Character Review: Jyn Odan

As an avid fan of Han Solo, the iconic "rogue smuggler" has always been the defining picture of Star Wars (even above a Jedi/Sith wielding a lightsaber or ranks upon ranks of clean, white Stormtrooeprs). In the Core Set, we were given a smuggler and she is - in so many ways - everything you could ever want in a smuggler. Jyn Odan is fast, tech-savvy, and wields pistols like no one else. All told, she's fun to play as and we'll be diving into some of her options today.

Jyn Odan: One Pistol Or Two

Let’s get something out of the way from the get-go (I’ve said this in previous posts, but it bears repeating): Jyn’s starter weapon is one of the worst starter weapons in the game. Jyn’s Vintage Blaster gives you a Green-Green combo (which admittedly has good, reliable damage at short range), and while it can be trusted to get 4 Damage, the ability to surge for only 1 Damage makes it hard to do more than 1-2 Damage (which admittedly will trigger Opportunist) against your average Black die defense. Compared to other starter pistols, Jyn’s weapon is decent (getting more expected Damage than Vinto’s Hair-Trigger Pistol, MHD-17's Sidearm Blaster, and Murne’s Diplomat’s Blaster but less expected Damage than Gideon’s Holdout Blaster, Saska’s Modified Blaster, and Verena’s Military Blaster). If we're honest, none of the starter pistols hold a candle to other starter weapons (Gaarkhan's Vibro-Ax, Biv's Repeating Blaster, Shyla's Duelist's Blade, or Drokkatta's MGL-9 "Boomer"). For more info on Gaarkhan's weapon and Drokkatta's weapon, view our posts on them.

The Vintage Blaster could be better, but since Jyn requires a pistol for her Quick Draw ability, the main question you need to answer is this: do I use one pistol or two? Thanks to her Gunslinger upgrade, you can have two pistols and you choose one of them for any attack you declare (but can use the surge abilities from both). Since there are many pistols available in the game, here’s a quick run-down of their utilities for Gunslinger:

Pistol Name (Set Required)	Tier - Cost	Attack Pool	Surge for Damage 2?
DH-17 (Core)	1 – 200	Yellow-Green	Yes*
Charge Pistol (HotE)	1 – 350	Green-Green	No
Hand Cannon (JR)	1 - 400	Red-Red	No
DL-44 (Core)	1 – 500	Yellow-Blue	Yes
DDC Defender (RtH)	1 – 500	Yellow-Green	No
DT-12 Heavy Blaster Pistol (Greedo)	2 - 600	Green-Green	No
434 Deathhammer (Core)	2 - 600	Red-Blue + Damage 1	No
Disruptor Pistol (BG)	3 – 700	Red-Green	Yes**
Sporting Blaster (Core)	3 – 900	Yellow-Yellow-Blue	Yes***

*Actually, it's Damage 1 + Pierce 1                      ** Actually, it’s Damage 3                      *** Actually, it's Pierce 2

The weapons that can surge for Damage 2 are excellent to have when you’re using Gunslinger – often as the non-primary weapon. We’ll show a few of these options in our post today, but before you judge too harshly, remember that all of these pistols are better than the one you start with and all have their merits as excellent weapons (so don’t get tied up with one particular weapon build that’s “best” for Jyn).

One final note I’ll say about these weapons: pistols are (generally speaking) short-range weapons (1-4 spaces away). While some (like the DL-44) have incredible range potential, most pistols are intended to be used up-close. This can make Jyn very vulnerable to attacks and she’s also one of only a few characters (Diala and MHD-17 unless he gets his class card) who can’t increase either her Health or her Endurance with upgrades. I don’t recommend running off on your own with Jyn – she needs to stay healthy to keep her Endurance up, so don’t get wounded! With that, let’s get into it. . . .

