After playing a Twin Shadows Campaign as the Imperial Player last year, I found that by the last mission I was flooded with too many cards in front of me and it actually cost me the campaign because I overlooked a card that would have let me win. I'm not good at remembering rare timing triggers, and I wound up with a lot of missed opportunities. I have a new Twin Shadows campaign coming up with new players who have never played before, so this time I want to be smarter about card choice. I may do a separate post about my class deck decision-making, but for this edition of "Thinking Out Loud", I'm going to go through my thought process on selecting Agenda sets for this campaign.
I have two primary goals for my Agenda deck:
- I want to choose Agenda cards that I'm not going to forget to use and that have simple timing requirements. I want to avoid card clutter in front of me.
- I don't want to ruin the experience of new players, so I am looking for fun or interesting cards, not "gotcha sucker!" cards that will frustrate them.
First, I wanted to know how many Agenda cards I'll even wind up buying. I feel like last time I had several cards in front of me, but I think that was because I saved all the Agenda cards for the last mission and bought a ton of low-XP class cards. So I listed out the possible Influence earnings:
- Twin Shadows Agenda Earnings: Lose/Win
- Pre-Campaign Steps: No starting Influence
- After Mission 1: Hunted Down: 1/1
- After Mission 2: Past Life Enemies/Shady Dealings: 1/3
- After Mission 3: Canyon Run: 1/3
That's not much, just 3 to 7 points total over the course of the entire campaign. Which also means card cost can become an issue. After selecting my six agenda sets, I wound up with the following:
- A 15 card Agenda Deck (after the mission cards are removed)
- 9 cards that cost 2 Influence
- 6 cards that cost 1 Influence, but 4 of them can be shuffled back into the Agenda deck when used
That means it is entirely possible that I could draw 4 cards after Hunted Down that cost 2 Influence and be unable to buy any of them. However, cost and card draw were not my primary concerns, so I have to just accept that as a possible risk and move on.
Here are the six Agenda Sets I choose for this campaign:
IMPERIAL SECURITY BUREAU : (Core Set)
- Internal Affairs: 1 Inf, Play in play area, Add 1 Regular Imperial Officer to my hand after setup. This is a nice card because it gives me more options but doesn't directly impact play, and I don't have to pay attention to it after the game starts.
- ISB Enforcers: 2 Inf, Secret, Attach to a Stormtrooper group you deploy to allow them to make multiple attacks. Discard at the end of the mission or when that group is defeated. This is a perfect card for me because it acts like a a one-time attachment. I am used to attachments from playing skirmish, and I can easily keep track of those.
- Imperial Operative: 1 Inf, Secret, Attach to an Imperial Officer you deploy to grant +1 speed, +3 health, and auto-Focus. Discard at the end of the mission or when that figure is defeated. Just like the previous card, this is a one-off attachment card that will be easy for me to use. Also, I can't wait to drop an Officer and be like, "This is no ordinary officer. This is Grand Moff Tarkin's nephew, Bob. You must be doing something right if the Empire sent Bob after you!"
Overall: A+! This is exactly the type of Agenda I was looking for. No mission cards makes it perfect for a Twin Shadows campaign (since those cards get tossed anyway). These are nice cards that provide some variety for play but give players time to react to them when used.
IMPERIAL DISCIPLINE : (Core Set)
- Impending Doom: 1 Inf, Secret, Discard or Shuffle when used. When a hero is wounded, use this card to Focus 2 Imperial figures. This is one of those cards where I probably will forget to trigger it. On the other hand, it isn't two harsh for new players because likely the heroes are activating next and will be able to kill the focused figures before they can act. This is the least valuable of the three cards in this set.
- Tactical Maneuvering: 1 Inf, Secret, Discard or Shuffle when used. At the end of any round, perform a move with 3 Imperial Figures. Twin Shadows uses Heavy Stormtroopers a lot. They are slow and often get left behind the action. This helps them catch up.
