango Trooper: 1-1. Lost one game to very timely Backup Muscles + outlier damage rolls on Jango. Was able to kill Bala round 2 without any events, though, so remember that this deck is capable of that. In the other game, I lost zero characters. I'd say this is a fairly even matchup that will often come down to a combination of dice luck and draw order. One thing my first round opponent did that I think makes sense is he kept activating Storm Trooper at the beginning of the round. This does a good job of provoking my Rebel Trooper, which in turn activates Jango... food for thought for eBala players ;)
- vs. eVeers eJango: 1-0. Complete blowout. It's possible that with better rolls my opponent could have won, but in general, our slowplay dominates this matchup. Hunker Down is an MVP here, as are supports like Black One that can't be removed with Frozen Wastes. Force Jango to roll out on normal initiative and so much of this deck's power disappears instantly. I again lost zero characters.
In casual games:
- vs. eRey eQui Gon: 3-3. Roughly even, but few close games. Most games end in massive swing one way or the other. Die luck seems dominant.
- vs. eKylo Vader: 3-6. In my experience you need to get lucky to get your die removal not necessarily early but at the right time, that is, when your opponent rolls specials on Force Throw etc. Flank is often necessary for Vader's damage die. This matchup is very dice-dependent. Also, if your opponent is using Emperor's Throne Room, as mine was, you'll want to claim your own battlefield whenever possible.
- vs. eBala Jango Trooper: 2-1. Hit & Run and/or It's a Trap are your aces here. Avoid Jango's ability by other activating quickly (early game) or slowly (mid to late game). Hunker Down is great here, as are vehicles. Scout is really nice for taking out this deck's out-of-hand damage cards.
- vs. eVeers Bala Nightsister: 1-0. Continue to beat this deck badly by focusing down Nightsister and using It's a Trap.
- vs. eJabba Vader: 1-1. This is tough; Jabba's disruption and discard really hurt you. That said you gotta focus Vader down first; doing so turns off many of this deck's control cards like Deflect or Use the Force. Save your Flanks and Electroshocks for Jabba's , or maybe for Holocron ; you can deal with Vader's damage pretty easily in this matchup just by soaking it on Rebel Trooper and using Reversal. The deck has low average damage output so you just need a few well-timed control effects to keep all your dudes alive. Scout's is totally worth it if your opponent is threatening Crime Lord. UPDATE: My second game against this team involved my opponent rolling a million discard sides. I didn't lose a single character, and I bursted Vader down fast, but my opponent won by milling me out roughly a round before I would have managed to kill Jabba. I need to reevaluate the matchup but I think removing Jabba's discard sides is worthwhile.
- vs. eBala Raider Raider: 1-0. I played against Jay from Knights of Ren, same as my final tournament win against eJabba eDooku. Once again I got absurdly lucky. Kill Bala first if possible. Make use of your opponent's often useless + modifier dice (from Bala, Jetpack, & On the Hunt) to pull off amazing It's a Traps under little to no pressure. You have to watch out a bit for this deck's out-of-hand damage; it can often do 3 out of nowhere with Armed to the Teeth, or even more with Fight Dirty. Spread your upgrades around, hold up dice removal, play carefully, roll well.
- vs. eAckbar eLeia: 1-0. This is a tough match where whoever successfully plays the control game will be advantaged. You want to make your opponent discard when possible to fish out Hit & Run / It's a Trap, and you also want to force your opponent to roll out before you do. If they have to resolve dice before you roll any , they lose It's a Trap value. Slow play is key here.
- vs. eVader Raider: 1-0. I thought this would be rough, but Reversal is super good against Vader's die; with him rolling two at a time, you're more likely to get major value. Rearm is very nice against Vader's ability. You can also kill Tusken really fast. Vader's a higher priority target, but if your opponent begins upgrading Tusken you should not hesitate to take it out.
- vs. eDooku eKylo: 2-2. First game I lost due to a horrible misplay that resulted in my losing Hired Gun early, with a hand full of Electroshocks, Second Chance, and Reversal. Lost horribly. I think it's correct in this matchup for the villain player to go after your Hired Gun first, and I think it's correct for you to do what you can to keep the Hired Gun alive. Remember that if Hired Gun is your opponent's primary target your Ackbar and Trooper can take more risks than normal. Turn Ackbar into a dice machine and suicide your Trooper if possible. Second Chance makes a huge difference here. Ackbar is a natural punisher of Dooku's ability, so keeping him all game is pretty sweet. I think this is a fairly even matchup.
