Deck ID: 8263

Author: Brian "Red 81" Guthrie

Title: Disarming ISB Scum (Final and Retired)

Side: Dark

Date Published: 2000-07-08

Description:
A dark deck near and dear to my heart that proves you can win without Vader Long live Jabba and his Scum

Rating:
4.5

Cards:

'Locations/Objective (12)
ISB Operations
Coruscant (s)
Tatooine (x2)
Tatooine Jabba's Palace (x3)
Jabba's Palace Audience Chamber (x2)
Tatooine Lars Moisture Farm
Tatooine Junland Wastes
Tatooine Cantina

Ships, Vehicles, Weapons, Devices (8)
Jabba's Space Cruiser (x2)
Zuckuss in Mist Hunter
Boba Fett in Slave I
Bossk in Hound's Tooth (x2)
Blizzard 1
Mara's Saber

Characters (24)
Mara Jade (x2)
Jabba (x2)
Outer Rim Scout (x9)
Chall Bekan
Ephant Mon
Boelo
4-LOM with Concussion Rifle (x2)
IG-88 with Riot Gun (x2)
Boba Fett with Blaster Rifle
Dengar with Blaster Carbine
Dr. Evazan (x2)

Effects/Interrupts (16)
Twilek Advisor
Hell to Pay
Resistance
No Bargain (typical start)
Battle Order
Security Precautions
Tatooine Occupation (x2)
Scum and Villany (x2)
Disarmed (x2)
First Strike
A Bright Center to the Universe
Nevar Yalnal
Abyssin Ornament'

Strategy: '

EDITOR'S NOTE If anyone is wondering what happened to TechDeck's 1/2 star review of this deck, I deleted his thoughtless comment. Last time I checked, this forum was designed for constructive feedback - NOT unwarranted personal attacks. 'Nuff said.

Let me start by saying that I have played this deck for nearly a year now and have loved every minute of it. This deck went 18-2 in tournament play and 2-1 at the Dantooine Regional. It will always hold a special place in my heart, but its time for a change. With DS II just around the corner, I have decided to put this deck on ice and try something different. It was a great ride, and a joy to play a powerful ground pounder that doesn't rely on Darth Vader. Now for the strategy.

Obviously, the goal of this deck is to set up shop at Jabba's Palace as quickly as possible. With a typical draw I can usually have everything in place by turn 3. The current location mix insures that I will get the Audience Chamber in my opening hand or soon thereafter.

NO BARGAIN is the default start, because good LS decks will throw EVERYTHING they have at you to get you out of the Audience Chamber. No Bargain doesn't prevent the rebels from coming, but makes it a lot harder for them to deploy en masse. If the LS is playing Operatives or Hidden Base, start the appropriate counter-effect instead. Against EBO - start Resistance

Once you've selected your starting interrupt/effect, the deck runs fairly smoothly. Rather than provide a blow by blow on how to play it, I thought I would point out the combos that make this deck successful

1. Disarmed/Dr. Evazan is a nasty combo - I used to use Sniper for this combo, but given all the characters with weapons and my lack of SAC protection, Disarmed is the better choice. The best part about Disarmed is that it helps keep Jabba on the table. Once the LS realizes your strategy, getting rid of Jabba becomes their first priority. Weapons are the best way to take him down - but its hard for EPP Luke to take a swing with only one arm For an excellent example of the power of Disarmed in this deck, take a look at my Dantooine Regional report - Game 4. Iggy is the man

2. The deck is virtually SAC proof - I see a lot of SAC in Austin, so I made sure to choose my red cards wisely. The only important effect that can be altered is Scum and Villany, but thats not a problem as long as Jabba is at the Audience Chamber. DO NOT DEPLOY SCUM UNTIL JABBA CAN PROTECT IT

3. 95% of the characters deploy for next to nothing - The combination of Scum, Jabba, and Chall allows this deck to survive on very little force. The most expensive cards to deploy are the ECC bounty hunters and ships, but even the ships get a deploy bonus via Scum.

4. ECC Iggy and 4-LOM are KEY - These guys are awesome, thanks primarily to their destiny adders and their ability to capture. Use Iggy wisely and set up your destinies - I have captured Obi and Luke with this deck on more than one occasion

5. This deck can retrieve lots of force - This deck can retrieve force 4 different ways with the flipped objective, with Scum and Villany, with First Strike, and with the Ornament. LS is almost never prepared for DS retrieval, so take advantage of it

6. Don't underestimate the importance of Tatooine Occupation - Occupation has turned the tide in virtually every game I've played with this deck. It is vital to get it set up and protected ASAP.

Finally, some quick comments on how this deck does against popular decktypes

EBO - Start Resistance, and set up your ground drains ASAP. Forget about Tatooine Occupation, and deploy very carefully in space. Once you get your ground drains and Resistance set up, LS won't be able to hang with your drains AND retrieval. Leave the LS alone on Hoth - play your own game

Hidden Base - Security Precautions and the large number of ships usually does the trick. Of course, I rarely see HB flip anymore, mainly because of SP.

Operatives - This deck has never lost to an Operative deck, speeders or Y-Wings. Start a Bright Center and outdrain them. Stay indoors against Speeder Ops, and wait for the right moment to set up an attack force on their planet. See my last 2 tournament reports for detailed descriptions of my experience against Operatives.

Odds - This can be a tough match, particularly if you don't start Resistance. Play smart and set up your drains ASAP. Once you get your drains going, stop activating and make the LS come to you. Search and Destroy helps tremendously as well.

Revo - This deck beat Revo decks before 3rd Anthology by packing Crush and Evaders; however, I took these cards out once Set Your Course was released.

Mains and Toys destiny adders - These decks scare me to death, but No Bargain helps a lot. Set up Boelo and Jabba in the AC with forfeit fodder and some ECC cards for your own destiny adders. This will be a tough match, but you can survive

That's all for now. This deck willl require some tweaking once DS II comes out, but will remain effective. Despite this, its time for me to move on to something new. Give this deck a try and see what you think Its fun to play and it wins - what more can you ask for?
'