Republic Musings, Pt. II

Units the Republic needs.

Well, today is the day.  The Clone Wars Core Set has officially been released, and if you don't have one yet, you hopefully soon will.  If you read the last article, you know what's coming in this one.  Last time I thought about the future of the Republic in Legion and rejected a few unit ideas for a variety of reasons, be they balance issues, lore accuracy, or my plain old simple bias.  This time, I'm going to talk about units that I think would greatly benefit the Republic as a game faction, and possibly bring something new for the game.

Begun the Clone War, has.  Lead your troops to victory, you shall.

Unlike the normal "X unit would be so cool!" posts, hopefully, I can justify why these units would benefit the game in general, and the Republic Faction in particular.  I can't guarantee I'll always be able to do that, but I will try.  To keep things somewhat clear, I'll organize this by unit types.  I will not mention characters, as those are usually pretty obvious, and usually fill out two categories (Commanders and Operatives).  We all want Mace, Anakin, Padme, and Fives in the game, so there's really no need to go into detail on them.

Subfactions

Gungans/Naboo
Let's start with the most controversial option: Gungans.  With the Gungans and Naboo Security, FFG has a perfect opportunity to dive into subfactions.  Gungans and the Naboo fought the Trade Federation in Episode I, and later fought the CIS during the Clone Wars, meaning they fit the time period.  They were used by the Republic to supplement the GAR in both the EU/Legends and in the current canon.  And, most importantly, they offer a unique style of gameplay and unit structure, with an emphasis on close range and melee weapons, with shields and even Deflect being available all the way down to the Corps level.  People may not be the biggest Jar Jar fans, but he and the Gungans would bring a lot to the game, and be pretty iconic.  The Naboo would also be interesting, as they could represent more than just the guys in Episode I; repainted, their security forces could represent any number of planetary security forces or militias called up to fight the war on the Republic's behalf.  They'd also be quite different than the Gungans or Clones in play style, and very similar to the Rebels in the sense that they'd be light and fast attack units.  While there is some danger with faction identity problems with subfactions, I hope that the Gungans and Naboo are eventually brought into the game.

"Wesa make a grand subfaction for your army!"

Commanders

Generic Jedi
If you read the last article, you know I am very much against Jedi Knight squads.  I feel that for a squad of 3 or more minis, it would be difficult to make them feel like Jedi but still be balanced.  The solution to this problem would be to have generic Jedi Knights as both commanders and operatives.  Their stats could be scaled down slightly from Obi's (say, 1R/2B/1W, Pierce, Critical, Impact 2) to make them cheaper, yet they would still feel like the space monks we all know and love.  A benefit of a generic Jedi is it allows players to bring in their favorite Jedi well before they receive the official treatment, or allows for some custom character creation.  The command chards available to a generic Jedi could also be an interesting departure from the norm.  Instead of just having faction cards, the Generic Jedi and generic Clone Commander could share two of their three cards but have one that specifically works for them, with another character.  For the Jedi, this could be something like "Guardians of Peace and Justice" and work for that unit, and another Jedi character.

Leading from the front, just like a good General should.

Generic Clone Commander
In a similar vein, I'd like a generic Clone Commander.  This guy would serve many of the same benefits as the generic Jedi but be the natural clone counterpart.  For fans of Fordo, Wolffe, or Cody, this would be a good way of getting their hero into the game early and encourage cool paint jobs and customization.  As I said above, the generic Clone Commander could have its own unique command chard, something along the lines of "Brothers in Arms" which works with it and another Commander or Operative Clone Trooper.

Pick your Commander, and lead your troops.

Operatives

ARC Troopers
This one is again a continuation of the last article.  In case there is any confusion, I want ARC Troopers in this game.  I just want them to feel like actual ARCs rather than slightly better regular troopers.  As such, they should be in smaller units, either solo or in two-man teams similar to the strike team, but without the heavy weapon.  For their abilities, I think building them a mini Boba Fett would be both logical and interesting.  Have two of their cards give them special weapons (flame thrower and/or electro whip taser, or possibly an area effect ion pulse), while the third gives a bonus to friendly troops.  This could be as simple as X number of surge tokens, or more interesting like they gain Surge to Hit/Block for the rest of the round.  This could be limited in a variety of ways, but would still be interesting to see.

"We're here to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and these helmets make chewing bubble gum really awkward!"

Jedi Knight Operative
Not all Jedi were meant for leadership roles, and some would make better operatives than commanders.  This would be still yet another way to have Jedi in the game other than grouping them into squads.  In the operative role, I think their command cards should grant them extra Force powers, or allow for extra actions during their activation.  Additionally, if limited in this way, the operative should have a slightly higher attack pool or a reduced cost.

