Top 8 Systems with Andrew Moss

In the 16th episode of Top 8 with Corran and Batmouse, we're live on tape at Star Wars CCG Nationals and rank the top 8 systems with Andrew Moss. 

Corran on the Horn - 40 - Matt Manning

An interview with Star Wars CCG 2022 content creator of the year Matt Manning. We talk about YouTube Shorts, retro Star Wars CCG, and a retro cube event that Matt helped organize.

Corran on the Horn - 39 - Set 25 spoilers with Andrew and Karl

Andrew Moss talks about the Mind What You Have Learned theme in set 25

Spoilers:

Mind What You Have Learned (V) 0
[Special Edition - R]
LIGHT - OBJECTIVE
Text: Deploy Beldon's Corridor, Yoda's Hut (with [Dagobah] Yoda there), [Cloud City] No Disintegrations!, and Patience!
For remainder of game, Sense may not target characters at non-battlegrounds. You may not Force drain on Dagobah. Your non-[Dagobah] characters of ability > 4 (except Ahsoka) are lost. Once per turn, may ▼ Bespin system or a Cloud City site.
While this side up, may ▼ Wise Advice or Yoda's Hope. Once per turn, may ▼ a Dagobah location.
May flip this card if Luke on Dagobah during your turn.
[Special Edition] [Dagobah] [Set 25]

Save You It Can (V) 7
[Special Edition - R]
LIGHT - OBJECTIVE
Immediately return Luke and any cards on him to owner's hand.
While this side up, may deploy Luke (deploy -3) and/or a weapon on him as a 'react.' May place a completed Jedi Test (even if suspended) out of play to take a [Cloud City] Rebel into hand from Lost Pile. When your [Cloud City] Rebel Force drains at a battleground site, unless a captive on table, lost Force must come from top of Reserve Deck if possible.
[Special Edition] [Dagobah] [Set 25][/color]

•Cloud City: Beldon's Corridor [TBD (V)]
[TBD - TBD]
LIGHT - LOCATION - SITE
Light (2): While a [Cloud City] Rebel here, Their Fire Has Gone Out Of The Universe flips and may not flip back.
Dark (1): Your troopers here are defense value +1. While you occupy, cancels Path Of Least Resistance.
[Cloud City] [Interior] [Mobile] [Set 25]

•No Disintegrations! (V) 4
[Dagobah - R]
Lore: "There will be a substantial reward for the one who finds the Millennium Falcon. You are free to use any methods necessary, but I want them alive."
LIGHT - EFFECT
Text: Deploy on table. Once per opponent's turn, if their warrior present where a [Cloud City] Rebel (except Luke) is about to be lost, opponent must choose: capture and seize that Rebel or lose 2 Force. For a bounty hunter to fire a weapon, opponent must first use 1 Force (2 if Vader there). [Immune to Alter.]
[Dagobah] [Cloud City] [Set 25]

•Patience! [Obi-Wan's Apparition (V)] 0
[Dagobah - R]
LIGHT - EPIC EVENT
Text: If a [D] objective on table, deploy on table and stack five Jedi Tests from outside the game face up here.
I Won't Fail You: Only Luke may be your apprentice. Jedi Tests are suspended (not lost) while Luke not on table. You may deploy face up Jedi Tests from here as if from hand. Place completed Jedi Tests on table.
I've Got To Go To Them: Once per turn, if you just lost Force from a Force drain and you do not occupy a battleground, turn a Jedi Test here face down.
Remember Your Failure At The Cave: During battle, Jedi Test #3 may only subtract from one destiny draw.

It Is The Future You See (V) 5
[Dagobah - R]
LIGHT - JEDI TEST # 5
•Deploy on a Dagobah site. •Target a mentor on Dagobah and an apprentice who has completed Jedi Test #4. •Attempt when apprentice is present at the beginning of your control phase. Turn apprentice upside down (cannot move and power = 0). At end of turn, turn apprentice right side up (restored): •Place on apprentice. Immune to attrition < 4. Reveal the top two cards of your Reserve Deck and place one upside down on this Jedi Test. Once per turn (twice if [Special Edition] At Peace on table), whenever you are about to draw a card for destiny, you may instead use the upside-down card (which remains on Jedi Test).
[Dagobah] [Set 25]

