Statistics
At a cost of 44 points, Fleet Troopers are slightly more costly than their Rebel Trooper counterparts. A standard unit of Fleet Troopers has 4 minis, each with a wound threshold of 1 and courage of 1; without additional upgrades, it can only take 4 hits before it's completely eliminated. Just 1 suppression token is enough to suppress a unit of Fleet Troopers, and they can only have 2 suppression tokens without being at risk of panicking.
Fleet Troopers have a white defense die and convert surges to blocks, which means they have a 33.3% chance to block each incoming hit.
Speed 2 gives them average mobility.
Fleet Troopers have a white defense die and convert surges to blocks, which means they have a 33.3% chance to block each incoming hit.
Speed 2 gives them average mobility.
When attacking with their DH-17 Blaster Pistol they throw 2 white dice each. Since their offensive surges convert to hits, each Fleet Trooper averages 0.75 damage. This yields an average of 3 damage from 4 troopers, including 1 average crit. However, the DH-17's limited attack range is a noticeable drawback compared to many other units.
Their melee Unarmed attack does slightly less damage on average; a black die with offensive surge to hit has a 62.5% chance to hit its mark. This yields an average of 2.5 hits from 4 troopers (and 0.5 crits.)
Ready 1 allows them to gain 1 aim token after performing a standby action.
Total Hits vs. % Chance; Red = DH-17, Black = Melee
Above we can see the probability distribution for the Fleet Troopers ranged and melee attacks. When attacking at range with the DH-17 Blaster Pistol, the Most Probable Result is 3 damage (~28.2% chance). Because they throw a lot of white dice, there is a lot of variability in the results. Most of the time (that is, about 86.5% of the time,) 4 Fleet Troopers will produce 2 or more damage. But they are more likely to miss entirely (~2.3%) than they are to get 7 or 8 damage (~0.91%).
Thanks to their offensive surge conversion, Fleet Troopers are slightly more adept at melee combat than normal Rebel Troopers. Their Unarmed melee attack has a Most Probable Result of 3 damage, with a 36.6% chance. While they do less average damage in melee compared to their ranged attack, Fleet Troopers are actually a bit less likely to miss completely (with a less than 2% chance.)
With their white defense dice converting surges into blocks, each individual trooper has 1.5 EHP. Since a standard unit of 4 Stormtroopers averages 1.5 damage per ranged attack, you would expect to lose 1 Fleet Trooper to each attack (this is an average that ignores the use of cover, aim tokens, and dodge tokens.) If the Stormtroopers don't suffer any losses in return, then they would expect to destroy the unit of Fleet Troopers after 4 attacks. However, under these same conditions an enemy unit of Fleet Troopers would get the job done in 2 attacks.
When attacking with their DH-17 Blaster Pistol they throw 2 white dice each. Since their offensive surges convert to hits, each Fleet Trooper averages 0.75 damage. This yields an average of 3 damage from 4 troopers, including 1 average crit. However, the DH-17's limited attack range is a noticeable drawback compared to many other units.
Their melee Unarmed attack does slightly less damage on average; a black die with offensive surge to hit has a 62.5% chance to hit its mark. This yields an average of 2.5 hits from 4 troopers (and 0.5 crits.)
Their melee Unarmed attack does slightly less damage on average; a black die with offensive surge to hit has a 62.5% chance to hit its mark. This yields an average of 2.5 hits from 4 troopers (and 0.5 crits.)
Ready 1 allows them to gain 1 aim token after performing a standby action.
Above we can see the probability distribution for the Fleet Troopers ranged and melee attacks. When attacking at range with the DH-17 Blaster Pistol, the Most Probable Result is 3 damage (~28.2% chance). Because they throw a lot of white dice, there is a lot of variability in the results. Most of the time (that is, about 86.5% of the time,) 4 Fleet Troopers will produce 2 or more damage. But they are more likely to miss entirely (~2.3%) than they are to get 7 or 8 damage (~0.91%).
Thanks to their offensive surge conversion, Fleet Troopers are slightly more adept at melee combat than normal Rebel Troopers. Their Unarmed melee attack has a Most Probable Result of 3 damage, with a 36.6% chance. While they do less average damage in melee compared to their ranged attack, Fleet Troopers are actually a bit less likely to miss completely (with a less than 2% chance.)
