Happy New Year! The SWU Twilight of the Imperium (TWI) Planetary Qualifier (PQ) 2025 season kicks off on January 4th. I’m excited to see the results on how the players evolve with Boba1 being banned in Premier.
We only have one PQ to go off of, and that happened back on the 7th of December, which was only two weeks after TWI was released. There have been plenty of smaller to mid-size tournaments that have happened, but those don’t necessarily translate to what will take down a 100+ player PQ. People may ask, “Why is that?” Main reason is LGS Showdowns are fewer rounds and there’s a good chance most of the players know each other. There’s less mental fatigue with fewer rounds, and local players usually know what the their opponent is playing and/or their strengths and weaknesses. PQs bring people from all over and there tends to be more stress just from the fact that players are in a higher stakes environment.
First and foremost, the best way to combat those factors are to know your own deck and know what you’ll likely be facing. Furthermore, most people ignore the physiological factors that should go into preparing for a higher stakes environment. Hydration, proper diet (before and during), adequate sleep, and physical fitness all help making the PQ day a success.
With that, let’s look at examples of the strongest contenders you will definitely see.
The Top Contenders
Sabine ECL
(Giamma99 2nd PQ Bologna, Italy)
Ground Units (27)
3 Sabine Wren – Explosive Artist
3 Cassian Andor – Rebellions Are Built On Hope
2 General Dodonna – Massassi Group Commander
3 K-2SO – Cassian’s Counterpart
3 Poe Dameron – Quick to Improvise
Space Units (14)
2 Bright Hope – The Last Transport
Events (7)
Upgrades (2)
Sideboard (10)
1 Bright Hope – The Last Transport
Sabine ECL has been a heavy hitter since the release of SWU. It’s the aggro deck in Premier, and unless your pairings are wacky, you’ll probably see this deck (or be playing it).
If you’re piloting this reliable deck, you need to look out for the control decks with board wipes and removal (Bossk Blue or a Palpatine Blue variant). Board in the U-Wing Reinforcement to replenish your field. Jango TTown can possibly outrace Sabine ECL because Jango’s leader effect exhausts your units and slows down your attacks. Definitely board in Bright Hope to slow down their space attack. Cad Bane is going to try and remove/trade ground units until it can secure a board presence (possibly even turn one with TTown and Cad Bane’s ability) by going over top with bigger units, so maintain initiative and counter with your beaters like Wrecker who can two-for-one them by defeating your own resource.
Remember, as a Sabine ECL player you want to get their base damage all the way up as fast as possible. Handle opponent’s units with Sentinel quickly and take to their face… I mean, base.
Jango TTown
Ground Units (12)
Space Units (22)
3 Kylo’s TIE Silencer – Ruthlessly Efficient
3 Fett’s Firespray – Pursuing the Bounty
2 Punishing One – Dengar’s Jumpmaster
Events (15)
Upgrades (1)
Sideboard (10)
3 Waylay
2 IG-11 – I Cannot Be Captured
Jango TTown is the new kid on the block. It was expected to be the heir apparent after the banning of Boba1. Although it hasn’t proven to be as dominant as his clone son, it’s still putting up placements in the top eight (to include first) at Showdowns.
The primary goal of this deck is lane avoid and slow down the ground arena with Jango’s ability and rush space. Triple Dark Raid into Ruthless Raider on turn three is a powerful synergy because the two damage to a unit will at the very least exhaust it, and then there’s the option of using Ruthless Raider to attack the base or probably remove any space threat. The “iron triad” of control vs aggro vs midrange makes Jango TTown a difficult matchup against control. If paired against Bossk Blue, treat the Jango deck like aggro and board in the Waylay and bounce the card enablers/healer. Don’t forget to board in Black Sun Starfighter to protect your LTPs if the opponent has a heavy amount of space threat.
Rey TTown
(Fame00 6th PQ Bologna, Italy)
Ground Units (26)
2 Sabine Wren – Explosive Artist
2 K-2SO – Cassian’s Counterpart
2 Poe Dameron – Quick to Improvise
2 Obi-Wan Kenobi – Following Fate
3 Luke Skywalker – Jedi Knight
Space Units (10)
2 Razor Crest, Reliable Gunship
Events (9)
2 Takedown
Upgrades (5)
Sideboard (10)
1 Captain Typho – Protecting the Senator
1 K-2SO – Cassian’s Counterpart
Rey TTown has been consistent since SHD. It’s the truest midrange deck in SWU because it has a creatures (which Rey can buff), it has removal, it can repair the base, and there’s disruption with cards like Regional Governor.
The trick in piloting this deck is to maintain the incremental advantage and pacing this deck affords. Krayt Dragon is a great way to deal with the big cost cards in control decks, and K-2SO makes removal hurt for the opponent. Concord Dawn Interceptors are a tank against most Premier space units (especially once Rey gives experience tokens), and the other space units in this deck have no problem dealing with LTP. If an opponent is playing Han1 Yellow, make sure to wipe out Tech as soon as possible.
This is one of the decks that requires some experience to play because knowing when or when not to use Rey’s ability is paramount.
