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Do Separatists have a Meta Squad? -By Dnemiller

I remember the very first 200-point DCI tournament I played. I chose Separatists. I thought with 200 points I will finally be able to use one of the biggest factions in the game competitively. Well I made it to the finals but lost to an opponent running Imperials, more specifically 2 At-ST’s, General Veers and a couple of Stormtrooper Commanders. It was then I decided that separatists no matter how fun they would be to run weren’t competitive. Over time and getting to know the better players of our game I was proven wrong (again). It was then I was told of a little guy that I had got in my Revenge of the Sith collection. The guy that can to this day be bought for 99 cents on EBay. I had never given San Hill a thought. I mean at first glance his Commander Effect of one activation per turn sounded crazy. As I became a better player, I began seeking others for advice and paid attention to what they said and what they were doing. Suddenly a light came on, one activation that is freakin awesome. Not for what it does on the front end of the turn but the back end. I finally saw it threw someone else’s eyes and it was like the bulb finally came on. So yes Separatists are Meta but there are some things you should know before just reading my awakening to their cause.

San Hill slows down the game. Personally I think this aspect is great for younger players who maybe haven’t played strategy board games before. My 19-year-old son now plays a San Hill squad and it has improved his game immensely for several reasons. One of the first things it did was force him to slow down. One activation forces you to do that and sometimes you will want to make that a good one. Second thing it did was limit his mistakes. When you just activate one piece on the board, it keeps you from making 2 mistakes in a round of activations. I have watched him as a player and he has caught himself after that one bad move especially when an opponent capitalizes on it immediately. One of the major things I have seen younger and newer players do also is when they out activate their opponent, their last few moves (I call them freebies because your opponent can’t react to them) they tend to rush thru them just trying to get to the next round for initiative. San Hill forces the player to stop doing that and take thoughtful action and not rush thru. I think because San Hill forces players to slow down their pace they become thoughtful and deliberate players, which in the long run make them, better gamers.

Now obviously throwing San Hill out in your squad doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to win. The squad you build around him is just as important and will help you take advantage of the freebie moves you have. I spent several weeks testing my son’s San Hill squad. I tested with him and on Vassal (some of you may have seen). Some of the following things were proven out to us after testing. I learned in a most miserable fashion that beatsticks (lightsaber and melee) are not the strength of San Hill squads. I played a squad on Vassal one night (testing). I used Darth Maul COTS and for some reason I thought Komari Vossa would be a good fit. Well it wasn’t and the embarrassing loss that followed highlighted by Dannik Jerriko killing Komari, told me that we had been moving in the opposite direction of what really works for this squad. San Hill is made for movement and shooting. The freedom of moving around without worrying about being attacked back is wonderful. If you are using beatsticks and saving you best for last then you may give several attacks of opportunity. Mobile shooting is even better at the beginning of the round when both players are still activating because you are keeping them out of line of sight. Another great thing for your San Hill squad is character with opportunist special ability. That will boost their attack and damage for any activated enemy they target and hit. If you have a major lead in activations then combining fire is also a luxury in a San Hill squad. Let us agree that most squads run at approximately 12-14 activations usually in my area it is usually running around 10-12. That is six rounds of 2 activations for your opponent maybe seven at most. My son’s San Hill squad consists right now of 17 activations and can go a little higher or lower depending on his mood. That squad will only have 6-7 pieces activated when your opponent is completely finished for that turn. That is 10 freebie movements really 11 if you are mean enough to look at your opponent and say, “San Hill activates”, which I must say my son loves to do. So you are talking about basically 10 freebie movements. For some players activations are not a big deal, but the more experienced players realize that this is a huge advantage. Imagine Dash Rendar, Lando Hero of Tanaab both firing at +4 attack and +10 damage with nothing your opponent can do about it. Imagine Boba BH or Boba RS able to attack with nothing your opponent can do about it. These advantages can take almost any squad out there. The dreaded Black and Blue that causes so many arguments in all circles, is not so scary when you are shooting your entire opponents swap fodder while all he can do is watch. How much more dangerous is this squad when you start taking out all of your opponents small pieces and now you are out activating by 14 or 15. That is the major part of the squad, who to shoot and when. My advice is take out the minor stuff first. Take out your opponent’s small and lesser squad members this racks up points (if playing gambit) and keeps you way ahead in the activations. Once you have managed to dwindle your opponent down to a very few pieces it forces out their best squad members. Most opponents will keep their best pieces back or hidden saving them to take out your best pieces. But using your ability to out activate you move and shoot as you please. Once your opponent is down to a few they come out to play. This is your time for you to bring to bear your best shooters (also combine fire to get a sure hit) and pummel his most dangerous pieces. Take you average Lord Vader with 130 hit points. Let’s assume for sake of argument he saves 50% on his Dark Armor rolls. Just taking my son’s four major shooters let see what kind damage we can do in one turn. He uses as major shooters the following Dash, Lando HOT, 4 Lom and Boba BH. If 50% of these guys hit towards the later stages of the game they should do 90 damage (even with dark armor figured in at 50%). I am telling you that will change things rather quickly for the person running a Lord Vader Black and Blue build. So with proper squad build and playing your pieces right you can run a Meta squad and yes, even use Separatists. I will give a quick glance at my son’s current version of San Hill’s squad. It is as follows:

