Triple Attack; Heavy Weapon; Mounted Weapon;
Speed 1
Today's piece is a fantastically fun piece.
Its stats may seem a bit low, but at only 21
points his stats are actually very good - or
at least typical. With Heavy Weapon,
Mounted Weapon and Speed 1, you couldnt
restrict this piece any more. However this
piece has so much support that it works
fantastically. Unlike the Atgar, this piece
may actually hit something.
Ackbar can give it a +4 for activated
opponents, but there is a real gem of a word
in this character's title. This isnt just a
repeating blaster or rebel repeating
blaster. With the addition of "Hoth
Trooper" in the name, it opens up a whole
ton of proverbial worms that make this piece
fantastic.
While Ackbar is the best attack booster,
there are some nifty CEs. By far the best of
these is the Rebel Captain. Run these two
together and all of a sudden you have a gun
that is going to attack a whopping six times
with triple plus twin! The Hoth trooper can
grant it deadeye for an extra 10 DAM. There
is one other must piece with this blaster
that happens to be Friday's piece - the
Rebel Troop Cart. I will deal with that
piece more on Friday. The Repeating Blaster
will be a fun piece to play simply because
of the amount of attack that it can throw
out there. With the +8ATK and a possible
boost, it can actually hit something.
100/150pts: Dont try it here. To run this
you will need a lot of help and distractions
to protect it.
200pts: Here you can bring in all of those
support pieces and distractions. You can
also run multiple cart/blaster combos. It
wont be top tier, but it will be a lot of
fun.
willismaximus
"Hoth trooper with Repeating Blaster Cannon"
Faction: Rebel
Cost: 21
HP: 60
Def: 14
Att: +8
Dam: 20
SA:
Triple Attack
Heavy Weapon
Mounted Weapon
Speed 1
I remember when I read about this guy before TFU
came out. I thought we were getting a "Snowtrooper
with E-Web" for the rebels . . . boy was I wrong.
This guy is a different animal in almost every way.
For 21 points you get decent stats. 60 hit points
is pretty decent for this cost range. The 14
defence is bad, but typical of the rebels. A +8 to
attack is kinda low. 20 Damage is pretty basic as
well.
Now, how 'bout those abilities? Well, the first
thing that should jump out at you is the fact that
this guy has triple attack. For a 20 Damage piece
this cheap, triple is a real bargain.
Unfortunately, the rest of his "abilities" are, in
fact, penalties. Mounted weapon will keep anyone
without "Gunner" from combining fire with him, not
to mention he needs industrial repair to be healed.
Heavy Weapon means he won't be going anywhere if he
decides to shoot. Speed 1 (!!!) means that if
he *does* goes anywhere, he won't be going there
fast. Fortunately for the Rebels, there are ways to
overcome nearly all of these shortcomings.
First of all, how can we boost the attack and
damage? Well, Ackbar will give him +4 to activated
opponents. Another option is to use Garm's
reinforcements to bring in a New Republic
Commander. He costs 19 points and will grant all
your troopers (including the repeater) "Careful
Shot" for another +4. Once Legacy comes out, we'll
have another option as well in the form of
"rangefinder," which I won't go into detail here.
Damage can be easily boosted as well with Han RH,
The Hoth Trooper Officer, and most notably, the
Rebel Captain who will grant twin attack to the
guy. Six attacks at up to three different targets
is wonderful.
The other problem is the horrid speed 1. Well,
there's just one good solution really and that's the
Rebel troop cart, which will be reviewed Friday.
Basically, now your repeater can move 16 spaces and
then shoot all he wants! If you're running a
repeater, the cart is a must. Otherwise, the game
will be over before he even makes it to the battle!
The other option is K-3PO's swap, but I honestly
think the cart is a better option.
100pts 1/5: Needs a lot of support to be
effective, so he doesn't work here.
150pts 2/5: You can probably fit him in along with
the support he needs, but he will practically *be*
your squad here. Not a good idea.
200pts 3/5: Here is where he'll do the best. Lots
of support, more beatsticks to help, etc. Lots of
fun, but still too many shortcomings to really be
competitive.
