Matt Holland teased that Star Wars Destiny would be having a re-balancing before the next set… Let the speculation begin! Today I discuss 5 cards that need re-balacing in Standard as of 11/12/2019. I also mention one card specifically for infinite since its a part of the best deck in that format.

I made a YouTube video on this topic so if you rather listen to my ramblings (I mean eloquent diction) you have that option as well! If you want to do both then great! This is kind of like a mini podcast so put it on while you work or on your commute. Remember to like and subscribe because that’s one more like and subscription away from Elon Musk buying thehyperloops.com… this is currently my retirement plan.

No Answer

When the re-balancing comes the format is in jeopardy of being dominated by mill. Right now Chopper keeps it in check but R and D needs to be sure that they don’t completely neuter Chopper. No Answer has already been errata’d but I think needs further nerfing. Further weakening No Answer will allow other decks to play around Mill in the most basic way – keeping the last card in your hand. Right now you pretty much have to discard that last card because of the potential of losing 4 cards. Resistance Ring makes this card even more of a problem because you pretty much have to discard the last card when they have a ring and No Answer in the discard pile which gives them a free discard.

The Fix: Either have it get removed when played to prevent Resistance Ring re-play or errata it further by having it only be able to discard a random card from hand. I prefer the latter since the tension of having the last card in hand when playing against mill is my definition of a negative play experience.

Ewok Ambush

I’m sure designers didn’t intend for this card to activate a non-elite R2D2 and bash in guaranteed unstoppable damage. This is the sort of effect that is great against mill so when nerfing they need to keep that in mind.

The Fix: Adding this to the restricted list would solve the current issue but with piloting being a predominant mechanic in the upcoming set Ewok Ambush has the potential to be problematic there as well. A non-elagent solution would be to remove the non-elite part of the card through errata and have it only be used for Ewoks as I’m sure it was mostly intended.

Delve

Cards that let you cheat on resources are hard to design around. This one really limits really big supports and Upgrades from being designed. This hasn’t really been a problem but its kind of a red flag when everyone includes this and Vader’s Fist in their deck. Some will say Fist is the problem and that’s reasonable but what happens when we get a card that costs 6 that is actually worth the resources?

The Fix: Errata the card so the upgrade or support comes into play exhausted. That will make this card unplayable for supports but I’m fine with that. It might still be fine for Upgrades but many of them have been coming with power actions that require exhausting which wold lessen their power the first round they are played. There’s a good chance that this card won’t be touched but I think that all depends on what the next set brings. With piloting being a big mechanic there’s likely some dank ships that will be worth cheating in.

Desperate Measures

It’s just too good for its cost. With the upcoming Pilot set I will be shocked if something doesn’t happen to this card.

The Fix: Have it deal twice the damage, double spot yellow or a cost restriction like ” destroy supports with a cost 2 or less.” Twice the damage might make it be unplayable. I think the double spot color is an interesting design space that they haven’t used effectively. If you had to play 2 yellow characters that means you will probably only be in 2 colors. Such a deck would probably be the only DM deck which I am fine with as it will generally be worse against a deck with no supports because you have restricted yourself to two colors or a bunch of small characters. The cost restriction would make it less powerful and in deck building and selecting you’d be able to choose something that wasn’t completely soft to DM. I think the 2nd option is the most appealing since it gives a deck an incentive to be heavy in one color. I think the 1st option is the most likely since its the most elegant solution.

Vader’s Fist

This card just does an insane amount of damage for the cost – the upper end being between 9-12 damage in round 1 and threatening 6 to 8 after. A lot of that damage relies on extra resources but the lower end is a free roll and getting 2 shields is certainly nice in most match ups. Since it relies on multiple dice its pretty resilient to dice mitigation which is the most common way to battle powerful dice cards. The pay sides are harder to resolve the first round you play it but after that you are set.

The Fix: Flavor fixes with Vader spotting being the only one can use the come into play ability or Power Action, the card coming into play exhausted or adding resource costs to the power action or come into play ability like “pay 1 resource to roll in die when it comes into play…” I think all of those would be fine since it would make the card worse but not unplayable. Putting the cost on the power action would certainly be the harshest option.

I’m glad that FFG is being more aggressive with re-balancing. I think aggressive re-balancing is good for the game since it keeps the format fresh without having to release new cards. I welcome a less aggressive release schedule if we are getting a consistent re-balancing. I worry that too much releasing of product is going to hurt FFG in the long run. Ideally you have to release product to make money but collecting and storing this game is kind of a pain. I’m worried that collectors will experience nausea if releases get too aggressive.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them in the comments or on social media.

Take care and as always…

May The Rolls Be With You!

-NJCuenca