Outside the Box #1: Biggs Darklighter
Outside the Box #2: Darth Vader, Champion of the Sith
Outside the Box #3: Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master
Outside the Box #4: Darth Malak
Outside the Box #5: Anakin Skywalker, Sith Apprentice
Outside the Box #6: Obi-Wan on Boga
Outside the Box #7: Bastila Shan
Outside the Box #8: Corran Horn
Mon Calamari Medic's Warning: The following post may increase the chances of Sith Rage in certain readers. You should discontinue use of Outside the Box #5 if you are headstrong, whiny, or prone to Impulsive Sweeping. Visit your local Medical Droid if you notice your eyes turning yellow as this could be the sign of a rare but serious side effect of the Dark Side of the Force.
So this week's outside the box challenge is brought to you by Roulex (and the letter A): Anakin Skywalker, Sith Apprentice. He's a solid piece for his cost, to be sure. His main weakness seems to be that he keeps you from putting any of the better Vaders into your squad. Also, he barely benefits from any commander effects (Thrawn swap, Palpatine's Force points, Tarkin's activations, Chagrian Mercenary Commander, and Rodian Black Sun Vigo). At 39 points, he seems more like a piece you add as support in an already decent squad rather than a piece to build your squad around.
Anakin Skywalker, Sith Apprentice [39]
HP: 120
Defense: 19
Attack: +13
Damage: 20
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Unique
Double Attack
Loner
Melee Attack
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Force 4
Force Grip
Lightsaber Riposte
Sith Rage
The Outside the Box Challenge:
Try to come up with a 100 point squad that could take on Bane and 6 Ugnaughts. A 150 point squad that could take on Black and Blue (LV or JH). And a 200 point squad that could be decent at a tournament. For mine, I'm also trying to make squads that haven't been posted on swshoebox yet. I also did my best to stay away from typical B&B or trooper swarm setups, as those don't seem particularly creative.
Here are mine:
-100 points vs. Bane & 6 Ugnaughts-
"Dark Coupling"
Anakin Skywalker, Sith Apprentice [39]
Aurra Sing [37]
Gonk Power Droid [12]
Probe Droid [8]
Ugnaught Demolitionist [3]
(99 pts. - 5 activations)
Bane outactivates this squad, so a good player should be able to get a Sith Rage Lightsaber Assault in on Anakin before he can do anything. But if Anakin wins initiative with the Probe Droid, he can put 60 damage on Bane with a Sith Rage Double Attack. Plus 2 Ripostes, Anakin can put 100 damage on Bane by himself. For the other 100 damage, you have the very efficient combo of Aurra with a Gonk. I feel kind of dirty using a power piece like Aurra in an Outside the Box post... But this squad should certainly cream Bane. At least I didn't use Thrawn...yet.
-150 points vs. Black & Blue-
"Thrawn's Offensive"
Anakin Skywalker, Sith Apprentice [39]
Grand Admiral Thrawn [37]
Mistryl Shadow Guard [24]
Mas Amedda [8]
Probe Droid [8]
Scout Trooper x3 [24]
Duros Explorer [7]
Ugnaught Demolitionist [3]
(150 pts. 10 activations)
So for this squad I wanted to try to use Thrawn more offensively. With a boosted Mistryl bodyguard, you can run him into the mix of things and really slow down Lord Vader with Ysalamiri. The Duros might be able to Spotter for Thrawn or a Scout Trooper once or twice (probably once). The Scout Troopers have Stealth so they have an upper hand against opposing Stormtroopers. Anakin can Force Grip Stormtroopers and work with the Mistryl to take down the opposing Vader inside the bubble. Obviously Vader JH will make mincemeat of Anakin, even without Force powers, but Lord Vader could have some trouble if he can't Rage or Assault or anything. With careful Thrawn placement, you might be able to set it up so Anakin can Riposte, but Vader's still in the bubble.
-200 pts. Tournament Quality-
"The Commanders and the Apprentice"
Emperor Palpatine, Sith Lord [62]
Anakin Skywalker, Sith Apprentice [39]
Grand Admiral Thrawn [37]
Imperial Governer Tarkin [22]
Clone Commander Cody [20]
Mas Amedda [8]
Probe Droid [8]
Ugnaught Demolitionist [3]
(200 pts. - 8 activations)
It's Anakin and a whole bunch of commanders. With this, I would run Anakin out first and try to get some damage in with him Loner-style. When he gets in trouble, you can swap in Quadruple Attacking, Betrayal-inducing Palpatine. Cody with Double Attack, Accurate Shot and Sniper is a nice ranged threat. Double Attacking Thrawn is good for taking out scrubs. Doctrine of Fear might help if the opposing heavy hitters make it to your commanders.
Please take the challenge and post your squads! It's all about exercising your squad-building creativity. You might have already used Anakin SA in a squad before, but try to think of a new way to use him, and you might end up coming up with something you like.
What I learned this week:
I've never thought of using Clone Commander Cody with Imperial Governer Tarkin before. +10 Attack isn't great, but Double Attack with Accurate Shot and Sniper is definitely nice. Maybe I could use him with Baron Fel and some Stormtroopers to boost his Attack...
I welcome any feedback on the Outside the Box posts or my squads. I'm also taking suggestions for next time.
Here are some other characters I'm considering if you just want to vote for one of these:
[Votes as of 10/26 10:04 am PST]
[3 Votes] Obi-Wan on Boga (Republic)
[2 Votes] Bastila Shan (Old Republic)
[1 Vote] Corran Horn (New Republic)
[1 Vote] Kyle Katarn (New Republic)
[1 Vote] Warmaster Tsavong Lah (Yuuzhan Vong)
[1 Vote] Zam Wesell (Fringe)
[0 Votes for the rest, so far]
Aayla Secura (Republic)
Ki-Adi-Mundi (Republic)
Mace Windu, Jedi Master (Republic)
Asajj Ventress (Separatists)
Grievous [anything but Supreme Commander] (Separatists)
Darth Maul on Speeder (Separatists)
Jabba the Hutt (Fringe)
Guri (Fringe)
HK-47 (Fringe)
Anyone else you want to try to make competitive.