"Leading troops isn't my style, but going undercover and falling to the dark side?  That's my specialty!"

Corps

Galactic Marines
This one should be a no brainer for anyone who knows the least amount about the various subtypes of Clone Troopers.  Galactic Marines would be the Republic's third corps option, and I think they'd make for great close combat specialists, along the lines of Fleet troopers.  As we see them with a flamethrower during the Geonosis arc of TCW, that would make sense, making them a hybrid of Fleet Troopers and Snowtroopers.  Additionally, since this was a unit known for achieving victory despite heavy casualties, their courage value would need to be at least 2.

"And that's what you get for calling us Snowtroopers!"

Special Forces

Clone Paratroopers
I'll admit to being biased on this one, due to my own background.  That said, Clone Paras would bring a unique skill set to the game, as they would be a combination of Deathtroopers and Rebel Patfinders.  Infiltrate makes sense, though I could see them gaining their own keyword, such as "Airborne" that allows them to make a Rapid Reinforcement-like deployment in during the game.  It would also be cool if when paired with Rapid Reinforcement, they could make a single action on deployment, be it an attack, move, or something like dodging.  This would fit with Paratrooper's historic role of dropping on top of defended positions, and immediately plunging into the fight.  As Ace pointed out during our discussion, Paras should also have the "LGOP" keyword (look it up) that would prevent them from panicking if they were outside of a commander's bubble.  The counter to all of this awesome stuff would be their cost and their reduced range of weapons.  A DC-15 would be the heaviest weapon they should get, and even then, it might need to be reduced to range 3.  This would leave them vulnerable to heavy vehicles, or getting caught in the open.

"What do you mean Purge troopers are stealing our helmets?"

Clone Commandos
Do I really need to go into these guys?  I mean, if you've ever played Republic Commando, read any of the books, or even seen these guys in Battlefront II, you know what level of badass you're dealing with here.  I would make these guy hyper lethal, with a solid melee (maybe even pierce on those vibroblade gauntlets) and weapon configuration cards that would allow the entire unit to snipe (without pierce mind you) at, at least, range 4 if not range 5.  They would also have a close-range grenade launcher config with Impact and blast, much like Deathtroopers.  The downside would be they could not have a squad larger than 4 figures, and they'd still only be 1 health apiece.  Gen focused fire, and you'll start to lose very expensive minis, which is pretty thematic on how they are described in the books.

"Play Vode An.  I'm not asking again!"

Temple Guards
Fine, you guys want Jedi squads?  Here you go.  Temple Guards could be the Republic's melee SF unit.  Give 'em an OK attack, and no pierce, and a single Force power for the lot of 'em.  Unlike Knights, we really don't see these guys in action, so a reduced power version wouldn't be lore breaking, nor would it be as hard to balance.  The plus side with them would be they'd have Guardian and Inspire, and maybe a keyword that lets 'em use dodges in Guardian like Kenobi.  Two health apiece and three minis would give the unit a fair amount of meat to chew through.  Their upgrade could be a senior guard, and instead of a weapon, he gives another Force upgrade slot, and maybe even Master of the Force 1.

"Aint nobody besides Darth Vader, Cade Bane, and a bunch of others gonna get past us!"

Senate Guards/Commandos
I could see Senate guards as a ranged attack version of the Temple Guards.  Give them a high guardian value, decent attack, and fair defense.  Like with the Royal Guard, a melee centered upgrade could be interesting, as it would make them a defensive jack of all trades.  Senate Guards would naturally be a shoehorn for Entourage keywords on Padme or if Chancellor Palpatine ever was introduced into the game. I can see them being used to take hits for Jedi characters while they move forward into range, while at the same time taking shots on their own.

"Our helmets have plooms, your argument is invalid."

ARF Troopers
I'll admit that I didn't originally include Advanced Recon Force troopers in my write up.  I really didn't know how to include them, but I decided that one role really hadn't been filled out yet: snipers, scouts, and saboteurs.  These guys would essentially fill the same role as the GCW's Scout Troopers and Rebel Commandos.  I'd give them red defense die, but a mediocre attack.  Their main role would be to harass, or possibly babysit an objective.  If an indirect fire ever comes out, they might make excellent forward observers.  To further their recon role, it would be interesting to see them have "Spotter" and help generate aim tokens for other units.

"See those guys at range 5?  Shoot 'em!"