With their white defense dice converting surges into blocks, each individual trooper has 1.5 EHP. Since a standard unit of 4 Stormtroopers averages 1.5 damage per ranged attack, you would expect to lose 1 Fleet Trooper to each attack (this is an average that ignores the use of cover, aim tokens, and dodge tokens.) If the Stormtroopers don't suffer any losses in return, then they would expect to destroy the unit of Fleet Troopers after 4 attacks. However, under these same conditions an enemy unit of Fleet Troopers would get the job done in 2 attacks.
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| Total Hits vs. % Chance; Red = DH-17, Black = Melee |
Above we can see the probability distribution for the Fleet Troopers ranged and melee attacks. When attacking at range with the DH-17 Blaster Pistol, the Most Probable Result is 3 damage (~28.2% chance). Because they throw a lot of white dice, there is a lot of variability in the results. Most of the time (that is, about 86.5% of the time,) 4 Fleet Troopers will produce 2 or more damage. But they are more likely to miss entirely (~2.3%) than they are to get 7 or 8 damage (~0.91%).
Thanks to their offensive surge conversion, Fleet Troopers are slightly more adept at melee combat than normal Rebel Troopers. Their Unarmed melee attack has a Most Probable Result of 3 damage, with a 36.6% chance. While they do less average damage in melee compared to their ranged attack, Fleet Troopers are actually a bit less likely to miss completely (with a less than 2% chance.)
With their white defense dice converting surges into blocks, each individual trooper has 1.5 EHP. Since a standard unit of 4 Stormtroopers averages 1.5 damage per ranged attack, you would expect to lose 1 Fleet Trooper to each attack (this is an average that ignores the use of cover, aim tokens, and dodge tokens.) If the Stormtroopers don't suffer any losses in return, then they would expect to destroy the unit of Fleet Troopers after 4 attacks. However, under these same conditions an enemy unit of Fleet Troopers would get the job done in 2 attacks.
Upgrades
Rebel Troopers have 4 upgrade slots: Heavy Weapons, Personnel, Gear, and Grenades. Below are the upgrades that come in the Fleet Trooper expansion, relevant upgrades that come in the Core Set, and any upgrades that come in other expansions that I think are worth considering.
Heavy Weapons Slot
From the above probability distribution for Heavy Weapon attacks, we can see that while the MPL-57 Barrage Trooper has the potential to do more damage, the Scatter Gun Trooper produces damage more consistently. Of course, this graph is only a comparison of raw damage rolls, and doesn't take range, keywords, and other factors into account.
The Scatter Gun Trooper (23 pts) attacks with 2 red dice, and with an offensive surge conversion this means they roll an average of 1.75 damage. They are quite unlikely to miss, with less than a 1.6% chance to roll blanks, and the Pierce 1 keyword makes them very good for pushing damage through against most targets. Though they are still limited to only attacking at range 1-2, I think that their consistent dice and the powerful Pierce keyword makes them well worth the investment.
The MPL-57 Barrage Trooper (33 pts) is significantly more expensive, is noticeably less consistent (~14.6% chance to roll only blanks), and is exhausted on use. It rolls 1.375 average damage-- more than a normal Fleet Trooper-- but well short of 3 regular Fleet Troopers who would be of equivalent cost. However, it does have some definite advantages over the Scatter Gun Trooper. First of all it can hit targets at range 3, so you have a chance to hit enemies that would be too far away to harm otherwise. This also gives you more opportunities to split your fire if you want. And while the Scatter Gun Trooper is great at making damage stick, it can still be stymied by cover or armor-- but the MPL-57 Barrage Trooper has the Blast keyword, and Impact 2 makes it one of the Rebel's more potent anti-armor weapons.
To put it briefly: thanks to the combination of range 3, Blast, and Impact, the MPL-57 Barrage Trooper is one of the most versatile Heavy Weapons in the game, despite its drawbacks.
