Jabba's Palace (InQuest)
Jabba's Palace is Jason Robinette's On Deck review of Jabba's Palace Limited in InQuest #39 (July 1998, page 28).[1]
GAME REVIEWS
[ON DECK] reviewing the latest releases in gamingJabba's Palace "Mmm...Slave Leia..."
It's here! Jabba's Palace has arrived, and players everywhere are rejoicing. Finally, we get the long-awaited Jabba The Hutt, as well as the always-popular "slave" Princess Leia Organa. Plus this set, which focuses on the first part of "Return of the Jedi," includes more aliens than you can shake a gaffi stick at. There are plenty of recognizable characters, like Bib Fortuna and Salacious Crumb, but there are also dozens of enhanced images of people and places that were only barely on the screen, which means that many of the new cards will be unfamiliar to most players. In a very short amount of time, that will change.
Looking at the set, the first thing that jumps out at you is the beautiful imagery and artwork. It's easily the most colorful, detailed expansion Decipher has produced. There has been quite a shift in the lore text. Gone are the punny jokes and cutesy phrases. Some of the cards still have humor, but they have a much more "Star Wars" feel. A great example is the text for the Jawa character R'kik D'nec, Hero Of The Dune Sea: "A tribe of Tusken Raiders, a herd of angry banthas, a raging krayt dragon and R'kik. Minutes later, the Jawa emerged from the Dune Sea, a bantha tusk over his shoulder." Cool!
Okay, so "Star Wars" fans are sure to be jazzed by the set, but what about the players? One of the most significant things this expansion introduces—or reintroduces—is the revival of theme decks. There are cards in Jabba's Palace that allow players to make a Jawa or Tusken Raider deck without fear of getting punished for playing with duplicates. Cards like Double Laser Cannon—a seven-destiny weapon that can make a Sandcrawler immune to attrition less than five—and the power-three R'kik are exciting additions to theme-minded players.
Many players will also be pleased to see cards that make several of the "worthless" premiere cards playable. Dust off those Plastoid Armor and Tusken Breath Mask. Thought those Utinni! were useless? Think again. Jabba's Palace is loaded with cards that will have you digging up those old cards.
the box
JABBA'S PALACE
GAME: STAR WARS CCG
PUBLISHER: DECIPHER
GENRE: SPACE OPERA
SET SIZE: 180 CARDS
RELEASE: MAY 1998
PACKAGING: 9-CARD BOOSTER PACKS
SUGGESTED RETAIL: $2.50 PER BOOSTERBesides the obvious power cards like Jabba, the new Artoo, etc., tournament players will enjoy a few new rules. First off, characters with more than one uniqueness dot are now non-unique. Sorry Minyoon! Also, the Dark and Light Sides both get a new type of card—the starting interrupt. After you choose your starting location, you can play one starting interrupt from your deck.
Currently, there are only two starting interrupts—The Signal and Twi'lek Advisor. Both let you start the game with an effect that doesn't have a deploy cost. That means you can play defensive cards like Do, Or Do Not and There Is No Try and not have to worry about when they come up in the game. You can also be more devious, and start with Nightfall—or Sunsdown—and try for a spy attack deck. This landmark addition to the game will have tournament players everywhere reconsidering their strategies.
Decipher has done something else for the first time. Instead of fixing abusive cards with magic bullets, they've designed cards that target overall deck themes instead. For example, the Dark Side effect Cane Adiss lets you deploy cards—ignoring all restrictions—at a non-shielded planet location where your opponent just initiated a Force drain. Is your opponent abusing the Dagobah cloud drain? Watch out! Here comes the Rancor!
Jabba's Palace certainly has a lot to absorb, and it might be quite some time before some of the more obscure combos rear their heads. But for now, one thing is clear: This is the cleanest, sharpest, most exciting expansion to date. ■ Jason Robinette
THE GOOD
- Theme decks are here! You want to play the Jawa-Jedi deck? There are enough cards to do it now.
- 88, count 'em, 88 new aliens.
- Mmm... Slave Leia...
THE BAD
- Where's Jedi Luke?
- With so many unknown aliens, there are a lot of rares that people won't be thrilled to receive. "Another Wooof?!"
THE UGLY
- Hutt Smooch. Ugh.
See also
External links
- Inquest Gamer Partial Collection, Internet Archive (file inquest.039.-.july.1998.-.exodus.preview.lq.pdf)
References
- ↑ Jason Robinette, "Jabba's Palace", InQuest #39 (July 1998), p. 28. Scan: Inquest Gamer Partial Collection, Internet Archive (file inquest.039.-.july.1998.-.exodus.preview.lq.pdf).