Now that we have seen the entire scope of the pieces and stats and maps, etc. - what items were you maybe not expecting, but glad were made? I know there are too many "What Ifs" and "If Onlys" out there and plenty of threads for those, so please keep to the positive in this thread. Characters, abilities, combinations, factions, etc. - what makes you happy?

A few ideas to get started:

Characters
Bacta Tank - although not a whole lot of play time, this one was quite a surprise for me. I'm sure many RPGers have gotten use from it and it does look very cool. One of the few pure utility pieces for that extra level of strategy.

Voolvif Monn - just a personal favorite character I'm glad finally made the cut.

Dejarik characters - might not have gotten their fair shake being in the last set, but this is a fun addition to the whole series. I am very glad they did all of them at once and not just a couple here and there.

At-At - looks too cool.

Abilities
Fringe Override / Satchel Charge - didn't remove door abuse and added a separate layer, but opened up the game to more factions and more maps.

Force Push - we see it so much in the movies and cartoons, I'm glad it made it into the game. Pretty good translation from "live" action to game mechanics, I think.

Ultra Battle Droid and the Chameleon Droid. There were several Sep droids that hadn't been made that I wished would be made, and these two were at the top of my list. I even had stats made up for what I thought a B3 would be like, and I'm proud to say I was pretty exact on the SA.
I'm also glad that neither piece was a let down, even if they don't see a whole lot of use.

Grievous, Kaleesh Warlord, is another piece I never thought would be made, but it was. Though it isn't a a really good piece, it's still cool that it was made.

Good idea for a thread... I was thinking about this the other day as I nostalgically looked back over the past 5 years of wonderful SWM experiences.

I'm glad they did the scenario packs and map packs, especially the Attack on Endor scenario pack (which included 3 of the 6 legal maps for current competitive play even thought it was released a long time ago). I know that many of the maps and exclusive figures in these sets were not as balanced or competitive as the might have been, but I love the maps, and it was always nice to have another incentive to buy them (i.e., the exclusive figures were a nice bonus).

As far as figures, I love the Mouse Droid. It was a definite game changer but in a more balanced way than some other figures (like General Rieekan).

I also like that they gave us a fairly balanced set of figures with with initiative control (20 figures across six factions by my count, including reasonably priced and fringe Lobot, CLO).

Same for door control (21 figures across six factions by my count, including the reasonably priced, fringe, and non-unique R7, which is a great addition to the "lesser factions"... Lobot, CLO also deserves mention again here).

I also love the figures that offer tempo control (6 figures across 4 factions with no fringe) and super stealth (4 figures across 4 factions with no fringe), though I wish these were a bit more balanced across the factions. But, even as is, these have added some nice variety to the game. Fortunately, and another thing I am grateful for, there is lots of super stealth defense (34 figures across 6 factions including several fringe -- especially the inexpensive and fringe Aqualish Technician which can be brought in with fringe reserves or reinforcements if it is not already a part of your squad).

As I read this over I realize the R7 and Aqualish Technician both came out in GAW. So, that set did a nice job of helping to balance out the lesser factions in at least these two important ways (i.e., door control and super stealth defense).

Anyway, just some of my thoughts. WOTC didn't do everything I would have liked, but they did do some very good things.

EDIT: For those who may be interested, I just updated my complete list of figures with door, activation, and initiative control. Click here to see the file.

And, click here for a complete list of all figures that grant super stealth or offer super stealth defense.

There is plenty of cool stuff, I'm glad we got a Ganner and Lord Hoth before the game bid us adue And as much as I cry and moan that they were ignored I'm glad to have some Vong, they are the most ignored set of characters in all of Star Wars and Minis is home to most of them.

As for abilites I'm glad push and lightsaber defense and hte expansion of hte lightsaber styles, for a long time Mace was the only one to have his on a fig, but now we have a prolifiration of them on many and they are neat little things when they work

also glad for the lightsaber styles.
glad that the game went out on MoTF instead of DT or GAW (hated those sets and didn't collect anything from them).
glad that the game is coming to an end.....now i can focus on having fun with my figs instead of collecting and the meta. it'll be good to have some casual fun. the game ending actually got me playing again.
glad for luke grand master
glad for the new vader
glad the sith got another piece, though it wasn't what was needed
glad for the new yoda
glad to be saving this money

RannKonnar just reminded me that I'm also glad that the different lightsaber styles were put into several of the figures. To me, I think it brings a little more individuality to each piece/character.

I'm glad for the new Saesee Tinn. He's a sleeping beast. He moves like the wind and beats brutal death into fellow melee pieces.

I'm glad for Voolvif Monn & Roron Corobb... I only wish Foul Moudama could be here to see this.

I'm glad for the Mandalorian Gunslinger & Republic Commando Training Sergeant, for together they can be made into an army of (non-KotOR) Mandalorians.

I'm glad for a little thing I like to call the "Kel Dor Bounty Hunter Group-Hug".

I'm glad for just about every large non-unique R/VR, and the joy of owning more than one.

I'm glad for Mira & Arden Lyn's cleavage. (maybe they could give Guri some fashion tips...)

I'm glad for Kouhun Infestation, and all the funny, horrible kills I've made with it over the years... ah, memories.

I'm glad that the OT and PT were covered extensively.

I'm super glad for all and any EU pieces we have gotten.

I love the fact that the collector was taken care of as much as they have.

I like that the RPG ers have gotten as many races and monsters that they have.

I have been thinking about this for a while, and I know that a lot of these have been mentioned already, but I have a lot to be thankful for ;)

I am going to keep it down to a list of 20.



"AND NOW, FOR MY TOP 20 SURPRISES FROM STAR WARS MINIS!!!"


20: All 8 Dejariks, so now I have a board game actually from the Star Wars Universe.
19: Wicket (My favorite e-wok for 26 years or so)
18: Levitation. It is a fun power (Ganner/Luke, rebel commando)
17: Non-human Jedi (especially recently)
16: Emplacement: I love the limitation that it provides.
15: The Hologram (Sideous) and force spirits (Ani/Yoda/Obi/Luke)
14: Half of the "New Jedi Order" Jedi
13: Re-makes of almost all of those sucky Clone Strike Jedi
12: Luke, Champion of the Force
11: Disruptive (Thank goodness)
10: The legacy era Vong (Specifically YV Ossus Guardian)
9: Most of the "Tales of the Jedi" Characters
8: All of the Legacy era main characters
7: The large number of non-unique jedi
6: The really cool Dark Times force powers (Dark Temptation/Dispassionate Killer)
5: Almost all the Kotor Characters
4: Somebody has a list of the different races, and all available figures. I am thankful that that list is so long (different races) and kept growing right up till the last set.
3: Styles (and mastery) - they added such a cool flavor to the game
2: Luke, Rebel commando
1: So few truly overpowered characters