Personnel Slot
When you have the points available, I would recommend adding another Fleet Trooper (11 pts). Since they need to get in close to do damage, the ability to soak up one more hit while they advance can be valuable. This is especially true if you have invested in a Heavy Weapon trooper.
Gear Slot
Grappling Hooks (3 pts) might be helpful for getting your troopers safely into position to capture objectives, flank an enemy, or escape destruction. Just how helpful is going to depend on the terrain you're playing with.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts) allow up to 3 rerolls when you use an aim token. With lots of white dice, you're likely to be rolling a lot of blanks, so an additional reroll can be quite helpful. Unfortunately, Fleet Troopers may have fewer opportunities to aim and shoot compared to other Corps units owing to their shorter range. Of course, this can combo nicely with the Ready 1 ability, though the usefulness of the standby action is quite situational.
If you are confident in your ability to gain and use aim tokens, then Targeting Scopes can be a good investment.
Environmental Gear (3 pts) can be of particular use for Fleet Troopers. It can help them close the gap and bring them into attack range or make it easier to take up a good defensive position and standby. While it does depend on the terrain you're playing with, I find Environmental Gear tends to be more generally useful than Grappling Hooks.
Grenades Slot
Concussion Grenades (5 pts) lets you attack at range 1 with Blast, making it great for assaulting enemy troopers that are in behind cover or already suppressed. Of course these are a bit redundant if you are using the MPL-57 Barrage Trooper.
Impact Grenades (5 pts) are the cheapest way to gain Impact and improve your anti-armor capabilities. If you are worried about not having enough anti-armor weapons, then this could be 5 points well spent.
The Fleet Troopers' Role in Your Army
Like Rebel Troopers, Fleet Troopers are useful for their ability to score objectives in scenarios such as Recover the Supplies or Sabotage the Moisture Vaporators. However, there are some notable differences between Fleet Troopers and Rebel Troopers: their cost, their attack value, their attack range, their keyword ability, and their Heavy Weapon upgrades. And while their cost doesn't have a direct impact on their gameplay, you will have to weighing it against their pros and cons when deciding whether to include them in your army.
On average, the Fleet Troopers' ranged attack will roll 50% more damage than the Rebel Troopers' and twice as many crits. This is a significant improvement, but it is limited to range 1-2. This means it will take them longer to get within firing range, and against many units there will be an area where they are exposed to enemy guns but cannot return fire.
Additionally, they have even less natural defensive ability than Rebel Troopers, trading the Nimble keyword for Ready 1. This keyword is very situational, so it's probably best not to count on it as a key part of your strategy. But if you can take a standby token and force an enemy to trigger it they will be in for a deadly surprise. Speeders are especially susceptible to this because of their compulsory move.
Fleet Troopers like narrow confines, close quarters combat, and lying in wait
Another important point of difference is their Heavy Weapons. The Scatter Gun Trooper packs a punch but is also limited to range 1-2; the MPL-57 Barrage Trooper is good against armor or entrenched troopers and can reach out to range 3-- but can be hard to use regularly since it is exhausted on use.
For all these reasons, terrain that blocks line-of-sight is the Fleet Trooper's best friend. Even more so than other troopers, they will struggle if there is a lot of open ground and are best served staying out of the line of fire until they are close to their target. Keep this in mind when advancing on objectives, and look for opportunities to set up an ambushes around corners.
If you are taking Fleet Troopers, you might want to also invest in a ground vehicle to support their advance. Ground vehicles like the AT-RT can provide light cover when they otherwise would end their turn out in the open, and the enemy may decide to just attack the vehicle instead.
Finally it should be noted that even though their damage in melee is less than at range, they are still more dangerous than Rebel Troopers in hand-to-hand combat. If you can get your Fleet Troopers to an important area of the board, your opponent may think twice before trying to venture too close.
In summary, Fleet Troopers seem to be best used either to rush the enemy, to hang out of sight until the last moment, or to block and deny important areas of the board. If you like getting your units up close and personal with the enemy, or just want a chance to roll a bunch of dice, then Fleet Troopers may be a good Corps unit for you.
