This is another set of characters for which I didn’t really like enough to give them their own deck, but this most recent trend of dual majors makes them potentially fun. This is something of a comic relief deck akin to Ugluk & Grishnakh but with more sting.
Unofficially, this is my 100th Epic Duels deck, including ones I’ve restored and including LOTRED.
Admiral Ozzel & Captain Piett
by Roman, some ideas from Sophist
graphics and layout by BML Designs
Admiral Ozzel
9 HP
Ranged
Captain Piett
9 HP
Ranged
Shared Yellow Deck
2x Elite Stormtroopers
5 HP each
Ranged
Strong Ranged Minor Deck
Admiral Ozzel – 6 Talent Cards
3x FLEET ADMIRAL
A*D* The attack and defense values are equal to the number of Elite Stormtrooper cards you reveal in your hand.
2x CLUMSY AND STUPID
Move Ozzel and both Elite Stormtoopers up to 3 spaces each. Piett and all opposing majors take 3 damage. If Piett is destroyed by this card, Ozzel regains full health.
1x CHEAP SHOT
A3. If this card does damage, return it to your hand. Draw a card.
Captain Piett – 6 Talent Cards
2x ASSUME COMMAND
A4*. *If Ozzel has been destroyed, the attack value is 8.
2x BETRAYAL
A7. Ozzel takes 2 damage. If Ozzel is destroyed by this card, Piett regains full health.
2x SOMETHING SPECIAL PLANNED
If Piett is destroyed, Ozzel may play this card.
Move each Elite Stormtrooper up to 4 spaces each. Then each may choose a target it can attack to take 2 damage.
Path to Victory: Get both guys deal some damage, perhaps hurting each other, but then one kills off the other and heals up, then uses his cards without penalty to finish off his opponent.
Notes: They have some pretty big offense potentially, but damaging your own characters is a very high cost. Getting much value out of restoring to full health means you have to get them both hurt, which is tough to pull off.
Vassal X-Y: 1500, 1650
If you have all the Geektopia decks, this is in the same spot as Durge. Just delete that Durge extension, that’s a retired deck anyways.
I like this deck, but despite the fun double major/betrayal mechanic, my group can’t make it click. I think the issue, weirdly enough, is Fleet Admiral (FA).
I like FA: it’s a weaker Battlemind for a weaker character. However, Ozzel/Piett are squishy 9-HP majors, so you don’t want them to tank, and if the minors block (or attack), there’s fewer cards for FA. So either you sacrifice the minors for FA, or sacrifice FA for everything else. The second option seems to get better results, but this leaves Ozzel a mere meat-shield, and not a good one since his power defense (FA) isn’t powered up. At best he gets off two Clumsy and Stupids before he dies. (Hilarious card name.)
What if FA also said, “Return the topmost basic combat card in your discard pile to your hand?”
1. Your minors can freely block and attack, since you can recycle their cards.
2. You can’t get back *any* card like Obi’s Jedi Mind Trick; only basic combat cards, and you must plan ahead.
3. FA combos with itself. Maybe the first is only an A4, but the second will be an A5 and the third a D6.
4. Ozzel/Piett basic combat cards don’t power up FA, but you can use your final FA to get one back (likely for Piett to use.)
These are weak characters and their cards appropriately match their power level. Still, this deck has what it needs to win: direct damage to peck at enemies (its bread-and-butter cards), then Piett’s A7s and A8s to take things home. This FA tweak indirectly gives the group more staying power by letting Ozzel and the minors tank more, and gets Ozzel what he needs sooner so he can contribute more before he’s sacrificed. (It also gives him his own Path to Victory if Piett dies first.)
Smaller ideas:
— Swap “Cheap Shot” for a fourth FA.
— Make Cheap Shot an A4. (It *can* help get the minor cards FA needs, but with only one and it only doing A3, you can’t rely on it.)
— Make “Clumsy and Stupid” / “Betrayal” restore 2 HP if Ozzel or Piett are already dead when played. There’s still incentive to kill one for greater net gain (e.g. lose 2 Ozzel HP to gain 7 Piett), but the healing isn’t lost if he’s already dead.
— Swap “Cheap Shot” for a card both Ozzel and Piett can use to restore 2-3 HP if the other is dead.
— Swap “Cheap Shot” for a card that lets you search your discard pile (or draw pile?) for basic combat cards. Maybe named “It’s an older code.”
On the whole, no other Geektopia deck captures my imagination like this one. It takes planning (and a bit of luck), and I love that extra depth. Thanks for your patience reading this long post–don’t worry, I won’t do it again 🙂
Keep the ideas coming! I love your suggestions on Luke & Yoda, but I’m not too keen to make any changes to this one. I would encourage you to make those tweaks yourself, just get a pen and write on the cards.
I have seen them play a key role in team victories enough to not want to change them. I guess it depends who their opponent is, but I have seen them as pretty tough to bring down, tough to carve through all 28 hit points when spread across 4 characters all with decent defense. As you observed, they’re not supposed to be very strong and are there to make you laugh as much as anything, but they have enough ways to threaten you with direct damage and high attacks.