Images courtesy of Fantasy Flight Games
It’s finally here. A couple months ago I introduced you to Twin Suns, the multi-player format of Star Wars Unlimited (SWU), and now we’re finally getting to enjoy the full experience.
We’re now up to the 80-card minimum decks, and 72 leaders to choose from. You can definitely create a deck to fit your play style. Hyper-aggro? Try Asajj1 and Vonreg with a red base. Midrange deck? Try Han2 and Obi-Wan with a green base. Thematic decks? Go all Rebels with Luke and Leia with a blue base… which I’ll be showing later in the article. The point is, there is something for everyone.
Let’s look at some differing philosophies in Twin Suns versus 1v1 formats, and then I’ll share some decks my son and I have created.
Multiplayer SWU Versus Duels
Aside from the number of players involved (1v1 compared to three or more players), Twin Suns has some extra rules, counters (as mentioned in my previous article), and a different strategy on how to look at your opponents.
The game is much more contained, with a quicker endpoint compared to other multiplayer TCG formats where the game ends when there is one last survivor. Twin Suns has a finite clock, so when one player’s base is reduced to zero HP “the game will end once the current phase ends. The player with the most HP remaining on their base at the end of the current phase wins the game” (CR 12.7.1). Yes, a player gets 5 HP healed to their base for eliminating a player, but that doesn’t necessarily leave them in an advantageous position to win.
So what does that mean, exactly? Well, I’ve seen it multiple times now where someone gets target fixated on an opponent (weird that it’s been me twice), they push and knock an opponent out… only to leave themselves wide open for another opponent to counter attack and win the game, and the fourth player is sitting there wondering what just happened. I think that happens because people are used to focusing on one player exclusively in formats like Premier and Sealed events, and tend to ignore what the other players are setting up.
How do you do that? Every game is fluid, but I tend to find keywords like Sentinel and Restore in the early to mid-game help establish a board presence. Keep an eye on all players and ultimately everyone is essentially balancing an equilibrium until someone can push through the damage, maybe with a unit with Saboteur (like my fave from TWI!). It’s going to be frantic once the game pops off.
With that, let’s look how I updated my Twin Suns deck from the last article.
The Underworld In Space!
First, I want to take a second to compliment Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) on how the Prestige treatment came out on these cards (and all cards, for that matter). Absolutely gorgeous, and the foils look phenomenal in person.
Second, I want to tell a joke. “How do you know there’s a pilot in the room…? They’ll tell you.” That’s how I felt when JTL was revealed and I saw Boba3 (which, pairs up quite well with Qi’Ra btw) and I started telling everyone about the new mechanic. My dream of being a mercenary pilot in the Star Wars universe can finally come true (kind of).
One thing I want to put out there for everyone is the odds of drawing one or more one- or two-cost units (with a mulligan) on your opening draw of six cards in an 80-card singleton deck. This is the foundation for Twin Suns deckbuilding, and I want everyone to know:
- 14 – 90.9%
- 15 – 92.4%
- 16 – 93.7%
- 17 – 94.8%
- 18 – 95.7%
- 19 – 96.5%
- 20 – 97.2%
What did Jabba and Bossk get added to their domain? Mostly space arena units, units with Sentinel, and enough one- or two-cost units to finish out the curve. I still want to add more Bounty cards, but I need to play a few games to see what units are “dead” draws every time I get them.
Add:
Ground Units (15)
1 Sidon Ithano, The Crimson Corsair
1 Boba Fett, Feared Bounty Hunter
1 The Mandalorian, Weathered Pilot
1 Ziro The Hutt, Colorful Schemer
1 Dryden Vos, Offering No Escape
Space Units (10)
1 Hound’s Tooth, Reliable and Deadly
1 Mist Hunter, The Findsman’s Pursuit
1 Fett’s Firespray, Feared Silhouette
1 IG-2000, Assassin’s Aggressor
Events (4)
Upgrades (1)
Removed:
Overall, this is a unit-heavy deck that relies on playing on the back foot. If you want to ping units every round, you’re going to be the last one claiming any counters. Establish your position, try and use Jabba’s ability and Bossk’s ping to entice other people to attack other player’s units.