End-Game Weapon #1 – Quick Draw: DH-17 with Spread Barrel and DT-12 Heavy Blaster Pistol

One of the great things about Jyn Odan is that she can interrupt a hostile figure’s activation and perform an attack against him. With this power comes the responsibility to position Jyn in the right place at the right time (next to someone she can kill). Jyn’s Cheap Shot upgrade makes her Quick Draw slightly more potent by adding a static Damage 1 to the attack results. But this got me to thinking: what if you could interrupt to perform a free attack with your weapon after being shot at as well? Enter the DT-12 Heavy Blaster Pistol. This gun (available in the Greedo Villain Pack) is remarkably similar to Jyn’s beloved Vintage Blaster, but is better in two key ways: first, instead of surging for +1 Accuracy, you can surge for +2 Accuracy AND Pierce 1 (making it more likely that you do the equivalent of 4 damage whenever you attack and guarantees at least Damage 1 + Pierce 1 at Accuracy 4). The second reason it’s better is because at the cost of 2 Strain (the same as Quick Draw), you can interrupt after someone shoots at you to make an attack of your own!

To supplement the DT-12, we’re taking Gunslinger and the DH-17 (which I actually think is the better primary blaster): this weapon is dirt cheap (makes up for the 600 credits you’ll need to spend on the DT-12) and can hold two mods – I’ve chosen the Spread Barrel (tap that for that extra damage that you need at close range) though if you have the cash, you should also look into the Overcharger (for when you run up against a figure with multiple defense die OR who is rolling a white die and you want to guarantee they die). The DH-17 is more likely to surge and since you can turn up to 3 surge into Damage 2 + Pierce 2 + Accuracy 2, it’s better to use than the Green-Green alternative. Surge priority is:

1.       Damage 1 + Pierce 1;

2.       Accuracy 2 + Pierce 1; and

3.       Damage 1.

Besides Gunslinger and Cheap Shot, we’ve chosen the Quick As A Whip upgrade – giving you the ability to scoot one space (not movement point) after being shot at (perfect for getting closer before unloading with the DT-12). With all the strain going around, I also recommend Get Cocky – you can choose to become Focused if you want to up your damage profile, but I prefer to remove the 2 Strain – guarantees that if you use Quick Draw to finish someone off, you can remove the Strain from that interrupt to trigger the DT-12 when his compadre activates and takes his vengeance on you. Finally, we cap it all off with Smuggler’s Luck. Jyn should always take Smuggler's Luck FIRST. There is nothing worse than opening a crate and getting something you don’t like (or not drawing the pistol that you want in the Rebel Upgrade stage) – for 1 XP, getting a re-do on the crate reward you drew AND getting an extra equipment choice is fantastic (and let’s face it, rerolls on attribute tests are awesome too).

Upgrades to purchase - 10 XP: Quick As A Whip (1), Smuggler’s Luck (1), Cheap Shot (2), Get Cocky (3), Gunslinger (3)

End-Game Weapon #2 – Concentrated Fire: Disruptor Pistol with Plasma Cell

If you’re looking at all the expansions thus far and you want maximum damage from a pistol, you need to get the Disruptor Pistol with the Plasma Cell. Coming in at over 1000 credits, you’re looking at an automatic 2 Accuracy with a Green die supporting it (so Accuracy 3-5) and TONS of damage. Thanks to the Plasma Cell, any surge you get turns into damage and the first surge turns into 3 Damage! Against a Black die, you’re expected to do 3-4 damage (that’s 5 damage with Cheap Shot on your Quick Draw), which is painful for any figure to have to endure. With this weapon build, Jyn does a TON of damage.

The “concentrated fire” build for Jyn is pretty simple: give her the strongest, loudest gun you can find and have her shoot holes through the enemy as fast as you can. To maximize on all this damage, we’re taking BOTH of Jyn’s 4 XP upgrades: Trick Shot and Sidewinder. Since you can do an overwhelming amount of damage, you want to be able to pick whatever target you want. With Trick Shot, you can choose a space within 3 spaces (but it doesn’t have to be within line of sight) to use as your point of view – this is a great way to hit figures who are standing behind another figure OR are hiding behind impassible/blocking terrain. Your accuracy is still drawn from you, so be sure to pick someone close by that you can’t see if you want to use this ability (comes at the cost of 1 Strain, so you don’t NEED it). Sidewinder is (in my estimation) the better skill: after you attack, you may move up to 2 spaces (not 2 movement points), which becomes 3 spaces if you are healthy thanks to Opportunist. This gives you (almost) a free movement action every time you attack – allowing you to shoot twice on your turn AND once during a hostile figure’s activation and move 6-9 spaces (depending on whether you did damage with each of your attacks)! Jyn is a Speed 5 character, but with this build, you can basically perform the equivalent of a double move WITHOUT USING A MOVE ACTION!

