Set 3 Mono Palp Ramp V2 - Perfected List With Updates! - Copy

Text from original creator

This deck has evolved slightly (+/- 8 cards difference) since I initially started playing it in set 3. I've found a lot of success with it, winning locals, annihilating my friends group (they asked me to never play this deck vs them again) and genuinely having a blast while doing so. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys a ramping, control-ly, late game playstyle.

As per loads of questions on the first version, I'll be giving as thorough of an explanation here, more than I did on the first deck - but I am still more than happy to answer any questions.

_First Off _

This deck seeks to ramp, and then crush your enemies with threats they cannot deal with while clearing any threat once enough resources are achieved. This means this deck needs time, and is weak to aggro. Most of the side-deck is meant to be slotted in against aggro for this reason. The general rule of thumb with this deck is DO NOT look to ramp if it will be punished too harshly. A common mistake is seeking to ramp before you deal with threats - it should be the other way around.

With a very conservative mentality, and the angle that this is first and foremost a control deck, you will be able to win even the worst matchups. For specific card usage, look below!

All of the colors are happily viable with Palpatine, so have fun!

The Maindeck

I will not be explaining every card in depth: Some cards are very straightforward (For example, Royal Guard is a defensive unit!) but I will do my best to explain units with more complex or unique patterns.

Only 1x Piett: This card shines lategame, not early, so having only 1 copy isn't too harmful as you rotate through your deck, you will get him quite often. Dropping him early is always a mistake IMO, and he can be slotted out vs Aggro if you are really afraid you won't make it to 8+ resources which is when he becomes best. We also got more Officials this set with Poggle and Mas, so running multiple copies of him has not felt necessary.

Poggle the Lesser: Our best addition with Set 3. Provides infinite tokens for us to use with Palpatine's ability - useful early for draw and pings, but also late, to have a body to sacrifice for Palp's flip to get 1 damage or even when he's deployed for his on attack. Also acts as an official to trigger Royal Guard, and works very well with Droid Commando as an initial hand vs Aggro specifically.

3x Vader: A choice I opted into making rather than running more diverse cards. Vader will simply turn the game around on 7 resources virtually every game and is a star of this deck. Some prefer running 2 copies of him which is also fine, but with Anakin and aggro being popular, having 3 of him has felt very good, even moreso considering you can play him up to 8x in a single game with Command and Palp's Return vs discard decks. Since he is costly, viable alternatives include Maul (Shadow Collective) or even Pirate Battle Tank (common option).

Confederate Courier: After testing, this unit is just too good to pass up on. Trades very well into the current "3/2" space meta units such as Kylo's Tie, Merc Ship, etc. Can also technically trade just fine into 3 HP ships such as Restored Arc, Green Squadron, etc, by slamming into it and then using Palp's ability on the token it spawns to finish the ship off. Has genuinely impressed me, and works with the Droid Commando vs Aggro decks very well. Can also just provide a target for Palp's Ability, Merciless, etc, if your opponent isn't into space.

Black Sun Starfighter: Exists to help us survive early space, or later to bait out a big hit from a big ship even. Has been an addition that has helped me ramp much better than I expected.

Merciless Contest: A weaker version of "Power of the Darkside", but still an extremely good card. The only card we can play to defeat enemy units as mono-green. This card has been the MVP of many of my games where I trade a low tier unit such as Superlaser for a strong units my opponent just played, such as K2S0, Poe Dameron, Ki Adi-Mundi, etc. Important note is that you CAN play this card even if you do not control any units, forcing your opponent to kill one of their units for basically nothing in return. Excellent vs Exploit decks too, where they kill their entire board only for us to defeat their big Exploit unit for a 3 cost.

1x Strike True: A tech choice I made to keep a card in this deck. This is the 51st card of the deck, for anyone who adheres to 50 card exactly mindset. I just think this card is situationally really good in helping us deal with space units, and scales extremely well later. I have killed multiple 7 drop leaders with this card out of having an otherwise weak board. It isn't technically needed, but the times I have drawn it have always felt good. Could consider playing this 2x and 2x Merciless, but I really like Merciless as well.

The Sideboard, and Explanations on what to swap, when

The sideboard is mostly aimed towards aggro matchups, which is what we struggle against. The exception to this rule is namely the Scanning Officers, which are for Han, Hondo, and a few other matchups. Slotting in only 1 can be excellent vs decks you know run Tech or some other odd smuggle cards, such as some Qi'ras running First Light.

Gamorrean Retainer: Best turn 1 drop vs Aggro decks. Trades up very well. Against hyper-aggro, such as Sabine or Kylo, I will slot these in instead of Resupply - Resupply being unplayable against those decks anyways with how fast they will murder you. Against softer aggro decks that are more tempo oriented, you can also consider putting these in instead of Palpatine's Return.

Mas Amedda: Personally, I love this card, but the reality of him made me sideboard him as a replacement for Piett or Strike True against earlier curve decks, aggro and the like. He is a bit more unique to play and best used with good understanding of what matchups you really want units with sentinels (Han). He is a much stronger early game option than Piett, hence his role here. I do not like him vs Control, as events become significantly more valuable in that matchup, and this card can be a bit of pain when you end up looking at 3/4 events on his text.

Scanning Officer: As mentioned above, this card exists for matchups with OP smuggle options, such as Han using Tech + DJ combos. This card excels on turn 1 and 2. Take note that the enemy's resource comes in EXHAUSTED, which can completely ruin one of their turns early, hence why it is so powerful in those matchups.

Droid Commando: After some testing, this card is excellent into aggro. Can be slightly inconsistent, but still offers a strong body than you can Command/True Strike/Barrage if not dealt with, making him often trade well. With a good starting hand, such as Poggle + Commando, can really hurt aggro's early turns by killing Fighter's For Freedom or some such. Ended up being much better than I expected. Can be slotted in for virtually anything, but I tend to swap out Strike True and 1x Vader, or 1x Superlaser even, for this card.

Gladiator Star Destroyer: A surprising addition that I ended up quite liking. Mostly used for Jango and Tarkin but could be good in other matchups I've tested it less in. Trades really well into the early ships, is a danger the enemy has to take care of or you Overwhelming Barrage it, and can even be useful to draw into giving a Sentinel in the ground arena, such as Palpatine himself, later in the game.

Honorable Mentions include Maul (Shadow Collective), Hyuang and Baktoid Spider Droids. I liked all of these a lot in testing even if they didn't make the final cut! Maul is excellent for swing turns, Hyuang is the best turn 2 in the game vs Aggro if you got a Gamorrean on turn 1, and Baktoid can come in for 4 resources to really swing tempo as well. All of these are worth testing in your local if you struggle versus aggro, they might fit into your deck better than they fit into my circle!

Closing Remarks

Regardless of if this deck sees the light of day, I hope you guys enjoyed. I genuinely believe Mono-Palpatine is the best version of this leader - but its very weak to the meta, and relies a lot of knowledge and tech to survive current iterations of aggro. I believe that by the end of Set 3, this will be the best version of Palpatine, even though Yellow is currently dominating due to that color having much better matchups vs Jango and Sabine. All colors are viable on Palpatine, so if you are lacking some of the cards in this list, feel free to go change it up with replacements from other colors. Red is a personal favorite of mine, and got much better this Set thanks to Maul (Vengeance at Last). Just ideas, but yeah.

I'll be more than happy to assist with any questions and will try to stay in touch with the deck and keep you guys updated.

Thanks again for the massive success the first version got, it was super unexpected, but made me very happy.

I hope this list helps at least one of you tilt your friends (<3).

GL HF