Originally posted to the YJ discussion list in response to a request from Decipher to know what we thought of EMoDM Ok, now that I've had a chance to say what I think of the packaging, I'll review the cards themselves, treating them as if they were normal rares.  Note: the more favorable reviews are lower down ;-)

Darth Maul:  Both my favorite and most hated card of the set.  I said the cards aren't broken; multiple copies of enhanced Maul seems to be the exception.  Currently I cannot think of any way to reliably beat an Enhanced Maul deck; would anyone care to inform me?  IIRC, when BoN came out, the argument was that his double-sided saber wasn't overpowered because a Maul deck would generally be full of low destinies.  People used it anyway, and it was still powerful.  Now you can build Maul decks where the only low destinies are the sabers and transporters.  When Maul is, on average, 18 power without a battle card, how do you win? But dang, it's fun to drop Maul and a Blaster Rifle on one turn without needing an Effect to do it! ;-)

Qui-Gon: The LS equivalent of Maul, I consider him *just* short of being broken.  The difference?  The LS has no equivalent of Maul's double-bladed lightsaber. Qui-Gon decks were already overpowered (readers of my posts know that my biggest peeve about YJ is the fact that 90% of decks are Maul/Qui-Gon) and the 6 destiny makes it more so...it takes a strong DS deck to beat one of these.

Mace Windu: This guy is just cool.  He doesn't get as much of a destiny boost as Qui-Gon, and while the normal Mace is pretty much the same as the normal Qui-Gon, the lack of a half-deploy version keeps him from being as popular to build a deck around.  (By the way, I'm looking for trade for his saber, in multiples ;-))  Giving him the bonus when using Wisdom of the Council is very nice thematically, and also makes WotC more useful; no longer is it rendered useless if your Jedi no longer encounter universal characters.  How cool do I think he is?  Last week I got one of him instead of a Maul ;-)

Tank: I'm sure plenty of people have written on the evil of tanks, so I won't bother. ;-)  A qualifier on my opinion: I have never played a tank deck, but I do use a few tanks to fill out my other decks.  While I know some people think the enhanced tank was an especially bad idea, I think this one is pretty balanced compared to Maul and Qui-Gon, although powerful.  Compared to the Assault Division tank, it gains a destiny, loses a deploy, gains an ability, and loses a bonus dot on the battle plains.  Compared to the Armored Division, it gains 4 destiny and a damage (and the ability) and loses a power + a bonus dot.  Why don't I think this is bad?  The tank isn't improved as much as the other cards in the set.  Overall, it's like the Maul: throwing one in a regular deck isn't a bad idea, but it isn't broken unless (possibly) if you build a deck around it.  Regular tanks are bad enough; a bunch of 6-destiny tanks with only 1 damage would be very annoying.  I may upgrade its status to broken if Enhanced Tank decks start popping up...I guess that's what Naboo JarJar is for, though ;-)

Sebulba: This card is a perfect example of what Decipher should be doing. Compared to MoDM Sebulba, he gains 3 destiny and loses a deploy, making him more useful, but these are balanced by the dotlessness and he is much less powerful than the others.  His special text gives us a reason to actually use Yoka to Bantha Poodoo.  Overall, not as exciting as the others, but a more balanced card.

Queen Amidala: Another good example of enhancing a card without breaking it.  Amidala was always 6 destiny, but the 2 power: 3 damage ratio really hurts, so the additional point of power is really nice.  The only other change, -2 damage when using her blaster, may not get as much use (she's 6 power + destiny, plus another power on Naboo!) but as she does die occasionally ;-) it's nice to have.  She's overshadowed by the other cards in the set, but if she had been a normal rare rather than a $16 main, she would be highly chased after.  I can see no conceivable reason for not replacing a QA-RoN with a QA-Cunning Warrior if you have one, but neither can I see her being called broken.  Like Sebulba, an excellent example of how the white dot cards should be handled.

In conclusion: hate the packaging, think Maul, Qui-Gon, and Tank are overpowered, love the other 3. ;-)

- Spock