We got our hands on the early limited data from Protect the Pod, the most popular and most accurate online limited simulator for Star Wars Unlimited. Here's what players are reaching for in each across the first few weeks of online play. Preview-grade, and early, but the picks are already telling.

Limited is a game of what you take and what you keep. In draft, that decision is made one card at a time, under pressure, with the pack still moving around the table. In sealed, it's made once, from whatever six packs happen to hand you. ASH has only been open online for a few weeks, but players have already logged enough drafts and enough sealed pools to show what the format reaches for first — and what it builds around when the choice is made for it.

Two formats, two pictures. We're keeping them side by side rather than scoring one against the other: the samples are early, and the two formats ask genuinely different questions.

First Picks

When an ASH pack cracks, a few cards leave first. The single most-grabbed pack-one, pick-one card is [[The Mandalorian|the-mandalorian-devoted-rescuer]] — the four-cost unit, not the leader. [[Koska Reeves|koska-reeves-warrior-of-mandalore]] and [[Ninth Sister|ninth-sister-hulking-inquisitor]] sit just behind it, close enough to call a three-way tie at the top of the pack.

But the card players most reliably grab the moment they see it is [[The Darksaber|the-darksaber-icon-of-leadership]]: a {{darksaber_first_pick_pct}}% first-pick rate, the highest of any card in the set. A four-cost Command upgrade that turns an ordinary body into a finisher is worth bending a draft around, and drafters clearly agree.

Below the marquee picks, a tier of cards turns up in nearly every finished draft deck no matter who's building it. [[Whistling Birds|whistling-birds]] leads — as close to mandatory as ASH limited has — trailed by [[Koska Reeves|koska-reeves-warrior-of-mandalore]], [[Lang|lang-arrogant-mercenary]], [[Elzar Mann|elzar-mann-haunted-by-a-vision]] and [[Jod Na Nawood|jod-na-nawood-keeping-secrets]]. These are the role-players that define an ASH draft deck once the bombs are spoken for.

And the leaders drafters build toward: [[Cad Bane|cad-bane-still-faster-than-you]] is the most-selected, with [[Greef Karga|greef-karga-gracious-magistrate]] and [[Ezra Bridger|ezra-bridger-it-s-now-or-never]] next in line.

Bombs

Sealed asks a different question. You don't draft toward a plan — you open six packs and play the best cards in front of you. In ASH sealed, "best" means the bombs, and the inclusion rates make that plain.

[[The Darksaber|the-darksaber-icon-of-leadership]] tops sealed inclusion: if it's in your pool, it's in your deck. [[Whistling Birds|whistling-birds]], [[Anakin Skywalker|anakin-skywalker-you-were-right-about-me]] — a five-cost Special — and [[Pre Vizsla|pre-vizsla-strong-willed-ruler]], an eight-cost Legendary finisher, are the cards sealed decks make room for almost on sight. [[Koska Reeves|koska-reeves-warrior-of-mandalore]] closes out the most-included group.

The leaders sealed players settle on: [[Cad Bane|cad-bane-still-faster-than-you]] leads again, with [[Ahsoka Tano|ahsoka-tano-trust-in-the-force]] and [[Greef Karga|greef-karga-gracious-magistrate]] right behind.

The First Games

All of that is about what players pick and build. What about what actually wins?

Honestly — it's too early to say. Real ASH limited games are only just starting to come through our plugin: roughly {{plugin_games}} of them so far, scattered across about {{plugin_archetypes}} leader-and-splash archetypes, none with more than {{plugin_max_per_archetype}} games to its name. That's enough to confirm people are sitting down and playing the format. It is nowhere near enough to rank anything, and we're not going to pretend otherwise. Win rates will come when the games do. For now, the only honest figure is "a few."

How Early Is Early

Worth saying plainly: ASH has not had a single real life tournament yet. Everything above is preview-grade, drawn entirely from online play — {{draft_pools}} draft pools and {{sealed_pools}} sealed pools, built from {{total_picks}} individual picks across {{drafts}} drafts by {{drafters}} drafters.

It's a real sample, large enough to show what the format reaches for and small enough that the picture will still move. Our best guess: the bombs probably won't budge much; bombs are bombs. The role-player tier and the back half of the leader board are where the next few thousand games will rewrite this.

Check back when ASH hits paper. The picks tell you what online players believe for now. The games will tell you whether they're right.