The Art of the Stack
by Brian Weeks

When the Star Wars TCG was unveiled in 2002, one of the most unique and versatile rules was the ability to stack unique versions of units to create a more powerful unit. Being one of the few TCG games to utilize this feature, it remains a mystery why more TCG’s haven’t included it. It provides more “bang for the buck” for your build investment and can create some very powerful units. To analyze how to best create your “perfect stack” we must first look at the basic rules of stacking, where we are at now with stackable units and which stacks in the current meta provide the best options.

Since 2002, there have been several articles written about stacking, each dealing with different expansions. As more expansions were created, more varying units were available to stack and different strategies were revealed. Once relegated to the Character arena, stacking is now possible for units in all three arenas and even to equipment. Read these two great articles about stacking to get some past insight into the rulings: “Rulebook: Part One” and “The Layered Effect”.

The basic rules of stacking, as outlined in the IDC Rulebook, are as follows:

"Stacking is when you put one unique card on top of or beneath another version of the same unique card during your build phase. This lets you use more than one version of a unique card at once.

A stacked unit has the name, type, speed, power, health, build cost, and text box of the card on top of the stack. Ignore all the other cards in the stack. For each card beneath the top card, the unit gets +10 speed, +1 power, and +1 health. The total build cost of the a unit stack or Equipment stack is the build cost of the top card, plus 1 for each card beneath it."

Since the addition of Equipment as a stackable unit in the Fall of the Republic expansion, the general stacking rules remain the same, even when referring to Equipment. The General Rules of stacking cards are as follows:
• You can’t stack cards that aren’t unique.
• You can’t add to a stack that already has 4 cards in it.
• You can’t stack cards unless they have the same name. The exceptions to this are the unique cards listed at the beginning of this section. You can stack each of those groups of cards.
• You can’t put a unique card into a stack that already has the same version of that card.
• A stack is a single unit or Equipment in all ways. If the unit or Equipment moves to another zone or arena, gets discarded, or retreats, the whole stack does the same.
• Once a card is in a stack, you can’t take it out.
• When you add to a stack, ignore any effects on the card unless the new card is played on top.
So now that we have looked at the basic rules of stacking, let take a look at where we are at now with stackable units.

With thirteen TCG expansions at the deck builder’s disposal, there are many more options with not only Character units but also with Space units. While Ground and Equipment is still limited (with only Luke’s Speeder (A) & (B), Tyranus’s Geonosian Speeder (A) & (B), Zam’s Airspeeder (A) & (B), Darth Vader’s Lightsaber (A) & (B) and Luke’s Lightsaber (A) & (B)), the Character and Space arenas have really opened up for feasible stacks.

In the Space arena, there are fifteen units that can stack, seven that have three or more versions. The Death Star I and II, Luke’s X-wing, the Millennium Falcon, Slave I and Vader’s TIE Fighter are probably the most used. For pure versatility, I would have to pick the Falcon. By using my suggested method of stacking (which we’ll discuss in a moment) you can really utilize some of the best versions of the Falcon, (B), (D), (E) and (G).

In the Character arena, there are currently fifty units that have at least two units to stack (an A and B version). But to get the most out of a stack, you need to max out your stack (at four versions). There are currently twenty-five units that can be four-stacked. The most unique version award currently goes to Darth Vader with twenty-four versions. That’s a lot of versatility. The next highest goes to Luke Skywalker with twenty versions. These are the two Characters I will focus on when looking at the best meta options.

There are several methods of creating a versatile stack. This is my method, so it may or may not suit your playing style. I look forward to hearing your methods and/or thoughts in the forums.

When creating a stack, I will not only look at the abilities on the unit, but also the build cost. I want a unit that I can deploy in the build step inexpensively, but that I can also cheaply stack in the following build phases. Therefore I usually have three cards that are the same build cost and the fourth usually 1-2 build more than the previous. I usually try to stick to a 5 or 6 build unit for my three units and 8 to 9 build for my more expensive version. Here’s an example: Vader (B), (L), (T) and (W).

Vader (B), (L) and (W), each costing 6 build, have a variety of abilities: extra power for attacking, drawing, speed bonuses and they all have decent evade. The versatility of these three units keeps your opponent on their toes and allows you to use Vader in any situation, whether attacking or just holding an already won arena. But when you throw in Vader (T), you can really buff up your stack. With (T) on top of the stack, for 11 build, you get an 80 speed unit with 10 power and 10 health. You could also interchange (T) for (R) to get some unpreventable damage for him.

Here’s another example: Luke (I), (M), (S) and (T). Once again, using (I), (M) and (T) as your 6 build units, throw Luke (S) in for some unpreventable damage and an 11 build unit with 80 speed, 9 power and 9 Health. And, just like Vader, his “swiss army knife” action will give you some versatility in defending or protecting the Character arena. Following this same formula, the Millenium Falcon is very useful in the Space arena as well when using (B), (D), (E) and (G).

With a new expansion on the horizon, the Clone Wars: Republic at War set has the possibility of opening up some new stackable meta to the game. It’s possible we could see multiple versions of Prequel Trilogy units: Durge, Assajj Ventress, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, Yoda and more. The possibilities will be incredible (as I can see what’s in development) and I know that the TCG players out there will be pleased.

In conclusion, I hope that this article helped you understand the basic rules of stacking, where we are at now with stackable units and which stacks in the current meta provide the best options. We are continually trying to improve the game on what Wizards founded, yet keeping the game true to its form. We hope you look forward to this next expansion as much as we do. Till next time…Keep the Game Alive!!!

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

He is married, has a three year old son, is an architect, has been the Treasurer and Newsletter Editor for five years for JediOKC (an Oklahoma City based Star Wars Fan Club), was the IDC Card Development Chairperson for Fall of the Republic and is now the IDC Public Affairs Chairperson. Despite all that, he still has time to introduce the game to new players…KEEP THE GAME ALIVE!