Backstroke is not my invention. It's simply the name I prefer for the variant known in most CCGs as a backdraft. I prefer it for two reasons: firstly because there is no draft format in this game (yet), so a true "backdraft" cannot occur (yet); and secondly because this is a Star Wars game, and Backstroke calls to mind the terribly awesome Backstroke of the West , which you should definitely look up if you have not seen or heard of this before (NSFW).
In a backdraft, the idea is usually that after drafting, rather than building a deck right away, you exchange your drafted material with that of another player. There is thus no attachment to the cards you drafted, which creates a very different dynamic. Backstroke, on the other hand, involves pre-constructed decks, by present necessity, that are exchanged in a similar way. Therefore this variant has players sharing their decks, which I realize is a risque proposition, especially in a game with a deckbuilding system that multiplies your problem sixfold whenever you happen to lose a card. But until we have an official draft pack for Star Wars: The Card Game , it's the best we've got. Credit for the idea goes to cooleo1c .
The resource match requirements on cards can also make this difficult. A few solutions have been recommended:
A) Treat affiliation cards as though they provide resources for all affiliations.
B) No unaffiliated objective sets are allowed.
C) No mixing more than two affiliations in the same deck.
This causes cards that would normally not see play to appear on the table with some frequency. Usually you'd never see a Rebel Sympathizer hit the table, because his objective set is almost never played, and with good reason. When I have some time, I'll post a dark side deck I built for this variant. Be encouraged to post your decks as well!
Edited by MarthWMaster