Cassus Fett, from Vengeance





Cassus Fett is a really interesting piece; he's not worth 37 points just as an attacker, although twin +12s with Berker'gam does make him a nice third or fourth attacker. His synergy with Mandalore the Ultimate is nice, but not really a competitive option, since Ultimate is too expensive for the modern game. At 37 points, Cassus is expensive and you have to squeeze as much as you can out of him to make him worthwhile. So he has:
- Never Tell Me The Odds - is obviously a huge ability, as it really stifles some competitive squads like Thrawn and MTB/Poggles, that are reliant of initiative control. Since he's the only Mando or Fringe piece with Never Tell Me The Odds, he can be an interesting meta call.
- Coordinated Command/Relay Orders - since Kelborn also has these, and is an auto-include, they aren't as important on Cassus Fett.
- Fire Support Mission - Fire Support Mission can be a great fodder clearer, although it does really need Cloaked (Death Watch Saboteurs are good here) or a movement breaker (Mandalore the Vindicated's CE is probably the best option) to really work, since it replaces turn for the recipient.

Cassus Fett did win the California Regional in 2012, but maybe his stocks have fallen a little since then, especially with the emergence of Kelborn as a Mando go to, and I think right now he's just outside the competitive spectrum, although maybe there's a build that utilises him really well and proves me wrong. Really nice flavourful piece though, 7/10.

Yuuzhan Vong Jedi Hunter, from Legacy of the Force





This Jedi Hunter is a faction defining non-unique for the Vong, like the Elite Rebel Commando or the Mandalorian Scout for their respective factions. He's quite durable for 20 points with Crab Armour 6 and 70 hit points. His weaknesses are symptomatic of his faction as a whole under WOTC; the Jedi Hunter is very strong against Jedi, but he's reliant on damage boosts like Shaper and Scarification against anything else, and he has a lack of ranged defense. But in a Jedi dominated meta, the Jedi Hunter is nasty, and still a tournament worthy piece. 8/10.

IG-88, Bounty Hunter, from Bounty Hunters





IG-88 Bounty Hunter is obviously outclassed by the IG-88 Assassin Droid from Dark Times - I think it's a no-brainer to pay an extra 5 points for 40 extra hit points and +1 defense, as the pieces are relatively equivalent otherwise. So you'd think this piece would be dead and buried, since its unique and its supplanter is clearly better. But with the advent of IG-88A, this piece has some chance at some play - the IG-88A allows multiple IG-88s in the same squad, which means if you do want to squeeze a third IG-88 in a squad, Bounty Hunter is your droid. I don't know if three IG-88s is the best option in a competitive squad - the most successful builds I've seen use two IG-88 droids with support, but at least he's now liberated from the eternal bin of darkness. 6/10.

And here's a box and whiskers plot of all the ratings so far.
A: up to and including Bounty Hunters (the old days)
B: Alliance and Empire through to Knights of the Old Republic (the power creeping phase)
C: Clone Wars through to Masters of the Force (the modern WOTC sets)
D: Destiny of the Force through to present (v-sets)



I still think the Alliance and Empire -> KOTOR era has been a bit over-represented by good pieces, but otherwise it looks about right.

I'm waiting for a version to represent her as portrayed in the trailer (assuming I'm thinking of the same one you referred to). This version isn't at that level, but unquestionably is still a great piece.

In that trailer, where she catches the lightsaber with her hand, she wasn't even a grandmaster yet. Not even a master, actually.

My issue with her isn't so much that's she's "overpowered", so much as she's just a sloppy mess of hodge podge design. It feels like a fanboy sixth grader threw her together. No elegance whatsoever.

Talz Spy, from Alliance and Empire





Back in 2007, Mounted Weapon pieces like the Hailfire Droid and the AT-ST were dominating the game with their Mounted Weapons and massive speed. Something had to be done to slow them down, and the Talz Spy was a simple, yet elegant, solution. Sabotage allowed him to get in there, and slow those Mounted Weapon pieces right down, restoring balance to both the game and the entire galaxy.

Seriously, this piece does have a bit of potential for a Fringe scrub - that +5 attack is low, but 40 hit points is good for a 12 point piece, and it can pick up twin from a Czerka, and can get double against adjacent pieces, and as a Fringe scrub its subject to lots of boosts. So Talz spies can be boosted nicely, but they're still going to struggle to see play time against much better Fringe pieces in the same price range; the Klat Assassin, the Rodian Assassin, the Kel Dor Bounty Hunter, and the Jawa Scavenger are all a lot stronger. 4/10.

Even when Luke came out he was overcosted by about 20 points. Lower his cost and give him motf2 and he would have been decent when he had come out but would still lag behind later nr wotc releases (Mara or kyle or pretty much anyone)

Crimson Nova Bounty Hunter, from Jedi Academy





The Crimson Nova Bounty Hunter isn't bottom of the heap by any means, but she's too fragile and situational to be a really good choice to build around. Against an unactivated Unique Jedi she can hit for 30 damage at +14. Against an activated Vong Jedi Hunter, she's shooting for 10 damage at +4. She could be a reasonable choice for reinforcements or reserves in some matchups, especially in squads that already have twin, but really her lack of defensive abilities means that cheaper pieces like the Rodian Assassin with Stealth or the Klat Assassin with Cloaked are much more solid choices. 3/10.