Normally I, (Jon), do not enjoy playing Kylo. While some may argue that there is skill in calling the right color (there’s a bit), you can’t get around the fact it’s a very coin-flippy interaction. At least with dice you have the option to re-roll, with Kylo, its a one and done coin flip. I tend to hate to play decks that rely on such mechanics as I like to know what’s going to happen before I make a choice… not after. This is why I enjoyed decks like Thrawn Talzin and 5 die Talzin. But for whatever reason, I ended up playing Kylo at not 1, but 2 regionals this year. I did end up with rather spicy lists though, so I thought I’d share them with you all today.
FFG Regional: Kylo Anakin (It Will All Be Mine)
Reasoning Behind Bringing the Deck:
This was during a period where Vader was first rearing its head after Andrew’s victory at the Fargo Regional, and I wanted a deck that could beat Vader consistently. When we tested Kylo Anakin into Vader, we found that it did indeed have an edge, as it’s one of the best decks at simply dealing 15 damage by the end of round 2. Add onto this the fact that Andrew was bringing the deck, and I felt like it would be fun to show solidarity and bring the same pairing and see how it went.
-Note that I created this list from memory, it may be off by a card or 2.
Notes on the list:
Yup, I chose to bring Swiftness + Manipulate + Triple Threat + Anger + It Will All Be Mine…. because why not? In the deck I found I almost never wanted to play cards, as re-rolling is necessary to get that early damage spike, and it felt like a waste too often. So having a combo that wouldn’t always be drawn together didn’t feel like much of a detriment. And, every once in a while, you’d simply destroy a Vader / Vehicle deck by throwing their best sides at them. MVPs go to Abandon All Hope and Dark Counsel.
Notable moments:
Round 1 ended with me going triple Dark Counsel special into No Mercy to kill Vader… #skill.
I It Will All Be Mined a Leia as a 2 focus into mill for game winning damage.
Getting wrecked by Brian in quarter finals…
Results:
6-2 Swiss, loss in quarters to Brian Lindberg playing Yoda Leia mill ( he won the whole thing).
Place in Meta:
Vader Counter. Tier 1.5 Beat stick deck.
Milwaukee Regional: DJ eKylo (NOPE)
Reasoning Behind Bringing the Deck:
For a long while I’ve been waiting to bust out a DJ deck, and being myself, it can’t be some common old DJ Snoke. I ended up picking Kylo as I thought DJ 1 die is the most efficient use of his passive, as not only is it cheaper, but it also allows you to play him with a potentially more threatening 17 point partner. This keeps some of the heat off of DJ, which will hopefully keep his passive alive for longer. All this is good in theory, but when it finally hit the table it sealed the deal for me, as it felt extremely potent into 2 wides. It beat the top decks of Vader, Yoda Leia Mill, and Snoke Tarkin quite easily in most games (it deals roughly 15+ unmitigatable damage through DJ and Kylo passives in 3 rounds typically, no dice included). The only concerns were three wide decks, but I felt that at least into Snoke 3 wides, the amount of character die control you have would slow down their gameplan enough to give you a fighting chance into worse players. Thus, I hedged my bets that I’d be seeing more two wides in the top cut, and went with DJ Kylo.
Notes on the list:
Its called “Nope” because the deck essentially spends all game denying your opponent any dice. And yes, having 20 removal cards +2 Force Illusions may seem overkill, but trust me, it feels amazing. Force Speeds are the only upgrades I actually ended up playing, and if I were to change the list I’d remove the bartering and On the Hunt, or at least one of them. Reversal and Deflect are clutch into 3 wide vehicles, and you need to hit them to do enough damage. Act of Cruelty was a sick card all day, with several games ending with instant double kills.
Notable Moments:
I had a game against DJ Snoke that ended with me tossing my hand to dig for my last Act of Cruelty, drawing it, and instantly killing DJ and Snoke.
I had a moment into three wide vehicles where 2 late game reversals got me within 1 HP of victory.. so close!
I had 1 game where I missed 5 out of 5 Kylo’s, another 3 out of 3. I HATE COIN FLIPS.
Results:
5-2 Swiss: 9th, 8th beat me out by .02 points on extended strength of schedule.
Place in Meta:
Tier 1 two wide destroying DJ build. Honestly the deck destroys two wides. What cost me the cut was when, after going 4-0, I lost a match into Tarkin Snoke. I needed to win that match-up, it’s one of my best. Unfortunately, I missed every Kylo, and Tarkin Snoke started Theed into 2x Holocron, Force Jump, and Hand Cannon round 1 and a Vader’s Fist round 2. Despite all that, I still only lost by 3 damage. My other loss was into an un-favored match-up, Snoke Vehicles, where I lost by 1 damage.
Closing Remarks
I love trying out crazy builds at tournaments. Kylo Anakin is still an extremely solid beat stick deck, and if you’re having issues with Vader, try pulling it out. DJ Kylo is in my opinion actually close to being one of the top dogs. I’m still concerned about three wide match-ups, and need to test them more, but the ability to almost never allow Snoke decks a power action really helps out. Despite this, the advantage you have into 2 wides is so great I think its worth running. That being said, I’ve only been playing the deck for 1.5 weeks, and I could be completely wrong 🙂 Hope that you enjoy the decks should you decide to try them out!
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