Jet Troopers
This is another one that I wasn't originally going to include, but decided to just to get some opinions.  These guys would basically be Phase II clones with Jump 2, speed 3, and an Ion rifle for their only heavy weapon.  Their main advantage would be that they can move really, really fast and ignore terrain for one of their moves.  This would give the Republic a hypermobile infantry unit, but one that lacks teeth against anything besides droids and vehicles.  I worry about their balance with objectives like capture the supplies, however, as three of these units could rapidly grab a box or three and dip out.  What do you think?

"Training?  Nah, knowing how to use these things is genetic!"

Support

AT-RTs
This is another one that should be a no brainer.  AT-RTs were, before Battlefront II(2), only seen during the Clone Wars.  While I understand why they weren't in the core set, the RT really needs to come home to the Republic faction.  If FFG is worried about "faction identity" and having the same or similar units in multiple factions, there are a few ways they could differentiate them.  The easiest would be weapon hardpoint upgrades.  For the Republic, give them the laser cannon, and a light repeating blaster that throws a couple of black and a ton of white dice, and that's it.  At the same time, issue an errata for the Rebel upgrades limiting them to Rebel use only.  If they wanted to go any further, they could increase the RT's defensive die a bit, while also increasing the price, or do a combination of price changes, Armor to Armor X, and better defensive die.  Finally, they could add a keyword like Jump to them, as we often seen Republic AT-RTs hopping around like freaking frogs.  There are several ways to make them different if that's the important thing and no real reason why the Republic should lose out on one of its main vehicles.

Uparmored frogger from hell.

Clone E-Web/EWHB-12
This is another unit I'll admit my bias on; I love E-Webs.  I "won" an RPQ with a pair of them in my list, and developed a list where I ran 3, and loved it.  As such, I personally would love to see the E-Web, or it's slightly tweaked Clone Wars version, the EWHB-12, come over to the Republic.  The weapon has several appearances in TCW, and in the EU/Legends as well, so its not completely out of left field.  As far as stats and price, I think the Imperial version is pretty close to what we should see.  Naturally, tweaks would need to be made to the price to account for Clones being on the gun instead of Snowtroopers, but those should only be a couple of points.  The attack pool should be similar, though if they want to drop the red die to add another black and white, it would likely work.  For upgrades, the Clone E-Web/EWHB-12 would be a great chance to include new ones.  One that would work great would be a generator upgrade that increases your attack range by 1, at the cost of only throwing half your die.  It wouldn't be broken, but it would help the Republic start to get a stake in the Range 4 game.

"Don't worry, I can hold 'em off.  I've got a Space Maxim!"

Blurrgs
Blurrgs are another one that should be a no brainer.  With Tauntauns making quite the splash, and Dewback riders gnashing their teeth in vain over the delay, all four factions will likely get their own Creature troopers eventually.  For the Republic, at least for non-Gungan Republic forces, blurrgs make as much sense as anything else.  Their appearance in the upcoming Mandalorian only helps make the case here, as they'll be one of the few options that will have received both the animated and the live-action (well, CGI) treatment.  Blurrgs are also interesting as we see Clones ride them, though I personally hope that instead of Clone riders, we get Twi'lek or other native troops riding them.

I bet they smell bad on the inside and the outside!

Heavy

Delta-7 Jedi Starfighter
This may come as a bit of a surprise for some people; it certainly came as a surprise to me.  The Delta-7 would make an excellent heavy for Legion.  It would give the game another aircraft, but one that wouldn't be overpowered like an X-Wing or Y-Wing likely would be.  At 8 meters long, it's a little over 2 meters longer than the T-47, less than a meter longer than the Occupier, meaning it could likely fit on either base quite easily.  While that may sound long, the Delta-7 would have far less mass than the Occupier, and most of the mass it does have would be towards the rear, where the supporting peg would be.  It's usually armed with only the two dual laser cannons, though we do see it drop bombs during the 2003 Clone Wars series.  Besides being iconic, the Delta-7 would make for an interesting place to put more Jedi pilots, and possibly to create some non-vehicle specific pilot options for the Republic.

Sleek and deady, protecting the peace one war at a time!

AV-7
Finally, some true artillery.  Likely on the upper end of what we can expect in Legion, the AV-7 Antivehicle cannon would make for a great unit to introduce indirect fire into the game.  We see it being used in this role in the 2008 Clone Wars cartoon, and it was quite effective in that role.  Though FFG has shown reluctance in introducing indirect fire, the AV-7 expansion could handle this in a variety of ways.  Easiest would be to allow it to use the line of sight of units with the "Spotter" keyword to make an attack.  If that's too open or easy, there are other ways of addressing it.  When making indirect fire attacks, the defender could always have the benefit of heavy cover, to simulate the inaccuracy of artillery fire.  Instead of using Spotter, a new keyword could be created, such as "Forward Observer," which would be either organic on a unit, or given through a comm upgrade.  Another option would be to have both the AV-7 and the forward observer unit require an upgrade called "Fires Net" to make the indirect shot.  However it is done, indirect fire could be introduced to Legion, and the AV-7 is the unit to make it happen.

