Friday, May 11, 2018

Boba Fett and Scout Troopers Announced!

Today we got our first look at the next pair of Imperial expansions: Boba Fett and Scout Troopers! These look to be the Imperial counterparts to Han Solo and Rebel Commandos, and introduce an interesting wrinkle into army organization.

Many predicted that Boba Fett would be the Imperial Commander release opposite Han Solo. Afterall, he is Han's nemesis in the Original Trilogy and can fill a similar niche as a scrappy fighter who isn't above pulling a few dirty tricks. However, many were also of the opinion that it made little sense for a bounty hunter to lead Imperial troops into battle.

Image result for bounty hunters we don't need their scum
It appears that FFG has managed to split the difference, introducing Boba as a new type of unit, an Operative. From what we can tell so far, Operatives are very similar to Commanders- a single powerful character who comes with 3 unique Command Cards. However, at least in the case of Boba Fett, these Command Cards only let you issue orders to the Operative in question. Furthermore, they don't take up a Commander slot in the army organization. 

So you could have up to 2 Commanders and up to 2 Operatives working simultaneously in the same list. In theory, you could have an army with Darth Vader, General Veers, and Boba Fett-- though it will cost you 420 points before adding any upgrades.

As for Boba himself, he has some powerful keywords, including a couple of new ones we haven't seen before. Impervious makes him more resilient against weapons with Pierce, while Bounty adds an interesting new mechanic for gaining additional victory tokens. He also has Arsenal 2 and Sharpshooter 2, giving him some potent offensive ability. Not only that, he has Jump 2 and Speed 3, making him the most mobile trooper unit to date!

In short, Boba Fett is bringing a lot of new stuff to the game, and paves the way for a lot of interesting expansions down the road. And while some people may gripe about introducing Boba Fett as an Imperial unit, looking at the X-Wing Miniatures Game suggests that this doesn't preclude a Scum faction entering the game at some point.

Alongside Boba, the Imperial faction will be getting access to Special Forces via the Scout Troopers expansion. They appear to be quite similar to the Rebel Commandos, with the same keywords and the ability to come as a full unit or a smaller strike team. On top of this, their Heavy Weapons upgrades appear to also be a choice between a sniper or a demolitions crewman.

However, there are some differences. The Scout Troopers have a shorter attack range, but better damage output. This greater firepower seems to also be balanced by given the Scout Troopers Scout 1 rather than Scout 2. It also makes for a slight parallel with the Rebel Fleet Troopers, and their shorter range is thematically appropriate since in the movies Scout Troopers are mostly seen using pistols.

All in all, I'm really excited to see these new expansions, and can't wait to paint and play with them!

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