I want to make these comments useful, but I'm afraid I'm not well-versed in discussing this game yet. First decklist post etc. etc.. Happy to answer questions.
| 11 comments |
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I expect a lot of people will check this out because of the KOR podcast. I know he beat Jay and all, but it sounds from both of their recaps of the game its because of dice not decklist. These kind of decks boil down to "It's a trap" decks or "Vehicle Fun" decks, and this is a vehicle fun deck. So if you want to have fun playing vehicles, it's probably worth a try. I like that it's more of a junk style keep throwing stuff out there and hope it sticks and the rolls work out which is good for some peoples play style. Maybe I am wrong but I think this will probably have bad matchups against vader/x and jango/x decks that were played during that tournament. I will download and play it when I am ready for a break from my main deck, which is an It's a trap! deck, and want to claim resources and drop big dice. As for questions: Do you have a lot of opportunities to use re-arm? You have about 4 "important" targets for it. Why are you not running Dug In or Defensive Position? I assume its because you like to durdle and aren't expecting to claim the battlefield often. |
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Hi You have a lot of reasonable positions and I agree with several of them. Personally I'm probably the most outspoken Destiny player I've met who believes that dice matter too much in the game. I was a bit surprised to hear so much praise for my deck, to be honest, because I basically felt like I lucked out at the tournament (and thought I said as much in my write-up). That said, it is very fun to pilot! And if I'd played poorly, or brought an objectively bad deck, I don't think my luck would have carried me as far as it did. Regarding the two matchups you mention:
Onto your question :)
Hope this helps! :D |
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I finished listening to the podcast so now I realize that it wasn't so much an endorsement of the list as a top contender (I would put it in tier 2 with other deck lists that are strong and can win a tournament, but aren't preying on enough of the meta to be placed in a higher tier), but more of a deck tech to give and explain the list as well as comment on your play style. In that respect both the podcast and your comments here are awesome, and I hope happens more. I definitely believe the list is solid and you play it optimally, so I hope my comments didn't seem like I thought your tournament win was just dice rolls. The reason I mentioned Vader/Raider Jango/x is they are two of the top aggro decks in the meta, and I believe are real problems for this deck because they contribute both consistent and burst damage quickly, and round after round. Your deck is mid range and as efficient as it is it takes rounds to set up, then stabalize, then take control. For Vader/x I would say the deck is actually extremely vulnerable to force throw, and not just the damage sides. If you dont have one of 6 die removal cards or the resources to use them when they roll special it can be used to very good effect against the die you run. I think Jango/x is the real problem. Against Jango/x your play style affords the jango deck time to load him up, so his activation's are stronger, and since he can resolve before your can use your removal I think that gives Jango decks an edge. Hit and Run lets you guardian a die with trooper, but the Jango deck is rolling terribly if you still have a trooper later than the 2nd round or so. Ackcbar blowouts require focus and upgrades. Even if you HIt and run, you are going to spend your ambush action on resolving focus if you dont have the All in you have to pass back to the Jango Player anyway. Your point about It's a trap! is correct, but your deck is going to get less damage than a deck dedicated to it. So I don't think that card is going to get back enough edge in the match up. I also love re-arm, and I can see it's place in the deck for sure. I dont do a lot of rerolling with equipment to re-arm them later. Its terrible action economy wise, but for this deck it makes a lot of sense, like the exclusion of Dug In/Defensive position. I took the deck online and played some games with it. Not my cup of tea, but congrats on an awesome deck list. I am glad it got the exposure for sure. |
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I've updated the write-up above with many more casual game results. Overall the deck continues to be a pleasure to pilot and is more than capable of winning games. Right now I'm running a second Scout in place of Launch Bay. |
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Heard about this deck on the KOR podcast and decided to try it out and currently having a blast and doing very well. Such a fun deck! In the past I was playing Ackbar+2trooper and I think this is strictly a stronger and more flexible version of that arc type. I am playing with -1 falcon (I don't own one) -1 Dl-44 (I just prefer all red dice for it's a trap), +1 Scout, +1 Resistance HQ. I think HQ is a strong card for this deck that really likes stall actions, keeping Ackbar alive and is unlikely to claim often. That said I also could see survival gear perhaps being another strong consideration. It's another rearm target and contains focus and shields which are both things you love to have. |
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Cutting the DL 44 is interesting. The Ackbar+Gun+Gun lists always seem to have two of it and I feel like that's too many. There are a lot of board states where dropping the gun can save your bacon, though; that's why I like it, but it's definitely not a must-have by any means (you also can't Rearm it). Serious question: how does Resistance HQ produce value? You need to spend 2 actions, 2 cards, and 2 resources to gain a single shield. 3 actions, 3 cards, and 2 resources total for 2 shields. This is one card I honestly don't understand. Obviously it's good at durdling but it just turns your hand into Take Covers at what seems to me a premium... Any insight would be helpful :) |
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For sure not a slam dunk of a card like you said. But I don't mind cycling dead draws into take covers and having that option. When you put it that way though maybe I would prefer survival gear for my version or looking into just getting that Falcon. Thanks for putting it into perspective! |
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Everyone: I've added a bunch more casual match-up results to the notes above. Games vs. eKylo Vader, eKylo eDooku, VaderRaider, and Leia-Ackbar. |
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Updated with results & thoughts from matches played in today's tournament at Eudemonia. Starting to be convinced that this is a good deck. |
For a legendary-free version of this deck, replace the three supports with 1x Scout, 1x Holdout Blaster, and 1x All In. Should perform about the same.