Skirmish upgrades: using Black Market

    Good morning gamers and Star Wars fans,

    It's been a while since I posted on this space, but I'm going to begin three series on this blog that (hopefully) I'll get a post up for each week (but let's face it, life might get in the way, so don't hold me to it). :) I've been playing Imperial Assault for a few years now and had my own core set for ~14 months, and during that time, I've spent a lot of time thinking about different hero builds, using certain command cards, and who to take skirmish upgrades for. As a result, the three series we'll be working through are as follows:

1. Skirmish Upgrades - for a specific skirmish upgrade, who should you use it with? What characters should you put it on (if it's an attachment)? What list supports it well (I hesitate to say "the best")?
2. Character Reviews - what are different builds you can use in campaign mode (both weapon choice and upgrades based on the weapon chosen)? How can this character be used effectively in the skirmish game?
3. Command cards - how do I use a certain command card effectively? Who are the best (or at least, some of the best) characters to use with it?

This post will start off the Skirmish Upgrades series and we'll be talking about the following Skirmish Upgrade: Black Market.

Obviously to use this skirmish upgrade, you need to have a smuggler in your list (or three...or six). Since no Smuggler can surge to recover damage, you have to rely on using Command cards to get this health back (more on that in a bit) OR just have enough Smugglers around that you can spread the damage without doing any real harm to your team. You DO NOT want to discard a card for the strain because you'll run through your command deck too quickly (and let's face it: if you discard a 3 cost Command card for the strain and then draw a 0 cost command card, you just cost yourself either using the 3 cost card or gaining 3 VPs from it...bummer).

Cards to always discard

1. Cards that benefit both players - I will say at the start that these cards are incredibly rare. Cards like Dangerous Bargains are great for gaining a few more VPs, but you have the option of gaining 3 VPs (if you're not close to winning) and giving your opponent 3 VPs OR you can gain 1 VP. There are times when cards like Dangerous Bargains are useful (hey, why not start the game with 3 VPs each...), but late in the game, you want to consider discarding it to give you the pip ahead you might need.
2. Cards the rely on your opponent moving adjacent to you - some of my favorites that do this are Dirty Trick (since we're running at least one Smuggler) and Parting Blow - both of these cards rely on your opponent moving adjacent to you or leaving an adjacent space. Depending on your opponent's objectives and list, he might never do this OR he might do this when you don't have the card. Both of these cards, however, are 2 cost cards - each worth 2 VPs if you discard it. Totally worth it if you ask me.
3. Character-specific cards for characters who have been defeated - let's face it: there's nothing worse than getting a Command card that's unique to a figure that's been defeated. If that card is anything like Jabba's card or Bossk's card or Boba Fett's card or IG-88's card (you get the picture, I'm going to stop now), it's a real shame. However, with Black Market (assuming you draw it at the right time - more on this later), you can turn these otherwise useless cards into VPs. Awesome. :)

Cards to always buy

1. Anything that can get you more XP by playing it than discarding it - the quintessential examples of this are cards like Merciless or Price on Their Heads. Do not underestimate, however, the benefit of other cards (such as Black Market Prices) which can turn those character-specific cards for characters who have been defeated into money after you've brought them into your hand - a very, VERY powerful card. :)
2. Cards that do a boat load of offense - the best example of this for Mercenary armies is Assassinate - let's face it, just adding 3 damage to an attack is awesome. Yes, you need to be a Hunter to use it, but who says you can't have Hunters and Smugglers in the same list??? Getting 3 VPs from this would be tempting, but if you can get more than 3 VPs by killing someone, that would be even better.
3. Character cards - we want our named guys to live, right? Usually a character-specific Command card helps us do that (or helps us kill more guys on our way out). These cards are awesome and usually give us the VPs back that we'd pay to buy them). So get them if they come up - don't even think about it (unless the character is already dead...in which case you should view #3 above). :)

With all this in mind, let's take a look at how to use this upgrade in the skirmish game.