Possible Fleet Trooper Loadouts
"Once More unto the Breach"
Fleet Troopers (44 pts)
-Scatter Gun Trooper (23 pts)
-Environmental Gear (3 pts)
-Concussion Grenades (5 pts)
Total: 75 pts
This squad is meant for quickly advancing on enemy positions. For just 3 points, Environmental Gear helps them get across the field as quickly as possible, with a Scatter Gun Trooper to bring the pain once they get there. Though the black die from Concussion Grenades does less damage than the DH-17's two white dice, using just one for the Blast keyword can go a long way against enemies with cover. I would also suggest adding the Fleet Trooper upgrade to soak up another wound and add more damage, though it increases the cost by 11 points, bringing the total to a pricey 86 points.
Anti-Armor Barrage
Fleet Troopers (44 pts)
-MPL-57 Barrage Trooper (33 pts)
-Impact Grenades (5 pts)
Total: 82 pts
The "Anti-Armor Barrage" adds Impact Grenades in conjunction with the MPL-57 Barrage Trooper for maximum punch against armored vehicles. Since keywords are additive, your attacks against Armor at range 1 can have up to Impact 6 (depending on how many troopers are still alive), enough to destroy an AT-RT in a single attack. The next round, when your MPL-57 Barrage Trooper is exhausted, even if you can't or don't want to take the refresh action, your attack can still benefit from Impact. This squad is still plenty scary against un-armored units, with Blast and the ability to hit targets at range 3 adding some further utility.
Rebel Troopers have 4 upgrade slots: Heavy Weapons, Personnel, Gear, and Grenades. Below are the upgrades that come in the Fleet Trooper expansion, relevant upgrades that come in the Core Set, and any upgrades that come in other expansions that I think are worth considering.
Heavy Weapons Slot
From the above probability distribution for Heavy Weapon attacks, we can see that while the MPL-57 Barrage Trooper has the potential to do more damage, the Scatter Gun Trooper produces damage more consistently. Of course, this graph is only a comparison of raw damage rolls, and doesn't take range, keywords, and other factors into account.
The Scatter Gun Trooper (23 pts) attacks with 2 red dice, and with an offensive surge conversion this means they roll an average of 1.75 damage. They are quite unlikely to miss, with less than a 1.6% chance to roll blanks, and the Pierce 1 keyword makes them very good for pushing damage through against most targets. Though they are still limited to only attacking at range 1-2, I think that their consistent dice and the powerful Pierce keyword makes them well worth the investment.
The MPL-57 Barrage Trooper (33 pts) is significantly more expensive, is noticeably less consistent (~14.6% chance to roll only blanks), and is exhausted on use. It rolls 1.375 average damage-- more than a normal Fleet Trooper-- but well short of 3 regular Fleet Troopers who would be of equivalent cost. However, it does have some definite advantages over the Scatter Gun Trooper. First of all it can hit targets at range 3, so you have a chance to hit enemies that would be too far away to harm otherwise. This also gives you more opportunities to split your fire if you want. And while the Scatter Gun Trooper is great at making damage stick, it can still be stymied by cover or armor-- but the MPL-57 Barrage Trooper has the Blast keyword, and Impact 2 makes it one of the Rebel's more potent anti-armor weapons.
To put it briefly: thanks to the combination of range 3, Blast, and Impact, the MPL-57 Barrage Trooper is one of the most versatile Heavy Weapons in the game, despite its drawbacks.
Personnel Slot
Gear Slot
Targeting Scopes (6 pts) allow up to 3 rerolls when you use an aim token. With lots of white dice, you're likely to be rolling a lot of blanks, so an additional reroll can be quite helpful. Unfortunately, Fleet Troopers may have fewer opportunities to aim and shoot compared to other Corps units owing to their shorter range. Of course, this can combo nicely with the Ready 1 ability, though the usefulness of the standby action is quite situational.
If you are confident in your ability to gain and use aim tokens, then Targeting Scopes can be a good investment.
Environmental Gear (3 pts) can be of particular use for Fleet Troopers. It can help them close the gap and bring them into attack range or make it easier to take up a good defensive position and standby. While it does depend on the terrain you're playing with, I find Environmental Gear tends to be more generally useful than Grappling Hooks.
