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Grand Admiral Thrawn
Set: Universe
#38/60

Date Reviewed: April 14, 2006


Image from Wizards.com

Rating: 5.0
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale 1 being the worst.
3 ... average. 5 is the highest rating.

 
Sith Dragon

 

 

Grand Admiral Thrawn
Imperial
Cost: 37
DEF: 18
ATK: +12
DAM: 10

Master Tactician(you win init unless you roll a 1), Ysalimari(characters within 6 cannot spend force points and have force immunity)

CE: Non-Unique followers within 6 gain +3/+3. At the end of this character's turn, 2 allies within 6 squares of this character may switch position. They must have the same base size.


The Friday King's slot goes to non other that the Grand Poo-baa himself - Mitth'raw'noroudo. IF there was a character in SWM that was broken it would be him. He is THE single most powerful character in the game. For only 37 points you get more effects than you can count. He has 80 HP, which means that he is not going to be taken down easily. You will need several shots on him, and that generally will not happen until after you have waded through your opponent's entire army. and with a +12 ATK he can actually shoot people too - and hit! Granted it is only for 10 DAM, but every point can count. His stats are better than any other imperial commander (not people with CEs, just the commanders).

I am going to do his CE first. Non-uniques within 6 get a +3/+3. This can be really big. It boosts the attack of AT-STs from 8 to 11, and can boost a stormtrooper's base defense from 16 to 19. That's a 23 with cover! That makes them as hard to hit as most Jedi.

For the Imperials, this alone would be good, but he also allows two characters with the same base size to swap positions. This allows for several things, most of which are very effective with AT-STs. One can double attack, Thrawn swaps them, and the second can double. IF you have Tarkin out there, you can do all this in one turn! the other thing people do is run huges that can squeeze (bantha, reek, acklay) to allow the AT-ST to get through doors it can't get through because it is rigid. Also, keep in mind that characters like AT-STs can be swapped through doors only one square wide because they are not moving through them, so that opens a wealth of possibilities on the new maps.

All this would be worth 37 points, but the powers-that-be decided not to stop there. He has Master tactician, which means you are going first unless you either roll a 1 or run up against another Thrawn in which case it's roll as normal.

Now anyone would run him now at 37, but they added one more teeny effect that altered the game dramatically. Ysalimari stops people from using the force inside of the bubble (to be expected if you read the books), but this is where he approaches the broken level. Characters cannot use the force to respond to attacks. Shots cannot be blocked if fired from within the bubble, and you cannot re-roll saves or attacks. The only things that can be used are sith rage, precision, use the force, lightsaber throw, leap, and sweep if used while outside of the bubble.

Thrawn shuts down everything the Jedi can do, especially all the stuff that makes them so expensive. Not being able to block attacks from within the bubble makes the AT-ST and other heavy hitters deadly, and in my opinion will really be exploited once the Bounty Hunter set comes out. There will be a lot more mid range bounty hunters with awesome powers that can be teamed up with Thrawn.

Now, earlier i said that he is as close to broken as this game gets, but is he? The answer is no for basically one piece - the X-1 Viper, a shooter's worst nightmare. In the end Thrawn is worth WAY more than his 37 points, and i fear he can shut down much of what will be forthcoming in Champions of the Force (June 9 release).


100pt - Thrawn was never a piece to be run here because his effects can't be fully utilized, but with the extended power that force immunity gives characters within six he is now somewhat viable if you can find the right back-up.

200pt - Here Thrawn dominates.You can play the switching game with triple attackers like Jedi Hunter and Sith Lord or with the AT-ST's and heavy stormies. If you run into an army of accurate shooters, you have to be careful to keep him hidden, but with 80 HP he can survive a few hits if need be.

Thrawn changed the game more than any character in the game and is well under costed. The real problem is that if you read the book - this is a 100% accurate interpretation of who Thrawn was. The only thing that should have been done differently is a higher cost, but that's it.

"Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?"
 
Ten-Eyed
Man
 

Grand Admiral Thrawn

Probably the single best commander in the game, Grand Admiral Thrawn has almost singlehandedly changed how squads work. Before Universe, competitive squads virtually always consisted of a few powerful Unique pieces, with Stormtroopers and such existing mostly to fill in the last few points. With the coming of the new commanders in Universe (especially Thrawn), it’s much harder to discount the value of fielding an army of faceless grunts.

So what exactly does the Grand Admiral bring to the table? Let’s go point-by-point:

1. Initiative control. Unless you roll a “1,” you are considered to have won the initiative roll. This is even better than it seems, because on the rare occasions you do lose initiative, your opponent will probably not be in a position to exploit that (since they’ve been assuming you’ll win every round). The only reason to be concerned about losing initiative, really, is if you’re up against another Thrawn squad.

