Disarming ISB Scum

Title: Disarming ISB Scum
Author: Brian "Red 81" Guthrie
Date: Apr 5, 2000 Rating: 4.0


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Cards:

‘Locations/Objective (12) ISB Operations Coruscant (s) Tatooine (x2) Tatooine Jabba’s Palace (x2) Jabba’s Palace Audience Chamber (x2) Jabba’s Palace Dungeon Tatooine Lars Moisture Farm Tatooine Jundland Wastes Tatooine Cantina

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

Characters (23) Mara Jade (x2) Jabba (x2) Outer Rim Scout (x8) Chall Bekan Boelo 4-LOM with Gun (x2) Iggy with Gun (x2) Dr. Evazan (x2) Dengar with Gun Boba Fett with Blaster Rifle Zuckuss

Effects/Interrupts (17) Twi-lek Advisor Any Methods Necessary (usual start) All Wrapped Up Crush the Rebellion Imperial Arrest Order Security Precautions Broken Concentration A Bright Center to the Universe Tatooine Occupation (x2) Scum and Villany (x2) Disarmed (x2) First Strike Abyssin Ornament Evader ‘

Strategy: ‘

I have been playing ISB in local tournaments for nearly a year now, and I think this is one of the strongest versions currently out there. Before I continue, I must give most of the credit for this deck to Nicholas “Olas” Burks, who posted a similar version in January. The use of Any Methods Necessary was his brilliant idea. Many thanks The Disarmed version of this deck is 7-1 in local tournaments and even managed to take down Matt Lush’s Revo madness deck in casual play. It works, and its fun

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 4. Any Methods Necessary is the default start. I can either pull Boba and his ship or Zuckuss and his ship depending on what I expect to see from the LS (I usually go with Boba since he adds a destiny with Jabba). The Dungeon gives me a place to drop ISB agents quickly and also provides some late game force retrieval opportunities. If LS starts HB, Operatives, Jedi Testing or Yavin IV/Nudj, forget about Any Methods and start with the appropriate counter-effect (Security Precautions for Hidden Base, A Bright Center for Operatives, Broken Concentration of Testing, and Crush the Rebellion for Yavin IV).

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 I love Disarmed in this deck, and would add a 3rd if I had the space.

  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 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 There are only 4 interrupts, and most of those will be played at a time when LS cannot cancel them (beginning of the game, Ornament retrieval, or Evader via Crush).

  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. Despite this, CRUSH THE REBELLION IS VITAL vs. REVO DECKS. This deck needs lots of activation early so it can DRAW THE CARDS IT NEEDS TO SET UP ON TATOOINE. Thats why I only have 1 Evader in the deck. It will likely be grappled, but I just need 2-3 turns of decent activation to get the cards I need to make the deck go.

  4. Capturing is KEY - This deck’s ability to capture characters is VERY important. Most LS Mains decks rely on multiples of Obi, Luke, Leia, and Han. Capture one of these characters early and the game is yours. 4-LOM and Iggy are capturing machines (literally) Once they get a high-profile rebel captive, all you need to do is walk to the Dungeon, retrieve 2 force, take the captive back into custody, and sit there undisturbed the rest of the game.

  5. Most of the characters ADD multiple destinies - Boba and 4-LOM both add destiny with Jabba, and Iggy adds destiny with other bounty hunters. Get these 4 characters together and you can draw 4 destiny in battle. Even the LS Mains can’t hang against these destiny machines forever.

  6. 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

  7. 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.

  8. First Strike is a late addition (thanks Matt) and is mostly in there to make it more difficult for the LS to play annoying interrupts during battles (particularly Put That Down, Narrow Escape, destiny adders, and the one I hate the most, Smoke Screen)

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

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.

Yavin IV / Revo - Start Crush and draw cards like mad It is absolutely critical to get Tat JP or the Audience Chamber into hand as quickly as possible. Use Evader wisely, because you’ll only get to use it once. Once you get set up in the AC, you should be fine. LS force choke decks don’t usually have many characters. Make them come to you and try to capture key rebels. I played this deck against Matt Lush’s Revo madness deck and came out on top because I got my sites in hand. If the locations don’t come up, you’re in for a long game

Speeder Ops - This is tough match, but Bright Center helps considerably. The key is to STAY INSIDE JP. Do not go outside - this deck cannot hang against 20 speeders on steroids. 5D6 used to be in here, but I took him out because I don’t see many Ops decks anymore.

Mains and Toys destiny adders - Decks like this scare me to death. My aliens have high forfeit thanks to Jabba and S&V, but its hard to hang when the LS draws multiple destiny in every battle. Try to capture Luke or Han early, since most of the adders revolve around them.

This deck isn’t the best out there, but I enjoy playing it. Let me know what you think ‘