Here at Card Gamer, we’ve been big fans of Star Wars Unlimited ever since we played it in the weeks leading up to the release of its first set, Spark of Rebellion. We’ve just seen the release of the ninth set for Star Wars Unlimited, Homeworlds. As part of the product range for Homeworlds, there are two new, pre-constructed Spotlight Decks: Chewbacca and Tarkin. Let’s check them both out!
What’s Included With Each Spotlight Deck?
Each Spotlight Deck box contains 50 cards, a Base and a Leader. You also get a sheet of cardboard counters and 3 double-sided token cards. Finally, there’s also a Homeworlds booster pack too. For Homeworlds, the Leader cards to choose from in each Spotlight Deck are Chewbacca or Tarkin/Death Star. The latter is really interesting, because when the Tarkin Leader card deploys, it’s as the planet-destroying Death Star itself!
Are Spotlight Decks Suitable for Beginners?
As trading card games go, Star Wars Unlimited is currently one of the simplest to learn and play. Though we’d highly recommend the Intro Battle: Hoth set for absolute newcomers to trading card games, if you have any experience at all with card games, you should be perfectly fine to dive in with Spotlight Decks.
Spotlight Decks can function as the introduction to a new set’s mechanics too. So if you’re familiar with Star Wars Unlimited but want to get to know how Homeworlds plays in practice, the Spotlight Decks do give a good overview of the new set’s keywords and style. Let’s look at each deck in turn.
The Chewbacca Homeworlds Spotlight Deck
Chewbacca is a great choice for players who like to be aggressive with their deck. As a Leader, Chewbacca’s strength is in breaking a rule to unpredictably apply pressure to the opponent: using exhausted units to attack. Of the two decks, we’d say that Chewbacca is our favorite, but then we always have preferred to be on the offense as quickly as possible!
One of Chewbacca’s most powerful cards is the Hijacked AT-ST. It’s a card which doesn’t make a lot of sense unless you have Chewbacca as your Leader, because it doesn’t ready when other units do, at least when played. However, with Chewbacca being able to use exhausted units to attack, it becomes far more impressive and deadly. Especially as it deals 7HP damage!
Other things to look out for with Chewbacca’s deck are his Chewbacca’s Bowcaster (above), Ewoks, C-3PO and Ezra Bridger cards. The Bowcaster can assist in bringing resources into play when Chewbacca is a unit. Ewoks are lower cost and relatively weak in small numbers, but can really add pressure when their forces grow on the board. C-3PO helps to add bonuses to both Ewok and Rebel units when played. Finally, Ezra can add Beast tokens to the board for even more units to throw at your opponent!
The Tarkin/Death Star Homeworlds Spotlight Deck
Where Chewbacca’s strategy is in continually piling pressure on your opponent, with Tarkin it’s all about staying calm under pressure, and then deploying The Death Star to devastating effect! To get to that stage, you do have to have 9 resources in play. So it really is all about the waiting game with Tarkin.
What’s interesting about the Tarkin deck is the way it utilizes the Fortify keyword, newly introduced in the Homeworlds set. Upgrading your base and using other cards to offer support is key here. This can be seen with The Tarkin Doctrine most strongly, which slows down opposing forces by exhausting them any time a Fortification upgrade is played. Carbonite Chamber also plays a part in slowing down your opponent by stopping a unit from readying. Vice Admiral Rampart can sacrifice himself to stop an upgrade attached to your Base from being defeated. Director Krennic allows you to draw a card when he attacks, if your base is upgraded.
The Card Gamer Verdict
Each of the Homeworlds Spotlight Decks offers a vastly different experience in terms of strategy and playstyle. They’re great value for players who just want to dive into the Homeworlds set, or even if players want to check out Star Wars Unlimited for the first time, if they aren’t absolute beginners to trading card games.
Having a booster pack provides even more value. With this, you may even be able to customize your deck immediately too. We’re huge fans of both Star Wars Unlimited and the game’s Spotlight Decks, and these two are excellent additions to the selection already on offer!
Check out our feature on the latest card ban in Star Wars Unlimited, as well as our look at how the new Fortify keyword works.
