“I like how Chewie feels like a major character,” — Rob Daviau, creator of Epic Duels in 2018. No arguments here.
What does this deck do: One huge attack that it tries to recycle. A bit of direct damage, hit and run, and forced discarding.
Han Solo
Original, unmodified Epic Duels deck by Rob Daviau and Craig Van Ness
Han Solo
13 HP
Blaster
17 Cards
Yellow+ Deck
Chewbacca
15 HP
Blaster
14 Cards
Strong+ Ranged Minor Deck
Han – 7 Talent Cards
3 x GAMBLER’S LUCK
A4; opponent discards a card at random
2 x HEROIC RETREAT
A5; move Han 5
2 x NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS
2 damage to all players Han can attack; shuffle discard pile into deck
Chewbacca – 5 Talent Cards
2 x IT’S NOT WISE…
Move an adjacent enemy 3 spaces; that character takes 3 damage
1 x BOWCASTER ATTACK
A11, draw a card
1 x WOOKIE INSTINCTS
Find the Bowcaster card and place it in your hand; reshuffle your deck
1 x WOOKIE HEALING
Heal 3, move 5
Why not tweak Han? We’ve always found this deck to be fun and unique while featuring 2 of our favorite characters at the level of power we feel is appropriate for them. They’re weak compared to Jedi type decks, but shouldn’t they be? In Geektopia that answer is yes.
Themes: Tag-team buddies, luck, never out of it
Path to Victory: BOWCASTER + NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS + WOOKIE INSTINCTS then repeat
Strengths: BOWCASTER, strong minor, forced discarding, ability to reshuffle best cards back into deck
Weaknesses: Weak offense outside of BOWCASTER, major has very low staying power
Strategy: Keep enemies off you by switching up who’s in front. Try to get BOWCASTER out of Chewie and reshuffle, but remember that Han is the key to the deck.
Tier: 3
Notes: This was in many ways the most clever design of the original decks by Daviau and Van Ness. It not only has a neat combo in WOOKIE INSTINCTS + BOWCASTER + NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS, but the combination of NTMTO with GAMBLER’S LUCK also means that even without the mighty Chewbacca at his side, Han always has a chance to win by recycling his best cards and denying his opponent of his best cards. This deck tends to benefit from 2v2 play, where Chewie at least poses a threat and absorbs a lot of damage even if Han has been destroyed. It also sets a lot of limits of deck design — 28 hit points is the most of any deck, along with Dooku, yet 13 HP is the fewest of any major, along with Palpatine and Yoda. Chewbacca’s BOWCASTER basically sets the attack limit at 11. Han shows some flexing of the Yellow deck for more defense, Chewie flexes the strong ranged minor deck for more offense. It’s almost like all the tweaks needed for this deck were already made.
Want more Han?
Not a lot out there, probably because this one is pretty awesome. There is a set of tweaks to make Han & Chewie stronger in the 10-Year Anniversary Tournament set.
We have a Hoth Han & Chewie with a different dynamic and other moves.
Lando & Han Smugglers also has some fun quotes, even if Han is the minor.
Umondy’s Han & Luke has some fun quotes.
Aaron Shockley once had a really fun Han & Leia deck but I think that one is forever lost.
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