15: Eating Color Pie

Summary In this episode, Mr. Ben and Banana Crap Shoot discuss their recent gaming experiences, including playing Star Wars Unlimited and other tabletop games. They also recap their time at PAX and share their impressions of the Star Wars Unlimited presence at the event. The hosts also delve into the concept of class identity and the color pie in Star Wars Unlimited, breaking down the core themes, sub-themes, and flaws of each faction. They specifically discuss the vigilance and aggression factions in detail. In this conversation, the hosts discuss the different factions in Star Wars Unlimited and their unique characteristics. They explore the Raid mechanic , which focuses on direct damage and benefits from attacking. They also delve into the Command faction, which emphasizes ramp and XP counters. The Cunning faction is examined for its trickery and reactive play style. The hosts then discuss deck building strategies, including doubling down on faction strengths and patching weaknesses. They also touch on the topic of pre-constructed decks in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game. Takeaways Star Wars Unlimited had a strong presence at PAX, with demo tables, community meetups, and a draft event. The designers of Star Wars Unlimited are actively involved in the marketing and community outreach of the game, which is encouraging for its success. The vigilance faction in Star Wars Unlimited focuses on defense, control, and healing, while the aggression faction is all about dealing damage and removing units from the board. Each faction in Star Wars Unlimited has its own class identity, with core themes, sub-themes, and flaws that differentiate them from each other. The Raid mechanic in Star Wars Unlimited focuses on direct damage and benefits from attacking. The Command faction emphasizes ramp and XP counters to play big units and overpower opponents. The Cunning faction relies on trickery and reactive play, using bounce effects and the Saboteur keyword. When building decks, players can choose to double down on faction strengths or patch weaknesses with other factions. Pre-constructed decks in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game provide a good base for competitive play and can be easily upgraded. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Holiday Recap 01:52 Tabletop Games Played 03:20 Impressions of Force Table 04:00 PAX Recap 07:39 Star Wars Unlimited Presence at PAX 12:13 Design Features and Inspiration 13:38 Discarded Mechanics 16:31 Two Lanes and Class Identity 19:00 FFG's Reputation and Support for Star Wars Unlimited 21:30 Set Rotation and World Championships 24:50 Pack Distribution and First Draft 28:48 Future Events and Locations 32:08 PAX Experience and Community Feedback 33:01 Introduction to Class Identity and Color Pie 34:16 Vigilance Faction Identity 37:37 Aggression Faction Identity 44:40 Raid: Direct Damage and Benefits of Attacking 45:27 Command: Ramp and XP Counters 46:47 Command: Lack of Disruption Effects 48:07 Command: Go Tall Strategy 49:53 Cunning: Trickery and Reactive Play 50:22 Cunning: Bounce Effects and Saboteur Keyword 51:43 Cunning: Lack of Removal and Clean Draw 55:10 Deck Building: Doubling Down and Patching Holes 01:01:17 Deck Building: Personal Approach 01:06:49 Final Fantasy Pre-Constructed Decks