Welcome back to The Fifth Trooper’s coverage of Star Wars Unlimited TCG! Today we’re going to discuss a concept — “pinning” — that isn’t an official rule in the game but can nevertheless have a big impact on how it plays out. Today I’m here to discuss what is meant by pinning in Star Wars Unlimited and some of the dynamics that can take place involving this tactic!
One of Star Wars Unlimited’s key game mechanics is its leader system. Leaders not only provide an ability that can be used throughout the game, they also have the ability to deploy onto the battlefield as a powerful unit at a key moment in the game (Chancellor Palpatine, Playing Both Sides is an exception).
This “leader flip” can be very powerful, because not only do you get an additional unit you get that unit for free! Several decks that have had a lot of success in competitive play have had game plans that revolve around their flip turns — for example, the infamous Boba Fett, Collecting the Bounty (now suspended) was known for the power of his flip turns and decks were built to optimize it to swing the game.
In general, leader flips can be more powerful the later you get into the game — while some leaders, like Sabine Wren, Galvanized Revolutionary, can deploy as early as four resources (usually turn three), they are relatively weak compared to leaders that deploy later on. Late-game powerhouse leaders like Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith can sometimes take over the board if not answered — but you have to get there first!
That said, even early-game leader flips can be quite relevant. Sabine may have weaker stats than some other leaders, but the fact that she deploys as early as four resources allows her to put major pressure on opponents early and synergizes well with her aggressive gameplan.
Because leaders can be so powerful, an important part of the game is figuring out how to get good value out of your leader and preventing your opponent’s leader from being very effective. This is where pinning in Star Wars Unlimited comes into play — if you can prevent that leader flip from taking place (or quickly
Thus, pinning in Star Wars Unlimited refers to creating a scenario where your opponent’s leader can be defeated as soon as they deploy, before they get a chance to do anything else. This can sometimes lead to an opponent not deploying their leader at all! It’s worth noting that “pinning” is not an official game mechanic but rather a fan-created term referring to these dynamics — I believe it may originate with the KTOD tournament testing team.
There are two main ways to pin an opposing leader in Star Wars Unlimited. The first and most direct is to simply have a unit on the board that can defeat the opposing leader in one attack. For example, if your opponent is playing Asajj Ventress, Unparalleled Adversary and you have a ready Rogue Operative in play, Ventress is pinned — if your opponent deploys Ventress, your Rogue Operative can simply take her out in one attack!
While this is easier to do with leaders that have low HP, it’s still possible to pin even a more powerful leader if you have a more powerful unit on the board. Upgrades can be a good way to accomplish this early in a game — for example, Yoda, Old Master can become a huge pinning threat if equipped with a Jedi Lightsaber, as the combination of five total power and the -2/-2 debuff inflicted by the On Attack ability allows Yoda to defeat even a 7 HP leader in one attack!
In other cases, you can pin an opposing leader thanks to a combination of a unit and leader ability. Several leaders can buff units while they make attacks — for example Anakin Skywalker, What it Takes to Win can use his leader ability to buff a weaker unit up to the level of power it needs to take down an opposing leader, thus allowing a unit that wouldn’t normally be able to pin an opponent to do so.
However, one problem with this form of pinning is that it is very “readable” — an opponent can easily see whether or not you have a powerful unit that threatens to kill their leader in one hit! While in some cases an opponent might miss the threat — especially if it involves an ability or something other than just “pure stats” — one generally should not rely on the possibility of the opponent failing to see a move that is plain on the board!
Thus, the second form of pinning, which I call “indirect” pinning, can in times be more relevant. In indirect pinning, you don’t have enough damage to defeat the opponent’s leader on the board — but you do have the threat of playing a card that will still allow you to defeat the leader in one action as soon as your opponent deploys.
One straightforward way to do this is to simply have a card that can defeat the opposing leader in one hit. For example, a copy of Takedown can defeat some lower-HP leaders immediately once they are deployed. However, in other cases the indirect pin might rely on some combination of a card played from hand and a unit already on the board.
A classic example from the Sabine mirror is that it’s comparatively rare for someone to pin the opponent’s Sabine simply via “math on the board” — it does happen sometimes with Wing Leader buffing an early ground unit, but not that commonly. However, Fleet Lieutenant and Heroic Sacrifice allow you to threaten a kill on Sabine even with a unit that has only three power, and this “indirect pin” can suppress your opponent’s Sabine deployment!
Another classic indirect pinning dynamic comes from the threat of powerful Ambush plays. If you have hard-hitting Ambush cards like Plo Koon, Koh-To-Yah! that can pin an opponent’s leader, the threat of such an ambush might lead them to hold back from deploying. A similar threat can be created with the classic Energy Conversion Lab, which enabled pins from a wide range of units that would not otherwise be able to ambush — Steadfast Battalion was an especially popular choice!
