Cold creature comfort
Cold Creature Comfort is Cory Herndon's Hoth strategy feature in The Duelist #18 (August 1997, pages 93–94). It includes Dark Side and Light Side sample decks.[1]
Cold Creature Comfort
Wampas and Tauntauns Heat Up the Ice Planet by Cory HerndonThe galaxy has gotten mighty cold for the once-triumphant Rebellion with Decipher's Hoth expansion for the Star Wars CCG. Commander Luke Skywalker and his stalwart heroes aren't without their surprises, though. These decks (see sidebar) work well against each other and non-Hoth decks by taking advantage of creatures, combat vehicles, mobile effects, and undercover spies.
Working the Dark Side of the Street
The primary obstacle for the Dark Side in this set is a location called the Main Power Generators. When the Light Side has the MPG in play, the Dark Side cannot deploy any vehicles, starships, or characters under the shield. The shield covers every site except the outermost marker site and the Wampa Cave. However, the Light Side has to meet special requirements to deploy the Main Power Generators—a marker site numbered four or higher must be in play so that the shield has a "stopping point." To overcome this obstacle, get there first by deploying the fourth marker as your Dark starting location. It's got two Force icons for you, none for the Light Side, and compels them not to use the Main Power Generators while guaranteeing you a landing site for your Walkers.
Ah, Walkers. Sure, they're a ridiculous design for a war machine, with some major drawbacks (deploy cost of six, land speed of one, and they have no permanent pilots), but they can take quite a beating (immune to attrition less than four), and are a must to blitz the Generators. They can carry eight passengers and keep them all out of the elements until you need them. Supply them with the Void Spider after they march under the Shield, shuttling down pilots from your Star Destroyers.
Another way to quickly kill the MPG is the Dark Side's only Epic Event in this set—"Target the Main Generators." This card allows you to "blow away" those pesky generators once and for all by using the ability of the AT-AT pilot targeting the generators to decide the outcome. Since your number to beat is only eight, get Darth Vader on Blizzard 1 with General Veers, and you're golden. Even without Vader, Blizzard 1 or a well-placed Electro-Rangefinder each add one to your total Destiny draw, as does each site you control. And if your AT-AT aces (Vader, Motti, Piett) are unavailable, well, that's when you whip out those Wampas. These beasts are positively brutal, and quite difficult to take down with their defense value of three. The Shield does not restrict the deployment of creatures, allowing you to patrol the surface without risking valuable personnel. There are very few Light Side characters who are even capable of drawing Destiny in the face of a Wampa attack. Keep them away from Obi-Wan and you can make life mighty messy for the Light Side; just remember they can eat your characters, too.
The Hoth System card is the Dark Side's secret weapon in this deck. Just wait for the Light Side to deploy a site, play "A Dark Time for the Rebellion" and immediately play The Hoth System from your Reserve deck. Stick a Victory-Class Destroyer or two up there, and you've got an easy Force Drain every turn (good for two with a Presence of the Force).
Don't deploy too many sites—the Light Side will want to put as much ground between your Walkers and the Echo Base as possible due to their lousy land speed. Concentrate on the Wampa Cave, Ice Plains, and Defensive Perimeter. With the Hoth System in play, you'll have an activation of nine from only four locations.
A few more secret weapons deserve mention. "Trample" allows you to literally walk all over your opponent with a piloted AT-AT. "Direct Hit" will let you bring down even the fastest speeders with a clumsy AT-AT cannon. And "Responsibility of Command" can be a devastating little Utinni Effect—use it to throw the Rebel forces into complete disarray by requiring Commander Skywalker to go to the War Room before he can initiate a battle, or a Force Drain. Then eat him with a Wampa.
Let There Be Light
The Rebellion has an entirely different set of priorities on Hoth. You want to put ground between yourself and those Walkers, and if possible, fight them to a standstill.
But first things first—don't use the Main Power Generators as your starting location. You will simply not get enough Force activation, which is crucial in this stage. Just include two in your deck to make sure that site gets out as soon as possible. For starters, opt instead for the Hoth: Echo Command Center (War Room). It has all the usual benefits of a War Room (two Force icons, leaders there add power to battles at related sites) and the Dark Side is limited to a −1 Force Drain. The one drawback is the extra Destiny draw the Dark Side gets when initiating battle, so remember to be aggressive and beat them to the punch.
Tauntauns may look like big furry goat-lizards, but they make up for their weak power and maneuverability with an incredibly advantageous bit of card text—they can react away from a battle. Given the right circumstances, even the lowliest character on a Tauntaun can hold off four Walkers and Vader himself by simply blocking the drain, then running away as soon as the opponent initiates battle. Put out a Tauntaun handler, and they can get a Destiny draw even if forced to fight. All this and a four Destiny—who cares what they smell like?
