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Rolling Mini of the Day (Urai Fen) Options
Mando
Posted: Friday, May 9, 2014 6:14:33 AM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 10/14/2008
Posts: 1,410
Location: Chokio, MN
*bump*
TheHutts
Posted: Sunday, May 11, 2014 2:22:59 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 6/23/2010
Posts: 3,562
Location: The Hutt, New Zealand
Queen Amidala, from Champions of the Force



Quote:
16 points, Republic
Hit Points: 70
Defense: 17
Attack: 9
Damage: 10

Special Abilities
Unique
Double Attack (On her turn, this character can make 1 extra attack instead of moving)
Mobile Attack (Can move both before and after attacking)
Rapport (Non-Unique Republic followers cost 1 less when in the same squad as this character)

Commander Effect
Non-Unique Republic followers gain Mobile Attack.


With rapport for all Republic non-unique followers, her mobile CE, and a decent amount of hit points and attack, Queen Amidala is a great piece for squads based around Republic non-uniques, as well as one of the handful of pieces from the early era of the game, before Alliance and Empire, who really still stand up. She does compete for playing time with Captain Rex, who hands out Greater Mobile Attack to Order 66 pieces, and can be a better option for those pieces, since he's also a Tier 1 shooter, but the best swarm options in the Republic are the Naboo pieces, and Amidala works great with them. With her rapport, you can get her CE for cheap, and she's also a good gambit piece and a decent fodder shooter.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming she's come into her own more in the last few years, since the shift to 200 points, and since the release of some really good followers like the Naboo Pilots and Naboo Troopers, who were strong enough to utilise the strong commanders like Amidala, Mon Mothma, and Admiral Yularen that the Republic has always had. To date, there are 6 versions of Amidala around, but Queen Amidala is the one who's viable competitively. 10/10.

TheHutts
Posted: Sunday, May 11, 2014 4:33:28 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 6/23/2010
Posts: 3,562
Location: The Hutt, New Zealand
Gungan Bounty Hunter, from Dark Times



Quote:
9 points, Fringe
Hit Points: 40
Defense: 16
Attack: 6
Damage: 10

Special Abilities
Bounty Hunter +4 (+4 Attack against Unique enemies)


The Gungan Bounty Hunter is very solid for 9 points - and well above the average stats and hit points for pieces in his point range - but at the same time, he doesn't really have a whole lot of use. There's nothing that specifically helps Fringe Gungans, so the GBH is out there by himself with a lot of competition in the Fringe low cost bracket. He could be a decent throw in for a Talon Kardde squad, but ultimately he's a very serviceable and bland piece that doesn't really have a good niche anywhere. 5/10.
TheHutts
Posted: Sunday, May 11, 2014 6:53:51 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 6/23/2010
Posts: 3,562
Location: The Hutt, New Zealand
Arcona Smuggler, from Champions of the Force



Quote:
7 points, Fringe
Hit Points: 10
Defense: 13
Attack: 2
Damage: 10

Special Abilities
Cunning Attack (+4 Attack and +10 Damage against an enemy who has not activated this round)


The Arcona Smuggler would be in a shoo in for most people's lists of the 10 Worst Pieces in the Game. 1/10.
TheHutts
Posted: Sunday, May 11, 2014 8:46:15 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 6/23/2010
Posts: 3,562
Location: The Hutt, New Zealand
Jaden Korr, from Vengeance



Quote:
New Republic, 33 points
Hit Points: 100
Defense: 20
Attack: 12
Damage: 20

Special Abilities
Unique
Melee Attack (Can attack only adjacent enemies)
Double Attack (On his turn, this character can make 1 extra attack instead of moving)
Crowd Fighting (This character gets +2 Attack for every adjacent character other than his target)

Force Powers
Force 2
Force Renewal 1 (This character gets 1 Force point each time he activates)
Force Grip 2 (Force 2, replaces attacks: sight; 20 damage)
Force Lightning 2 (Force 2, replaces attacks: range 6; 30 damage to target and 2 characters adjacent to that target)
Force Push 5 (Force 5, replaces turn: range 6; 50 damage to target and to each character adjacent to that target, and push back target and each character adjacent to that target 5 squares if Huge or smaller. Huge or smaller characters are considered activated this round; save 16)
Knight Speed (Force 1: This character can move 4 extra squares on his turn as part of his move)


