Breakdown by Faction / Top Pieces by FactionSithThe Sith Faction gets the highest pointed character in the Star Wars Miniatures collection. Darth Revan is maybe or maybe not everything the fans hoped he would be. At 88 Points, he leads the charge as the highest point costed Miniature not named AT-AT and he is quite powerful. His stats are great, his Special Abilities even better and Master Tactician really puts initiative control on the side of the Sith. His Force Powers are also deadly as Corruption can be devastating. Most notably is his Commander Effect which allows Droids to gain +4 Attack and also Intuition (so to speak) which is great. Revan is a great addition to the Sith but he falls short of expectations due to his high point cost and relatively average damage output. At 88 points he consumes over half a 150 points squad and close to half of a 200 point squad so his high cost may be the only down side. Generally speaking though the Sith get a bit of a boost with Revan.
Key Pieces:
Darth Revan (Very Rare)
RepublicForce Unleashed follows the crumbling of the Republic to the creation of the Rebel Alliance. The two remaining Jedi seemingly of the Republic Faction in this set though are great additions. Fittingly, both have affinity to the Rebel Faction and although it seems bizarre of running Luke Skywalker with Shaak Ti or Kazdan, it’s kinda fun, really. In terms of the Republic though (not counting Kota – who as well does have Affinity to the Republic) they get two great Jedi. The New Shaak is devastating – especially against Jedi and could even give Darth Vader, Jedi Hunter a run with Riposte, Block and Duelist (as well as Crowd Fighting and Stealth). The icing on the cake is FR1 and MOTF2. Kazdan is another high point addition and at 55 points is hinged on an interesting new ability – Immediate Droid Reserves 30 which allows up to 30 points of adjacent Droids. This can be game changing especially since it has a 20% chance of coming up with each initiative roll. Kazdan also has Surprise Move and Block/Deflect so his survivability is pretty decent. In short, the Republic get a pretty good boost of Jedi in this set that become staples of many Republic squads.
Key Pieces:
Shaak Ti, Jedi Master (Very Rare);
Kazdan Paratus (Rare)
RebelsThe Rebels probably get the most notable gains of any faction in this set for the second straight set. They get some significant pieces that can wreak havoc on the other factions out there most notably the Empire (surprisingly). It can be ironically noted that for a time in creation of the Alliance that it turns out to be so powerful, how it didn’t usurp the growing Empire immediately. Perhaps this is a bit of a inconsistency when you look at the Star Wars galaxy as a whole. One would expect a dominating Empire with a small pathetic addition of the Rebels. Instead, we see quite the opposite (although the Empire is quite balanced). The Rebels though get some notable gains. For Non-Uniques, we see the Elite Hoth Trooper yet again (go away!). Aside from that, the Verpine Tech provides an interesting twist on 10 Damage characters with Jolt/Rig Blaster. The Mon Cal Medic is a cheap 8 point Medic that can still benefit from the Ithorian Commander and dole out 20 damage – kinda nice fringe benefit. The Rebel Marksmen is the Rebel version of the Republic Commando Sev lacking the hit points and the Rebel Trooper on Tauntaun is a great addition for some much needed Recon. The Wookiee Warrior is a medium hit-point grenading Wookiee but lacks Momentum unfortunately so it’s one dimensional. For more Hoth Troopers we see the Hoth Trooper Officer who gives deadeye to rebel trooper followers a pretty useful CE that works well coupled with the Hoth Trooper with repeating blaster cannon whose triple attack combined with Deadeye can be outright nasty. The last non-huge non-unique is the Rebel Vanguard which adds missiles 30 which is massive and can really devastate swarms. For Huges, the Rebel Troop Cart is a far better troop carrier then the Desert Skiff from Bounty Hunters and with Emplacement, the Golan Arms can really be used in many situations. The Rebel faction gets notable non-unique gains all of which can be coupled with Princess Leia, Hoth Commander for renewable life which makes significant variations and squad building additions well needed for this faction.
Getting into the Uniques now we see some new variations of old characters. Chewbacca finds himself in a nice niche. This version is entirely different from any other Chewbacca we have yet to see and he lacks momentum, cleave or anything like that and replaces them with his more crafty side for Industrial Repair 20 and Gunner +10. He can certainly make a great addition for Mounted Weapon squads. We see two Han’s in this set but both are disappointing. Han of Hoth lacks Accurate and therefore for 33 points just isn’t worth it even though he has Double Attack. A total mystery encompasses Han in Carbonite. It’s a great piece in terms of role-playing or scenarios but the wording of Frozen in Carbonite makes it not ever worth taking. If an errata was ever made on this piece it may become playable but as it is it fits only into fun squads. More variations on old characters include Luke Skywalker who has 3 versions again in this set (6 in the last two if you’re keeping track) – we see probably one of the best shooting Lukes in Luke, Hoth Pilot Unleashed as Force Push 4 is great. Demolition Charge is situational and Pilot gives him Evade with Wedge Antilles from Universe.
