Maximum Firepower - Squad Reactions

They have now shown (and released... I know, I'm a bit late to the party here) General Veers, Snowtrooper LT, and Snowtroopers. I will talk about how I think they'll all work both 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 - General Veers

• 7 SP - This is a little bit surprising to me. When I think of Veers I don't generally think of a big, tough, combatty sort of guy. I guess this was necessary though because the Snowtroopers kinda had to be threes.
• 3 FP - Three is really good. I wouldn't have been surprised to see him get only two. He doesn't have a refresh, but he doesn't seem too force-hungry either.
• 9 Stamina/ 3 Durability - This is the standard for non-force user primaries.

You Have Your Orders - This is not bad at all, but we've seen better Tactics. Only moving one character kinda hurts, especially since it's pretty restrictive. Still no downside to using it though.

I Will Have Results - I like this ability a lot. Having your stormtrooper units do his bidding seems like a lot of fun. I think all of the options are worth a look, but mostly the five-dice attack. Out of activation moving and attacking is always good.

Prepare for a Surface Attack - This ability is awesome. Super good and thematic. Being able to reserve a unit sounds pretty good, especially since they get an extra move. It also kinda gives you a pseudo-pass activation at the start of you need it. Since you can guarantee your first activation every single time, you can play it safe and/or have a game plan for that unit. I like the second clause, but I think it is generally less useful than the first one. I could be wrong, though; this is just at first glance.

We are the Storm - This is a very cool identity, super thematic. Extra damage, especially three at a time, is great! The fact that this happens every activation of his means you likely want to be Shatterpointing him a lot, but that does conflict with Empire's other Primaries. It is incredible that you can pick any objective on the table, active or not. I am very glad that there is no range restriction as well. I think this ability alone might be enough to have a good argument for bringing Veers in a Premier list.

Let the Rabble Come

This is a stance. It kinda feels a little all over the place to me. He gets six attack dice at range five and seven in melee. His ranged expertise is pretty good, and his melee one is okay. I don't really get why the dice or charts are flipped like this. Fewer dice at range but a better melee chart, idk. His defenses are not great, but not terrible. He got the Clone Trooper treatment with some heals added in. His combat tree is fine. I'm always sad not to see any shoves or moves by at least three. He maybe makes up for it with a free active on five but that seems like it won't be super common. It tops out at seven damage but that's fine since his identity does a ton of damage.

Lay Siege

This stance seems a lot better in multiple ways. He gets seven attack dice at range and six in melee. His expertise charts actually line up with his attack profiles this time, which is good. Both are roughly the same, but his ranged trades out some heals for some extra damage. His defenses are about the same, but the dice are swapped. His combat tree is a lot better, I think. He has a shove on one and two; it's a great start. His active goes from five to four, which means using it a lot more often. It tops out at eight this time, but you can also expertise into nine. He might be the Primary in the game who can top out at the most damage in a single activation, funny.

Overall, I think Veers looks pretty good. I'm not exactly sure where he fits into the current Meta or Empire team. I feel like he's on the cusp but might be sitting in fifth place, which means, sadly, he doesn't make the cut for a Premier list. I would love to be wrong, but I just don't see him getting more action or use than Iden, Vader, Thrawn, or Gideon. He still seems like a lot of fun, though.

Secondary - Snowtrooper LT.

• 4 PC - I like this, I think it makes sense. I don't know why, I'm not usually a "Bad guy" enjoyed, but Snowtroopers really call to me for some reason.
• 0 FP -
• 9 Stamina/ 2 Durability - Nice, 8/2 wouldn't have been a surprise so 9/2 is pleasant.

Press On - Good, not flashy, but good. I find it a little weird that so many abilities in Empire surround helping out their Supports, but it's better than nothing. Free moves are good.

Dogged Assault - This is a really neat ability. It's not too hard to use, and there's no downside until he's wounded. Is it worth spending force on? I don't know, maybe sometimes, but probably not always.

Commanding Presence - This is a cool ability. I like that it's an Innate and not a Reactive. My train of thought here is to use this ability every time your unit would gain a Pin or Expose. I would also use it sometimes for the other two but probably not as often.

Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so Precise - I like it. Simple and easy to use. It's a little tough because he doesn't have any free focuses in his own kit and he's not super mobile. I don't know how often he will actually have the space action to Focus, but time will tell.

Disciplined Assault

This is a pretty solid stance. Six attack dice at range five and five in melee is a decent start. His ranged expertise is pretty great. A crit and strike at each level is very nice. The strain is like a little extra cherry on top. His melee expertise is fine, but it doesn't seem like where he wants to be. He's also fine defensively, but like many of his Imperial buddies, he got the Clone Trooper treatment. His combat tree is interesting. A Shove on two is always a good start. He's also got a reposition on three, which may help his mobility issues. He tops out at a kinda low five damage, but with how many other effects and conditions he has, it's probably fine.

Overall, I think the Snowtrooper LT. is pretty good! I have a feeling, much like Veers, that he is in fifth or sixth place in Empire and, therefore, might not have a great spot in a premier list. I'm sure there are some who will bring him, but as always, only time will tell.

Support - Snowtroopers

• 3 PC - This is good. I like that the Snows and Storm options are swapped. Giving Empire both three and four-point options.
• 0 FP -
• 8 Stamina/ 2 Durability - This is a good spot for them to be in. With how many Heals their LT. has, they might feel a lot more tanky than 8/2.

Forced March - This ability continues the trend of damage for conditions in this squad. It's very nice that they can never be pinned before they activate.

Assault Tactics - Again, damage for effects and/or conditions. This feels like the kind of ability they want to be using pretty often, but not always. The force cost and damage price are not terrible if you can spare the resources, but definitely not an every-time thing.

Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so Precise - This is good. Synergizes well with their Assault Tactics. This gives you a little more of a reason to use Assault, but still not enough for every activation, I think.

Blizzard Tactics

This is a fine stance for a three-cost unit. It's pretty fitting. They get five attack dice for both range and melee. Their ranged expertise is okay but not great. Extra damage at each level is neat, but I'd always rather have crits or strikes. A crit at 2+ is helpful. Their melee expertise is not great, again, not where they want to be. Defensively, again, they get the Clone Trooper treatment. It's fine, but not amazing. Their combat tree is fine for a three point. No shoves or moves until three is a little sad but fine. They also have a ton of heals and conditions. The heals in this squad make it feel like they will be at least semi-tanky. They top out at six damage, which is good. With any expertise, they get up to seven damage,e which will help them wound more units.

Overall, they seem fine. Just fine means they're actually probably good since they're a three point unit. I could see them finding their way into quite a few lists just because of their price. Allowing Vader to bring a four point secondary is potentially very good.

I think this squad has a lot of potential, but I'm not a huge Imperial player, so maybe I can't see it as well. I feel like they are all just a teeny bit short of being able to find their way into an Imperial Premier list. I would love to be wrong though, because I love Snowtroopers.

Thanks for reading!