Sith Element
Sith Element: A Third, Darker Side Invades the Star Wars CCG is an article by Michael Mikaelian and George Strayton in InQuest #43 (November 1998, pages 52–54 and 56–57).[1] Steve Stone drew the artwork.
THE SITH ELEMENT
A THIRD, DARKER SIDE INVADES THE STAR WARS CCG
By Michael Mikaelian and George Strayton Artwork by Steve Stone
Darth Vader may be a Dark Lord of the Sith, but in a universe where the Sith are all-powerful, there are greater champions of the Dark Side.
Creatures of shadow, the Sith arose from the darkness of a far-gone age, a breed of warlocks, wizards and necromancers bent on the advancement of evil and all its dark provinces. In "Star Wars" history, the Jedi Knights of the Old Republic put these Sith down in one decisive war, and though remnants—including Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith—continue to permeate the galaxy, they no longer force the tides of history to submit to their dark wills.
But what if the Jedi strike had failed? What if the Sith were still a powerful force able to oppose both Light and Dark Side powers in the Imperial Era? Now, you can take your Star Wars CCG into that dread galaxy of possibilities with the insidious Sith. True to form, these Sith do not openly declare their allegiance, but operate behind the scenes, manipulating both the Empire and its enemies. They have many allies on the Dark Side, but their evil touch can corrupt Light Side champions as well. In this article, InQuest imagines what it would be like if the Sith were to join the Light and Dark Sides as a third player in the struggle for galactic dominance.
HOW TO PLAY THE SITH
The Star Wars CCG allows you to play the Light Side and the Dark Side. With the introduction of the Sith faction, you have the opportunity to play a third side: either the Light Side Sith or the Dark Side Sith. Naturally, playing a Light Side Sith deck does not mean that there are good Sith; what's really happening is that evil Sith agents are corrupting the forces of good and using them for their own ends. They're good at that, which is why they were such a threat to the Jedi.
When constructing a Sith deck, you must first choose whether you'll be playing a Light or Dark Sith deck. To make a Light Sith deck, you may use any Light cards—except Rebel characters and Rebel starships—and cards with the word "Rebel" in the title. Likewise, a Dark Sith deck may not have any Imperial characters or Imperial starships, or cards with the word "Imperial" in the title. You may use any of the Sith cards in either Light or Dark Sith decks.
One big advantage that comes from playing a Sith deck is that all Sith are considered aliens. There are many cards which grant bonuses to aliens or only work against Rebels or Imperials. Light Sith decks will be able to use cards like You Will Take Me To Jabba Now and Bo Shuda. Dark Sith decks have Jabba The Hutt and Scum And Villainy.
What makes the Sith really unique is the number of combos that can be used in both Light and Dark decks. Death Squadron, for instance, works well with the Corsairs and Drones. Corsairs are also great with Hyper Escape since they can hold a dozen starfighters!
A Sith player loses some of his edge when playing a Sith opponent; whomever plays the first copy of a unique card prevents his opponent from playing that card. Of course, the advantage of Sith versus Sith is that you'll both be using many of the same locations.
The Sith will definitely have an effect on how decks are built among groups that try them. Collision! will become more popular in Light decks, since Corsairs are sure to be surrounded by a swarm of drones. Dark decks will find even more uses for cards like Imbalance, with all these Sith characters that let you retrieve Force when they're removed from the game.
Bring non-unique characters back from the dead with this Sith effect.
SPECIAL RULES
When starting a game using the Sith, declare at the onset—before any cards have been drawn—which side of the Force you intend to draw from: Light or Dark. Once the game begins, you can't switch.
There are some special rules which govern the use of Sith characters. Sith characters with a 6 ability are Sith Sorcerers. When playing effects and interrupts, consider them Jedi or Dark Jedi as appropriate. Darth Vader does not count as a Sith character, even though he is occasionally referred to as a Dark Lord of the Sith.
Sith locations are oriented by whichever side of the Force you're playing. A Sith location functions the same for both Light and Dark Side Sith players. The Sith Temple—restricted to one per system—can only be played at Yavin IV, Korriban or Zoist.
Guard your Sith Temple with Sith characters for some special abilities...or suffer the penalties.
