A New Dawn in the SWU Twin Suns Format

A New Dawn in the Twin Suns Format

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%

Citation

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 Independent Smuggler

1 Cloud-Rider

1 Gamorrean Retainer

1 Pantoran Starship Thief

1 Privateer Crew

1 Ryloth Militia

1 Sidon Ithano, The Crimson Corsair

1 X-34 Landspeeder

1 Dengar, Crude and Slovenly

1 Escort Skiff

1 Gamorrean Guards

1 Boba Fett, Feared Bounty Hunter

1 IG-88, Murderous Phlutdroid

1 The Mandalorian, Weathered Pilot

1 Ziro The Hutt, Colorful Schemer

1 Dryden Vos, Offering No Escape

Space Units (10)

1 Zygerrian Starhopper

1 Black Sun Starfighter

1 Contracted Jumpmaster

1 Death Space Skirmisher

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

1 Strafing Gunship

Events (4)

1 Commission

1 Prisoner of War

1 Overwhelming Barrage

1 Caught in the Crossfire

Upgrades (1)

1 Hotshot DL-44 Blaster

Removed: 

1 I Am Your Father

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

Rey – More Than a Scavenger

Catacombs of Cadera

Ground Units (50)

1 332nd Stalwart

1 Barriss Offee, Unassuming Apprentice

1 ISB Agent

1 Soldier of the 501st

1 Academy Graduate

1 Bazine Netal, Spy for the First Order

1 Bo-Katan Kryze, Death Watch Lieutenant 

1 Clan Wren Rescuer

1 Doctor Pershing, Experimenting With Life

1 Grogu, Irresistable

1 Heroic Renegade

1 Ketsu Onyo, Old Friend

1 L3-37, Droid Revolutionary

1 Omega, Part of the Squad

1 Phase I Clone Trooper

1 Pyke Sentinel

1 Sabine Wren, Explosives Artist

1 Viper Probe Droid

1 Ahsoka Tano, Always Ready for Trouble

1 Batch Brothers

1 Calculating MagnaGuard

1 Captain Typho, Protecting the Senator

1 Cell Block Guard

1 Del Meeko, Providing Overwatch

1 Ezra Bridger, Resourceful Troublemaker

1 L3-37, Get Out Of My Seat

1 Nite Owl Skirmisher

1 Phase II Clone Trooper

1 Village Protectors

1 Yoda, Old Master

1 Infiltrating Demolisher

1 Kanan Jarrus, Revealed Jedi

1 Lieutenant Childsen, Death Star Prison Warden

1 Morgan Elsbeth, Keeper of Many Secrets

1 Anakin Skywalker, Maverick Mentor

1 Darth Maul, Revenge At Last

1 Gideon Hask, Ruthless Loyalist

1 IG-88, Murderous Phlutdroid

1 Patrolling AAT

1 Rey, Keeping the Past

1 Seventh Sister, Implacable Inquisitor

1 Supercommando Squad

1 Armored Saber Tank

1 Droideka Security

1 Kylo Ren, Killing the Past

1 Obi-Wan Kenobi, Following Fate

1 The Mandalorian, Wherever I Go, He Goes

1 Count Dooku, Darth Tyranus

1 Count Dooku, Fallen Jedi

1 Supreme Leader Snoke, Shadow Ruler

Space Units (12)

1 Wolf Pack Escort

1 Green Squadron A-Wing

1 Inferno Four, Unforgetting

1 Restored ARC-170

1 Black Sun Starfighter

1 Concord Dawn Interceptors

1 Contracted Jumpmaster

1 Rogue-class Starfighter

1 Clan Saxon Gauntlet

1 Rebellious Hammerhead

1 Redemption, Medical Frigate

1 Avenger, Hunting Star Destroyer

Events (14)

1 Force Lightning

1 Force Throw

1 Heroic Sacrifice

1 Creative Thinking

1 It Binds All Things

1 Self-Destruct

1 Evidence of the Crime

1 Unnatural Life

1 Drop In

1 Lethal Crackdown

1 Search Your Feelings

1 The Force is With Me

1 Caught in the Crossfire

1 Superlaser Blast

Upgrades (4)

1 Clone Cohort

1 Fallen Lightsaber

1 Jedi Lightsaber

1 Perilous Position

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

City in the Clouds

Ground Units (34)

1 Alliance Dispatcher

1 Bail Organa, Rebel Councilor

1 Benthic “Two Tubes”, Partisan Lieutenant 

1 Massassi Tactical Officer

1 Nien Nunb, Loyal Co-Pilot

1 R2-D2, Ignoring Protocol

1 R2-D2, Artooooooo!

1 SpecForce Soldier

1 Academy Graduate

1 Battlefield Marine

1 Echo Base Engineer

1 Hera Syndulla, We’ve Lost Enough

1 Jedha Agitator

1 Jyn Erso, Stardust

1 Luke Skywalker, You Still With Me?

1 Partisan Insurgent

1 Rebel Pathfinder

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 Echo Base Defender

1 Fighters For Freedom

1 Fleet Lieutenant

1 Leia Organa, Pilots, To Your Stations

1 General Dodonna, Massassi Group Commander

1 K-2SO, Cassian’s Counterpart

1 Kanan Jarrus, Revealed Jedi

1 Regional Sympathizers

1 Vigilant Honor Guards

1 Guerilla Attack Pod

1 Insurgent Saboteurs

1 Rogue Squadron Skirmisher

1 Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight

Space Units (28)

1 Alliance X-Wing

1 Green Squadron A-Wing

1 Grey Squadron Y-Wing

1 Phoenix Squadron A-Wing

1 Red Squadron Y-Wing

1 Restored ARC-170

1 Blue Leader, Scarif Air Support

1 Disabling Fang Fighter

1 Millenium Falcon, Get Out and Push

1 Phantom II, Modified to Dock

1 Red Five, Running the Trench

1 Red Squadron X-Wing

1 Red Three, Unstoppable

1 Sabine’s Masterpiece, Crazy Colorful

1 Wing Leader

1 Bright Hope, The Last Transport

1 Red Leader, Form Up

1 System Patrol Craft

1 Corellian Freighter

1 Dornean Gunship

1 Senatorial Corvette

1 The Ghost, Heart of the Family

1 CR90 Relief Runner

1 Rebellious Hammerhead

1 The Ghost, Spectre Home Base

1 Tantive IV, Fleeing the Empire

1 Home One, Alliance Flagship

1 Redemption, Medical Frigate

Events (17)

1 Salvage

1 Close the Shield Gate

1 Covert Strength

1 Hotshot Maneuver

1 I Have the High Ground

1 Outflank

1 Rebel Assault

1 System Shock

1 Timely Intervention

1 Eject

1 Power Failure

1 Synchronized Strike

1 Evidence of the Crime

1 For A Cause I Believe In

1 Piercing Shot

1 Direct Hit

1 U-Wing Reinforcement

Upgrade (1)

1 Perilous Position

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.


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