Good morning gamers,
We're kicking off the Operatives from the Jedi Council pack (which I painted up recently) and we're tackling a Jedi that pretty much every Republic player likes: Plo Koon. Apart from how awesome this guy is in the Clone Wars show (his end in Episode III makes me a bit upset every time I watch it), this guy feels good both as an Operative in Star Wars Legion, but also as a Squad Leader (and boy is he good). Let's see what Plo brings us and how to equip him if we don't throw him into an ARC Trooper squad . . .
Plo Koon: The Profile
Everyone's said it already, but I'll pile on: Plo Koon has a LOT of keywords! Many of these upgrades are common to Jedi: Jump 1 as an action, Deflect, Immune: Pierce, and for most Jedi, Charge are all common rules and give Plo decent mobility, survivability, and potency if he can reach his target with Charge. To add some flavor, Plo has Defend 1 (fabulous - get this guy an order!), Inspire 2 (great in a meta that's shaping up to be more suppression-oriented), Direct: Clone Trooper Infantry (getting more order control is always good), Shien Mastery (so he'll do 1 damage back for each defensive surge he gets with Deflect AND if he blocks everything, he won't take suppression from the attack), and Distract as a free action (I don't know how game-changing this is, but theoretically it could keep a lone Clone from being targeted by an attack and removed from an important objective).
His profile is surprisingly strong for an Operative: he's got 6 Wounds (instead of 5 on the Jedi Knight - I assume this is because he's on the Council), Courage 3 (not Courage 2, like the Jedi Knight), Speed-2 (normal), and surge to hit on offense supported by non-surging red dice on defense. This feels more like a Commander profile, which means you can get a proper powerhouse unit in your Operative slot if you want it. Plo has no range attack and his lightsaber is not great with 5 black dice and Impact 2/Pierce 2. With surge to hit on offense, this lightsaber is supposed to get ~3 hits/attack, so don't expect him to go cleaving through anything (unless you really invest in the upgrades - more on that later). Still, it's a tolerable attack that can deal a finishing blow to something that's been crunched already by an ARC Trooper squad and poses a legitimate threat to most lightsaber users (since Immune: Pierce and Defend 1 are likely to undermine the counter-blows that Plo will receive).
