Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Unit Guides: Luke Skywalker

"You'll find I'm full of surprises."

Luke Skywalker is the only commander available to the Rebel Alliance at this time. While not as powerful or durable as Darth Vader, he is still one of the strongest units in the game, as well as one of the most versatile.


Statistics

Luke Skywalker costs 160 points, which accounts for 20% of your army's budget.
His wound threshold is 6, with a courage of 3. This means that it takes at least 3 suppression tokens to suppress Luke and at least 6 suppression tokens for him (and nearby friendly troopers) to panic.
His red defense die has a 50% chance to block incoming hits; this can be further improved to 62.5% if you trigger his Deflect keyword. Given that he has Immune: Pierce, this makes him among the most difficult units to damage.
Luke has Speed 2, a typical speed for trooper units; with Jump 1 Luke is the most mobile trooper unit in the game (before upgrades.)

At range 1-2, Luke can use his DL-44 Blaster Pistol with 2 red dice. His offensive surges convert to crits, so this attack averages 1.75 hits, of which 0.5 are crits.
In melee Luke uses Anakin's Lightsaber with 6 black dice. Offensive surges counting as crits, it has an average of 3.75 hits (which includes 1.5 crits), one of the more potent attacks in the game. The Charge keyword helps him to bring this attack to bear more easily.

Total Hits vs. % Chance; Black = Melee, Red = DL-44 Blaster, Green = Saber Throw

Above is the probability distribution for each of Luke's attacks: his lightsaber, his blaster, and the optional Saber Throw upgrade.
While the DL-44 Blaster Pistol maxes out at only 2 damage, it is very consistent, rolling 2 hits about 76.6% of the time and missing completely only 1.6% of the time. With Pierce 2, Luke can steadily chip away at unarmored targets that are out in the open.
While slightly less impressive than Vader's, Luke's lightsaber attack is still quite strong. The Most Probable Result is 4 damage at about a 32.2% chance. This attack will miss completely less than 0.3% of the time, and will result in at least 3 damage more than 85% of the time. With Impact 2 and Pierce 2, Luke can reliably damage almost every unit he engages in melee.
It should also be noted that because Luke converts offensive surges to crits, both attacks are slightly more effective against armor, and the lightsaber melee attack has a decent chance of doing 3 damage to armored units.

Because Luke's chance to block hits varies depending on if Deflect is active or not, his Effective Health Points range from 12-18. Even if he never uses Deflect a unit of 4 Rebel Troopers would have to attack Luke an average of 6 times to kill him (assuming no aim tokens or cover). By way of comparison, 4 Stormtroopers would need 8 attacks in the same scenario. As long as Luke has a steady supply of dodge tokens, he stands a good chance of weathering numerous attacks before going down. Because Luke has Immune: Pierce, even Darth Vader will be lucky to take Luke down in fewer than 3 attacks.

Upgrades

Luke is capable of taking up to 2 Force upgrades and 1 Gear upgrade. You might want to consider some of the following upgrades:

Force Reflexes (15 pts)
This card allows you to exhaust it in order to gain a dodge token as a free action. It is currently the most expensive Force upgrade in the game, but it is can be well worth the points. Dodge tokens are particularly valuable on Luke, as it allows him to mitigate 1 damage and activate his Deflect keyword, potentially blocking more damage while also dealing your attacker unblockable wounds. It is a free action but must be exhausted on use, so you'll have to take a refresh action before you can use it again.

Saber Throw (10 pts)
This lets you make an attack with half of your lightsaber's dice at range 1-2. I find this upgrade to be redundant on Luke, since he already has a ranged attack. However, it does have some advantages over the DL-44 attack; it has slightly better average damage of 1.875, does a maximum of 3 damage instead of 2, and has Impact 2 in addition to Pierce 2.
As can be seen in the above Hit Percentage Curve, Saber Throw is actually slightly more likely to miss or do only 1 damage. Its Most Probable Result is 2 damage, at a 43.9% chance, but it has a 24.4% chance to roll 3 damage.


