Dooku / Phasma / Trooper
I have had a lot of success with this deck lately. I've been playing it and tweaking it since December. Just this past weekend I won a local tournament with it going 4-0. It might not be the best deck in the meta, but it is the deck I can do the best with. It fits my style. And because I've played about 30-40 games with it, I've learned what to do with it in various situations. The general strategy is to use Phasma and the Trooper to absorb and deal damage while Dooku builds up power. The dice mitigation should allow you reduce the incoming damage while you kill off your opponents characters. Without further ado, here is the list:
Characters (3)
Count Dooku / Captain Phasma / First Order Stormtrooper
Upgrade (14)
x2 Sith Holocron
x2 Force Choke
x2 Force Throw
x2 Mind Probe
x1 Immobilize
x2 F-11D Rifle
x1 DH-17 Blaster Pistol
x1 Holdout Blaster
x1 Promotion
Support (1)
x1 First Order TIE Fighter
Event (15)
x2 Deflect
x2 Feel Your Anger
x2 Flank
x2 Isolation
x2 The Best Defense...
x2 Enrage
x1 Intimidate
x1 Use The Force
x1 Endless Ranks
Battlefield
Mos Eisley Spaceport
As I said, I've been playing this for a while, this is just the current iteration based on what I am seeing in my local meta. Just looking at the list isn't too helpful. Here is how I break it down...
Sith Holocron and friends:
x2 Sith Holocron
x2 Force Choke
x2 Force Throw
x2 Mind Probe
x1 Immobilize
With the current card pool this should be no surprise. These upgrades almost exclusively get played onto Count Dooku, making him a monster in the mid to late game. I only play one copy of Immobilize because I don't really want two copies in play, and sometimes its effect just isn't strong enough. I had cut Immobilize all together, but added a copy back in for the occasional additional shields.
Guns and Promotion:
x2 F-11D Rifle
x1 DH-17 Blaster Pistol
x1 Holdout Blaster
x1 Promotion
The F-11D is the best blaster for this deck because it has four damage sides and redeploy. I play one copy of DH-17 because it is a good value for one resource. I like being able to play it and still play a dice mitigating event in the same round. I usually play it on Phasma, but because she is usually the primary early target for my opponents, I only play a single copy.
There is one copy of Holdout blaster because my ability to abuse the ambush is limited. But the redeploy is still great. The only way to really make use of the ambush is to play the blaster onto the Stormtrooper then immediately activate the Stormtrooper while using the guardian ability to pull damage onto him. That is a play you can't make with the F-11D.
Promotion is actually pretty good in this deck, you can use all of the sides of it's die. I was playing two copies, but late game it is a dead card, so I've cut down to a single copy.
Dice Mitigation:
x2 Deflect
x2 Feel Your Anger
x2 Flank
x2 Isolation
x2 The Best Defense...
x1 Use The Force
These cards are the heart of the deck. You goal is to mitigate the damage coming in while building up your forces to get the win. These cards let you do that. You have to use them wisely and choose your timing carefully. But a well timed Deflect or Feel Your Anger can win you games. I very often hold back playing my upgrades until my opponent has rolled out their dice. That way I can use my mitigation if needed. But it is a bit of a balancing act, you don't want to fall too far behind on the upgrades and not be able to catch up. Sometimes you just have to take the damage (hopefully on the Stormtrooper) and save your mitigation for later.
The Use the Force rarely gets used on my opponents dice, but it can be in case of emergency. More often I use it to fix my own dice when my opponent thinks I am out of options. Early in the game I'll usually discard it for the sake of drawing into something better. But late game it can be a sneaky game winner.
Other:
x2 Enrage
x1 Intimidate
Enrage gives you the little boost you need in those games where you don't get the Sith Holocron. Having a third resource to play a two cost upgrade and a mitigation event can be just what you need to keep pace in the early game. Or getting that fifth resource to play Endless Ranks late game can really be invaluable. Often times it gets discarded for something better. But when it lets you play that first turn Force Throw it is worth the spot in the deck.
Intimidate is a recent addition to the deck. It is here specifically to counter Dug In. It is pretty popular in the meta now. There is only one copy because I don't actually need it in the early game. I'm usually just fine killing the character that doesn't have the shields. But in the mid game, it make nice surprise for a character your opponent thought was safe.
Game Changers:
x1 Endless Ranks
x1 First Order TIE Fighter
I've always played a single copy of Endless Ranks in this deck. It is a bomb that can win games. It really demoralizes your opponent, especically if Phasma is still alive. This deck already has a ton of health, and this just puts it over the top. If I get it early I will discard it unless I feel the matchup allows me to keep it.
The TIE Fighter is a recent addition to the deck. I added it after I was finding I didn't have enough punch in the late game. So far I have only played a few games with it. But it has worked well, Especially against Jango. I can roll out the TIE Fighter and put the pressure on while nullifying Jango's ability.
Battlefield:
This deck rarely claims the battlefield. It is almost always reacting to what your opponent is doing first, then rolling out and resolving it's dice later. So Mos Eisley is there because it provides very little benefit to your opponent. There are rare occasions in which you can use it to bounce an unneeded holocron for a resource, but they are rarely worth planning around.
Edited by CBowser