Force Choke is currently trending as one of the top Legendaries in the set, and I wanted to go ahead an run down a comparison between it and a card I'm particularly fond of: Immobilize. Ultimately, I feel like Immobilize does the job a bit better overall, although the decks that want one will usually want a pair of each anyway. Still, this kind of thinking can be useful in assessing mulligans and early plays, so I feel the distinction is still valuable.

I'm looking at these cards specifically through the lens of a primarily blue control deck; if you're looking to run a blue villain aggro deck I strongly recommend eVader + Tusken Raider, and your 2-cost upgrades should be cards like Gaffi Stick and Jetpack, which add a lot more damage to the board than either of these controlling options.

The two cards have a lot in common right off the bat: they both cost 2 resources, can only attach to blue characters, are ability upgrades (eligible for Sith Holocron), and they both adjust dice instead of removing them outright (which is strictly worse).

Immobilize:

- Can use its control effect regardless of its own result (Huge)

- Can target any opposing dice in play, including support dice (Doesn't always come up, but very relevant when it does)

- Cannot target any dice with 0 blank faces (Rarely comes up, but usually very bad news when it does)

- Must activate alone (separately from Special results and other Immobilize actions; not usually relevant but can be a hindrance)

Force Choke:

- Requires you to roll one of 2 Special results (Huge)

- Can only target character and upgrade dice, not supports (Usually not relevant, but can be very bad when it does)

- Can target dice with no blanks and still change their best effect to their worst (Rarely comes up, but very useful when it does)

- Deals an unblockable damage when it resolves (Mostly negligible, but still upside)

- Can target your own characters as a proxy Use the Force (Very rarely comes up, but probably game-winning/changing when it does)

At the end of the day, I feel that the ability to use Immobilize's control effect even when you roll blanks outweighs Force Choke's techy advantages over it. I feel that most of the other relevant differences are negligible compared to the consistency on Immobilize. Still, Force Choke has some niche advantages over it that can be crucial when they do come up, so it's not like it's just a strictly worse card overall. I really enjoy this distinction between Rare and Legendary versions of the same effect; the rare is more bluntly powerful, but the legendary has more interesting applications that can really blow a game open when the opportunity comes up.

If you're running a control deck, you run Immobilize. If you're running something more bursty and need cards with damage potential, run Choke.

Why not both? It's a nasty combo. If you have dice that give focus, ways to reroll dice, or events to turn dice, then 2/6 sides are great good odds.

You can even force choke your own characters to turn dice.

Why not both? It's a nasty combo. If you have dice that give focus, ways to reroll dice, or events to turn dice, then 2/6 sides are great good odds.

You can even force choke your own characters to turn dice.

QFT. They're only 2 resources too. So much better than any Mind Probe. I run x2 of each and x2 force throw. They are all good ways of controlling everyone's dice. Depending on what you need!

~D

How would you compare them to force throw?

How would you compare them to force throw?

From the perspective of the control deck, I like both Force Choke and Immobilize more than Force Throw. Throw has the same dependence on rolling one of two special sides, but it costs 3 resources upfront.

In my experience, the jump to 3 resources is significantly higher than the jump from 1 to 2; to resolve a 3-cost card I need to plan my turn around accomplishing that (or roll extra resources), while I can spend my resources on control effects like Isolation, Use the Force, etc. and still play the Immobilize I draw next turn off the "per-turn" resources.

This isn't to say I don't like Force Throw; I think it's a very strong controlling option in a more aggressive deck that can really capitalize on all that extra damage, but the 3-cost is just too high to get the nod for any of my control decks.

How would you compare them to force throw?

From the perspective of the control deck, I like both Force Choke and Immobilize more than Force Throw. Throw has the same dependence on rolling one of two special sides, but it costs 3 resources upfront.

In my experience, the jump to 3 resources is significantly higher than the jump from 1 to 2; to resolve a 3-cost card I need to plan my turn around accomplishing that (or roll extra resources), while I can spend my resources on control effects like Isolation, Use the Force, etc. and still play the Immobilize I draw next turn off the "per-turn" resources.

This isn't to say I don't like Force Throw; I think it's a very strong controlling option in a more aggressive deck that can really capitalize on all that extra damage, but the 3-cost is just too high to get the nod for any of my control decks.

Force Throw opening hand yes, isn't great. But that's why I usually mulligan it, unless I have It Binds All Things and a 2-cost upgrade in hand as well. The key thing with Force Throw over Immobilize/Force Choke is that you're removing that die. You only turn the dice to a blank (typically unless it has no blank, then least fav side) on your opponents dice. They can still reroll or control that dice. Once it's removed, it's gone for that turn (in almost all cases). And lastly, it's doing damage. That's key, it's not just removing a dice, it has potential to do damage.

So that's why I love Force Throw and include ALL three (x2) in my decks

~D

How would you compare them to force throw?

From the perspective of the control deck, I like both Force Choke and Immobilize more than Force Throw. Throw has the same dependence on rolling one of two special sides, but it costs 3 resources upfront.

In my experience, the jump to 3 resources is significantly higher than the jump from 1 to 2; to resolve a 3-cost card I need to plan my turn around accomplishing that (or roll extra resources), while I can spend my resources on control effects like Isolation, Use the Force, etc. and still play the Immobilize I draw next turn off the "per-turn" resources.

This isn't to say I don't like Force Throw; I think it's a very strong controlling option in a more aggressive deck that can really capitalize on all that extra damage, but the 3-cost is just too high to get the nod for any of my control decks.

On thread topic. I'd rank them as follows.

1. Force Throw - Removes a die and potentially deals damage. You should be running cards that control your dice as well as your opponents, so getting the special when you need it usually shouldn't be a problem.

2. Force Choke - So versatile, you can use it to control your opponents dice or your own.

3. Immobilize - Good card worth the price of admission, just not as powerful as Force Throw or versatile as Force Choke.

I consider them all playable and when applicable put them all in a deck.

Hidden in Shadow this is a very overlooked card. It is a support costing only one to get into play and basically holds that point in reserve until you use it to put 3 or more costing support out. I think trading up is overlooked a lot