And they said indirect fire isn't part of Star Wars! 

AT-AP
Like the AV-7, the AT-AP is probably at the upper end of what we should see in Legion.  Standing at 11 meters, the AT-AP is a couple of meters taller than the AT-ST.  This would, of course, make it the tallest unit in the game.  It would also be one of the heaviest armed, with a 360 turret-mounted medium laser cannon, and a chin-mounted dual-light laser cannon, and then its main gun: the hull-mounted mass driver.  As FFG is doing with the Saber tank and the AAT, the mass driver could be a munitions hardpoint, allowing the player to customize exactly what it does, and how it operates.  I would think a mechanic could be introduced that requires the AT-AP to have its third leg down to fire the mass driver, while at the same time limiting the mass driver to being fired only once every other turn. To make up for this, the mass driver would be an extremely powerful weapon, likely able to hit the enemy at range 5.  This is fitting, as the AT-AP in lore was referred to as the "sniper tank."

Is that a mass driver cannon, or are you just happy to see me? 

Misc
There are of course more options for the Republic.  The Gunship, for instance, is incredibly iconic and would be an amazing unit to see, but practicalities make it somewhat difficult to introduce.  The Eta II Jedi interceptor is another good option, but would likely overlap the Delta-7 too much to be really unique, and I personally prefer the Delta-7 more.  Finally, units like the AT-XT would be awesome but likely won't happen because they belong to the now-defunct EU/Legends stories, rather than the Mouse-approved canon.  Maybe one day we'll get them, but at the moment, I doubt it.

It might not be canon, but the AT-XT is one sexy walker.

Final Thoughts

Well, you made it to the end!  Congrats on sitting through part two of my musings.  Hopefully, it wasn't too painful!  What do you guys think?  Do you like my ideas for units, or am I hopelessly off the mark?  Let me know!  If you enjoyed the article, check us out on Facebook.  We're just a couple of likes away from hitting our first milestone of 100 likes, so everyone helps!

Thanks for reading!

Republic Musings, Pt. I

Units the Republic doesn't need.

With the official release of the Clone Wars Core Set this week, the Republic has been on my mind.  While I'm sure most people are excited to finally get the long-awaited troopers put together and painted, and play Obi's "Hello There!" card, I've been looking more to the future of the faction.  I'm sure Master Yoda would hit me with his cane for not having patience and keeping my mind on what I'm doing, but I thought I'd share some of the thoughts I've had on what future expansions and units for the Republic could look like, and a few examples of what I hope they don't look like.

How most of us will be playing the Republic for the immediate future: Kenobi leading from the front.

What shouldn't be added to the game

Though unpopular, this seems to be the place to say what I don't think should be added to the game.  These are here for a variety of reasons, be it balancing issues, their size, or simply that I don't really know what role they would fill that wouldn't be redundant.  I've argued some of these points before, but I'll argue them again here.  Feel free to disagree with me, I just think these units don't fit the game, or simply shouldn't be out anytime soon.

Jedi Knight Squad
This seems to be a popular idea for a variety of reasons, and I have to say, I think it is one of the worst ideas for a unit I've ever heard.  Jedi are supposed to be extremely powerful; even the much-maligned Clone Wars-era Jedi Order had some of the best-trained warriors, I mean, keepers of the peace, the galaxy has ever seen.  To have a unit feel like a Jedi in the game, they would need to have a pretty solid attack, Pierce, be immune to pierce, have deflect, and a Force upgrade slot.  That's fine for a single mini-unit, but when you start to add in other minis, it gets ridiculous.  Even if you only have pierce 1 on the lightsaber (which is horribly low), that stacks, and you'd end up with a relatively high Pierce value.  I've yet to hear a way to introduce this into the game that wouldn't leave your characters as glorified Wookiees or Royal Guardsmen, and yet be balanced.

"Hey, Obi, you hear they want a full squad of Jedi?"  "No, Mace, I haven't.  That would be silly."

