Use the Force

“Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you?”
   –Yoda, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

A mystical energy field moves throughout the entire Star Wars galaxy, binding and connecting all living things. This energy field is known as the Force, and for most beings, even the fact of its existence is unknown or ignored. Still, some are gifted with the ability to tap into the Force, and for these few, the Force opens the door to abilities that some would consider unnatural.

The Force and Force users are a vital part of the Star Wars saga, and they form an equally large part of the cards in Star Wars™: Destiny, the saga-spanning, collectible dice and card game for two players. Whether you’ve joined the Jedi Order or take on the role of a Sith Lord, you’ll find the cards that suit your play style among the Blue cards. For a closer look at the Force users and other Blue cards you may encounter within Awakenings booster packs, read on!

The Mysteries of the Force

Whether you’re drawing upon the dark side or the light, the knowledge of the Force gives you an unmistakable breadth of options, helping you to approach every problem in unconventional ways. In Star Wars: Destiny, your mastery of the Force is represented in two ways: drawing cards and manipulating your opponent’s dice. 

In many card games, drawing additional cards is crucial to achieving victory. After all, more cards in your hand means more options and more ways to defeat your opponent’s schemes. Star Wars: Destiny is a little bit different, because you draw back up to five cards at the end of each round. Drawing cards in the middle of a round is still useful, however, because every card in your hand plays double duty. You can play a card normally to receive its effect, or you can discard it from your hand to reroll one or more of your dice. The more cards in your hand, the more you’ll be able to reroll your dice without sacrificing your plans. 

For instance, you may field Luke Skywalker (Awakenings, 35) as one of your characters. Luke Skywalker is a powerful combatant under any circumstances, and he’s more than capable of cutting down enemy forces in their tracks. As an added benefit, however, you can draw a card immediately after Luke activates, consistently giving you more options as you move into battle. The villains of the galaxy, on the other hand, can draw upon their Boundless Ambition (Awakenings, 80). By playing this event for one resource, you can immediately refill your hand, giving you access to more cards and more chances to reroll your dice. 

To play Mind Trick, you must spot a Blue character, such as Luke Skywalker.

The knowledge of the Force can give you more options than your opponent, and it can also let you influence their dice in uncanny ways. Any Blue team can take advantage of Mind Trick (Awakenings, 147), which reads, “Spot a Blue character to force an opponent to split their dice pool into 2 groups of any size. Choose 1 group and remove all dice in it.” In the right circumstances, a well-timed Mind Trick could destroy your opponent’s plans no matter how they split up their dice. 

Though both sides can also use the Force to affect their opponent’s dice, they approach the tactic in different ways. The dark side is prone to take the quick and easy path, and with Isolation (Awakenings, 85), you only need to spot a Blue character to remove a character die. The light side, on the other hand, favors preparation and subtlety in exchange for potentially greater effects. With Force Misdirection (Awakenings, 116), you can choose a symbol showing on one of your Blue dice. Then, you remove all of your opponent’s dice that show that symbol! Even as you choose between the galaxy’s heroes and villains, you’ll have to decide between the seductive easiness of the dark side or the greater rewards that await with the light side. 

Knowledge and Defense

If you’ve chosen to cast your lot with the Jedi of the Star Wars galaxy, you know that the Force is best used for knowledge and defense. Thematically, the heroes’ Blue cards in Star Wars: Destiny excel at using shields to protect their units. You may simply play Defensive Stance (Awakenings, 115) to give a character two shields, preparing for an incoming attack. Or you may upgrade your Blue character with Force Protection (Awakenings, 39), which has a one-third chance of giving your characters three shields to distribute however you wish.

Shields are naturally useful for your characters—essentially, they increase your character’s health by automatically absorbing the first damage that would affect that character. Still, the galaxy’s heroes have ways to put those shields to greater use than simply protecting you from damage. 

For instance, you may center your team on Qui-Gon Jinn (Awakenings, 37). This powerful Jedi Master is a master of balancing defense with offense, and that’s a fact that’s reflected in his ability: before Qui-Gon Jinn receives shields, you can remove one of his shields to deal one damage to any character. To truly pursue victory through defense, you may form a team that pairs an elite Qui-Gon Jinn with the elite version of Rey (Awakenings, 38)—a combination that makes even more sense when you consider the number of Blue upgrades that offer shields, including Force Protection and Jedi Robes (Awakenings, 40). 

Still, Qui-Gon Jinn alone isn’t enough to turn your shields into offensive potential. You can play Riposte (Awakenings, 121) to remove any number of shields from one of your characters and deal an equal amount of damage to an enemy character! Your characters are limited to having three shields apiece, but Riposte can still be a powerful source of unexpected damage.

Give In to Your Anger

In stark contrast to the light side, the villains of the galaxy tap into the Force through their most negative emotions—rage, vengeance, fear, and despair. They’re also much more offensively minded, ripping through any defenses in order to destroy their enemies with breathtaking finality. 

Many of the villainous cards within the Blue faction are devoted to stripping your opponent’s shields, opening the gates for devastating attacks. Intimidate (Awakenings, 84) simply removes all shields from a character, leaving them open for an attack on your next action. Alternatively, you may prefer the unpredictable chaos of Kylo Ren's Lightsaber (Awakenings, 15). This upgrade can be given to any Blue character, and offers a massive damage increase with three melee damage results. You can also use this upgrade’s special ability to deal two damage to a character—and if any of that damage was blocked by shields, you reroll the die instead of removing it from your pool. 

Just attacking enemy characters isn’t enough for the dark side, however. You need to utterly crush your opponent, leaving them alone and without options—so it’s no surprise that other Blue cards focus on discarding your opponent’s hand. In a dark parallel to Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader (Awakenings, 10) forces your opponent to choose and discard a card from their hand whenever Darth Vader activates. You could also crush your opponent’s plans by playing Abandon All Hope (Awakenings, 79). This event forces your opponent to make a nearly impossible choice—to lose all resources or discard all cards in hand. No matter what your opponent chooses, you come out ahead.

My Ally Is the Force

Whether you join the heroes or the villains of the galaxy, your mastery of the Force has set you apart. What decks will you build with the Blue cards from the Awakenings booster packs? Join the discussion in our community forums, and join us next time for a closer look at the game’s Yellow cards.