Deck Spotlight: Big Poppa Palpatine

Today I want to do another deck spotlight on the big bad mama jamma we all love to hate,  Palpatine. He's vile, he's manipulative and that is exactly how his deck plays. I love how thematic his deck can be. I really underestimated his power when he was announced and thought he'd have a much harder time of winning games with only one character, how wrong I was. 

While most Palpatine decks look very similar I based my current build on an opponent's I had the pleasure of losing to at Team Covenant's Store Championship. He ran a more control heavy variant than what I have generally played against, and I built what I could from memory and then tinkered to get a cost curve I am more comfortable.

The Deck:

CHARACTER
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2x Palpatine, Galactic Emperor (Spirit of Rebellion #11)

BATTLEFIELD
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Otoh Gunga, Naboo (Spirit of Rebellion #157)

CHARACTER
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2x Palpatine, Galactic Emperor (Spirit of Rebellion #11)

UPGRADE
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2x Sith Holocron (Awakenings #16)
2x Mind Probe (Awakenings #60)
2x Force Lightning (Spirit of Rebellion #14)
2x Lure of Power (Spirit of Rebellion #16)
2x Force Speed (Spirit of Rebellion #55)
2x Force Illusion (Spirit of Rebellion #135)

SUPPORT
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2x Interrogation Droid (Spirit of Rebellion #17)
2x Dark Presence (Spirit of Rebellion #78)

EVENT
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2x Feel Your Anger (Awakenings #82)
2x Isolation (Awakenings #85)
2x No Mercy (Awakenings #86)
1x Deflect (Awakenings #145)
1x Mind Trick (Awakenings #147)
1x Block (Awakenings #153)
2x Rise Again (Spirit of Rebellion #76)
1x Doubt (Spirit of Rebellion #80)
2x Rejuvenate (Spirit of Rebellion #132)

The Playstyle:

Palpatine is a deck you have to get comfortable with, unlike a lot of other decks out there damage allocation and planning ahead are a really big part of this deck. It may feel like it can just roll through competition, but the difference between an optimally played Palp and a decently played Palp is pretty big. 

Because of his ability to hand out damage when he resolves dice your opponent will be building up damage simultaneously across all of their characters. This means you need to plan accordingly, and resolve dice in a way that provides openings to bursting characters down through a double ranged damage roll or a No Mercy play. If you are looking for a deck that mixes control with a lot of damage you will really enjoy the Galactic Emperor. Here are a few tips I have for playing Palp, some I got from others and some I've found from my time with the deck:

• Resolve your dice fast, don't waste time rerolling because the dice are huge targets of removal.
• Sometimes the right call is to resolve non-damage sides first. Let your opponents show you where they do not want damage going, or let them set up your burst for you. 
• Take your opportunities. Palpatine has the luxury of over-extension, and also forces your opponents to overextend. Use these moments to play No Mercy, and Force Speed to create the burst damage to force an opponent down.
• Try to claim as often as you can. I often leave upgrade dice on the field, or interrogation droid ready when claiming so I can continue the momentum into the next rounds.
• Do not over rely on your upgrades. Palp is a monster by himself, and can win games with just a Holocron or Speed on board. On top of this try to never hard cast Lightning or Probe unless you are very far ahead, or very far behind. 
• Learn the damage splits. Each tier 1 deck becomes predictable on where the assigned damage from Palp will go, if something is off it can tell you what your opponent has in hand or what variant of a deck they are running. Too much damage on Han likely means a Second Chance or ambush chain is coming.  This is truly where the intricacies of Palp make a huge difference, learning this can mean the difference between winning in 3 rounds instead of clawing your way through 5. 
• Palp is a game of attrition, utilize the control cards and Palps dice to do damage and put you ahead or your opponent behind. If your opponent finds themselves having their hand discarded they are going to have to rely on their initial rolls to close out the game.

The real thing here is Palp is a psychological game. By getting damage assigned on your opponents side of the board you gain a lot of insight into their playstyle, deck, hand contents, and overall strategy. Sometimes it is very obvious, and others it requires some quick thinking. Palp often puts players off their desired playstyle as well and until the meta settles a little more that will continue to be a winning advantage. 

The Important Cards:

Palp is a deck with very little room for tinkering, his deck does fill itself to some extent. These are the cards that I consider to be the most important in my games:

• Speed/Holocron: Efficiency cards, because of your large pool of removal and control sides on your dice these cards decrease the amount of time it takes to finish your turn and claim the battlefield. They both also have focus sides to get Palp's dice to where you need them.
• Dark Presence/Interrogation Droid: This is a combo for the ages, a 50% chance to remove a dice, and possibly pull some really good events from their hand all for 1 action. It requires a little setup, so make sure to find the right turn to play both cards. 
• Lure of Power: Simply said, this upgrade makes all sides of Palp's dice stronger. 
• Rise Again/Rejuvenate/Otoh Gunga: Sustain keeps the game moving. Palp has the lowest board health of any possible list filling to 30 points and so some healing will be necessary to keep the game going. Rise Again is very powerful and I usually try to get one off by round 3 or 4 if at all possible. Be sure to pitch a Lightning, Lure, or Probe for a reroll or between turns so enable an upgrade and 5 healing.

The Meta:

Palpatine is sitting very well in the current meta, however there are some very large counters to his playstyle that are currently lurking on the periphery of tournaments. Phasma shuts him down like none other, between guardian and the amount of control you will see a sharp decrease in damage output. Han and Second Chance are currently in the meta and create a really tough time for Palp, and where damage allocation is the toughest to learn.

All of this is to say, while Palp can clean house now, the meta has removed a lot of his best counters from top tier competitive play. What the future may hold for the maniacal Sith Lord is unknown right now and I expect this deck to have to adapt accordingly.

Budgeting:

This is one of the most expensive decks you can currently build thanks to Lightning, Speed, and Palp himself. If you are looking for a budget version of this deck try a few of the suggestions below and focus your trades on the character himself.

Changes:

- 2 Force Lightning
FOR
+ 2 Force Throw

- 2 Force Speed
FOR
+ 2 Immobilize
OR
+ 2 Overconfidence

Closing:

If you happen to have the cards to make this deck work I highly recommend giving it a try. It's a good time and teaches a lot about damage allocation and paying attention to your opponents behavior, both things that will make you a better player overall. This may be the heyday for the big bad Emperor, but he is a character that I'll be tinkering with as long as I can.