With the impending Scum & Villainy faction release, a flood of interesting and potent cards have already been revealed. One card I wish to explore today is one that hasn't garnered the attention it deserves.
"The first time you attack each round and the first time you defend each round, the first Damage card dealt is dealt faceup."
Greedo costs 1 point and a crew slot. The bigger cost is the risk of harm when Greedo exacerbates a Hit. That cost, however, brings with it several benefits. Generally, the more ways a card breaks the rules, the more potent it is. And this Rodian breaks the rules in a number of different ways.
First, it should be pointed out that the card does not change a Hit result to a Crit result. This means that any card that triggers off a Crit result does not fire. For instance, the enemy cannot us Draw Their Fire to protect a ship from this Crit. Further, because this is not a Crit result, it cannot be avoided by changing a specific die result, such as with Elusiveness.
Second, consider the order cards are drawn. Usually, all facedown cards are drawn before faceup cards. Here, the order changes. The first card drawn is faceup, then the remaining cards are drawn as normal. Example: target suffers Hit Hit Crit, the player would draw the first card faceup. If this is a Minor Explosion, that card would be immediately resolved, possibly drawing another card. Then the regular facedown card would be drawn. Finally the faceup card would be drawn. For the most part, this is mostly just an interesting effect as there are no real ways to exploit this aspect, but it is something to keep in mind for the future.
Third, this effect only happens on the first attack made each round. So, if a future ship were to add a second crew slot and Gunner is used, the Rodian would not trigger during this second attack. Nor would it happen during the second attack of Cluster missiles. This is generally considered a benefit, but there are times when it could be desirable to ensure that Greedo does not trigger. Most notably if the target has Determination, it might be preferable to let the first attack fail in order to ensure it does not trigger. Mostly extreme corner cases, but something to keep in mind.
Fourth, this effect similarly only happens the first attack against Greedo's hapless carrier each round. So if the first attack misses or hits shields, there is no effect. This means that a ship carrying the Rodian might want to turtle up and take as little damage as possible from the first attack as possible.
Ships:
Greedo is Scum only, so there are currently two ships that can carry him. The Firespray and the HWK-290. Both have pilots that can be used to increase the effectiveness or decrease the penalty of Greedo. These two craft also have but one crew slot, meaning that there is currently no way to have crew interacting with other crew members, though none other than Gunner have a direct interaction with Greedo.
Any Firespray with and EPT is able to take Push The Limit, allowing them to both focus and evade and the same turn. Add to that 4 shields and this craft is unlikely to suffer many Greedo inflicted wounds .The HWK is a bit less sturdy however. With only 1 shield and no native evade action, it is far more likely to suffer collateral damage. But the craft is cheaper. On such a craft, it might lure the enemy to attack this craft hoping for the crit, drawing fire away from higher value targets.
Pilots:
Boba Fett's ability to reroll both attack and defense dice means that he is more likely to land damage on the first attack as well as defend against the first shot at him. This means that, as long as Fett is aggressive enough to remain in close quarters to the enemy, he is more likely to benefit from Greedo's beneficial effects and less likely to suffer the consequences.
With Kath Scarlet's ability to roll an extra die when attacking in her auxiliary arc, she becomes far more likely to land a damage card. Add to this an EPT, Cannon, Illicit and other open slots and this pirate leader could be quite the threat with the Rodian riding shotgun.
Palob Godalhi adds an interesting twist to the survivability of the HWK, as he is able to steal a focus token or evade token. This both makes his target more easy to hit and himself less likely to take damage. If the opponent decides not to take focus or evade actions to deprive Palob the opportunity to steal tokens, this means that they are more likely to take damage and thus suffer Greedo's wrath.
Even though Torkil Mux's pilot ability is not directly related, it does add an interesting interaction. With his prey at PS 0, he can now crit them before they shoot. This could Blind the target, destroy it outright, reduce the primary weapon, or a host of other nasty surprises, all before it can shoot. Further, this ability could be used to disrupt firing order. If the enemy with the best chance of doing damage is going to fire first, just before a ship with a shot unlikely to cause damage, Torkil can force that shot order to change to mitigate the possible Greedo inflicted wound.
Pilot abilities are not the only abilities that can impact Greedo. There are far more important and interesting interactions to explore.
Secondary Weapons:
HLC is a much beloved card for good reason. 4 attack dice packs quite the punch. But it is hard to deal Crits with due to the nature of this cannon. Usually, the only crits that occur are those on rerolled making them rare. Greedo makes this far more likely. Not only can the weapon burn down targets quickly, it can now cripple them. But HLC is the least interesting option.
The much maligned option of Autoblaster (or its newer, turrety friend) is often ignored due to its cost. Further, natural crits can be dodged normally, meaning that rolling a Crit goes from being a good thing to just another miss on the die. With Greedo however, if the cannon or turret does a damage card, it's faceup. Nothing can avoid this damage. Evade tokens are useless. Greedo with an Autoblaster can ruin someones day.
Now this is quite interesting. In either cannon, turret, or missile form, this weapon has always been well regarded for its ability to control the enemy. The downside is that it cancels all results, so Crit results have no impact. But Greedo does not add a Crit result. His ability works just fine here. So now the victim isn't just ioned, he must contend with a Crit if the damage didn't hit a shield. Ion weapons become FAR more scary when Greedo is involved. This take Ion Weaponry from dependable control to scary damage on top of control.
Defense Against The Dark Arts:
This is a good defense against Greedo on both sides. Because Greedo's ability is not optional, shooting at targets protected by Determination could be risky. This could mean that Greedo turns a dependable hit into a Pilot crit, which is turned into a pile of ash and broken dreams. However, if Greedo is on a ship so protected, it may well reduce incoming damage. With a bit of luck, Greedo can flip a normal hit to a Pilot crit, which is then discarded. Either way, when the Rodian comes out to play, it is best to gird ones loins for battle.
As previously mentioned, Draw Their Fire provides no protection against Greedo. The damage is not a Crit result, so it cannot be drawn away. This means targets protected by DTF now risk crippling damage. Sorry Biggs and Howlrunner, you are getting what you deserve.
Conclusion:
The cost of this card is minimal and it's downside is moderate, but it has some potent effects. Being able to crit with ion weaponry is huge. This card will probably not be seen often, but when it is seen, it should be respected. As with many cards, as new abilities and ships are added into the game Greedo will only become more interesting. If a ship with a Salvaged Astromech slot gains a crew slot, the Salvaged Astromech card will suddenly become interesting. If Scum ever get two crew slots, a host of opportunities will arise. For now, Greedo has his place, and that place is in a Scum control list.
Edited by SableGryphon