After a couple of bland WOTC pieces, it's nice to have something interesting to talk about. Jaden Korr is a New Republic Jedi with a suite of offensive force powers - he has access to Force Lightning 2, Force Grip 2, and the big Force Push 5. With only Force Renewal 1, he doesn't have the force points to continually use his big powers, and it's worth considering using him with a source of extra force points, like the upcoming Wolf Sazen from Undying. But even without it, he's still a good choice for a secondary or tertiary attacker, especially in metas where damage negators like Zannah and GOWK are popular, since he's a good source of direct damage. He's seen some competitive play - he's been used in Solo Charge squads as a substitute for Anakin Solo, among other builds. While he's a little fragile, with no defensive abilities, Jaden Korr is a really fun piece and a solid addition to the New Republic faction. 8/10.

TheHutts
Posted: Monday, May 12, 2014 1:50:10 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 6/23/2010
Posts: 3,562
Location: The Hutt, New Zealand
Sugi, from Command of the Galaxy



Quote:
33 points, Fringe
Hit Points: 70
Defense: 17
Attack: 9
Damage: 20

Special Abilities
Unique
Twin Attack (Whenever this character attacks, she makes 1 extra attack against the same target)
Mobile Attack (Can move both before and after attacking)
Accurate Shot (Can attack an enemy with cover even if it's not the nearest enemy)
Bounty Hunter +4 (+4 Attack against Unique enemies)
Critical Wound (An enemy hit by a critical hit from this character is considered activated this round)

Commander Effect
Allied Bounty Hunters gain Close-Quarters Fighting.


Sugi is a fun piece with lots of options - she doesn't have a lot of staying power for 33 points, but she can fit into some different squads:
- she has synergy with Cad Bane, Bounty Hunter in living Separatist squads - she can pick up Charging Fire from him, and she gives all the other Bounty Hunters in the squad Close Quarters fighting.
- she can pick up +4 attack and +10 damage in a Talon Kardde all Fringe squad.
- in an Imperial squad she can pick up extra attack from Imperial Governor Tarkin and Opportunist from Thrawn. She has to stay still to get this, so it's probably not a Tier 1 build, but 120 accurate damage at +17 against uniques is still strong.

Since Sugi's been released since the last Regional season, we haven't really had a chance to gauge how competitive she is, but my instinct is that given her squishiness for her cost, she falls just short of a tournament level piece. I'm happy to be proven wrong though, and either way she's still a fun piece who fits into a variety of builds. 7/10.
TheHutts
Posted: Monday, May 12, 2014 2:03:50 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 6/23/2010
Posts: 3,562
Location: The Hutt, New Zealand
Here's some box and whiskers data of every rating handed out so far:
A - Rebel Storm to Bounty Hunters
B - Alliance and Empire to Knights of the Old Republic
C - The Clone Wars to Masters of the Force
D - v-sets



Era A, 32 pieces covered, average rating 3.8.
Era B, 15 pieces covered, average rating 6.4.
Era C, 24 pieces covered, average rating 5.8
Era D, 28 pieces covered, average rating 7.6

It's still bemusing me how much stronger Era B looks than Era C; Era C has four 11s so far compared to Era B's one, but overall B's average rating is higher. I don't know if I've just hit a lot of good pieces in Era B so far, or if Era C has more throwaways overall.

