Good morning gamers,
Today we're covering the other Wookiee Warrior profile: the Kashyyyk Defenders (or Kashyyyk Resistance if you're playing with the Rebels). When I first looked at the two Wookiee profiles, I was like, "Well, the Noble Fighters are just better." In many ways, I still think that's true - but while the offensive capabilities of the Kashyyyk Defenders/Resistance are slightly dampened, they provide a slightly different (and overall quite useful) support capability for their Wookiee comrades. Let's see what they can do . . .
Wookiee Warriors, Kashyyyk Defenders: The Profile
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| While I think the Heavy Weapon choices are the only "essentials," there are actually quite a few good upgrades for these guys Photo Credit: Legion HQ |
The Kashyyyk Defender variant trades the melee-oriented rules of Charge and Duelist to gain the shooting-oriented rule Sharpshooter 1. There are other Special Forces units with Sharpshooter available to the Republic and Rebel Alliance (ARC Troopers, Rebel Commandos, and their Strike Team variants), so Wookiee Warriors aren't unique in this respect. However, with cover giving an additional save now (and an encouragement to have lots of terrain on the board to take advantage of this), having Sharpshooter of some kind is a way to make sure that you have a better chance of getting your hard-earned hits through the cover and onto your opponent. Defensively, Kashyyyk Defenders only differ from the Noble Fighters in that they don't have Duelist - they still have just 3 Wounds, a white defense die, and no surge for block.
Kashyyyk Defenders are a bit more expensive than their Noble Fighter brothers (72pts instead of 69pts, which translates into 1pt more per model), and whether the extra point to get Sharpshooter and lose Charge/Duelist is worth it is anyone's guess (I think the Noble Fighters are slightly better because they cost marginally less, but you're welcome to think differently). These guys still have Courage 2 and Indomitable, which changes what kinds of upgrades you might be willing to take.
The weapon options for Kashyyyk Defenders are weaker than their Noble Fighter cousins, in that they roll 1 black/1 white instead of 2 black in melee and they roll 2 white instead of 1 black/1 white at range. However, the X1 Carbine has range 1-3 instead of range 1-2, so you can shoot from farther away (and can do so while ignoring up to 1 cover from your opponent). With surge to hit preserved, a pile of white dice lobbed by these guys can actually do a lot of damage - especially if they have an aim token to work with.
Republic vs. Rebels
I have used a Kashyyyk Defender squad alongside my Clones and to be honest, I kinda wanted a full ARC squad instead - the 12 wounds you have on this squad that turns into an effective 14 wounds with saves just doesn't feel as good as the 5 wounds you have on a full ARC squad that's going to have effectively 10 wounds + access to dodge/surge tokens on other Clones and Imperivous (when that actually helps you) . . . you might be a tad bit more survivable with the Wookiees, but the token sharing is a thing and it's no small thing. Since the cost of an ARC Trooper squad with a DC-15X is 3-points cheaper than a Wookiee Warrior squad with a Long Gun Wookiee (or Battle Shield Wookiee - more on that in a minute), it's not like one of these options is going to get you that much in savings - unless you add on a 20+ point Squad Leader upgrade on the Clones.
That being said, the heavy weapon options that we'll view in a moment can make these guys gain keywords that ARC Troopers only dream of - and they can roll more than one die per model from range 3, which ARCs would very much like as well (especially since they lost their range 3 attack pool). If you can find a solid piece of horizontal heavy cover for your Wookiees to hide behind, the punishment they can lay down is kind of staggering. I don't think I'd critique anyone for running Wookiees instead of ARCs, but I think most competitive players would prefer a full ARC squad over a Wookiee Warrior squad with the current points pricings.
I mentioned last time that the Rebels have a lot of long-range shooting options competing for their Special Forces slots (most notably full Commando squads and Commando Strike Teams - but also Bistan-led Pathfinders), so I think these guys have much less of a place in a Rebel list. Paying about 100pts for a Special Forces squad is a lot - though with points adjustments for sniper rifles, Pathfinders or full Commando squads with a sniper cost quite a bit too. Obviously, you're getting more health out of the Wookiees than any of these options, but the High Velocity, Low Profile, and Scout 2 from the Commandos (and the Impact/Ion, Danger Sense, and Infiltrate options from the Pathfinders) are solid boosts.
