Fistful of Credits - Squad Reactions

They have now shown Cad Bane, Aurra Sing, and The Bounty Hunters. I will talk about how I think they'll all work together and individually. You can still consider this article speculation since everything can be way different on paper than on the table. Eventually, I will be writing Unit Guides on most/all of the units in the game, but that will have to wait until I can get some playtime in with them.

Primary - Cad Bane, Notorious Hunter

• 9 SP - Woah! Our first 9 SP Primary. This opens up list building by a lot for Cad, but in theory, means he is the weakest primary we have so far.
• 2 FP - This makes sense both lore-wise and in the grand scheme of units.
• 9 Stamina / 3 Durability - This is not bad, 9 is a little on the low side, but he should be able to take a pretty good beating before being wounded.

How About You Step Aside? - This is an Active Ability with a cost of 1 FP. Choose an enemy character within [range] 3 and an Active Objective it is contesting. The chosen character may [Dash] away from that Objective. Then, after any moves are resolved, if the chosen character is no longer contesting the chosen objective, it gains [Disarm]. If the chosen character is still contesting the chosen Objective, it gains [Expose] and [Strain]. This ability is so wicked. I really like that it gives the choice of what happens to the player who is not using Cad. Here, choose between contesting but taking both of the worst conditions or you can no longer contest but take a single, slightly better condition. I think this ability has the potential to be game-winning if it is utilized correctly. Being able to force your opponent off an objective in order to keep a character alive is incredible.

Rocket Boots - This is an Active Ability with a cost of 1 FP. Each character in this unit may [Jump]. Nice, I like this. Extra moves are always good, especially Jumps. This should help him get around quite a bit.

No One Gets Between Me and My Job - This is a Reactive Ability with a cost of 1 FP. After another allied unit makes a combat action, if this unit is not engaged, it may use this ability. Choose one of the targeted characters within [range] 4. One of the characters in this unit deals [damage][damage] to the chosen character. If none of the targeted characters are within [range] 4, each character in this unit may [Jump] towards one of the targeted characters. This is a nice little side ability I think. Being able to drop 2 extra damage on a character on demand is rather nice. I also really enjoy the movement shenanigans it offers. Extra Moves R Good.

I'll Take On Any Job...For the Right Price - This is an Identity Ability with no cost. When an allied character wounds an enemy unit, after the effect is resolved, refresh [Force] and one character in this unit may [Heal]. Then, if the allied character is a Bounty Hunter, refresh [Force]. Per the usual, this ability is absolutely why you bring Cad. This is probably the best refresh ability so far. I also really enjoy the fact that Cad gets a Heal out of it and it promotes running him with other bounty hunter units. I think this will likely proc very often.

Needs No Introduction

This stance is quite good. 8 Attack dice at range and 6 in melee is really solid. 6 Defense dice at range and 5 in melee is also pretty healthy. His ranged attack expertise is great. Generating Crits at all levels is always an amazing thing. His melee expertise is slightly less good but still not bad. His defensive expertise is actually incredible. He is generating a ridiculous amount of stuff. As mathematically rare as it will be, the fact that he is getting 5 different things from 5+ expertise is insane. 2 Blocks, 1 Crit Delete, 1 Heal, and a Jump is nutso good. In addition to all of that, his combat tree is also pretty amazing. It's giving him 8 Damage from 5 successes. He also has the option of picking between a ton of different conditions and abilities. The fact that he can get 2 Jumps or 2 Heals is amazing to me. This stance seems like one of my favorites so far.

As Long As I Get Paid

Following the pattern that most Primaries do, this stance seems to somehow be his more Combat-oriented stance. He is getting 7 attack dice in melee and at range and getting 6 defense dice in both as well. I really like units that have a range-agnostic stance, like Rex. His attack expertise charts are nearly identical until the final slot. Ranged he gets a strike and Melee gets a Damage. His defensive expertise is still really solid on this stance, but very slightly worse. The only difference is that he gets only 1 Block from 1-2 expertise instead of 2. His combat tree here is a lot more straightforward than his other stance. It's pretty clear that its main objective is to do damage. He gets 9 damage from 5 successes. He does not get as many conditions and abilities but the ones he does get are okay. This stance is here to pack a punch and that is all.

Overall, I am quite excited for Cad. I think he is going to be one of the most fun units we've seen and likely pretty good. I am happy to see the game getting it's first 9SP Primary and I am curious to see how people start to build around and use him.

Secondary - Aurra Sing

• 5 PC - This is surprising to me. I would've figured that she'd be the 4 PC and the Bounty Hunters would be the 5. I understand that this is likely just for points-balancing reasons, but the fact that she is tied with Kalani and "better" than Rex or Ahsoka is a bit weird to me.
• 0 FP -
• 8 Stamina/ 2 Durability - This is not bad, but not great. She should be decently durable, but if you let her get into melee with Vader, Grevious, or any heavy hitter, you're in for a bad time.

Double the Contract, Double the Payout - This is a Reactive Ability with a cost of 1 FP. After a character in this unit makes an attack as a part of a combat action, this unit may use this ability. One character in this unit may make a 5-dice attack targetting a character in a different enemy unit. This is really neat. It is sort of like a toned-down version of Anakin's double-tap ability. I am okay with the fact that it forces you to attack a different unit, I think otherwise it would be too good. I can see myself using this ability very frequently.

