This is The Way - Squad Reactions

They have now shown (and released... I know, I'm a bit late to the party here) The Armorer, Paz Vizsla, and Covert Mandos. 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 - The Armorer

• 9 SP - I think this was the right call. Not only because she's not crazy strong but because it allows Paz to be a five. (Spoiler alert: he deserves to be a five more than any other unit...)
• 2 FP - This is fine since she's a nine. She's also not too force-hungry either.
• 10 Stamina/ 3 Durability - I like this. I'm glad she's not a 9/3 like many of the other non-force users. She beefy.

Wisdom of the Mandalore - Awesome. Free moves are always good, especially multiple units. The fact that it's Jump instead of Dash is both thematic and very nice.

Both Hunter and Prey - This is a very neat ability. I am a big fan of stuff like this. An ability that has an immediate benefit or two for you but also a minor downside. I like the mind-puzzle stuff like this usually creates. This ability can also be used as an extra Advance or Jump for her without necessarily being used for its latter effect. The latter effect does tee her up for a killer attack, though, so I would think using this ability pretty often will be good.

Just as we Shape Mandalorian Steel, We Shape Ourselves - Oh my goodness. This ability is hilariously cool. Rolling extra defense dice is always awesome. Once she gets 3-6 damage on her, I feel like she is going to be incredibly hard to wound. She'll be rolling 7-8 defense dice with very good expertise. She keeps getting tankier and tankier.

Our Survival is Our Strength. This is the Way - Holy. Moly. This Identity is absolutely insane. Her having this ability alone would already be very good, but giving it to all friendly Mandos is incredible. The list of abilities that this affects is very long, so I won't go too deep into it here, but let's just say Mandos are back on the menu for me. Cannot wait to see how this feels on the table.

Strength of the Hammer

This is a pretty good-looking stance. I love that it is in the shape of her Hammer. I'm pretty happy that she lacks a ranged attack, I think it should've been expected. Throwing eight dice in melee is an awesome start! Her attack expertise is incredible. A crit and strike at each level is awesome! Followed by Block->fails at 2+ is insane. She is going to hit like a truck. She's also not bad defensively either. Five dice for each range is fine, and her expertise is good. I'm happy to see a healthy mix of blocks and attack dice manipulation. The fact that she retains a 1:1 or better ratio for both charts is unreal. Her combat tree is also quite good. Three damage and a shove on two is a really solid start. topping out at nine damage feels really good, especially when mixed with a bunch of other conditions or effects.

Insight of the Forge

Just like the last stance, this one is shaped like her Tongs, which is nice. She's throwing seven attack dice this time, still very good. Her attack expertise is still great but definitely less flashy. I do wish she still had the 1:1 ratio, but I think it's fine. All crits at all levels are always nice to see. Her defenses are kinda the same. She gets six defense dice at both ranges this time, but her expertise chart is a little bit less expansive. It is still quite good though. Blocks and Crit->hits are always nice to see. The combat tree here is okay. Again she gets at least one shove by two on the top run, which is good. She also gets more options for movement in the form of a Jump or Reposition at five, while the Hammer stance only has a Reposition at four. This tree also tops out at nine damage. My first thought is that the Hammer side is a bit better as a generalist side, but it's hard to say until she's on the table. I like the possibility of throwing upwards of like 10 defensive dice, but I'm not sure that outweighs the superior damage and mobility of the Hammer.

Overall, I am very excited to get her on the table. She looks like a ton of fun and quite the formidable unit. I think her identity alone is enough to keep her as a mainstay in this game for a long time to come. As more Mando units come out, she will only get better.

Secondary - Paz Vizsla

• 5 PC - YES. I am a Paz fanboy, and I am very happy to see him as a five-pointer! As we will discuss shortly, I think he may be one of the only Fives in this game that actually deserves that price.
• 0 FP -
• 8 Stamina/ 3 Durability - I like this. He has some wound token abilities, so three durability was 100% necessary for him, much like Zeb. Eight stamina is fine.

We are Mandalorians! - I like this ability a lot. Damage or condition removal plus free movement for up to four characters is great! I do wish it moved him instead but I can't really complain. Mandos are already some of the most mobile units and giving them this Iden-esque movement tactic is awesome.

I'll Cover the Rear - WOAH! This ability is not only oozing with theme but is also super good. I love clapback abilities; it's why Kanan is my favorite Primary unit. Clapbacks can swing the tide of the game in some serious ways. Scoring big moves or even wounds on your opponent's turn can be game-winning. I also like that you have to mess with some stance-flipping to get this right. Considering the Armorer's Identity, this ability always being one force is wicked. I can't wait to use it.

