Decisive Stratagem
by Trent McCrow

Walkers and Clone Legions advance toward your fortifications. Gunships unleash their missiles on your Core ships and your Droid army advances to meet them in battle. Count Dooku reassures you of his support and all eyes turn toward the holo table. "How could the Republic come up with an army this impressive in such little time?" you ask. In the heat of battle your mind is what keeps you alive and is what decides if you achieve victory or defeat. Poggle gives the order to retreat and you are tasked with devising a strategy that will ensure minimum casualties so your army can fight another day. Without a decisive strategy, you face execution in the arena.

So far, the FOTR promo releases have focused mainly on units, but this week we want to turn your attention to a Mission and Battle card from the upcoming set.

Episodes 1, 2 and 3 have focused heavily on the Jedi and this focus was translated into the Star Wars Trading card Game as well. The Attack of the Clones (AOTC), Sith Rising (SR), Jedi Guardians (JG), The Phantom Menace (TPM) and finally the Revenge of the Sith (ROTS) have all had a large contribution to the Jedi subtype and many of these Jedi units have become powerhouses in the game. Back in the days of SR, we had powerhouses like Mace Windu (A) and Yoda (C) dominating the Character arena. The FOTR set is going in the other direction-The Galactic Republic will fall and so will their precious Jedi Order.

The only Rare promo for this set, Exile, may not seem like much at first glance, but let me assure you this will make a potent addition to your anti-Jedi arsenal.

In a lot of decks, the Character arena is decided on who can get their powerhouse out first and it is usually a Jedi or Sith. For a mere 4 build the Dark Side player can force their opponent to retreat one of their Jedi in the Character arena. On the down side you must also pay Force equal to that Jedi's build cost. But to get rid of one of your opponents best units in the arena (and maybe their only one) I believe it is worth the cost. Exile is sure to impact the Character arena in a profound way. It might be useless against non-Jedi, but if you are part of the flailing Jedi Order, watch out!

When I talk about Episode 3 with other people, the conversation will usually drift towards one of two subjects: The Battle of Coruscant (which we covered a little last week) or the Battle of Kashyyyk. Wookiees have claimed a large part of every Star Wars fan's heart since the 'walking carpet' himself, Chewbacca, appeared in the original trilogy. With many tales about the mighty Wookiees told in books, we had to wait till Episode 3 to see them on the big screen in all their might. In a similar fashion, the SWTCG gamers have waited for their beloved Wookiees to grace our decks, but that is no more!

Chewbacca has shown us that Wookiees like to have the last word and this can be seen with every version, except L, having the Retaliate ability. Rogues and Scoundrels (RAS) provided us with the ultimate Retaliate ability on Chewbacca (I). For once, though, the Wookiee focus is not on Chewbacca, but on the newest addition to the FOTR set, Wookiee Tactics. A Wookiee in battle can be a terrifying sight. But for those who fight with them, it can be an inspiring one. This new Battle exemplifies that fact. Wookiee Tactics provides all your units in a selected arena with Retaliate. Retaliate is a great ability because you get a 'free attack' when your opponent turns their attention towards you, or you can have your revenge after they deal you the killing blow. Wookiee Tactics will help you cripple your opponent. For 2 Force, each of your units in an arena of your choice gains Retaliate X (where X is the number of Wookiees in your chosen arena). This card is useless Without Wookiees on your side of the table. Played in a Wookiee deck, though, it packs a Wookiee-sized punch!

In the FOTR set you can look forward to 6 all new Wookiee units (something I can't wait for), 14 other Battle cards and 9 other Missions.

With just over a week till the release of FOTR next week, we have 2 special Spoilers for you. Check back regularly as these are Spoilers you don't want to miss out on!

Thoughts or comments? Visit the message board thread for this article here.

About the Author
Trent has been a player and collector of the game since Attack of the Clones and is currently the Software Workgroup Leader for the IDC Graphical Design Sub-committee. This is his first endevour at writing articles for the SW:TCG and he hopes to write many more. Trent McCrow has been a member of both Rebelbasers and the Australian Players Guild (APG) forums, posting under the name IVIaceWindu. He also currently runs the Dream Card Contest Reborn (DCCR) over at Rebelbasers.com.