Boba BH 62 points
Lobot 27 pts
Lando Hero of Tanaab 23 pts
4 Lom 21 pts
Dash Rendar 21 pts
Bith Black Sun Vigo 20 pts
San Hill 10 pts
Human Blaster for Hire x 2 10 pts
Battle Droids x3 12 pts
Uggies x4 12

For a total of 220 points. 20 points spent on Bith Black Sun Vigo

So what is not to love about that, Separatists now have a Meta squad. Oh and by the way San even has Separatists reserves so if you happen to roll a one on initiative it is a great chance to bring a Bodyguard Droid or 2 Separatist Commando’s. So enjoy your Separatists and make your opponents who run Black and Blue frown. Just don’t forget the phrase “San Hill activates.”

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Meta-game by billiv15

SWMinis Newsetter article: Great Squad Additions Often Forgotten.

Many times we find ourselves filling out a squad with the same old tried and true pieces, and forget to consider some great options that would work better overall in our squad because we haven’t thought about them in a while, or never used them at all. In this article, I am going to illuminate several forgotten pieces and their usefulness to various squad constructions.

Yoda Clone Strike: This is a somewhat obvious choice as all of us who have played since CS remember the glory days of Yoda and Ishi Tibs in 100. But he is rarely seen in the tournament realm today and I think that is a grave mistake. Preferences have switched to General Windu, or Clone Commander Bacara in the Republic faction. But Yoda offers some great counters to today’s meta armies. First and foremost is Force Absorb. For 3 force, Yoda can cancel any force power. And given enough force, he can do it up to 3 times a round with MotF3. With Bane and Lord Vader running around, he becomes the best counter in the game. They can never Assault Yoda or anyone within 6 of him or risk having no attacks that round what so ever. Second, he grants for free double saves for all followers within 6 (with Mas that can be board wide). This is a great CE, often more valuable than the extra attack granted by General Windu. Boba BH is a natural partner in 200 point games where he becomes almost impossible to hit from range. Also characters who rely on saves for abilities, such as the Jedi Weapon Masters are great with Yoda. Sith Sorcery (Bane and Exar Kun) is all but negated as force uses will have 3 chances to save against it in critical situations. Next Yoda has Lightsaber reflect, which we all remember from the old days. He can reroll the save 2x or reflect both shots of a double/twin and reroll once. Your opponent will think twice about shooting a Yoda with enough fps to spare. Finally we have a double attacking at +15 character with flurry (an extra attack after a critical hit) with 140hps and a solid 22 defense. All in all a great piece that can work in many different builds. Some suggestions are Boba BH, coupled with stealth pieces and a Bith Black Sun Vigo, Jedi Weapon Masters, and with Super stealth. Pull him back out of your Clone Strike Box and see for yourself.