Battle Meditation (10 pts)
Giving orders to a unit outside your command range is a useful ability that can greatly improve your tactical flexibility. While similar to Long Range Comms in both cost and effect, it is better in that you can issue orders to any unit. This can be especially helpful if you like to separate your forces or want to aggressively roam the battlefield with Luke. However, it does compete with other powerful Force upgrades, and won't work when you are using a second Commander to issue orders.

Force Push (10 pts)
This looks to be an excellent utility upgrade. While limited to effecting trooper units at range 1, its uses are numerous: move enemy troopers away from objectives, move them out of cover, move them into melee range with Luke, move them into range of one of your other units, move them into difficult terrain, or use it as a means to safely disengage Luke or another friendly unit from melee. In a game where positioning is paramount, being able to manipulate your enemies in this way should not be overlooked. Finally, forcing a unit with a standby token to perform a move will cause it to lose its standby token. Using it is a free action, though it must be exhausted to use.

Jedi Mind Trick (5pts)
For only 5 points, Jedi Mind Trick lets you give 2 suppression tokens to an enemy trooper unit at range 1-2. This is enough to suppress regular trooper units, even if they manage to remove 1 suppression token during the rally step at the beginning of their activation. This will limit them to only taking 1 action during their activation, making them less dangerous and less mobile. If the targeted unit already has suppression tokens you might even be able to push them to the point of Panic. Additionally, this can be used to get rid of an enemy unit's standby token should they have one. This is also a free action that must be exhausted on use.

Luke Skywalker's Role in Your Army

Luke's status as a commander makes him one of the most important units on the table. Fortunately for aspiring Rebel players, Speed 2 and Jump 1 make it so he can easily keep pace with the bulk of your forces. Though he mostly supports friendly troopers via his command cards, his heroic presence keeps nearby units with fewer than 6 suppression tokens from panicking. While neither as durable nor as damaging as Darth Vader, he doesn't appear to have any glaring weaknesses either.

Luke is fairly hardy, but you must be prepared to protect him from concentrated fire. The most obvious ways to do this are move into cover and take dodge tokens. Since Deflect only triggers once you've spent a dodge token, you may want to save your dodge tokens for big attacks where you face several hits and are more likely to roll one or more defensive surges. Because it is a potential source of unblockable damage, it may also be desirable to activate Deflect when defending against armored or other difficult to wound units. Keep in mind the possibility of stacking multiple dodge tokens, for instance by playing Return of the Jedi, taking the dodge action, and using Force Reflexes.

The desire to keep him alive doesn't mean you should limit Luke to cowering in one place and plinking away with his blaster. One of Luke's strengths is his mobility; use it. Jump over walls to take entrenched troopers by surprise. Charging troopers not only ties them up and damages them; it also prevents greater threats, like an AT-ST, from shooting you.

One specific combo I expect Rebel players to attempt is what I call the "Son of Skywalker Special" or the "Luke Triple-Tap." Allow me to illustrate with the following scenario: by bringing 5 or 6 units of Rebel Troopers, you've managed to outnumber you opponent. However, his men are better armed and have a powerful AT-ST supporting them. You have them out-manned, but they have you outgunned.
Over the course of a few rounds, you've only managed to deal 3 wounds to the walker, and it threatens to kill several of your units off if you don't deal with it quickly. Fortunately, you've given an order to Luke and have waited until the end of the round to activate him. You're just barely within 2 moves of the AT-ST. You activate Luke and charge! You move twice and get a free attack, rolling 2 hits and a crit. Impact 2 makes this 3 crits. The walker fails to block them; its now at 6 wounds with 5 health left. The round ends, the next one begins, and you play Son of Skywalker, allowing Luke to attack twice! You roll 2 hits; Impact 2 makes them crits. The walker gets 2 blocks, but you have Pierce 2 so it doesn't matter. It's at 8 wounds now, only 3 health left. Your second attack gets you a crit, a surge, and 2 hits; this becomes 4 crits. The AT-ST only gets 1 block, and is now a smoking ruin. By making 3 attacks in a row, Luke ends up the hero of the day!

