Slave I (B) | SWTCG Card of the Week
I want to discuss one of my favorite cards that I believe is very underrated to this day...
Slave I (B) from Sith Rising has a Keyword ability that doesn't see much play -- Stun 3. When Stun triggers, it reduces the attack dice rolled by the stunned unit for that round. To trigger an instance of Stun, any unit with the stun keyword must deal damage to the defending unit. Stun 3 is particularly relevant on a Dark Side ship because many of the best Light Side units have 3 power -- like Luke's X-Wing or just about any other starfighter.
There are very few Dark Side Space units with evade, so you have to be more creative if you are going to beat the more efficient and defensive Light Side units. If you can improve your Slave I (B) to maximize its chances to deal damage and trigger stun, it's an excellent way to keep this ship alive and win the space arena! There are 3 main ways to do this:
Create a Slave I stack
Add a pilot
Add equipment
Create a Slave I stack
The simplest way to improve your Slave I (B) is to stack it with different versions of the Slave I, as each copy grows its speed, power, and health. These other versions may also come in handy later in the game if you win the space arena -- more on this below.
Add a pilot
You can further increase the effectiveness of Slave I (B) by having Boba Fett (F) as a pilot. Both of his abilities are super relevant here, and help maximize the Stun ability. Let's check them out...
The speed provided is crucial as it makes sure your Slave I (B) is going to attack first so it can maximize the benefit from the Stun keyword. His deflect ability gives you more survivability and allows you to trigger a second instance of Stun for the round -- pretty awesome!
Add equipment
You can also add some equipment to your Slave I (B). I prefer Vehicle Weapons Package as the +2 power boost directly improves my chances to Stun.
The perks of a stack
If you manage to win the space arena, it's possible to get a further edge on your opponent by rearranging your stack with Slave I (F) on top. Then, each build step you can gain +3 build points by removing the units you already defeated from your opponent's discard pile.
There's also the possibility of switching your pilot to Boba Fett (B), which will let your Slave I attack units in the character Arena! Go go "Baby Boba!"
Slave I Rocks!
The Slave I is an incredibly versatile ship, and I think it's one of the best dark side space units. Hopefully this article will open up your mind to some really cool deckbuilding strategies around this ship.
Let us know what you come up with! Feel free to comment below to share your combination ideas and strategies.