THE HISTORY OF THE SITH
Five millennia ago, Dark Side philosophies infected the ranks of the Jedi Knights, and in the resulting conflict, surviving Dark Jedi fled to the far side of the galaxy. There, they came upon a fledgling civilization, primitive yet adept at dark magical arts created through rituals and sacrifice. The evil Jedi were treated as gods and they enslaved the Sith people, blending and adapting their magicks with their own strength in the Dark Side of the Force. With this newfound power, the Sith Lords carved out a new empire far from the Galactic Republic—though eventually, they began moving against their mother society.
Only a single Dark Lord rules over the Sith Empire at any given time. Their greatest leaders have included Marka Ragnos, Naga Sadow and Exar Kun—all vicious warlords utterly consumed by the Dark Side. These names may all be pseudonyms, of course, since it is rumored that all Dark Lords adopt a new name and the title "Darth" when achieving that level of power.
Unlike the Jedi Way, the Sith religion integrates the Force with ritualistic magic—a powerful and dangerous combination. Over time, Sith devotees have developed powerful "spells" that possess powers ranging from the blocking of the Light Side to the animation of the dead. In addition, they have mastered the art of talisman creation—from personal battle armor reinforced by the Dark Side to "star-tappers," crystalline devices that enable the user to tap into the power of the stars themselves. The Sith disciple Aleema even employed a Dark Side projector that allowed her to cast her illusion magic across great distances. At this point, no realm of sorcery remains unexplored by these Dark Siders.
But the Sith are not foolish enough to rely solely on the use of magic to carry out their manifest destiny. The Dark Lord Naga Sadow created a race of Sith warriors called Massassi who draw upon the Dark Side of the Force to help guide and control their primitive weapons, making them formidable enemies against even the Republic's advanced weaponry. In addition, at critical points in their history, the Sith have formed short-term allegiances with mercenaries and bounty hunters to bolster their forces—the most notable being the Masked Warrior Clans of Mandalore. Many thousands of years later, the Mandalorians would wear armor similar to that worn by Boba Fett.
As the Sith subjugated system upon system, they amassed storehouses of technology which they then perverted and unleashed in subsequent conflicts against still-free worlds. Even their technology bears the taint of the Dark Side as evidenced by names such as chaos fighters, war droids and torture droids.
The Jedi Knights fought to destroy every Sith stronghold, library and fortress in an attempt to eradicate every last shred of Sith knowledge. Unfortunately, their victory was temporary, and the Sith have returned at a time when the Jedi are all but extinct.
In this time of gathering darkness, the Dark and Light Sides will have their hands full. The few Jedi that remain at large have few weapons to protect themselves from the dark wizardry of the Sith, and the Empire, too, finds itself a prime target; the re-emerged Sith seek to eliminate Vader who, from their perspective, stands as a pretender to the throne. Amidst planet-killing space stations, Force-wielding Jedi and corrupt sorceries, only one side will stand triumphant.
Drones can swarm enemy pilots and are the "TIE Fighters" of the main Sith Starship, the Corsairs.
Better than Stormtrooper armor, the Sith Battle Armor increases the wearer's power and forfeit.
Michael Mikaelian and George Strayton remain convinced that caches of forbidden Sith lore are secreted behind the cheery façades of Taco Bell restaurants.
TOP 10 SITH CARDS WE WANT TO SEE
Continuing our tour of the alternative world in which the Sith have returned to task the galaxy, we've put together a list of the top 10 cards we'd like to see if a new Lords of the Sith expansion actually was being made. It's not, but it's nice to dream...
1. •BATAAL BANDU Sith Alien Character Destiny: 1 Lore: Batoal is a descendent of the earliest Sith/Dark Jedi cross-breeding experiments. Like many of his brethren, he delights in spreading the contagion of Sith teachings to new cultures. Deploy: 6 Forfeit: 4 Power: 5 Ability: 6 Sith Sorcerer Icons: Warrior Game Text: At the beginning of a battle at same site, you may deploy (for free) as a "react" any one effect or Utinni effect that deploys on a site or character. If lost or forfeited, you may remove from the game to retrieve 5 Force. Immune to attrition <5.