•You Will Go To The Dagobah System (V) 4
[Hoth - R1]
Lore: "There you will learn from Yoda, the Jedi Master who instructed me."
LIGHT - INTERRUPT - LOST OR STARTING INTERRUPT
Text: LOST: ▲ [Dagobah] Luke. OR Retrieve Anakin's Lightsaber into hand. [Immune to Sense.]
STARTING: If your [Dagobah] objective on table, deploy two Effects (except Wokling) that deploy for free and are always immune to Alter. Place Interrupt in hand.
[Hoth] [Set 25]

•Yoda's Hope (V) 4
[Dagobah - U]
Lore: "You must feel the Force around you. Here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere! Yes, even between the land and the ship."
LIGHT - EFFECT
Text: If your [Dagobah] objective on table, deploy on Yoda. Your training destiny draws are +1. Jedi Tests may be attempted at start of opponent's deploy phase (draw two training destiny and choose one). [Immune to Alter.]
[Dagobah] [Set 25]

•Captain Han Solo (V) 1
[Cloud City - R]
Lore: Smuggler and scoundrel. His piloting abilities have become legend in the Rebellion. Intends to leave the Alliance to pay off Jabba the Hutt.
LIGHT - CHARACTER - REBEL
POWER 4 ABILITY 3 FORCE-ATTUNED
Text: [Pilot] 3. Draws one battle destiny if unable to otherwise (two if with Chewie or Leia). Vader's game text may not target Han. May ▼ Han's Heavy Blaster Pistol (or lose 1 Force to deploy it from Lost Pile) on Han. If just captured or lost, may ▲ [Cloud City] Lando.
DEPLOY 4 FORFEIT 7
[Cloud City] [Pilot] [Warrior] [Set 25

•Chewie With Blaster Rifle (V) 1
[Enhanced Cloud City - PM]
Lore: Wookiee smuggler. "Wraaaaaarw!"
LIGHT - CHARACTER - REBEL
POWER 6 ABILITY 2
Text: [Pilot] 2. While with a captive, droid, or opponent's [Maintenance] card, adds one battle destiny. Permanent weapon is Blaster Rifle (may target a character for free; draw destiny; target hit, and its forfeit = 0, if destiny +1 > defense value).
DEPLOY 4 FORFEIT 6
[Premium] [Pilot] [Warrior] [Permanent Weapon] [Cloud City] [Set 25]

•Lando With Blaster Rifle [Gambler's Luck (V)] 1
[Cloud City - R]
Lore: Works every time. Smuggler.
LIGHT - CHARACTER - ALIEN/REBEL
POWER 3 ABILITY 3 FORCE-ATTUNED
Text: [Pilot] 2. Permanent weapon is •Lando's Blaster Rifle (may target a character for free; draw destiny; target hit, and its forfeit = 0, if destiny +1 > defense value). During battle, if your total battle destiny is odd, may retrieve 1 Force (2 if total is 11).
DEPLOY 3 FORFEIT 5
[Cloud City] [Pilot] [Warrior] [Permanent Weapon] [Set 25]

•Honoring What They Fight For [A Jedi's Concentration (V)] 5
[TATOOINE - C]
Lore: Luke's experience on Dagobah gave him great skill in using the Force. Vader had to keep his focus on Luke at all times, or face the consequences.
LIGHT - INTERRUPT - LOST INTERRUPT
Text: At the start of your turn, if a [Cloud City] Rebel controls a battleground, turn a card stacked on Patience! face up. OR If a [Cloud City] Rebel in battle, add one battle destiny. OR Place a [Cloud City] Rebel (except Luke) out of play from hand to cancel all battle damage against you.
[Cloud City] [Set 25]

•Cloud City: Carbonite Chamber (V)
[Cloud City - U]
LIGHT - LOCATION - SITE
LIGHT (1): Force drain +1 here. Once per game, during battle here, may retrieve Smoke Screen into hand.
DARK (1): All Too Easy may not target Luke or Jedi here.
[Cloud City] [Interior] [Mobile] [Set 25]

Corran on the Horn - 37 - Geoff Bowman

 

Kendall interviews Las Vegas Retro SWCCG Event Winner Geoff Bowman about reactive decks, playing in different formats, and whether Geoff is the greatest living Retro SWCCG player.

Here's the episode!

Top 8 with Corran and Batmouse - 15 - Information Brokers

 

Corran, Batmouse, and special guest Scott make a single definitive list of the top 8 Information Brokers in Star Wars CCG.  Featuring Dan on trivia with help from Greg.

Here's the episode!