From the graphs, it's apparent that the v-sets don't have a radically higher power level than WOTC pieces, they just have less bad pieces. So far, about half of the v-set pieces covered fall into the 7-9 power range, which is a great place for pieces to be - strong enough to get some play, but not strong enough to warp anything.
TheHutts
Posted: Monday, May 12, 2014 4:51:40 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 6/23/2010
Posts: 3,562
Location: The Hutt, New Zealand
Nomi Sunrider, Head of the Jedi Order, from Vengeance



Quote:
60 points, Old Republic
Hit Points: 140
Defense: 20
Attack: 13
Damage: 20

Special Abilities
Unique
Melee Attack (Can attack only adjacent enemies)
Triple Attack (On her turn, this character can make 2 extra attacks instead of moving)
Jedi Reflexes (This character can make an attack of opportunity against an enemy character that moves into or out of an adjacent square. Characters with special abilities that ignore characters while moving are subject to this ability.)
Mettle (If this character spends 1 Force point to reroll, add +4 to the result)

Force Powers
Force 2
Force Renewal 1 (This character gets 1 Force point each time she activates)
Master of the Force 2 (May spend Force points up to 2 times in a single turn)
Force Light (Force 4, usable only on this character's turn: Until the end of the round, this character gains the following Force ability: Enemy characters within 6 squares cannot spend Force points or benefit from allied Force powers. Enemy Force abilities within 6 are suppressed.)
Force Pull 2 (Force 2, replaces attacks: range 6; Move target Large or smaller enemy adjacent to this character. Make an immediate attack against that enemy.)
Lightsaber Defense (Force 1: When hit by an attack, this character takes no damage with a save of 11)

Commander Effect
Allies' Force powers with a range listed increase the range by 2 squares.



I would have written off this version of Nomi Sunrider as too expensive to be really practical - Force Light is interesting, but really expensive on a piece with only Force Renewal 1. But it is worth noting that Nomi has made the Top 4 of a Regional, albeit under unusual circumstances. If I'm remembering correctly, greentime won a bunch of Regionals during the 2012 season, so his Atlanta teammates convinced him to let them choose his squad for the North Carolina Regional. Shortly before the regional, he got handed the following squad; Nomi HotJO, Jaq, Bastilla, Bossk TH, Lobot, Wicket, x2 uggies. Here's greentime's story of what happened:

Quote:
Well, I finished 2nd at Charlotte with a Nomi Sunrider squad. She is also a weird tweener piece, sort of a crappy beatstick but with random kind of good tech sprinkled on top. I was pleasantly surprised at how good Force Pull 2 was, and very disappointed at the borderline uselessness of her CE and the practical impossibility of using Force Light.

I'm sorry, in case you missed that I FINISHED SECOND AT A REGIONAL WITH NOMI FREAKIN SUNRIDER. And Bossk, Trandoshan Mercenary, of all pieces.

Tim Ballard, I challenge you to play Nomi Sunrider at a regional this year. If you can win with that, Daniel and I will carry you around Indy on a palanquin during Gencon.


But while she's a Regional finalist, Nomi has been hurt by the emergence of Satele Shan in the following set; for the same price as Nomi, you can get Satele, an Old Republic Senator, and three Ugnaughts, which does make Nomi an unlikely choice for an Old Republic squad nowadays. Nomi is a nice piece, but with the additions to the Old Republic since her release, she's unlikely to see much tournament play in this day and age, 7/10.
AndyHatton
Posted: Monday, May 12, 2014 5:05:55 PM
Rank: Moderator
Groups: Member , Moderator

Joined: 8/9/2009
Posts: 1,935
TheHutts wrote:

After a couple of bland WOTC pieces, it's nice to have something interesting to talk about. Jaden Korr is a New Republic Jedi with a suite of offensive force powers - he has access to Force Lightning 2, Force Grip 2, and the big Force Push 5. With only Force Renewal 1, he doesn't have the force points to continually use his big powers, and it's worth considering using him with a source of extra force points, like the upcoming Wolf Sazen from Undying. But even without it, he's still a good choice for a secondary or tertiary attacker, especially in metas where damage negators like Zannah and GOWK are popular, since he's a good source of direct damage. He's seen some competitive play - he's been used in Solo Charge squads as a substitute for Anakin Solo, among other builds. While he's a little fragile, with no defensive abilities, Jaden Korr is a really fun piece and a solid addition to the New Republic faction. 8/10.



