INTRODUCTION
Hello! Welcome to my first article on Star Wars: Unlimited! First and foremost, I’m a huge Star Wars fan. And yes, even the Sequel Trilogy and everything that came after. One of my favorite characters is Kylo Ren, so I was ecstatic to pull Kylo Ren as my first showcase! I dedicated a lot of Shadows of the Galaxy to Kylo (mostly with Tarkintown (TT)). Once I signed up for my first Planetary Qualifier, I knew I was going to lean into Kylo Ren.
Kylo with TT: The first combination I practiced with was Tarkintown. Twilight of the Republic added some good cards for Kylo TT, specifically Mister Bones and Twice the Pride. Mister Bones is great with Kylo’s playstyle of emptying your hand, as it lets you do 3 damage to a ground unit on attack if your hand is empty. Twice the Pride could hit hard with a unit, or it can be used as removal by attaching the upgrade to an enemy unit that has 2 or less health, which can also trigger Punishing One’s ability. However, the deck struggled greatly against Cunning decks (of which there are plenty in the current meta), and so I had to look beyond TT.
Kylo with Energy Conversion Lab (ECL): Kylo ECL was the next to test out. There is some natural synergy with Palpatine’s Return, as you can discard high-cost force units such as Maul, Darth Vader, or Palpatine with Kylo’s ability and then use Palpatine’s Return to play them for 6 resources. Further, Fifth Brother, Phase-III Dark Trooper, and Superlaser Technician are great ECL targets to ambush in. Fifth Brother can clear out Village Protectors with ECL, as the ping damage on attack can destroy the shield and the rest of the attack will leave Fifth Brother with 3 damage (which threatens big damage with Fifth Brother at the start of next turn). Phase-III Dark Trooper can ambush in to a 2 or 1 attack power unit and instantly get an experience upgrade to start turn 3. And ambush in Superlaser Technician can get you to four resources to deploy Kylo, and gives you a ready resource to lay down a 1 cost unit or event (such as Force Throw or Daring Raid). While Kylo ECL had some synergy, it played more as a midrange deck than a quick aggro deck and couldn’t hold up against other meta decks.
Kylo with Jedha City (JC): After the realization that Cunning can lock-down Kylo TT, I realized I needed some tricks on my side to get around those decks. Enter: Cunning. There are some crucial tools available in Cunning that helps Kylo’s gameplan. First, Unmasking the Conspiracy lets you discard a card from your hand, and then look at your opponent’s hand and discard a card. Many opponents will try and have an answer to Kylo in hand on his deploy and taking that away in the start of Turn 3 can be game changing. Further, Unmasking the Conspiracy is a one resource cost event, which allows you to have three resources to attach a Fallen Lightsaber to Kylo on his deploy (or play more units/events). Breaking In is a less lethal Surprise Strike, but gives your unit Saboteur as well. This can help get your extra damage to base when your opponent throws Sentinels in your way. Jedha City is a rare base that lets you debuff an enemy unit’s attack with -4 for the phase. The debuff can remove a threat for the phase, or allow a safe ambush with 4-L0M or other units to remove the enemy unit safely. And of course, there are other staples such as Zuckuss, Lurking TIE Phantom, Seventh Fleet Defender, Hotshot DL-44 Blaster, Surprise Strike, Jetpack, and Sneak Attack. Overall, Kylo JC seemed like the best way to play against the current meta going into the PQ.
THE PLANETARY QUALIFIER
ROUND 1 – Jango Fett TT (2-0): My first opponent was against Jango TT. Any Cunning deck that can exhaust or bounce my units immediately makes me nervous. So, the plan was to try and disrupt my opponent’s hand and hit base hard (typical aggro, right?). I also believe I had a slight advantage going into this PQ, as most opponents were not expecting to matchup against Kylo Ren.
Game 1 luckily went quick, as I was able to use Unmasking the Conspiracy to remove a threat and attach Fallen Saber to Kylo. Game 2 also went rather fast, as I tried to go a little more space heavy to avoid ground threats. If I remember correctly, I believe I played Ruthless Raider to help close out the game towards the end. Overall, taking the first round 2-0 gave me some confidence for the rest of my matches, especially as I expected to face more of the meta.
