New Republic Commander

Hit Points: 40
Defense: 15
Attack: +10
Damage: 20
Cost: 19

General description:
There are not a lot of characters in the New Republic, but this is one of the faction cases were the officers are better by themselves than the troopers. Think on it. These characters cost 19 and troopers cost 10. Lets round the numbers up and say you can buy two troopers for every commander. OK, but unless your troopers find cover, those two troopers are going to be dead after two ten point hits. The commander will still have 50% of his hit points left. The commander shoots better (as commanders often do), but if he doesn’t move, he does 30 points of damage (Deadeye.) You don’t see a lot of leaders who can do that.

Uses:
In a New Republic squad I put in as many commanders as I can. I use the troopers for defense, but I let the officers lead the attack.

Strategies and game play:
Attack in teams of two, officer first, then trooper behind him. I’ve built a couple of very successful squads with only these two characters.

Combos with other miniatures:
Best combination on the attack is to let the commanders go first, providing cover for the troopers behind them. A Medical Droid is nice to have too. Nothing worse for your opponent than having him shoot two or three times and only hitting once and you then removing the damage. Not to mention when your opponent finally kills him and you bring him back with 10 hit points. Save this tactic for your larger squads though, when you can afford the droid.

Ways to counteract it:
Force powers and evade. If you can fend off their attacks and wade into them with a lightsaber it can be messy. Kill the troopers first. Then concentrate on one commander at a time. A Nightsister Sith Witch makes a nasty counter. At only 17 points you can hit the commander with lightning (per chance killing the trooper behind him) and then follow through with a good lightsaber thrust.

Strengths/Pros:
Plus ten damage for Deadeye has to be this characters best feature. Those 40 hit points give him a nice edge… and you can’t sneeze at the +10 to hit either.

Weaknesses/Cons:
A cost of 19 makes them expensive for a non-unique leader. Only an average defense. The real weakness is I don’t have enough of them. I could use a few more.

Artwork and aesthetics:
What New Republic Troopers with blue pants? Couldn’t the designer have done a bit more? Even the Stormtrooper Officer figure is more commanding and expressive. Kneeling would have been a nice touch. A row of kneeling commanders backed by a row of standing troopers would have looked impressive with those capes.

Overall rating:
I give this miniature a rating of 7.

New Republic Command Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master     – I aways know you could throw a lightsaber Kyle Katarn     – Unless you have a 200-point squad, this is your Jedi, not Luke New Republic Trooper New Republic Commander