2. CORSAIR Sith Starship Destiny: 1 Lore: Comparable in both size and appearance to a Mon Calamari cruiser. Mainstay of many Sith fleets. Deploy: 6 Forfeit: 6 Power: 4 Armor: 7 Hyperspeed: 3 Capital: Sith Corsair Icons: Permanent Pilot, NavComp Game Text: May add 3 pilots, 4 starfighters and 8 drones. Permanent pilot aboard provides ability of 1. During your deploy phase, you may deploy one Chaos Fighter or Drone here from your reserve deck at normal use of the Force.
3. •RISE FROM THE GRAVE Sith Effect Destiny: 1 Lore: The Sith do not regard the dead as sacred, and have no qualms about raising them to serve their dark ends. Effect Game Text: Deploy on the Korriban system. During your deploy phase, you may lose 2 Force to "animate" (deploy at normal use of the Force) a non-unique character from your lost pile at Korriban or related site.
4. ACOLYTE Sith Alien Character Destiny: 2 Lore: Talented sorcerers. Lack the power of the Jedi, but are not bound by their devotion to Light or Dark either. Deploy: 3 Forfeit: 1 Power: 1 Ability: 3 Force-Attuned Icons: Warrior Game Text: When deployed, you may search your reserve deck for one interrupt or effect and put it in your hand. If lost or forfeited, you may remove from the game to retrieve 2 Force.
5. •••SITH BATTLE ARMOR Sith Device Destiny: 2 Lore: Unlike the Jedi Knights, Sith often rely on an archaic form of armor that channels the Force through them. Device Game Text: Use 2 Force to deploy any Sith warrior. That character is power and forfeit +1, armor = ability +2. When present at the beginning of a battle, cumulatively activate 1 Force.
6. DRONE Sith Starship Destiny: 4 Lore: Drones are the front-line starships of the Sith fleet. Deceptively small, lightning fast and extremely agile. Lacking a pilot, drones are adept at swarming enemy ships with suicidal abandon. Deploy: 1 Forfeit: 2 Power: 1 Maneuver: 6 No Hyperspeed Starfighter: Sith Drone Icons: None Game Text: Deploy only to same system as one of your Corsairs. Once during the weapons fire phase of battle, one of your Drones may target opponent's starship present. Draw destiny and add the total number of your Drones present -2. If total > armor or maneuver, pilots onboard may not use their ability to draw battle destiny. Has ability of 1/4.
7. MASSASSI WARRIOR Sith Alien Character Destiny: 3 Lore: Member of an ancient race created by the Sith. Often used as slaves or warriors, the Massassi are loyal to their Sith masters. Deploy: 2 Forfeit: 3 Power: 2 Ability: 1 Icons: Warrior Game Text: Deploy -1 and power +1 at the same site as your Sith with ability >2. Cumulatively increases your Sith characters' immunity to attrition by 1 where present (characters with no immunity are not affected).
8. SITH TEMPLE Sith Location Dark Force: 2 Light Force: 2 Icons: Exterior, Planet Dark Game Text: If you control with no Sith, Force drain -1. If you occupy, all your Sith present are power +1. Light Game Text: If you control with no Sith, Force drain -1. If you occupy, all your Sith present are forfeit +2.
9. •KORRIBAN Sith Location Dark Force: 2 Light Force: 1 Icons: Planet Dark Game Text: If you control with Rise from the Grave, you may "animate" a unique (•) character. Light Game Text: If you control, opponent's Rise from the Grave game text is ignored.
10. •ZOIST Sith Location Dark Force: 3 Light Force: 1 Icons: Planet Dark Game Text: If you control with a Sith leader, your Massassi Warriors deploy free at related sites. Light Game Text: If you occupy, your Force generation is +1 and opponent's is -1. If you control, Force drain -1.
See also
External links
- Inquest Gamer Partial Collection, Internet Archive (file inquest.043.(1998-11).pdf)
References
- ↑ Michael Mikaelian and George Strayton, "The Sith Element", InQuest #43 (November 1998), pp. 52–54, 56–57. Scan: Inquest Gamer Partial Collection, Internet Archive (file inquest.043.(1998-11).pdf).