A Fated Duel

May 14, 2025 | Written by Peter Schumacher

A mere month ago, we showed off our first look at Legends of the Force, the next set of the Star Wars™: Unlimited trading card game. In that first look, we provided a brief glimpse at the two new Spotlight Decks that would release alongside the new set. These pre-built decks feature Force-wielding rivals Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn, and they're here to usher in the new set with a perfect demonstration of the new Force token mechanic.

Just like with the previous set, these decks include cards from older sets mixed in with the new ones to help create a more optimized experience for anyone who wants to pick one up and start playing. Today, we want to take a deeper look at the new cards you can find in the Legends of the Force Spotlight Decks, so without further ado, let's kick things off with a look at Darth Maul!

Charging into battle as an Aggression and Villainy leader, Darth Maul (Legends of the Force, 9) exemplifies using the Force for offensive purposes with his abilities. We covered his playstyle in the first look article, but to provide a quick recap, Maul's leader ability lets him spend your Force token to hit any two units for 1 damage each. Once he deploys to his unit side, Maul can deal that damage without costing your Force token, and since his deck comes with the common base Shadowed Undercity (Legends of the Force, 21), you can get your Force token back every time he (or another friendly Force unit) attacks!

Two instances of 1 damage that target different units may not seem like a lot at first, but don't underestimate how much that can add up! There are a lot of cards in Darth Maul's pre-built deck that benefit from your opponent's units having less than full HP. For example, Darth Maul's Lightsaber (Legends of the Force, 140) grants him a whopping +4 power and a single instance of Overwhelm, allowing him to use his newfound strength to demolish a wounded enemy unit and deal the excess damage to your opponent's base. If you chip down a unit's HP low enough, then you could Ambush them with Darth Tyranus (Legends of the Force, 231) or just outright defeat them with Darth Sidious (Legends of the Force, 39), Karis (Legends of the Force, 31), or Talzin's Assassin (Legends of the Force, 35).

This level of unrelenting offense is incredibly potent, but you may have noticed something about Darth Maul's ability: any time you trigger it, you have to deal 1 damage to two different units. If there comes a point where your opponent has less than two units in play, then you'll have to damage one of your own. Thankfully, Maul's deck comes with several units that actually want to be damaged a bit. For example, Pong Krell (Legends of the Force, 38) has Grit and an ability that lets him instantly defeat a unit with less remaining HP than his current power, which means every point of damage on him increases his potency. Likewise, the brutish creature Oggdo Bogdo (Legends of the Force, 63) hits hard and can heal itself whenever it defeats an enemy, but it can't attack at all unless it has at least 1 point of damage on it, which Maul can easily provide. Add in the Scimitar (Legends of the Force, 233) getting a power boost while it's damaged, and you can focus on attacking the enemy without worrying about the health of your own units!

The rest of Darth Maul's deck gives him some utility to round out his offensive options. The Nightsister Warrior (Legends of the Force, 59), Acolyte of the Beyond (Legends of the Force, 129), and Witch of the Mist (Legends of the Force, 154) are all great early-game units that can help you generate your Force token quickly. If you want to ping one of your own units but can't do so with Maul, you can equip a Sith Holocron (Legends of the Force, 138) to fulfill that role while also providing an extra power boost. If you want more damage to deal to your enemies, call on Merrin (Legends of the Force, 160) or the event Drain Essence (Legends of the Force, 41), both of which can also get you your Force token back at the same time. Once you have your Force token, you can use it to trigger the abilities on Infused Brawler (Legends of the Force, 156), Kylo Ren (Legends of the Force, 229), or Chirrut Îmwe (Legends of the Force, 67), or use it to prevent Savage Opress (Legends of the Force, 137) from damaging your own base. Top things off with Strikeship (Legends of the Force, 131) and Thralls of the Coven (Legends of the Force, 136) punching above their weight, and watch your opponent's base crumble!

Standing opposed to Darth Maul in the other Spotlight Deck is Qui-Gon Jinn (Legends of the Force, 16), a Cunning and Heroism leader. As we touched on in the first look article, Qui-Gon's ability lets him spend your Force token to return a friendly unit to your hand and then immediately play a non-Villainy unit for free, so long as it costs less than the returned unit. This lets him “refresh” his units in a way that lets him get multiple uses out of their When Played abilities, something that pairs well with Qui-Gon Jinn's Aethersprite (Legends of the Force, 197).

Naturally, Qui-Gon's pre-built deck comes packed with cards that have strong When Played abilities to maximize this playstyle. The Paladin Training Corvette (Legends of the Force, 99) can distribute multiple Experience tokens at once, Kelleran Beq (Legends of the Force, 100) can let you play a unit from your deck at a discount, and Maz Kanata (Legends of the Force, 111) allows you to perform a boosted attack with a Force unit. If you attach Qui-Gon Jinn's Lightsaber (Legends of the Force, 201) onto Qui-Gon himself, you can exhaust one or more of your opponent's units, perfectly setting them up for some damage from the Stinger Mantis (Legends of the Force, 198).

Any of those cards can provide benefits from triggering their When Played ability multiple times, but Qui-Gon's ability to return units to your hand has other uses as well. For example, the J-Type Nubian Starship (Legends of the Force, 194) nets you a card draw when it enters play, but causes you to discard a card when it's defeated. By using Qui-Gon's ability, you can pull the ship back into your hand before its When Defeated ability can trigger, and then immediately play another unit to replace it, such as a Youngling Padawan (Legends of the Force, 193) to get you your Force token back. You could also use Qui-Gon's ability to withdraw a wounded Jedi Sentinel (Legends of the Force, 196) and replace it with Obi-Wan Kenobi (Legends of the Force, 96), effectively trading one blocker for another.

The rest of Qui-Gon's deck further builds on synergy with “entering play” abilities as well as units with the Force trait. Depa Billaba (Legends of the Force, 199) can immediately swing into an enemy unit thanks to Ambush, which also gets you your Force token thanks to the common base Jedi Temple (Legends of the Force, 23). On your very next turn, you could spend your Force token to use Qui-Gon's ability to swap Depa Billaba for a lower-cost unit (such as the aforementioned Obi-Wan Kenobi), or you could instead use it on a potent event like Impossible Escape (Legends of the Force, 218) or The Will of the Force (Legends of the Force, 227). Playing a unique unit like Depa, Obi-Wan, or Anakin Skywalker (Legends of the Force, 190) can also trigger the ability on Luke Skywalker (Legends of the Force, 249), granting him a steady supply of Shield and Experience tokens. If that isn't enough Shield tokens for you, you can always play a Refugee of The Path (Legends of the Force, 242) to grant a Shield to your Obi-Wan or Jedi Sentinel, and if that isn't enough Experience tokens, you can drop a bunch of resources on a Curious Flock (Legends of the Force, 255), potentially turning them into a 7/7 unit. Once you're ready to go for the finishing blow, you can power up your favorite units with Luminous Beings (Legends of the Force, 104), securing the win with a potent stat boost!

All in all, where Darth Maul's deck embodies “relentless offense,” Qui-Gon Jinn's deck embodies “adaptability and quick thinking.” Each is well suited for facing off against the other, and both are worth adding to your collection!

And with that, you now know all the new cards that you can find in the Legends of the Force Spotlight Decks. Check out the image above to see the full card list for each deck, including all the returning cards from previous sets. Even with everything we've shown today, there's still plenty to look forward to as we march onto the launch of the set in full. Keep an eye out for more previous in the coming weeks!