Leia'n Down The Pain

This deck is fast. This Deck is consistent. This deck is deceptively mean. Two of the Rebellion's greatest leaders united to take down the Empire!

High-Level Deck Concepts

This is a fast, ranged aggro deck in a similar vein as Jango/Veers, Jango/Trooper/Bala... really, any of the Jango decks: Do lots of damage, claim the battlefield, rinse and repeat. But, although Jango with his Jetpacks, F-11Ds and other toys can do significant damage, there are often times where you just don't get the side you need: usually that base damage to trigger a whole chain of modifiers. That's where this deck shines! 7 with , including Admiral Ackbar's prodigious 2, and cards like All In and It's a Trap! help you manipulate your dice to exactly what you want. Leia Organa's ability even allows you to make use of sides on Leia's dice by rerolling some of your other dice! Traps and All-Ins combined with Hit and Run can make the deck killer quick and do some incredibly lethal damage out of nowhere. Do damage quickly and then claim Frozen Wastes at the right time to break your opponent's combos.

Deck Composition

You don't get the popular Yellow control cards like Electroshock and Unpredictable, but you do get Defensive Position, which is a card that wins games, and Field Medic which, in addition do Dug in, really helps mitigate some of the fragility of Ackbar. Daring Escape is on the "Flex" list - it's potent, but of course an RNG-bound card. I use it when my opponent's potent dice (Force Throw, Jetpack, Sabers, etc.) might already be showing blanks and I just want to make things worse for them. Remember, it is also an Ambush card, and one of my most potent, game changing combos occurred when I used Daring Escape to reroll an opponent's Force Throw, which landed on its side... and You know what that means!

You don't have a ton of upgrades, but honestly they are plenty - all the red and neutral blasters currently in the game: DH-17, IQA-11, and of course Holdout Blasters for straight up damage. Comlink for focus and the rerolling shenanigans (Neat trick: Overwrite a DH-17 or a Promotion to play the Comlink for 1, then Rearm the Red card back for free!). Promotion and Scout are two of my favorite cards in the deck for two reasons: First, they are excellent overwrite fodder for getting IQA's on the cheap. Second, they have that all-important Focus. Scout especially is a killer card, to get rid of all those pesky, game-changing cheap cards like Riposte, Ace in the Hole, Fight Dirty, etc.

Finally, we have Launch Bay. Super fun, super deadly, and a mitigation magnet! Leia can use her ability to reroll this die without dropping a card and decreasing its value, and of course you have ample to put it where you want. Of course, it is also compatible with It's a Trap!, and its side can come at unexpected times and really truly ruin an opponent's day. Just please, for the love of god, don't roll it out when there's a Force Throw in your opponent's pool. If you make that mistake, you deserve to eat it.

Opening Hand

Mulligan for Promotion, DH-17 Blaster Pistol, or Holdout Blaster, and cards like Defensive Position and Dug in. You want to go first and choose your Frozen Wastes if possible to get the ball rolling, and those particular control cards can save you from an early spike from Vader, Grievous, and their ilk. This is why I really like to fish for 1-cost upgrades in the opening hand: to play some upgrade, and hold the resource to play an event. I often drop Traps, All Ins, and Hit and Runs in the attempt to get them back mid-game, when I have some more upgrades on and I can make the most out of their awesomeness. That Launch Bay is obviously a mid-game card, unless you are blessed with some Logistics in your hand with it and digging for blasters doesn't actually get you anywhere.

Playing

With all the opening hand stuff said, I have won games without starting with a single blaster - as long as you have SOME upgrade in your opening hand, you should start relatively strong, as all the upgrades that don't have straight are loaded with to get Leia rolling. I stick my Scouts on Ackbar, and roll him in first, followed by Leia. I often hold Leia "In reserve," especially if I have a Hit and Run, and especially if I have a Hit and Run and It's a Trap! or All In - Ackbar can lull an opponent into a false sense of security with his low-count dice, before Leia comes in swinging from out of left field!

This deck runs a little lean on resources - often, you are Focusing or Trapping all your sides to damage, so Logistics and Rearm are your ways to build up a little cache. Don't be afraid to drop a valuable blaster for a reroll, especially that IQA! Rearming it over the top of a Promotion can get you that gargantuan gun for free! Use these cards effectively, as most of your events cost at least 1, and you really want to keep at least 1 on the table at all times. This way, even if you don't actually have an It's a Trap! or All In in your hand, you can threaten its use, which can make an opponent make poor decisions. Additionally, you do have significant sides that cost 1, so save where you can to be sure you're not caught out when you need damage.

Finally, read your opponent, and particularly, when it looks like they're ready to claim the battlefield. Remember, Frozen Wastes' die removal is one of your most potent and consistent control options for a fragile deck without the Yellow and Blue mitigation staples. Remember, your deck is fragile and leaving one or two damage on your dice unresolved is better than eating a lethal combination. Your two most potent defensive cards - Dug in and Defensive Position - rely on battlefield control anyway. Exploit it!