ROUND 2 – Han1 Yellow (1-2): Oh boy did my confidence fade fast. While I practiced plenty against Sabine ECL and some Villainy Cunning, I did not have many reps against Han1 Yellow. And to add additional pressure, I was moved up to the featured table and the games were live streamed on Twitch! (You can watch the match here)
Game 1 was a learning experience (both for me and my opponent). A crucial mistake cost me the game on Turn 3, when my opponent forgot to resource to keep his Millennium Falcon out and was able to play Qi’ra and named Fallen Saber. I too made a misplay that cost me Game 1. I used Kylo’s ability to discard Unmasking the Conspiracy (thinking it wouldn’t help me) to buff my shielded Crafty Smuggler with +2 to attack. I Jedha City’d the Qi’ra to do 4 damage with Crafty Smuggler and keep his shield, then flipped Kylo to finish Qi’ra and then attached Fallen Saber. What I should have done was used Unmasking the Conspiracy to discard Kylo’s Tie Silencer and discard a threat in his hand, then safely take out Qi’ra and attach Fallen Saber after. Whether it would have helped me take Game 1 is up in the air, but things would have been different.
Game 2 went more favorably for me. I was able to play Migs Mayfeld on Turn 1 and my opponent played Falcon. I started Turn 2 by discarding Kylo’s Tie to buff Migs and do two damage to the Falcon, followed by a Daring Raid to finish off the Falcon. At this point I had Migs and Kylo’s Tie in play, and my opponent played a Mercenary Gunship. Turn 3 started off with my opponent attacking base with Merc Gunship, which let me discard to buff Kylo’s Tie and also deal two damage to Merc Gunship with Migs’ ability and establish board control. The same turn I was able to safely play 4-LOM, and when my opponent passed with four resources active to see if I would deploy Kylo, I claimed to end the phase. Even with my opponent playing Cunning on Turn 5 to slow my game, I was still able to get enough damage in to win by Turn 6.
Game 3 was when I learned just how good Han1 Yellow can be against an aggro deck. I started with Kintan Intimidator and a Daring Raid to take out a Merc Gunship. I then was able to get a Seventh Fleet Defender in space on Turn 2 and my opponent played Sabine Wren. Turn 3 started with Kintan Intimidator exhausting Sabine, and my opponent followed up with a Qi’ra and named Lurking Tie Phantom. I Jedha City’d Qi’ra again and flipped Kylo to take out Qi’ra, knowing Sabine would trade into Kylo at the start of next turn. While I was able to start getting units into space by Turn 4 and avoid the ground game, my opponent was able to deploy Han, get to seven resources, and bring out Enfys Nest. Enfys Nest was able to bounce a Lurking Tie Phantom, and my loss was a landslide after that. Enfys Nest’s ability to bounce enemy units When Played and On Attack locked up my deck and prevented my units from staying around long enough to attack the following phase (this exact play will come back to haunt me later).
ROUND 3 – Rey TT (2-0): This was a matchup I was ready for. I practiced plenty against my buddy’s Rey TT with Kylo TT dating all the way back to Set 2. I knew Village Protectors and healing are my biggest threats. I took Game 1 rather quickly, being able to outpace my opponent before Rey could be deployed. Game 2 was a little trickier, but I side boarded in Confederate Tri-Fighters to stop more healing, and used Kintan Intimidator to exhaust Rey on her deploy. Overall my advantage was experience against Rey TT (and likely my opponent’s inexperience with Kylo) which helped me take the two games within ten minutes.
ROUND 4 – Rey TT (1-2): Remember that friend I mentioned that plays Rey TT that I had plenty of practice against before the PQ? Welp, we were matched up against each other in Round 4… He took Game 1 against me, which allowed me to sub in Confederate Tri-Fighters and try and establish a bigger threat in space. I was able to stop enough healing and hit fast enough to take Game 2. Game 3 was very sweaty, as we both could almost predict what each other would do the entire game. I made a crucial mistake by swinging in with Kylo when Wolffe had one damage on him and a Top Target bounty. My thought process was my opponent might try and play sentinel, which would stop Kylo from attacking into base with Fallen Saber. I completely forgot that he did not use his TT yet, and he was able to take out Wolffe and heal 6 damage to base! Had I attacked with Wolffe right away, I would have prevented all healing for that phase. It was still very close in game 3, as I was one turn away from taking it when he dealt the final blow.
-- INTERMISSION --
I won’t lie, going 2-2 into the lunch break hurt. I felt like my two losses could have gone very differently if I hadn’t made those misplays. My wins were strong, and I felt like I knew my deck well. But losing two games in Game 3 when I know things could have been played differently clouded my mind. I knew I had to start strong after the break for any chance of breaking the top 16, or top 8 if my luck was strong enough.
