There are some strange new bases coming out of Jump to Lightspeed. Bases that largely effect the game before it even starts with deck-building restrictions or effect the number of cards you begin the game with. The new Vigilance base is Colossus which reduces your starting hand size in exchange for 5 more Health. Turns out 5 more Health is exactly what Anakin Skywalker - What It Takes To Win wants for more range in his ability. This pairing elevates an already good midrange deck into the competitive atmosphere and allows Anakin to sneak a few more points of Attack.

Jump to Lightspeed offers quite a few new options for several decks and shakes up the competitive scene in such an interesting way. While this deck doesn't take advantage of as many cards as other decks, the inclusion of Colossus is essential to fully see Anakin rise to his prime. Whether an iteration of this deck succeeds fast enough against the other meta decks remains to be seen, but a skilled player can go toe-to-toe with the likes of Jango.

Deck: Colossus Anakin | Will Sobel | Star Wars Unlimited

LEADER:

1x Anakin Skywalker - What It Takes To Win

BASE:

1x Colossus

GROUND UNITS:

2x Cassian Andor - Rebellions Are Built On Hope

2x Kanan Jarrus - Revealed Jedi

2x Yoda - Old Master

3x K-2SO - Cassian's Counterpart

3x Luke Skywalker - Jedi Knight

3x Outer Rim Outlaws

3x Poe Dameron - Quick to Improvise

3x Sabine Wren - Explosives Artist

3x Village Protectors

SPACE UNITS:

3x Cloaked StarViper

3x Red Squadron X-Wing

3x Resolute - Under Anakin's Command

3x Restored ARC-170

EVENTS:

2x Bravado

2x Fell the Dragon

2x Open Fire

2x Takedown

3x Force Throw

3x They Hate That Ship

A few weeks, deep into Set 4, the card that I've seen included to most in decks is They Hate That Ship which allows for a lopsided discount on a ship. Paired with Cloaked StarViper and Interceptors this deck creates a powerful early game wall and provides the deck a turn of stalling before gaining ground on the following turn. Cards like Yoda and Kanan help fortify your ground arena in the same way. Obviously, your big play comes when you deploy Anakin which can be as early as turn four - but this is a rare deck where you can consider holding off on deployment to maximize your damage output. The flip side is that as you scale up in future turns your range of incoming damage will increase and put you in danger. The choice of when to deploy Anakin becomes a push-your-luck exercise as you attempt to deploy and safely attack. Ideally, then you can Bravado into a second hit.

Conversely, playing a Resolute early with They Hate That Ship, or just through its own discount, provides a solid space occupation while being able to snipe. Especially coming in with They Hate That Ship allows you to destroy the TIE Fighters it creates if there's no other juicy targets. This massive ship costs just a touch too much in previous metas but with the tools we've got this set it can more consistently reach a cheaper cost. Red Squadron X-Wing can also bolster our space arena while optionally giving some more card advantage - some flexibility that really makes this card shine. While it might seem sparse on space units for a set designed around it this combination puts up a good offense and defense.

With our Force unit package from Vigilance we also add in Force Throw for some more removal. This is nothing new for anyone who ran Rey or other Aggression Vigilance combinations. Maybe thematically interesting is our other closer - Luke Skywalker. As always Luke provides a decent body for damage, significant heals, and removal on play.

As always with Anakin you want to optimize when he attacks and how much damage your base handles at any given time. This is why you play with Restore cards like Luke and Yoda so you can choose a 5-point band you're comfortable with and bounce back and forth. This is similar to attacking patterns like Bo-Katan decks that want to utilize The Darksaber for damage and buffing your Mandalorians. If you can time two big attacks in the same turn with Bravado, you're doing great because a second direct hit with Anakin can seal the game.

Ultimately you need to outrun Sabine opponents and remove Jango as soon as he's deployed. These two are most of the decks you'll see across the table and the most obvious ways to attempt to outplay.

Outer Rim Outlaws is a new card undervalued by other players. Three damage on a shielded unit seems powerful for the early game and reminds me of the old days in Crafty Smuggler but in Vigilance.

This is what I'll be playing for the next few weeks, tweaking and adjusting as necessary. Other decks will continue to populate, and if you're keeping track from the last article you might notice the rise of Gar Saxon - which makes sense given his affection for upgrades and our new set focusing on Pilots. Here's to the exploration and joy of the first few weeks of a sets release.