Grenades Slot
Impact Grenades (5 pts) are the cheapest way to gain Impact and improve your anti-armor capabilities. If you are worried about not having enough anti-armor weapons, then this could be 5 points well spent.
The Fleet Troopers' Role in Your Army
Like Rebel Troopers, Fleet Troopers are useful for their ability to score objectives in scenarios such as Recover the Supplies or Sabotage the Moisture Vaporators. However, there are some notable differences between Fleet Troopers and Rebel Troopers: their cost, their attack value, their attack range, their keyword ability, and their Heavy Weapon upgrades. And while their cost doesn't have a direct impact on their gameplay, you will have to weighing it against their pros and cons when deciding whether to include them in your army.
On average, the Fleet Troopers' ranged attack will roll 50% more damage than the Rebel Troopers' and twice as many crits. This is a significant improvement, but it is limited to range 1-2. This means it will take them longer to get within firing range, and against many units there will be an area where they are exposed to enemy guns but cannot return fire.
Additionally, they have even less natural defensive ability than Rebel Troopers, trading the Nimble keyword for Ready 1. This keyword is very situational, so it's probably best not to count on it as a key part of your strategy. But if you can take a standby token and force an enemy to trigger it they will be in for a deadly surprise. Speeders are especially susceptible to this because of their compulsory move.
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| Fleet Troopers like narrow confines, close quarters combat, and lying in wait |
Another important point of difference is their Heavy Weapons. The Scatter Gun Trooper packs a punch but is also limited to range 1-2; the MPL-57 Barrage Trooper is good against armor or entrenched troopers and can reach out to range 3-- but can be hard to use regularly since it is exhausted on use.
For all these reasons, terrain that blocks line-of-sight is the Fleet Trooper's best friend. Even more so than other troopers, they will struggle if there is a lot of open ground and are best served staying out of the line of fire until they are close to their target. Keep this in mind when advancing on objectives, and look for opportunities to set up an ambushes around corners.
If you are taking Fleet Troopers, you might want to also invest in a ground vehicle to support their advance. Ground vehicles like the AT-RT can provide light cover when they otherwise would end their turn out in the open, and the enemy may decide to just attack the vehicle instead.
Finally it should be noted that even though their damage in melee is less than at range, they are still more dangerous than Rebel Troopers in hand-to-hand combat. If you can get your Fleet Troopers to an important area of the board, your opponent may think twice before trying to venture too close.
In summary, Fleet Troopers seem to be best used either to rush the enemy, to hang out of sight until the last moment, or to block and deny important areas of the board. If you like getting your units up close and personal with the enemy, or just want a chance to roll a bunch of dice, then Fleet Troopers may be a good Corps unit for you.
Possible Fleet Trooper Loadouts
"Once More unto the Breach"
Fleet Troopers (44 pts)
-Scatter Gun Trooper (23 pts)
-Environmental Gear (3 pts)
-Concussion Grenades (5 pts)
Total: 75 pts
This squad is meant for quickly advancing on enemy positions. For just 3 points, Environmental Gear helps them get across the field as quickly as possible, with a Scatter Gun Trooper to bring the pain once they get there. Though the black die from Concussion Grenades does less damage than the DH-17's two white dice, using just one for the Blast keyword can go a long way against enemies with cover. I would also suggest adding the Fleet Trooper upgrade to soak up another wound and add more damage, though it increases the cost by 11 points, bringing the total to a pricey 86 points.
Anti-Armor Barrage
Fleet Troopers (44 pts)
-MPL-57 Barrage Trooper (33 pts)
-Impact Grenades (5 pts)
Total: 82 pts
The "Anti-Armor Barrage" adds Impact Grenades in conjunction with the MPL-57 Barrage Trooper for maximum punch against armored vehicles. Since keywords are additive, your attacks against Armor at range 1 can have up to Impact 6 (depending on how many troopers are still alive), enough to destroy an AT-RT in a single attack. The next round, when your MPL-57 Barrage Trooper is exhausted, even if you can't or don't want to take the refresh action, your attack can still benefit from Impact. This squad is still plenty scary against un-armored units, with Blast and the ability to hit targets at range 3 adding some further utility.
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