Republic Commando Fixer: A relatively new piece from CotF, but one that is often left behind in Republic stealth/super stealth builds. For the replacement of a Sev, you can bring one Fixer. He has the same attack and defense, but loses accurate and deadeye comparatively. But here is where his advantage lies. Most, if not all, competitive Republic armies will include R2-AM as we all know. But have you ever had that door with Boba BH behind it inactivated that you know, if R2 opens it, he will likely die next turn? Enter Fixer, the door opener with super stealth. Keep him in cover and you can safely open doors across the map to maximize your shots at a nice safe distance. Coupled with R2 or Lobot and you have double door control at your service. If there is room in your squad, always consider a Fixer to replace another Republic Commando; he is probably the most useful.

Stormtrooper Commander: A very ignored piece with a great CE for any Thrawn build. He adds +10 damage to an adjacent character at the end of his turn, nothing incredibly special until you consider the builds. For example: give the +10 to an Eweb. Have a swoop bike or speeder bike move across the map, and have Thrawn swap in the Eweb. Now you are double attacking for 40dmg per. The best part is, if you pull this off relatively late in the round, you will likely go first and can do it again before being swapped away. If you have Lord Vader in your squad, you are double attacking at 50 damage with the eweb. My personal favorite build is with 3 Utapaun on Dactylians and Tion Medon. One Goofbird (nickname for Dact.) heads out with flight and speed 10 to get position. Repeat the process above and the second Goofbird is double attacking for 40dmg per shot, or 50 with Lord Vader of course. The Stormie Commander can also give the +10 to a speeder, which can make those strafe runs even more deadly. It really can add up when you couple him with the right targets.

Quarren Assassin: Again this is another example of a piece that saw a lot of play back in the RS-Rots day, but somewhere after universe they started to disappear off the tournament scene. In today’s meta, with Bounty Hunters galore making life tough on uniques, good useable non-unique fringe are great. Having mobile attack will help them stay alive and cunning has always been a great ability. Now to make them playable today, all you have to do is couple them with someone who grants them advantageous shot, i.e. Han RH or Lord Vader. Imperials would be the best option with access to Thrawn to ensure the initiatives and raise their attack. With that build, you will get QAs shooting at +14 for 30 damage, not bad for a 12 point character, with the added benefits of mobile and you can even up the damage with a Stormtrooper Commander, or give them accurate shot with General Veers. All in all quite a bargain, and one of the best additions in a 200-point Black and Blue (Thrawn, Mas, Vader, swap fodder) build that is available.

Captain Antilles: There has been a little talk about bringing back Captain Antilles due to the increase in fringe play after Bounty Hunters, and I think it begs for some discussion. For 20 points you get a +4 attack and +10 damage for all followers against fringe targets. This can benefit uniques and non-uniques alike, and can really help out against those opposing Bobas, Jangos, and Aurras. With a cost of 20, he can be brought in as a reserve should you roll a 20 for initiative with Mon Mothma in your squad, but his best utilization will come when/if we get a character with Republic Reserves 20. Yet despite his situational bonus, he can be very useful in a tournament setting. JWMs, Republic Commandos, and swarms would love the extra damage, as well as those fringe inclusions in your own army. Your Boba, Aurra or Jango can also receive this CE; think about that for a moment. All in all, Captain Antilles looks to be a character whose time has come, and who will slowly be working into the meta as more and more fringe hit the scene.

In conclusion, these are just some of the often forgotten figs that can really help take a squad over the top. Keep them in mind when making your builds and you will see a significant improvement in the squads’ performance. The surprise on your opponents face when you hit him with some of these little tricks will be worth it every time!

-Bill-