I love Jaden Korr, he is such a fun piece and pairing him up with Wolf from Undying sounds like a great idea!

Also! I top Four'd with him at the DE Regional last year (Granted, it was a six person regional but hey, Top 4!)

http://www.bloomilk.com/Squad/131541/running--throwing-pushing--gripping--lightning-lobbing--unleashing--shocking
TheHutts
Posted: Monday, May 12, 2014 7:55:35 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 6/23/2010
Posts: 3,562
Location: The Hutt, New Zealand
Padmé Amidala, from Clone Strike



Quote:
15 points, Republic
Hit Points: 60
Defense: 17
Attack: 9
Damage: 10

Special Abilities
Unique
Double Attack (On her turn, this character can make 1 extra attack instead of moving)

Commander Effect
Adjacent followers gain Bodyguard.


As we talked about yesterday, Queen Amidala is still the Queen of Amidalas, but this version from Clone Strike has her uses too. While she has a decent number of hit points, and isn't a bad fodder shooter for 15 points, Padmé's main talking point is her Commander Effect. There are a few pieces out there with similar Commander Effects, turning adjacent pieces into bodyguards, but Amidala is almost the cheapest, and her CE is open to all followers, not just a specific subgroup.

She's actually featured in a competitive Regional squad as recently as 2012, when TimmerB took her with some Felucians to a 2-2 record in the Danville Regional - Padmé could bodyguard the Shamans to keep them alive:
Quote:
--Eternal Bodyguards (aka the most frustrating squad ever!)--
54 Cad Bane
36 Felucian Shaman x2
15 Padmé Amidala
9 R2-D2, Astromech Droid
16 R7 Astromech Droid x2
70 Felucian x10
(200pts. 17 activations)


Of course, a clump of bodyguards is vulnerable to area effects and direct damage, like Force Pushes and Missiles, but Padmé Amidala is still the cheapest source of a strong game mechanic, and as such has the chance to feature in some squads. 8/10.
General_Grievous
Posted: Monday, May 12, 2014 9:04:17 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 1/8/2010
Posts: 3,623
Not to mention her sculpt. We still call her burn victim padme
TheHutts
Posted: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 2:09:15 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 6/23/2010
Posts: 3,562
Location: The Hutt, New Zealand
Sith Inquisitor, from Destiny of the Force



Quote:
24 points, Sith
Hit Points: 40
Defense: 16
Attack: 0
Damage: 0

Special Abilities
Master of Pain (Whenever this character deals damage to a living enemy, the character joins your squad for the rest of the round. The character can avoid this effect with a save of 11. On a roll of a natural 1, the character joins your squad for the rest of the skirmish instead.)

Force Powers
Force 1
Force Renewal 1 (This character gets 1 Force point each time he activates)
Force Grip 1 (Force 1, replaces attacks: sight; 10 damage)
Force Grip 2 (Force 2, replaces attacks: sight; 20 damage)
Force Grip 4 (Force 4, replaces attacks: sight; 40 damage)


The Sith Inquisitor is one of the more controversial v-set pieces. On one hand, with 40 hit points and 16 defense, it's too fragile for a competitive squad in most circumstances - it's going to get pumped by a twinning Lancer, or Han Smuggler, or any number of things quickly. Since Force Grip uses targeting rules, it's easy enough to play around - you can park a mouse or something in front of your big attacker to stop the Inquisitor Gripping it - and since the Sith don't have tempo control, it's hard to set up for the next round. Plus there's a big enough segment of pieces that are force immune, like Talon Kardde squads, Imperials with Ysalamari, and Yuuzhan Vong, that it's a big risk playing a 24 point piece that's fully dependent on Force Powers.

But on the other hand, when the Sith Inquisitor does pull off Master of Pain it can be devastating - last week at our Mass Battles after LowerHuttACon, at 500 points, Darth O used Master of Pain on Sharron's Boba Fett Mandalore, and then promptly transferred into him with Exar Kun, taking out his opponent's big threat in one smooth move. The Inquisitor is probably more viable at 500 points, where it's not such a big chunk of your squad, at 200 it's too negligible in a lot of circumstances to be worthwhile.

