Mandalore the Resurrector, from Command of the Galaxy





In between buying milk, during the Sith Holo News Network last week, Lou Vasillion sagely remarked that pieces with Double Attack, Greater Mobile Attack, and Accurate are very powerful. There are only a handful in the game, and Mandalore the Resurrector is one of them. As well as being a very respectable shooter in his own right for 38 points, he also brings some interesting Commander Effects to the table, that open up some new builds for the Mandos. Firstly, Mandalorian allies with Accurate Shot gain Advantageous attack - this helps Boba Fett Mercenary Commander, by increasing his damage output, as well any followers who benefit from his CE. It can also help any Fringe Boba Fetts who gain Mandalorian through Mirta Gev - Boba Fett Mercenary can transform into a double/twin/cunning/advantageous/accurate shooter with some help, although it's a very tight fit at 200 points. Secondly, he hands out Twin to allies named Mandalorian Protector; this helps Fenn Shysa, as well as the non-unique Protectors.

Mandalore the Resurrector is a strong option for the Mandalorians - he's even worth running in squads that don't utilise either of his Commander Effects, since 38 points for a durable shooter with double and accurate is a good deal in itself, although running him in a squad with Fenn Shysa makes him even better. 9/10.

I was tossing up between an 8 and a 9, so I'm happy to go with 9. He is a really good piece.

Beast Rider of Onderon, from Armed and Operational





The Beast Rider of Onderon is most interesting as the piece that results when you make a successful Dismount roll when a Beast Rider of Drexl is defeated; on a Save 11, you get to place a Beast Rider of Onderon in its place. It's certainly not bad as a bonus piece - you get an extra 40 hit points, and its attack is quite respectable if it picks up the Synergy bonus. It is limited by the fact that the huge based Beast Rider on Drexl is more of a casual/scenario piece in the first place.

Outside of its use as a Dismount piece, the Beast Rider is a relatively mediocre fringe shooter - it falls into the large pool of pieces that are inferior to the Klat Assassin. With Survival Expert, it has some good synergies in Rebels, where it gains +4 to saves for Rieekan's evade and Leia Hoth Commander's resurrection saves, but it has few ways to gain a damage bonus in Rebels, so it's not a very big threat. The Beast Rider of Onderon is fine for what it does, but you're unlikely to see it on the tournament tables anytime soon, 5/10.

Trianii Scout, from The Dark Times





The Trianii Scout feels remarkably similar to the Beast Rider of Onderon from yesterday, except that you don't get it free as a Dismount piece, so there's no reason to ever see it on the table. In-built Evade is good, but otherwise the Scout just a really boring Fringe grunt, that's never going to see play in front of a Klatooinian Assassin. They're not awful, and Evade alone is enough to take them off the bottom couple of tiers, but WOTC didn't do non-uniques in this price range very well, and the Trianii is just another boring, redundant grunt. 3/10.

I dont know that this piece could have have been worth it. Back in the day, I know the heavy storm troopers actually got competitive play. 30 damage was a huge deal at that time, and there wasn't the mechanics like mobile attack that guaranteed death to anyone standing in LOS. My guess is maybe someone ran these guys with CoTF Mace for double attack (not moving them anyways), but, like 99% of WotC grunts, this guy has little use outside of RPG's and proxies.

Mandalorian Scientist, from Vengeance





Twin has long been a defining ability for the Mandalorians, with the Captain's Twin CE a faction staple, but the advent of Bastilla Jedi Master's Advanced Battle Meditation meant that the Captain was neutered, and another in-faction option for providing Twin Attack was necessary. (I'm not on the design team, but I'm assuming that's more or less what happened). The Scientist is like a more robust Czerka Scientist, which only hands out the Blaster Upgrade - but that's the key part for the Mandos as it means that their Scouts gain Twin Attack, along with other useful 10 damage shooters like Kelborn and the Mandalorian Crusader. Of course, robust is only relative, as it still only has 30 hit points, but it at least means it doesn't keel over in a mild breeze. It's a good option with Jaster Mereel, as you can choose whether to bring in a Captain or a Scientist depending on the matchup.

The Mandalorian Scientist's stock has been dented somewhat with the introduction of Kelborn as a Mando auto-include; although he's a 10 damage shooter, Kelborn's Gauntlet Knife SA means that he doesn't gain twin when he's attacking adjacent enemies, so that he can't get the big 120 damage attacks against an adjacent piece at the top of the round, making the Captain a stronger option in a Kelborn squad. The advent of new Neo Crusader pieces without access to twin is another reason that the Scientist has been pushed from the forefront of the game a little. But the Scientist is still a solid option, especially if you're in a meta with a lot of Bastila - it's still a strong piece for 11 points, 7/10.

I dunno, I've never used him, but I'd be more inclined to say 7/10 rather than 8.

You're correct in assuming the designers' intentions for him, but I think 30hp and no defensive abilities makes him a very tricky piece to use. If Twin is so central to the Mando squads (as you rightly say), then wouldn't it make sense to make that essential Twin-giving piece a little more robust or survivable? If I'm gonna lose half of my damage output after a 30hp piece dies (a piece which has to be in the thick of things, with no help from Relay Orders), then I think I'll usually end up looking elsewhere.

I think cheaper and Force Renewal 2 would have helped him a lot. He is a cool piece - all his Force Powers are really strong - just too expensive for what he does to work at the top level.

Perhaps it's time for a Wuher type piece for Klatooinians, but it should also make the Enforcer cost 6 less.

I totally forgot about the Hunter. At least the Saleucami Trooper can hit an uggie in cover.

But yeah, the Assassins aren't broken in the strict sense, though they sure ruin it for a bunch of other pieces as far as table time goes.