1. Muppet Show

Creatures are back with a vengeance. Or maybe I should say that they are here at last, since except for a few minor notable exceptions it was not really rewarding to put a creature in a deck. First of all, there has been a rules change to the bloody critters in general. Any creature of defense value >2, excluding Mynock and Vine Snake, is now a ferocious creature.
But that is not yet the good part. They can be deployed once per turn from reserve deck, using the new virtual effects Krayt Dragon Bones (DS) and Tauntaun Bones (LS). These Effects are start-able (Immune to Alter and deploy on table), and also allow you to play 2 more creatures from under your Starting Effect, making this at last a playable option. Next to Wampas, which get a virtual boost along with their invalid elder One Arm (V), as a Dark Side player, you can also get out your Rancors and the Sarlacc for your Court Of The Vile Gangster deck, whenever you need them. Dianoga, Krayt Dragon, Dragonsnake, Bubo, you name it. Or how about finally getting the Space Slug to work for either side. Speaking of the Light Side, here is a nice way to get rid of Watto early, without worrying about Barriers, beat down, or battle destiny. Get a Worrt out first turn, and have him attack the lone Watto and/or Reegesk twice (your turn, and their next one as well). Sounds like a sure way to back up those Out Of Commissions.


2. Objectives

As another first, there will also be virtual objectives. The old Operatives objectives, Imperial Occupation (DS), and Local Uprising (LS) from Special Edition are virtualized into Hoth theme decks . If you thought the Walker deck was already tough , it should now be really competitive because you get all the necessary cards early on. AT-ATs will pop up all over the place, as fast as the chicken pox over my son this Christmas, but there will also be a few disadvantages when using the objective, since Rebel Base Occupation, You May Start Your Landing and Colo Claw Fish do not like to work with it. It will instead be possible to blow up the Hoth: Main Generators, since you can deploy the Light Side version with the objective.
This might also open new doors for future expansions, and permits a few previously only dreamed of possibilities. There have already been wild rumors about a LS Mara Jade, or other unavailable locations and creatures for either side. But they are just that right now...gossip. Check the Players Committee homepage for discussions about these things. They do listen!

The Light Side in turn has their speeder objective, which finally makes the old T-47 Battle Formation a LS equivalent to Walker Garrison. The Echo Base Trooper Officer (V) and Romas “Lock” Navender both use 1 Force to temporarily suspend the Hoth Shield, and allow you to drain “through” it. Once flipped, you also get a kind of Ralltir Ops bonus, meaning taking any card into hand from reserve deck by using 2 Force, as well as handing out some direct damage. Time will prove me right or wrong here, but it seems to be a good LS objective. Both objectives are a bit different than expected, in that they do not simply give us pushed up EBO and Walker decks, but instead offer some alternatives to these deck types, using similar cards.


3. Vehicle Polar Club

Speeders and Walkers will also be seen outside of their objective circles. Maneuvering Flaps (V, LS) is the coolest. Like Squadron Assignments, it allows you to deploy matching pilots from Reserve Deck (and vise versa), but this time to your speeders. It is start-able, and does not even cost one of your 3 effect card slots when used with the new LS objective. You could use that for Nick Of Time (V), an Effect that, among other things, makes pilots out of Dack and Wes, and so increases the options of drawing a part of some speeder/pilot combo. But the king of course is Commander Luke Skywalker in his can, who draws two destinies, if not able to otherwise (another kick in Wattos direction), and so should hold a site.

His counterpart on the Dark Side, General Veers, does the same to any AT-AT he pilots, and adds another 3-4 to it s power. Virtual versions of Blizzard 1, Blizzard 2, and that nifty 4-Destiny Blizzard Scout 1 round up the DS army. The AT-AT Cannon (V), as well as the LS Dual Laser Cannon (V) also have nice functions, and smoothly fit into the rest of the set.


4. Bacta Tank Top

The new Bacta Tank (V) allows you to kiss your sister, after a day in the pool, but that did not make it into this expansion, so I will concentrate on how else the Bacta Tank gets better here. Echo Base Garrison of course gets you the Tank itself, and A New Secret Base lets you pull the Hoth: Med Lab (V), the first virtual location. That in turn gets you any medical droid on table during your deploy phase. Prime candidate for that should be 2-1B (V), since he not only subtracts 2 from the deploy cost of your patients, but in addition also lets you forfeit a character to the used pile once per turn. This time, he does so at related locations, while he safely watches the morally questionable actions of your main characters from under the shield.


