Unit Guides: Snowtroopers

Snowtroopers offer another option for Imperial players to fill the corps slots in their armies. Though statistically similar to Stormtroopers, Snowtroopers are specialized for fighting in hazardous conditions; in Legion, this is reflected by their ability to relentlessly advance and shoot in spite of suppressing fire and difficult terrain.

Statistics

At a cost of 48 points, Snowtroopers are slightly more expensive than Stormtroopers.

A unit of Snowtroopers 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 Snowtroopers, and they can only have 2 suppression tokens without being at risk of panicking.

Like Stormtroopers, Snowtroopers have a red defense die, which means they have a 50% chance to block each incoming hit.

Speed 1 makes them one of the slowest units in the game.

When fighting at range with their E-11 Blaster Rifle, they throw a white die each. Thankfully, their offensive surges count as hits, so that each die has a 37.5% chance to hit. This yields an average of 1.5 hits from 4 troopers, with an average of 0.5 crits. 

Their melee Unarmed attack is significantly better; 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.)

Steady gives them good action economy and helps to offset their slow speed by granting the Snowtroopers a free ranged action after moving.

Total Hits vs. % Chance; Red = Ranged, Black = Melee

Above is a probability distribution for the Snowtroopers different attacks. As you can see, the distributions are mirror images of each other. While using their E-11 Blasters, the Most Probable Result for a standard unit is 1 damage; there is a 36.6% chance of seeing this outcome. On the other hand, their Unarmed melee attack has a Most Probable Result of 3 damage, with the same 36.6% chance.

With an unmodified red defense die each individual Snowtrooper has 2 EHP (Effective Health Points, the average number of hits needed to kill 1 trooper outright.) Given average rolls -- and barring the use of cover, aim, and dodge tokens -- you would expect to lose 1 Snowtrooper mini every time a standard unit of Rebel Troopers attacks. (Keep in mind that not only does this bring your unit closer to destruction, but it diminishes the strength of its attacks as well.) If the Rebel Troopers are not suffering any losses themselves, then it will take them an average of 4 attacks to completely deplete the unit of Snowtroopers.

Upgrades

Snowtroopers have 4 upgrade slots: Heavy Weapons, Personnel, Equipment, and Grenades.

Heavy Weapons Slot

Total Hits vs. % Chance; Solid Black = Flametrooper (attacking 1 mini), Dotted Black = Flametrooper (attacking 4 minis), Blue = T7 Ion

Above is the probability distribution of Heavy Weapons attacks available to a unit of Snowtroopers. The T7 Ion Snowtrooper has a fairly solid curve and is clearly superior when attacking a single mini. The Flametrooper shines against large numbers of minis in a single unit.

The Flametrooper (20 pts) can be very deadly against large trooper units. The Spray keyword means you add 1 black die for each mini in the defending unit, while Blast lets your Snowtrooper unit ignore any cover the defender might have. After converting surges to hits, each black die adds an average of 0.625 damage (including 0.125 crits). While not particularly impressive when attacking a single mini, this adds up to 2.5 average damage against a unit of 4, which you can back up with even more dice from the rest of the Snowtroopers in your unit.
Of course, bringing the full power of the Flametrooper to bear can be rather difficult-- getting a speed 1 unit into range 1 of an enemy can take some time and dedication. Still, I think 20 points for an extra body, the Blast keyword, and the potential to throw several more black dice is a fair deal, especially when you compare to the cost of an additional Snowtrooper (12 pts) and Concussion Grenades (5 pts). 
Keep in mind that the Flametrooper can still use the E-11 Blaster Rifle when attacking outside of range 1.

The much more expensive T7 Ion Snowtrooper (34 pts) has some clear advantages over the Flametrooper; it has twice the attack range, more than twice the expected damage against single minis, and Impact 1 and Ion 1 make it more threatening against most vehicle units. Its average of 1.375 damage is nearly equal to the rest of the squad of 4 Snowtroopers.
Yet it has significant drawbacks in both its hefty price tag and the fact that it exhausts on use. You can of course have it use the E-11 Blaster Rifle when it's exhausted, or if your target is at range 3, but 34 points is a lot to spend for a single white die. If you want to get more use out of the T7, consider using it in conjunction with command cards like Imperial Discipline or New Ways to Motivate Them.

Personnel Slot

The only available Personnel upgrade adds a single Snowtrooper mini. At 12 points, this provides a 25% increase to firepower and a 25% increase to survivability with 25% increase to cost. This upgrade is probably worth taking if you are only bringing 3 or 4 corps units. An extra Snowtrooper mini can also help you get more value out of any other upgrades you attach to the unit. For example, you may also want this if you are planning on including a Heavy Weapon ugprade, as it will help to keep the more powerful Heavy Weapon mini on the table-- especially since these weapons require you to close to range 1 or 2 before they can be used.

