Charging San Juan Hill

 

That is right, and you heard it hear first…San’s middle name is Juan.  Now you know.  Any who, today we talk about defencing a San Hill Squad.  The amount of firepower a San Hill squad can bring to bear is incredible, and it usually relies on some of the biggest guns in the game.  However, there are ways to beat it, as there are with every squad.

 

Maps – This is probably the least controllable weapon.  Either you get your map or you get your opponent’s.  San will generally favor wide-open maps that still have cover to keep key pieces safe.  The more damage San squads can do before they are closed in on, the better.  The Deathstar is usually going to be the map of preference.  If you play maps that have more cover such as Bespin, or maps with nowhere to hide, such as Muustafar, you already have a leg up on San.

 

Speed – Squads that have killer speed and can reach San faster will limit how much damage San can do before you get a swing on them.  Han in stormtrooper armor is a great example of this.  R2 can be a big help to Jedi as well as characters with master speed.  General Kenobi can be a big help as well.  By staying in cover for as long as possible and then sprinting out to smack some characters will immediately put San on the defensive.

 

Tempo – San squads can be a real pain.  You spend several minutes trying to best position your pieces.  Your opponent then takes two seconds to tap an ug and its your turn again.  Being forced to move so quickly again can really unnerve some people.  You just have to be ready for it and not let it get to you.  At the same time, though, by forcing San to react to you and attack where you want them will more often than not lead to a San defeat.  If San can’t control how things are unfolding, he doesn’t do as well.  If you can focus your attacks towards key pieces and unload attacks faster than he can use characters, it will turn the tables of frustration.  Take control of the tempo and you will take control of the game.

 

Brute Strength –  San has a massive first punch, but if you can weather that, you can dish out more damage faster.  Big, multi-attacking Jedi are great for this.  Boba, bounty hunter is a beast, but if you can either end a turn or, more likely, get a good first munch via R2 and a triple attacking Jedi, he goes down fast.  By throwing up a lot of attacks you not only control the tempo as mentioned previously, but you can take his pieces down fast. 

 

Correct Attacks – Something else common to inexperienced players is to not attack activated characters unless absolutely necessary.  Boba, BH and Aurra, JH are characters that need to go down fast, but at the same time, by attacking characters that have already activated, you are still responding to what your opponent is doing.  If you can get around or ignore characters to get at mid-level characters, like a Zuckuss or Lando, You are hurting his damage output and making him start to react to you.  If you can set up multiple fronts where he can only choose to save one character, this will help.

 

Gambit control – This is a battle you will lose every time.  All San has to do is wait for you to finish activating, and throw out a free ug to get gambit, especially on the deathstar.  Don’t let your opponent get too big of a lead, but at the same time, ignore gambit if you have too.  Don’t let it mess with your strategy.

 

Damage Absorption – Bodyguards are very good ways to get pieces down the board with a minimum of damage to your beat sticks.  Sucker the flamethrower.  Assuming they are using Boba, BH, Set up a nice juicy target of a main character and a couple BGs (this is assuming you are running Jedi).  The worst thing they can do with Boba is move up and flame you, which they will almost every single time.  This keeps Boba within 6 of a Jedi and will only serve to help you chase him down.  I run a Yoda/Wook BG squad that has won nearly every game that I have suckered a Boba into doing this.  The one game I lost was because of a disintegration.  Deflecting, evading, and anything else that prevents you from taking damage from shooters is key.  High defenses generally won’t be enough because of the types of shooters San runs.

 

Control San – A good San Hill player knows when and how to get rid of San.  You need to know the same.  If it’s early in the game, take him out fast.  Granted a good player won’t let you get an early shot on him.  If they send him out to collect gambit, it is generally because they want you to take him out.  Don’t do it.  By charging hard, San becomes your friend, not your opponent’s.  If they run him out in any way or block your way to a key fig, do your best to ignore him, so you can turn him against your opponent.  Only if your activations are close or in your favor, and you can’t get to the last couple power pieces should you take out San.  By using multiple power pieces in one phase, San can take back a game that is starting to get away from him.  Beware flamethrowers and missiles.

 

The key to San is patience.  The key to beating San is reckless patience.  Take your time, approaching under as much cover as you can get.  But once you pull the trigger, charge his key pieces hard!  As you may have guessed, one of the best counters to San Hill are big, hard hitting Jedi (either in attacks or numbers).  They may suffer elsewhere, but run properly, they can be a real nightmare to Mr. Juan.  I hope this helps.  If you have any further questions let me know, and I will try to clarify further.  If anyone has any questions or topics you would like me to cover, drop me a line at sithdragon13@yahoo.com.  I will get to ALL emails, so if you have sent something be patient. 

 

 

May the Force Be With You.