If you are going to play it, I'd suggest Caedus Sith Lord's Sith Battle Manipulation for getting it into position and Exar Kun Dark Force Spirit for making those save rolls harder are the best support, but realistically the Inquisitor is too risky and fragile to build around at 200 points, despite the potential for some devastating hi-jinks, 5/10.
TheHutts
Posted: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 4:48:15 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 6/23/2010
Posts: 3,562
Location: The Hutt, New Zealand
Darth Traya, from Renegades and Rogues



Quote:
36 points, Sith
Hit Points: 90
Defense: 20
Attack: 11
Damage: 20

Special Abilities
Unique
Melee Attack (Can attack only adjacent enemies)
Triple Attack (On her turn, this character can make 2 extra attacks instead of moving)
Makashi Style (When hit by a melee attack, this character takes no damage with a save of 11. Shii-Cho Style cannot be used against this character.)
Shii-Cho Style (+4 Attack and +4 Defense when 3 or more enemies are within 6 squares)
Telekinetic Combat (This character may attack targets within 6 squares. This counts as an attack with a lightsaber and any attack against a nonadjacent target counts as a nonmelee attack.)

Force Powers
Force 4
Lightsaber Deflect (Force 1: When hit by a nonmelee attack, this character takes no damage with a save of 11)
Sith Hunger (Force 1, replaces attacks: range 6; 20 damage to target living enemy, and remove 20 damage from this character. If the target has Force points remaining, transfer 1 Force point from the target to this character.)


WOTC left a huge gap for mid-price unique Sith - there was nothing between Darth Sidious Hologram at 11 points and Darth Nihl at 42 points. Traya's one of lots of good pieces to fill the gap - she's a really good 36 point beatstick with Telekinetic Combat and Triple, with defense from Shii-Cho, Makashi, and Deflect. With no force renewal, she's an excellent candidate for haunting with Exar Kun DFS to get Sith Rage 1. While she's not currently part of a Sith Tier 1 squad that I've seen, I think the potential's there, and she's featured at least once in Regional Top 4s, with Ryn Weeks taking her to the Top 4 in the Atlanta Regional in 2012:

Quote:
"Meh"
Darth Zannah
Darth Traya
The Huntress
Atton "Jaq" Rand
Exar Kun, DFS
Ugnaught Droid Destroyer
Ugnaught Demolitionist x4
Mouse Droid x3


Traya's a really good piece, who's been somewhat forgotten; as a follower who's reasonably tough, there are all sorts of possibilities for her, and even if she hasn't seen all that much play lately, I still think she's worthy of a 9/10.
Deathwielded
Posted: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 6:19:16 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 3/19/2013
Posts: 1,249
I glad you gave Traya a good review! I do think she is just below top teir Sith pieces and I feel she is largely overlooked. Sith Hunger is a great way to deal Auto damage and heal at the same time. I like her with Darth W the 3rd to get her Backlash for a nice long range.
TheHutts
Posted: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 6:37:50 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 6/23/2010
Posts: 3,562
Location: The Hutt, New Zealand
Deathwielded wrote:
I glad you gave Traya a good review! I do think she is just below top teir Sith pieces and I feel she is largely overlooked. Sith Hunger is a great way to deal Auto damage and heal at the same time. I like her with Darth W the 3rd to get her Backlash for a nice long range.


Maybe her biggest problem is that Atton 'Jaq' is another Sith support piece in the price range, who is clearly even better than Traya, since he can shoot and has override. And she doesn't work great with Revan - she's not a big enough damage dealer just to drop in with swap - or Caedus who also has Makashi. So I guess her best bet is in a squad of mid-range pieces, like the Ryn Weeks one. She's still a really good piece though - there are maybe some unexplored possibilities with her.
TheHutts
Posted: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 8:15:41 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 6/23/2010
Posts: 3,562
Location: The Hutt, New Zealand
Dooku, from Bounty Hunters Challenge



