Imperial Entanglements Primer

[Damandred]

I am posting this in response to a thread asking for some of the top decklists and strategy for each side. When I saw that no one was posting specific decks, I took it upon myself to study up and get some lists posted. The deck reviews that agnos has written in his primer topics are great reading. My goal is to get real specific with one particular deck. Who am I? I'm a lurker who reads most of the stuff on the general forums, but doesn't comment on things due to not really caring enough and wanting to avoid all the drama. I came back to the game about a year ago after not playing since 2000 and have been sporadically hitting locals in my area.

I am doing this to help myself learn the decktypes just as I hope it helps people coming back to the game or people who have never played the decktype to understand it. In order to get these lists, I have looked at decklists from the top events such as the MPC, Texas and Worlds. With that said, I am not an expert nor all knowing about these decks and would appreciate constructive criticism on card choices and strategy choices as well. My plan is to keep an updated version in the first post by editing it when good information is brought to my attention.

Our subject today is the Imperial Entanglements Objective. My list is based on the deck that the Southern California Team brought to Texas. This version uses reacting AT-ST's. There are other versions that use sandtroopers and dewbacks and also some that use unique troopers, however none of those lists have appeared at the top in championship level events, so I have gathered this is the best basis for this deck. Well, enough rambling. On to the list with the card choices. Some might be a little obvious, but just bear with me. The Format for my card reviews is: Card Name - Why It is in the deck.

We Would Like To Avoid Any Imperial Entanglements

Starting (9)
Imperial Entanglements/No One To Stop Us This Time
*Tatooine – Premier version. Power + 1 at sites is a tiny, but useful boost
*Devastator – I use non virtual because of the ability 2 pilot, some people like the virtual version for the follow text for a counter beat. It's your choice really.
*Tatooine: Desert Heart – It's a 2/1 and gets you a desert for sandwhirl. I like to keep this site in the middle so my sandwhirl doesn't have far to go to get the target.
*Prepared Defenses – Three effects is good
*Fleet Security Protocols – Key card that pulls the command station and sets up the devastator
*Imperial Arrest Order – Keeps the Nabrun beats at bay and adds forfeit to most of the characters in the deck
*Aratech Corporation (V) – Helps get out the AT-ST's and endor pilots and adds power and forfeit.
*Knowledge And Defense (V) – Gotta put them D-Shields somewheres.
-12 shields

Locations (5)
***Star Destroyer: Command Station – Great text to set up a powerful devastator
*Tatooine: Jundland Wastes – Light side needs 6 ability to draw destiny and force drain +1. Whats not to love?
*Tatooine: Mos Eisley – A solid 2/1 site
*Tatooine: Mos Espa – A solid 2/1 site and light drains at -1.
*Tatooine: Watto's Junkyard – A solid 2/1 site

Characters (19)
*Admiral Chiraneau – Drop him at the system for a drain of 2 at Tatooine.
*Admiral Ozzel – Good pilot that deploys for free
*Arica – Undercover spy to prevent drains at opponents sites
*Captain Godherdt – Raises armor of the devastator by one which is good since shooting it down is the only way to kill the devastator
*Commander Daine Jir – pullable by the command station for a controlling presence
*Commander Praji (V) x2 – can pull up to two pilots out of reserve during control phase, and loops grond
*Corporal Derdram (V) – put him at the command station to prevent invasion by spies
*Corporal Vandolay (V) – good vs WYS objective since smugglers are forfeit -2
*DS-61-2 – Adds 3 to power and combos with Vader to protect the devastator
*DS-61-5 – High forfeit and combos with Vader to protect the devastator
*Darth Vader (V) – put him on the devastator to reduce a destiny that may threaten you
*Grand Admiral Thrawn – gives two battle destiny at the system. Some use virtual version and have dreadnaught backup for the devastator
*Lieutenant Arnet – endor pilot to pull with aratech and combos good with blizzard scout 1 and tempest scout 1
*Lieutenant Cabbel – subtracts one from opponents battle destiny
*Lieutenant Grond (V) – endor pilot to pull with aratech and combos with praji to cancel a drain every turn
*Lieutenant Watts (V) – endor pilot to pull with aratech and combos with marquand
*Major Marquand – endor pilot to pull with aratech and combos with watts
*Sergeant Barich – endor pilot to pull with aratech. Some lists include another biker scout to use his text of cancelling some power and attrition