That said, I love putting these Wookiees in with my Rebels because they can distract fire really well from their more fragile units (including those that can ACTUALLY do more damage than the Wookiees, like Rebel Veterans). They're also the only Special Forces unit with access to both Impact 1 and Pierce 1 (Bistan can get you Impact 1 and Commandos with the DH-447 Sniper Rifle can get Pierce 1 with High Velocity - but the Bowcaster Wookiee is the only thing that gets you both Impact and Pierce), so if you know armor units with good saves are in your meta, it's not too many more points to get a squad of these guys instead. Just sayin'.
Okay, let's see what all this means for their upgrade suite . . .
Wookiee Warriors: Recommended Upgrades
The Republic and Rebel Wookiee Warrior units cost the same and have all the same upgrade slots - and in the main, I think the "best upgrades" they can take doesn't change. Let's go through each one and see what they do.
Heavy Weapon
Once again, I think the heavy weapon upgrade is the only required upgrade for these guys. Unlike what I said last time, I think all three of the heavy weapon choices can be good on a Kashyyyk Defender/Kashyyyk Resistance squad. My favorite option is the Bowcaster Wookiee (31pts), which gives you a very solid attack pool of 7 whites/1 red with surge for hit, Sharpshooter 1, Pierce 1, and Impact 1 at range 1-3. Whether you're shooting at a unit that's in cover or a unit that's relying on armor (or one of those annoying transport vehicles that has armor AND cover), you can reliably turn what should be a horrible attack pool into a lethal one. At only 5pts more than the other options, I like the flexibility that this weapon choice provides.
If you're supporting a long-range gunline, you probably want to look into the Long Gun Wookiee, who gives his unit a range 1-4 2 black weapon that applies Suppressive to the enemy. 6 white/2 black with surge to hit and Sharpshooter 1 is quite likely to get damage past the new cover rules (2.5 hits + 1 crit), so you can reliably apply 2 suppression to whatever unit you're shooting at. Even if you're just outside of range 3 and only get the Long Gun, 2 blacks with surge to hit is 1.25 hits or crits, which should still get past the cover stage and apply the suppression.
Finally, don't sleep on the benefits of the Battle Shield Wookiee - having Armor 1 while you're sitting behind heavy cover is outrageously good and if you can improve a white melee die into a black melee die (or improve 1 black/1 white into 2 red), that's a good day if you're being bum-rushed by Ewok filth (or a Force User). Your shooting capabilities aren't improved with this choice, but 8 whites will still net you an expected 2 hits + 1 crit, which is absolutely fine with Sharpshooter 1. You'll be slower with these guys, so make sure they deploy near a solid piece of cover so they can park and shoot.
Training
Indomitable unit that wants to sit behind cover and shoot all day? You probably want to look into Duck and Cover so you can avoid taking damage while getting to heavy cover (or to turn light cover into heavy cover - assuming you can get 2 suppression tokens). I didn't pick this upgrade because the artwork has a Wookiee on it - I totally picked it because these guys can get good use out of it . . . seriously . . .
While the Noble Fighters have two training slots, these guys only have one - so you'll want to balance whether you want a defensive upgrade (like Duck and Cover) or an offensive upgrade that will get you an aim token. If you plan to deal plink-damage to characters (supporting your Wookiees with overrun attacks from Fluttercraft or maybe sniping them from far away with Cassian/Din), taking Hunter is a great way to turn all that potential Wookiee damage into a devastating attack against a critical character. If you want to be a troop killer instead, Offensive Push isn't a bad option to use when you're moving to cover - then recover-shoot on the following turn to queue it up for a second use! I think these upgrades are very much optional, but having aim tokens helps these guys tremendously.
Gear
The upgrades that make the most sense for these guys happen to be the upgrades that were recommended last time: Recon Intel and Prepared Supplies. Recon Intel is now 5pts and can get these guys in a slightly better position at the start of the game - if you have the points for it, this isn't a bad shout. Prepared Supplies is also 5pts, so if you know these guys are going to be sitting behind cover, having a dodge once per game when you need it can be really sweet. Not much else to say about this . . .
Grenades
While I mentioned Impact Grenades were good on the melee Wookiees last time, I think Smoke Grenades are really the only good grenade choice for these guys - and anyone sitting behind cover while shooting, really. While it only helps you once each game, for 3 points, it's a great way to keep one wound on your Wookiees each time something shoots at you (and can also help some nearby friends as well). If you plan to shoot during their activation, just make sure you shoot BEFORE you spend the free action to use the grenade.
Okay, let's look at some lists!
