IP Class Deck Review: Technological Superiority

For the last few months, we’ve been reviewing one Rebel Hero from the campaign game each week. For the list of characters we’ve finished (and the ones to come), check out our Getting Started page. In our new Monday column, we’ll be going through the much shorter list of Imperial Class decks. Each expansion comes with 1-3 class decks that the Imperial Player (IP) uses to achieve his mission objectives. In a similar style to our Rebel Hero posts, we’ll be looking at a few different builds you can do with each of these class decks and we’re going to begin our series with one of the most flexible (and perhaps the least straight-forward) of the class decks: Technological Superiority.

Technological Superiority: Universal vs. Specifics

Imperial class decks always center around a theme and the theme for “Tech Superiority” is the ability to provide global, static benefits to your units OR attachments that make a particular unit much, MUCH stronger. While attachments can be found in almost every class deck (Hutt Mercenaries is the exception), no deck has more attachments than Tech Superiority – four of its nine upgrades are attachments! Similarly, while all class decks have one or two upgrades that either benefit all Imperial units on the board (or hurt all Rebel Heroes on the board) – conditionally or universally, three of the nine upgrades available in Tech Superiority provide static benefits to Imperial figures (one of which is limited to Droids, another is limited to deployment cards with at least one attachment).

This unique nature of the Tech Superiority class deck allows it to be played with a universal focus (helping all of your units) or a very specific focus (helping a select few units), depending on how you want to play it. Most decks don’t do this, so we’re going to look at a few different builds to help you see what you can do with it.

End-Game Build #1 – Flexible Approach: Experimental Arms, Technical Support, Failsafe, Cloaking Device, Adaptive Weapons (10 XP)

In our “flexible” build, we’re going to purchase upgrades that aren’t attachments (though we get Experimental Arms for free). In many ways, this build centers around one upgrade: Adaptive Weapons. This upgrade allows you to replace any 1 die in your attack pool with another die of your choice – perfect for getting a little more oomph out of your attacks. Perhaps the most obvious units to use with this upgrade are those who have one Red die in their attack pool and don’t have good surge abilities. These units can go from a Red-{other color} attack pool to a Red-Red pool! While this can be tricky to do with range units (you still need Accuracy), many range units available to the IP who roll a Red die already get static accuracy (like Heavy Stormtroopers or E-Web Engineers).

The other option for using Adaptive Weapons is to give units who don’t have a Red die (like Sentry Droids or Probe Droids) a Red die to turn potentially-wasted surge into Damage. Since we’re also taking Technical Support (which not only makes your Droids faster, but also allows them to heal/Focus/cleanse their adjacent friends) and Cloaking Device (not strictly tied to Droids, but very helpful for keeping them or your favorite Trooper squad alive), any help you can give to boost the damage on your Droids is welcome.

Finally, we add Failsafe to the list, which is great for the end-game missions where you need to keep your favorite villain character alive. Failsafe requires you to save some Threat, but can keep you from taking a world of punishment from a Rebel Hero (and potentially buy you the time you need to get a Droid nearby to heal the villain). I’ve been bailed out countless times by this upgrade – though it has a high Threat cost, it will be well worth the XP and Threat you pay.

Best IP Units:

·         Tusken Raider (Twin Shadows) – Since the surge abilities for Tusken Raiders doesn’t allow them to add damage to the attack total, rolling a Red-Red with the chance to Cleave 1 (or Weaken) is a huge increase. Additionally, you can get better range out of your Tusken Cycler ability with a Blue-Blue or Green-Blue instead of the traditional Red-Blue attack pool.

·         Heavy Stormtrooper (Twin Shadows) – With a static 2 Accuracy, you can roll a Red-Red and do a TON more damage at very close range than you would with your traditional Red-Blue (though you could also roll a Red-Green for improved damage while still getting some Accuracy).

·         Riot Trooper (Heart of the Empire) – These guys are basically Heavy Stormtroopers in melee form – their surge abilities aren’t bad, but they’re better served with a Red-Red pool than a Red-Blue pool.