Familial Ties: Part One (Palpatine’s Lineage/Grandfather and Granddaughter Bonding)
Grandfather and granddaughter doing SWU things. I know, I know… she’s a Skywalker now, but her blood is all Palpatine. My son and I crafted this deck. Initially it was Chancellor Palpatine and Anakin, but the healing on Palpatine was counter-productive to Anakin’s flip, even though it was great for Anakin’s front ability. We chatted a bit and decided to go with the current iteration here. Lots of Sentinel. Lots of card draw. Lots of damage to “each enemy base” (Darth Sidious side).
Leaders and Base (3)
Chancellor Palpatine – Playing Both Sides
Ground Units (50)
1 Barriss Offee, Unassuming Apprentice
1 Bazine Netal, Spy for the First Order
1 Bo-Katan Kryze, Death Watch Lieutenant
1 Doctor Pershing, Experimenting With Life
1 Sabine Wren, Explosives Artist
1 Ahsoka Tano, Always Ready for Trouble
1 Captain Typho, Protecting the Senator
1 Del Meeko, Providing Overwatch
1 Ezra Bridger, Resourceful Troublemaker
1 Lieutenant Childsen, Death Star Prison Warden
1 Morgan Elsbeth, Keeper of Many Secrets
1 Anakin Skywalker, Maverick Mentor
1 Gideon Hask, Ruthless Loyalist
1 Seventh Sister, Implacable Inquisitor
1 Obi-Wan Kenobi, Following Fate
1 The Mandalorian, Wherever I Go, He Goes
1 Supreme Leader Snoke, Shadow Ruler
Space Units (12)
1 Avenger, Hunting Star Destroyer
Events (14)
1 Drop In
Upgrades (4)
This deck is a bear to play with and play against. Expect to catch the aggro when you start pinging everyone’s base by two and you keep healing your base.
Familial Ties: Part Two (Sibling Rebels)
If you don’t know my informal rule by now, let me share it with you: “if you pull a showcase, you gotta play with it.” I was quite fortunate to pull a Luke in one of my Carbonite Edition boxes so… I gotta build a deck. I tinkered around with Mando, and I am high on that tapping down opponent’s units by playing pilots, but I opted for theme. Here it is in all of its angsty teenager rebellious attitude.
Leaders and Base (3)
Leia Organa – Alliance General
Luke Skywalker – Hero of Yavin
Ground Units (34)
1 Bail Organa, Rebel Councilor
1 Benthic “Two Tubes”, Partisan Lieutenant
1 Hera Syndulla, We’ve Lost Enough
1 Luke Skywalker, You Still With Me?
1 Sabine Wren, Explosives Artist
1 Admiral Ackbar, Brilliant Strategist
1 Biggs Darklighter, They’ll Never Stop Us
1 Cassian Andor, Rebellions Are Built On Hope
1 Leia Organa, Pilots, To Your Stations
1 General Dodonna, Massassi Group Commander
1 K-2SO, Cassian’s Counterpart
Space Units (28)
1 Blue Leader, Scarif Air Support
1 Millenium Falcon, Get Out and Push
1 Phantom II, Modified to Dock
1 Red Five, Running the Trench
1 Sabine’s Masterpiece, Crazy Colorful
1 Bright Hope, The Last Transport
1 The Ghost, Heart of the Family
1 The Ghost, Spectre Home Base
1 Tantive IV, Fleeing the Empire
Events (17)
1 Salvage
1 Outflank
1 Eject
Upgrade (1)
I’m going to give it a run. I definitely feel like I can add more pilots, but this is the first iteration. I’ll give it the ol’ college try and report back to everyone.
New Set, Full Twin Suns, and New Meta
JTL Pre-release was great and I hope everyone had a chance to experience it. If not, order a couple pre-release kits and grab a friend. Now we’re rolling into the phase where everyone is trying new stuff online, and they’ll be drafting for the next few weeks to fill out their decks. The meta is in flux and wide open. I’ll be writing about what I think will happen in the Premier meta, and that’ll drop next week. But lemme give you a hint what I think will be good:
One of those leaders is going be a bit different, though… See you next time!
Be cool to your fellow players, be cool to your judges, hydrate, eat well, exercise, and wear clean socks. Hit me up anytime on Bluesky @TheFlyingWriter or Reddit at u/TheFlyingWriter
Want to see all of the cards from Jump to Lightspeed? Check out our full card gallery here.
