Hello!

I have been a Rebel player with a couple campaigns and an avid Skirmish player. It is my turn at the chopping block as the Imperial player. I'm looking for advice on how to make my Imperial choices mesh well with each other. We will be playing the new HotE campaign and I know I will be using the Nemeses class deck.

First I could use some advice on initial Villain choices. I have a couple in mind but I'm torn between being thematic and being efficient. Since it sounds like HotE takes place in urban settings, I was going to avoid taking Captain Terro but, since many of the class cards involve the Villains' Traits and most of the HotE units are Troopers, he seems like a very smart choice (if you can ignore the dewback stomping around Coruscant!).

So with the initial Villains being a work-in-progress, but probs Terro and Bossk/Greedo, what Agenda cards would work well? Should I focus on including as many additional Villains as possible or pick cards that promote synergy with the two Villains I pick at the start? What are some staples that should always be included in an Imperial Agenda deck, if any?

Thanks!

The staples include the sets that have Imperial Informants (Agents of the Empire) and High-Value Target (For the Right Price). (Restorative Supplies from Imperial Industry probably would not go to waste.)

With Nemeses I took the Grand Inquisitor's and Greedo's agenda sets, for their single-use deployment options more than for their missions.

The choice of the rest depends on which villains you choose, and vice versa.

In the latest ones I have left more room for sets that I have not used yet. (for example the ones with Shoot First and Hasty Ambush have proved nice.)

(I have BT-1 and Maul in my Nemeses campaign. I'm missing Trooper from their traits, but otherwise they cover the traits pretty well.)

Terro is my favorite villain for Nemesis, great traits, great unit. As for the other villain, Maul is good. I used to recommend Jabba but he wasnt great when i used him. I would recommend an expensive villain for the end game but unless you adapt the skirmish upgrade fix cards are are no good ones.

As for Agenda sets, I prioritized more villians and threat reduction. I think the defense set would also be a good pick.

From a thematic point of view, the Royal Guard Champion could be great. For end of campaign you could potentially put him on the board for 5 threats. Not sure how he would do against end-of-campaign heroes but the B-W defense (and B-B-W with Indomitable) might make him tough to take out which means heroes would waist precious actions on him. His speed of 6 will force the heroes to scatter since Brutality will be a real threat. And if deployed in a mission involving Palpatine, he could attack a second time with Emperor. But again, RGC in a mission involving Palpatine on Coruscant is so thematic!

I think Bossk would be a good Merc Villian Candidate as Brawler and Hunter apply to alot of the deployments. Riot Troopers, Clawdites, among other open groups you can use. And he is relatively cheap at 8.

1 hour ago, Smashotron said:

Since it sounds like HotE takes place in urban settings, I was going to avoid taking Captain Terro but, since many of the class cards involve the Villains' Traits and most of the HotE units are Troopers, he seems like a very smart choice

If you want a Trooper villain to have synergy with HotE Troopers, then why not go for Kayn Somos?

If you do end up taking Terro, I would highly recommend Imperial Discipline for the Fire at Will agenda card. It essentially can allow Terro to perform two attacks in a row once per mission with the second attack gaining an additional surge. Very powerful and can allow you to wound a hero in the first round (sometimes even first activation). Maybe a bit too strong but from a competitiveness standpoint, very effective. I typically like to include this set in a campaign even without Terro because an extra attack from the occasional E-Web, focused Snowtrooper, EJet, etc. can be quite helpful in bursting a hero down. Also, HOTE introduces two additional troopers in both Riot Troopers and Sentry Droids. Additionally, the other single use cards in this deck are pretty good in the right circumstances (don't underestimate the utility of Tactical Maneuvering).

59 minutes ago, angelman2 said:

If you want a Trooper villain to have synergy with HotE Troopers, then why not go for Kayn Somos?

Somos would be more thematic but just so much worse as a unit.

If you covered Riot Troopers and Sentry Droids with other villians you could get around using a trooper villian. Stormtroopers arent actually that good with Inspiration anyway.

Right now I am considering Nemeses class deck with Terro & Bossk (maybe, probably) with the following Agenda decks:

• Devious Droids for BT-1 and because both Invasive Procedure and Missile Salvo look good
• For the Right Price for HV Target
• Imperial Industry for Restorative Supplies but also Interrogation Protocol from a Sentry Droid
• Infiltration for Misdirection and Trip Mine (maybe not so great)
• Field Commander from HotE for Leader cards to mesh with Terro
• The Emperor's Plots for ole Palpatine and For The Emperor (cheaper Guardians)

Do you think this list lacks focus? Maybe not enough Villains to earn? Infiltration is the one I am least sold on, but something like Misdirection sounds like it could be a game-changer for 1 Influence and it can go back in the deck.

If you don't like Infiltration might I suggest the Grand Inquisitors agenda deck? It is pretty fun one.

@Smashotron

6 hours ago, TallGiraffe said:

If you don't like Infiltration might I suggest the Grand Inquisitors agenda deck? It is pretty fun one.

I was definitely debating the Inquisitor but I don't know how many Villains I should expect to realistically win over the course of one campaign. I will take a closer look at his other two cards though, and weigh them against Misdirection and Trip Mine.

7 minutes ago, Smashotron said:

I was definitely debating the Inquisitor but I don't know how many Villains I should expect to realistically win over the course of one campaign. I will take a closer look at his other two cards though, and weigh them against Misdirection and Trip Mine.

For 2 influence deploy the inquisitor to target only one hero till he is defeated or they are defeated. Or the 1 influence card allows you to focus a hunter and perform a move. Fun for Bossk.

20 minutes ago, TallGiraffe said:

For 2 influence deploy the inquisitor to target only one hero till he is defeated or they are defeated.

That's pretty awesome! I will force my rebel group to take Davith or Diala and I will send the Inquisitor after the Jedi!!!

25 minutes ago, TallGiraffe said:

For 2 influence deploy the inquisitor to target only one hero till he is defeated or they are defeated. Or the 1 influence card allows you to focus a hunter and perform a move. Fun for Bossk.

Do cards like this (Inq's and Greedo's) work if I haven't earned that Villain yet?

47 minutes ago, Smashotron said:

Do cards like this (Inq's and Greedo's) work if I haven't earned that Villain yet?

Yep! There's also a somewhat similar card in Vader's deck that brings him to your hand even if you haven't earned him (unfortunately you'll still have to figure out how to pay his threat).