Always Outnumbered. Never Outgunned.
By T. B. McCrow

More and more capital ships enter the system and the Separatists are quickly gaining control of the star system. A sizable fleet of landing craft touches down on the surface of the scarred planet below. Blaster scoring and rubble mark the path of your strategic retreat to your current position through the streets of the ancient city. Another salvo of missiles strike the thick walls of your defensive position and parts of the wall crumble from the attack. With only two squads left in your command, you are tasked to hold the city until reinforcements arrive. Wave after wave of enemy droids lay amongst the rubble of the streets as they try to take your position. Slowly but surely, your numbers dwindle. However, defeat is not an option. Always outnumbered, never outgunned.

My last battle report saw a match up of FOTR only decks. In the end, it proved that the might of Grievous and his minions was too much for the Clones. Even though they were outnumbered, they were never outgunned. Today we will take an in-depth look at my FOTR only deck and the strategies it employs.

When building this deck specifically for the battle report, I seriously considered what my opponent would be putting in his FOTR only Dark Side deck. When looking through the cards I discovered powerful anti-Jedi synergies and anti-Clone synergies. Therefore, when I built this deck I had to consider what my opponent would throw at me. In the end, I decided there would be a greater risk if I ran a Jedi deck than a Clone one.

Character Arena
With no Jedi in the deck to support the clones, the Character arena looks like the weakest of the three arenas. However, under the surface, this arena can be quite annoying with both Commander Cody (A) and Commander Gree (A) providing the rest of your clones with great bonuses. For 6 Build, each of these Commanders might seem a little expensive for their 40/4/4 stats. Moreover, without a Jedi in the Character arena they will not receive their individual abilities. What these two Commanders do is help the rest of your clones. Cody will provide all your Ground and Character Clone units with a power booster while Gree messes up your opponent's attacks with his gift of free Intercept to your other Clones in the Character arena. Undoubtedly, these two elite clones cannot hold Character, but that is where the rest of our Clone lineup comes in.

Fall of the Republic provided us with the best non-unique Clones to date and I have included the cream of the crop. 41st Elite Corps Scout is everything you could ever want for four build counters. With 40/4/3 behind this little beauty of a card, the part I really love about these guys is their Bounty ability. When you attack, you have the chance of scoring a look at your opponent's hand in the next turn. This can prove invaluable as you can gauge how much Force you can spend during the turn and it will give you an opportunity to see what your opponent can throw at you.

The last addition to the Clone theme in the Character arena is the Parjai Trooper. This guy is the card you fall back on throughout the game. With a power up from Cody, these guys have an impressive 5 Power, Accuracy 1 and Stun 1 for only 5 build! An added bonus is their speed, which is higher than most other Clone Characters so they should be able to hit your opponent early on. In addition, with their deadly accuracy, their targets will have little chance to survive and if they do, they will lose some ability to strike back.

Ground Arena
In the Ground arena we move away from the Clone theme slightly and focus a little more on striking power. Leading your strike team in the Ground arena is Delta Squad (A). As one of my favorite cards to come out of the FOTR set, this card can help turn the Ground arena in your favor. Four health is a bit low for a unit worth seven build but the attack power of this unit is awesome: 5 Power, Critical Hit 1 and Accuracy 1. Since you will be trying to strike hard and fast, these elite commandos can get the job done consistently.

When building this deck I realized that the Dark Side Ground units in FOTR had a lack of Accuracy in general. What better way to counter this fact than by adding an armored unit into the fray? AT-OT has a great balance between defense (5 Health and Armor) and offense (4 Power and Critical Hit 1). If you are having a hard time eliminating your opponent's units before they get the chance to attack (most likely when Grievous' Wheelbike (A) is in play), this bad boy of a Walker can help you maintain a presence in the arena while you prepare for another assault on the arena.

The last two additions to the Ground line up are the Swamp Speeder and Wookiee Flier. Both units have high speed and Critical Hit abilities. For only 3 Build these units come in handy when supporting the 'Strike Team', Delta Squad. Unfortunately, these units make great targets for Grievous' Wheelbike (A) so be prepared to lose them early. However, they can help provide the striking power you need to clear the arena of your opponent's units.

Space Arena
Leading your Space fleet into battle is the Guarlara (A). This Capital Ship is reminiscent of Star Destroyers that have graced your Dark Side decks in the past. This unit has standard stats for a Capitol Ship, but with the Guarlara, you also gain Accuracy 1. With an average of four damage per attack, for 7 Build, this mighty ship leads the way to your conquest in the Space arena.

The introduction of the Clone subtype to the Space arena is very exciting for me. With such great Space units on the Clones side, the future of the Clone subtype is looking good. The Clone Starfighter Squadron is a medium sized space unit and needs to be used carefully. With 4 Power and Accuracy 1 you should be able to take down one of your opponent's starfighters per turn. In addition, with 4 Health you should be able to stay for the fight. On the down side, this unit cannot benefit from it's subtype as the Squadron subtype does not have much going for it. In the end, you have a great unit but with the limited number of 'power ups' available for Clones, this card might not be the right choice. However, if your opponent is swarming with starfighters in the Space arena, this is the unit you should turn to.

