Breakdown by Faction / Top Pieces by FactionRepublicThe Republic Faction gets some decent pieces in this set, and some unmentionables. We see a redone Clone Trooper and the new Flash Speeder but the first “Huge” isn’t really that great. The Clone Trooper on Barc Speeder is a bit better with it’s Flight/Strafe but again, is tough to pull off. Obi-Wan on Boga is a decent enough version of Kenobi, but being a Huge again is of detriment; Having said that, he’s a bonus against the big “D” that will come upon Bounty Hunters. The Elite Clone Trooper isn’t really worth mentioning in THIS set, but upon the release of Champions of the Force, the “ECT” will become instantly playable and popular
Key Pieces::
Elite Clone Trooper (Uncommon),
Obi-Wan on Boga (Very Rare)
SeperatistSix Additions to the Seperatist = 0. The Battle Droid and Super Battle Droid are both reprints and the Hailfire Droid, although Huge and interesting gets shredded up close. It is somewhat playable but extremely difficult to pull off competitively speaking. The Super Battle Droid Commander does have base 30 damage and Sychronized Fire as well as a decent Commander Effect applying only to Droids which can be handy giving them Careful Shot. The two Seperatist Uniques are unmentionables. Darth Maul on Speeder, had he had Flight would definitely be playable (or Master of the Force 2). He does have some great Special Abilities but again, he suffers from low attack making Sith Rage a question mark and significant damage for his 57 point value. Nute Gunray although a detriment to anything living (non-savage); Is true to his on screen performance. For his 30 points, you automatically get 20 points of Seperatist Reinforcments and have a shot at 20 more points on an initiative roll of one. Don’t take anything living with him – in Droid builds he shines, but with living characters he’s a detriment
Key Pieces::
Battle Droid (Uncommon),
Nute Gunray (Rare),
Super Battle Droid Commander (Uncommon)
FringeThe Fringe consumes just over 30% of the Universe Set and we see a bunch of significant characters. The Huge characters aren’t mentionable, but it is fun to relive the Battle on Geonosis with the Reek, Acklay and Nexu. The X-1 is interesting, but the Rancor never lives up to expectations. The Kamino Ascetic and Shistavanen are okay and the Pilot will get some play in some Wedge Antilles squads. The Vornskr can be a deadly Jedi Hunter and the Tusken Bantha can be fun to floor. We see the introduction of a new splinter group – Black Sun led by the mysterious Prince Xizor, with his top Lieutenant, the mystical Droid Guri and the Rodian Black Sun Vigo and Abyssin Black Sun Thug. This “mini-group” will get more help later on and can be a “Faction” in and of itself. We also see some bad Uniques (Ponda Baba, Dr. Evazan and arguably Dash Rendar) to two of the best pieces the set has to offer in the Fringe Door Control piece – Lobot and Lando Calrissian, Hero of Tanaab. The ASP-7 and Gonk Power Droid have some neat abilities and Dominate is reprised with the Non-Unique B’omarr Monk.