Hit and Run - This is a Reactive Ability with a cost of 1 FP. After a character in this unit makes an attack as a part of a combat action, this unit may use this ability. One character in this unit may [Reposition]. I do really like extra moves, especially in the form of abilities that are easy to proc. I think this is a really solid ability given the fact that it will allow her to run away from engagement if she needs to. Considering the fact that she will probably not really want to be in melee, this is a decent get-out-of-jail-free card.

Payday - This is a Reactive Ability with a cost of 1 FP. After you reveal an order card, this unit may use this ability. If it does, this unit gains one tag of your choice until the end of the turn. OHHHH BABY! I have been waiting for something like this. I was hoping it would come on Hondo first, but I am happy to see it here. This ability is incredible and thematic. I cannot wait to use it on the table and see what kind of weird synergies we can come up with as a community.

Expendable Distraction - This is an Innate Ability with no cost. When a character in this unit makes a [Ranged] attack as a part of a combat action, if the defender is engaged with one or more allied characters in units that are not wounded, it may add 3 dice to its attack roll. If it does, choose one of those engeged units. The chosen unit suffers [Damage] [Damage]. This is yet another thematic ability from Aurra. The fact that this buffs her by way of hurting her goons is very neat. I think this is another one of those abilities that I can see myself using pretty frequently. Being able to throw upwards of 10 dice on one ranged attack is pretty amazing for the price of 2 damage.

Not Asking Permission

Besides the kind of funny name, I think this stance looks pretty good. She is getting 7 attack dice at range and 6 in melee. She gets 5 defense dice at range and in melee. Her ranged attack expertise is pretty solid. She gets a few crits with extra damage mixed in, which brings her damage total to Primary levels. Her melee expertise is... kinda bad. It's not the worst we've seen and she is still getting some crits, but it's not great. I don't think you want her to be in melee anyway. Her defensive expertise is good for a Secondary. I like that she is getting Blocks and Crit Deltes at both levels plus a Climb for 3+. This stance's combat tree is excellent. She gets 8 Damage from 6 successes or 9 with expertise. There are 3 conditions available for picking and 4 different ways for her to move. She should be a very slippery unit, which I like a lot.

Overall, I think she is going to offer a ton of versatility with her tool kit. I think she could have a place is most lists as a sort of dedicated harasser-type unit. A role where she just runs around and guns things down instead of actually trying to contribute much. I could be wrong, but we will see once she's on the table.

Support - Bounty Hunters

• 4 PC - This is a fine spot for them to be. 4 PC is still the most flexible spot for any Secondary or Support unit to be in.
• 0 FP -
• 8 Stamina/ 2 Durability - Just like Aurra, this is an okay amount, but not a lot. They are susceptible to getting wounded from one good hit, so be careful around big damage dealers.

On the Trail - This is a Tactic Ability with no cost. At the start of this unit's activation, each character in this unit may [Dash] toward an enemy character. I think this is our first Support with a Tactic ability. I really like it. Free moves are very good and I'm not that upset that they have to go towards an enemy character. I think there is no reason not to use this ability almost every time you can.

Tools of the Trade - This is an Active Ability with a cost of 1 FP. Choose one of the following effects:

• Choose an enemy unit within [Range] 3. The chosen unit gains [Disarm].
• Characters in this unit have Sharpshooter [2] and Impact [2] until the end of the turn.

The first clause is really meh in comparison to the second one. I can not really see any reason to pay 1 force to hand out a Disarm token almost ever. The second clause of this ability, however, looks pretty incredible. It should boost their offensive capabilities by quite a bit. I am also a huge fan of the fact that they get both which means if one character is engaged and the other is not they can both benefit from this ability.

Payday - This is a Reactive Ability with a cost of 1 FP. After you reveal an order card, this unit may use this ability. If it does, this unit gains one tag of your choice until the end of the turn. Just like with Aurra, I think this ability is incredibly good and thematic. I am very very excited to see what kind of weird things this ability allows them to do.

Hunting Season

This is a simple yet, likely effective stance. 6 attack dice in melee and at range is solid, especially when you consider Tools of the Trade. 5 defense dice at range and 4 is melee is okay, but I would not rely on them to stay unwounded. Their ranged attack expertise is surprisingly not great. It's pretty bad, but they can make up for it in other ways I think. The same foes for their Melee attack expertise. Their defensive expertise, on the other hand, is quite solid for a supporting unit. They are generating a really healthy amount of blocks and I love that they get a Heal at the bottom. This stance's combat tree is also not bad, but not great. 5 damage from 4 successes is pretty good for a support unit, but certainly not the best we've seen. I think the biggest takeaway here is that they get 3 damage from only 2 successes or 4 from 3.

Overall, I think their big draw is going to be their abilities. They are not the worst combat pieces we've seen, but certainly not the best. I think they are going to be fairly versatile, but mostly good as triggering characters for Cad and Aurras abilities. I do not see them having much success or use outside of Cad+Aurra groups, but I hope I am wrong.

I think this squad pack is adding a really good amount of stuff for all the factions to play around with. I think Cad and Aurra can slot into a ton of different lists and I am very excited to see how well they work alongside other Bounty Hunters. Looking at you Jango...

Thanks for reading!