Figure Reviews

Battle Droids

Hit Points: 10
Defense: 9
Attack: +0
Damage: 10
Cost: 4

General description:
Battle Droids are biggest mistake in the Star Wars Miniatures game. They are too expensive, period. For crying out loud, Ewoks are cheaper… and they hit better. When they wrote the rules, what were they thinking? Battle Droids should cost one. Anything else is price gouging.

Uses:
If you’re going to use Battle Droids, then there is only one way. Get one Battle Droid Officer and one Super Battle Droid Commander. Then fill your squad with Battle Droids. Your only hope is Combined Fire, so you’re going to need a lot of druids. What? You have four points left to spend and you want to buy one Battle Droid? Forget it. Buy an Ewok. Learn to live with not being able to spend the last point.

Strategies and game play:
Combined fire in teams of three. When advancing, use two supporting druids for each droid you fire. That’ll give you a chance to hit. Pairs of Droids who don’t move can get +4 careful shot from The Super Battle Droid Commander, resulting in one +8 attack. It’s your only chance to hit something. Keep shooting at the same target until you bring it down. Wounded characters are just going to kill you when they shoot back. You must kill every character you attack. Remember you only do 10 points of damage. So pick targets you can kill. It usually takes six druids to bring down one 20 hit point character.

Use cover. Hide… a lot.

Use single Battle Droids to hold open doors? Don’t make me laugh. My grandmother can take one out… and close the door. You want a door opener, get an Ewok.

Combos with other miniatures:
Battle Droids need commanders or they can’t hit the broad side of a barn. It’s not just nice to have a commander when you have Battle Droids… it’s required.

Ways to counteract it:
You need a strategy? Shot them. They die. Lightsaber Sweep is almost too good for them.

Strengths/Pros:
None.

Weaknesses/Cons:
Way too expensive. You are the easiest target to hit, you die if anyone hits you… and you only do ten points of damage (can anyone tell me why robots can’t hold heavy blasters?) On second thought, you take the Battle Droids. I’d rather charge across an open field with a squad of Tusken Raiders.

Artwork and aesthetics:
Not only is this a lousy figure, but 90% of them don’t stand up straight. They list.

Overall rating (1-10):
I give this miniature a rating of 1 (but only because zero isn’t a choice.)

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Destroyer Droid

Hit Points: 40
Defense: 16
Attack: +8
Damage: 20
Cost: 30

General description:
If it wasn’t for the Destroyer Droid, I’d wonder why the Separatist droid forces were even considered to be any kind of threat. There’s not much more effective that a droid that shots twice… except one that has shields. All around I’d rather have Destroyer Droids in my squad than any other droid.

Uses:
Every squad needs a heavy trooper, something that both gives and takes high amounts of damage. Destroyer Droids are like heavy armored cars. They move fast and you can use them to launch fast attacks with a fair amount of punch.

Strategies and game play:
You’ll want to use this character’s speed to get them into position as quickly as possible, so that you can use their double attack as soon as possible. So move them up into contact range quickly. Their shields should protect them long enough for the rest of your forces to catch up. Be careful not to get out too far from the rest of your team. You should never use a wheeled move more than once, unless you use it to get out of trouble that you just got into. That brings up another point. Don’t be afraid to run away. This is a range weapon. You want to be able to shoot at non-adjacent targets. Don’t let your opponent get too close. Especially Jedi. Unlike the films, you cannot survive a head to head engagement with most Jedi. Target units with lower hit points. Destroyer Droids can take these out quickly, reducing your opponent’s ability to counterattack. In large teams (150 to 200-Point) they work well in pairs. Once they are in position, it is possible to deal up to 80 points of damage to a single target.

Combos with other miniatures:
Battle Droid Officers and Super Battle Droid Commanders are an added plus, although the plus eight attack that the Destroyers have mean they will hit more often than not on their own. Sith (Dooku, Maul and/or Dark Side Acolytes) can be good team mates as Destroyers tend to draw Jedi attackers. In larger groups Iktotchi Tech Specialists can also be very useful. It usually takes a while for the damage to rack up on a Destroyer Droid, so you’ll have opportunity to use the specialist to repair damage. Plus Iktotchis can also shoot for 20 points of damage. Wat Tambor is the more expensive version of this trick, but he can get reinforcements.

Ways to counteract it:
The best weapon against them is massed firepower. In the end, they only have 40 hit points, so you just need to get through the shields long enough to score about four hits and they fall over like a tricycle missing a wheel. Target them and remove them. You don’t want Destroyers taking advantage of that double attack. They can also be taken out by most Jedi, but watch out for nearby Jedi killers.