Starship (1)
*Katana – another capital ship in your arsenal

Vehicles (6)
*Blizzard Scout 1 (V) – ability two pilot, reacts, and can cancel game text of a character if you use an AT-AT
*Tempest Scout 1 – reacts for free, good with Arnet piloting
*Tempest Scout 2 – good reacting AT-ST that needs a pilot
*Tempest Scout 3 – ability two pilot and reacts
*Tempest Scout 5 – reacting AT-ST that boosts total power at the site
*Tempest Scout 6 – deploys as a react for 1 and ability 2 pilot

Effects (8)
**Imperial Domination (V) (x2) – Has retrieval and effectively ups your average destiny. Deploy both and reap twice the benefits
Imperial Justice (V) – Helps you survive playing decks where multiple destiny draws are common like WYS and TRM.
Protocol Failure – pulled by a shield or vandolay. Loop with lightsaber deficiency to cancel a drain often.
<>Sandwhirl – clears characters from your tatooine site with no risk to your guys in the AT-ST. Very useful
*Something Special Planned For Them (V) – grabber, but the main use is to retrieve a starship should it be lost. This card means it is not the end of the world if your opponent manages to kill the devastator
*Tatooine Occupation (x2) – A main source of damage for this deck. There is two in case the opponent cancels one

Interrupts (12)
*Cease Fire! - stops weapons from being fired in battle. Another card to help the devastator stay alive
Cold Feet (V) (x2) – pulls the grabber that retrieves the starship or pulls a D-Shield
Ghhhk & Those Rebels Won't Escape Us - A wonderful utility card that can do many things, one of which is let you live without fear of a beatdown
Imperial Barrier - Prevent a troublesome card from battling this turn. Take that Medium Transport (V)
Lightsaber Deficiency (V) – cancels some good light side cards and loops protocol failure from lost pile
Trample – good out of battle character removal.
*We Have A Prisoner & *I Can't Shake Him! (x2) – can get lots of good pilots out of the deck like praji. Still not sure why the combo is used and not the regular I can't shake him v because I don't see the advantage of the capture text.
*We Must Accelerate Our Plans – gets effects out of the deck
*Why Didn't You Tell Me? (V) (x2) – cancels a destiny draw to power or attrition by Luke SITF etc. or can get a card that is trapped at the bottom of the force pile.

61st Cards
AT-ST Dual Cannons v
Sneak Attack
Nothing Can Get Through Our Shield v
A Bright Center to the Universe v
Program Trap v - more medium transport v protection

Strategy
First Turn: Hope you didn't activate the command station and pull it with fleet security protocols. Pull Daine Jir with the command station and deploy him there. I usually like to get a pilot on the bridge of the devastator as well so it can draw a battle destiny. That should give you a power 13 fully immune ship that draws a destiny. Using your objective, deploy a site from reserve deck to tatooine, preferably a 2/1 to give more activation. Usually thats all you can do, so draw some and pass to the Light Side

Mid Game: In space try to get the devastator beefed up with Vader and Godhert to prevent getting shot down, and get Dedram to the command station to prevent a spy from infiltrating the devastator. Praji is key to getting all the pilots out so get him down ASAP. On the ground use aratech corporation to get AT-ST and pilot combos to flip the objective. I usually flip the objective on the third turn. Get occupation set up as fast as you can and you could be doing 10+ damage a turn, if the opponent leaves you alone. If they don't, use the reacting vehicles to overflow your opponent and set up trample.

End Game: Maximize your damage potential while keeping yourself protected from beatdowns by holding a ghhhk and keeping enough force to react. Then drain and occupation them till they are dead.

Match-ups
This is my weak area right now so I wont have much to say until I can build more of the top decks and do some playtesting

Echo Base Operations: Typical builds focus on space and have a little ground backed up by an icestorm. Set up the devastator first then go to ground. Pull the resistance shield to limit their drains to 2 and you should be able to out damage them. you can even invade thier planet if you want once Tatooine is secure since icestorm will not bother your AT-ST's and they usually don't run much ground.