Quote:
100 points, Separatist
Hit Points: 140
Defense: 22
Attack: 15
Damage: 20

Special Abilities
Unique
Melee Attack (Can attack only adjacent enemies)
Double Attack (On his turn, this character can make 1 extra attack instead of moving)
Twin Attack (Whenever this character attacks, he makes 1 extra attack against the same target)
Lightsaber Duelist (+4 Defense when attacked by an adjacent enemy with a Force rating)
Jedi Reflexes (This character can make an attack of opportunity against an enemy character that moves into or out of an adjacent square. Characters with special abilities that ignore characters while moving are subject to this ability.)
Lightsaber Trainer (At the start of the skirmish, after setup, choose an ally with a Force rating and a lightsaber who costs less than this character. Also choose Shii-Cho Style, Makashi Style, Soresu Style, Ataru Style, Djem So Style, or Niman Style. For the rest of the skirmish, the chosen ally gains the chosen special ability.)
Makashi Style Mastery (When hit by a melee attack, this character takes no damage with a save of 11. Shii-Cho, Soresu, Ataru, and Niman Style cannot be used against this character.)

Force Powers
Force 3
Force Renewal 2 (This character gets 2 Force points each time he activates)
Master of the Force 2 (May spend Force points up to 2 times in a single turn)
Chain Lightning 4 (Force 4, replaces attacks: range 6; 30 damage to target and to each enemy within 3 squares of the target)
Lightsaber Deflect (Force 1: When hit by a nonmelee attack, this character takes no damage with a save of 11)
Lightsaber Riposte 2 (Force 2: When hit by a melee attack, this character can make an immediate attack at +10 Damage against that attacker)
Sith Grip (Force 2, replaces attacks: sight; 20 damage)

Commander Effect
Once per turn, each follower within 6 squares may reroll a missed attack at +4 Attack and +10 Damage. If the result is still a miss, that character is defeated.


In 2012, the first two Bounty Hunter Challenge pieces, a Luke and a Palpatine were released. While they received a lot of fanfare and angst about their power level (http://www.bloomilk.com/forums/default.aspx?g=posts&t=11604 - where Sithborg sums it up nicely with "They are 100 pt pieces. They sort of have to be powerful."), they turned out to be relatively underwhelming at 200 points - Luke did make a Regional final, where he got pumped by Stealth and Blue in 10 minutes, while Palpatine didn't really feature in the Regionals, and they really haven't seen much play in New Zealand competitive games.

The next pair of Bounty Hunter Challenge pieces have attracted far less consternation, but at least in my book, they're a whole lot stronger. Defensively Dooku is a tank with Makashi, Deflect, and MOTF2, while he's also got some recourse for anything that comes in close with Reflexes and Riposte 2. While Dooku has limited damage for a 100 point piece with a simple Twin Attack for +20, he does have some additional options with the area affect of Chain Lightning and his Commander Effect which is tailor made for triggering Geonosian Drones - it means that Separatist squads can trigger Drones more than once per round, and means that they don't need to pack a Muun Tactics Broker to do so.

Urbanjedi has already taken Dooku to the Indiana Regional final along with 15 Drones, Poggle, San Hill, the BX Spotter/Sniper combo, and some tech. In my opinion at least, I think this is a very competitive build - Dooku's synergy with the 2 point pieces means he can get up to a decent number of activations, while the BX Sniper/Spotter combo can give Dooku some ranged defense and can help ping any Disruptive pieces.

Dooku is a really creative design, a 100 point piece who's not a heavy damage dealer per se, but who has a range of interesting options that create a distinctively flavoured squad. 10/10.
TimmerB123
Posted: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 9:04:47 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 7/9/2008
Posts: 4,729
Location: Chicago
Quote:


Tim Ballard, I challenge you to play Nomi Sunrider at a regional this year. If you can win with that, Daniel and I will carry you around Indy on a palanquin during Gencon.


Hilarious! I had forgotten all about this!

I never even considered playing her. Even if she wasn't overcosted - she's totally not my play style, in my personal worst faction.