Bossk Blue
(Duce94 4th PQ Bologna, Italy)
Ground Units (16)
3 Doctor Pershing – Expirimenting With Life
3 The Client – Dictated by Discretion
3 Lieutenant Childsen – Death Star Prison Warden
3 Emperor Palpatine – Master of the Dark Side
2 Supreme Leader Snoke – Shadow Ruler
Space Units (3)
3 Avenger – Hunting Star Destroyer
Events (22)
3 Takedown
Upgrades (11)
Sideboard (10)
1 Restock
This is the closest deck to pure control in SWU. The card draw is generated through Bounties and Doctor Pershing. Maintaining the damage on your base in the early game is key so use the removal suite to enable The Client’s bounty to activate. That sounds easy, but the pilot of Bossk Blue has to know when to let units slide until the board can be wiped. The hardest unit Bossk Blue will deal with is LTP. The only ways to deal with it pre-sideboarding is playing Perilous Position, Snoke, and a “soft” way of dealing with it is to play Entrenched on it. Board in the Make an Openings to remove LTP. Remember, the only way to defeat LTP is combat damage and “the rules” (i.e., give it -X/-2). Any card that says “defeat” is ignored by LTP (yes, even Superlaser Blast or Merciless Contest).
The name of the control game is deal with the opponent’s threats and close out the game with the bombs. In the control mirror, it’s a contest of dealing with each other’s board state and a game of attrition until one player can force their closer to stick. I’ve seen casual matches go much further than normal time as each is trying to get their Krayt Dragon to stick. Bossk Blue players need to be aware of the round clock because FFG has their own ways of handling Best-of-Three Match Resolution (see 4.3.2).
Cad Bane TTown
Ground Units (27)
3 Bazine Netal – Spy for the First Order
3 Jabba the Hutt – Cunning Daimyo
3 4-LOM – Bounty Hunter for Hire
3 Zuckuss – Bounty Hunter for Hire
Space Units (10)
3 Punishing One – Dengar’s Jumpmaster
Events (15)
2 Waylay
Upgrades (2)
Sideboard (10)
This SHD leader made a resurgence with the post Boba1 ban. LTPs were everywhere, so Cad Bane’s ability was kind of a waste. Now, the only other deck in the early meta that is consistently running LTP is Jango and this deck can handle itself with any of its own space threats or using Bazine Netal’s ability to discard the opponent’s LTP. REMEMBER TO HAVE THE OPPONENT DRAW A CARD. One of the most frequent warnings I see issued in tournament judge write-ups is players forgetting the second part of Bazine’s ability.
In the mirror, board in the LTPs and Black Sun Starfighters (to deal with the inevitable opponent bringing in their own LTPs). If Cad Bane is faced with Sabine ECL then use the one damage ping and TTown to take the board state control early and often.
Han 1 Yellow
(Filip 4th SCG Con Columbus 2k)
Ground Units (28)
3 Bodhi Rook – Imperial Defector
1 Ezra Bridger – Resourceful Troublemaker
Space Units (7)
3 Millennium Falcon – Piece of Junk
2 Millennium Falcon – Lando’s Pride
Events (12)
3 Waylay
3 Cunning
Upgrades (3)
Sideboard (10)
Han1 Yellow is probably one of the most difficult decks to play. But many people agree that if it’s piloted expertly, then it’s the best deck in Premier.
The name of the game here is to get Tech to stick and get the engine going on resource stealing mentioned in my first article. Then the next piece of mastering this deck is knowing when to Waylay or Bouncer or Cunning the opponent’s units, which unit to Ambush with Han Solo, and when it’s worth it to pay for Piece of Junk to stay on the board (and it is terrific to deal with LTPs).
The decision tree in Han1 Yellow is extensive, and the many lines of play are too much to give in an intro primer. Reps with this deck are important, and not necessarily reps online where triggers and cost are helped by the program. I’ve talked to a couple pilots of this deck and they say “There are no substitutes for playing this deck in person. Han1 Yellow is a lifestyle.” It’s only glaring weakness is Bossk Blue because of its extensive removal suite to deal with Tech. Combo is fragile to control, so maybe players will have to adjust the sideboard to an aggro deck if Bossk Blue and other control decks start to dominate the meta.
Tying a Bow on It for This Season
These aren’t the only decks you’ll see. I had to make the hard decision not to include Emperor Palpatine – Galactic Ruler because there are three distinct colors that are performing well (Blue, Green, and Yellow) and that would’ve blown through my word limit… which I’ve already done. Anakin Blue, Quinlan Green, and Yoda Blue (which has a cool interaction of sculpting your deck to put a bomb on top and get it out cheap using You’re My Only Hope) are most certainly going to be played at PQs. Deck lists are easily searchable on the internet, so check them out.
So, then, how does a player navigate such a diverse meta? Know the most played decks and how they interact with your deck. Be aware of the fringe decks that are popular and be aware of their composition. If a deck appears that has never been seen, don’t panic; focus on what your deck does best. Play your game and don’t let them draw them into theirs. Above all else, have fun! Remember that it is “Season 0.” Good luck with the 2025 TWI PQ season.
Wanna see what’s coming up in Star Wars Unlimited and other card games? Check out our 2025 Card Game Release Schedule.