I hope you like this review. Let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks for reading

[stephen1185]

I can see you put a good amount of time and effort into writing this up, so kudos. Unfortunately, I don't think IE(v) is a top deck right now. A lot of people, at least in the Southeast, are packing 2x Medium Transport (v) which really hurts the deck. I don't see how this beats a deck like TRM if the Devastator goes bye, bye. I only am mentioning this because it's happened to me in a tournament game and I played an extremely similiar list and went 0-3 with it, and most of it was matchups, not due to playing skill. Idk...I'm not sure this is the best build right now. But thanks for writing it. I think a while ago Noah "thehooky" Franke posted this deck list on decktech. It's not 100% perfect, imo...but deals with Medium Transport (v) better then most lists I've seen. If I played the deck again, I'd probably use the Grand Admiral Thrawn (v)+Endor Shield+Katana(v)+Dreadnaught idea and use a different ground package (still prefer AT-STs)...idk...that's just my two cents having played the deck. Right now the Devastator isn't enough to hold Tatooine. Not until the new SYCFA wanes in popularity, changing what LS decks in general seem to be running. Anyways here's Noah's list:

9
Imperial Entanglements
Tatooine: Mos Espa
Tatooine
Devastator (V)
Prepared Defenses
Ni Chubi Na! V
Royal Escort V
Endor Shield V
Starting Effect
After her V shield

4
Tatooine: Desert Heart
Tatooine: Canteen(Bar)
Tatooine: Wattos Junkyard
Blocked flagship:Bridge

17
Darth Vader, Darker Lord Of Thee Sith x3
Mara Jade, The Emperors Toy
Arica V x2
Emperor Palpy x3
EPP Kir Kanos x2
Myn Kyneugh x2
Janus Greejatus
Admiral Ozzel
The last Grand Admiral Thrawn V

7
Blizzard 4 x2
Blizzard scout 1 V
Katana
Dreadnaught Cruiser x3

3
Force Pike
Maras Shworts
Vaders Shworts

19
We must speed up our plans x2
Masterful Move combo
Sniper combo
Weapon Levitation Combo
Sneak attack V
You are beaten
Imperial Command
Imperial Dominatrix V
Forcy Push
Forsh Lightning x2
Farce Field V x2
Tatooine Occupation
Astromec shortage V
Always thinking with your gut
Cold Feet V
Blaster Rack V

2
Were in attack position now x2

[stephen1185]

My current take on the deck:

Starting:
1.) Imperial Entanglements (v)
2.) Tatooine
3.) Tatooine: Desert Heart
4.) Endor Shield (v)
5.) Fleet Security Protocols (v)
6.) Aratech Corporation (v)
7.) Prepared Defenses
8.) Knowledge and Defense

Locations:
9.) Tatooine: Watto's Junkyard
10.) Tatooine: Mos Espa
11.) Tatooine: Jundland Wastes
12.) Tatooine: Mos Eisley
13.) Star Destroyer: Command Station

Starships and Vehicles:
14.) Blizzard Scout 1 (v)
15.) Tempest Scout 1
16.) Tempest Scout 2
17.) Tempest Scout 3
18.) Tempest Scout 5
19.) Tempest Scout 6
20.) Katana (v)
21.) Dreadnaught
22.) Dreadnaught

Characters:
23.) Commander Dane Jir (v)
24.) Corporal Derdram (v)
25.) Commander Praji (v)
26.) Ds-61-2
27.) DS-61-5 (v)
28.) Lieutenant Watts
29.) Lieutenant Arnet
30.) Major Marquand
31.) Admiral Chiraneau
32.) Admiral Ozzel
33.) Corporal Vandolay (v)
34.) Darth Vader (v)
35.) Lieutenant Grond (v)
36.) Lieutenant Cabbel
37.) Captain Godheart
38.) Sergeant Barich

Weapons:
39.) AT-ST Cannon (v)
40.) AT-ST Cannon (v)

Effects:
41.) Tatooine Occupation
42.) Tatooine Occupation
43.) Imperial Domination
44.) Imperial Domination
45.) Sandwhirl
46.) Sandwhirl
47.) Something Special Planned For Them

Interrupts:
48.) I Can't Shake Him (v)
49.) I Can't Shake Him (v)
50.) I Can't Shake Him (v)
51.) Operational As Planned (v)
52.) Trample
53.) Imperial Barrier
54.) Masterful Move/Endor Occupation
55.) Ghkk
56.) Monnok
57.) Lightsaber Deficiency (v)
58.) Sneak Attack (v)

Admiral's Orders:
59.) We're in Attack Position
60.) We're in Attack Position

*I think about 5 or so card slots can be argued here. I think in general though this is how the deck should be played, atm.

