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Yoda, Jedi Master Set: Revenge of the Sith #24/60 Date Reviewed: April 17, 2006 Image from Wizards.com Rating: 2.5 Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale 1 being the worst. 3 ... average. 5 is the highest rating.

 

Xoulrath	I don't know how to review Yoda, JM. I mean, so much has changed since he first showed up on the scene. I'm not talking new figures overshadowing him. I'm talking about the errata that has made him absolutely worthless. Let's just look at his stats and Abilities first, as they are nice and beefy. 140 HP's, 21 Defense, +14 Attack, 20 Damage. Melee Attack, Triple Attack. Force Defense, Force Valor, Lightsaber Deflect. He also has a CE which gives allied wookiees within 6 squares Bodyguard. Sounds nice, right? Well, it was, for a while. His Force Valor is actually nothing more than a CE that costs 2 Force points. When it is used, it gives a +2/+2 bonus. This is where it gets ugly. Originally, it affected Allies, even though the card stated Followers, due to the glossary overriding the card text. Since at the time, Yoda was considered his own ally, he also go the boost. It then was ruled that a character doesn't count as it's own ally, and this hurt Yoda, JM severely. His stats, boosted through Valor, are worthy of a 64 point figure. Without that boost, he is too costly, even with solid abilities; and Valor, at the time, still affecting Allies (remember that his card text says Followers). Since, at that time, characters who had CE's like Obi, JM, benefitted from the +2/+2, Yoda was still quite powerful in 200, despite the stat hit he suffered. Still doesn't sound too bad, right? Wrong, because it continues to get worse. After the big errata that changed the defenition of Ally, effectively keeping Yoda from getting the boost himself, they then ruled that the card text was, in fact, correct. Meaning that now only Followers get the boost. Now, you lose several great characters like the already mentioned Obi, JM teaming up and benefitting from Yoda, because they have CE's. Even though power figures like both versions of Mace Windu were able to benefit, those in the tournament scene know that isn't enough. You see, this game, especially in the competitive arena, is driven by non-Melee (or ranged) characters. While Melee characters have their place, especially the Jedi, range rules the hardcore environment. A large part of this has to do with being able to shoot clear across a standard map. Obi, JM worked very well with Yoda because he had Deflect to help protect himself from the ranged onslaught of Boba and Aurra. In addition, Obi boosted Anakin, JK's Attack by +4; while Yoda, JM boosted his Defense up to a solid 20. In addition, these three characters have a combined seven attacks, for a potential 140 damage per round. Not only very synergetic and powerful, but also warm and fluffy. Okay, so he got hit pretty hard, but he still isn't that bad, right? He can deal some damage, and take a fair share, while still boosting power figures like Mace, so he can be salvaged, right? Wrong and wrong. First, Valor boosts Yoda; then it doesn't, but it still affects Allies; then it gets ruled that it only affects Followers. How could it possibly get any worse, you say? Well, it went from being a Force power that could be used at any time, to having the stipulation of "Replaces attacks" attached to it. Like he didn't get hit hard enough previously. If Wizards made money directly from the secondary market, I would sware that they were purposely doing this, to keep the value of CS Yoda high. They don't, of course, and I can only assume that Yoda, JM has been hacked and slashed to uselessness because of something forthcoming in Champions of the Force that could have made him broken. I hope that some piece in the set will allow Yoda to rise to his early glory, shortly after RotS released. I am very bitter about this particular figure. Yoda is as much a mainstay of Star Wars as Vader, Luke, and Obi-Wan. To see this version butchered from a great piece to plastic space waster is sad. As stated earlier, I can only assume the answer to make Yoda, JM playable again is within CotF. As far as his usefulness in a 100 or 200 point DCI (or related tournament), well, he has none. If you use him, especially in 100, where you can't support him enough, expect to lose. Before all the errata, he worked well in 100; due to boosting his own stats, and bringing his own personal bodyguards. 64 points for a Melee figure with a 21 Defense, regardless of Triple Attack is insane. You may as well give your opponent the points when you start the game.
