IP Class Deck Review: Hutt Mercenaries

Good morning all, 

After a long hiatus (read five years) from covering Imperial class decks (and anything related to Imperial Assault in general), we’re back! We've been busy over on our other blog (which mostly tackles topics for the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game), but this year, I'm coming back and working through the other articles I intended to write for Imperial Assault (and covering the Tyrants of Lothal expansion, which has been released since I stopped writing). Today we tackle the second IP deck from Jabba’s Realm: Hutt Mercenaries. While I personally think this is the weaker brother to the Nemeses deck, you can get some nice free bonuses from many of the cards (and you can get a TON more damage than you can in the Nemeses deck). Like our other posts, you’ll see units that work well in the deck – so get ready for LOTS of Mercenary cards (though you’ll see Imperials as well). 

Hutt Mercenaries: A Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy 

The Hutt Mercenary deck relies on a new token mechanic: bounties. At the start of the game, each Rebel Hero is assigned a “Bounty token” and they hold this bounty token until they’re defeated for the first time (aka wounded). These Bounty tokens do different things based on the upgrades you choose, but the simplest bonus you get is that once per turn you can add +1 Damage or +1 Surge to the attack results. Other bonuses to Bounty tokens can be offensive (rerolling attack dice, adding extra dice/ignoring figures in the way, adding even more damage) or defensive (die rerolls). While not all Hutt Mercenary cards rely on the Bounty Token mechanism, the Bounties can provide niche benefits in a particular fight – I recommend stacking up all of the bonuses in the same fight. Like I said in my post on Power of the Dark Side, you can get some absolutely deadly combinations by pairing multiple class deck cards together in a single fight. Without further ado, let’s look at some lists. 

End-Game Build #1 – Maximize Mercenaries: Wanted: Dead, Scouted, Savage Motivation, Cheap Shot, Nowhere to Run 

Let’s start off with this: we’ve only spent 8XP, which you’re guaranteed to get in either a short or a long campaign. If you’re playing a long campaign and you win a few story missions (which give 2XP instead of 1XP to the winner), then you can swap out an upgrade for a more powerful one (I recommend Guild Hunters) – but anyone can build this deck in any campaign. The cornerstone upgrade is Wanted: Dead, which not only is responsible for handing out the Bounty tokens in the first place, but allows one fight each turn to add a Damage or a Surge to the result – use this to supplement a unit that can surge for 2 Damage OR someone who’s attacking a White die (as either result will basically wipe out the White die’s defense). Paired with this, we have Scouted which not only allows you to reroll a defense die when attacked by someone with a Bounty token, but also allows you to take Mercenaries on missions where Mercenaries are normally excluded. 

The other cards we’ve taken focus on boosting the power of Mercenary figures: Savage Motivation allows a Mercenary model to do a Blue die worth of damage to an adjacent Rebel figure, while Cheap Shot makes it likely that you weaken a target hero. Nowhere to Run is the most powerful boost, allowing a Mercenary figure to get +2 Damage when attacking someone with 3+ Strain (which is really powerful when paired with Wanted: Dead, as a Mercenary unit can deal +3 Damage to a unit with a bounty token . . . every round . . .).  

Best IP Units:  