Key Pieces:
Luke Skywalker and Yoda (Very Rare),
Master Kota (Rare),
Luke Skywalker, Hoth Pilot Unleashed Unleashed (Rare)
EmpireThe Empire doesn’t get as significant a boost from this set as one might think. You would think that after the defeat of the Republic and Jedi by Palpatine, that the Empire would be the focal point as this is arguably their most powerful time. Sadly, they get very little help both set-wise and competitive play wise. The Non-Uniques are decent though and we see a “Gunner” in the AT-AT driver – great for Battle of Hoth matches. The Darktrooper finally gives us a “living” incarnation of the Dark Trooper project and with Thrawn, these guys can be beastly with the swap. The Emperor’s Shadowguard is a great sculpt, but stat wise they just aren’t a solid piece. The TIE Crawler is arguably the worst huge every made. Cumbersome, costly and huge on the map, this thing is a menace – looking like a piece of lego with the “tail” in the back. Trooper wise is where the Empire not only gets a significant boost, they also get a possible sub for the Stormtrooper. The Raxus Prime Trooper does everything the Stormie does with a +1 Attack, -1 Defense. They also have Wall Climber which can be significant on some maps and a nice Special Ability to make them playable. The Evo Trooper, coupled with Admiral Piett and Darth Vader, IC can hit for some heavy damage and also have a ton of defense. The Star Destroyer Officer has synergy with the Navy Troopers but again, a little gimmicky – fun to play but not all that playable competitive wise. Finally, the Gotal Imperial Assassin is the last non-unique piece in the set for the Empire. A ton of Special Abilities just don’t cut it for single attack at 21 points and low HP and Defense. Finally, the Empire gets a crazy boost with the Felucian Stormtrooper Officer who gives Advantageous Cover to all Trooper followers giving them +8 Defense in cover which is scary.
For Uniques, the Empire doesn’t get much. Admiral Ozzel does give them some credibility especially with Piett. Opportunist is huge now for them in this build as is the Tempo Control. Darth Vader, Unleashed is a massive piece for his cost breaking all the boundaries and showing how far the Power Creep has gone. Although he only has Double Attack, Force Grip 4 and Lightsaber Throw 5 and Dark Armor are huge abilities and make this Vader, worth 50 an amazing piece. The last Unique piece also has some scary abilities. Vader’s Apprentice Unleashed, although lacking statistic wise, has some amazing Force Abilities – Lightning 4 and 5. Emperor Palpatine has never been more important to the Empire than it is now.
Key Pieces:
Darth Vader, Unleashed (Very Rare),
Felucian Stormtrooper Officer (Uncommon),
Evo Trooper (Uncommon)
New RepublicWith only one piece, the New Republic doesn’t get that much better but then again Garm Bel Iblis opens up some significant doors for them. Not only does he bring in any Non-Unique Rebel piece into the New Republic Faction, his Commander Effect his great. Being able to move 3 squares with characters like Jaina Solo and Double Attack is awesome. There is only one flaw with Garm. It’s too bad they didn’t consider Allied “Commanders”. This CE would be great for Luke Skywalker, JM. At 45 points though, Garm IS Costly but then again he will be constantly helping the New Republic whenever the Rebels get new non-unique pieces too – that’s a huge improvement.
Key Pieces:
Garm Bel Iblis (Rare)
FringeThe fringe get a few decent pieces in this set. The Amanin Scout is a great piece for covering distance quickly as “wheel form” is a great ability to move a significant distance with Wall Climber and Wheel form and still attack 2 squares away. The Caamasi Noble has been a great addition to the Miniatures game. Being able to have a door opener and cover provider, as well as forcing your enemies to be able to NOT attack (if he is based) can be advantageous. The Cloud Car Pilot gives our first Pilot dealing 20 damage fitting well into Pilot squads with Wedge from Universe. The Muun Tactics Broker has been a staple in the competitive world giving automatically initiative control if you have him in your build – but at the sacrifice of one of your own pieces. It’s important not only that you bring this guy in as an option (Reinforcements) but also have a built in way to “off” him (Flamethrower, Missiles etc..). The Mynock is a fun 5 point piece with Flight and Swarm to work away on Droids, Mounted Weapons and common mechanical foes. The Ugnaughts also get some new pieces. The Boss, who gives Ugnaughts Selt-Destruct and the Tech who can both be used to Repair both Droids or Mounted Weapon Characters.
Huges riddle the Fringe and most are situational but not overly competitive. The Knobby White Spider can be a devastating piece with Exar, but otherwise, isn’t overly effective. The Junk Golem is an awesome piece – especially with Kazdan Paratus. Shields is also a great ability to have to give it a longer life span. The Telosian Tank Droid can also be a punishing piece in many Droid based builds adding some significant damage it also works well in Darth Sidious Clone Strike builds. Finally, the most anticipated Huge piece has to be the Felucian Warrior on Rancor. This Huge piece is a monster finally making a playable Rancor. Pit it with Tyranus for Duelist or even Princess Leia, Hoth Commander to possibly make a mettle save keeping them around for a long time to come. The Uggernaut is the last Huge piece in the set and can be devastating with Furious Assault. This guy can move up to 12 and attack each legal target with Twin. Pit him with Veers and Thrawn and look out – this guy will mow you down!
In Force Unleashed we see three Unique Fringe pieces. PROXY is a confusing piece. You would with think with Mimetic Combat Processor that this guy would find his way in many builds. The downside if a Medium Character gets defeated in 6 squares, he’s left totally hung out to dry. However, pitted with characters like Darth Bane this guy can be double attacking at +16 for 30 a pop or with say Darth Vader, JH he can triple attack. PROXY is also the only droid thus far with a Force Rating, and being immune to critical hits is a huge bonus. Maris Brood pretty much trumps Komari Vosa as she does everything better for virtually the same cost and adds on Push/Repulse giving those abilities to every faction. Finally, Boba Fett Mercenary gives a new alternative to Bounty Hunter Boba. Intuition, Flight, Cunning mean that his Boba can be outright nasty, hard to track down and nearly impossible to kill. Many competitive builds are starting to see this guy in it as a better well rounded option to BH.
Key Pieces: Boba Fett, Mercenary (Very Rare),
Muun Tactics Broker (Uncommon),
Caamasi Noble (Common)