[sjacree]

Regarding the OP:

Thanks for the write up. I would say you have done you homework and this Primer reflects that. The only correction that I can offer is that the Katana itself is not Heroic. The anti-Medium Transport v tech should be sufficient to keep Devastator alive if they can be drawn into. You may also consider including a Program Trap v for it is you are able to barrier it. I would also consider using Devastator v for its initial immunity in case you play against TRM or such that can put out a first turn Bravo Fighter v or something (this would be rare but plausable) before you have an opportunity to get setup.

[Damandred]

Thanks for the input Stephen. There is definitely more than one way to play this deck. This list is just a base list to help people who don't know what to expect or to give someone a deck to test with. I agree this deck has troubles with some of the top light decks (and I plan to add some more matchup information later), but it could be seen at a tournament and this will help people know how to play it or play against it.

@seth: good catch, I have been reading that card wrong for a while now. I will edit that information. At any rate it is a good ship but there may be better, any suggestions or should I nix the card. And protocol failure is a great card to deal with Medium Transport(v). It is a close call for me whether to use the virtual devastator or not, but I have been thinking to switch to the virtual version.

[Hunter]

*Devastator – I use non virtual because of the ability 2 pilot

That isn't the only reason (or even the best reason) why IE should exclusively use the non-virtual Devastator.

*Something Special Planned For Them (V) – This card means it is not the end of the world if your opponent manages to kill the devastator

Mmmm, it's still pretty much the end of the world. It's not like it retrieves the ship into your hand or something.

Imperial Barrier - Prevent a troublesome card from battling this turn. Take that Medium Transport (V)

Barrier isn't much of a solution to Medium Transport(v). It can buy you some time to draw or deploy a card that IS a solution. But it isn't one itself. Saving the Devastator won't be an important victory if you still have to surrender Tatooine to the Transport. I'm not saying that IE shouldn't play Imperial Barrier, but that card isn't going to make IE a good deck. I agree with stephen1185 when he says "I don't think IE(v) is a top deck right now."

[Hunter]

My current take on the deck

You may want to add the Devastator to that decklist.

I would also consider using Devastator v for its initial immunity in case you play against TRM or such that can put out a first turn Bravo Fighter v or something (this would be rare but plausable) before you have an opportunity to get setup.

A LTWW(v) version of TRM can actually play the combo Falcon against you before you get a turn. In that instance, the immunity of Devastator(v) is unlikely to help you. In the case of Bravo Fighter(v), I expect your opponent would still take a crack at Devastator(v). And if they do, then the immunity may help, or it may not. But I don't think that the immunity on Devastator(v) would end up "saving you" in nearly as many games as using Devastator(v) would COST you. Maybe in your 21st game with the deck, Devastator(v)'s immunity finally saves you a game. But by that time, how many wins have you turned into losses by using the wrong version of the ship? More than one, I bet.

So there's no good solution to TRM attacking you before you get a turn. It's just one more thing that keeps IE from being a solid deck.

At any rate it is a good ship but there may be better, any suggestions or should I nix the card

Well, if you're only playing 1 additional starship besides the Devastator, then yes, I have a suggestion of one that would be better than the Katana. The VICTORY.

[The Franchise]

i agree with the rest that i always liked nonv devastator, but i will admit the potential to chase around ships was intriguing, even though it never panned out when i won origins with the deck

[Damandred]

*Something Special Planned For Them (V) – This card means it is not the end of the world if your opponent manages to kill the devastator

Mmmm, it's still pretty much the end of the world. It's not like it retrieves the ship into your hand or something.

I agree it is a big setback, but it is possible to track it back into hand and set it up again.

Imperial Barrier - Prevent a troublesome card from battling this turn. Take that Medium Transport (V)

Barrier isn't much of a solution to Medium Transport(v). It can buy you some time to draw or deploy a card that IS a solution. But it isn't one itself. Saving the Devastator won't be an important victory if you still have to surrender Tatooine to the Transport. I'm not saying that IE shouldn't play Imperial Barrier, but that card isn't going to make IE a good deck. I agree with stephen1185 when he says "I don't think IE(v) is a top deck right now."

Yea, the barrier only delays it a turn, but it could be the turn you need to get the right card.

And the Victory sounds like an excellent choice for the starship the only drawback is no immunity versus most decks, but it could still be good for hit and runs.