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#57 I've Been Trained in Defense
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Entry: 6 August 1999
The Unofficial Jedi's Guide to the YJCCG Galaxy.
Compiled by jinnandtonic, August 1999.
Thoughts? You like this? You hate this? Email me!
The Unofficial Jedi's Guide to the YJCCG Galaxy is THE card strategy reference for Decipher's Young Jedi CCG. Starting with the first expansion, 'The Menace of Darth Maul', each individual card will be discussed until it can be discussed no further. Nevertheless, if I have missed something, email me at jinnandtonic@yahoo.com.au, and I will update it accordingly.
jinnandtonic's Grades:
Economy: B
Pretty good, overall. I've Been Trained in Defense gives Padme Power +3 in battle. It also has a fairly good Destiny of 4, which, contrary to popular belief, is *much better* than 3. This card is very similar to Enough of This Pretense, and as a result, grades for this card will be very similar to grades on that other card.
Decipher: A-
Pretty much faultless stuff from Decipher. The image is great, and the idea *almost* meshes perfectly. The only quibble I have with I've Been Trained In Defense is that the title of the card doesn't quite fit with the idea. Why? Well then on some occasions, Padme is 'trained in defense' but others (e.g. when you don't have this card in hand) she is not. Also, shouldn't this card work for *all* handmaidens? Maybe I am reading *way* too much into it, but that is the way I read this card, and it just doesn't quite work. Still pretty good however: I'd be satisfied if most cards were at this level in terms of Starwarsianism.
Overall Usefulness: B
A pretty useful card: you only need Padme in play to use it, and it is reasonably effective when you do use it. It is especially effective at the moment if you are thinking of playing multiples of Padme Naberrie / Handmaiden: she needs the support because her major location bonus is not yet usable (e.g. Tatooine / Mos Espa is not yet released). It is of course another card that you will have to ration, at least until a different stoplight coloured version of Padme is released in future expansion (then you can go wild).
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CARD FACTS:
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UNCOMMON, YELLOW-DOT, BATTLE CARD
Destiny: 4
Game Text:
ooo Use with Padme.
Flavor Text: "I can take care of myself." -- Padme Naberrie
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SPECIFIC INTERACTING CARDS:
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So who exactly has been trained in defense?
Padme Naberrie, Handmaiden
(#5, Menace of Darth Maul, Rare, Blue-Dot)
Padme Naberrie / Handmaiden is one of those rare characters that are includable in multiple themes, simply because of her multiple talents. She is a cool theme character (e.g. Padme-theme, Natalie-theme, Handmaiden-theme, Royal-theme) and she also has a high Destiny (e.g. High Destiny-theme) which can be used to your advantage. If you are including 5+ copies of Padme Naberrie / Handmaiden in your deck, you will probably want at least 1-2 copies of I've Been Trained In Defense, increasing to perhaps 3-4 when you go the 10 multiples.
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IN BRIEF:
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Firstly, I *haven't* been trained in defense. Just thought I better make that clear. Okay. I've Been Trained in Defense is another nice theme card for the Light mains of YJCCG. Clearly the Menace of Darth Maul (MoDM) expansion has been used to allow for lots of Battle cards centering on mains, with a few Battle cards centering on non-uniques thrown in for good measure. This card is basically identical to Enough of This Pretense, but this is actually a cool thing, considering Queen Amidala *is* Padme Naberrie on days when she just really couldn't be bothered with all that make-up. I've Been Trained in Defense is another card you will overlook until you suddenly decide a Padme-theme just might work, and then you will be pleasantly surprised.
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GENERAL PLAY TIPS:
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* If you intend to try a Natalie Portman deck (check the Decks section for an example), here is a nice ratio to try out. With 10 copies of Padme Naberrie / Handmaiden for blue and 5 copies each of Queen Amidala / Royal Leader and Queen Amidala / Ruler of Naboo for green, 2/3 of your characters and 1/3 of your deck will be one incarnation of Natalie Portman or another. For your yellow cards, try 3-4 copies of Enough of This Pretense, 3-4 copies of I've Been Trained In Defense and 2-4 copies of either The Negotiations Were Short or Yousa Guys Bombad. You can really afford Yousa Guys Bombad in this deck because of Padme's Destiny (5) and Queen Amidala's Destiny (6, both versions).
* Question: How about a 'Decoy' Battle card? Any ideas people? I am trying not to venture into SWCCG territory, but can't help it.
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ADDITIONS:
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Up to you. Think of anything else cool about his card, or combos that you have used to great effect? What about a particular game in which this card made you win? Send anything like that to jinnandtonic@yahoo.com.au and I'll add it here. Hmm. I would suggest that Padme Naberrie has also been trained in offense, judging on her actions in the movie.
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