Control: Reign Over The Galaxy
by Oren Weiss

War! The Galaxy is in turmoil. Once peaceful planetary systems now become the front lines of an epic war that is redefining the history of the Republic. More and more systems slip from Republic control. Trained in the art of war, the Republic's new Clone army, led by their Jedi commanders, attempt to win the war against Count Dooku and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The latest 'batch' of Clone troops have arrived, the galaxy is your battleground, take Command! The Clone Wars are here, and this time, YOU are in control!

In the fourth Independent Development Committee (IDC) expansion, Clone Wars: Republic At War (CW: RAW), the fate of the Republic is in your hands. A fierce war has begun like the galaxy has never seen before. The Clone Wars are spreading all across the galaxy, directly affecting many systems but all feel the effects of the war. As the heat of war grows so too does the prowess of the Chosen One, who is about to face one of his darkest moments. Today I'll introduce you to the next two preview cards from the Clone Wars: Republic At War dream card expansion set developed by the Independent Development Committee as we build up to the biggest release in the history of the IDC!

Alright, I know everyone's been waiting to see how the Separatists and droids are going to be represented in Clone Wars: Republic at War. Well, until its release, you're just going to have to make do with these cards.

The first card to be previewed today is B2 Super Battle Droid. For a meager 3 build, you get a very decent standard unit with 50 speed, 3 power, 2 health, and Armor. However, what makes this card so great is its ability: "When the Character battle step starts, you may put this card from your hand into the Character arena. If you do, when the turn ends, discard this unit." You can think of this ability as a different take on Hidden Cost. While Hidden Cost is more expensive, requiring a combination of Force and build counters to be played, this ability will allow you to play units for 'free'. The only problem is that, unlike any Hidden Cost unit, B2 Super Battle Droid has to be played at the beginning of the turn and has to be discarded at the end of the turn. However, B2 Super Battle Droid might be more enticing than a unit with Hidden Cost. Since with that low health B2 Super Battle Droid won't last more than a turn, you get a free unit with a decent attack power. Moreover, if you use Nute Gunray (C), you get a free unit to cancel out 1 and maybe even 2 attacks!

Of course, there's a myriad of other Separatist units that will appear in this set. Unfortunately, these units will be combating powerful Jedi units, most of which have powerful evades. The Swarm strategy that usually accompanies these units will fail against the powerful damage prevention. But, not anymore, with the next preview card.

Outmaneuvered is the card you might just need to defeat those nasty Jedi. Now, each time they prevent damage from a Separatist Droid, they get 1 damage counter put on them. After a while, this will add up, causing these pesky Jedi units to have enough damage counters on them to be discarded. And, you could even use more than one copy of Outmaneuvered in a turn, doubling the amount of damage counters placed on the Jedi when they prevent damage! This should encourage them to take the damage from your units, for fear of being discarded by the effects of Outmaneuvered.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed these two previews from the IDC's set, Clone Wars: Republic at War. Come by next week to see what the IDC has in store for you next!

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