Predicting the Impact of Set 3’s Leaders/Mechanics in the Competitive Scene
Set 3 Predictions, tl;dr: meh
Preface: I think Sabine and Boba1 will still have high representation in the Set 3’s meta (I know, what a hot take /s). Control didn’t get many tools, so I’m not expecting much control representation.
Table of Contents
Mechanics Overview:
Set 3 introduces the following: Coordinate, Exploit, and Droid/Clone token units.
https://starwarsunlimited.com/articles/twilight-of-the-republic
Coordinate: grants a card an ability that is active whenever you control three or more units
Exploit: allows you to defeat units you control to play units for a discount, reducing their cost by 2 for each unit you defeat this way.
Battle Droid and Clone Trooper token units:
Mechanics Predictions
Coordinate
If this mechanic takes off, I think this is going to only shine in wide Han2 ECL decks, specifically Echo and Pelta Supply Frigate:
Aside from this deck, I think this mechanic is too slow/too telegraphed, despite the token units generating cards. The payoff of many of the coordinate cards also seems to be not worth the deck building effort.
Exploit
If this mechanic takes off, I think this is going to only shine in a Dooku deck. Exploit cards seems to be too expensive for what they offer, so it’s more interesting to look at Separatist cards, specifically Kraken and both Dookus:
The only exception to expensive exploit cards is Trench, which I think will see some competitive play:
Token Units
Some token unit related cards seem to be good, so they may see some competitive play, specifically: Droid Cohort, Clone Cohort, Private Manufacturing, Outspoken Representative, Rush Clovis, General’s Guardian, and Kraken,.
However, it’s inherently hard for heavy token unit oriented decks to take off due to several anti-token unit cards, such as the new Clear the Field and Blood Sport, and the threat of Bossk decks.
Leader Predictions
Some loose definitions:
Tier 1: High % of representation in the top tables / Top Cut; Think Boba1 and Sabine
Tier 2: Appears in top tables / Top Cut; Think Rey, Han1, Han2, and Bossk
Tier 3: Kind of fringe decks; Think Cad, Tarkin, and Vader
(https://tiermaker.com/create/star-wars-unlimited-twi-leaders-17575538; not in any particular order within the tier)
2024/11/06 Edit: In light of the Boba1 suspension, going to move Jango Fett to Tier 2. Few reasoning: I think Jango can substitute pretty well in the Boba1 Red deck and that Fett’s Firespray can be used effectively with Jango leader. I don’t think it can replace Boba1 Yellow and it would be a less effective substitute in Boba1 Green.
For context, here is a Set2 PQ Top 8 Stats breakdown:
Reasoning for the tier list:
Tier 1
My main thought process is that the vast majority of the Set3 leaders will struggle against Sabine ECL. There aren’t any notable defensive (restore/sentinel/removal) tools in Set3. There may be a few Set3 leaders that can hold up ok against Sabine, but I think one may as well play a different deck at that point for a better matchup. As such, I don’t think any of the Set3 leaders will be Tier 1.
If a deck can't deal with a Wing Leader'd Turn1 unit, then why even play that deck?
Tier 2
Quinlan Vos:
Similar to Cad Bane, when paired with Tarkintown, it can potentially kill the opponent’s Turn1 unit. I think this leader is strong enough to at least hold off aggro while developing one’s board.
Tier 3:
Nala Se:
Interesting deckbuilding potential, notably with the inclusion of Tech and Wrecker paired with ECL. But the weak leader unit doesn’t make me think it’ll be worth it.
Nute Gunray:
Weak leader unit. I don’t think the Droid tokens will be impactful enough.
Yoda:
Strong deploy effect, but weak leader unit stats. Built-in cycling effect and You're My Only Hope and Don't Get Cocky potential is cool, but I don't think that's strong enough to build around.
Captain Rex:
Paying 2 for a 2/2 body doesn't seem good, despite the potential to out value the opponent. There are some Republic payoff cards, such as Outspoken Representative and For the Republic, but overall too slow against aggro. Leader deploy is interesting as it can turn on coordinate, but I don’t think, even considering 501st Liberator, coordinate helps enough vs aggro.
Wat Tambor:
I think the leader's ability is stronger than Kylo’s. Against a non-aggro deck, the opponent would most likely be more focused on clearing units, thus helping proc the leader’s ability. But a bit awkward vs aggro.
Count Dooku:
I think a dream play line is Turn2 exploit out Kraken. Against aggro, the only notable defensive Separatist card seems to be Calculating MagnaGuard, which doesn’t seem to be enough.
Maul:
Strong body, but abilities seems not great. Both abilities encourages hitting into units, but aggro tends to prefer to hit base directly.
Ahsoka Tano:
I think this can be a potent aggro deck, even if coordinate doesn't go off. But I think this gets overshadowed by Quilan Vos, which has a better effect when paired with Tarkintown, in the 5 resource heroism leader slot with the same traits.
Anakin Skywalker:
Leader ability doesn't seem worth it. If playing for the stats and traits, then Ahsoka seems to be better simply on the basis for being able to deploy earlier.
Mace Windu:
A control oriented leader with a weak deploy effect. I don't think Heroism control will do that well in the meta.
Jango Fett:
Similar to Thrawn, I don't think exhausting units is a viable game plan. I’m aware of the Overwhelming Barrage/Vambrace Flamethrower interaction, strong, but not game-winning.
Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious:
Sad. I initially thought this leader would be Tier 1 and thought I would buy a showcase of it. But after some playtesting of a few iterations of Palp3 Blue vs Sabine ECL (Alyssa, a PQ Finalist), and theorizing some Green/Red/Cunning variants of the list, I don't think it can keep up against aggro. Hopefully someone can cook up a competitively viable list, because I think it's a super interesting leader.
Meh (Not expecting to see any of these leaders irl):
Obi-Wan Kenobi:
Weak leader abilities and weak leader unit.
Padmé Amidala:
A very conditional/restrictive leader ability.
Pre Vizsla:
I don't think there are enough good card draw cards to make the payoff worth it. If playing for the stats, then might as well play Bossk?
Asajj Ventress:
A hard conditional of having to play an event prior. The leader unit ability encourages board control, but usually low resource deploy leaders are geared for being aggro. If looking for an aggro-oriented, Force, 4-resource deploy leader, Kylo may be better.
General Grievous:
Similar to Chewbacca, I don't think either side’s ability is relevant. I don't think the Grievous payoff cards (Soulless One and Grievous’s Wheel Bike) are good enough to play this leader.
Conclusion
I’m a bit pessimistic on the competitive viability of Set3 leaders/mechanics. There could be some recency bias and me overvaluing Boba1’s and Sabine’s dominance in the meta, but we’ll see how my predictions turn out at the end of Set 3 :)
Check out some of my other posts:
How we got into the game:
A self-intro post:
Good article! I also think Quinlan Vos will see competitive play. I’m personally interested in Quinlan Green with ECL, playing a 4 drop or 5 drop to nuke Sabine/Boba is already a great starting point.
I actually think Anakin is quite good in the Red/Blue hero shell. If you combine his ability to punch up with restore, you minimize the damage you take while also clearing the board of threats. He may see competitive play as a midrange-soft control leader, his deploy can be very power in the late game.