Twice the Pride - Squad Reactions

CahoonM -

They have now shown Dooku, Jango, and the Magna Guards. 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 - Count Dooku, Separatist Leader

  • 7 SP - I am glad he's a 7. I like the variability it adds to list building.
  • 4 FP - Woo! Another 4! This could be huge for Anakin + Dooku Strike Teams.
  • 10 Stamina - Good, this puts him right in line with Kenobi. I think 10 is a great spot to be in.
  • 3 Durability - ^

Leader of the Separatist Army - This is a Tactic Ability with no cost. At the start of this Unit's activation, choose another allied Separatist character within range 3. Each character in this unit may and the chosen character may Dash. This will definitely add to the droids in a very nice way. I really like this for units like Magnas who will probably be trying to keep up with Primaries or wanting to get to engagement as fast as possible. It's pretty cool that Dooku also gets the Dash.

Surely You can do Better - This is a Reactive Ability with the cost of 1-3 FP. When a character in this unit is targeted by an attack, this unit can spend 1-3 force tokens to use this ability. For each Force token spent, change 1 strike to 1 failure. This is an expensive ability, but it will most likely prove to save Dooku sometimes. If 3 FP means Dooku staying on the board longer, then I think it's worth it.

Twice the Pride, Double the Fall - This is a Reactive Ability with the cost of 1 FP. After a melee attack targeting an allied character within range 2 is resolved, this unit may use this ability. If the attack roll contained no Strikes, one character in this unit may perform a Dash, or may perform a 5 Dice melee attack targeting the attacking character. This is quite cool. I really like the name of it, and I think the ability itself is nice. Being able to retaliate will mostly always be good and being able to leave engagement with a Dash could be game-saving. This is also a fun way for Dooku to come help his buddies and get into the action if for some reason he isn't already.

Brave, but Foolish - This is an Identity Ability with no cost. Once per turn, when an allied Primary or Secondary unit becomes wounded as the result of an enemy effect, after the effect is resolved, refresh 2 Force Tokens. Then, choose an allied Separatist Alliance Supporting unit. One character from that unit may dash or perform a 5 dice attack. Woo! Force Token refreshing is so clutch. This is a nice way to benefit from stuff like Anakin's Identity Ability. Refreshing any amount of Force Tokens is pretty amazing, especially considering there isn't a real hard limit to how often you get to use this. Since it says "Once a turn..." that means once per activation of any unit on the board. The only time you're not using this is if two or more primaries and secondaries get wounded in one turn, which will be quite hard to pull off.

Form II Makashi

Woah! Another Force User with a ranged attack. I am really glad that they gave him some form of Force Lightning. He's throwing 6 attack dice at range and 7 in melee. That's not a bad place to start for him to get some serious damage output. His Ranged Attack Expertise is fine, but not great. His Melee Attack Expertise is incredible! If he has a focus before a melee attack, he averages 3 Crits and 3 Strikes. I imagine it won't be too terribly hard to move your way up His Combat Tree like with some other characters. His defenses are also quite good, rolling 5 defense dice at range and 7 in Melee. His defensive expertise is also pretty great. He effectively gets to just delete up to two attack dice that roll crits and he gets a block.

Force Mastery

This is Dooku's more ranged stance. He's throwing 8 attack dice at range and 6 in melee. His Force Lightning expertise is significantly better on this card than Makashi, but His Lightsaber is slightly worse. He's putting out less damage here than Makashi, but I think that's a worthy trade for superior range if you need it. His defenses are okay here as well. 6 Defense dice at both range and melee. His defensive expertise is not nearly as good as Makashi's but It's still quite solid.

Overall, I think Dooku is a piece that will find himself in a lot of different Strike Teams. His abilities are decently versatile that he doesn't always need to be with other Seppies. He should probably always be hanging out with Jango though.

Secondary - Jango Fett, Bounty Hunter

  • 4 PC - I think this is a good spot for him to be in. He is matching Cody, Rex, and the other Mandos
  • 0 FP - ...
  • 9 Stamina - I think
  • 2 Durability -

Jetpack - This is an Active Ability with the cost of 1 FP. Each character in this unit may Jump. More Jumpers! Woo! I am getting pretty excited about how vertical this game is going to be. I hope this ability is pretty common.

Capture Wire - This is an Active Ability with the cost of 1 FP. Choose a character in this Unit and an enemy character within range 3 of that character. Pull the chosen character range 2 toward the chosen allied character. Then the enemy gains the Pinned condition. This is so sick, I love it. Any sort of ability where you can push, pull, or move your opponent's pieces is fantastic. Gaining the Pinned condition is a good way to keep the person you just moved from going back to where they were or running away. I would be tempted to say that this could be Jango's defining ability, but he only gets better from here...