Key Pieces::
Prince Xizor (Very Rare),
Lando Calrissian, Hero of Taanab (Rare),
Lobot (Rare),
Gonk Power Droid (Uncommon)
EmpireThe Empire gets the most significant boost in this set. Although the Huge AT-ST is powerful, it’s probably not overly competitive and Baron Fel gets totally trumped by the Rebel Leader found in Alliance & Empire. The Dark Trooper Phase III has Missiles and is a droid which is beneficial and the Stormtrooper and Stormtrooper Commander are both useful. Two non-unique Force users the Dark Side Maurader and the Nightsister Sith Witch are both deadly – with the Sith Witch getting the edge with her Force Lightning. Grand Admiral Thrawn though is the piece worth noting as his “Thrawn Swap” and Ysalmiri will change the way the game is played. You would think the Noghri would be worth taking to protect him, but it really isn’t. Darth Vader, Jedi Hunter is the highest point-valued piece to this point and extremely deadly with Jedi Hunter, Triple Attack and Dark Armor as well as slew of Force Powers make Vader almost unstoppable and he’s Rare to boot
Key Pieces::
Darth Vader, Jedi Hunter (Rare);
Grand Admiral Thrawn (Very Rare);
Nightsister Sith Witch (Uncommon);
Stormtrooper (Common)
RebelsThe Rebels get a boost in this set but it’s not as significant as the Empire. The Bith Rebel is a neat alternative to the Rebel Trooper with Micro-Vision. The Dresellian Commando is great when played by itself and works well later on come Alliance & Empire. Sadly, Nien Nunb lacks pilot and is pretty much useless. Admiral Ackbar and Wedge Antilles are both good Commanders with Ackbar trumping Stealth in 6 squares with “It’s a Trap” and Wedge giving Pilots Evade. Ackbar’s Commander Effect also works well when Legacy of the Force comes out making his Commander Effect great with the likes of General Dodonna as he gives Followers +4 Attack against activated opponents. Luke Skywalker on Tauntaun can “Use the Force” giving him an automatic critical which is deadly and especially when combined with Obi-Wan Jedi Spirit or Yoda of Dagobah (both to come) and of course the Chagrian Mercenary Commander to give him +20 damage. We also see three Rebel Hero’s from Endor – Chewbacca, Han Solo and Princess Leia. All three bring their own great abilities and effects making us hope for a Luke Skywalker, Rebel Hero hopefully one day to boost them all. Han is a magnificent piece with a great Commander Effect (Advantageous Attack to followers) and Mobile attack which is handy. Leia allows for the “lawnmower” effect with her CE or a “rolling Cleave” type effect. Chewbacca is one of the most versatile pieces in the game with a slew of Special Abilities such as Bodyguard, Repair, Industrial Repair, Momentum and Cleave.
Key Pieces::
Han Solo, Rebel Hero (Rare),
Chewbacca, Rebel Hero (Rare);
Admiral Ackbar (Very Rare)
New RepublicThe New Republic is one of two brand new Factions but sadly, they get little help in their debut. The New Republic Commander works well the respective New Republic Troopers and although Advantageous Cover is nice, it’s not game-breaking and for 19 points and 10 points respectively. The Young Jedi Knight does have nice speed, but single attack for 21 points just doesn’t cut it. Even more of a disappointment is the “One-man Wrecking Crew” Kyle Katarn who although he has Stealth/Accurate Shot combo base 10 damage and single attack with no Force Powers to note makes him only worth scrub killing. Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master is the second highest valued piece in the game to this point, but again sad as it is he gets slaughtered by his father, Vader. All Luke would need is Master of the Force 2 and his 74 point value would be although high, fairly realistic – or dropping his Commander Effect to make him a follower and available to all the other Commander Effects out there as a follower. He still can be a fun piece to play but competitively speaking his cost is way too high for what he brings.
Key Pieces::
Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master (Very Rare),
Kyle Katarn (Very Rare)
Yuuzhan VongThankfully unlike their New Republic counterparts, this new faction actually gets a lot of playability. The Warrior and Subaltern work well together and have some good synergy as do all Vong pieces with their mostly “ally” applying Commander Effects. This makes them totally susceptible and nerfed by Disruptive however. Tsavong Lah is a nasty beat stick and although he only does 10 Base Damage, Triple Attack, Cleave, Momentum but more importantly, Vonduun Crab Armor 6 makes him last all the longer. Once he can benefit from all the Special Abilities and Commander Effects to come later, Lah is a Vong biological nightmare. His Commander Effect is also deadly when combined with his Vong Allies. Nom Anor is a more important piece to the Vong with Stealth, his Commander Effect, Ooglith Masquer and Self-Destruct 20 but again, Disruptive kills him. This faction is a neat Commander Effect-laden Faction but again, they are extremely deadly and will get deadlier as the sets roll out
Key Pieces:
Warmaster Tsavong Lah (Very Rare);
Nom Anor (Rare);
Yuuzhan Vong Subaltern (Uncommon);
Yuuzhan Vong Warrior (Common)