Darth Sideous	Yoda, Jedi Master Revenge of the Sith #24 Hitpoints: 140 Defense: 21 Attack: +14 Damage: 20 Points: 64 Special Abilities: Melee Attack This character can attack only adjacent enemies. Triple Attack On it's turn, this character can make 2 extra attacks instead of moving. Unique Force Powers: Force: 6 Force Defense Force 3: Cancel a force power used by a character within 6 squares Force Valor Force 2, For the rest of the skirmish, this character gains the following Commander Effect: Followers within 6 squares get + 2 Attack and +2 Defense. Lightsaber Deflect Force 1: When hit by a non-melee attack, this character takes no damage with a save of 11. Commander Effect: Allied Wookiees within 6 squares gain Bodyguard (If an adjacent ally would take damage from an attack, this character can take the damage instead). I am not a total fan of this Yoda, Jedi Master. We have 2 Yoda’s available at the moment. This is the newest one and is supposed to prove that he is a master. Well, from the look of his abilities, he does look like a Master. Although when you compare Yoda, JM to the regular Yoda in Clone Strike, you begin to see the Clone Strike Yoda might actually be better overall than this one. Sorry if that was confusing. Here is the Yoda from Clone Strike’s Stats. Yoda Clone Strike #26 Hitpoints: 140 Defense: 22 Attack: +15 Damage: 20 Points : 55 Special Abilities: Unique Melee Attack This character can attack only adjacent enemies. Double Attack On its turn, this character can make 1 extra attack instead of moving. Flurry Attack When this character scores a critical hit, it may make 1 immediate attack. Force Powers: Force: 3 Force Renewal 1 This character gets Force 1 each time he activates. Lightsaber Reflect Force 2: When hit by a nonmelee attack, this character takes no damage with a save of 11 and the attacker takes 10 damage, save 11. Master of the Force 3 May spend Force points up to 3 times in a single turn. Force Defense Force 3: Cancel a force power used by a character within 6 squares Commander Effect: Followers within 6 squares may reroll each failed save once. I am going to compare the two. First off, you notice the –1 defense and attack value in the JM. Secondly, you notice that the JM doesn’t have Force Renewal. And the JM Yoda gains Force Valor as a new special ability. Besides that and the 9 point cost differnce, those are the main things that separate the two Yoda’s that are out there. Pros about the JM since this review is on this guy: Force Valor would be the only reason to play Yoda, Jedi Master and maybe for the Wookiee bodyguards, but that’s it. Oh and I forgot to add that he has Triple Attack. The Original Yoda is superior than this lame Yoda. Cons: No Force Renewal, Less Stats, More Points, Less Abilities and far less potential than the Original Yoda. This guy costs 9 points more for 2 things, Force Valor and Triple Attack. And yet, he loses Flurry, Force Renewal, and Master of the Force 3 along with 2 minus’ in the stat column. Yoda, JM isn’t worth using if you have the other Yoda that is out there. 100 Points: He’s like Darth Vader, Jedi Hunter in this Format. He gets very little support. At least Vader can handle himself in this format without dying so fast. He is poor in this format for sure. 200 Points: This guy gets amazingly better. With more followers to benefit from Valor, it could really make the difference in a tight game. It improves Clones and even the uniques that don’t have commander effects a lot better. A +2 Attack and +2 Defense is always nice. 2/5 in 100 Points because he isn’t worth it. 3.5/5 in 200 points because Valor can make the difference.
The General	Yoda, Jedi Master To start off Triple Threat week we have Yoda, Jedi Master. One of the most expensive characters at 64 points Yoda has stats worthy of such a character. 140 Hit Points, 21 Defense, +14 Attack, and 20 Damage. For abilities he has Melee Attack, and of course Triple Attack. He has 6 force points and three force powers, Force Defense, Force Valor, and Lightsaber Deflect. He also has a CE that reads, Allied Wookiees within 6 squares gain Bodyguard. Force Valor costs 2 force points and gives Yoda the following CE, Followers within 6 squares gain +2 Attack and +2 Defense. Sort of like a mini Thrawn without being able to switch characters, but unlike Thrawn allows unique characters to get the bonus. Combined with the CE he already has he can have a great bodyguard in Chewbacca of Kashyyyk or any other wookiee. Lightsaber Deflect is a basic force power that costs one force point and should only be used in dire situasions. Force Defense is his most expensive and most interesting power. For 3 force points you may stop any force power being used within 6 squares. You'll probably use this power only once, possibly twice the one thing you should use it when a powerful character who has low hit points use deflect or block on an attack that would kill it. Yoda combines best with wookiees and since they cost a little bit Yoda is not so great in 100 points but in 200 points really shines when used with Chewbacca, Tarrful, and as many wookiees as you can get. I prefer Yoda from Clone Strike over him but this Yoda has one advantage. Triple Attack. Being able to attack 3 times is only beaten by Quadruple attack and only General Grievous can do that. 100 pt: 3/5 200 pt: 4/5