• Trandoshan Hunter (Core) – If you use Nowhere to Run while attacking an adjacent figure, you get +3 Damage to the attack results (after doing 1 Strain before the attack begins). Since a Green-Blue is likely to yield 2 Damage and 1 Surge (and you can surge for Pierce 2), it’s not unreasonable to expect to see 5 Damage and Pierce 2 on the attack results (which can be boosted by +1 Damage with Wanted: Dead OR add a Bleed in there for fun). 5 Damage with Pierce 2 will pretty much do damage against anyone – and it will quickly wear down your targets. Against White die figures, you’ll probably not get that surge for Pierce 2 (unless you get an extra surge from Wanted: Dead), but all the rest of that damage will be piling on without impedance – the target should be wounded in two attacks if you’re lucky. If you just barely don’t wound the target, you can always use Savage Motivation to add an additional damage or two. 
• Bespin Wing Guard (Bespin Gambit) – If you’re going to get extra damage out of Nowhere to Run, you need to get Strain on your targets. While many heroes will Strain on their own (special abilities and free movement as the primary causes), it doesn’t hurt to help it along – and Bespin Wing Guard do that. When attacking, Bespin Wing Guard can make great use out of Wanted: Dead, which can guarantee a hurting Wing Guard gets to Recover 1 each turn (assuming you’re not shooting at a White die opponent).  
• Elite Gamorrean Guard (Jabba’s Realm) – Gamorrean Guards have one good surge ability (Cleave 2) and almost no chance of getting it. This problem is solved with Wanted: Dead. With a Red-Red and Reach, you’ve got great flexibility for attack and already deal a ton of damage (most of the time) – so things like Nowhere to Hide and Savage Motivation are nice to have but not necessary unless you just barely don’t wound the target. I would recommend that if you need to Cleave into a nearby character that you use Cheap Shot on the target of your attack first so as to avoid an unfortunate Evade result. 
• Nexu (Core) – mobile models make it easy to get Savage Motivation to work and with the potential to move 6 spaces (albeit with a large base) and then pounce to a space within 3 spaces, you can get the placement for your attack very quickly and then take an extra swipe at someone afterwards. This bonus swipe can either work to bolster the direct damage you did OR supplement any Cleave damage you did (or basically Cleave into another character altogether). Nexu also make great use out of the Scouted upgrade, since their Cunning rule allows any Evades that arrive to provide extra Block (while the Dodge would be great, a Block 1 + Evade 1 is not bad).  
• Weequay Pirates (Jabba’s Realm) – Weequay get decent surge results off of their Green-Green attack profile, but they often lack firepower. Thanks to Wanted: Dead and Nowhere to Hide, you can easily get the added damage you need to be effective. 

End-Game Build #2 – Bounties: Wanted: Dead, Vendetta, Scouted, Nowhere to Hide, Most Wanted 

This build spends 9XP, which is the minimum XP you’ll get in a short campaign and a little less than the minimum XP you’ll get in a long campaign. The focus for this deck is simple: maximize what you can do against Rebel Heroes with Bounties. Perhaps the best thing about this deck is that none of the upgrades give extra bonuses to Mercenary deployment cards – you can use Imperial or Mercenary cards just as effectively. While Scouted will allow you to bring Mercenary deployment cards on missions that normally exclude them, you don’t need to unless you’re REALLY tied to a particular unit.  

Two of the upgrades we’ve already looked at (Wanted: Dead and Scouted) – one giving you a bonus Damage/Surge to an attack, while the other gives you a defense die reroll. The other upgrades are all offensive: Vendetta is a great 1XP upgrade that allows you to reroll an attack die – perfect if you need to do damage in a particular fight. If you’re playing in most short campaigns (Twin Shadows, Bespin Gambit, or one of our custom ones – Tyrants of Lothal messes with this a little), you’ll start off with 3XP and get an additional 2XP at the end of the first mission. With this in mind, start the campaign with Vendetta (I think it’s better than Scouted, since it synergizes better with Wanted: Dead) – this allows you to spend 4XP at the end of the first mission and get Most Wanted for Game 2 (which is AWESOME).  

Speaking of Most Wanted, this 4XP upgrade isn’t “great,” but it does do 3 additional Damage if you’re targeting someone with a Bounty (and 2 additional Damage otherwise). While not great, it’s basically like adding a Red die to the attack results, which should go a long way towards helping you do the damage you need against the people you dislike the most. Similarly, Nowhere to Hide gives us a free Blue dice (and ignoring figures when drawing line of sight) to the attack, which is perfect for hunting down that last hero who’s trying to get away from you via a line of wounded, healthy Heroes/allies. Even if you don’t need the line of sight provision, getting an extra Blue die can also mean that you can shoot from farther away, exposing your models to less danger from retaliation (especially against melee-weapon Heroes). 

