I DID IT! I went to weeklies! I won one, and lost two! Not bad for an Unlimited Underachiever (the going to the event, not the record).
I did end up taking the Kylo Aggro deck I spoke about last week, and it was ok. Obviously, the deck would be better served with a pilot who gave it more reps by grinding games to get mindswole (I don’t know what the kids say these days). I couldn’t help but feel like it was missing something. As a mostly aggro player so far in SWU Constructed, the playstyle of the deck made sense. Oh, what’s an aggro deck type? Well, you see…
Collectible Card Games usually break their deck styles down into three main categories…
Aggro
This is the deck type I mentioned above. It’s usually characterized by being “all gas, no breaks” in an attempt to deal massive damage as quickly as possible to win the game. Aggro decks typically sacrifice survivability and diversification to do this, however. They can burn bright but fade out quickly. Oh, what fun we have while it’s doing the work.
Aggro is generally considered a good option for beginners due to its straightforward nature. It’s also typically the first archetype of deck to emerge in a new game, or with a new set, as it is the most obvious. Cards that say they deal damage, well, they deal damage. Aggro decks are a lot of things, but subtle isn’t one of them.
Control
Property of Brooksfilms
Have you ever seen a movie or cartoon where a tall person holds back a shorter person to keep them from landing any punches? That’s a Control deck for you. I’ve noticed two types of Control (or, two things most Control decks do in equal measure): Removal and Healing. Removing opposing Units to keep damage from being dealt to your Base or Units is a keystone of Control in SWU.
If you’ve ever seen someone rage quit a match at a TCG event, their opponent was probably playing Control.
Midrange
The easiest way to explain Midrange is that it is a mixture of the other two types of deck. That’s how I used to look at it. But it’s not that simple. Standard Midrange starts with Control and Resource ramping. Once the pieces are in place, the deck will unleash its grand plan. It may be one certain Bomb unit, or a combo wombo, or a mixture of those. The same strategy used for Control decks and Aggro decks cannot usually just be combined to play this style effectively. Or so I’m told.
So, where does this leave me?
I’ve played a lot of Aggro in Star Wars: Unlimited, and I’m not sure it’s the right fit. I have some experience with a Midrange style of deck with my “Mustard on my Sheev” Palpatine/Cunning deck in the SOR Meta, but I could never get it to work consistently. I have less than two weeks until our first Store Showdown, and if I want to not embarrass myself (again) in a larger Premier event, I need to pick something fast. At first, I thought might take a “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” approach toward Hard Control. Never have I disliked this game more than when I watched my opponent recover from 26 damage on their base back to virtually full health after tussling with them for half of our allotted time in a Best-2-Out-of-3 match. It was one of the most frustrating and helpless feelings I’ve ever had playing a game. So, maybe going with Vigilance/Something is the way to go. Maybe I was just jealous of what my opponent could do, and frustrated that I couldn’t be a stinker as well.
Or, do I choose Midrange? I like the idea of holding someone in place while I build up to deliver the big kabong. You don’t just hit your finishing move out of the gate; You have to apply a wristlock, then a suplex, then the knee drop, THEN the finisher! Kiyah!
Full disclosure: I am writing this at almost midnight because I need to hit a self-imposed deadline? Why didn’t I finish this earlier? Well, I planned to… then decided to go to a Draft event. I went 2-1, and pulled a Devastator in the Draft. It was a good event. But now brain my no think good. I had planned on a Double Blue Rey deck, but that’s not looking as good to me now. Of course, there is the newest Palpatine hotness (Endless Legions FTW). And there is that Bossk monster I’ve heard so much about.
I hate to end a post without a definitive conclusion, but I think I’m going to have to. I will decide before the next weekly event, and may even attend another in the next few days to try and get more praccy/reps/grind in. Whatever I go with, I’ll try and remember to have fun and enjoy the game itself. Or, at least, keep the Control decks from winning.
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