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dash_rendar_renegade
image from Wizards of the Coast

Top 10 Minis of 2009
#4 - Dash Rendar - Renegade Smuggler
Imperial Entanglements

Date Reviewed: January 19, 2010

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

100 pt: 2.75
200 pt:  4.50

 
Sith Dragon

#4 Dash Rendar

While i fully recognize that this was a piece that did have an impact on the meta, its a piece i have to hate on principle. I did have him at #5 on my list, but this piece to me represents where this game started to go wrong. Han and the rebels were bad enough, but Dash began the reign of the "OH! lets make a shooter that can blitz the crap out of a piece and then not be hit in return!" Dash began the reign of the greater mobile, double, twin, evading shooters. He isnt broken as his attack and damage are low, but the fact he can have shoot four times and do 20 DAM a pop with opportunist is still a pretty good threat. All you have to do is add an attack booster with your squad and you can get him to a 13 or 14 attack, which is why he was so popular with GOWK. Why they then tacked on evade and greater mobile is beyond me. Now we have Darth Bane with just as sick stats/abilities. This era reminds me of the JWM days when the JWM HAD to be in every single squad. Dash may not be quite as bad as back then, but in the upper meta, he has had about that impact. While he is justly positioned at #4, this is a character i wish they really hadnt made.

Josh

Dash Rendar, Renegade Smuggler (29/40, Very Rare—Imperial Entanglements; 70HP, ATT 6, DEF 15, DAM 10, DEP 28)

 

For a lousy seven extra points compared to the original Universe version of Dash, you’re picking up a lot of extra bells and whistles. The original Dash, while a decent shooter, was pretty weak and kind of overpriced for what he brought to the table. Renegade Smuggler really remedies all that. While he loses 10 points on his damage score, he picks up both Double Attack and Twin making it possible for him to deal 40 points of damage against a single target (bumped up to a whopping 80 if you make him a late round activation thanks to Opportunist). One of the biggest problems the original Dash had was his weak defense score (which Renegade Smuggler still has) but nothing to protect himself. Renegade Smuggler has both Evade and Greater Mobile Attack. This means he’ll be able to make all four attacks every round but isn’t forced to stand in one place to do it. Even if you can’t get him fully out of the line of fire, Evade will give you a chance to extend his life by avoiding damage. As an added bonus, he picks up an extra 10 hit points compared to the original Dash which means your opponent will have to use one more attack on him to bring him down regardless of whether they deal 20 or 30 points of damage in a hit.

 

While he’s much better than the original Dash, he still has the problems that the original Dash does in his stats. Both his attack and defense scores are very weak. Even with his Opportunist, he’s only going to be boosted to a +10 to hit which may still have trouble hitting your opponent’s larger targets. His defense of 15 can also be bolstered but it’s still a problem you’ll have to deal with when you run him. Use Greater Mobile Attack as much as humanly possible to keep him out of the line of fire. Evade is always helpful, but I’ve always found that relying on saves is a dangerous way to go. You can take advantage of it, but the Greater Mobile Attack will be much more reliable in keeping Renegade Smuggler alive.

 

100 POINTS: Here, he’s a pretty good addition to the right squad. Renegade Smuggler is a solid shooter and as long as you don’t have to activate him early in the round, he can be pretty nasty. He’ll be best-paired with a mid-level beat stick (a 50-60 point piece would be ideal), so you can include him and leave yourself with some points for a few grunts to give you a few extra activations in your turn. SCORE: 3

 

200 POINTS: With all the additional support that you can bring in at the 200 point level, Renegade Smuggler will be a very solid addition to a squad. Being Fringe, he’s an excellent candidate for Master Kota’s commander effect which makes him a stronger attacker and raises his defense to a much more acceptable level. With plenty of pieces to synergize with him, Renegade Smuggler will be very effective in this build format. SCORE: 4

 

Addendum for Top 10 Minis of 2009 List—Again, I really don’t think I need to make any real revisions to this review. I do like this version of Dash a lot more than the original and he really can benefit from some good effects to make him even more dangerous. One of his best allies is the Rebel factions old Admiral Ackbar since his Commander Effect slides in well with Rendar’s existing Opportunist though Malak, Dark Lord of the Sith is also a great commander for him. There are a lot of great commanders that can really help him out and since he’s such an improvement over the original Dash Rendar out of Universe, it’s not really a surprise to me that he shows up on this list.

Darth Mauler

Back at the end of last year, two factions had greater mobile shooters that could hit for 80 damage: The Mandalorians (Mandalorian Scout), and the Republic (Captain Rex). While the Mandalorians needed this advantage, the Republic was put far ahead of the other factions by this advantage. But then, #4 on our list appeared in Imperial Entanglements: Dash Rendar, Renegade Smuggler, giving everyone such a deadly shooter.

His stats are unimpressive. 70 hp is all right, allowing for one more hit of either 20 or 30 damage. 15 defense, 6 attack, and 10 damage, however, are all terrible. It will take some very distinguishing features to set Dash apart.

What distinguishes Dash is the Greater Mobile, Double, Twin combination. This gives him the deadly ability to make 4 shots while moving. While this would not be a very great threat with 6 attack and 10 damage, he also has Opportunist, allowing him to boost those stats to 10 attack and 20 damage. Combined with his 4 shots, that’s 80 damage. 10 attack, however, is still pretty low, but since he’s a fringe follower with Pilot, there are many ways to deal with this (Just to name a few: Grand Admiral Thrawn GMY, Jagged Fel, Wicket, R4).

Defensively, 70 hp and 15 defense leaves a lot to be desired. Even with Evade, Dash is somewhat of a glass cannon. Still, the Evade means he is likely to survive longer than Rex. Add to that the 4 points you save, and Dash RS can hold his own against Rex.

100 pts. 2.5/5 He is a glass cannon at this level. Most big beatsticks that dominate this level are too hard for him to hit, making him very ineffective. Still, though, he might work if you combine him with Lord Vader or Vader LOTF for a Dynamic Duo (though one point is left over). The problem, though, is that at this level running Dash means cutting out all support if you want a beatstick.

150 pts. 4.5/5 Although held back slightly by his low accuracy, Dash is highly competitive in this shooter-dominated format.

200 pts. 5/5 At this level, his low attack is less likely to hold him back.


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