Action Compression or 'The Lunge' in Twin Suns

 

Twin Suns pacing is quite different from Premiere.  In Premiere you could argue it's a race, whereas in Twin Suns its more nuanced than that.  Being the first to eliminate a player does not guarantee a game win, and veteran Twin Suns players will always attempt to balance damage on opponents bases until the right moment presents itself to lunge for the elimination, thus triggering the last phase.

It is at this point of the game that turns take much longer, as people attempt to math out whether now is the right time to eliminate a player or not.  I'm sure everyone has been in that situation at some time where you have lethal against an opponent, but it will require multiple turns to accomplish.  And if you take the first action, you run the risk of another opponent finishing the job before you get to your next turn.

 What better way to throw off your opponents math than to strategize your deck around surprise/hidden lunge tech.  Surprise Strike and other events that give you extra power is of course one way to do it.  Another way is via what I heard the FFG developers call 'Action Compression'.  I've also heard 'Action Cheating' as another term, I believe it means the same thing.  Being able to attack with multiple units on your turn.  There are several cards that provide this ability, some are leaders, some are events, some are units. 

What's important to keep in mind; Action Compression in the early turns in Twin Suns isn't quite the best use of resources.  With the 'table' wanting to keep the bases health equalized, doing early damage really brings less strategic value than it would in a heads up format.  You want to slot in Action Compression less so in Twin Suns than other formats, like maybe a couple or three cards total.  You certainly don't want one in your opening hand.  Leaders with Action Compression built in are obviously amazing choices as you can use the deploy turn to great effect.  Leia Organa (1) is one of the most popular leaders for good reason.

I'd certainly consider at least a couple of these AC options in your Twin Suns deck.  If you have lunge options, it may grant you victory over your opponents that don't have the option themselves. 

Popular posts from this blog

Event : Private Manufacturing

Image
  Dust off this card from Twilight of the Republic, I think it might get it's moment to shine for the next 3 months.  Even though this card is intended to rotate out when A Lawless Time releases, with Spy tokens being released in Secrets of Power, this card could very well see some play.  Compare with other similarly costed 'draw 2' cards : Do or Do Not.  Does not require aggression aspect, nor does it need to use the force. Enforced Loyalty.  You need double command and defeat a friendly unit for the same cost. Mission Briefing.  Does not require aggression and costs one less.  With mission briefing you can choose the player, but why are you not choosing yourself?  In fact this card may have a resurgence in Twin Suns games as well.  Many token units were released since this card was released.  Card draw is arguably more important in Twin Suns since you only have one copy of each card.  They're probably all legendary and rare cards....
Read more

This is a Twin Suns Card : Seasoned Fleet Admiral

Image
  If you aren't aware yet, just so we're all on the same page with this unit, I'm gonna spoil the broken nature of this unit first.  In Twin Suns, the plan token ensures that as long as you don't pick the plan token, the Seasoned Fleet Admiral will be guaranteed to give out an XP token to itself or another unit near the end of every phase at a minimum .  As long as Twin Suns still uses the plan token to draw a card that is.  So on that alone he's worth putting in your deck.  Let's add to his list of pros: He is base command so he'll fit in villainy or heroism decks He's an Official, which is a useful trait now that Secrets of Power is out. He can be played turn 1.  Start getting that XP token value ASAP.  Several popular Twin Suns leaders draw cards.  Catch them off guard, or at the very least, stall their card draw. He has the stats of a turn 1 play that will potentially survive to turn 2.  Unless someone is playing with  Crushing Blo...
Read more

This Is A Twin Suns Card : No Bargain

Image
  I agree this card isn't super amazing, but value wise I've started to feel it's worth putting in.  Every time I've played it, it felt like a positive outcome for me.  Seeing my opponents faces is all the evidence I need.  Make no mistake, this card is mostly about discarding your opponents card(s) for 2 resources, and you also, as a bonus, draw a card for an additional resource.   Stalling on my 2nd or 3rd turn to make sure my opponents future turns are potentially ruined?  Especially in 5+ player games?  Absolutely worth the value.  The hard part is recognizing when you should play it.  Keep tabs on players hands.  When it gets down to 2 cards in hand for a player is usually the best time to strike.  You know at least one player will discard a card they don't want to which is enough value in my opinion. Note, it's about to be rotated in Premiere.  Another reason why I love Twin Suns so much, all the cards are still lega...
Read more