Scummy ISB

Title: Scummy ISB
Author: Keith "Tessek-CPA" Henderson
Date: Oct 1, 2000 Rating: 4.0

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Cards:

‘Locations – 10 Coruscant Imperial Square– SL Tatooine x3 Tatooine Docking Bay Tatooine Jabbas Palace x2 Jabba’s Palace Audience Chamber Spaceport Docking Bay x2

Characters – 20 Jabba x2 Boba Fett w/Blaster Rifle IG-88 w/Riot Gun Chall Bekan 4-Lom w/Concussion Rifle Dengar w/Blaster Carbine Outer Rim Scouts x11 5D6-RA-7 M’iiyoom Onith

Admiral’s Orders – 1 Fighters Coming In

Vehicles – 8 Zuckuss in Mist Hunter IG-2000 Jabbas Space Cruiser Punishing One Hound’s Tooth Blizzard 1 Tempest Scout 1 Tempest Scout 2

Effects – 12 Scum & Villainy x2 Bad Feeling Have I Tatooine Occupation x2 First Strike – SE Resistance Oppressive Enforcement Den of Thieves No Bargain –SE Imperial Arrest Order – SE Something Special Planned For Them

Interrupts – 8 Shut Him Up or Shut Him Down Nevar Yalnal x2 Abyssin Ornament x2 Prepared Defenses – SI Twilek Advisor Point Man

Objective ISB Operations/ Empire’s Sinister Agents ‘

Strategy: ‘

I start with Coruscant Imperial Square and use Prepared Defenses to deploy IAO, No Bargain, and First Strike against most LS decks. If I think that the LS deck will be using retrieval cards (On the Edge, etc.) I replace First Strike with Something Special Planned For Them. I prefer to start with Imperial Square over the Coruscant system to allow me to defend it against Lt Blount with my many characters.

The key to a strong start is getting the Audience Chamber down, looking to deploy Jabba along with as many ORS or other pals to give me strength in protecting Jabba and Scum & Villainy. With 4 cards (2 each of the Audience Chamber and the Palace) I have a good chance of drawing one of them in my first 8 cards and, if not, then in my first draw.

First off, I look for Tatooine DB to deploy using IAO and to see if there is one of the Audience Chamber or Jabbas Palace in my force pile by checking for them in my reserve pile.

If I get Jabbas Palace, I use its game text to pull the Audience Chamber. I then use the audience chamber game text to pull an alien. If I already have Jabba, then I look for Chall Bekan if I don’t have Scum & Villainy, if S&V is down, then I look for Boba w/blaster to protect the fat one with his blaster and added destiny.

With Jabba down, my ORS are deploy 1 and if I can deploy Scum & Villainy, then they are free to deploy to the Audience Chamber. Scum & Villainy is immune to alter with the SE Jabba. With so many ORS in the deck, I never worry about flipping ISB, since I can drop 4 quickly for free at the audience chamber.

I have two Tatooines to be able to deploy the system and get Tatooine Occupation going. With the Bounty Hunter ships and the ORS ability to draw destinies piloting them or using the matching pilots, I can hold down the system against many LS decks except for the HB swarms using weapons and their bell & whistle destiny and power adding effects & interrupts.

Once I have flipped and have S&V along with First Strike down, I can choose how to play out the rest of the game. I can force drain the LS with my added bonus and if I lose that bonus due to Training or the Menace Fades, I keep on deploying to as many sites as I can to continue draining. I can look to pick fights where I get to retrieve 3 and the LS loses one card before the battle is resolved. Getting the system and Tatooine Occupation just adds to the hurt. If I am playing a deck type that allows me to set up (training, RST, EBO, etc.) I could be draining for 10 (2 each for the palace, audience chamber, spaceport DB, Tatooine DB and the system) and then adding 4 more due to the occupation.

The many bounty hunters allow me to battle and I always look to deploy them in a way to take advantage of their destiny adding game text.

5D6-RA-7 is an ISB agent that is great to deploy to a LS location to reduce their drains by one using the ISB Ops text when it is flipped. If I think that Blount will be paying a visit to Coruscant, I use this droid along with my spy killer interrupt, Nevar Yalnal. I have had opponents deploy in strength to the Imperial square and then lose Blount and are stuck there for the rest of the game. They get a drain of 1, but I know that those characters will not be dropping and battling me at a weak site.

M’iiyoom Onith is great to scan the player’s hand and take out any unique males and put them in the lost pile. Having her at the audience chamber with Jabba and his protection just adds to the card loss for the LS.

The 2 spaceport docking bays are used in different ways, depending on the LS deckstyle. I try to get one out next to the palace. I then use the game text to deploy my ships for –2,(1 for S&V, 1 for the text) and the Hounds Tooth can be deployed for –3 since it is a freighter. I then can add an ORS and shuttle up to the system for free. Against HB, I use them to set up at two of their strongest force draining sites to allow me to deploy some ORS and reduce their drains by one.

The walkers give me protection against EPP slash & blast squads and the chicken walkers allow me to react.

Abyssin Ornament allows me to pull an ORS during the game and then retrieve force from my lost pile. With 11 in the deck, this is a big boost for the end game.

Shut Him Up Or Shut Him Down lets me cancel a variety of cards including Bacta Tank, which is used a lot in my area.

Point Man also allows me to cancel several cards including Order To Engage which is often seen against ISB Decks.

Nevar Yalnal lets me take out a pesky LS spy. Whether it is Blount, Cracken, Boussh, TK-422, etc. I just look to use this card to eliminate that spy.

Bad Feeling Have I adds to the deploy cost of several LS main characters, as does No Bargain. This combo can really slow down a Profit deck since it will cost +4 to deploy their mains to JP.

Den of Thieves lets me cancel a big drain and Resistance keeps the LS drains to 2 a site/system.

The Admiral’s Order, Fighters Coming In, adds to my attrition immunity and to drains at the docking bays. If I have to lose a ship in a battle at Tatooine, I can place the ship at the DB and lose my ORS pilot who will be retrieved at the end of the turn.

Against specific decktypes

Profit and Harvest decks – Their Tatooine sites help to give me locations to force drain or battle. Point Man will cancel the Order To Engage and Some Special Planned For Them will make them lose the Harvest card if they use it. This is a fun battling game. Eloms are wasted with this deck since there are no Imperials.

Hidden Base – A Spaceport Docking Bay at one of the systems will slow down a force drain there. I usually go to the highest drain planet such as Kessel. If they are playing a swarm deck, I hunker down at Tatooine and other ground sites and it is a drain race. I stay out of space.

Jedi Training – Start draining ASAP before they can get test 1 going. Most times, you can get the system and occupation going to add to your modified drains. Again I use SSPFT for getting rid of retrieval cards that a lot of LS cards use since this deck is usually stacked with seven destinies.

Mains & Toys and Throne Room Chokes – Just play a game of avoidance and drain like crazy. With IAO, they can’t swoop in and battle before the move phase. At Yavin-4 you can deploy and drain there, since all of the ORS are spies.

All others, you can either drain or battle/retrieve and should win out in either way.

I know that when the new JP cards come out, I will want to add the new JP battleground site which I could pull with the JP game text.

This is a fun deck to play, because it can be played differently every time. ‘