I took these two to the top 8 cut in the Austin, TX Regionals yesterday. I finished fourth in the Swiss, going 6-1 through the seven rounds, including a first round buy from my Store Championship win.

Overall Strategy

This is a mid-range deck, hoping to take the game to the fourth/fifth round with tons of dice on the board. Ideally you're looking at a few lightsabers and Force Speed and rerolling 7-9 die for lethal.

Playing this deck comes down to two major decisions. Do I use Qui-Gon's for damage? Or for defense? The answer varies based on the matchup, board-state, and what you (and your opponent) have in hand. You want to survive long enough to build your board state, but sniping a character with a ping should always take precedence.

Second, who gets the upgrades? Only ~75% of my opponents went for Qui-Gon first. While most of the time it is safe to throw a few lightsabers on Kanan, it can really hurt your endgame if he goes down with both Shotos.

Mulligan

You want to start the game with either a Ancient Lightsaber (or Shoto Lightsaber), Force Speed, and Caution. The upgrades enable you to get your engine going and burst ahead in actions.

If you are playing against Villain Blue or Sabine keep a copy of Rend for Sith Holocron and Running Interference, respectively. This can severely choke out Palpatine and Kylo decks.

Opening Moves

Ancient Lightsaber goes on Qui-Gon, no matter what, and Force Speed goes on Kanan. If Qui-Gon gets targeted first then use the ability once you've resolved the die to keep him alive longer. All your other upgrades should go on Kanan. Don't be tempted to throw two Shoto on Qui-Gon hoping for the double ping - if he goes down and you lose both those upgrades the game is most likely over.

There are times, however, where you can bait your opponent into targeting Kanan first. Playing a Force Speed and a lightsaber on him them Cautioning a Qui-Gon die puts your opponent in a tough position. It puts you way ahead if he/she switches targets after dealing a few points of damage.

Second, throw down Force Illusion ASAP. This is another sneaky way of steering aggro. It also could allow you to load up The Ataru Master with two Shotos. Then your opponent is in for a world of hurt.

Kanan's Ability

I've written about this on Reddit before, but I'll call it out here again. You can do so much with his ability and it's important you always consider his die before playing any action.

Kanan , a , and +2 modifier in your pool. You can use his ability to flip the to a black and resolve all the melee in one action. Kanan and another Kanan die in the pool. Now you can use his ability to flip his other die before playing Force Misdirection. This can be a blowout against ranged-heavy decks. Kanan's die is showing a . You can claim the before playing a card that costs one more that what you are showing.

A favorite play of mine is resolving a to play Decisive Blow. No one really expects that card - especially since you only need two . I knocked five off of Palpatine in a match that single hand-idly decided the game.

High Performing Cards

Riposte - You only want to play this once per game, unless mill becomes a big part of the meta. But a surprise three damage out of hand completely messes up your opponent's damage count. Also, sniping Kylo2 before he activates can be huge. Decisive Blow - No one expects this card. And you have enough black to play this at almost any time. Either finish a round with one or use Kanan's ability (mentioned above) to completely blow out an opponent. This card requires careful planning and perhaps an early activation. But is always worth it. Rend - Again, not many people expected this card. Shutting down a Sith Holocron against Villain Blue is huge. Especially when the newer decks rely so heavily on them. Force Misdirection - As mentioned above, playing this once usually leads to a blowout turn. However, don't be afraid to remove a single die with it. Its better to stay alive another turn then to wait for a blowout that never happens.

Low Performing Cards

Heroism - It works great against The Galactic Emperor, but most of the time you're just speeding up your opponent. I would rather just up instead of pulling damage to the other character. Handcrafted Light Bow - In a vacuum this was perfect for the mirror or other heavy builds. However, with only a single it often escaped me. The other sides are strong, but without a good way to chain ala Poe, it becomes harder to hit than you'd expect.

Tested but Dropped Cards

Luke's Protection - Amazing when you get the combo going with Fearless, but often requires too many or Qui-Gon goes down before it comes into place. Also, it feels bad to resolve just for a and not a damage ping. Fearless - Same as above. Also, I never want to play this on Kanan. Most games end with only a few cards left in hand/deck - and this mills us even faster. Keen Instincts - I would rather reroll to get something better than the . Funeral Pyre - Again, in a vacuum sounded awesome. But in practice was only ever triggered once every ten games. Being smart with who gets the upgrades, and timely Redeploy overwrites, gets you around the need for this. It Binds All Things - Some may love it. But I felt that it makes your mulligan entirely dependent on getting that card. Which can severely limit your foresight into the matchup.

Touch Matchups