Enter the Sand Man
By Clay O'dell and C. J. Williams

Cautiously, Anakin Skywalker creeps through the Tusken camp, avoiding the guards. He breaks into a tent and finds his captured mother, sharing her last tender moments. Consumed by rage, Anakin bursts through the front door of the tent, quickly dispatching two Tusken guards sitting outside the door. Dozens of Tuskens run to face Anakin, armed with their gaffi sticks, but they quickly learn that gaffi sticks are no match for lightsabers.

Grk’Urr’Akk is one of the many Tusken Raiders that Jango Fett fights in the video game Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. Grk’Urr’Akk was alive around the events of Attack of the Clones, and was part of a tribe that lived in the vicinity of Gardulla the Hutt’s palace. The Bounty Hunter video game explains how Jango Fett came to be the father of the clone army. On the way to Gardulla’s Palace, later known as Jabba’s Palace, Jango Fett had to navigate the nearby Tusken Canyon. On his way, he battles many Tuskens, including the namesake of this week's card. Grk’Urr’Akk is one of the few named Tuskens in the Star Wars universe, and there isn’t much about him to distinguish him from another, until now.

In SAV, Grk’Urr’Akk now distinguishes himself from the swarm. In a similar vein to Vizam, Grk’Urr’Akk is a weapons master and trainer, making sure his fellow Tuskens are armed and prepared for battle.

Behind the Card
One of the goals of the SAV expansion was to update and improve current neutral factions. One of those factions, of course, was Tuskens. Tusken decks have been a fun and competitive deck for years, but had begun to wane from common usage, showing that their power was falling behind. To make up for this, the Card Development Sub-committee (CD) had the task of deciding how bolstering Tuskens would best be accomplished.

The Card Development Sub-committee wanted a card that would help boost the Tusken subtype in a new way. Tusken decks employ the basic Tusken Raider who can gain ridiculous amounts of power from Tusken-heavy Character and Ground arenas. Since Tusken decks already can gain loads of power, one of the main things they needed was protection for their low health. Most Tuskens, including the Tusken Raider, have 3 health or less.

Low health is increasingly detrimental in the game. Also, despite being Neutral, Tuskens usually get played by the Light Side (LS), and with their low health, defense will provide the biggest boost to Tuskens in general and demonstrate the Tusken’s fighting methods with their unique gaffi sticks. Surviving the first wave of attacks is the most important point for a LS deck, because the LS goes second in all things.

In the past, Tusken synergy has proven quite effective, so utilizing the current method of synergy would be the best way to give Tuskens in general the boost they need.

CD wanted the SAV set to focus mostly on Bounty Hunters and Spies to utilize the Stealth ability, minimizing the space available for other factions. So it was important to try to keep the Tusken boost to one card if possible. That’s where Grk’Urr’Akk (A) comes in. CD decided to make Grk’Urr’Akk grant Parry 1 to every Tusken that you have, regardless of their arena. We at Card Development were pleased with the card from the get-go, and it went through very minimal changes throughout the entire card-making process.

The Effect
The card, Grk’Urr’Akk (A), is a huge boost to Tusken decks. Demonstrating the Tusken’s fighting methods with their unique gaffi sticks, Grk’Urr’Akk grants Parry 1 to every Tusken that you have, regardless of their arena. Parry is an ability that was first introduced in the IDC set Fall of the Republic. Grk’Urr’Akk (A)’s Parry will prevent one damage to your attacked Tusken if the attacking unit rolls a one. As free damage prevention, this can be very useful. Couple this with Force Pikes and Tuskens now have all the defensive capabilities they need to stay alive to fight back. No longer will they cringe before a Trade Federation swarm.

Keep in mind that Grk’Urr’Akk (A) grants Parry to not only each of your Character and Ground Tusken units, but also to himself! At 5 build, 40 speed, 4 power and 3 health, the Parry will definitely be of use. Be sure to give him one of those Force Pikes to help keep him alive for the rest of your Tuskens.

Now that you’ve had an in-depth look at Grk’Urr’Akk (A), I hope that you consider making a Tusken deck with him and seeing if gaffi sticks in the hands of well-trained Tuskens really can stand up to lightsabers!

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

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About the Authors
Clay has been a player and collector of the game since its release. He is currently the Research and Accuracy Workgroup Leader for the IDC Card Development Sub-committee. Clay is also a moderator and member of Rebelbasers.com and posts under the name Unduli.

C. J. has been a player of the game since 2003 and was the Text Finalization Leader of the IDC Rules Sub-committee during FOTR and SAV. He is currently the Public Affairs Editor. C. J. has written many other articles for the IDC and Rebelbasers.com and has been a member of both the Wizards and Rebelbasers forums since January of 2004, posting under the name Corjay.