Corran on the Horn - 35 and 36 - Andrew Moss and Karl Koenig and Jarad Konksker

 

I thought I'd posted the audio version of episode 35, but apparently it was only on Youtube.  Well, here's that one as well as one with long time player, volunteer, and Sequel Trilogy Apologist Jar Jar Drinks.

Here's episode 35

Here's episode 36

2024 Year End Zoom Orphan Special

 

A quick and dirty collection of segments that were recorded on my portable Zoom recorder

Here's the episode!

Stars and Wars - 5 - The Naked Lieutenant

 

The season finale of the first actual play podcast on the KendallCast Network!

Our heroes are summoned to the bridge of the Motti's Legacy and some crazy stuff happens!

Intro and outro music are The Prisoner by Stumfol as performed by Kendall Halman

Here's the episode!

Corran on the Horn - 34 - With Cliff and Norm 2

 

Kendall and the Intern aka Corran and Bren Derlin aka Cliff and Norm discuss Star Wars and Star Wars Cards!

Here's the episode!

Set 23 Review with BoardMatt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdFvi2dUGFU

Corran on the Horn - 33 - With Cliff and Norm

 

Corran and Bren Derlin take on the roles of Cliff and Norm from Cheers and talk about Star Wars Cards and stuff.

Here's the episode!

Top 8 with Corran and Batmouse - 14 - Dark Jedi

 

Chris Kelly, Karl Koenig, and Kendall create a single list of the top 8 Dark Jedi while Batmouse does trivia.

Here's the episode! 

You can support the show for just $2 per month at Patreon.com/kendallcast

Corran on the Horn - 32 - Planet Pittsburgh

 

A fun little episode about a Pittsburgh local.

Here's the episode!

Corran on the Horn - 31 - Indianapolis and The Expanded Universe

 

A little bit about the Indianapolis Eclipse Major and a lot about the Expanded Universe.

Here's the episode!

Top 8 with Corran and Batmouse - 13 - Spies

Ideatrack joins the regulars to pick the top 8 spies in Star Wars CCG

Here's the episode!

Corran on the Horn - 30 - Steve Sanders

 

My interview with advocate award winner and retro league director Steve Sanders.

Here's the episode!

Top 8 with Corran and Batmouse - 12 - Ability 1 Characters

 

Scott Lingrell guests to help create our list of the top ability 1 characters.

Here's the episode!

That Matchup? It's just "mains versus mains!"

I've been thinking about match-ups lately, and often times I'll look at something like Hitco(He is the Chosen One) versus Hunt Down(Hunt Down and Destroy the Jedi) and just use the shorthand of “mains versus mains.” This immediately gives me a feel for the sorts of things I should be thinking about, regardless of the specific mains deck my opponent and I are playing. “Mains versus mains” boils Star Wars CCG down to its fundamentals, but what are those fundamentals? Today I'm going to talk about some of the things that go through my head during these games.

Who's the beatdown?

Based off an old Magic the Gathering article, this is the concept where you decide whether you need to be the offensive or defensive player. Mains decks, with certain exceptions, generally want to be on the offensive. This means against something like QMC(Quiet Mining Colony), Hunt Down is going to go to Cloud City and attempt to use Vader and other powerful characters to make short work of QMC's aliens, while QMC is going to use combat tricks to run away and find another path to victory.

But what about if both decks are mains decks that just want to fight? Often this is an in game decision. When I play my TIGIH(There is Good in Him) versus BHBM(Bring Him Before Me), BHBM dominates at the Endor docking bay. I used to just keep trying to fight, thinking that “mains versus mains” was always about stacking and taking over one site. Then one day I realized that I could force BHBM to use a bunch of their resources taking the docking bay, abandon it, and rebuild at the Naboo Battle Plains. Most mains decks have a site like the Battle Plains that you can deploy in the mid-late game and set up a drain of 2 while you rebuild your forces and/or make them come to you. In the TIGIH versus BHBM matchup, this means they've got their a-team stranded at a drain of 1 location and they have to send their b-team after you.

And then, of course when the time comes, sometimes you flip a switch and use something like Nabrun Leids to bring the fight to them.

Combat tricks!

You should always be thinking about what cards your opponent has in hand, but this is particularly true and particularly doable in the mains versus mains match-up. There are only so many cards you realistically need to worry about, and if you know your deck there's a good chance you're playing the mirror of said cards. Also, before going into specific cards to look out for, the “make them have it” strategy is rarely the correct one in a game where players tend to have 14 card hands.