However, since indirect pinning relies on a card from hand, it also necessitates keeping enough resources floating to actually use the card in question — your opponent probably isn’t going to be scared of that copy of Takedown if you only have two resources up, after all! This can sometimes lead to a scenario where the player executing the pin will pass in order to keep their threat up — while this can allow you to retain the ability to defeat the opposing leader if they deploy, it can also potentially lead to the opponent taking the initiative and ending the turn early, wasting resources and actions that otherwise would have been available!
Indirect pinning can also be countered by cards that discard from hand or otherwise suppress cards that the opponent might have. For example, Bazine Netal, Spy for the First Order can look at the opponent’s hand and remove that key Takedown before you deploy your Asajj Ventress — but there’s still an element of risk here, since Bazine gives the opponent a replacement card after discarding and they might well draw another piece that can counter your leader!
Some other discard effects are more reliable still — Spark of Rebellion doesn’t give the opponent a draw, so it can clear a pin and give you certainty that they haven’t drawn into an out from your effect. Similarly, Qi’ra, Playing Her Part can check for pins and make them more expensive to play, often making it so the opponent cannot play the relevant card that turn at all!
Lastly, “indiscriminate” discard is unlikely to remove a pin unless it discards the opponent’s entire hand, since if they get to choose which card they discard they can keep the one that enables the pin — however, there are definitely some situations where a Pillage or similar effect can clear the way!
One more advanced aspect of indirect pinning in particular is how it facilitates bluffs and “reads”. In some cases, you might not actually have the card you need to defeat an opposing leader on deployment — but if your opponent thinks you have it, that can be enough to keep them suppressed!
In some cases players might then gain an advantage by “representing” an indirect pin — keeping at least four resources open on Sabine’s deploy turn in order to threaten a Takedown, for instance. This sort of bluff may intimidate an opponent into not deploying their leader, potentially allowing you to gain an advantage.
However, it’s worth noting that this form of bluffing tactic only works if your opponent is aware of the pin! If you’re trying to carefully signal that you have a Takedown, but your opponent is a newer player who isn’t aware that Takedown is a major threat to their leader, your bluff is not likely to work!
Further, even against someone who is aware of the threat, it’s possible that they will opt for the old “if he has it he has it” and charge on in anyway, or that they will correctly read that you have a bluff! Thus, while bluffing an indirect pin can be relevant in at least some cases, it is not a tactic that I think can be expected to reliably work. That said, it can be a useful tool to have in your toolbox for when the time is right — especially if you yourself have a read that your opponent is scared of getting their leader picked off!
Pinning is often a dynamic that relies on specific breakpoints — places where a small change in a stat can have a big effect on the situation. For example, if your opponent’s leader has five HP they can be defeated (and hence pinned) by Takedown — but if they instead have six HP Takedown is not relevant for a pin.
This means that buffs (either to HP or to a unit’s power) can be very effective on both sides of the pinning equation. In the Sabine mirror, a Sabine player who is using Petranaki Arena for +1 power can pin an opposing Sabine by deploying first and threatening a +2 power buff, since 2 + 2 + 1 = 5. On the other hand, a player who is using Pau City for +1 HP will be able to avoid pins that otherwise might threaten their leader!
Similarly, units that provide buffs either to HP or a unit’s power can help quite a bit on both sides of the pinning equation. Cards like General Dodonna, Massassi Group Commander, Red Three, Unstoppable, or Admiral Yularen, Advising Caution can be very relevant here, since even a single bonus point of power might make a unit threaten a kill and even a single bonus point of HP might make a leader no longer in range to be pinned. Additionally, some players may not realize the impact of these buffs — for instance, a player using a seven-HP leader may not be worried about Ambush units most of the time, but Red Three might put them “into range” of a Plo Koon or Han Solo, Reluctant Hero ambush that they had not otherwise planned for or encountered!
Upgrades, on the other hand, are generally useful for the player executing the pin but not for defending a leader — you won’t have time to upgrade your leader if you deploy it and the opponent pinning you immediately attacks and clears the leader! This can be especially relevant in situations where a game plan revolves around upgrading a leader and attacking aggressively — for instance, if Sabine is threatening to be upgraded with The Darksaber, stopping her before she gets a chance to equip it can be very important!
Thus, pinning — while not an official rules concept — can play an important role in matches of Star Wars Unlimited! Hopefully this article has helped explain this dynamic — stay tuned to The Fifth Trooper for more Star Wars Unlimited content coming soon, including a look at the new mechanics in Star Wars Unlimited’s fourth set, the upcoming Jump to Lightspeed!
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