Star Wars: Shatter Point – ‘Grand Admiral Thrawn Preview’ Sets The Plans In Motion
Grand Admiral Thrawn and his pawns are making their Star Wars: Shatterpoint debut. The Empire’s best Admiral is here!
Star Wars: Shatterpoint is calling in the Grand Admiral Thrawn and he’s bringing some new tactics to the tabletop. He might not be known for his personal combat prowess but he has a way of getting the most out of his assets. Let’s take a quick look at him and his ISB Agents as well.
“Thrawn’s mind for plots and his ability to outwit his opponents is represented in several ways on his card, but first among them might be the ability to include two out of three available Grand Strategy cards in your Order Deck. These unique cards may be reminiscent to those that accompany Ewok Trappers, but represent a refined approach that offers Thrawn much more variability. Each Grand Strategy has two possible choices that a player may choose from to take advantage on the battlefield. These Grand Strategies allow Thrawn and his forces to either react to the battlefield or plan ahead to seize the advantage. However, each of these choices also has a negative effect on the chosen friendly unit, whether it’s losing hunker after dashing forward or becoming pinned. Thrawn asks much of the troops under his command, but they gladly follow him due to his results.”
Grand Admiral Thrawn
Thawn’s big on positioning and helping his squad get the most out of their abilities. He’s can reposition himself near an Active Objective to get three bonus attack dice on his next attack. He’s got those Grand Strategy cards as mentioned above, too. Furthermore, he can help other Galactic Empire units shift around in reserve for less Force. This can really save you a resources and also heals the unit, too.
To Defeat An Enemy You Must Know Them is probably his one of his best abilities. This offers something truly unique in Shatterpoint in that it allow for you to refresh your Order Deck when an allied Primary Unit is wounded.
As far as attacks go, let’s be fair, Thrawn isn’t a combat junkie. His Aggressive Assault does give him a stronger Melee Attack which you shouldn’t underestimate. Also, when paired with his first ability, that’s actually a scary attack.
Whichever track you opt for be sure to keep Thrawn Supported and he will support his troops to get the absolute most of of them. And speaking of his troops…
Agent Kallus
“To fans of Star Wars Rebels, Agent Kallus, Inside Man represents not only one of their greatest enemies but also a powerful ally by the end of the show. This change in loyalty appears on his card as Uncertain Loyalties, allowing Kallus to choose from two sets of dynamic tags and fit your strike force. This is also represented in his Imperial Intelligence ability, which gets stronger for each tag he shares with the ally.”
Kallus is a good Secondary Unit for Thrawn because he’s tough and can deal damage. Check out his attack card and remember that he’s packing both Sharpshooter[2] and Impact [2]. When using Tactical Supremacy he can dish out a 9 die attack!
ISB Agents
“Members of the Galactic Imperial Security Bureau, or ISB for short, protect the Galactic Empire from internal security threats, like the insurgency on Lothal. As such, they excel at engaging enemies in melee and holding them there in order to detain or interrogate them with the help of higher-ranking agents. ISB Agents can use Assault Tactics to gain the upper hand, moving up and giving them a free focus, very useful combined with their innate Impact [1]. Enemies will be reluctant or unable to get away, because they also damage enemies when disengaging with them using their Imperial Detention ability.”
They might be nameless agents but they can get the job done as Supporting Units. One nasty trick is to combine their Assault Tactics with that Impact[1] for some brutal eight die attacks in Melee. Then don’t forget to heal them using Thrawn’s abilities from above to keep them in the fight even longer.
If you are looking to play a squad that has some potent plays but take a little bit more planning and setup then Thrawn and his ISB Agents just might be the squad for you! Personally, I’m just glad to see the Grand Admiral make the leap the tabletop in Star Wars: Shatterpoint!