Weapon hate: A few weapon hate cards to watch out for are Force Field/Blaster Deflection, I Think I Can Handle Myself, and Wesa Gotta Grand Army. In “mains versus mains,” the first battle often involves two lightsaber wielding characters having their targeting canceled by Force Field/Blaster Deflection. This is a good opportunity to grab it. If you haven't grabbed Force Field/Blaster Deflection by the mid-game, sometimes it's best to target a character with ability less than five so it can't be played. In the same way, if you haven't seen the light side player play I Think I Can Handle Myself, maybe target a male character. Beyond individual cards, just know that there are enough weapons hate cards out there that you shouldn't usually fully rely on weapons to win you the battle.

Battle Destinies: Mains decks love to draw lots of battle destinies, and they'll often play cards that add destinies or at least have a very high average destiny in the deck. If you're hoping to blow your opponent out with 3-4 destinies, watch out to see if they have a general on the ground or an admiral in space. Rebel Leadership v/Imperial Command can ruin your day, limiting you to one destiny. On the other hand, if it's your turn and you aren't worried about a counter beat, if they've got a lone guy who is not a general, you probably will get to draw your battle destinies as long as there's nothing else limiting you on board.

Mains decks will certainly play the sand effects(I Don't Like Sand/Course and Rough and Irritating) as well, so be aware of those limiting your destinies and try to bait them into removing cards if you're playing a deck like BHBM that likes to draw multiple destinies in every battle.

Ghhhk/Houjix: Sometimes, your opponent deploys Obi-Wan with Lightsaber all alone at a site and you've got a grip of characters in hand all set to ambush him. Then you deploy them, hit the lone Obi for 40 overflow and your opponent flips over a Houjix. This can be tricky. Mains decks win by battling, so you need to take the chance for a big overflow when you can, but you also don't want to deploy 5 characters to a force drain 1 site. Pay attention if your opponent plays Masterful Move or Escape Pod v to get their Ghhhk/Houjix. Also, pay attention to how deep it's burried in their lost pile or if they retrieve it with Wokling v or another card. In general, if you aren't sure if they have the Ghhhk/Houjix, play enough characters where you feel like you can get about 5 overflow. This will be enough to put you way ahead without forcing you to spend all of your resources, and even if they don't take the overflow, there is value in clearing the site and making them play their Ghhhk/Houjix.

On the other side, if you're counting on being able to play Ghhhk/Houjix, make sure you save a force just in case they play Draw Their Fire/First Strike.

Character removal: Cards like Clash of Sabers/You Are Beaten, Sniper Combo/Sorry About the Mess Combo, and Dr. Evazan can really mess with combat math. If you don't have weapon protection, try to avoid setting yourself up for a situation where you go from two decent characters to one character who doesn't even draw on their own.

Other general tips:

Activation: Be mindful of how much your opponent is activating. “Mains versus mains” can often come down to who finds their 2/0 sites, and both players are probably activating less than they would in other match-ups. If they've spent all their force and they're only activating nine next turn, you know they can't drop more than about 2 characters, so maybe it's okay to deploy that lone Vader to flip Hunt Down.

Space: Mains decks go from playing no space to playing a fair amount. Use verifies and other things to figure out what role space is going to play in this game. If neither player has a system in their deck, you can pitch your token space to force drains. If you find your Han Chewie and the Falcon v and dark has provided you with a system, often you can get away with playing it there on its own and get a few drains in until dark finds its space. Even better, if you're playing against a deck that plays no space and you've got space in yours, you can deploy one ship in space and drain for free all game.

Well, that's all I've got today. There's always more to talk about when it comes to what to think about in Star Wars CCG matchups, but I hope this helps someone.

Top 8 with Corran and Batmouse - 11 - Dark Side Troopers

 

David Woods and Sargent of Trivia Karl Koenig join us to rank the Top 8 Dark Side Troopers.

David's Trooper Beats BDBD:

https://www.kendallcast.ninja/2021/10/bad-deck-breakdowns-25-tdigwatt-trooper.html

Here's the episoed!

Top 8 with Corran and Batmouse - 10 - Top 16 Lukes

 

Corran, Batmouse, Karl, and Dan work with Trivia Advocate Chris Kelly to create a single definitive ranking of every single version of Luke currently legal in Open Star Wars CCG.

Here's the episode!

Top 8 with Corran and Batmouse - 9 - Destiny 5 Used Interrupts

We bring on Tournament Advocate Chris Schoenthal and Trivia Knight Matt Thornton to create a list of the Top 8 Destiny 5 Used Interrupts.

Here's the episode!