Large vehicles
This one is pretty obvious; large vehicles shouldn't be in the game.  As cool as they could be, the practicalities of having them on the table would be problematic, and balancing them would be a nightmare.  In that category, I'll include the AT-TE, the Juggernaut, and large fighters like the V-19 Torrent, the Y-Wing, and the ARC-170.  While cool as terrain pieces, they simply don't fit the scale of Legion as units, and shouldn't be brought in.  A sliding scale could make them work, but it's far from ideal.  If these vehicles must be included, doing so as terrain pieces work better, and could be done as either wrecks or as complete vehicles.

As cool as the Turtle walker is, it just doesn't fit the scale of a movable unit.

Medic Droids
This one is a bit nit-picky, as I really do want the Republic to have access to medics.  Instead of surgical droids like they did with the GCW factions, I really hope they give us honest to goodness combat medics.  At the very least, the image of a surgical droid rolling across the battlefield is a bit ridiculous; more importantly, the Republic is the only faction that has on-screen medics, both in Episode III, and in the TCW show.  More interestingly, I think that Republic medics shouldn't have the noncombatant limitation.  Republic forces are likely going to be outnumbered on almost every game they play; it doesn't make sense they would have guys that can't really contribute besides handing out motrin and bandaids.  As such, their medics should be able to fight as well as heal, though they would have to be priced accordingly.

I'm not a droid!  And I will shoot you!

Palpatine/Sidious
Another unit I've seen tossed around a lot is the idea that the Senate needs to be brought into the game, either as an alternate Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious, or some sort of anti-Jedi character.  I have to ask, why?  Darth Sidious wouldn't be all that different than Emperor Palpatine, and he never led troops into battle for either side.  Chancellor Palpatine could be an interesting support unit, but the same problem remains: he was a politician, not a commander, and shouldn't be shoehorned into the game.  The only way to bring ole Sparky into the game would be as an objective (capture the Chancellor, anyone?) and even then, its a stretch.

The Senate when he finds out you want him to go fix a Moisture Vaporator.

Qui-Gon Jinn
If you're like me, you thoroughly enjoyed Qui-Gon in Episode I.  He, more so than Obi-Wan or Yoda, was our first real taste of what a Jedi Knight was.  That said, we need to remember that Qui-Gon didn't fight for the Republic in the Clone Wars because of a little problem: he was dead.  Whoops.  As iconic as he is, there are dozens of other Jedi that would work so much better than him and should be brought into the game well before him.  I can see a time when Qui-Gon would fit in the game, but its well down the road.

Sorry, Qui-Gon, being alive is a prereq for being in the Clone Wars.

ARC Trooper Squad
This is another one I've argued about many, many times.  If you can't tell by my username, I'm quite fond of ARC troopers.  I really like them as a concept, and most of their original appearances were awesome.  That said, I really don't want to see a full squad of ARCs in the game in the same manner as Death Troopers or other SF teams.  That role can be reserved for Clone Commandos or other units. ARC troopers should be something different; ideally Operatives.  I could see them operating solo or in two-man teams.  (which is how they were used the majority of the time in both the EU and Canon)  They would also be a great upgrade, though the recently revealed Captain and the older Officer upgrade takes the majority of that role now.  I'm likely as not going to be disappointed with the direction FFG takes with these, but it was worth including now just so I can complain later.

ARC Troopers, so badass they don't need a squad to wreck shop.

Swamp Speeder/Infantry Support Platform
I'll admit, I'm incredibly biased on this one.  I just hate how the ISP looks.  It's an uparmored airboat, and not something that makes sense to me considering the other vehicles in the Republic's inventory.  In Legion, I'm not quite sure how it will find its own niche; its too big to be a heavier BARC speeder, and the Saber Tank is better as a repulsor tank.  Though it could be shoehorned in as an analog for the Landspeeder, Naboo security units have a variety of offerings in that area that would serve the role better.  The Swamp Speeder is often forgotten, and I for one hope that Legion forgets it as well.

"This thing sucks, let's get a cooler ride."

Darth Jar Jar
OK, OK, this one is a joke.  I really don't expect we'll ever see Darth Jar Jar in the game.  But that's not a bad thing.  The theory is a funny one that makes you think for half a second, but that's it.  It shouldn't be taken too seriously, and those that do need to lay off the death sticks.

"Messa a funny joke, but shouldn't be taken seriously."

Final Thoughts

While there are certainly others I'd rather not see, those are the big units that I think the Republic would be better off without, at least for the time being.  What do you think?  Anything I missed, or are you absolutely convinced that the game needs a squad of ARC trooper Jedi Knight Darth Jar Jars?  Let us know!

Stay tuned for part II on Friday, units that I think the Republic does need!