Imperial Officer, from Rebel Storm





I've previously referred to Grand Moff Tarkin as the power piece of Rebel Storm, but the Imperial Officer is also a viable contender. Cannon CEs are very strong, and even though this one's more limited than some - it's only for non-unique followers, and it doesn't grant any attack or damage bonus - it's still an invaluable building block for Imperial builds centered around non-uniques. With the advent of Daala, one popular use has been pairing it with the Stormtrooper on Repulsor Sled - the Repulsor Sled can charge 24 squares and attack, then the Officer can give it an extra attack since it's already committed and exposed. Both last year's GenCon runner up and New Zealand's champion squad used this mechanic:



While it's not the strongest cannon piece in the game, the Imperial Office is very cheap at 14 points, and is very powerful with the right support. 10/10.

It's good to discuss these things - I wish people argued with my ratings more often. Where I'm coming from is that I generally think cannon is such a strong mechanic that almost every cannon piece is a 10 - one of the exceptions is Dray because he's expensive, and he has to replace attacks to give a cheaper piece attacks, but even then he's still good enough to see tournament play.

In this case, there are a lot of different commanders all working together to make a big synergistic whole, and it can be a matter of opinion sorting them out, but in Daala squads I generally think the commanders who provide more idiosyncratic things (movement from Daala, Ysalamiri and flexibility from Pellaeon, cannon from the Imperial Officer, rerolls with Needa) are more significant than the stat boosts (GARY, Piett). He's one of the more popular options in Daala squads, and you could fit him in some Thrawn squads, like cannoning an Echani Handmaiden or something.

I can understand the reasoning for a 9, since the Imperial Officer is relatively weak compared to other cannons, but he's a pretty key component behind some very strong builds. If it helps convince you, I also think I should probably upgrade the OR Senator from a 10 to an 11 - it's found in the vast majority of OR squads, and it's a very good piece.

Stormtrooper Officer, from Rebel Storm





The Stormtrooper Officer is a decent piece - with double attack and an attack bonus, he's not bad for 14 points. But Imperial Trooper builds revolve around Admiral Daala, and her charging fire CE is a key feature of her builds. Because the Stormtrooper Officer doesn't synergise with her, he's left on the outer, while lots of other obscure Imperial troopers rose to prominence. Even in Vader Agent of Evil squads, you're probably better to go with Grand Admiral Rulf Yage for cunning attack over the Stormtrooper Officer, while his Commander Effect doesn't stack with Grand Admiral Thrawn's +3 attack CE either. He's a decent piece for the cost with good stats, albeit low hit points, and double attack, but there's no room for him in any established Trooper build. 4/10.

Cad Bane, Bounty Hunter, from Galactic Heroes





Cad Bane, Bounty Hunter is a very strong commander for the Bounty Hunter subfaction in Separatists. In the often movement starved Separatists, Cad gives them a movement breaker and and a damage boost in Charging Fire +10. As such, he's often paired with Bounty Hunters like Aurra Sing, Assassin and Asajj Ventress, Nightsister, both excellent pieces already, who become top tier with Cad's speed boost.

As well as his CE, Cad is also an interesting attacker in his own right. With Furious Assault, Sniper, and Twin Attack, he can drop 40 damage on a bunch of pieces if you're playing on the right map or if your opponent positions pieces carelessly. He also has the unique defensive ability of Hostage Shield, where he has the opportunity to palm off damage from an attack to an adjacent piece, either an ally or enemy. The combination of Furious Assault and Hostage Shield presents an interesting conundrum, as he can't easily use both at the same time - if he ends his turn adjacent to an enemy piece to take advantage of Hostage Shield, he can only Furious Assault other adjacent targets.

Cad Bane Bounty Hunter is a really well thought out piece, who introduces new tournament builds to the Seperatist faction. He doesn't quite feel like a power 11 to me; as a fighter/commander who needs to be out in the frontlines to be worth his points, he seems fairly costed. But he's certainly a strong base for Separatist builds, 10/10.

Not to mention that if you combine Cad with Prince Xizor he gets accurate shot for some deadly furious attacking. I am more of a fan of droids but he does really help the separatist living and make them more playable. Now we just need more bounty hunters to take advantage of this CE, and there are tons of clone wars options out there

YVH 2, from Scum and Villainy





The YVH2 is obviously very good against Vong, with its Twin and Vong Hunter +20. But it's difficult to utilise, because it's difficult to access in a 30 point reinforcement; Lobot can't access him, so you can't bring in the YVH2 unless you're playing a Jabba The Hutt piece with Reserves 30 or if you roll reserves with CLobot. And as a droid, he might not even be the right choice in those situations - there might be another piece in the same range that's more effective by the time that commander effects are taken into account.

The other use for him is as a starting piece in a Droid squad; in Separatists, I'm not sure that he's a serious option, as Whorm plus two IG-86s are about the same cost and much stronger. He's more interesting in Old Republic Bao-Dur squads, where droids can access double, but not twin; but even then, at 30 points there are possibly better options. The YVH2 is perfectly adequate, but it's difficult to find the correct niche for it, 6/10.

I totally forgot about Kazdan - I don't own him and I've never seen him played. I still think a 6 is fine, but I should have mentioned him.

ASP-7, from Universe





ASP-7 is arguably the weakest movement breakers in the Star Wars minis universe - he only has 10 hit points, and his Lift SA is limited to moving from one adjacent space to another. But a movement breaking is still a very powerful mechanic in this game, so that even a weak movement breaker like ASP-7 has his uses. To some extent he's been outmoded by a lot of popular shooters having Greater Mobile - the two extra squares of movement aren't as crucial for them, even if they allow neat tricks like using ASP-7 to move a shooter adjacent to a door, then shoot and mobile away from it. ASP-7 is probably an interesting option for less mobile shooters who need to stand still to get all their attacks off, like Durge Jedi Hunter, or Heavy Weapon pieces like the BX Snipers. ASP-7 is a weak movement breaker, but at the least he might be a handy reinforcement choice for some specific squad types, 6/10.

No problem, it's fun to do, although I do worry that I'm putting on weight by doing this at lunchtime instead of heading outside!