Not so Fast - This is a Reactive Ability with the cost of 1 FP. At the start of an enemy Unit's activation, if one or more characters in that Unit are within range 3 of a character in this Unit, this unit may use this ability. Roll 5 attack dice. The activation unit suffers damage for each Critical and Strike result in the roll. What?! This is incredible! This roll should be averaging 2.5 Crits and Strikes, which inflict damage for free. This is a really good way to try and start softening up a character before going in for the kill. Something else important to keep in mind is that if a Unit gets wounded during its activation, its activation immediately ends. This could be a decent way to stop certain pieces from doing anything meaningful.

My Client is Getting Impatient - This is an Innate Ability with no cost. After this Unit makes a focus action, one character in this Unit may Jump. This is pretty good, it feels weird that he has this and the Jetpack. I wonder how often he will actually need to Jump twice an activation because I see nearly no reason to use the Jetpack over this ability for Free.

I'm Just Looking to Get Paid - This is an Innate Ability with no cost. When a character in this Unit Wounds an enemy Primary Unit or an enemy Secondary Unit, after the effect is resolved, refresh 2 Force Tokens, and one character in this Unit may Heal twice. This is the closest thing, I think, to any sort of "Bounty" ability. It's really simple and quite good. It could take a little bit of extra planning with your other Units to ensure they don't wound your opponent's Units if possible. Jango really wants to be doing the wounding. Luckily, he has 2 ways to do that: Attacking and Not so Fast. Refreshing Force Tokens is fantastic and should prove to be super handy with units like Dooku, Anakin, or other Force Users.

Resourceful Gunslinger

This stance is pretty good. He lacks any real abilities to benefit from like Sharpshooter or Impact, but I think he'll still put in some work. He's rolling 6 attack dice at range and 6 in melee. That's a pretty good spot to be in since he'll likely be taking focuses often. His Ranged attack expertise is pretty good. His melee one, not so much. I think the concept of extra damage via expertise is cool, but I don't value it more than crits to move down the Combat Tree. His defense is not terrible either, it's better than the other Beskar wearers we've seen so far. His Combat tree is super cool. Giving him the possibility to do 10 damage along with other pretty incredible abilities is amazing. The fact that on only 3 successes he can get a free Capture Wire or Jump is excellent. He's also maxing out at Primary levels of damage, up to 11 in melee!

Overall, I think Jango is one of those pieces that could find his way into any and every sort of list. He seems like he is going to be really versatile and an absolute key for bringing back Force Tokens. He's the first "Bad Guy" unit that I am truly excited by and can't wait to get on the field.

Support - MagnaGuard

  • 3 PC - I'm actually a little bit surprised by this. I feel like they could be 4s, but I guess they are melee only and Dooku needed to be a 7.
  • 0 FP - ...
  • 10 Stamina - This is a really good spot for them to be in. I think this will really make them shine as Bodyguard type units. This is going to be a pain to get through before ignoring Intercede.
  • 2 Durability - This is normal.

Protection Protocols - This is a Reactive Ability with no cost. After an allied Separatist Alliance Primary Unit makes a move action, this Unit may use this ability. Choose a character in the activating Primary Unit. One character in this Unit may advance toward the chosen character. This is really cool, I'm glad they gave them something like this. The hardest part about a lot of bodyguard-type units is keeping up with the thing you're protecting. This ability should make that a lot easier.

Bodyguard - This is an Innate Ability with no cost. Allied Primary and Secondary characters within range 2 of a character in this unit have Cover 1. This is cool, but a little weird. It's interesting to me that they chose to give out Cover 1 instead of something like Protection. I'm sure there's a reason for this though.

Intercede - This is an Innate Ability with no cost. While this Unit is not Wounded, enemy characters Engaged with one or more characters in this unit cannot target allied Primary or Secondary characters with attacks. This is it. This is what you're bringing them for. This ability is absolutely fantastic. This is why that 10 Stamina should prove to be a really healthy amount for them. Sure, they're susceptible to getting 1-2 shot, but that's still 1-2 hits that didn't come for your more important pieces.

Defensive Programs

This is a pretty solid stance. They're getting six attack dice in melee, but zero at range. Their attack expertise is surprisingly really good. Generating only Crits at all levels. Their defenses are okay, rolling 5 defense dice in melee and at range. Their defensive expertise is fine, but not great. I really like that in both their attack and defensive expertise it's a 1:1 ratio if they only roll 1 expertise result. I think that's a decent place to be.

Overall, I think Magnaguards are great. Like Jango, I could see a ton of reasons to bring them with any list. Protecting your primaries is going to be huge, especially with all the melee units running around.

I think this squad pack is going to bring a ton of really cool units to the game. Almost all three of these units can slot into almost any list. I think they will all prove to be exceptional units and very popular. Dooku is a fan favorite and will be potentially carrying lists. Jango is also a very popular character and the reason that some people, including two friends of mine, are interested in Shatterpoint at all. The Magnaguards, I think, are the sneaky best unit in this box. Being able to protect your more important pieces is an incredible ability and I can't wait to see how they perform. Overall, I am really excited to get all of these units on the field.

Thank you for reading! This article will conclude Wave One's Squad Reactions! Look out in the, hopefully very near, future for similar articles about Luminara, Greivous, and the Inquisitors!