Luke turns the tide single-handedly  

In practice this will probably be difficult to pull off. Nonetheless, I foresee that it will be a common tactic to try holding Luke back until the end of the round and then trying to take initiative with Son of Skywalker or Ambush to activate him first with the hope of destroying an enemy before it has a chance to activate. Don't be surprised when if your opponent sees this coming and tries to disrupt this gambit, either by using the standby action to react to Luke's going last, or by playing a high priority command of his own to potentially deny Luke the first activation.

Everything considered, his ability to make dynamic plays is perhaps Luke's greatest strength. Even if your opponent prevents you from triple-tapping or otherwise wreaking havoc with Luke, the efforts they put forth to do so may be turned to your advantage. The threat of activating first can pressure them into burning a high priority Command Card at an otherwise inopportune time; a unit that has taken a standby token may be countered by avoiding its reaction zone entirely, or suppressing or destroying it before it has a chance to trigger.

Command Cards

Luke Skywalker has 3 unique Command Cards that can only be used with him in your army. As stated above, Luke mostly supports friendly units via his My Ally is the Force and Return of the Jedi. All of Luke's cards can be used to make himself more effective as well.

Son of Skywalker
1 pip, Luke Skywalker only
After Luke Skywalker performs his first attack, he may perform 1 additional attack.
With only 1 pip, playing this card gives you a good chance to win initiative and make the first activation for the round. Of course, since you will only be able to issue an order to Luke, it's probably best to play if Luke is in a position to destroy (or at least cripple) an important enemy unit. To really get the most out of this card, you'll want to be close enough to use Luke's Charge ability and make to powerful melee attacks (as illustrated previously in this guide.) Keep in mind that running Luke to the forefront of the battle at the very beginning of a round could leave him in a very dangerous position, exposed to counterattacks from the rest of your opponent's army.
Alternatively, you could always use this card to get Luke out of danger, attacking twice (if feasible) and then running away into cover.


My Ally is the Force
2 pips, 2 trooper units
When a friendly trooper unit is issued an order, it gains 1 dodge token.
Unlike Vader, who will push his troops beyond their limits to achieve his goals, Luke seems more concerned for the welfare of his fellow soldiers. If you have 1 or 2 trooper units in danger of being attacked, using this card to issue them orders will grant them a dodge token. Obviously this combos nicely with any units that have the Nimble keyword, such as Rebel Troopers.
Important to note is that this happens when orders are issued, before units activate for the round. And since Luke is a trooper unit, you could issue orders and a dodge token to him, allowing him to use his Deflect ability even if an enemy unit activates before he does.

Return of the Jedi
3 pips, Luke Skywalker and 2 units
When Luke Skywalker is issued an order, he gains 1 dodge token. When Luke Skywalker activates, each friendly trooper unit at range 1-3 of him may remove 1 suppression token.
Though you are unlikely to win initiative for the round when using this card, Luke will gain a dodge token as soon as he's issued an order. This is always good as it will improve his defense and allow him to use Deflect even if attacked before he himself has activated.
The usefulness of the second effect, which allows Luke to remove 1 suppression token from each friendly trooper within range 3 when he activates, may be a bit more situational. It seems like this card was specifically designed as a soft counter to Darth Vader's Master of Evil command, and you can get good value out of Return of the Jedi if you manage to play it in the same round as Master of Evil and activate Luke after Vader dumps 3 suppression tokens on some of your troopers.
Even if you don't have to face Vader, having some means to remove suppression tokens will come in handy to prevent units that are getting focused fire from panicking. Though it only removes 1 suppression token per unit, this can be the difference between a unit getting 2 actions during its activation or being reduced to only 1.
Note that this also allows Luke to remove a suppression token from himself as well.

Is Luke a better commader than Vader? Sound off in the comments below. And as always, thanks for reading!
A look the the Luke Skywalker mini
Return to Unit Guides

Change Log
12/15/2017: changed "overwatch" to the official wording of "standby"
1/2/2018: updated to discuss some effects of courage, suppression, and panic
2/10/2018: added discussion of Force upgrades
2/12/2018: updated the description of Force Push and Jedi Mind Trick to include their interaction with standby tokens
2/26/2018: added discussion of Command Cards
3/25/2018: added command card images and a photo of the Luke Skywalker mini
4/2/2018: corrected some typos

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