Star Wars: Unlimited · Aspect Combinations
Cunning Villainy (Yellow-Black) in Star Wars: Unlimited
Cunning Villainy is the dark side's scheming pairing. Its leaders play events cheaply, put Underworld units into play with Ambush and turn the opponent's cards and units against them.
Cunning Villainy means a leader with the Cunning (yellow) and Villainy (black) aspects. Schemers and crime lords: discard, capture, cheap events and the Underworld, winning by disrupting the opponent's plan.
Also called Yellow Villainy or yellow-black. As of October 2026, 11 of the 108 leaders in the six Premier-legal sets have exactly these two aspects.
How Cunning Villainy Plays
Cunning's events, exhaust effects, Ambush and discard meet Villainy's Underworld, Sith, Separatists and Imperial officials. The deck spends less effort on big units than on making the opponent's turns worse.
Jabba the Hutt, Crime Boss returns a friendly Underworld unit to hand to make a Credit token, and deployed, he plays Underworld units with Ambush if you spent a Credit on them. Barriss Offee, We Have Become Villains uses the Force to play an event for 1 less. Emperor Palpatine, According to My Design gives an exhausted friendly unit an Advantage token for each other friendly unit. Admiral Trench discards an expensive card to draw a fresh one, and when deployed reveals 4 cards, the opponent discards 2 of them, and you draw one of the rest.
Barriss Offee is a Jedi of the Republic by trait and a Villainy leader by aspect, which is a useful reminder that traits and aspects are separate. The deck builds around what the leader rewards: Underworld units for Jabba, events for Barriss, a wide board of exhausted attackers for Palpatine.
How aspects and the aspect penalty work →What It Does Well, and What It Doesn't
Strengths
- Disruption: discard, capture and exhaust effects that break the opponent's plan for the round.
- Cheap events and Ambush units give it answers that come down at the right moment.
- Leaders that fit very different decks, from Underworld credits to event-heavy Force decks.
Weaknesses
- Fewer large units than the Command pairings, so a board of big units can outclass it.
- Many effects slow the opponent rather than defeat units, which has to be followed up.
- Heroism cards cost at least 2 more, so the hero side's protection and healing are out at printed cost.
Cunning Villainy Leaders
Four leaders that show what the pairing does, not a ranking. Each has exactly the Cunning and Villainy aspects; the leader's front is shown, and its card page has the deployed side.
Jabba the Hutt, Crime Boss
A Lawless Time #015
Underworld and Credits
Barriss Offee, We Have Become Villains
Legends of the Force #013
Cheaper events
Emperor Palpatine, According to My Design
Ashes of the Empire #015
Advantage for a wide board
Admiral Trench, chk-chk-chk-chk
Jump To Lightspeed #014
Filters expensive cards
- Jabba the Hutt, Crime Boss: For 1 resource, returns a friendly Underworld unit to its owner's hand to create a Credit token. Deployed, he plays an Underworld unit from your hand, and it gains Ambush if you defeated a Credit to pay for it.
- Barriss Offee, We Have Become Villains: Uses the Force to play an event from your hand for 1 less. Deployed, she does it without exhausting, as long as you have the Force to use.
- Emperor Palpatine, According to My Design: Chooses an exhausted friendly unit and gives it an Advantage token for each other friendly unit. Deployed at 7 resources, he does it on attack.
- Admiral Trench, chk-chk-chk-chk: Discards a card that costs 3 or more from your hand to draw a card. When deployed, he reveals your top 4 cards, an opponent discards 2 of them, and you draw 1 of the rest.
Signature Cards
Cards printed in exactly these two aspects, so any Cunning Villainy leader plays them at printed cost whatever the base.
Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Schemer
Secrets of Power #193
Capture or ready
Marchion Ro, Eye of the Nihil
Legends of the Force #186
Doubles Raid
Darth Traya, Lord of Betrayal
Secrets of Power #188
Readies your leader
- Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Schemer: When played, an opponent may choose a unit for him to capture; if they don't, he readies. When defeated, a friendly unit captures an enemy non-leader unit in the same arena.
- Marchion Ro, Eye of the Nihil: A 6-cost 6/7 with Raid. Each friendly unit's Raid is doubled, which turns Raid units into a fast clock on the base.
- Darth Traya, Lord of Betrayal: A 3-cost 2/5. On attack, she may ready a leader that is not deployed, so its action can be used twice in a round.
Choosing a Base
Your base adds one aspect icon to the two on your leader. A base of another aspect gives the deck a third aspect; a Cunning base gives it a second Cunning icon instead. The third column counts the cards each choice plays at printed cost, out of the 1,409 non-leader, non-base cards in the Premier sets as of October 2026 (a reprint counted once).
Disruption buys time; the base decides what the deck does with it. Aggression adds damage and Raid for a faster deck, and pairs with Marchion Ro; Command adds larger units to win the board; Vigilance adds removal that defeats what the tricks only delayed. A Cunning base gives up about 220 cards for Cunning's double-icon cards, such as Libertine, and the base's ability.
Only 5 cards in the Premier sets print two Cunning icons, such as Zuckuss, The Findsman and Libertine, Under New Ownership. That is why a doubled base is the exception. Every Heroism card costs at least 2 more whichever base you pick, since bases never provide Heroism or Villainy.
Other Aspect Combinations
Frequently Asked Questions
What leaders are Cunning Villainy in Star Wars: Unlimited?
As of October 2026, 11 leaders in the six Premier-legal sets have exactly Cunning and Villainy, including Jabba the Hutt (Crime Boss), Barriss Offee (We Have Become Villains), Emperor Palpatine (According to My Design) and Admiral Trench (chk-chk-chk-chk).
What base should a Cunning Villainy deck use?
A third aspect raises the cards you can play at printed cost from about 321 to between 537 and 540 of the Premier pool. Aggression suits a fast Raid deck, Command a board-control deck, and Vigilance a removal-heavy one.
Why is Barriss Offee a Villainy leader if she is a Jedi?
Aspects follow the side a card's version of the character is on, not its traits. Barriss Offee, We Have Become Villains has the Jedi and Republic traits and the Cunning and Villainy aspects, so she leads a dark side deck and can still use cards that check for Jedi.
Build a Cunning Villainy deck and see what it really costs.
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