On
His Majesty's Secret Service
By
Cody Barnett
It is a dark
time for the galaxy. The newly formed Galactic Empire slowly begins
to seize power in the typical tyrannical state, with figures such
as Wilhuff Tarkin and Lord Darth Vader enforcing the doctrine
that binds the universe in fear. The word of the paranoid Palpatine
becomes law and those who oppose it soon find themselves discovering
a new meaning of pain and suffering.
"All
who have power are afraid to lose it." - Chancellor Palpatine
In a private
conversation with Anakin Skywalker, then-Supreme Chancellor Palpatine
makes this very statement to twist the disturbed youth's mind
even closer to the parabola of the dark side. Whether he realized
it or not, Palpatine's manipulative words could be applied to
the Dark Lord himself. After gaining the sovereignty of the galactic
throne, the Emperor was constantly questioning the loyalty of
his subjects, even those within his courts and inner circle. Thus,
the Imperial Secret Bureau was formed. His obsession went to the
point to where the Imperial Secret Bureau, now a branch of the
propagandistic COMPNOR, surpassed Imperial Intelligence in efficiency.
ISB officers were placed on every naval ship in the Emperor's
service. It was rumored that the Death Star itself contained more
ISB agents than regular officers. However, it is confirmed that
several prominent officers of this organization died in the Death
Star's explosion, and the Secret Bureau took a heavy toll in casualties.
The card,
ISB Agents, represents the many facets of the Imperial Secret
Bureau. First off, it is noted that the card shows the Empire's
efforts to quash the thoughts of planets to rally to the support
of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Rebel Ground units lose
1 power for each ISB Agent card in the Ground arena. This can
hurt those nasty cards everyone sees so much, such as Luke's Snowspeeder
(A) and Unmodified Snowspeeder. Coupled with the new Rebel Scum
Battle card, it can effectively cripple a unit for a turn, allowing
the ISB Agents to strike with impunity.
Another thing
to be noted is that this card greatly displays the newest ability
to be introduced to the Star Wars Trading Card Game - Stealth.
With 40 speed ISB Agents would normally be close to unplayable.
However, Stealth now reverses this hindrance, making it a great
advantage. Wedge Antilles (B) and Anakin's Podracer (A) won't
be able to touch these guys.
At 5 build,
these sneaky devils are quite a sold unit. They make themselves
very hard to hit in more than one way. ISB Agents makes a great
addition for people running Imperial decks.
I hope you've
enjoyed a little in-depth look into the minds of the creators
at Card Development. Maybe now you'll look at the ISB Agents card
with a new perspective and see, perhaps, what the eyes of its
creator beheld.
Thoughts
or comments? Visit the message board thread for this article here.
About
the Author
Cody has been
a collector of the game since its beginning in 2002. Due to lack
of interest in his community, he did not begin playing until he
joined the Rebelbasers online community in 2003. He is an avid
Star Wars fan and enjoys the Trading Card Game. Currently, he
is the Chairman of the Card Creation IDC sub-committee. He still
posts on Rebelbasers under the screenname of Grand Moff Nicodemus
Fett.