Best IP Units:  

• Elite Gamorrean Guards (Jabba’s Realm) – I know we’ve already talked about these guys, but if you’re attacking a hero with a bounty token with Most Wanted (+3 Damage), Wanted: Dead (+1 Damage), Vendetta (reroll 1 attack die and spend surge to ready the card again), and Nowhere to Hide (+1 blue die), Elite Gamorrean Guards are excellent – they get 2 red dice and a reroll by default, so tacking on an extra +4 damage (or 3 damage with a surge to reset Vendetta), an extra reroll, and an extra die means you’re looking at 10+ damage EASILY in a single attack swing. Yes, it will exhaust three of your command cards (probably not Vendetta, but that may be exhausted too), but you’re basically guaranteed to wound or almost wound every hero you’re fighting. Whoever got hit is going to be reeling. 
• Elite Jawa Scavenger (Jawa Scavenger Upgrade Pack) – These guys are nasty little blighters – with the ability to turn 1 surge (and 1 Threat) into 0-2 Threat, these guys can be a pain to deal with if left alone and ignored. With a Yellow-Yellow attack pool and 2 static accuracy, these guys become crack-shot threats with Nowhere to Hide (giving them the ability to shoot through figures, at least 4 accuracy, a Blue-Yellow-Yellow attack pool, and the ability to surge for 2 Damage, Pierce 2, and of course Threat regen). If they get a reroll from Vendetta, bonus damage from Most Wanted, and an extra surge or damage (only if you got 3 surge from your dice), these guys can be a real nuisance – and are probably one of the best bargains for 3 points that you can get. 
• Elite Tusken Raiders (Twin Shadows) – These guys are basically Gamorrean Guards on offense - they roll a Red-Green instead of a Red-Red, they get +1 damage instead of a reroll, and they have the option for a Red-Blue ranged attack (which will benefit greatly from a reroll from Vendetta, an extra blue die from Nowhere to Hide, +3 damage from Most Wanted, +1 damage from Wanted: Dead - or a reset for Vendetta). Whether you’re attacking in melee or attacking at range, these guys become a TON more dangerous. Of course, you have to have a desert tile on the board to field these guys but still . . . 
• Loth-cats (Tyrants of Lothal) – These guys may look cute, but they pack a punch – generic or elite! With a static Pierce 1, the ability to surge for 1-2 damage with a Green-Blue attack pool, and potentially a damage/surge token if they’re Elite, these guys will happily welcome a third die, a reroll on a bad die roll, and more damage if they can get it. They’re also blissfully cheap at 4-6 points per card (2-3 reinforcement cost), so re-purchasing them is pretty easy to do as you progress through the campaign. 
• Clawdite Shapeshifters (Heart of the Empire) – While these are single-model squads, a Streetrat Clawdite hits hard and can follow up a brutal attack with ANOTHER brutal application of damage. Whether you’re using an Elite or regular Clawdite, getting 3-4 attack dice with Nowhere to Hide, rerolls for that red die if you’re not in Scout form, and access to tokens if you’re in Senator form is going to make the damage you get from Most Wanted and Wanted: Dead all the more dangerous. 

End-Game Build #3 – So Much Damage: Wanted: Dead, Nowhere to Hide, Guild Hunters, Most Wanted  

This combo is the most difficult to pull off, but it also has the most dangerous array of options available so far. The upgrades provided here cost 11XP, which is only possible in a short campaign if you win both of the intermediate missions, and is possible in a long campaign if you win 1-2 story missions. You’re basically going to start a short campaign with Nowhere to Hide (adding a blue die/ignore figures when you attack someone who has a bounty token) and Wanted: Dead (+1 damage or surge against Bounty-carrying characters) and then as you play other scenarios, you’ll pick up the two 4XP options (Most Wanted – 2-3 extra damage – and Guild Hunters, which gives Hidden to Mercenary figures when they deploy and all of your heroes pick up the ability to surge for 1 Damage/2 Accuracy, Pierce 2, or Hide). Two of these three options exhaust, so only one person can benefit from each of them, but none of them are Mercenary-dependent, so regardless of what mission you’re playing, you can build your deck however you want and all of the boosts will work for you. 

