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My Star Wars Unlimited Planetary Qualifier Experience

January 20, 2025

The Star Wars Unlimited competitive scene is heating up, and I had the chance to compete in the Dallas Planetary Qualifier (PQ) at Common Ground Games. This event had 113 players in attendance, making it one of the largest PQs to date!

In this blog post, I’ll break down my tournament goals, deck choice, and matchups round-by-round while sharing the highs, lows, and key takeaways from my experience.

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Setting My Tournament Goals 🎯

Going into the event, I had three main objectives:

1️⃣ Don’t lose Round 1 – A strong start is crucial since early losses hurt tiebreakers.
2️⃣ Win at least 4 matches – I wanted a positive record to validate my deck choice and preparation.
3️⃣ Stretch goal: Hit 5 wins – This would give me an outside shot at Top 8, depending on tiebreakers.

Deck Choice: Cad Bane - Tarkin Town 🔥

For this PQ, I decided to bring Cad Bane - Tarkin Town.

✅ Why Cad Bane?

  • One of my favorite Star Wars characters.

  • A midrange deck that blends aggression and control.

  • I own a graded Showcase variant of Cad Bane, making it even more special.

The Tournament Atmosphere 🌟

The event was held at Common Ground Games, one of the largest gaming stores in Dallas. With 113 players, the room was packed with competitive energy!

While this was a high-level event, the SWU community remains incredibly welcoming, making it a great place for both seasoned competitors and newer players.

Content Creators in Attendance

I also had the chance to meet and play alongside some well-known SWU content creators:

  • Dan da Man (Next Issue Podcast)

  • Twin Suns' “The Bucket Heads”

  • Justin & Tyler from Garbage Rollers – Tyler actually won the entire PQ with Anakin Blue!

With that, it was time to battle!

Round-by-Round Breakdown ⚔️

🔥 Round 1 – vs. Cad Bane Green (2-0 Win)

Strategy:

  • I wanted to go second so I could remove early units with Tarkin Town’s Epic Action.

Key Moments:

  • My opponent had no Round 1 plays, which gave me an early advantage.

  • When they played a 3-cost unit, I cleared it instantly with Cad Bane’s leader action + Tarkin Town.

✅ Result: Win 2-0 | Record: 1-0 – First goal achieved! 🎯

💰 Round 2 – vs. Qi’Ra ECL (2-0 Win)

Strategy:

  • I teched in 3 Krayt Dragons to counter this deck.

  • Bazine was key to discard Overwhelming Barrage and Superlaser Blast.

Key Moments:

  • Early Jabba play gave me a huge value boost on my tricks.

  • Bazine hit a crucial discard, disrupting my opponent’s game plan.

✅ Result: Win 2-0 | Record: 2-0

⚡ Round 3 – vs. Han Yellow (2-1 Win)

Strategy:

  • Destroy Millennium Falcon early.

  • Save Bazine to target Cunning.

Key Moments:

  • Game 1: I misplayed by not killing Plo Koon, which led to a Surprise Strike + LS-37 combo loss.

  • Game 3: I pulled off the Now There Are Two of Them + Zuckuss combo, securing the win.

✅ Result: Win 2-1 | Record: 3-0

🔥 Round 4 – vs. Jango Yellow (2-0 Win)

Strategy:

  • Similar approach as against Han Yellow.

Key Moments:

  • No Good to Me Dead saved me twice, shutting down Jango’s burst damage.

✅ Result: Win 2-0 | Record: 4-0 – Second goal achieved! 🎯

⚠️ Round 5 – vs. Palpatine ECL (Green) (1-2 Loss)

Strategy:

  • Stop my opponent’s ramp and push damage fast.

Key Moments:

  • Game 1: My opponent ramped insanely fast with Super Laser Technicians + Resupply.

  • Game 3: I had 2 Krayt Dragons in hand, but a well-timed Rukh wiped my board.

❌ Result: Loss 1-2 | Record: 4-1

⚠️ Round 6 – vs. Palpatine Yellow (0-2 Loss)

Strategy:

  • Lurking Tie Phantom was a huge problem, needing -2/-2 effects to counter.

Key Moments:

  • My opponent stole two of my best units with Traitorous.

  • I never drew Waylay, my best counter.

❌ Result: Loss 0-2 | Record: 4-2

⚠️ Round 7 – vs. Iden Blue (0-2 Loss)

Strategy:

  • Hard control decks counter my midrange playstyle.

Key Moments:

  • Every unit I played got answered instantly.

  • Came within 2 damage of winning Game 2 but ran out of gas.

❌ Result: Loss 0-2 | Final Record: 4-3

Final Thoughts & Takeaways 💭

Despite going 4-3, I was extremely happy with my performance. I achieved my first two goals and proved that Cad Bane - Tarkin Town is a strong deck.

Lessons Learned:

✅ More practice vs. Palpatine – This was clearly my toughest matchup.
✅ Tournament endurance is real – By Round 7, I was exhausted.
✅ Winning early is crucial – My strong 4-0 start helped me secure a solid finish.

What’s Next? 🚀

I might travel to another PQ in February, but in the short term, I’ll be competing at my LGS Store Showdown next weekend with a Darth Vader deck.

Have you played in a Star Wars Unlimited PQ yet? What deck did you bring, and how did it perform? Drop a comment below and let’s talk SWU strategy!

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