Modified Infinite is Dead, Long Live Official Infinite

We had been working on a unofficial modified infinite format where we adjusted point costs and added subtypes for various old character but with FFG officially making changes to the infinite Holocron making another infinite format with similar costs seems a bit redundant. We will be shifting our attention to the official Infinite format since it’s pretty much what we wanted in the first place. And wow, a lot of the official changes ended up being exactly the same as we had made, from point cost reduction to subtype additions it was all eerily similar. I’m like 1% worried that FFG can read mine and Norman’s mind.

Here are the lists for those who haven’t seen them.

Not only did they adjust the point costs on many of the characters they also gave older characters subtypes which as of right now is a buff. Maybe in the future they will print type punishing subtyper cards but other games have learned that having type punishing is a bad thing although FFG did print Kylo Ren, Tormented one which is one of the more punishing cards ever (admittedly Kylo Ren isn’t as good anymore but that’s a product of power creep, if you play a mono color deck you’ll still be upset when facing him.) Maybe FFG will print some 3 or 4 cost plot that that lets you register a subtype with your decklist and every time a player activates a character of that subtype they take an indirect damage – just to come up with something punishing that might be printed in the future. To be fair, that might not be the worst since its indirect damage and locking in the type before the tournament would give metagaming a whole new feel. Sorry for the tangent, but my point is that types are positives right now but that could change.

Anyway, on to my top 10 list. These aren’t necessarily the best characters that were changed but many will be very good. Some of them were laughably unplayable and now are more interesting.

Admiral Ackbar

Now at 9/12 he is now on par with other recently printed support characters like Lor San Tekka. In addition to that he now is a Leader which is relevant with cards like Padme’s Ship and Salt Flats. I’d say that he is even better than LST. His ability deals damage at 9 cost for a single die he can provide a consistent stream of damage if you manage to make them lose all of the cards in their hand. Ackbar has an unmeasurable effect at times because it stops people from fishing for extra value. He’s definitely on my list for building and not just because he’s one of my favorite characters.

Mon Mothma

As a 9/12 Leader Mon Mothma is a less aggressive version of Ackbar with an ability that is easier to activate. Its a small value added ability that we never really had a chance to play with and I look forward to experimenting with it. I think decks will want a two die Mothma while they will want a single die Ackbar to try to use his ability.

Bala-Tik

While his point change has been untouched he is now a Leader and a Scoundrel which is certainly a buff for Bala. Standard doesn’t have access to an 11 point elite Scoundrel with a reasonable die. The Scoundrel tag is certainly welcomed with cards like Entourage being even more powerful when you start with Scoundrels. Along with Guavian Enforcer Ranged Villain Scoundrel decks now will have access to 8 point characters unlike standard decks.

Finn, First Order Defector

For those who thought they would never play Finn…well, that still might be the case but its getting a bit more interesting. He’s now 11/13 and its funny how they can remove 3 points from his elite cost and still I’m not super pumped. He’s a scoundrel now as well which is an interesting choice although it makes sense considering his title. Red Villain Weapons and vehicles aren’t the hottest of cards with Riot Control Baton, AT-ST and Tie Fighters being the ones that jump to mind as unique to villains. Its certainly pretty interesting and I think people will have a lot of fun figuring out if he’s good.

As an aside I think these kinds of changes to characters make collecting bad character more reasonable since they are clearly going to be doing point adjustments for Infinite. Not exactly sure how often but I’d imagine at least every time Standard rotates.

Director Krennic

At 14/17 he can finally be paired with someone who won’t die to a stiff breeze. With the speed of infinite its hard to claim and keep the death trooper die when your die is all over the place. I’m pretty sure he’s not going to be good but a potential 3 die character at 17 is something to be looked at. Him and Landing Dock could be friends to make sure he has the battlefield always, perhaps throw in some Tie Fighters to make sure you always have a vehicle? Doesn’t sound like the worst thing ever.

Baze and Churrut

With Baze being 12/16 and Chirrut going down to 11/14 we can finally have the flavor that so many Star Wars fans have been looking for. Of the two characters Chirrut is the one that is most likely to be tier 1 but thats probably not going to happen. This is just for flavor/theme days but its nice to see them do something like this.

Luminara Unduli

Norman nailed Luminara with her cost and her double type adjustments. At 11/14 Luminara can finally pair with two 8 point non-unique characters which will definitely be experimented with. She’s still 10 health and the investment of your strategy into 10 health is pretty steep. Still, a Jedi Leader with an awesome special like this deserves a close look. Her and blue R2-D2 are going to be good friends helping her make that special as consistent as she can.

FN-2199

From broken to nerfed and now buffed FN is now a Trooper that costs 11/14. FN-2199 was probably the most broken character they ever printed which forced them to have to change the rules and increase it by 2 . I personally feel that the rule change was the biggest thing that nerfed him (previously you could overwrite infinitely but now you only get one per round.) Still, a lot of people are buzzing about FNs point reduction because it opens things up for him to be playable again albeit not as broken as before.

Palpatine, Galactic Emperor

Palpatine is now a Sith Leader that costs 19/26. People were still trying to make Palp Happen and now that you can play profitable connections or Built to Last he’s going to be experimented once again. I doubt he’ll be tier 1 but a Built to Last palpatine deck can easily gain an extra 3 resources – Dooku’s Lightsaber will allow free damage or discard. Sadly all the best unique upgrades are melee based and this palp is more of a fan of electrocuting people then going ham with a lightsaber.

That’s my list. Let me know if you think I missed anyone in the comments or on social media. I avoided some of the big character because I just don’t think they are that exciting although if you want to sleeve up Jedi Luke it will be way more palatable now. Take care and as always…

-NJCuenca

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