-- BACK TO THE ROUNDS –
ROUND 5 – Quinlan TT (2-0): And just like that, I was back in the game! Quinlan TT felt very similar game to Jango TT back in Round 1. I was able to establish my game quickly and used Unmasking the Conspiracy and attached Fallen Saber to Kylo to take Game 1. My opponent was able to deploy Quinlan in Game 2, but my Kintan Intimidator was able to exhaust it right away, which opened up my other units to close out the game. My opponent was great and we chatted a lot about the decks we wanted to play after this PQ, which had me interested in a Kenobi Yellow force deck that I would love to test out soon. After Round 5, I was back in good spirits.
ROUND 6 – Palpatine1 Yellow (2-1): Well well well, another round in which I get matched up with a close friend! This friend and I have a shared appreciation for Emperor Palpatine, as it was one of my first leaders I built and still one of my favorites to play. We would bicker about which combination of Palpatine is best (he would always say yellow and I would strongly advocate for blue). But alas, I dedicated a lot of time to Kylo, while he continued on his Palpatine journey. I was able to take Game 1 due to an error on my friend’s part. I used Unmasking the Conspiracy to remove a card from his hand on Kylo’s deploy, and then was able to play Fallen Saber on Kylo to run away with the game. My friend forgot Fallen Saber was a three resource cost, having gone up against two Sabine’s that day with The Darksaber (which costs four resources). Game 2 he made some changes to his deck, which was able to slow down my game with sentinels, and even used Traitorous on a TIE Phantom! He took Game 2, and then we were onto Game 3. I decided to abandon my ground game and dedicate all units to the space arena. As my friend established sentinels on the ground, I continued to add Kylo’s Tie, Seventh Fleet Defender, Lurking TIE Phantom, and then a Ruthless Raider towards the end of the game. Even so, it was a close game. He was one turn away from taking my Ruthless Raider with Palpatine’s deploy, but I had initiative and closed out the game with the last bit of damage to his base. It was a fun match, and I’m glad we got to play each other. But now I was 4-2 overall, and knew I had to win my last game in the hopes of getting into the Top 16.
ROUND 7 – Han1 Yellow (1-2): I hoped for a Sabine ECL, control, or any other midrange matchup other than Han1 Yellow. But, as fate would have it, I was matched up with yet another Han1 Yellow. I will spare you with some of the repetitiveness from the Round 2 match. My opponent was able to take Game 1 in a similar fashion. I took Game 2 by dedicating a lot of units in space to avoid the ground threats and Gamorrean Guards. And then came Game 3 with my dreaded enemy, Enfys Nest. My opponent was able to get Enfys Nest on the field by Turn 4 with Han’s deploy, and the same situation happened as in Round 2. I tried to get Ruthless Raider out multiple times with other units, but my opponent was able to keep bouncing Ruthless Raider with Enfys Nest’s ability. My measly two damage to a unit and base each time I played Ruthless Raider was not enough to shut out the game against my opponent, as Enfys Nest and Han were able to catch up in damage and take the game. Overall, Han1 Yellow is just a deadly matchup against any deck, having the versatility to adapt their gameplay to whatever type of deck they face.
CONCLUSION
And thus ended my first PQ experience. It was rough being so close to a Top 16 placement in my first major trading card game tournament. But at the same time, I’m very proud of my results with a deck many believe is not worthy of tournament play. I was able to shut out top meta decks and was able to force Game 3 in my most difficult matches (a few of those could have gone differently as well).
I still wonder if a Kylo TT deck would have had different results. I realize now how I could have made Kylo TT stronger and will be tinkering with Kylo TT in the future (especially heading into the next set).
But for now, I’m having some fun with some other decks. I bought myself a Spark of Rebellion box after the PQ and pulled a Han Solo showcase! I never played with the leader before. I constructed a Han Green deck for my local plays this week, and I see the appeal in this leader. I’ll be dedicating some time to trying to make Han Green work with my own playstyle.
I already cannot wait for the next set of PQs. What I will play will be up in the air, but I had such a fun time playing in a competitive tournament and meeting new people who are also passionate about the game and Star Wars.
If you have not tried out Star Wars: Unlimited, I strongly recommend giving it a try. I’m always willing to help others with deck building or even chatting about different cards and how they can be used. And if you enjoyed reading this, feel free to reach out.
May The Force Be With You
-Marcolapolis
Follow Marcolapolis on X for even more decklists, Star Wars, and more! https://x.com/marcolapolis
Comments