·         Regular or Elite Clawdite Shapeshifter (Heart of the Empire) – Regular Clawdite Shapeshifters get a Green-Blue attack pool when using the Scout Form, but you can turn this into a Red-Blue combo for increased Damage (and at least 4 Accuracy), though they can also use the Senator Form if they wish to attack adjacent characters and use a Red-Red combo. Elite Clawdite Shapeshifters are better served using the Streetrat Form with a Red-Red-Green combo, relying on the Green die to get you not only the required Accuracy but also the Surge to trigger Assassin’s Blade.

·         Sentry Droid (Heart of the Empire) – Whether you choose to shoot twice with a Green-Green attack pool (Damage -1 penalty) OR shoot once with +2 Accuracy, you’re well served by swapping one of those Green die with a Red die. These guys are also one of the new multi-figure Droid squads, giving you multiple healing actions in the same round.

End-Game Build #2 – Attachments Everywhere: Experimental Arms, Jetpacks, Arc Blasters, Cloaking Device, Superior Augments (11 XP)

When I first played with Tech Superiority, I liked the attachments: slap one (or more) of these things on each deployment card and see the benefits abound. Got slow units (like E-Webs or Heavy Stromtroopers)? Give them Jetpacks. Got a unit that gets lots of surge and not much to spend it on (like Stormtroopers, Jet Troopers, or E-Webs)? Give them Arc Blasters. Need to keep that one Trooper (or Droid) unit alive longer? Try on a Cloaking Device. Just want a little more surge? Experimental Arms is an equal opportunity provider (at a cost). With these four upgrades available to you (at 7 XP), you can afford all four of them in any game.

Adding in the Superior Augments upgrade, each of your units that has an attachment gains +1 speed (great for the card using Jetpacks) and gains +1 Damage to its attack results (great for those Arc Blasters and Experimental Arms users). While I don’t think Superior Augments is better than Adaptive Weapons, if you’re running a Trooper/Droid-oriented list, it’s a good upgrade (and it gives you a maneuverability benefit instead of just a combat upgrade).

The trick to running this list, however, is to pick one upgrade for each deployment card you have. While there’s no rule limiting you to one upgrade, putting multiple upgrades on a deployment card limits the effectiveness of Superior Augments (as the bonuses aren’t applied per attachment, but based on whether you have one or more attachments). While some units might benefit from multiple upgrades (want that Trooper hero you love to have a Cloaking Device AND Arc Blasters?), your ability to do maximum Damage (and get maximum positioning) is limited if you clump your upgrades among a select few units. Just saying…

Best IP Units:

·         Stormtrooper (Core) – The “vanilla” Stormtrooper variant benefits from all of the upgrades (less so the Experimental Arms upgrade because of their low health and limited Surge abilities). With Jetpacks, they become very maneuverable, while the Cloaking Device keeps them alive much longer (improving their chance of getting Evades and giving that ever-elusive-but-oh-so-wonderful Dodge result). Arc Blasters is a great upgrade for Elite Stormtroopers, allowing 2 Surge results to be turned into Damage (and Blast) – you’re pretty likely to get the 2 Surge results if you’re Focused.

·         Heavy Stormtrooper (Twin Shadows) – While Jetpacks certainly help with the slow speed of these units, their high Health stat (as well as automatic Block against attacks from long-range) make Experimental Arms a tempting choice. Since their Red-Blue combo doesn’t generate Surge very often, having the ability to deal 1 Damage to yourself in order to trigger Blast 1 (or Damage 1) is nice. Even if you never have to use it, at least you leave yourself the option of doing it.

·         E-Web Engineer (Core) – Ah, E-Webs – so powerful if they get to attack. As I said in a previous post a while ago, E-Webs play defense. To assist with this, giving them Jetpacks for maneuverability (getting 6 movement points with Mobile is pretty great to get them in position) or Arc Blasters (your surge potential is great) improves their utility a ton. If they're destroyed, it takes a lot of Threat to get them back, so be careful.

