Slave 1 (A)

This ship is a poor choice. Slave 1 (A) is not going to be around long with 40 speed and 3 health. Its text is not much to look at either. Other space units (such as Blockade Battleship or Slave 1 (D)) are much better at dealing with retreating units. As a Dark side ship, it is at a terrible disadvantage against the might of Light side's starfighters or the Millennium Falcon and it's not worth keeping alive with interceptors and/or damage prevention. Its only saving grace is it's 5 power - high for a 4 build unit. Slave 1 (A) is there to stack under a better Slave 1.

Rating: 2

Slave 1 (B)

A vast improvement over Slave I (A) and - although it takes additional resources to fully utilize—a significant threat. This card was played a lot when Sith Rising came out. Any unit that has Stun relies on its speed and 50 speed, while decent, is not enough against Light side's Space. Stacking helps this patrol ship considerably, especially with the extra speed. Also, Boba Fett (F) was, I believe, made to pilot this unit. He boosts Speed and gives it Deflect 1 (both awesome advantages for units with Stun). If he is piloting, throw out a Brutal Assault for 2 Force and have the enemy face a Power 10, Speed 70 and Stun 3 attack with additional Deflected Stunning damage for 2 more Force. However, without extra cards, this ship is fragile because it has no defenses. Thankfully, two of the best prevention cards - Jedi Piloting and the ungodly High-Speed Dodge - are great at keeping Slave 1 [B] around. How does this ship compare to light side’s all-stars Luke’s X-Wing and the Millenium Falcon? Not very well. Those units can be notoriously difficult to damage with their amazing prevention abilities, so Slave 1 [B]’s Stun often won’t trigger against them. That said, with a little help this ship is a substantial menace.

Rating: 3.75

Slave 1 (C)

Slave 1 (C)'s 8 build is way too much to pay for a 50/4/4 unit, especially one with no defense capabilities. Accuracy 2 is nice of course, and this Slave 1 will be hitting most of the time. Jedi units are not too common in Space, so that +2 power bonus is not going to come into play that much. Of course, the old combo with Boba Fett (B) works well against Jedi, but only if the Light side has abandoned the Space arena (this ship is simply too vulnerable otherwise). On the plus side, that hefty Accuracy does benefit quite a lot from power boosters. Vader’s Vengeance works well with this ship in a deck that has a pile of unused Force. But, on the whole, too little bang for too much buck. Just think, for the same build you could play Death Star II (D).

Rating: 1.75

Slave 1 (D)

The first of the neutral Slave 1’s, this ship is nice in a stack. Some unique cards, such as this one, are not spectacular in themselves but really help to make a stacked unit versatile and effective. Bring this to the top (for free if under Slave 1 (B) - a good choice for the top) when the opponent tries to hide in space. Outside a stack, this unit can be helpful in certain situation but is not particularly remarkable.

Rating 3.25

Slave 1 (E)

This version is great in a bounty hunter deck because it provides units with little inherent protection a great defensive option. This unit will be a major target for the enemy to take out, therefore it functions best when Space is well-fortified against the opponent (allowing it to stay around for its ability to be utilized). Even keeping it around for only a turn or 2 can really pay off. If you have Jabba the Hutt (C) in the Character arena, have a bounty hunter Intercept an attack, then pay the 2 Force to retreat the unit and cancel the attack. The Accuracy 1 is just icing; you play this unit for the Retreat ability. This ship is only for specific decks, but it gives a sizable boost to those decks.

Rating: 3.5

Slave 1 (F)

A nice idea, but hard to make the most of. The Build gain is conditioned on your opponent having Space units in his/her discard pile, so you won’t be playing this first turn. Gaining Build is an important element of competitive decks, but many other options are much more efficient (San Hill (A) and Pirate Swoop, among others). If your deck is built to wipe the opponent out of Space then this ship can make capitalize on that by gaining Build. If you can use the ability twice then the ship has almost paid for itself. However, if you don’t have Space sown-up then it can be hard to let a 4 Power, Accuracy 1 attack go, even at 40 Speed. To me, this unit seems too pricey at 7, although it is good for a Slave 1 stack.

Rating: 3

Slave 1 (G)

Without a doub,t the best Slave 1 and a steal at 5 build. Probably better utilized by the Dark side because it completely shuts down the two best Light side Space units (Luke’s X-wing and the Falcon). It really ruins your opponent’s day if their deck relies on those cards—necessitating a major change in how the Light side plays in Space. The Light side can use this to great effect against Asaaj’s Starfighter (A) and Vader’s TIE Fighter. This is one of the best units with Stealth, and it really shines against starfighters because it can often take one out and net the 2-card Bounty with no threat to itself. However, against an opponent with slow Space units, this ship is nothing more than a 3-Health easy kill. Also, this unit is not strong offensively or defensively—easy prey for Homing Missile, Homing Missiles Salvo, Droid Missiles, among other things. This Slave 1 is different than other versions in that it is best when NOT part of a stack (the speed boost granted from stacking neutralizes the stealth). This awesome unit can be considered for any deck.

Rating: 4.5

Thanks for staying tuned, and get ready for the next installment in this series, one that will probably be given attention in the upcoming Battle of Hoth expansion—dark side walkers!

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About the Author
Jon Clement has been playing Star Wars TCG since before the Attack of the Clones film was released. In addition to Star Wars, he enjoys reading, drawing, painting, hiking, and spending time with his wife. He is known as jc1138 on Rebelbasers.