Hoth is a bloody battlefield, and the Light Side is not without teeth. Deploy Artillery Weapons like the Golan Battery at the Main Power Generators, and sit tight under the Shield. Han and Chewie also make for a formidable team on the ground, and the furball gets a +1 power boost. With Han, Chewbacca can actually overpower a Walker on foot. Give the boys Tauntauns and Hoth Survival Gear and go Probe Droid hunting!
Finally, I am proud to introduce Momaw Nadon—Wampa Wrangler. Although he will most certainly be eaten immediately afterward, "Hammerhead" can steal any Wampa (among other creatures) during your control phase, allowing you to decide where it goes. Now I'd love to see a shot of that in the Special Edition. ■
Cory Herndon is an actor and writer working in Seattle. He watches way too much TV.
Dark Side "A Fistful of Wampas"
EPIC EVENTS: 2 Target the Main Generators
LOCATIONS: 1 Hoth: Ice Plains (Starting Location); 1 Hoth: Wampa Cave; 1 Hoth: North Ridge; 1 Hoth: Defensive Perimeter; 2 Hoth (System)
CHARACTERS: 1 Darth Vader; 1 General Veers; 1 Admiral Motti; 1 Captain Piett; 1 DS-61-2; 1 DS-61-4; 1 Lieutenant Cabbel; 1 Officer Evax; 1 General Tagge; 1 Djas Puhr; 1 Dr. Evazan; 1 Reegesk; 1 M'iiyoom Onith; 1 Garindan; 1 Labria; 1 Danz Borin; 1 U-3PO; 1 WED15-17 "Septoid" Droid
CREATURES: 2 Wampa
VEHICLES: 1 Blizzard 1; 1 Blizzard 2; 2 Blizzard Walker; 1 Bespin Motors Void Spider THX 1138; 2 Victory-Class Star Destroyer
WEAPONS/DEVICES: 1 Dark Jedi Lightsaber; 2 AT-AT Cannon; 1 Electro Range Finder
INTERRUPTS: 1 Trample; 1 Yaggle Gakkle; 1 Sense; 2 Alter; 1 Evacuate?; 1 Sniper; 1 Limited Resources; 2 Nevar Yalnal; 1 A Dark Time for the Rebellion; 1 The Empire's Back; 2 Direct Hit
EFFECTS: 2 Undercover; 1 Presence of the Force; 1 Dark Forces; 1 Responsibility of Command; 2 Ice Storm
Light Side "Talkin' 'Bout Main G-g-g-generators"
LOCATIONS: 1 Hoth: Echo Command Center (War Room) (Starting Location); 1 Hoth: Echo Corridor; 1 Hoth: Echo Docking Bay; 2 Hoth: Main Power Generators; 1 Hoth: Defensive Perimeter; 1 Hoth: North Ridge
CHARACTERS: 1 Commander Luke Skywalker; 1 Han Solo; 1 Chewbacca; 1 General Carlist Rieekan; 1 Zev Senesca; 1 Biggs Darklighter; 1 Derek "Hobbie" Klivian; 1 Major Bren Derlin; 1 Wes Janson; 1 Dack Ralter; 1 Tauntaun Handler; 1 Commander Vanden Willard; 1 Wyron Serper; 1 BoShek; 1 Momaw Nadon; 1 R2-D2; 1 R-3PO
VEHICLES: 1 Rogue 1; 1 Rogue 2; 1 Snowspeeder; 2 Tauntaun
WEAPONS/DEVICES: 1 Anakin's Lightsaber; 1 Han's Heavy Blaster Pistol; 1 Blaster Rifle; 1 Golan Laser Battery; 1 Atgar Laser Cannon; 2 Power Harpoon; 1 Dual Laser Cannon; 1 Concussion Grenade; 1 R2 Sensor Array; 1 Restraining Bolt; 2 Hoth Survival Gear
INTERRUPTS: 2 Alter; 1 Sense; 1 Nice of You Guys to Drop By; 1 One More Pass; 1 Under Attack; 1 I Thought They Smelled Bad on the Outside; 1 Sorry About the Mess; 1 Double Agent; 1 Han's Back; 1 Luke's Back; 1 Lucky Shot
EFFECTS: 2 Undercover; 1 Crash Site Memorial; 1 Ice Storm
See also
External links
- The Duelist #18, Internet Archive (Wizards of the Coast, August 1997)
References
- ↑ Cory Herndon, "Cold Creature Comfort", The Duelist #18 (August 1997), pp. 93–94. Scan: The Duelist #18, Internet Archive.