Re-evaluating cards: Stealth
by Trevor Agnitti

The new anti-transitive relationship between fast, slow, and stealth that Nick Prince talks about in this article is one of the many new reasons to go back and evaluate old cards. There are many new cards that can thwart Stealth that were specifically designed to do so. Some are more obvious, like Scouting Party. Some are less obvious, like Interdictor-Class Star Destroyer.

And there are many old cards that are now being reevaluated as elegant weapons for a more civilized age. Several of these have gotten a lot of attention. Like Fly Casual's "drawback" of reducing your unit's speed is now something a sneaky stealth deck clamors for. I think perhaps that card was the inspiration for the peculiar wording of Interdictor-Class Star Destroyer.

In short, there are 5 ways around Stealth. Be slower than the stealth unit, use Hidden Cost after it taps, untap your units after it taps, tap it, or kill it directly.

1. Be slower than the stealth unit:
   This is the most straight-forward approach. Being a slow unit is no longer strictly the drawback it once was. Patrol Mode Vulture Droid was a good unit before Stealth. Now, it's a powerful counter to cards like Infiltration Team, which could otherwise single-handedly destroy some decks. Fast Bespin ground units are now not such a dominating force. And with Cloud City Wing Guard being able to be tapped by paying 3 Force, a single Infiltration Team left unchecked will wipe them out. All of them. And Lando will have no one to boss around. Jawa Crawler is no longer just a fat body who cycles your cards. One major drawback to this strategy sometimes overlooked is that your opponent's stealth units get to attack your slow units first, potentially killing them. So if you are playing against a stealth deck and think your one or two slow units will thwart them, you might be mistaken.

2. Hidden Cost:
   Hidden Cost is a one shot attempt to kill a Stealth unit. If Boba Fett (H) fails to kill Wicket W. Warrick (B) with the first attack, he may just find himself stabbed to death by a crude spear. Fortunately, Hidden Cost has much more utility than just killing stealth units.

3. Untap your stuff after the stealth unit attacks:
   Power Dive is a lot more useful now. Most decks that run Power Dive have a starfighter or speeder that gets decked out with a cool pilot and it should be able to kill most Stealth units in a single attack. But then again, their Stealth units will get to attack first even if you use a Power Dive later.

4. Tap it:
   Cards like Vader's Grip are a lot more useful now. In addition to countering Stealth, the ability to tap a unit also counters the above 3 ways around Stealth. So if you have a Stealth unit, and your opponent is playing with any of the aforementioned Patrol Mode Vulture Droid, Boba Fett (H), or uses a Power Dive, you can tap their unit to stop it from countering your stealth unit. Cards like Trap Door! do all that AND will deal damage, which leads us to...

5. Kill it directly:
   If you can't beat them in a fair fight, go directly for the jugular. Darth Vader (F) can deal with problem cards, like Garindan (A). As an added bonus, he also has no qualms about killing the often problematic Yoda's Spirit (A). Then there's the powerhouse Darth Vader (S) that just got another reason to go in your deck. Other cards you should consider are Mustafar Battle Grounds, Jedi Master's Deflection, Lightsaber Quick Draw, any unit with Deflect, and my personal favorite: Homing Missile. Unlike most counters, Homing Missile can be used in any arena. And if you've ever finished building 2 or 3 Homing Missiles in one turn, you know the power of casting the magic missile.

Bothan Spy and Princess Leia (H) make a nice team. How appropriate. Princess Leia (H) also goes well with Han Solo (M) too. Even more appropriate.

Take another look at the old cards, all 1,676 of them. I bet you'll find a gem whose time has finally come.

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

He lives in Springfield, MA, USA with is lovely wife Angelica and spends most of his time coding, gaming, or coding for gaming.