Command cards: best ally/villain packs to get

Good morning gamers,

As more and more Ally/Villain packs are released for the Imperial Assault game, it’s hard for newer collectors to determine what packs to prioritize getting. I’ve been playing this game since mid-2015 but only started seriously collecting for a little over a year. I own some of the Ally/Villain packs, but as new packs are released, I identify which packs of the new lot I want and which ones I don’t. I’ve also spent quite a while determining which of the older packs I want (or don’t want). If you also are trying to determine which Imperial Assault Ally/Villain packs you want, this post is for you.

What Makes a Good Ally/Villain Pack?

Let’s begin by getting the following caveat taken care of up-front:

We’re only evaluating Ally/Villain packs here based on their Command cards.

Are there other factors that contribute to whether or not an Ally/Villain pack are good besides its Command Card makeup? Of course. Are Ally/Villain packs not mentioned here worthless? Not at all. When it all comes down to it, while most of the content in the Ally/Villain pack are exclusive content, if you only want the character, you can usually get the token for the character in the core box or an expansion box.

While having the actual model is nice, the Command cards provided are the bulk of the new content provided by the pack…so that’s why we’re using it as the standard. Furthermore, you’ll usually get Command cards that support more than just the character purchased – even cards that are neutral in affiliation and may not cost any Command card points (allowing you to include more expensive cards in your deck that favor a particular class of characters). Command cards make a big difference and should not play a small role in determining the priority of getting Ally/Villain packs for your collection. That all said, if you don’t see your favorite listed here, it’s not because I don’t like it…it’s because the overall utility of their Command cards is not as good as the packs listed here.

Honorable Mentions: Chewbacca, Bantha Rider, Grand Inquisitor, and Maul

I used a simple qualitative assessment to determine the utility of each Command card provided in each pack and found the weighted average of their utility scores. The following packs all ended with an average score of 0.750 – their cards (on average) are not needed by their users, but are helpful and above-average in value. Let’s take a look at these honorable mentions by affiliation:

·         REBELS: Chewbacca: These packs provide valuable allies in the campaign game, but in the Skirmish game, their cards are incredible. Chewbacca’s deck is more useful to Wookie decks than the Wookie Warrior pack – with two copies of Wookie Rage that allow Wookies to deal damage to nearby foes based on the damage they’ve already taken (not based on a die roll) and the Debts Repaid card that allows Chewie to ready his deployment card when a friendly figure is defeated. You also get cards like Roar and Adrenaline, which are more situational but still quite valuable (applying Stun en masse is great as is getting a temporary boost to your health).

·         IMPERIAL: The Grand Inquisitor: If you like Force Users (especially the Imperial kind), you want this ally pack – both DeadlyPrecision and Force Rush are 0-cost Command cards and they provide the ability to ignore a Dodge result in each attack you make this round and the ability to gain a little more movement – invaluable if you’re running someone like Darth Vader. Hunt Them Down is great too (though at 2-cost, it’s a bit pricey along with all the other Imperial Force User cards you’ll include in your deck).

·         MERCENARY: Bantha Rider: Let’s face it: Banthas are fun to run – they’re big and nasty and squish stuff. Cards like Crush and Jundland Terror (two copies!) are great for getting the most out of Bantha rules (though you can use Crush with your Imperial Walkers and Jundland Terror with your Tusken Raiders too). Add to that the Opportunistic card, which can give any Mercenary figure additional movement after you deal damage (either making a big escape or furthering the advance). Keep in mind, though, that if you stomp on someone (let’s say as a move action before an attack action) that you can’t move anymore that turn – so coordinating this if you’re planning on stepping on stuff is tricky.

·         MERCENARY: Maul: Maul’s pack provides excellent cards for Brawlers instead of Force Users. Melee characters will get a great boost from Deathblow, while your favorite Brawlers (I like Trandoshans, Tuskens, and of course Maul) will get free movement out of Face to Face and Looking for a Fight. While many figures have expensive unique Command cards, Maul’s Wreak Vengeance card comes in at 1 point and allows him to be Focused AND use Reach AND Cleave 2. All told, Maul is fantastic.

These packs are fantastic – they have some cards that provide huge benefits to your skirmish squads and make for brutal teams. But now, we get into the real power players – characters whose Command cards really shine!