Strengths/Pros:
The shields have to be this character’s number one advantage, but it also has good plusses to hit, fast movement capability, and the double attack can be a killer.

Weaknesses/Cons:
Only slightly above average defense, but the shields negate this. Perhaps their biggest flaw is that they become targets. High cost is also a factor here. They are twice as expensive as Dwarf Spider Droids.

Artwork and aesthetics:
I believe this to be one of the best looking droids in the set. The rolled up version is not as fearsome, but I actually like to use that version… they tend to draw less fire. Perhaps because they don’t look that threatening.

Overall rating (1-10):
I give this miniature a rating of 8.

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Dwarf Spider Droid

Hit Points: 30
Defense: 13
Attack: +6
Damage: 30
Cost: 15

General description:
Like most of the droids in the droid army, the Dwarf Spider lacks any kind of effective armor and they also lack the hit points to be able to survive the resulting attacks. The Dwarf Spider Droid’s only advantage is that it carries a heavy weapon (30 points of damage) and is allowed to move and fire in the same turn. In order to use this droid you need to be able to fire it as often as possible in order to remove as many of your opponents as possible before this droid is destroyed…and it will be destroyed because it’s too big to hide. While not even close to the Destroyer Droid in ability to defend itself, it costs only half as much.

Uses:
This is a heavy weapons unit, pure and simple. You’ll need to step up and fire as many times as you can before you are destroyed. Your objective with this character is to fire and keep firing.

Strategies and game play:
This unit needs to stay out of the way until there are good targets available. Stay in rooms, behind walls, whatever it takes to stay out of the line of fire… the figure is just too big for any kind of effective cover. When you need to do some damage, step out and fire away. If you need to move more than six squares, don’t do it… stay back and move only when you can fire. It’s nice to have several lines of Battle Droids in front of your Spider to act as cover. If they survive, you just might get a few more shots in.

Combos with other miniatures:
Almost any droid that needs extra firepower can team up with the Dwarf Spider Droid. The Battle Droid Officer can be useful, but the Dwarf Spider droid also needs troops to hide behind due to its low defense. A group of Separatist Commandos can be a good combination, with their higher defense they can protect the Spider while it provides extra firepower.

Ways to counteract it:
Shoot it down. The Dwarf Spider Droid has a weak defense, making it an easy target. Destroy it as quickly as possible, you don’t want to let it get off too many shots. Fortunately it can be brought down by direct fire. If there are other characters acting as cover in front of the Spider Droid, ignore then, you’ll want the Spider Droid first. Its protection can wait.

Strengths/Pros:
Firepower and the ability to both move and use that firepower.

Weaknesses/Cons:
Low defense and low hit points cripple this character and prevent it from being a true powerhouse. Its other true weakness is that it should be a Fringe character. Even in the Roleplaying game they mention that this droid was the only one that the Empire used after the Clone Wars. With Imperial Stormtroopers to protect it, it would add valuable firepower to any Imperial squad.

Artwork and aesthetics:
The figure is well executed and the single leg up gives it the impression of motion, something you want you Dwarf Spider Droid to be doing.

Overall rating (1-10):
I give this miniature a rating of 6.

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	Separatists Generals Darth Tyrannus Darth Sidious General Grevious, Jedi Hunter     [Best Separatist attack machine per cost point]
	Separatist Leaders Tion Medon      [While technically not a Separatist, I use him to represent other Separatist figures] San Hill      [Second most useful Separatist figure (per cost point)] Wat Tambor      [Most expensive Separatist figure]
	Droids and Droid Machines Destroyer Droid      [Third most expensive unit] Grievous's Wheel Bike      [Most expensive Grevious unit, powerful attack, but too pricey] Super Battle Droid      [Most expensive of the humanoid droids, Security Droids are better for the cost]
	Live Separatists Muun Guard      [Almost no power and expensive] Geonosian Soldier      [Better than Super Battle Droids. Hiding behind low objects they can be great support troops]     – Suggested special rule: successful attacks push target back 6 squares Dark Side Adept      [Technically Imperial, but most cost effective of the melee dark side][Note: Wizards claims that the stats cards are misprinted... these folks have 2 force points]
	More Droids and Flyers Dwarf Spider Droid      [Very cost effective attack droid. Doesn't fly, but looks like it is meant to be an elevated gun platform]     – Suggested special rule: Elevated gun not effected by low objects within 6 squares Aerial Clone Trooper Captain      [Not a Separatist unit, but it is a flying unit] Durge      [Actually slightly better than Grevious]

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