Hope for the Force
Also introducing our newest “sponsor” at the end!
When the force mechanic was first revealed there was a great deal of skepticism. A mechanic that has requirements in order to just be able to unlock it and then requires actions and cards in order to actually use it felt like it was going to be too slow for what you would benefit.
There have been about 16 units revealed so far that “Use the Force”. Not all of them are good of course, but some of them look excellent. To the point where there now seems to be hope and excitement for the force mechanic.
Let’s look at some highlights so far.
Karis & Talzin’s Assassin
Both of these allow you to use your Force token for an immediate board impact at very low resource costs. Karis is an incredible 2-cost unit with 2/4 stats already with the ability to trade up or grab a 2 for 1. Talzin’s Assassin may not have as competitive stats, but her ability will almost always guarantee a 2 for 1 for only 4 resources.
Itinerant Warrior
This is the kind of card a hero vigilance deck absolutely loves. A fairly sized unit with a shield to offer some good board control, and built in heal 3 damage. Any force deck that can use this, will use this.
Jedi Consular
This card did not look very good at first until we saw the leader Avar Kriss to guarantee you can go into round 2 with a force token. Jedi Consular can easily ramp you into a 5-cost unit on round 2! He’s sure to stick around for at least 1 activation with 4 health.
Ki-Adi-Mundi
What can you say about him other than, wow! Drawing 2 cards is an incredible payoff in an aspect pairing that does not have a lot of ways to draw extra cards. Ki-Adi is one of the best cards we’ve seen, period.
Mace Windu
The hits just keep rolling in for Hero Aggression. This version of Mace Windu is one bad mother fu….you know. Unlike Wrecker, Mace’s ability can target space units, making him very difficult to play around. He’s just a fantastic card, and he and Ki-Ado are only uncommon!
Baylan Skoll
Baylan needs some help to reach his full potential, but his ability is excellent. He can be used to replay a unit with a when played effect on your side, or to exhaust an opponent’s unit. He’s very versatile with a lot of potential.
Vernestra Rwoh
You may have heard of a nice little card from Spark of Rebellion called Millenium Falcon. As long as you have the force token, Vernestra is a Millenium Falcon on the ground, and we know how good that can be. As long as your opponent doesn’t defeat her immediately after she is played, she can get you the force token right back with one of the new common bases. She’s a great card and sure to see some play.
How are you feeling about the upcoming force mechanic? We love to hear your thoughts!
Please check out our new “sponsor” below. It is with the support of you and companies like this that keep Porg Depot going.
Collectible Card Gaming Consulting and Counseling Group (CCGCCG)
At Collectible Card Gaming Consulting and Counseling Group (CCGCCG), we are committed to elevating the future of collectible card games through rigorous, impartial — and frequently uninvited — analysis.
Through our Enterprise Services Division, Performance Optimization & Research Group: Deck Evaluation, Publishing Oversight, and Tactics, we partner with leading publishers to analyze pre-release cards, evaluate set balance, and gently redirect catastrophic design decisions before they are forever immortalized in foil.
Whether you’re seeking validation, correction, or a firm but polite “what were you thinking?”, our team of credentialed cardboard specialists provides detailed, jargon-rich reports that sound smart — and occasionally are.
We specialize in identifying:
- Combo cards that were clearly designed at 2AM
- Six-cost characters with no board impact and no friends
- Keywords that probably shouldn’t exist
Our mission is simple:
To protect your players from your worst instincts, and your game from your boldest ideas.
”We break the meta. So you don’t accidentally do it.”
CCGCCG offers 3 tiers of unparalleled services depending on location in the design process and level of paranoia within your design team. Our team members can take your paranoia and turn it into a predictive analytics loop that confirms your fears, validates your guesses, and deletes the spreadsheet before anyone else sees it.
“We don’t playtest — we playjudge.”
Tier 3 – Bronze Gut-Check Service™
A fast, affordable sanity check for when your design team just needs to know. We’ll review five cards, circle two in red, and say “yikes” — no fluff, no sugarcoating.
- Send us 5 cards
- We’ll circle two in red and say “yikes.”
Tier 2 – Silver Mid-Tier Panic Package™
A mid-level safety net for teams who suspect something’s wrong but can’t agree on what. Includes up to 20 card evaluations, access to one simulated meta scenario (grim by default), and 10 “Are You Kidding Me with This?” stickers for internal distribution.
- Covers up to 20 individual card reviews
- Comes with ten “Are You Kidding Me with This?” stickers
Tier 1 – Platinum Oversight Package™
Our top-tier service offers a full 10-point inspection, and is perfect for any team looking to avoid post-launch apologies, emergency errata, and midnight print recalls with Sharpie corrections
- Power Level Calibration
- Are these stats based on math or on vibes?
- Meta Stability Analysis
- We simulate 1,000 fake metas. 998 of them end in regret, litigation, or both.
- Curve Integrity Verification
- Does your 5-drop really do anything? Be honest.
- Keyword Bloat Assessment
- You made up three new mechanics when no one used the Last 2.
- Combo Risk Evaluation
- If a card enables a turn 3 win, we flag it with a glitter bomb.
- Flavor-Function Harmony Index
- Is this a Wookiee diplomat with Stealth and Frenzy? Let’s rethink.
- Redundancy Sweep
- Three cards that do the same thing, but worse? We file a citation.
- Underperformance Analysis
- We identify your “bulk rares” before the community does.