If you want to get some power out of your weapons before reaching Tier 3, I recommend the DL-44 or the 434 Deathhammer – they’re fantastic weapons (and the Deathhammer comes in just slightly below the Disruptor Pistol for overall damage, so if you never see the Disruptor Pistol, that's okay). The Charge Pistol is a good Tier 1 option too if you don’t get the DL-44 (and of course the DH-17 – but we’ve already covered that one).

Upgrades to purchase – 11 XP: Smuggler’s Luck (1), Cheap Shot (2), Trick shot (4), Sidewinder (4)

End-Game Weapon #3 – Shoot All The Things: DH-17 and DDC Defender with Charged Ammo Pack

If you recall our post two weeks ago on Vinto Hreeda, you’ll remember that there’s a build for him that allows you to perform many attacks a turn, thanks to the DDC Defender. As a Tier 1 weapon, it’s really good – 3 attacks in 2 actions anyone? Well, today we present the same option with Jyn, except this time we’ll be pairing this weapon with the DH-17 (which we’ve already looked at above) and tacking on the Charged Ammo Pack. With your 3 attacks each turn from the DDC Defender, you’ve got the following surge priority:

1.       Damage 1 + Pierce 1;

2.       Damage 1; and

3.       Damage Power Token (which you can use first if you aren’t going to be able to crack your opponent’s armor).

While the DL-44 provides better damage than the DH-17, it costs more than the DH-17 AND the Charged Ammo Pack. Yes, getting Damage 4 from 3 surge is probably better than Damage 2 + Pierce 1 + Damage Power Token, but the Damage Power Token allows you to bank a token when you’re already killing your target (which the DL-44 doesn’t give you). Unlike the last case, you’re expecting to get 2-3 Damage past a Black die (only 1 point less than the previous), but you can get this build at Tier 1 (early in the campaign) versus at Tier 3 (at the end of the campaign). You can also do 3 attacks with it (four with Quick Draw), giving you roughly the same damage output.

For upgrades, we’re taking Cheap Shot and Smuggler’s Luck (duh – they’re just nice to have), as well as Gunslinger and Sidewinder (duh – we’re taking two pistols and we can get 8-12 spaces of movement without using movement actions). While this is an incredibly powerful build, there is a key question that you'll need to answer: 

Which upgrades do I get first? 

Sidewinder is great for action conservation, but it’s expensive and will keep you from using Gunslinger early. Cheap Shot is probably your least necessary upgrade, so in a short campaign, you might want to take Sidewinder and Smuggler’s Luck early and save up for Gunslinger and Cheap Shot later (talk someone else into holding the DH-17 for you until you can Gunslinger with it).

Upgrades to purchase - 10 XP: Smuggler’s Luck (1), Cheap Shot (2), Gunslinger (3), Sidewinder (4)

Jyn in the Skirmish Game

Jyn Odan has come up in one of our Skirmish Upgrade posts already (Smuggler’s Run). For only 5 deployment points, she's fast, decently healthy, and has Cunning (to get more Block out of that White die). Her surge abilities are good, allowing her to turn any surge she gets on her Green-Green combo into Damage (and she gets both Stun or Accuracy out of it too). True to her campaign version, she can interrupt once per round to attack someone with Hair Trigger (works basically like Quick Draw) - great for cleaning the clock of someone you almost killed (or taking out a perfectly healthy Regular Stormtrooper). She's a great addition to any Smuggler list (be they Rebel or Mercenary) and I highly recommend her.

In our next post, we’ll be changing from our short-range sharpshooter to the first of our long-range sharpshooters with Mak Eshkarey. While his fellow sharpshooter Loku Kanoloa can gain more Accuracy than any other figure in the game (we’ll talk about him in two weeks), Mak is the only character who gains special bonuses from being far away from his targets (and this leads to some interesting weapon and upgrade choices). Until next time, happy gaming!