Go. There are too Many. This is the Way - Oh, baby! This is what it's all about. This ability is an absolute banger. Zeb's similar ability is one that I use just about every chance I get. The fact that he also gets another clapback is insane. I can't believe this guy. He seems incredible! I can't wait to use this.

Descendent of the Great House Vizsla - This ability is neat. I like having to play the stance card minigame, but I'm not sure if I'll be on Fearless as often as Heavy. Time will tell, of course; I could end up always being on Fearless. The latter part of this ability is fine. Again, like with Zeb, I don't really see this as much of an issue. Sure, in maybe one out of ten games this could cause a problem, but that's fine for how good he is in my opinion.

Heavy Firepower

This a pretty solid-looking stance. Starting off with seven attack dice at range five is great. Five in melee is okay. His ranged expertise is awesome. Three strikes at one or two is nuts. Throwing some crits in at three or more is great, but I'll want to hit that one or two points more often, I think. His melee expertise is fine, but it's not where he wants to be. He is pretty sturdy defensively. Five dice at range and four in melee is a good start. His defensive expertise is solid but not amazing. Two blocks at each level is the Mando standard, I think. The combat tree is pretty great. Three damage, a Pin, and a shove on two is awesome! Topping our at eight damage and up to three shoves is super cool. With all of his OOA attacks, he is going to be Pinning and Shoving all sorts of things! I can't wait to see this in action.

Fearless

This stance is significantly more straightforward. It is 100% melee-focused, and looking back, that makes sense. I take back what I said about his last ability. I like giving him Steadfast once he is locked into a fight. Eight attack dice is awesome! His expertise chart is also awesome. At least one crit at each level is sweet. I think maybe adding in a strike at three would've been nice, but it's probably not the end of the world. His defenses are pretty good on this side, too. Four dice at range and six in melee is a good start. His expertise chart is nice. Plenty of blocks and lots of dice manipulation. The combat tree is fine. I love how straightforward it is. It tops out at nine damage, but sadly, it only has one shove and no moves. This tree might be reason enough to rarely be on this side, but I'm not 100% sure. The damage output is very good, but little displacement is very tough.

Overall, I think Paz is looking like he's hungry for a top-five unit spot in my mind. He looks like a unit that is perfectly up my alley, and I cannot wait to get him on the table. An added bonus is that his mini is also very good-looking!

Support - Covert Mandalorians

• 4 PC - This is not surprising. I can't think of any two-character mando unit worthy of less than a four.
• 0 FP -
• 7 Stamina/ 2 Durability - This feels a little low to me. Maybe they'll be defensive enough that it won't matter. I hope that is the case.

Jet Pack - Not much to say here. All Jetpacks are created equal. It's still very good.

Mandalorian Armaments - I like this. It's a very cool way of allowing them to be a little bit flexible. A free active that will remain free as long as the Armorer is around. Only playtime will tell which option is better.

Mandalorians are Stronger Together - Again, not much to say here. We've seen this before and it is always great. The one thing I will note here is that the worst part of this ability has always been its price increase when the unit is wounded. It's no longer an issue as long as Armor Lady is around.

Our Secrecy is Our Survival. This is the Way - Ah, there's the reason they're a seven-stamina unit. I like it. Protection is a very good keyword. Giving them basically 7+X Stamina, where X is the amount of time they're attacked before becoming wounded.

Adherents of The Way

This is not a bad stance at all. Their attack dice are even at five each, which is not too surprising for flexibility reasons. Their ranged expertise is really good for a Support. I'm a little sad to see no crits until four or more, but getting three strikes at two or three is more than good enough. The melee expertise is worse, which leads me to want to shoot with them more, but I can't be sure. On the flip side, their defenses are slightly better in melee with five dice instead of ranged with four. Their defensive expertise is... okay. It does the job, but not super well. The combat tree is awesome,e though. A shove on one is huge for a Support. Topping our at seven damage is also quite good. Up to two shoves and either a Jump or Reposition makes them feel pretty mobile. I think this is one of my favorite supporting trees in the game.

Overall, I think the Covert Mandos are looking very good. I think they will take some table time to really get right, but once people start to figure them out they will be nasty.

This Squad is one of my most anticipated releases in a long time. I love all of the characters these units are depicting and I cannot wait to get them on the table. I also can't wait to paint them, all four minis in this box are beautiful!

Thanks for reading!