Shatterpoint

Lead By Example - Squad Reactions

CahoonM

Feb 28, 2024 • 11 min read

I have now seen Plo Koon, Wolffe, and 104th Wolfpack Troopers. 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.

I've been out of the scene for a while, I know these were released a bit ago, but I have not had the chance to look at them deeply yet. I will be doing this with any packs that I missed.

Primary - Jedi Master Plo Koon

8SP - Considering Obi is an 8SP, I think this makes a lot of sense. I am glad that it sets him up to be able to have maximum flexibility when squad building.
3FP - Standard and good.
10 Stamina/ 3 Durability - 10 and 3 is what feels like the standard spot for an 8 SP Primary. Considering how defensive some Republic lists can get, I think this is the perfect spot for him.

I Know If We Work Together, We Will Stay Alive - This is a Tactic Ability with no cost. At the start of this unit's activation, choose an allied Galactic Republic unit. Each character in the chosen unit may [dash]. Then, if the chosen unit was a Trooper or Padawan, one character in this unit may [dash]. I am a huge fan of movement Tactics. They are all amazing in my book. Free moves are good. I also thoroughly enjoy the flavor of Plo Koon being a Trooper and Padawan focused Primary.

Force Push - This is an Active Ability with a cost of 2 FP. Choose a character in this unit and an enemy character within [range] 3 of the chosen character. Push the chosen enemy character [range] 3 away from the chosen allied character. Any ability or effect that allows you to move your opponent's characters in nuts, especially in a game where positioning is everything.

Deflect - This is a Reactive Ability with no cost. After a ranged attack targeting a character in this Unit is resolved, this unit may use this ability. If the attack roll contained one or more Failure results, the attacking unit suffers two damage. This should be on all force users IMO. Since there's no cost, there is no reason not to use this ability until you're wounded. Then it becomes a bit of a decision.

We Can Do This The Simple Way or the Difficult Way - This is an Identity Ability with no cost. While this unit is not wounded, when another allied Galactic Republic character within [Range] 3 is targeted by an attack, this unit may gain [Expose]. If it does, the defending character may use this unit's [Defensive] expertise chart during this attack. Then, after the attack is resolved, if the defending character was a Trooper or Padawan, one character in this unit may [Dash] toward the attacker. I really love this ability. I cannot wait to try it out on the table. I am a huge fan of abilities that let units share stats. It's particularly good when considering how meh some of the Clone Trooper's defensive expertises are. Giving Plo an Expose is a little bit rough, but you can heal or recover it off pretty easy in this faction.

Form V Djem So

This is seemingly his more damage/combat-oriented stance. He's getting 7 attack dice in melee and 0 at range. He's also getting 5 defense dice for both ranged and melee. His attack expertise is good, but not the best we've seen. Getting 1:1 Crits for the first 2 expertise icons is solid. The extra damage Icon brings him up to a potential 9 total damage in a swing, which is actually pretty good. His Defensive expertise here is also just solid. Not bad, but it's not particularly flashy either. The heals are nice, as is the jump, especially if you need to transfer this chart over to a friendly unit via his identity. His Combat Tree is actually quite good here. His first two columns are solid. Column 3 is interesting with a choice between 3 damage or 1 damage and a heal. Active abilities on combat trees are usually really good, I think Plo with Push will be no exception.

Form III Soresu

This stance looks to be his more Ability/Support focused option. He's only getting 5 attack dice in melee and still 0 at range, but he gets bumped up to 6 defense dice for both range and melee. His attack expertise also gets notably worse, not generating any crits until 3 expertise. His defensive expertise, however, gets a lot better in my opinion. This is absolutely the side you want to share with other units. 2 Blocks for 1-2 expertise is incredible, followed by Crit->Hits and a Crit delete at the 4+ level. His combat tree has fewer damaging options, but has more abilities and effects to push out. The fact that he can get to 7 damage, 3 heals, 2 shoves, and 1 Jump all from one attack makes this feel amazing.

Overall, I am quite excited to get Plo on the table. I am a Republic lover and so far all I have really played is a lot of Obi + Whoever. I think Plo may change up that pattern for me, but we will see.