- Pre-Errata Forecast
- If your card contains more than three commas, we preemptively queue the reprint, apology tweet, and designer relocation paperwork.
- Lore-Coherence Justification Report
- Using a proprietary rubric, we score each card on narrative alignment, thematic execution, and whether your Droideka has a shield or not.
With your 10-point inspection, you will receive a fully detailed report along with our quick-reference guide showing where your cards land. This includes card-by-card verdicts using our proprietary evaluation tiers — from “Nailed It!” to “Design Emergency — Call the Printer!” — as well as annotated commentary, color-coded performance flags, and our recommended level of post-launch damage control. For particularly egregious entries, we may also include suggested apology tweets, emergency reprint options, or lore patches to help you pretend it was intentional.
Sample Report:
🟥 Sample CCGCCG Redlined Card Review
🧾 Card Name: Momentum Shift
Cost: 3
Type: Event
Effect: “Ready a unit. It gains Shield and Sentinel until end of turn. Draw a card.”
📋 Reviewer Notes (in red):
- ❌ “Ready a unit” — Ambiguous. Is this a friendly unit? An enemy? A dog? Please clarify.
(Suggested rewrite: “Ready a unit you control, unless that unit is already emotionally ready.”) - ❌ “Gains Shield and Sentinel” — Why both? Why now? Why for 3 resources?
(Flagged for power stacking with no counterplay.) - ❌ “Draw a card” — Oh good, it replaces itself too. How convenient.
(We ran this through our Combo Sensitivity Index. It broke.)
🔍 Additional Observations:
- Flavor Incongruence: The name “Momentum Shift” implies a comeback or major turning point. The effect implies “You forgot to attack last turn.”
(Suggested rename: “Desperate Shuffle” or “Fine, You Win.”) - Keyword Abuse Detected: Adding both Shield and Sentinel with no condition is a hallmark of what we call “protective overcompensation.” This is a Tier 2 design infraction.
🧠 CCGCCG Verdict™:
Grade: D+
“This card is like giving a porg a lightsaber and pretending it’s fine.”
Recommendations:
- Reduce to 2-cost
- Remove card draw
- Add shame reminder in flavor text
Don’t just take our word for it! Per internal policy, we are required to present several testimonials from previous clients — even the ones who disagreed with our assessment of “utterly unplayable.”
“They told us our 4-cost card was ‘basically a nap in cardboard form.’ We laughed… until the tournament data came in.”
— Lead Designer, Definitely Not From FFG
“Their Pre-Errata Forecast labeled one of our cards ‘a mistake so potent it might create its own subreddit.’ We cut it the same day.”
— Junior Developer, Who Now Double-Checks Everything
“They sent our card back with nothing but the word ‘Why?’ written in red pen across the art. It was… eye-opening.”
— Creative Director, Now in Therapy
“I only submitted five cards. They told me three were illegal in most formats, and the other two were emotionally damaging.”
— Gold Tier Client, Probably Not Coming Back (But Should)
Meet the Team
Ellison M. Draftwright
CEO, Chief Strategic Consultant & Senior Lore Realignment Officer
As co-founder of CCGCCG, Ellison brings over 20 years of narrative skepticism and flavor-first sabotage to the consulting process. Known for his questionably deep eye contact and refusal to evaluate a card without “feeling its emotional resonance,” Ellison ensures all clients leave with fewer mechanics and more shame. He holds an honorary Doctorate in Thematic Integrity from the Millersburg Academy for Advanced Domestic Cartography (posthumous)
Dr. Clarice Gridwatch
Director of Meta Impact Forecasting
A probabilistic savant and former underground stat blogger, Clarice now heads our Meta Impact Lab. She once predicted a Tier 0 deck before the set was even spoiled — using only a leaked card back and a vague developer tweet. She holds a PhD in Theoretical Tempo from the Dunsmuir School of Timber Law & Micro-History.
Jeb “Sideboard” Laramie
Head of Synergy Diagnostics & Combo Suppression
Jeb is a reformed chaos player with strong opinions about tutors, loops, and people who think 3-card combos are “fun.” He personally reviews every combo submission with a sigh and a red pen. Educated at Boardstate Technical College Distance Learning Center, Jeb holds a B.S. in Red Zone Management and an expired Judge Certification.
Camillo Vorx, MBA, B.S., TMI
Senior Consultant, Keyword Ethics & Compliance
Camillo enforces our three-keyword limit and maintains the official Watchlist of Mechanic Violations. He is responsible for the cancellation of at least four mechanics and one holiday set. He received his MBA from St. Elmo’s College of Interpretive Farming – Bee Lick Campus: School of Game Design.
Lyle Bort
Vice President of Redundancy & Curve Compliance
Lyle audits every mana curve submitted to P.O.R.G.D.E.P.O.T. He has removed more 5-drops than anyone else alive. He is feared. He is correct. He holds dual degrees in Deck Construction Law and Applied Bell Curves from University of Mineral Point at Lost Prairie Southern Campus.
Mittens
Office Cat & Head of Vibe Verification
Frequently sits on underwhelming rares. Rejects keyword bloat instinctively. Once solved a board state by knocking a deck off the table. Unironically the highest-rated employee on internal reviews. Holds no formal education but has audited several high-level design meetings by force. Mittens is currently the Honorary Chair of Transdimensional Arts from the Schrödingham College for Quantum Disobedience.
