Top 10 Draft Cards from SWU’s first year

Hello everybody, it has been just over a year since the launch of Star Wars Unlimited with the first set: Spark of the Rebellion. In that year the game has grown faster and wider than anybody expected. Happy Birthday SWU!

Draft is what first brought me to this game. I am a long time Magic drafter, and when I heard there was going to be a Star Wars game that was built with draft in mind, I was immediately sold. In this post, we're going to take a look at the four sets that have been released between launch and now, and we're going to talk about the game's top draft cards.

Keep in mind that this list is subjective, and is just my opinion. If you've been carried to victory by K-2S0 time and time again, don't let me stop you from taking him highly!

Honorable Mentions

Before we get into the the top 10, let's talk about some honourable mentions.

Sabine's Masterpiece, Crazy Colorful When this card was first revealed I did a double take, then a triple take. Every time I read it, it got better. It's a 3/3 for 3 in space, which is not amazing for sure. It also doesn't do anything the turn it comes down. But if you get to attack with it, even once, the value you're getting is likely very high. Most decks won't be running more than 2 aspects, but you only really need to get 1 of these for it to feel strong. Some of these are stronger than the others. In limited, I think the command option is the strongest, but still, you'd be happy to run this in any heroism deck. Which actually brings me to my next point about this ship. It's pure heroism. That's right, you CAN (and should) run it in any heroism deck. Playing this ship at any point in the game is going to feel pretty strong. Get a couple of attacks with it and it will feel great.

Emperor Palpatine, Master of the Dark Side is a very strong finisher. In a way, it kind of has ambush since when it comes in it immediately deals 6 damage (the same as its attack) but it's even better since it can spread the damage out. You will very regularly be able to kill 2 units with his when played, and a 6/6 overwhelm body is nothing to scoff at, and your opponent will likely need to trade at least 1 full unit into him, maybe even more. He is definitely a beating, but sadly his cost of 8 keeps him out of the top 10 list.

Vambrace Flamethrower is an interesting card. +1/+1 for 3 resources is certainly nothing impressive, but if you get this down on curve attached to one of your two cost ground units, you are very likely going to completely dominate the ground arena until your opponent flips their leader. This card's biggest downfall is the fact that you can get 2-for-1'd with it if your opponent has removal, and that you need a unit to play it on. Definitely very strong, but out of top 10.

Poe Dameron, Quick to Improvise What doesn't this card do. First of all, a 6/6 for 5 is a very strong stat-line, then you have a bunch of options on his attack. Need that extra damage? Turn any card in your hand into Daring Raid. Need to defeat an upgrade? (of which there are many in this set) Done. Draw a couple of low cost cards in the late game? That's OK, just make it as if no-one drew this turn at all. None of these options on their own seem strong, but as I won't shut up about, giving yourself options is STRONG.

Enfys Nest, Champion of Justice Is an interesting one. TWI was a weaker set power level wise than other sets, but our girl Nest still packs a punch. Immediately bouncing a reasonable threat of your opponent's is going to feel like very strong tempo. Getting to do it every turn is going to feel absurd. You will likely win the game if you get this off more than a couple of times. One thing to watch out for is you usually want to play Nest after your opponent's leader has been dealt with.

Victor Leader, Leading from the Front is an efficient space unit that makes all your space units stronger in the space unit set. Don't think I need more justification here! It will slot into basically any draft command/villainy deck, but if you've really built around getting lots of TIE fighters this will easily be the strongest card in your deck.

I feel like I should also mention Krayt Dragon. It's an interesting one, because very few cards say "I win the game" like Krayt dragon does. The reason he didn't quite make the list is 2fold. Firstly, getting to 9 resources can be tough in a game of draft or sealed. If you do manage to get to 9 resources, oftentimes one player's advantage will just be too strong for any card that doesn't immediately and directly impact the board to be able to save the game. He's definitely strong and as a neutral aspect he's a high pickup, but just be careful. I have had it happen many times where my opponent plays Krayt dragon and I just don't play anymore cards but rather win the game with my existing board presence.

Alright, without further ado, let's get into the actual top 10 list.

10. Jango Fett, Renowned Bounty Hunter

At first glance, it seems like you need Bounty to make Jango good. And you're right, if you can consistently put bounties on your opponents units Jango becomes insane. But even without that, a 3/6 for 4 is a very strong stat line, that will likely always have something to favourably attack. And a favourable attack is more than just that for Jango, it's also a full card? Incredible. If you draw a card off of Jango, then you are feeling very good about having him in your deck. If you draw TWO cards off of Jango then that's just such an insane advantage. Not to mention his relevant tags. The absolutely insane efficiency you get from this unit earns him a spot on this list.

9. Energy Conversion Lab

Energy Conversion Lab is a card that many know from being the best base in the game for constructed play. (and I'm saying that as an avid Tarkintown player). There are many cards that, if they had ambush, would be absolutely bonkers. Well look no further. Ambush is a well known strong mechanic in limited formats like draft, and the developers know this, so they balance the stats of the cards accordingly. This base gets around things like "card balance". One of the downsides of this card is you are essentially required to play command if you pick it up. Unlike splashing for a strong card, which is do-able sometimes, you can pretty much never "splash" for your base.

8. Han Solo, Has His Moments

As most people reading this will know, ambush is the strongest keyword in draft and sealed. Getting to action cheat a surprise attacker is such a strong play that it can often decide whole games. Pretty much all ambush cards are playable, but some of them are insane, this is one such card. As a 5 cost 4/5, this will almost certainly be able to eat something smaller the turn it comes down, then stick around for a second attack (or eat something smaller your opponent has as they attack into him). This is such an efficient unit.

