Hello Capital Ship fans!

So PAX East this year was an adventure and a half, more on that in a later post. The biggest news is that I finally got my hands on Imperial Assault! After playing a couple demo games (which I later learned had messed up a lot of the rules, but oh well!), I finally sat down and played out a Skirmish game, and man do I have a lot to learn. There is so much to this game, and so far my only gripe is that the rulebook setup is incredibly difficult to muck through and made learning to play far more difficult than it needed to be. Without further ado, let’s take a dive into my first observations!

Vader is GODLIKE.

HOLY SMURF BATMAN. I’ve read articles on how crazy strong Vader is, but I was not expecting this kind of power. In skirmish games, he can essentially one-shot grunts as long as he can see them. Brutality gives him the ability to shred through even tough heroes (he killed Diala and Jyn on turn 2) just based on the fact that he rolls two red dice (the most damage-inducing dice in the game). His high defense and phenomenal health also turn him into a tank that can weather all manner of shots. Vader is the gift that just keeps on giving.

The biggest downside to Vader is his 18-point cost. Coming out of your 40-point budget, he makes it difficult to field a large number of additional units, particularly if you’re looking to bring Elite units. I did find that pairing Vader up with an Imperial Officer gives him incredible mobility, and improves his ability to capitalize on command cards while still moving and brutalizing.

Don’t piss off the wookiee

Gaarkhan’s got crazy speed. Unlike other melee characters in the core set, he can engage from much further back, making him something of a surprise piece. Oh, and don’t forget, once he’s in combat with you, he’ll just get more angry. The only way I see to deal with this angry wookiee is either kill him from VERY far away, or just focus fire on him until he’s dead. Alternatively, leave him alone as he tears stormtroopers apart, but eventually you’ll have to face the rage machine. If Gaarkhan gets into melee with your units, your only option is to get rid of him, and fast. Oh, and there’s also this coming with the Chewbacca set:

This just adds to the silliness of Gaarkhan, giving him the option to smack someone for guaranteed damage when he needs to. He already wants to take damage anyways, so this just synergizes perfectly with his playstyle, assuming you’re lucky enough to draw the card when you need it.

Cheap Troops are great ways to grab objectives early

Stormtroopers and Rebel Troopers are both fairly fragile figures, but the number you can take for such a low cost allows you to get some bodies up and on objectives incredibly quickly. Stormtroopers particularly benefit from an Imperial Officer following them closely, helping stragglers get into position on an objective, or block enemy units from passing down a hallway. A great way to think of them is similar to 12-point ships (academy pilots, bandit squadron pilots, and binayre pirates) from X-Wing: Cheap, effective units that can muck up your opponent’s plans and still have a decent enough amount of firepower to not be ignored.

Jyn Odan is most certainly worth every point

Jyn’s got moves. From ducking and dodging to blasting the first poor guy to budge, she’s impressed me since I saw her hero form in my first demo. Jyn’s scariest aspect, however, comes from her surge abilities. Rolling a single surge result adds 2 each of accuracy and damage to your roll, something no other character can claim. Jyn’s biggest downside is her low health, which can be particularly difficult when attacked by high-damage enemies such as the wookiee or Vader. But why be scared when Jyn can punch well above her weight, with the ability to take on a squad of stormtroopers all alone, and even possibly give Royal Guards a run for their money?

I’m still a young padawan with much to learn

If there’s anything I’ve learned from playing Imperial Assault so far, it’s that it’s going to take me a lot longer to get a handle on than it took me to understand X-Wing. There’s an incredible amount of data to assimilate, and with no standardized mission setup there’s also lots of different objective types to consider, and various map layouts to consider. I’m looking forward to playing this game more though, I’ve seriously enjoyed it so far and I’m excited to dive even deeper into the world of Imperial Assault.

Until next time folks, PLAY MORE GAMES!