Completing your "space fleet" are some Jedi starfighters: the Jedi Interceptor and Eta-2 Squadron (A). The Jedi Interceptor is seeing a lot of play in the current metagame now and its Intercept ability is what makes it so attractive. In my opinion, it is a little pricy at 4 Build, but given the limited options for space units in FOTR, it is a must have. When I first went over the cards, the Eta-2 Squadron had my mind spinning. Wow! Then I noticed it was unique. However, having just one of these cards on the table can turn the tide for you. With 4 Health it should be able to survive an attack from one of your opponent's starfighters and then the Jedi Interceptors can deal with the rest. Then when the Space battle step starts on the next turn, your Squadron will be undamaged and ready to deal punishment once again.

Battle
There are only 2 Battle cards in this deck, So Uncivilized and Held Up. So Uncivilized will provide you an extra bonus when used with your equipment and Held Up will help slow your opponent down to make sure you get the first punch. These low Force cost Battle cards will allow you to spend Force on your equipment and on your Jedi Interceptors.

Mission
There is just one Mission card in this deck, Premonitions. The key to winning any game is having the right cards at the right time. Premonitions allow you to change how the game is played by giving you the choice of what cards you draw next. For 3 Build, this is a great draw engine. In addition, it lets you choose your line up for the next three turns. Knowledge is power and with this card on your side, you will be one step closer to victory.

Location
All three Locations in this deck can be used to your benefit and it is possible to have all three out at the same time. Firstly, Utapau Landing Platform can provide your Space units with a valuable edge over your opponent. When your Interceptors can heal themselves to take more hits for your Eta-2 Squadron, this Location can cause some real headaches. In the Ground arena, this Location, coupled with the AT-OT can keep your presence in the arena for a long time.

The final two Locations help your Clones. Felucia Battlegrounds is most beneficial to you when played in the Character arena but it you can also use it in Ground to ease the cost of Delta Squad. The "Crown Jewel" of the Locations in this deck is the Clone Landing Platform. Although it doesn't have the ability to affect multiple arenas, the bonus you get from having this Location in play is invaluable. For only 2 Build you can draw a Clone unit from your deck and place it in your hand. I do not really need to explain how valuable this Location is. It speaks for itself.

Equipment
With the deck building restriction being set to FOTR only, the Light Side utility cards had little to offer for what I was aiming to achieve. Therefore, I turned to Equipment and found exactly what I was looking for. Earlier I stated that the weakest arena was Character. Well, the Clones in this deck might have a tough time, but when they are loaded with weapons they can sure pack a punch. There are just two Equipment card types in this deck but they take up eight slots. Clone Blaster and Clone Grenade are some of the most useful Equipment cards to come from the FOTR set.

Although only Clones can benefit from the Equipment, the two cards Neutral affiliations make them useful in both Clone and Stormtrooper decks. For merely 1 Build point you can equip one of your Ground or Character Clones with a Clone Blaster and it gains Critical Hit 1. If we move onto the Clone Grenade, we find an awesome ability that makes this Equipment the best in the game, in my opinion. Paying only one build counter to deploy this great card and then another build counter to equip it to one of your clones provides you an automatic 2 extra damage to the defending unit if you can damage it before prevention. Therefore, if your opponent wants to evade all your damage, they will not be able to escape from Clone Grenade. There is a risk with Clone Grenade, as after the attack, you will need to roll a die. If the value is a one or two you will receive one damage. But the power of this Equipment is undeniable. With these two Equipment cards you should be able to prove to your opponent that you might be outnumbered or outmatched in the Character arena but you won't be outgunned.

Download this deck and other deck articles for LackeyCCG here.

General Tips

- If you need to mulligan during set up, do not mulligan Clone Landing Platform, as you will need it to draw the Clones from your deck to help you in the Character arena.
- Setup is crucial with this deck, as you will need your best units in play to defeat your opponent. Commit to two arenas. Do not spread out over all three.
- If you draw Delta Squad (A) but aren't getting any other Ground units, let your opponent take
Ground.
- Try and equip your Equipment to units that will be able to benefit from it for multiple turns. It is better to Equip to bigger units, as they are likely to stay around for longer. But adding Equipment can put a large target on that unit. If you have Commander Gree (A) in the Character arena, he is the perfect unit to equip to. Then your other Clone Characters can intercept your opponent's attacks allowing Gree to stay healthy.
- You'll use very Little Force in this deck so if you have the Force, Intercept with your Jedi Interceptors and play Held Up. It would be a shame to have all the Force in the world but never use it.

After you have played a few games you will figure out the quirks of this FOTR only deck and hopefully you will come to appreciate the value of Equipment cards. Remember it doesn't matter how outnumbered you are as long as you are not outgunned!

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 Articles Workgroup Leader for the IDC Public Affairs Sub-committee. Since writing his first article for the IDC a new love has blossomed and his dedication to providing the best service possible to the players of the SWTCG is second to none. Trent has recently been promoted to the rank of Reporter over at Rebelbasers.com and is trying to further develop the RB community. He posts under the alias IVIaceWindu.