Predicting Set 4’s Leaders/Mechanics in the Competitive Scene
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Table of Contents
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Mechanics Overview
Set 4 introduces the following: Pilot, Indirect Damage, and TIE Fighter/X-Wing token units. https://starwarsunlimited.com/articles/jump-to-lightspeed
Pilot: grants a unit the ability to be attached as an upgrade to a friendly vehicle without a pilot. Similar to Set 2’s Smuggle cards, non-leader Pilots have their own alternative cost.
Indirect Damage: unpreventable damage that your opponent chooses where to assign among their base and units.
TIE Fighter and X-Wing token units:
Mechanics Predictions
Pilot
Since the reveal of the Pilot mechanic, I’ve been initially pretty pessimistic about it. A lot of sideboards already have upgrade hate. Alyssa and I sometimes even main decked 1 Disabling Fang Fighter during Set 2 and Set 3.
After seeing the whole set, Pilot cards will definitely see play as several of them have at least on rate stat lines on both the Pilot and the unit sides, so decks will splash them in. Similar to how ambush units are “fast,” pilots are also “fast” when placed on a ready unit. This makes pilots really strong as it makes any ready vehicle pose a risk of becoming an immediate beat stick. But like with regular upgrades, they have the downside of being at risk of being two-for-one’d by a kill/bounce event.
The only pilots that offer additional protection (aside from the default protection a leader unit has) are:
These two cards have benefits when defeated:
There are a lot of notable Pilot cards, especially when considering the Wedge leader’s pilot cost discount:
Indirect Damage
I think this mechanic will be most utilized in a Jango deck, as opposed to JTL Boba. Exhausting is a stronger effect than getting up to one additional indirect damage per turn, as exhausting can easily save more HP than what indirect damage can deal over the course of a game.
Notable indirect damage cards that I expect to see play:
I think First Order Stormtrooper, Zygerrian Starhopper, and Guerilla Soldier are just good on their own and I expect them to see play in non-Jango and non-JTL Boba decks.
TIE Fighter and X-Wing Token Units
I don’t think any of the token leaders, Ackbar and Vader, will be at a competitive level of Tier 2 or above.
Similar to my Set 3’s predictions, it’s inherently hard for heavy token unit oriented decks to take off due to several anti-token unit cards, such as Clear the Field and Blood Sport.
However, some of the token generating cards are strong and I think would be played just for their individual stats/effects, not for an overarching token-based win condition.
Notable token generating cards that I expect to see play:
Leader Predictions
Some loose definitions (it is more quantified than my last set’s predictions):
Tier 1: Appears ~10%+ in Top Cut, think Han1, Sabine, Jango, and Quinlan.
Tier 2: Appears ~5%+ in Top Cut, think Bossk, Cad, and Anakin.
Tier 3: Appears ~1%+ in Top Cut, think Yoda and Tarkin.
(https://tiermaker.com/create/star-wars-unlimited-set-4-jump-to-lightspeed-leaders-17571218; not in any particular order within the tier)
Reasoning for the tier list:
Tier 1
There are more aggro and midrange tools, but not much for control. As such, I don’t foresee many hard control decks.
Maybe due to recency bias, I don’t see the Set 3 leaders beating the current Tier 1 meta leaders (Han1, Sabine, Jango, Quinlan [maybe Quinlan is on the weaker end though]). A lot of my opinions about the new leaders are predicated on how the existing Jango Tarkintown is very space heavy and can exhaust any of the upgraded vehicles, while also lacking the weakness of playing against upgrade hate cards.
Jango Tarkintown got some strong new upgrades, notably IG-2000 and War Juggernaut. They have the exhaust potential and can be pulled from Triple Dark Raid.
Han1 got an additional early game Millenium Falcon and a Han Solo pilot card.
Sabine got additional rebel units, notably two strong Turn 1 plays in the form of Luke Skywalker and Phoenix Squadron A-Wing, and a strong ambush space/ground unit - Blue Leader.
Quinlan Tarkintown got more discard and force synergy (for Force Throw) all in one card via Ahsoka Tano.
Tier 2
Wedge Antilles
Discount on pilot cards is strong due to pilot cards’ immediate impact. This leader enables one to easily build an overstatted unit starting on Turn 1. As such, I think it can compete against some aggro decks via base racing.
Poe Dameron
An always available pilot upgrade and the potential with Eject makes this leader stand out.
Similar to Wedge, I think this leader can compete against some aggro decks via base racing
Tier 3
Grand Admiral Thrawn
Thrawn reminds me of TWI Chancellor Palpatine, where it has potential, but it’s not quite there yet, or at least not consistently. I think there’s enough interest in this leader for it to be Tier 3.
Admiral Piett
I personally don’t think Piett has enough tools against aggro decks, but should perform well vs midrange and control decks. Similar to Thrawn, I think there’s enough interest in this leader for it to be Tier 3.
Kazuda Xiono
A leader with strong payoff cards with both new and old cards. I think this is enough for Kazuda to be competitively viable.
Conclusion
Set 4 Mechanics: Pilot and indirect damage cards will be utilized. Token cards still seem to be on the weaker side, but certain token cards will be played just because they are good in a vacuum.
Set 4 Leaders: There could be some recency bias and me overvaluing the current tier 1 leaders’ dominance in the meta and how they’re getting new upgrades, but we’ll see how my predictions turn out at the end of Set 4 :)