If you don’t get to 11XP before the finale, you should get Vendetta and/or Scouted – the boosts these provide are good and both upgrades only cost 1XP. You can also skip on Nowhere to Hide at the beginning of a short campaign in order to guarantee that you have Guild Hunters for the second mission – this isn’t a horrible idea, but will make winning the first mission harder (though winning the first mission in a short campaign is usually pretty hard). Our ideal units in this configuration are going to be surge factories, usually creating far more surge than they can realistically use. 

Best IP Units: 

• Elite Sentry Droids (Heart of the Empire) – I love these guys so much. Base Sentry Droids only roll 2 green dice, so their surge needs are fine (this goes up by 1 sometimes if Nowhere to Hide is active, so there’s some benefit to these guys), but the Elites roll a Yellow-Green-Green, which can generate up to 4 surge icons. When you have these guys, it’s nice to be able to turn all of those surge faces into Damage or Pierce – and in a campaign, some of the Rebel heroes might be able to put out 4 block, so having Pierce 4 on your first two surges is excellent. Against everyone else, you’ll take surging for more damage or the ability to Hide during the first shot of a Multi-Fire attack so you have a free surge for the next attack. 
• Death Troopers (Tyrants of Lothal) – Death Troopers are, by default, close-range shooters (static 3-4 Accuracy with a Red-Yellow), but if they have access to a blue die and a slew of surge abilities (their base ones are good, but you can’t always use all of your surge), they become even better. What’s more, you can include up to 4 of these guys (2 regular, 2 elite) in a single Open Group slot in your command hand – perfect for making sure you always have a 3-4 cost card in your hand to play. Their red die and the ability to turn all of your surge into damage or Piece makes them incredibly dangerous. 
• Royal Guards (Core) – Basic Royal Guards got the nerf-bat early on in Imperial Assault to only have Pierce 1 . . . and when you’re rolling a Red-Yellow, you really want more surge options. Enter Guild Hunters (and Most Wanted – and Wanted: Dead). These guys can really be underwhelming in the attack department, but with some help from your command hand, these super-healthy guys can be a pain to deal with. 
• Probe Droids (Core) – I don’t know that there’s any unit in IA that generates more wasted surge than Probe Droids. On paper, these guys are great – they can surge to heal themselves, surge for damage, and surge for Pierce (and if you have an Elite Probe Droid, you can even reroll a die). The problem is that with a Blue-Yellow-Yellow, they usually have to be right up in the enemy’s face to not miss the target – and with only 5-7 health and a black die, they can gronked pretty easily (don’t let that option to Recover fool you – if you’re taking damage before you get to shoot, you might not GET to shoot . . . it’s a trap!). Being able to shoot through models, roll a Blue-Blue-Yellow-Yellow, AND get tons of good surge abilities (including one that ups your accuracy!) is excellent. Their need for Wanted: Dead or Most Wanted is probably only needed if it makes the difference between a hero being wounded or not – they’re going to generate enough damage (or WAY not enough) on their own. 
• Jet Troopers (Jabba’s Realm) – I’ve included these guys because of a gimmick you can do. Yes, these guys usually waste some surge (they can only turn their first surge into damage – and the Elites can be rolling 3 dice!), so having the extra surge abilities from Guild Hunters is really good. What’s really good for them is having 3-4 dice (on your Elites) when shooting at someone that’s close by. With Fly-By, you can roll a Green-Blue-Blue-Blue against whoever’s near you – and if you know that you can stack 3-4 extra damage on the guy AFTER you’re done surging, that’s even better! If you’re running the regulars, you don’t even need to try to trigger Fly-By – you can get to the Green-Blue-Blue that the Elites usually get just by using Nowhere to Hide! The Elites are a little pricey in a campaign, but if you buy them early and make sure one is in a relatively safe place, they’re not hard to reinforce. 

That’s it for Hutt Mercenaries (and boy does it feel good to be writing about IA again). In our next post, we’ll be examining Precision Training, which I feel is the lesser brother class deck from Return to Hoth, but if you're not sold on running big vehicles, this is probably a deck worth investigating. Until next time, happy gaming!