Wookiee Warriors: Sample List and Strategy
I think Wookiee Warriors add a spice to a list, so I decided to do something crazy for the Republic list: run three Wookiee Warriors with Battle Shields - but the shooting variant. This provides us with a very interesting gunline option: 8 white dice with surge to hit backing up Z-6s is pretty good, but our gunline has units that have Armor 1 and can sit behind cover (which could be light cover, promoted to heavy cover with Smoke Grenades) to help us ignore 2+ hits reliably . . . with Obi-Wan and Boil nearby to Guardian hits off of them . . . oh, and we have Padme for a cheap, anti-cover shot each turn if we need it (list is here if you like the Tabletop Admiral layout). Obi-Wan can also issue orders to the Clone Captain units to trigger Defend 1 to keep the Clone side of the house more survivable:
- Obi-Wan Kenobi with Force Barrier, Battle Meditation, Aggressive Tactics, and Defensive Stance
- Padme Amidala with Up Close and Personal
- Clone Trooper Infantry with Boil and Clone Medic
- Clone Trooper Infantry with Clone Captain , Z-6 Trooper, and Clone Medic x3
- Wookiee Warriors, Kashyyyk Defenders with Battle Shield Wookiee and Smoke Grenade x3
When we turn to the Rebels, I've gone with a single Wookiee Warrior squad in a 1000pt/13 activation variant of the "teamwork makes the dreamwork" list run by Kyle Donbos from the Fifth Trooper (you can see it in his not-too-long-ago post on Han Solo here). Kyle is a very competitive player and knows what he's talking about (and has had variants of this list with FD cannons too), but I've chosen to go for a Wookiee squad instead of an Ewok squad + Commando Strike Team (and a squad of Rebel Troopers with a medic instead of yet-another-squad of Rebel Vets). Here's the list (which can be viewed on Tabletop Admiral here):
- Han Solo with Improvised Orders
- Cassian Andor with Overwatch/Situational Awareness and config
- Chewbacca with Protector
- K-2SO with Jyn's SE-14 Blaster
- Rebel Troopers with 2-1B Medical Droid and Recon Intel x6
- Wookiee Warriors, Kashyyyk Resistance with Bowcaster Wookiee, Offensive Push, and Smoke Grenades
- Rebel Commandos with Proton Charge Saboteur x2
The list only has range 4-5 shooting options on Cassian, though you could add the Wookiees to that gunline AND save 5pts if you wanted the Long Gun Wookiee instead of the Bowcaster Wookiee. Personally, I don't know that range 4 is all that necessary anymore, so I'd rather just have a range 1-3 unit that throws a TON of dice with Impact 1/Pierce 1 (supported by lots of other cheap Rebel units with range 3 pools). The Wookiee squad - and the whole team, really - will get help from Chewie's Guardian 3 and SIX med bots, which added to the high activation count should give us lots of options for dealing with the enemy.
The command deck has all of Han's command cards, Chewie's Notorious Scoundrels card, and two cards from Cassian (one which gives out tokens - great when Teamwork is on four units - and the other which gives Cassian a standby action . . . which can be great late-game if you're trying to pick off an important unit and in the early phases of the game if Cassian is using his pistol). There are lots of tricks in this list and the command cards play a big part in that. Since you have 1 Commander token (Han), 3 Operative tokens (Cassian, Chewie, and K-2SO), 6 Corps tokens (the Rebel Troopers), and 3 Special Forces tokens (the Wookiees and Commandos), you have pretty good order control if the orders are mostly going to your characters.
Wookiee Warriors: Final Review
These guys are fun and while there are very competitive choices within Special Forces for both the Rebels and the Republic, I think these guys can be good outside of the Wookiee battle force (though admittedly, they are expensive for the amount of damage they're putting out in this new version of the game). They are easier to kill off (at least in theory) than other options for their price, but there are also options you can use to keep them alive longer (both the Rebels and the Republic have access to Guardian 3 to mitigate the white defense dice saves - and the Wookiees themselves have access to the right upgrade slots to take some defensive countermeasures).
Overall character review: 3/5 stars. I could hope for better guns than double-white at range 1-3 to make these guys truly good, but they're still functional. Sharpshooter 1 with access to three excellent heavy weapon upgrades is also very appealing - though not as appealing as ARC Troopers in most situations (at least for me).
Next time, we're leaving Wookiees behind and we're looking at a Heavy unit option that doesn't get a lot of love (but works surprisingly well with Wookiees): the LAAT/LE Patrol Transport. This thing lacks the firepower of other Heavy units (and frankly lags behind the firepower of the Corps/Special Forces choices that the Republic and Empire have). Like Wookiees, this unit is multi-faction and how well it performs is very much based on what list it's in. Join us next time as we view what this closed transport has to offer - and until then, happy hobbying!
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