I just can't do OR
General_Grievous
Posted: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 9:39:49 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
Groups: Member

Joined: 1/8/2010
Posts: 3,623
TheHutts wrote:
Dooku, from Bounty Hunters Challenge



Quote:
100 points, Separatist
Hit Points: 140
Defense: 22
Attack: 15
Damage: 20

Special Abilities
Unique
Melee Attack (Can attack only adjacent enemies)
Double Attack (On his turn, this character can make 1 extra attack instead of moving)
Twin Attack (Whenever this character attacks, he makes 1 extra attack against the same target)
Lightsaber Duelist (+4 Defense when attacked by an adjacent enemy with a Force rating)
Jedi Reflexes (This character can make an attack of opportunity against an enemy character that moves into or out of an adjacent square. Characters with special abilities that ignore characters while moving are subject to this ability.)
Lightsaber Trainer (At the start of the skirmish, after setup, choose an ally with a Force rating and a lightsaber who costs less than this character. Also choose Shii-Cho Style, Makashi Style, Soresu Style, Ataru Style, Djem So Style, or Niman Style. For the rest of the skirmish, the chosen ally gains the chosen special ability.)
Makashi Style Mastery (When hit by a melee attack, this character takes no damage with a save of 11. Shii-Cho, Soresu, Ataru, and Niman Style cannot be used against this character.)

Force Powers
Force 3
Force Renewal 2 (This character gets 2 Force points each time he activates)
Master of the Force 2 (May spend Force points up to 2 times in a single turn)
Chain Lightning 4 (Force 4, replaces attacks: range 6; 30 damage to target and to each enemy within 3 squares of the target)
Lightsaber Deflect (Force 1: When hit by a nonmelee attack, this character takes no damage with a save of 11)
Lightsaber Riposte 2 (Force 2: When hit by a melee attack, this character can make an immediate attack at +10 Damage against that attacker)
Sith Grip (Force 2, replaces attacks: sight; 20 damage)

Commander Effect
Once per turn, each follower within 6 squares may reroll a missed attack at +4 Attack and +10 Damage. If the result is still a miss, that character is defeated.


In 2012, the first two Bounty Hunter Challenge pieces, a Luke and a Palpatine were released. While they received a lot of fanfare and angst about their power level (http://www.bloomilk.com/forums/default.aspx?g=posts&t=11604 - where Sithborg sums it up nicely with "They are 100 pt pieces. They sort of have to be powerful."), they turned out to be relatively underwhelming at 200 points - Luke did make a Regional final, where he got pumped by Stealth and Blue in 10 minutes, while Palpatine didn't really feature in the Regionals, and they really haven't seen much play in New Zealand competitive games.

The next pair of Bounty Hunter Challenge pieces have attracted far less consternation, but at least in my book, they're a whole lot stronger. Defensively Dooku is a tank with Makashi, Deflect, and MOTF2, while he's also got some recourse for anything that comes in close with Reflexes and Riposte 2. While Dooku has limited damage for a 100 point piece with a simple Twin Attack for +20, he does have some additional options with the area affect of Chain Lightning and his Commander Effect which is tailor made for triggering Geonosian Drones - it means that Separatist squads can trigger Drones more than once per round, and means that they don't need to pack a Muun Tactics Broker to do so.

Urbanjedi has already taken Dooku to the Indiana Regional final along with 15 Drones, Poggle, San Hill, the BX Spotter/Sniper combo, and some tech. In my opinion at least, I think this is a very competitive build - Dooku's synergy with the 2 point pieces means he can get up to a decent number of activations, while the BX Sniper/Spotter combo can give Dooku some ranged defense and can help ping any Disruptive pieces.

Dooku is a really creative design, a 100 point piece who's not a heavy damage dealer per se, but who has a range of interesting options that create a distinctively flavoured squad. 10/10.


