Bespin and Beyond is the buzz right now. The scenario hits tournaments starting February and lasts until April. So what's the hype? No cards before the Cloud City expansion can be used in this scenario. That might sound like a tough bill to pay, but lets look at what remains.
With the Absence of some very important defensive and offensive cards, Bespin and Beyond looks to dramatically shake things up in the SW:CCG scene. Some of the cards that are no longer playable? Well, sense, alter, and control are officially history. Grimtaash, Ghhk, and their counterparts are removed too. Dagobah is no more. The Falcon and Chewie won't even make an appearance. No grabber card like Hell to pay. No Tarkin/Vader Combo or Tramples. Many of the objectives are history. Star Destroyers (including Vader's Flagship), Corvettes, Tie fighters and X-Wings are gone too. No Scanning Crew, Revolution, Presence of the Force, or Cantina Shuffle either. With this shake up, some new strategies are going to emerge more powerful than ever.
Mark my words, Dark Deal might be a house hold name after Bespin and Beyond. Throw in some CC troopers, Abyssian Ornament and Bargaining Table, trooper assaults and some weaponry with adders and you've got problems to deal with. The Dark Side has a nifty advantage of having many Obsidian Ties to use "All Power to Weapons" on. Who cares if they draw multiple battle destiny. Those bad boys are seriously powerful and immune to attrition as are the troopers under trooper assault. With no Grimmy to take care of multiples, this could be a potent deck.
What about holding Cloud City so they can deploy Dark Deal. You are going to have a hell of a fight on your hands. All Power to Weapons pumps the Ties up even more while providing precious immunity to attrition. Throw in a few SFS L-s9.3 Laser Cannons and they are going to shoot you out of the skies. Watch for a surprise, Cloud City Occupation. If played correctly it could be a nice supplemental force loss in addition to your drains.
Now, the bad news. Expect heavy Dark Deal counters. Surreptitious Glance will probably be stocked in multiples, there isn't much hope for canceling it either. Combined with a small ground hit squad, I'm not sure that Dark Deal is going to do too much damage. And those troopers are weapon fodder. Expect to see the Disruptor Pistol be a huge smash. The EPPs make hitting guaranteed (unless you've got some serious bad luck!). Throw in some blaster proficiencies and Vader could start sweating.
The Light Side, while weakened in space, could still prove powerful. With X-Wing Squadron fighters , Z-95s and B-Wings, the rebels can still put up a fight. And the new destiny 7 missles and S-foils helps boost such power. Besides, recycling a few destiny sevens could be helpful as well.
Cloud Car decks could be the rage for the light side. With maneuvering flaps and Local Defense, the Light Side gets power 5 cloud cars that can deploy and move as a react. This is definitely to be reconed with. Mining decks are sure to pop up for both sides, particularly on Cloud City so this might not be a bad alternative.
EPPs are going to make a lot of noise too. With the immunity to attrition gone, expect to see multiple copies of the new armed bad boys (and girl). Boba Fett and Bane Malar will be on the prowl with new and nifty weaponry. They just might use your characters as target practice. Don't forget about Bossk either. While the trandoshan high tailed it with the Dagobah expansion, he's back visiting in his bus in Special Edition.
Fett might also have another use. Bounty Hunting with Cloud City Fett may be a strong side strategy. Dark Lord of the Sith is certain to hit the table along with those non-immune LS EPPs so using Vader's Bounty might be a good idea. Collect a few bounties; maybe even torture a few of them while you're at it! Carbon Freezing could prove to be strong as well. The Ugnaughts can be tough buggers with prepare the chamber and some troopers for back-up. Look for Carbonite Chamber Testing to kick butt!
Operatives are still alive for the Light Side. Kiffex, Bothawui, and Tibrin are possible stops on that train. The Dark Side keeps Nal Hutta and Corulag Operatives, but don't count on seeing to many of those without previous sets available for deck building.
The Dark Side could make Jabbas Palace its home. Jabba, Galid, and pals could return to power on Tatooine. Boelo is a nice replacement for Tarkin and Scrillings still remain powerful. Bubo's bite is still worse than his bark. No Bargain and multiples of None Shall Pass could keep Rebels from coming to Jabba's Palace, while a few bounties could make them wish they never knew what JP was!
However, the Light Side also has a vast number of powerful aliens so don't be surprised to see Tessek, Bo Shuda, Uh-Oh and a tons of aliens running around the palace. The Light Side may also want to consider using Tamtel to negate the effects of None Shall Pass. I must be allowed to speak could make the saber wielding Luke a powerful force indeed. The Dark Side should also beware of Artoo bearing "a gift." With nearly no way to get rid of A Gift (except Hutt Smooch) such a card could hurt an alien heavy deck!
One thing is certain, the Bespin and Beyond scenario will make deck building challenging. There is a high probability for battling and with weapons and destiny adders for firing weapons, you're likely to see more action than Jackie Chan did in the movie Rumble in the Bronx.
Beakman