Exemplary list: Jabba's Barge

• First Strike (2)
• Black Market (1)
• Elite Jawa Scavenger x2 (6)
• Jabba the Hutt (6)
• Vinto Hreeda with Prey Upon The Weak (5+1)
• Elite Weequay Pirate (7)
• Temporary Alliance (1)
• Leia Organa (8)
• R2-D2 (3)

Why use these characters in particular?

1. First Strike and Black Market (3/40 points): First Strike starts both sides off with 4 VPs. While this is a nice boon for your opponent, it also starts you off with money to buy something nice after the first round. Getting VPs any other way is basically impossible during the first round, so if you need to buy an extra card, it's a nice way to do it.
2. Two Elite Jawa Scavengers and Jabba the Hutt (15/40 points): The Jawa Scavengers allow you to risk a VP and have a 50% chance of gaining 2 VPs back if they spend a Surge during one of their attacks. This isn't a great way to get VPs, but it's surprisingly useful. Jabba gives you a free VP when you defeat figures from a specific opponent - great for giving you a bit of extra cash when you need it. These figures are also Leaders as well as Smugglers - giving you incredible card drawing options if you want it.
3. R2-D2 and Leia Organa with Temporary Alliance (27/40 points): R2-D2 (like Jabba) allows you to draw an extra Command Card each round. This means that you don't really need to stay adjacent to a terminal (just near one) OR you don't need to control the terminal. Getting as many Command cards in your hand as possible might cause you to run out of your deck, but that's where Leia Organa comes in (and let's face it...I wanted Leia and R2 in a deck with Jabba...for thematic reasons). :) Leia has the ability to shuffle Command cards back into your deck - this means that once you run out of Command cards, you can CHOOSE the card that will be drawn by Black Market...one that will always get you 3 VPs for example...
4. Elite Weequay Pirates and Vinto with Prey on the Weak (40/40 points): while the previous characters are nice, WE WANT FIREPOWER!!! Weequay are reasonably priced for elite troops and do a fair bit of damage (what with the reroll in combat, the auto-Hide ability, automatic 4 accuracy, and the ability to surge for lots of damage). Add to that Vinto Hreeda (who can bolt-sling for 2 free damage after making attacks with an auto Pierce 1 and Accuracy 1 when shooting at figures with a figure cost of 4 or less. Vinto can tackle any cheap spam units your opponent brings (like Troopers) while your Weequay (and any bolt-slinging pot-shots you wish to add) take on the stronger, more expensive units.

Command cards:

1. Character-specific cards: Blood Feud, There Is Another, Draw! (3/15)
2. VP-generating cards: Merciless x2, Black Market Prices, Dangerous Bargains, Celebration, Price on Their Heads, Of No Importance, Pickpocket, Utinni (10/15)
3. Offensive cards: Assassinate, Tools for the Job (15/15)
4. Command card drawing cards: Planning

Most of these cards have been talked about already - Planning is great for drawing cards (and you have 4 leaders in your list to use it). Pickpocket basically gives any Smuggler the Jawa Scavenger surge rule EXCEPT you base it off the Accuracy of the result and not the damage result - far better chance of reward since you risk losing nothing and thanks to taking First Strike, your opponent actually has VPs to lose at the start of the game. The inclusion of Utinni only helps our two Jawas, but allows them to surge (AGAIN) to get 1 VP (rude, I know). Finally, Tools for the Job is a nice card that allows you to turn any of your Hunters/Smugglers (so...anyone except Leia Organa and R2-D2) into power characters. Rolling a Blue-Green with Vinto? Here's an extra Red dice. Rolling double-Green with a Weequay? Here's an extra Red dice. Someone dumb enough to charge Jabba? See what kind of damage a Red-Red-Green combo does.

Hopefully this gets you thinking - if you have any thoughts on similar lists (or cards you love using Black Market with OR other skirmish upgrades you'd like to see in this series), let me know. Our next set in this series will look at Advanced Com Systems. Until next time, happy gaming!

Tiberius