2. Force Immunity. Every character within 6 squares of Thrawn gains Force Immunity (under the current FAQ ruling). This not only protects against Force Lightning and the like, but more importantly prevents the use of defensive powers like Lightsaber Deflect against the attacks of anyone in the bubble.

3. Grunt buff. +3 Attack and +3 Defense to all non-unique followers within 6 squares. This is not only amazing, but it’s one of only two CEs in the game that improve Defense (and Yoda, Jedi Master only gives a +2). What makes this just ridiculous is that Empire’s Defense numbers tend to be pretty good. With Thrawn, you can have a 5-point Stormtrooper in cover with an effective Defense of 23.

4. Position swap. This ability is unlike anything else in the game. It’s an offensive maneuver, letting you run a Gran Raider up to an enemy piece, then swap him for a beatstick. It’s a defensive move, pulling a wounded piece back towards the healer. In your more sophisticated squads, it can also be used to get a Momentum or Charging Assault piece back away from its poor victim without drawing an attack of opportunity. It’s simply incredible all the way around.

5. Decent numbers. For an essentially noncombatant commander, Thrawn has very respectable numbers of his own. His +12 to hit and 80 hit points mean he can trade blows with mid-range threats and come out on top (though he really shouldn’t, unless the situation is dire). True story: The first time I played with Universe pieces was a sealed tournament in which I was lucky enough to pull Thrawn. The game eventually came down to my Thrawn versus my opponent’s Naboo Flash Speeder, and Thrawn won. This is just one of the many reasons why the Grand Admiral is a common sight in competitive play, while the Flash Speeder isn’t.

 

Grand Admiral Thrawn is one of the most important pieces in the game, and will likely continue to be so for a good while.

Overall rating in 100: 4.5 (he does take up more than a third of your points)

Overall rating in 200: 5

 
KC Tyler Grand Admiral Thrawn is one of the best character in all the set he is 37 points of greatness. He has 80 hitpoints, 18 defense, +12 attack and 10 damage. He has incredible special abilities like master tactician he can choose who goes first unless he rolls a 1, then he has Ysalamiri Characters within 6 squares cannot spend force points. This character and characters within 6 squares cannot be targeted by Force powers. I think that 37 point would go for all these abilities but that is not all his commander effects are just as good gives non unique +3 Attack and Defense plus he has the switch position of two allies with the same base. To put that in playing terms you can go first attack the enemy with better chance to hit them with non unique character like, stormtrooper AT-ST and AT-AT just makes jedi and force user less effective with 200 points team so deadly. Thrawn make the Imperial faction the best with big hitter , commander, and the soldiers just .
 
Vesuvan Grand Admiral Thrawn. This one miniature change the face of the game when he was released. If you have one I am sure you already play with him, if you don't start, and if you don't happen to have one I suggest you get one if at all possible. With 80 hit points, defense 18, attack 12, and damage 10 for 37 points he is starting out as a great figure. His abilities of Master Tactician and Ysalamiri make him a must have for many people. His commander effects of +3 to the attack and defense of non-uniques and position switch effect make him a god. He is the first broken piece to be released in my opinion. He has almost unlimited combos with the current range of figures and dominating the tournament environment. I don't like to mention other minis when I do a review because they will often mention Thrawn and godlike power. Instead of telling one of many combos you could use with him I will tell you how to stop him. Boba Fett or any good character with accurate shot, an AT-AT heavy laser cannon also helps. If you are playing with Thrawn in current games enjoy the stomping you are going to deliver. If you happen to face Thrawn. KILL KILL KILL He must be the one that you take down if you plan on having any hope of winning. If any of you have read the books you would know he is one of the few people to tell the Emperor what to do and live, his miniature isn't the only thing that is cool so is his character as well.

Tournament

Points Rating
100 6 out of 5
200 6 out of 5
300 6 out of 5
 
The General Grand Admiral Thrawn

The Grand Admiral has some great abilities. Master Tactician alone would almost be worth the 37 points required to use him. Choosing who goes first no matter what (most of the time) is a great, and coupled with Ysalamiri means you could stop most jedi from being able to use force powers. The danger being having Thrawn to close to the action, although with defense 18 and 80 hit points he can take a of couple hits.

His absolute best ability is his CE, it reads All non-unique followers within 6 squares get +3 attack and +3 defense and at the end of this characters turn 2 allies within 6 squares of this character may switch position. +3 defense and +3 attack are great and since stormtroopers have 16 defense and +4 attack as is that's 19 defense and +7 attack for your basic troops. This would also give an AT-ST 17 defense so it could be able to stay out much longer. The best part of his ability though is being able to switch your troops were you need them. You could move a character with Momentum back a little to attack again with the bonus, or move a large or huge character over some difficult terrain.

100 pt: 4.5/5 The only reason he doesn't get a 5 is his cost.

200 pt: 5/5
 


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