Secondary - Padawan Ahsoka Tano

4PC - Not much to say here. We've known a lot about Ahsoka for a while since she was an early prerelease. Nonetheless, 4PC is one of the best spots for Republic Secondaries since many of the Primaries are 8SP.
0FP - I've likely said this before, but I do wish that force user Secondaries would maybe get like 1 FP.
8 Stamina/ 2 Durability - Gosh, this is low. I feel like when I have put Ahsoka on the table she tends to get wounded real easy. It's not too much of a chore to take her out of the game with a middling amount of effort.

Race Ya - This is a Tactic Ability with no cost. At the start of this unit's activation, choose an allied Galactic Republic Primary Unit, or an allied Jedi Primary Unit. One character in the chosen unit may [dash]. This ability is great. I have used it many many times on Anakin and Obi-Wan. I think this could also get some seriously good use with Plo, Padme, or Mace. It really makes getting your Jedi Primaires into the fight a lot easer.

She is Fearless - This is an Active Ability with a cost of 1 FP. Each character in this unit may [jump]. This unit may use this ability two times during its activation instead of the normal one. Love it. Not much to say here, we all know how I feel about abilities that grant extra moves. It makes Ahsoka a speedy little thing on the table.

Getting Ahead of Yourself Again, Snips - This is a Reactive Ability with no cost. After a Galactic Republic Supporting Unit within [range] 3 makes a combat action, this unit may use this ability. One character in this unit may [jump] and make a 5-dice [melee] attack targeting one of the same enemy characters within [range] and LOS. I have gotten some pretty good use out of this ability. Considering how quickly Ahsoka can move, this is not too difficult to set up. It is a really good way to try and seal the deal when it comes to wounding whoever your clones are shooting at. However, I would not feel that bad if I couldn't trigger this more often.

Jar'Kai

This stance is okay. It's not a terrible place for her to be at and she gets some decent stats with it. 7 Attack dice in melee is quite good considering that's like Primary levels of dice. 5 Defense dice for both ranged and melee is also not terrible. Her attack expertise is not bad. It's pretty lackluster at the bottom, but once you get higher rolls she's getting a very respectable amount of crits. Her defensive expertise is similar. Not flashy, but solid. She nets a good amount of blocks, and that Jump can make her even faster than she already is. The combat tree here is good. Up to 7 damage off of 5 successes is good. She also boasts a ton of helpful abilities and effects on her tree.

Overall, Ahsoka has been one of my favorite units to play so far. I think she can fit in well with just about any Republic squad and team. I am excited to see how she feels when paired with Plo Koon on the table.

Secondary - CC-3636 Commander Wolffe

4PC - Man, I bet I sound like a broken record here. 4 PC is the best spot for Republic Secondaries. It allows you to be taken with the most options, and I have a feeling it will always be that way.
0FP -
9 Stamina/ 2 Durability - 9 and 2 is the standard Clone Secondary level. It's usually enough to stay on the table for the whole game and is usually enough that it takes a few attacks to become wounded.

Flank 'Em! - This is a Tactic Ability with no cost. At the start of this unit's activation, choose an allied Clone Trooper unit. Each character in the chosen unit may [climb]. FREE. MOVES. GOOD.

Run and Gun - This is an Active Ability with a cost of 1 FP. Each character in this unit may [dash]. If any characters [dash], this unit immediately makes a focus action. Oh yes, I love this. Free-focus actions are almost always clutch, especially when we look at his next ability. This is just a rebranding of Defensive Maneuver. It should've been called Offensive Maneuver.

Pack Hunter - This is an Innate Ability with no cost. When a character in this unit makes a [melee] attack targeting an enemy character that is engaged with another allied Clone Trooper character, it adds two dice to the attack pool. This ability paired with Run and Gun means that Wolffe is no slouch in melee. He can roll upwards of 9 attack dice. That is a very respectable amount for a clone Secondary. Wolffe reminds me of Cody but in a melee vs ranged way.