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 what kind of terrain you're playing with.

Targeting Scopes (6 pts) will allow you to reroll up to 3 dice when using an aim token. Snowtroopers should be able to get relatively good value out of this upgrade since they can aim, move, and shoot in a single activation. This value can be further increased if you include an extra trooper and/or a Heavy.

Grenades Slot

Concussion Grenades (5 pts) let you ignore cover and use black attack dice at range 1. Like your Unarmed attack, this is a pretty good increase in damage over white dice and useful if you are unable or simply don't want to close to melee range. Blast makes 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 Flametrooper.

Impact Grenades (5 pts) are the cheapest way to gain Impact and improve your anti-armor capabilities. Once again, the black dice are a pretty good increase in damage over white dice and useful if you can get into range 1 but are unable or simply don't want to close to melee range.

The Snowtroopers' Role in Your Army

Just like Stormtroopers, Snowtroopers are also valuable for their ability to score victory tokens by playing the objective. Their vital statistics are nearly identical to Stormtroopers, so if you are bringing Snowtroopers, its probably for the Steady keyword and different Heavy Weapon upgrades.

In Legion movement is often vital to scoring points, and so the Snowtroopers' slow speed is a notable handicap. However, in many cases the Steady keyword can more than make up for this weakness. A speed 2 move is actually shorter than two speed 1 moves, so if you move twice and shoot you can actually cover more ground than a unit of Stormtroopers would while moving once and shooting. This is only a slight disparity, but it becomes significant when crossing difficult terrain; while the Stormtroopers would be slowed to a single speed 1 move before shooting, the Snowtroopers could still make a pair of speed 1 moves and shoot.

Furthermore, when Snowtroopers have a suppression token and lose an action, they'll still be able to move and shoot, whereas other units could only do one or the other. And of course, they can still benefit from the cover that having a suppression token grants.

Another major point of difference between Snowtroopers and Stormtroopers are their Heavy Weapons. While Stormtrooper Heavy Weapons can attack at range 4, Snowtrooper Heavy Weapons are limited to close quarters at range 1-2. As such, if you plan on using them then you should look for ways to get close to enemies without exposing yourself to too much fire.

During setup, consider how the available Battle Cards can help or hinder your Snowtroopers. For example, Rapid Reinforcements can get your Snowtroopers where you want them to be in spite of their speed. While Hostile Environment can make it difficult for trooper units to advance, Snowtroopers are can continue to move and shoot-- so long as they don't become panicked. On the other hand, a deployment like Long March (or even Major Offensive) does not benefit their slow speed or their short-ranged Heavy Weapons. You should be wary of Breakthrough as well.

Their speed is definitely a weakness, but I think that in a lot of situations they will actually be a bit better than normal Stormtroopers. At the same time, losing access to the DLT-19 is also a noteworthy opportunity cost. Although somewhat less thematic, I expect to usually use Snowtroopers in conjunction with Stormtroopers; as the Snowtroopers steadily move into close range, the Stormtroopers can quickly get into position and use their range 4 Heavy Weapons to cover the Snowtroopers' advance.

Finally, Snowtroopers seem to stand out as an ideal escort for Darth Vader; together they can march inexorably across the field, moving, attacking, and never panicking. Beware the slow-moving ball of area-denial and death!

Possible Snowtrooper Loadouts

Flames 'n Grenades
Snowtroopers (48 pts)
-Flametrooper (20 pts)
-Snowtrooper (12 pts)
-Impact Grenades (5 pts)
Total: 85 pts
This squad lives to fight in close quarters. Though it's rather pricey, once they're in range they can melt troopers with tons of black dice, or shred vehicles with Impact. Under ideal conditions, you could be rolling as many as 11 black dice in a single attack! Of course, getting into range is the trick; adding the extra trooper should help the Flametrooper survive long enough to do its job.

Anti-Armor Snowtroopers
Snowtroopers (48 pts)
-T7 Ion Snowtrooper (34 pts)
-Impact Grenades (5 pts)
Total: 87 pts
The "Anti-Armor Snowtroopers" squad goes all in against armored vehicles with the T7 Ion Snowtrooper and Impact Grenades. Since keywords are additive, your attacks against Armor at range 1 can have up to Impact 5 (depending on how many troopers are still alive), increasing your chances of making some damage stick and dealing an ion token. When your T7 is exhausted and you don't want to take a ready action, attacks can still benefit from Impact. Even if you aren't attacking against Armor, trading white dice for black is still a great bonus. Of course, you can always add an extra trooper if you're willing to spend the points.

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