·         Trandoshan Hunter (Core) – Now begins the not-Trooper part of the list. Trandoshans – as everyone who’s played against them already knows – get free Damage if attacking someone adjacent to them (and a free Strain on any target within 3 spaces). When paired with the Superior Augments upgrade, these guys are PAINFUL if they can attack someone adjacent to them (pretty easy with the +1 Speed). While they can’t carry Jetpacks or the Cloaking Device, the Experimental Arms upgrade (they have plenty of Health – automatically triggering Pierce 2 or Bleed is nice) is useful.

·         Hired Gun (Hired Gun Villain Pack) – Perhaps the most flimsy of units available to the Imperial Player, Hired Guns are all-but-guaranteed to get a shot in against the strongest Rebel figures. If a Hired Gun squad has the Arc Blasters upgrade, during their parting shot they have the chance to Stun the person who shot them (potentially disrupting the Rebel figure’s turn) AND applying Stun to people adjacent to the target (which may disrupt THEIR turns). Having done this before, I can say there’s nothing more satisfying about losing one of your own figures than seeing him do something meaningful on his way out. Beyond that, don’t give these guys any of the other attachments.

End-Game Build #3 – Heavy Fire: Experimental Arms, Jetpacks, Superior Augments, Adaptive Weapons (9 XP)

In the previous two builds, we’ve looked at purchasing upgrades that are centered on the Adaptive Weapons upgrade and the Superior Augments upgrade. This poses a question: can you use both? Because you start with Experimental Arms, the Superior Augments upgrade will be useful, though I recommend picking up Jetpacks too – it’s cheap. The other attachments are expensive and picking them up both of them basically excludes you from getting anything else. In this case, we’re going to forego these two attachments and instead get Adaptive Weapons for its general benefit to your units. If you’re playing a long campaign, you can rely on your Agenda Deck side missions to give you additional attachments (I recommend Imperial Industry, Agents of the Empire, 501^st Training, and Tusken Treachery). This comes at the steep price of Influence, but these side missions (or Forced Mission for the Agents of the Empire one) provide great upgrades for your team (and can be given to you automatically if the Rebels wish to do something else).

Best IP Units:

·         Sentry Droid (Heart of the Empire) – With both the Superior Augments upgrade and the Adaptive Weapons upgrade, you can give a Sentry Droid squad the Experimental Arms attachment and fire twice with no Damage penalty and a Red-Green attack pool. With an impressive Speed 5, it’s pretty easy to get into close range with your target and deal incredible damage.

·         Heavy Stormtrooper (Twin Shadows) – We’ve probably talked about these guys enough already, but if you get the 501^st Training upgrade, you can have these guys Recover 3 Damage AND become Focused (or get to attack and move a little, supplementing your low Speed). Rolling a Red-Green-Blue (which can turn into a Red-Red-Green) is fantastic, even if you do nothing else with it!

·         Elite Jet Troopers (Jabba’s Realm) – While Jet Troopers don’t require the Jetpacks upgrade (they’re already Mobile), they do benefit from Experimental Arms (especially if they are shooting at someone close-by with a Red-Green-Blue attack pool). 501^st Training is also good for them for the same reasons identified above for the Heavy Stormtroopers.

·         Tusken Raider (Twin Shadows) – While Tuskens can’t get much mileage out of Experimental Arms, they can get a TON out of Jetpacks – melee units can always benefit from Mobile. A Tusken Raider with Jetpacks is not only Speed 5 + Mobile, but he can also roll a Red-Red in melee with +1 Damage to the attack results (+2 Damage if it’s an Elite Tusken Raider).

·         Royal Guard (Core) – While Tuskens are fantastic, you can get even more strength out of Royal Guards. Though slightly more expensive, these guys can be Speed 6 + Mobile + Reach with Jetpacks OR Speed 6 + Reach with the ability to gain additional Surge with Experimental Arms. If you get Tusken Weaponry, you can give Royal Guards a Red-Blue range attack pool (which you could change to a Blue-Blue or Green-Blue if you prefer) or have a Red-Red attack with +2 Damage and no surge abilities. Both are great and VERY painful.

In our next post, we’ll be examining the Military Might class deck (also available in the Core Set). While this deck will predominantly feature Troopers, you’d be surprised at the wealth of benefits this deck provides. Until next time, happy gaming!