Filip Szkudlarek’s Winning Deck: The Talzin Red Build That Won the First Galactic Championship

In July 2025, nearly 2,000 players descended on Las Vegas for the first ever Star Wars Unlimited Galactic Championship. When the dust settled after three days of competition, a Polish player named Filip Szkudlarek was crowned the game’s first Galactic Champion — piloting a Mother Talzin Red Force control deck that the competitive community hadn’t fully anticipated.

The 2026 Galactic Championship is July 24–26 in Las Vegas. One year later, the meta looks completely different. Here’s the full story of how Filip won, what happened to the deck after the championship, and what lessons still apply heading into 2026.

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The Tournament

The Galactic Championship took place July 25–27, 2025 at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas. It was the largest Star Wars Unlimited event ever held at the time, drawing players from across the US and Europe. Competitors battled through Day 1 and Day 2 to reach 73 survivors heading into the final day. Filip Szkudlarek, representing Poland, went wire to wire and defeated American player Ian Klein in the finals — Talzin Red Force versus Kylo Ren Tarkintown — in a tense three-game set decided by a well-timed Force Lightning play.

Filip became the first ever Star Wars Unlimited Galactic Champion.

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The Decklist

Leader / Base:

• Mother Talzin — Power Through Magick (Legends of the Force)
• Strangled Cliffs (Red Force Base)

Key Cards:

• Force Throw ×4
• Force Lightning ×4
• Ki-Adi-Mundi ×2
• Anakin, Champion of Mortis
• Supporting control and value package

The full decklist is available on SWUDB.com.

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How the Deck Worked

Mother Talzin Red was not a flashy deck. It won through disruption, timing, and resource efficiency rather than brute force or linear combo.

Early Game — Disruption First

Force Throw was the deck’s primary early tool. At one resource, it could destroy opposing units or disrupt leader plays before opponents could establish board presence. The goal wasn’t to race; it was to deny. Force Lightning was held in reserve for larger threats, deployed with surgical precision to prevent midgame snowballs rather than being used reactively.

Midgame — Board and Resource Control

Mother Talzin’s passive ability gave Filip consistent board presence without overextending. He used resource-efficient plays to stay ahead of opponent tempo, breaking up key pieces while slowly building toward a stronger late phase. The deck rarely did anything spectacular in the midgame — it just never fell behind.

Late Game — Closing It Out

The finisher package of Anakin, Champion of Mortis and Ki-Adi-Mundi created high-value board swing turns once the opponent’s threats were neutralized. In one key semifinal sequence, Filip used Ki-Adi-Mundi to activate a -3/-3 Anakin trigger that effectively ended the round.

Adaptation Under Pressure

When decklists became briefly public after Round 8, Filip used that information to adjust his sequencing and anticipate opponent tech choices. Rather than being thrown off, he leaned into his knowledge of the matchups and tightened his lines accordingly.

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Why It Won

Mother Talzin Red represented 7.46% of the field on Day 2 with 42 pilots, but posted a surprising negative performance rate overall — making Filip’s championship run a genuine story of individual mastery over a statistically underperforming combination. Three factors explain why it worked at the top:

Metagame positioning. Filip correctly identified that Kylo Ren Tarkintown and red removal-heavy lists were the decks to beat. Talzin was positioned to neutralize them while outlasting more synergy-dependent builds.

Execution. The deck demanded precise sequencing and timing. Force tokens had to be managed carefully, removal had to be deployed at the right moment, and resource plays had to stay efficient. Filip executed nearly flawlessly under the pressure of a world-level event.

Predictive play. When decklists went public, Filip adjusted. Many players would have been destabilized; he used it as an advantage.

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What Happened After the Championship

Force Throw appeared in just over half of the Top 64 decks at the Galactic Championship. Effective September 22, 2025 — less than two months after the event — Force Throw was suspended from Premier format. Fantasy Flight cited its consistently high success rate and its interaction with the Force token mechanic as the primary reasons. Force Throw remains legal in Twin Suns, Draft, and Sealed, but cannot be used in Premier organized play.

The suspension also coincided with the full rotation of Sets 1–3 in March 2026 — including Spark of Rebellion, where Force Throw was printed — so the card is now both suspended and rotated. The championship-winning version of this deck cannot be run in its original form in competitive play.

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Where Is Talzin Now — Heading Into 2026 Galactics?

Here’s where it gets interesting. Mother Talzin is still very much in the picture heading into the 2026 Galactic Championship (July 24–26, Las Vegas).

According to the SWU.fan tier list updated June 18, 2026 — based on 3,214 top-32 finishes across 167 qualifying tournaments — Mother Talzin Power Through Magick on Crystal Caves sits at B Tier with a 52.7% win rate across 163 competitive decks. She’s not the dominant force she was in 2025 but she’s still a legitimate competitive option.

The current meta heading into 2026 Galactics looks very different from last year:

• S Tier: Boba Fett, Any Methods Necessary (Lake Country) — 53.6% win rate, 613 decks — the clear dominant force
• A Tier: Lando Calrissian Full Sabacc (Lake Country) — 62.8% win rate — arguably the strongest performing deck by win rate
• A Tier: Obi-Wan Kenobi Courage Makes Heroes (Shadowed Undercity) — 52% win rate
• B Tier: Mother Talzin Power Through Magick (Crystal Caves) — 52.7% win rate

Talzin’s control philosophy — patience, disruption, forcing opponents into unfavorable exchanges — still works. She just has to operate without Force Throw and within a completely different card pool after rotation.

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What Filip’s Win Still Teaches Us Going Into 2026

The 2026 Galactic Championship introduces one major new element: limited formats are now part of the event. The 2026 Championship is a hybrid — mostly Premier Constructed with Draft and Sealed mixed in. That changes preparation significantly.

But the core lessons from Filip’s 2025 run translate directly:

Read the meta, don’t just follow it. Filip didn’t play the most popular deck. He played the deck best positioned to beat the most popular decks. With Boba Fett dominating the current meta heading into Galactics, the question smart players are asking is: what’s positioned to beat Boba?

Build your deck with confidence. Open decklists after Round 8 rewarded players who believed in their lists. If you’re playing something you don’t fully understand, it will show when the pressure is on.

Execution matters more than deck choice. Filip’s Talzin was a negative performer across the field but he piloted it to a championship. The gap between a mediocre and excellent player on the same deck is enormous.

Practice limited. This is new for 2026. Draft skills didn’t matter in 2025. They matter now. Use Protect the Pod and Force Table to get reps in before July 24.

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Prepare for the 2026 Galactic Championship

For current meta data heading into Galactics check SWUBase.com and SWU.fan. For a full breakdown of what’s currently legal see our rotation guide. For online practice see our SWU online guide.

For our full 2025 recap and 2026 championship preview, see our Galactic Championship overview post.

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Build Your Collection at Skillshotz Gaming

Browse singles at the Skillshotz Gaming shop. Want to understand what you’re looking at when buying? Our guide to Star Wars Unlimited card rarities breaks it all down.

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Play at Skillshotz Gaming

Skillshotz Gaming in Deerfield Beach hosts Star Wars Unlimited events including Premier format play. Come test your decks against real competition at 616 SE 10th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33441 or contact us to find out what’s on the schedule.