Now that all of the characters for Across the Galaxy have been revealed, I will attempt my totally nonscientific and doubtlessly premature ranking of the characters from the set (look back at my Way of the Force article to see how I did there!). Without further ado:
High Upside Tier
These are the characters that have abilities or die sides that are potentially abusable. While these characters will not necessarily see play in top tier decks, these are the characters that sport analysts would consider to have “high upside.”
- Darth Vader – He really is a terror to behold. Huge health, big die sides, and a powerful Power Action. Will it be enough for him to overcome the inherit weaknesses of the big/little archetype?
- Qui-Gon Jinn – If you can keep the shields on him, he is an absolute monster.
- Leia Boushh – That special side is going to eat wide decks alive. If vehicle decks continue to dominant, watch out for the bulldozer that will be Yoda/Leia.
- Lando – Free resources are really powerful. Anyone played against Dr. Aphra recently?
- Barriss Offee – Free focuses are also really powerful. At least that’s what Mother Talzin has been telling me. (To be fair, her ability may be narrow enough that she ends up not being very good. But action cheaty focus plays with her will just be so disgustingly good, that as long as Force Speed is a thing she has a chance to be broken).
Very Good Tier
These are all characters that have very good stats for their cost. They have abilities that range from kind of useful to really intriguing. They are certainly good enough to be in Tier 1 decks if the cards fall their way, but no game breaking abilities or die sides in this group.
6. Tobias Beckett – Solid damage sides and an Ezra special on steroids. Plus, we get a Power Action that allows us to build a really expensive deck. Seems good to me.
7. Han Solo – As I’ve said elsewhere, it’s mostly Hero Han that I’m bullish on. Three 2 damage sides, one of which includes a resource much of the time? For 15 points? Yes please.
8. Iden Versio – Three 2 sides and 12 health for 15 points is really good. Plus, she has an ability that is at least mildly useful. No weaknesses here.
9. L3-37 – Multiple focus sides on a support character has proven to be strong before. The ability is useful and complicates your opponent’s targeting decisions – never a bad thing.
10. Qi’Ra – She has solid damage sides, and that +2 resource side, though awkward, is really powerful. The opposite of Han, I like her best in Villain decks, as adding Easy Pickings and Hyperspace Jump brings a lot of value.
11. Jyn Erso – Her ability is one of the most intriguing in this group, as it gives you hand knowledge and helps filter out some of your opponents plus cards. Plus, she has three 2 gun sides and Commando Raid.
12. Kit Fisto – I’ve written elsewhere that I’m not super high on his ability, but it’s at the very least useful. What really intrigues me is that 2 focus side sitting there. All In anyone?
Solid Tier
Similar to the previous tier, these characters have solid stats for their points. They could see top tier play in the right deck, but I’m less high on them then the previous tier.
13. “Mauler” Mithel – Two 2 damage sides on a 12 cost elite character is really strong (though they are both modifiers). And though that ability will not be used often, it has the potential to be devastating to certain decks. I like him.
14. Luce – She’s all around solid, but also doesn’t have much upside.
15. Bigs Darklighter – Solid dice for his cost and a useful ability. Similar to Mauler Mithel.
16. Val – She has solid dice overall, and a really good special. But 10 health is tough at that point cost, as most of her best partners will not have enough health to make up for hers. She reminds me a lot of Phasma2.
17. Savage Opress – He has a beastly amount of health for his cost, and a lot of damage sides. But his drawback can be huge, and I do not see many top players taking that risk. Plus, his name is just the worst.
18. Super Battle Droid – 9 points is tough for a non-unique. But his PA is strong, and has the potential to be insanely good if he ever gets a better droid partner.
19. Rebel Engineer – All good die sides for a vehicle deck, at a reasonable cost. But are mods good enough to make his ability useful? *shrugs*
20. Wulf Yularen – If villain mill was actually any good I could see this guy making the cut. Two focus sides, two discard sides, and a nice ability ain’t bad at all.
“Fun” Tier
These characters could be fun to play, and may even be in some Tier 2 decks. But I just don’t see them ever hitting the top tables at premier events
21. Clone Commander Cody – Cody and his Clones will make for some really tanky decks. Probably pretty solid Tier 2. But no more than that, sadly. He just isn’t enough health to play elite at 13, and his special is pretty bad honestly.
22. Dryden Vos – I don’t see him ever being very good, but his special could make for some hilariously swingy decks. Fun to play certainly, but I don’t see him taking anyone to the promise land.
23. Force Mystic – This guy is pretty bad. The only redeeming factor is that you could do multiple Force Waves a turn, which is just plain evil.
24. Nightbrother – I guess he has a lot of health? His ability could be fun? He barely makes it into the fun bucket, probably deserves to be garbage tier.
Overall, I’m very impressed by the characters in this set. The blue non-uniques are really the only characters I’m not interested in playing. And while the reality is that most of these characters will not end up being Tier 1 staples, I see 20 characters that are good enough to see Tier 1 play if the cards fall their way. From top to bottom, this is the best suite of characters we’ve seen in a set, and it’s headlined by the big man himself! What more could you ask for?
I very much diagree on bariss. I think the ability could be strong, but it’s too specific and her dice arent great. Focusing to a modifier is a risky move, and it might pay off some or even most of the time, so I think she Could be good, but definitely not a top 5 character
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As I mentioned in the parenthesis, I may be overvaluing the ability on this one ;). But I still think that she will be able to create some disgusting plays off of action cheating/die fixing plays, and the ability to create big plays has a disproportionate effect on a characters top-tier viability. She fit in the “high upside” category, which is why she ended up there; but she does have the lowest downside of any of those characters for sure.
Also, don’t forget that she can use her ability when her opponent turns their character dice as well. This brings some extra value to her ability.
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