Bronze Medal: Jabba the Hutt

Jabba’s already gotten lots of press on this blog, both as an excellent candidate for using To The Limit and as a user of On a Diplomatic Mission. Included in this incredible Villain pack are three Command cards that are very helpful to your skirmish lists (he scored a 0.833 on our rating scale). First, the Assassinate card allows you to just add 3 damage to an attack performed by a Hunter. While this will generally be done by a Mercenary army, you can also use the card to beef up the first attack of Close and Personal by Biv Bodhrick (for you Rebel players out there). Hunter units who already dominate the damage output (IG-88, Trandoshans, and Shyla) become even more dominant when you (essentially) add a red die to the attack results. It’s very, VERY brutal.

Blood Feud is a relatively cheap unique Command card, but don’t underestimate its power: being able to add a static 1 damage to your attacks against a particular deployment card is HUGE. If your opponent has static block on that figure, forget about it. Can the figure heal himself? Mob him with attacks. Perhaps the best thing about it is that you can use units with relatively low damage ceilings (Weequay and Hired Guns for example) and it gives them the edge they need to really cut through their opponent’s defenses.

Finally, Jabba’s Villain pack gives you Shoot the Messenger, which is one of the most painful ways to burn through your opponent’s Command deck. If you also include two copies of Merciless (credit due to the IG-88 Villain pack), you’ll find that you can rake through your opponent’s cards (or force him to give you victory points). All told, life is good.

Silver Medal: Stormtrooper and Alliance Smuggler

Tying for second with a score of 0.875 are the Stormtrooper and Alliance Smuggler packs. While Mercenary lists got a huge boost with Jabba the Hutt, these packs include a lot of neutral cards that can be worked into Imperial, Rebel, or Mercenary lists. Let’s look at the contents.

In the Stormtrooper pack, you get two copies of Reinforcements. These cards (also available in the Rebel Trooper pack) are a must-have if you’re running a Trooper list – you need to be able to regrow your Troopers if you’re going to get the most out of them. If you’re running Elite Stormtroopers or regular Heavy Stormtroopers, this is a definite must (though it also applies to Elite Wing Guard and Elite Rebel Troopers…and regular Echo Base Troopers…and regular Alliance Rangers…you get the picture). The Stealth Tactics card is also really good – being able to just add a White die to your defense results is HUGE (even if you don’t get the Dodge result). The pack also comes with Set for Stun, which I don’t find to be as useful as the others, but Stun results require the target to remove them, which does limit actions, so…

The Alliance Smuggler pack also provides good bonuses: Without a doubt, the best two cards provided in it are the Heart of Freedom card and the Smuggled Supplies card. Heart of Freedom is a must-have for any Rebel list – you get movement points, healing, condition removal – it’s fantastic. Smuggled Supplies works much the same way (and can be found in the Hired Guns pack), except you get healing OR extra Surge OR extra Evades (all of which are very useful) so long as you’re a Smuggler. The pack also includes Self-Defense – a neat little 0-cost Command card that allows you to just do a damage to someone who moves next to you – and Smuggler’s Tricks – a niche card that allows you to make sure enemy figures don’t control terminals or don’t have units on map tiles that are important to the scenario objectives. Everyone should have a copy of this pack – it’s just really, REALLY necessary.

But for all the benefits that you get from the Smuggler and the Stormtrooper packs, there is one that beats all, and that is…

Gold Medal: LukeSkywalker, Jedi Knight

Ok, let’s get one thing straight: I don’t like this pack for Jedi Luke. Luke is great – he does a lot of damage and he can attack twice each turn (and one of those doesn’t count as an action). But the reason Luke wins this contest is because his cards help basically anyone and they provide things that make normal units in the skirmish game better than they should be. Want a free Surge? Here’s Blitz. Want a free damage? Here’s Positioning Advantage. If you’re a Guardian/Brawler (very popular classes across all three affiliations), try getting a free Block with Parry. Total Command cost for all three of these cards? 1 point. ONE POINT! Yeah, the cards aren’t earth-shattering. Yeah, they’re lame and they aren’t flashy. Yeah, they’re not as powerful as pretty much any of the other cards that we talked about. But this is why it’s the best pack to get:

It doesn’t matter what your favorite affiliation is – you can use it NOW.

Do you like running bounty hunters that hack through things? All three cards will help your deck. Like running Wookies? Here are three more cards. What about those Royal Guard-Imperial Officer swarms that were so popular when the Core game came out? Yep, all three of these help them too. No matter what you run, two of the cards will help you and quite possibly all three will help you. And that, dear children, is why it’s the best.

And it comes with Jedi Luke. There, I said it. Happy?

In our next post, we’ll be looking at two Command cards and examining some great combos to use with them: Strength in Numbers and Squad Swarm. Until then, happy gaming!