5. Imperial Domination

Imperial Domination (V) is some kind of Scum and Villainy for the empire. While all your ability on table is provided by imperials (and their ships and vehicles) no player draws more than 2 destiny in a battle. So, if you are sick of Super Falcon and Broken Lando, this is for you. You retrieve an imperial when attacking, and as long as the opponent does not occupy more locations than you. This should work nicely with First Strike and/or ISB Operations.
Once per battle, you are also allowed to take an imperial into hand when drawn for destiny, and cause a redraw. The new effect Death Squadron (V), and Captain Lennox (V) are a help for All-Imperial or Big Blue decks as well. These of course absolutely rule in Classic Format, but I also know enough players that like to use their mainly classic decks in regular sanctioned tournament play, and now have a reason less to complain about tattoo faced maniacs with double sticks up their collective imperial butts. There is a reason to play with an imperials only deck, and it is called Imperial Domination.


6. Cannot Maintain... This Course Of Action

Maintenance cards will get some painful kicks with this release as well. There will be a virtual effect, Breached Defenses (DS) and Heroic Sacrifice (LS), as well as a virtual character, Sergeant Major Bursk (DS) and Toryn Farr (LS), for each side, that will make you think twice about using these almost broken cards in the future. The immediate effects deploy on the just deployed or draining maintenance card and make them lose 1 Force and let you retrieve 1 Force. The card is then power-3, it s ability does not count to draw destiny and the opponent must lose another Force during their draw phase. The characters are a bit tougher to get to work, since they are likely to get clobbered fast. They prevent the maintenance cards to attack on their first turn, and let them be placed out of play when they leave table. All these cards are Destiny 3-4 and should fit into several decks.


7. Caesar falls

But when you think “broken” it does not get any better than Senate, right? Still out there and doing it s evil, the Light and especially Dark Side senators are receiving some new “bullet” cards. Stop Motion (V, DS) and Nice Of You Guys To Drop By (V, LS) will prevent the nerve wrecking politicians to pull cards from your hand. But these cards are also pulling several interesting other cards from your deck, like Lost In The Wilderness or a Rogue Speeder. And they are canceling often used cards like Stunning Leader, or an attempt to react away from a battle. Dark Dissension (V, LS) is similar in that regard, since it pulls Demotion (V) for Mister Dodd, and also cancels Imperial Command, a card long deserving of a canceler. These cards have enough nice functions and destinies (between 3-6) to get a space into many a deck.


8. Mirror Universe

Well, the goatee Spock belongs in another Decipher Card game, and our Jedis are all wearing beards anyway (except for some of those deformed dudes in the Jedi Council, but I am sure you are not reading this for my description on those). That is why the Committee decided to give the counterpart versions to several already existing cards for the other sides. First there would be Image of the Dark Lord (V), which is the Dark Sides long awaited answer to Projection Of The Skywalker. It allows you to decrease force drains at planet sites.
Frostbite (V) is a kind of Hoth Celebration, but you retrieve Force for Hoth sites occupied by speeders instead. Attack Pattern Delta (V) is a lost interrupt that also fits that ... pattern. Like Darklighter Spin for ships, and Smoke Screen for characters, this will use your speeder maneuver number for a Destiny draw. Finally, the new king of systems is again a Mr. Romas “Lock” Navander, the LS answer to DS system puller Commander Merrejk.


9. Upper Working Class

In the left corner you have the new Captain Piett (V), who has some nice exchange function. Twice per game during the opponents turn he cooks a little Piett stew by placing 3 cards from hand onto the force pile to use for later deeds. But unlike his green skinned enemy on the brighter side of the Force, he also gets to draw 2 cards from the Reserve Deck in exchange. Together with manipulating buddy Janus, the empire seems to have a good thing going.

On the other side of the ring, and not much different age and weight wise, get ready to meet the new General Carlist Rieekan (V). You know of course, that you can get the guy early by starting with Strike Planning. That Effect also prevents the opponents Force Activation at the Endor system. If you can use that in your deck, and also use him to get you the Echo Command Center (2:0 Location) and the Echo Corridor (1:0 Location), you end up with 5 Force from these Locations for you, and none for the opponent. He is also the undisputed master of artillery weapons, allowing you to fire them at related Locations without a gunner. Manipulation wise, although maybe not as obvious as Piett on first sight, Rieekan is an almost endless source to get you a few dozen cards by himself, namely every card with Hoth in it s game text. The research for the old guy took me almost as long as the whole article, and that took several hours. So, you should be able to save some time. I hope I did not miss anything. Here goes. Rieekan gets you...

