The following is a guest article by Norman Horn. He was a big proponent of a modified infinite format – FFG heard his plead and gave him exactly what he wanted. Today he discusses four decks that he’s excited for in the infinite format that use newly reduced characters.

FFG has spoken, and the Awakenings block now has a massive point cost reduction and added subtypes for the Infinite format. Your options are now so expansive that it’s hard to know where to begin! Of course, one could modify the most powerful decks in the old standard format with the Awakenings block (I’m looking at you, mill players!) but let’s take a step back and see what we can do with these newly balanced characters. Here are four decks using the new Holocron that will inspire you to take Infinite for a spin.

Han Solo (Awakenings) / Luke Skywalker (Legacies)

Awakenings Han Solo is now 16 points (not to mention a Scoundrel). This makes him an interesting (and thematic) partner with Legacies Luke Skywalker, who is one of the few blue characters with multiple ranged damage die sides. This deck looks to leverage Han’s gain-a-shield ability from playing lots of ambush cards, especially those 2-cost blasters. If the opponent goes after Luke, we can protect him a bit with Force Illusion and Caution, while loading up Han and prepping him for the endgame with Second Chance. We can soak indirect into Han’s shields, or use Riposte to turn them into damage. It’s a fairly fast deck as well, and thus we’re going to tend toward claiming the battlefield and pressing the opponent with Hyperspace Jump. Finally, we’ll support our resource needs with Truce (since it’s an ambush card) and Maz’s Vault, counting on our speed to balance the fact that we’re giving our opponent resources this way as well.

Baze / Chirrut

At long last, we can live the dream of playing with these two iconic Rogue One characters together with both of them elite! This deck wants to hit hard and fast, and push toward an endgame where you can “aggressively negotiate” a victory. Since the majority of our damage on character dice is ranged damage, we’re prioritizing ranged upgrades, but Ancient Lightsaber and Ezra’s redeployable saber are still good value for us overall. And, of course, we can’t leave home without Chirrut’s bow. Hit and Run and Rex’s Pistol give us speed, and we always want to be activating Chirrut second to take best advantage of his “reroll all blanks” ability. Since we expect to be a fast deck, we’ve got Defensive Position as premium removal and Dug In for some extra protection. Rebel Assault is terrific 0-cost removal as well for us. This won’t be tier 1 by any means, but it should still pack a reasonable punch.

Grand Inquisitor / Arindha Pryce

Grand Inquisitor at 17 points becomes reasonably playable, and there are a good number of 13 or 14 point partners in each color (GI+Snoke, anyone?). There is probably a deck that leverages Sith Holocrons and force abilities to take better advantage of the Grand Inquisitor’s wacky special side, but we won’t go there today. Instead, we’re going to treat this more like a “value” deck and simply be opportunistic with the Grand Inquisitor’s special. In many respects, this is a variant on a KRAP deck (Kylo2-Pryce) with some situational upside. We’ve replaced the Crossguard Sabers with other good value 2-costs (Palp’s saber and Treasured), and the ID10 takes the place of Dark Counsel. Inquisitor’s big damage and focus sides are excellent, and a Pryce special into 2 or 3 focus is nothing to be trifled with. Look for big plays like that following a Force Speed special or Tactical Mastery, then slam down Close Quarters Assault to make it even more painful. (Note: Don’t be silly and use a Pryce special to get a GI special to remove a blank. Not usually worth it.)

Mace Windu (EaW) / Ahsoka (Convergence)

I’ve saved my favorite for last. In my original article about reducing point costs, I felt Mace easily warranted a single point reduction, but three points??? That was a big surprise and I instantly wanted to find Mace a great partner. I first looked to Maz Kanata since, of course, she was the yellow character of choice when Mace was first released. But the new Convergence Ahsoka quickly became my preferred partner because of her crazy ability to resolve an upgrade die when you activate a Jedi. Why? Simple: Force Speed. Your basic win condition is to get Force Speed on Ahsoka, activate her, activate Mace, resolve the Speed special, use Salt Flats to focus to damage, then smash face for 8-12 damage. Naturally, that’s the ideal scenario, but you have options depending on how the opponent responds to your board threats. They are kind of put on notice to remove the Force Speed die, or else, and thus they’ll tend to use their removal on the speed and take Ahsoka out first. Both of those are favorable for the rest of your plan, which is to load up Mace with sticks and push damage. I’ve tried Loth Wolf Bond in this list, and while it is certainly a nice trick I cannot justify the cost. We need every resource for upgrades, Mace’s pay side, and real removal. When Allies of Necessity arrives, though, I think Knighthood can warrant a spot… Are there better mono-blue hero decks out there? Possibly, but they don’t smash down 4-melee sides!

What is your favorite new Infinite team or strategy? Let us know in the comments or on social media. I hope you enjoy this new and crazy format!

-Norman Horn

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