FFG announced that effective April 11th Jango Fett, Concealing the Conspiracy; Triple Dark Raid; and DJ, Blatant Thief will be suspended. These cards join the already-suspended Boba Fett, Collecting the Bounty. Why these cards were suspended is no mystery, and perhaps most people weren’t at all shocked by FFG’s announcement. Most players were probably elated at the news.
While I do agree that the suspension is warranted, there’s something more troubling than that, and that is the precedent that has been set.
If we rewind back to the very beginning of Twilight of the Republic, FFG announced right from the get-go that Boba would be suspended. The PQ results were definitely telling the story of a meta dominated by Boba Fett. It didn’t even matter which Aspect base Boba was paired with: they were all oppressive in their own right. Suspending Boba immediately heralded in a new meta and it was done at the very beginning of the new set, allowing players a chance to experiment with their new decks before PQ season.
This time it’s different: we’re a month into Jump to Lightspeed and now players that have been running Jango need to shift gears and find a new identity. Boba Fett, Any Methods Necessary is still an option, but without Triple Dark Raid, maybe not so much. Cad Bane is most likely the heir apparent to Jango, though his play style is still different. So while, yes, Jango’s suspension was warranted and a new meta will definitly arise, it still leaves a bitter taste.
The main thing that I think really worries me is: how did we get to this point? Boba I get: he arrived in the first set and quickly became an example of what does an over-statted leader card look like. Jango was already developed before the sins of his cloned son were becoming obvious through tournament results, and even during the Shadows of the Galaxy meta he wasn’t that bad (probably because everyone was playing Boba). But the grace period ends there.
The designers already had enough metrics by the time Jump to Lightspeed was being developed that cards like War Juggernaut make players question if the designers were even paying attention. It’s not all that hard to connect the dots between a unit that can deal damage to both arenas and a leader that benefits from enemy units being damaged. But here we are: the cards have already been printed and yeah, they enabled Jango decks to be oppressive.
Suspending cards is a natural in the lifecycle of a card game. The designers don’t have the wealth of the whole fan base during production to see potential pitfalls. But when players align themselves with certain leaders: whether they love seeing that character in Star Wars media, they have that card’s showcase, or they just like the playstyle that leader offers, it becomes hard to suddenly give that up. And unfortunately it seems when a problem card arises, it’s most likely going to be a leader. The next time that player picks a new leader to buy into, there’s always going to be that nagging thought: what if the leader is “too good” and joins the Fetts in suspension?
FFG made the right call. There’s no doubt that a picture had been painted of a meta where you either played Jango or played against Jango (or both). I just hope that suspensions won’t need to happen as often, and if they do, that it’s at the beginning of a new set, not a month in.