- Fire at Will: 2 Inf, Play in play area. Deplete at the end of an activation to have an Imperial Trooper attack at +1 surge. There are a lot of Troopers in Twin Shadows. Kayn Somos is a Trooper. This is a good card. As a Deplete card, the Rebels will know I have it available so it won't be a surprise.
Overall: I used this Agenda the last time I ran Twin Shadows, and I loved it. I was trying to avoid using it again but it's just a solid fit for that campaign. The cards give neat effects but aren't overly strong. I just need to remember to use them!
NEFARIOUS DEALINGS : (Hired Guns Pack)
- Final Blast: 2 Inf, Play in play area, Deplete when a non-unique figure is defeated to get off one last shot. This is the type of card I usually avoid, since I always forget to use it, but since the trigger condition is so common I'll just use it first chance I get so I can ignore it after that. Since it is a non-unique figure it probably won't be overpowered, plus the rebels will know I have the option on the table.
- Trade Routes Disrupted: 2 Inf, Secret, Discard when a hero grabs a crate to prevent them drawing a card (they still get the 50 credits for the crate itself though). This falls in the annoying "gotcha" category, but doesn't really hurt the rebels much for the price. For 2 Influence, you'd kind of expect the crate to explode or something instead.
Overall: These cards are good for me to use against new players. They are pricey, but don't hurt the rebels much.
SOLDIERS FOR HIRE : (Boba Fett Pack)
- By Any Means Necessary: 1 Inf, Secret, Discard or shuffle into Agenda deck when used. After a Scum figure attacks, it gets to attack again, but then suffers 4 damage. While this is a Gotcha card, the downside is pretty fair.
- No Disintegrations: 2 Inf, Play in play area. Deplete to do -2 damage on an attack that doesn't miss to add 2 to threat. Another card with a fair trade-off that I can just use the first chance I get and then ignore.
Overall: These cards aren't too harsh in the scheme of things. They won't be my first picks though.
PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY : (Twin Shadows Set)
- Strike and Subdue: 1 Inf, Secret, Discard or Shuffle when used. As an action, cause an adjacent hero with 2 or more strain to test Insight or suffer 2 strain and test Might or be Weakened. Although this is a "Gotcha" card, the hero does have a chance to negate both effects, and it costs the Imperial figure an action, so it is more than fair.
- Death Mark: 2 Influence, Place in a Hero's area. All Scum attacking the hero gain +1 damage. This card is only discarded once that hero is defeated. Honestly, this card could be kind of brutal, but that depends on when it is purchased and used. On the last mission, when Boba Fett is likely the only scum you'll face, it wouldn't hurt the hero as much.
Overall: Strike and Subdue's trigger conditions are trickier than the other Agenda cards which means more for me to remember, and Death Mark isn't even in my play area. I can see forgetting about these a lot if I buy them. They won't be my first picks, but if I am low on options they aren't the worst buy in the world.
DEFENSIVE TACTICS : (Return to Hoth Set)
- Enhanced Armor: 1 Inf, Secret, Attach to a non-Creature/non-Vehicle group you deploy - while defending, they ignore 1 point of Pierce. Discard at the end of the mission or when that group is defeated. I love these attachment-type agenda cards; they are so easy to keep track of.
- Counter-Strike: 1 Inf, Secret, Discard or Shuffle when used. Play AND SPEND 1 INFLUENCE while an Imperial figure is Defending to apply +1 Block and Evade. If no damage is suffered, the attacker takes 3 damage. This is kind of a terrible card, and I'll probably never pick it. That weird double Influence spend is confusing. It should just be a 2-Point card, and I counted it as such in my earlier breakdown.
- Personal Shield Generators: 2 Inf, Place in play area. Deplete when an Imperial figure is defending for +3 block. This is a handy card for making the big bad like Kayn Somos or Boba Fett more intimidating.
Overall: This would be an A+ set if Counter-Strike was replaced with a better card.
Closing Thoughts:
If you read this wall of text, thanks! Really I was just jotting down notes as I tried to think through the six Agenda sets I wanted to use for this campaign, and when I realized that my notes had turned into an almost formal analysis, I figured I'd share it.