His pilot ability is also strong, being able to permanently buff a space unit AND attack immediately with it for only 2 RESOURCES? Absolutely insane. One of the main downsides of piloting is you are susceptible to removal, but by attacking immediately it feels a lot less bad when compared to the all too common "pilot, removal" line. Be wary though, as with all non-leader pilots, this still feels bad against removal, just less bad than other pilots.

7. Cad Bane, Hostage Taker

A 7 cost 7/7 is pretty good stats for the cost, but Cad really shines with his "When Played" ability. This will often capture two reasonable sized units of your opponents, and can in many cases clear the board. Play Cad Bane onto an even board will absolutely swing the game in your favour, as now your other units are able to attack base without fear of a strong back-swing. Sure, him getting immediately removed is definitely tough, but even in that case the enemy units come back exhausted, still buying you a ton of tempo. If you get to start attacking with Cad Bane, the game will likely be ending very quickly, especially with the extra cards your opponent may need to be giving you. Playing Cad makes you really feel like a bounty hunter. "Oh you want your unit? Well it'll cost you...."

6. Darth Vader, Commanding the First Legion

At the time of writing this, the most expensive base version card in the game - and for good reason. As iconic as he is powerful, when you play Vader you should feel like you have a new command over the game. Vader basically comes as at least a three for one. He comes down and wipes out one of your opponents medium sized units and grabs you a second unit for free? All in one action? Incredible. Not only that, but it's likely that your opponent will need to throw at least one more sizable unit at him to finish him off. The top 10 cards in your deck when your deck only has 30 cards is going to basically mean almost all of your deck by the time you're playing Vader, giving you the option (which we know is good) to choose the best unit for the scenario.

5. Thermal Oscillator

You may be confused to see this card all the way up here. Energy Conversion Lab is definitely the stronger base, just look at its competitive meta share! Very few people are playing Thermal Oscillator compared to Energy Conversion Lab.

However, in draft and sealed, you only need to play 30 cards in your deck. Being able to run 5 fewer cards basically just makes your deck as a whole around 20% better, which is a lot. Being able to cut the 5 worst cards in your list is going to make deck building much harder (I often find cutting cards is the hardest part of building a deck) but if done right, will reward with with a more refined, consistent, and higher average quality deck. This is a bit of a weird pick admittedly, and maybe a bit ambitious, but I am convinced that it's worth a high pickup. Same thing with ECL though, taking one of these early can be risky since you can't really "splash" bases.

4. Han Solo, Reluctant Hero

The second Han to grace this list, Han from Spark of Rebellion is the strongest Ambush card ever printed for draft and sealed. The good part about ambush in general is the ambush unit comes down and attacks in one action, but often will die in doing so or be weakened so that it can be taken out trivially.

Han doesn't have such weaknesses. The fact he comes down and can eat a rather sizable threat and take NO DAMAGE all in one action is insane. And unless they have a second unit with enough attack to deal with him that turn (very unlikely) he's going to get a second attack in. Han will very often just win you the game on his own. If you can afford the tempo hit, he's also cute with Waylay.

3. Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight

Luke is a constructed staple in lots of heroism decks. He's the top end of my beautiful Chirrut deck, and he's even better in draft and sealed. When he comes down, he's almost always going to be able to kill a large unit if you've set up your turn right. As I've said, ambush is very strong because you get to play a unit and deal damage at the same time, but much like Han, Luke does it even better. You're playing a very efficient unit with removal stapled onto it but Luke doesn't even need to take any damage back for it!

If Luke sticks around for a turn or two, the Restore 3 means your opponent can't just ignore him to close out the game like would maybe be possible with some other cards on this list, Luke demands an answer, and you will rarely lose a race with him on your side of the field.

2. Supreme Leader Snoke, Shadow Ruler

Hey look! It's Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite! Jokes aside, if not answered, Snoke will win the game for you almost immediately. He will clean up any weaker units or units you've dealt damage to throughout the course of the game, and make any larger units trade very favourably for you.

Imagine this: You have a 2/3 that you paid 2 for from earlier in the game and your opponent has a 4/4 that they paid 4 for. Your 2/3 now eats their bigger unit, and when units that you paid half the resources for are winning combat, you are absolutely going to overwhelm your opponents in every aspect of the game.

Another thing that Snoke does well is if your opponent is ahead and just trying to ignore your units to close out the game, reducing the attack of your opponents units almost certainly forces them to change plans in a way that other cards like Krayt Dragon does not.

A 6/6 body on its own is pretty good, and 8 resources is definitely a lot to ask, but few cards instantly close the game out like Snoke does.

1. Overwhelming Barrage

If you were lucky enough to find a store running Spark of the Rebellion drafts, then you probably saw this coming. Overwhelming Barrage is the strongest removal for draft period. This is also the only card on here that I would be actively happy to splash. That's right, I'd pay 7 for this card in a lot of decks.

This card will often feel as close to a 1 sided board wipe as you can get. The fact it doesn't have any arena restrictions at all means that it is the most versatile options for dealing with your opponents board. The fact that the +2/+2 buff it gives sticks around for the entirety of the action phase is insane as well, as if often allows you to trade that unit in to whatever big unit ended up surviving the barrage. Or you can just cash in an extra 2 to base, that's not all that bad either.

Many folks will (correctly) tell you that removal is the most important thing to prioritize in draft, and this is the emperor of all draft removal printed so far.

So that's the list! I notice that Spark of the Rebellion is definitely over-represented on the list, which didn't really surprise me all that much. It's definitely the strongest set they've printed so far, with staples for all sorts of decks. I'd love to hear your thoughts on draft bombs. Whether you agree with this list or think some things should be changed. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail at [email protected] or leave a comment on my Youtube channel, which will have a video going up with this same topic in the next couple of days.

Thank you for reading and as always, May the Force be With You!