This page is the second part of a two-part series updating ObiWanJohn’s (“OWJ’s”) excellent introduction to basic deck design.  See Part I of the series, focusing on basic melee decks, here: Basic Deck Design (Updated)

Major Ranged Decks

Official Hasbro Ranged Major Decks

Yellow

Yellow is the standard Hasbro deck for Major ranged fighters, and is used in Hasbro’s Jango and Boba decks.  In the 10YA, it is used by Grand Moff Tarkin and Nute Gunray, and in the 20YA, it is used by Poe, Orson Krennic, and Moff Gideon. 

As is clear in comparing the average attack and defense values of the Yellow deck (3.6/2.8) to the Blue (4.4/3.4) and the Red (4.8/2.6), the Yellow basic cards simply can’t support a deck meant to go blow for blow with a standard melee character.  Instead, a Yellow deck must rely on range to both (a) attack an opponent more times than the opponent can attack the Yellow major (thus increasing the deck’s effective attack power) and (b) use movement and distance to reduce the number of defense cards the Yellow major must expend during a game.  In short, the standard Yellow deck strategy is to win by reducing the value of an opponent’s actions relative to the Yellow fighter’s actions. 

Unlike the Red deck, which best supports an “aggro” strategy, the Yellow deck is more versatile and can be used to support a wide variety of Talent card strategies and combinations.  Generally, however, a balanced Yellow deck will require movement cards, action-manipulation cards, or Power Combat defense cards to supplement the weak defense values of the basic deck, and some direct damage or high-valued Power Combat attacks to supplement the lower attack values of the basic set.

Yellow+

Hasbro’s “Yellow+” deck is used exclusively for Han – it substitutes a 2/3 for one of the Yellow deck’s 2/2s, giving it one more point of defense.  Thematically, it works well for a “rogue” type shooter that may not have the movement required to support a balanced Yellow deck and who will need slightly more defense.  In the 10YA, the Yellow+ deck is used by Lando and Cad Bane, and in the 20YA, it is used by Hunter, Jyn, Aphra, and Hondo.  For purposes of deck design, it is similar to the Yellow deck except that it has slightly less need for movement or defense Talent cards than the Yellow deck.

Fan-Created Ranged Decks

Besides the Red deck, the Yellow deck has probably caused the most debate and discussion among the custom design community.  Some designers think it is too weak compared to the melee decks and have substituted alternative versions; while others like the differentiation between beefy melee characters and agile ranged fighters.  For those who want an alternative to the official Yellow or Yellow+, there are several custom alternatives: 

Yellow++

The “Yellow++” deck provides two additional points of defense over the Yellow deck by substituting 2/3s for both of the Yellow deck’s 2/2s.  This deck was created as a substitute for the Yellow deck (much like the Crimson and Maroon decks for the Red deck) by those who thought the original Yellow deck constricted design choices.  This deck might be used for a shooter that needs a bit more defense than the Yellow deck can provide but where movement cards aren’t thematically appropriate.  Personally, though, I’d recommend the Orange deck over the Yellow++ deck in most circumstances, since the Orange deck is simply more dynamic with the addition of a 5/1 card.

Orange

The Orange deck, which increases both the attack and defense values of the Yellow deck, was originally designed for hybrid shooter/melee characters (such as Mara Jade, or a young Luke Skywalker).  With the addition of a 5/1 card, it has a bit more punch than the Yellow decks, and defensively is on par with the Brown melee deck.  It is used in the 20YA Mandalorian deck to approximate the Mandalorian’s slow and steady fighting style, and has been used in a number of decks for “Jedi shooter” characters. 

Personally, and despite how much I enjoy the Orange deck, I think Yellow and Yellow+ work better for the vast majority of shooters.  In my own designs, I typically save Orange for characters that can fight well in both melee and ranged situations (like the Mandalorian with the Darksaber).  Giving any random shooter more defense than Boba or Jango doesn’t feel thematically appropriate, and I think Yellow and Yellow+ can easily support a balanced shooter deck.

Yellow*

Finally, the “Yellow*” deck, created by Roman F/Geektopia, combines the offensive power of the Orange deck with the defense of the original Yellow deck (by substituting a 5/1 for one of the Yellow deck’s 4/1s).  It’s used in Geektopia’s Finn and Poe deck, and is an interesting way to give a bit more unpredictability to the standard Yellow deck.

Minor Shooter Decks

Official Hasbro Ranged Minor Decks

Strong++

In the original game, the Strong++ deck was reserved for the very strongest supporting characters, and used only by the Emperor’s Royal Guards.  As a practical matter, it is essentially identical to the Strong+ deck, the only difference being a 2/4 card substituted for the Strong+ deck’s 1/4.  Because the extra attack point is on a defense card, the deck is only better than Strong+ in the edge case of using a 2/4 as a desperate attack or finishing move.  It has been used in the 10YA Cad Bade deck (for his assassin droids) and the 20YA Moff Gideon deck (for his Dark Troopers).

Strong+

The Strong+ deck was used in the original set for exceptionally strong shooting minors:  only Dooku’s Super Battle Droids and Chewbacca use this deck.  The deck has been used quite often in custom designs, including in the 10YA Ahsoka (for Captain Rex), Lando (for Bespin Guards), and Nute (Droidekas) decks, and in the 20YA Hunter (for Crosshair), Jyn (for Cassian and K2S0), Orson Krennic (for Death Troopers), and Aphra (for BT-1 and 0-0-0) decks.

In my opinion, the Strong+ deck has been a bit overused in custom deck design, often as a crutch for balancing purposes even when it has dubious thematic relevance.  (For example, if Leia and Padme don’t merit a Strong+ deck, it’s really hard for me to suspend my disbelief that Bespin Guards should have it).  That said, it remains a more interesting deck to play than the Strong as the addition of the 5/1 makes it less predictable, which is probably why it remains much more popular than the Strong deck.

Strong

The Strong deck is the standard “personality” minor shooter deck in the Hasbro game:  Leia, Padme, Zam, and Greedo all use this deck.  Compared to the Strong+ deck, it substitutes a 4/1 for the 5/1 card, making it a less dynamic and more predicable deck on offense, though identical for defense.  In the 10YA expansion, Jar Jar uses this deck.

Weak

The Weak deck is used in the Hasbro game for the weakest, non-personality shooting minors: Clone Troopers, Storm Troopers, and B1 Battle Droids.  Because the Weak deck is so weak offensively, most Weak deck minors are relegated to shielding majors, cutting off escape routes for enemies, and sometimes taking out other weak minors.  But their 3/1s can still be dangerous, especially when an opponent is low on defense cards.  It’s been used in the expansions to represent Clone Troopers, Stormtroopers, Battle Droids, and Weequay Pirates.

Fan-Created Ranged Minor Decks

Yellow Minor

The Yellow Minor deck was created by Mike Maloney and used in his 20YA Finn/Poe deck.  It was created with the goal of having a minor deck that is similar to the major Yellow deck, and substitutes a 4/1 and 2x 2/2s for the Strong deck’s 3/1 and 2x 2/3s.  Because of these substitutions, the Yellow minor deck makes a minor slightly better at attacking but significantly more fragile than a Strong minor.

Medium

The Medium deck was created by Roman F/Geektopia to fill the gap between Hasbro’s Strong and Weak decks, and is used for Clone Artillery Troopers in Geektopia’s Sifo Dyas deck.  As befitting the name, the Medium deck weighs in approximately at the mid-point of attack and defense power between the Strong and Weak decks, and can be useful thematically for leveled-up no-name minors, such as stronger versions of standard Clone Troopers, Stormtroopers, or Battle Droids.