Wolfpack - This is an Innate Ability with no cost. While this unit is not wounded, when an allied Clone Trooper character makes an attack targeting an enemy character within [range] 5 of another Clone Trooper unit, the attacker's [critical] results cannot be modified by enemy effects. I like this ability a lot. I cannot say how incredibly useful it will be, but it's definitely nice to have in your toolbox.

Practical Strategist

This is a pretty solid stance all around. It is very clear by Wolffe's design that he is meant to be a melee-oriented unit. He's getting 7 attack dice at range and 6 in melee. It makes sense that the base numbers feel flipped here because due to his keywords, he can get up to 8 at range and 9 in melee. He's getting 5 defense dice at range and in melee, which is not bad. It is a little bit scary since he may be dealing with some heavy hitters, but maybe just don't throw him into the Grievous meat grinder. His ranged attack expertise is, fine. He likely does not want to be shooting anyway. His melee attack expertise is great! He's generating a very respectable amount of crits, which also helps his ability Wolfpack to proc more frequently. His defensive expertise is pretty standard for clones. His combat tree is pretty good as well. It's got a nice mix of damage and both abilities/effects. He's topping out at 7 damage, which is not bad but not amazing either.

Overall, I am pretty hype to get Wolffe on the table. I am not super convinced I will enjoy him more than Rex, Ponds, or Cody, but only time will tell.

Support - 104th Wolfpack Troopers

4PC - Good place to be. The only issue here is not being able to fit with certain Primaries and Secondaries potentially.
0FP -
8 Stamina/ 2 Durability - This is one better stamina than the clone support standard. My guess would be they get 8 since they're main mission is being in melee and that tends to be significantly more dangerous than sitting at range.

Run and Gun - This is an Active Ability with a cost of 1 FP. Each character in this unit may [dash]. If any characters [dash], this unit immediately makes a focus action. Just like Wolffe, this ability is great for them. I am very excited to see if it is as good as I feel like it is.

Coordinated Fire: [Strain] - This is a Reactive Ability with no cost. When another allied Galactic Republic character makes an attack as part of a combat action, before dice are rolled, this Unit may use this ability. If the targeted character is within [Range] 5 of a character in this Unit, the target gains [Strain]. CF: Strain is decent on the 501st, but not the best. From what I've found so far this ability is not worth actively trying to set up, but good to just use it as an ability of circumstance. If you're coincidentally in range to use this ability, there's no reason not to use it unless there's another Clone support nearby with a better CF.

Pack Hunter - This is an Innate Ability with no cost. When a character in this unit make a [melee] attack targeting an enemy character that is engaged with another allied Clone Trooper character, it adds two dice to the attack pool. Once again, just like Wolffe (I'm sensing a theme here...) this ability is great! The potential to throw upwards of 8 attack dice in melee is solid on a Clone Support. I cannot wait to see how this feels on the table.

Strength in Numbers

This stance is not super hot in my opinion. I have felt that most of the Clone Supports have been relatively weak offensively, but they usually make up for it defensively. Since the 104th do not have Hunker shenanigans, I am a little worried about their overall usefulness, but I am happy to be proved wrong. 5 Attack dice at range and in melee is a good place to start considering they can get up to 6 and 8 respectively. 5 Defense dice at range and 4 in melee feels a little wacky to me. I think they should be swapped since melee is where they want to be anyway. Both their ranged and melee attack expertises are solid. They generate a decent amount of Crits in melee which is good. Their defensive expertise is standard. The combat tree here is a little weak at first glance. Topping out at 3 or 4 damage feels pretty low, but they do have a ton of abilities and effects to make up for it. I am a big fan of the climb they get in column 3. That is an amazing way for them to stay mobile while being a melee unit.

Overall, I have similar feelings about the 104th and Wolffe. I am not sure I will end up preferring these guys to their previous clone brethren. I will give them a few tries because I think the melee orientation is a really neat idea, but I have a feeling I will want another release for them to feel strong.

I am still very excited about grabbing this box despite my worries of enjoyment. I think the minis are some of the best we have seen and I am excited to have a second Ahsoka for my friends to use.

That's all, thanks for reading!