Smuggler’s Blues - Top 4 1k SCG Richmond

Two players played Han Blue this weekend to two top cut finishes: Paul Heaver and myself. ALL credit goes to Paul, who was kind enough to chat with me at length about his thoughts on the deck, and I’m extremely grateful, as Han/Blue is an absolute blast to play. I don’t have any major events coming up, so I’m sharing all thoughts for whoever wants to pick the deck up next.

Match results, narrative, and playing/building thoughts below:

Round 1 : 2-0 Sabine Red Round 2: 2-0 (can’t remember) Round 3: 1-2 Boba Green Round 4: 2-0 Vader Green Round 5: 0-2 Vader Green Round 6: 2-1 Sabine Red Top 8: 2-1 Vader Green (rematch from Rd 5) Top 4: 0-2 Palp Blue

Paul Top 16’d the 4k with his version of the list, and I watched half a match when he was 5-0 against Sabine and knew I had to play it on Sunday. Prior to the weekend, I had two matches experience with Han Red, as most of my time has been spent working on Grand Inquisitor.

We were on mostly the same cards, but I chose to include Greedo, Redemption, and Change of Heart instead of Chopper and Waylay. Each were very strong for me all day and suit my play style.

General Strategy: Minimize damage and set up Turn 5 Han Deploy + Luke or Han unit. Both units are huge bombs in the metagame and compete well with Darth Vader, Commanding the First Legion. Follow up plays tend to prioritize keeping these units attacking.

Vigilance is my pick for second best card in the format. It sets Sabine two turns back and can defeat leader units. Against slower decks, a shield on our large units has few clean answers.

Spark of Rebellion is my pick for best card in the format. It does everything and blue villain decks are paying six for it.

Playing: Talking with Paul, I would say he views his list as more of a control deck, and prioritizes removal and healing as a means to survive to his bombs. I built and played mine to race. I use plentiful removal and healing to stay ahead on board and base damage. I also enjoy playing 2-drop plus Greedo on Turn 1.

Building: Paul and I discussed cards but not numbers, so those choices are my own. I’ll focus on how I would adjust the deck going forward to fit how I play the deck.

I would keep all the playsets as playsets, the closest being Vanquish. I see Obi-Wan, Han and System Patrol Craft as potential 2-3’s and the rest as potential 0-2’s.

My first shift - add a third Obi-Wan and move the third Han to the main to help the consistency of our main line and assist the control matchups.

Other options - more Shoot First would help for most matchups with units, especially Vader Green, at the expense of late draws.

Redemption helps against everything and can save close games. 3 could be the right number.

I’ve been extremely skeptical of Change of Heart and wanted to try it. It’s ceiling is a six-cost Traitorous for units of all sizes on the turn you win.

Repair was an amazing call by Paul for Saturday. Sabine was less represented on Sunday but I still faced it twice and went 4-1 in games without needing to play Repair. It’s my first cut, especially since Sabine is our best matchup. Remember, the cards we would swap it for are also good against Sabine.

After that, I see Make an Opening and Falcon as bubble cards 46-50, and could be anything. They both contributed to wins but are most situational. I prefer to maximize my resources in the first 5 turns and usually resourced Falcon first. It is an efficient closer.

Make An Opening is a bridge play against Sabine, but you usually have to work for it. With Repair gone, I’d look here next for cuts to improve the control matchup.

Maindeck Changes: -1 Repair -1 Make An Opening -1 Millenium Falcon -1 Vanquish (to board) +1 Han (from board) +1 Obi-Wan +2 Redemption

Sideboard: Lothal Insurgent was underwhelming and could become anything. If we’re looking to help the control matchup, effect is more important than cost. If Villain decks can play Spark of Rebellion for six, hero decks can play Power of the Dark Side for 5, Bounty Hunter Crew for 8 or U-Wing Reinforcement for 9. Three Change of Heart sounds like a lot of fun.

New Sideboard: 3 Devotion 1 System Patrol Craft 1 Vanquish 3 Change of Heart 1 Bounty Hunter Crew 1 Power of the Dark Side

Thanks, Trevor Holmes