Max Rebo (Use Bith Shuffle to cancel a Drain. Nice tech where it fits)
Ortolan (The little blue guys make it tough for the opponent to get Walker Garrison going)
Commander Evram Lajale
Commander Luke Skywalker (no comment)
Echo Base Trooper
Echo Base Trooper Officer
Echo Base Trooper Officer (V)
Major Bren Derlin (cancel Breached Defenses to let your maintenance crew live)
Romas “Lock” Navender (V) (who in turn will get you your systems. This guy is key!)
Tamizander Rey
Tigran Jamiro
Tigran Jamiro (V)
Captain Han Solo (who need Super Falcon, huh?)
Princess Leia (and she is a Senator to put on your political effects every turn)
General McQuarrie
Sergeant Hollis (gets you Rebel Ambush)
Chewie (if you want to win against a weaker opponent with basically 59 cards)
Corporal Delever (prevents your forfeit from being reduced at his site)
Rouge 1
Rouge 3
Rouge 4
Snowspeeder
Tauntaun
Hoth Survival Gear
Echo Command Center
Echo Corridor
Hoth Main Power Generators (which comes with 4th or up marker)
Hoth System
Echo Base Operations
Frostbite
Frostbite (V)
The First Transport Is Away (great for scenario events)
T-47 Battle Formation
Lone Rogue
And last but certainly not least...all Generic Sites!!!

I doubt that we have seen this dude for the last time, and he is finally worth the general title. Maybe they will do a similar thing to virtual Madine and Endor cards, when the time is due.


10. Lower Decks And Back Lights

Not quite as high ranking as the big guys, but certainly worth a mention are the following gentlemen and gentle-droids. On the LS Tigran Jamiro (V) lets the opponents aliens and imperials deploy for +1. Together with the old Corporal Kesejak, Restricted Deployment, Naboo Celebration, and Goo Nee Tay you have a nice thing going. Your head will probably explode first, but at least your opponent will never get another character on the table.
Wyron Serper (V) is a nice anti Hunt Down character. As a spy, he gets to cancel Visage and also sucks up any battle damage. In the meantime he can get you one of the new immediate effects that destroy the maintenance characters. You just have to fear that 4-LOM will visit with a beat down crew and cancels his game text. R5-M2 (V) rounds up the LS guys worthy of mention. He lets capital starships deploy –1 and makes them Destiny +2, when drawn for weapon or battle destiny. At Destiny 5, I guess we will see a few Medium Bulk Freighters (Special Edition), Medium Transports (Hoth) and Nebulon-B Frigates (Death Star II).
And speaking of increasing destiny. If Walkers and Senate are strong in your area, you may want to include a couple of Walker Sightings (V) in your deck. That is now a used interrupt with Destiny 3, and gets you Logistical Delay (against Senate, maintenance cards, and starships), and some anti Walker benefits. Try the following. Get V3 Chewies motor running and pull Chewies AT-ST (Destiny 4 by the way) from Reserve Deck, or use the Admirals Order that fetches combat vehicles to deploy it to the Endor Docking Bay. Your Walker Sightings (V) are now Destiny 6.

The Dark Side also has the new Probe Droid (V). It occupies a site, decreases the deploy cost of imperials at same site, and adds 1 to total battle destiny for each imperial. When drawn for (any) destiny you may also look at opponents hand. So, why not Alter that bloody Bacta Tank and check out, if they have a second one lined up? Sounds good to me. Probe Telemetry (V), a Used Interrupt with Destiny 4, and the new Stalker (V) help you get them out faster. Some of these cards also work with the Sith Probe Droid, and may fit into an Invasion deck. A good example is Self Destruct Mechanism (V), another used Destiny 4, which allows you to lose a hit droid to kick back at the opponent by making the target hit and Forfeit –4, if you draw destiny > defense value. I can see some Battle Droids, and especially P-59, lining up for that.
Another card to fit into almost every deck is Security Precautions (V). It deploys on a battleground site and is immune to Alter. Your Force generation is +1 at this and adjacent sites, and your cards are immune to Revolution and Goo Nee Tay there. This rules. The card was created by Jonny Chu and, like Wokling before it, will surely become a favorite. Jonny was one of the five big Open winners, and we still have 3 to go for other expansions.
The last of the best of the rest is A Dark Time For The Rebellion (V), which gets you any cave from reserve deck, or enables you to deploy a related side to any planet site the opponent just deployed. Hoth: Wampa Cave and Big One: Asteroid Cave fit into themes from this release, and Dagobah: Cave will probably be more interesting with the next expansion. I personally think they should have thrown in any Caves and Caverns as well for good riddance, but I appreciate the card like it is anyway.



This closes my long article about the new Virtual Set 4.
I hope to have given some insight and opened up some possibilities you may not have thought of. I was not involved in play testing, so I am sure they came up with some nice new deck ideas as well. Also, please forgive any possible minor mistakes, or cards left out due to last minute changes in the set. I can only urge you to visit the bulletin boards on the SWCCGPC page, and let us know your opinion.
The Players Committee is really listening to it s players, as you can see, since several of the ideas that went into this set were debated in the discussion forums on the internet.

Enjoy the game, the article and rate generously.

May the Force by with you.

Chris Menzel
Shadow 14

PC Staff Writer
Players Committee



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