One of my favourites! I won a tourney with him and Grievous HoH. Tons of fun and can hold his own.
TimmerB123
Posted: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 5:47:45 AM
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Joined: 7/9/2008
Posts: 4,729
Location: Chicago
TheHutts wrote:
Padmé Amidala, from Clone Strike


She's actually featured in a competitive Regional squad as recently as 2012, when TimmerB took her with some Felucians to a 2-2 record in the Danville Regional - Padmé could bodyguard the Shamans to keep them alive:
Quote:
--Eternal Bodyguards (aka the most frustrating squad ever!)--
54 Cad Bane
36 Felucian Shaman x2
15 Padmé Amidala
9 R2-D2, Astromech Droid
16 R7 Astromech Droid x2
70 Felucian x10
(200pts. 17 activations)


Of course, a clump of bodyguards is vulnerable to area effects and direct damage, like Force Pushes and Missiles, but Padmé Amidala is still the cheapest source of a strong game mechanic, and as such has the chance to feature in some squads. 8/10.


I actually wasn't that scared of area effects. Bodyguards can't take damage for an ally from SAs, but most of the squad was Felucians, and they certainly were front and center. So missile them all day, then they will most likely make their save and live. If I was facing an area effect, I would make sure that I had Felucians up front, then a space, then Cad, R2, Padme and the Shamans bodyguarded by another Felucian.

There was really only 1 squad type I was worried about, and that was Ysalamiri and a bunch of stealthy guns. And I even thought to myself - well, I can even lose to 1 of those and maybe still make the top 4.

Basically I just form a protective ring around Cad Bane, and only use bodyguard when someone tries to attack HIM (or R2, or Padme, or a shaman). That usually would only happen with accurate shot or strafe. I could even handle a lancer most of the time, unless it was a lancer AND disruptive. Of course I ended up facing a lancer and HK-47 Assassin Droid squad (WHAT ARE THE FREAKING CHANCES!?!) Even then I made a go of it, I almost killed HK with Cad before he could shut off my bodyguard. Eventually he figured out that all he had to do was get HK into range of my felucians and then strafe me a few time to kill Cad Bane. He mowed me down at that point.

And then I end up facing Randy with old skool Grand Admiral Thrawn (with Ysalamiri) and superstealth guns. Ugh - bad matchup luck! I made a go of that game as well - I towed up Cad bane to kill GA Thrawn, needing anything but 1s to kill him. Guess what I rolled? Not one, not two, but THREE 1s. Lol. That bad luck vs Randy came around the year at the IN regional when we had Talon Karrde dead in his sights and rolled 2 big misses with a Daala boosted Storm Commando.

Mike G and his lancer did not make the top 4, so had I made it there was a good chance I would have won. I would have beat the top 2 squads fairly easily.

In a way I'm glad that didn't happen though. That squad was so annoying to run (positioning was a nightmare! It moved across the board like a phalanx of slugs) I can only imagine FACING it if others copied it. It is a giant NPE on both sides of the board.
TheHutts
Posted: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 1:16:21 PM
Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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Joined: 6/23/2010
Posts: 3,562
Location: The Hutt, New Zealand
Republic Commando - Boss, from Champions of the Force



Quote:
19 points, Republic
Hit Points: 30
Defense: 17
Attack: 9
Damage: 20

Special Abilities
Order 66
Mobile Attack (Can move both before and after attacking)
Stealth (If this character has cover, he does not count as the nearest enemy for an attacker farther than 6 squares when choosing targets)

Commander Effect
At the end of this character's turn, 1 follower within 6 squares whose name contains Republic Commando can make an immediate attack.


I guess the Delta Squad from Champions of the Force must have enjoyed some popularity upon release, but nowadays they just look quaint. With 30 hit points and low base stats, the Commandos are just too low powered to make an impression on big pieces, and with no access to tempo control they'll get out-teched by most tournament builds. Boss is possibly the best of the four, with his cannon CE, but right now, there isn't a follower worth giving it to; even with the much better v-set Republic Commandos, they're still only shooting for 20s, and he's just so weak that it's not worthwhile. Not giving these pieces Unique was either an oversight or a weird design decision. It looks like there are remakes of some of Delta squad coming out in the upcoming v-set, and I think it's well overdue: 2/10.

Update - with the new Elites, old school Boss is really good! 9/10.
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