vornargith	Yoda, Jedi Master Cost: 64 Hit Points: 140 Defense: 21 Attack: +14 Damage: 20 Abilities: Unique / Melee / Triple Attack Force 6: Force Defense / Valor / Lightsaber Deflect Commander Effect: Allied Wookiees within 6 receive bodyguard ability At 64 points (9 more than Clone Strike’s Yoda), Yoda-Jedi Master offers a different and expensive strategy than his Clone Strike predecessor. Yoda-Jedi Master basically turns your squad of Wookiees into a juggernaut, with the little green guy leading the charge. Obviously, he is best suited for skirmishes with squads of over 100 point value that consist primarily of big hairy berserkers, commandos and scouts. Maximize your squad’s potential by teaming him up with Tarful. His force valor adds +2 to attack and defense and combines with other commander effects (with Tarful at his side, Wookiees within 6 squares will get +6 to attack adjacent enemies). Yoda’s bodyguard CE, insures that he and other characters with vital CEs survive long enough to maintain the bonuses. One word … CHARGE!!! When you’re playing with Wookiees, you can’t mope around … The stealthy scout may have a ranged attack, but all of the brutes have momentum. A Wookiee charge can survive a round or 2 of enemy fire … long enough to close in. With momentum and Yoda’s CE, you’re looking at an attack of 12 and +10 damage for just about all your Wookiee grunts. Add another +4 if you have Tarfel. Problem is … your charge has to be flawless. If you hesitate, your grunts will get picked off. If your opponent gets lucky with missile hits, your squad may be vulnerable before the initial melee. I’ve never been one for an all-out brawl, but I’ve tried this strategy once, and it worked gloriously (bloody mess though). If you’re squeamish about sending your troops head-first into the battle lines, you might not have what it takes to be a Wookiee, but if you shrug off blaster bolts like spitballs, Yoda-JM is your perfect general. Did I mention his triple attack? Rating by skirmish size 100 Pt: 2/5 (Yoda-JM is a commander… his abilities are wasted by itself… and he’s just too expensive for a 100 pt. game.) 200+ Pt: 4/5 (His force valor comes in handy, and he’s mean with a stick. Did I mention his triple attack?) 200+ Pt (WOOKIEE squad): 5/5 (Rrrrrraaugh!!! Nuff said.)
Sith Dragon	Yoda, Jedi Master Republic Cost: 64 HP: 140 DEF: 21 ATK: +14 DAM: 20 Melee, triple attack Force 6 Force defense (F3) - cancel force power within 6 squares, Force Valor(F2) - replaces attacks, gains CE: all followers within 6 gain +2/+2, deflect. CE: Allied wookiees within 6 gain bodyguard. Today we kick off Triple threat week with a character that gets more abuse than he deserves, and is one of my favorite pieces - Master Yoda. At 140 HP he can really take a pounding. He has a good defense at 21, and his attack is a solid +14. It is a good attack, but it makes me wonder if it wasn't meant to have force valor added onto it as it is a bit low for one of the best swordsman in the universe. Add that to his triple attack and he will still hit more times than not. Against all but elite defenses he will only need 6s or lower. Now here is where I love him , but many like the CS Yoda better. I will take a 1 point deflect over a 2 point reflect any day as it is a more economical use of force points, and with so many players that have damage reduction or some way to lessen the damage, the 10 damage from CS Yoda isn't worth much. Master Yoda also has force defense. It can be nice in a pinch, but generally you wont use it unless you see a whole lot of lightning coming. His force valor I think is much underrated. A +2/+2 to followers isn't much, but how many characters can hit a Mace Windu with a 28 defense with cover? Or an Obi on Boga with 27? While not a game breaking effect it can definitely help your Jedi followers, and the errata to replacing attacks is minimal as all it does is slow you down 6 squares at the beginning of the game. In the end it is his CE that I love the most. It turns all manners of wookiees into bodyguards, whether it be Chewie as a follower to benefit from Yoda's CE, or Tarful to give other followers the +4 ATK. There is nothing like adding 40-70 HP to a character (a 40 HP wookiee can bodyguard a 30 DAM hit and a 40 DAM hit for an extra 70 HP to the target). I generally use wookiee commandos as they have 40 HP as well as a 14 DEF (16 with FV) over the wookiee berserker's (10 DEF). The Wookiee scout makes a nice bodyguard because, with stealth, they can be great door openers and cannot be targeted by characters without accurate shot as long as they have cover, which they usually will, but the extra 10 HP of the commandos/berserkers is huge. With the number of characters that can do 30 DAM, it means you can bodyguard away an extra 30-40 DAM from the intended target all from the 10 extra HP. The bodyguard ability has truly come to its own after Universe because of the gonk droids, but also because of the med droid and everyone's favorite near-sighted scrap pile, R2. Wookiees can help keep your big pieces alive longer, which is a big plus. Buying Yoda an extra turn means three more big swings that can be the difference between winning and losing the match. 100pts: He will be good as he is a triple attacker with defect, but won't dominate the way some of the other big characters will. Although, never underestimate the power to bodyguard away a crit or 50 DAM hit by an AT-ST. 200pts: I think Master Yoda rocks here as his huge cost is muddled a bit. His Force Valor may not always be useful, but I use him mostly for the triple attack and the bodyguards he brings. A boost to characters like Boga, Mace, Luminara can make big pieces that much better though once you do use valor. He is still a thinking player's piece, though. With the 6 square limit to his CEs, you must move carefully against various squads. He has the power of the triple attack combined with bodyguards. This Yoda means business, and will always be one of my favorite pieces. "Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?"