Certainly an interesting uncommon from Jedi Academy,
we take a break from the Force-users of the set to
focus on one of the "filler pieces". This filler
piece could find its way into squads, however. While
his stats are not too spectacular for 27 points...
70 HP is pretty frail, 18 defense is good but not
too great. 10 attack hits things usually, too. It's
real selling point is the fact that it has both 30
damage and Opportunist. This gives him 14 attack and
40 damage when attacking a unit that has already
activated. Wow.
This piece's best friend is Grievous Droid Army
Commander. A squad that utilizes this piece could be
great. While this piece won't replace IG-86 assassin
droids, they could prove to be another viable
option. With both Grievous DAC and a Battle Droid
Officer, this thing could be hitting at +22 for 40
with Twin Attack... holy bananas! Throw him into
low-activation squads or with some iniative control
(San Hill, maybe?) and you will be able to get
Oppurtunist off more often than not against the
thing you want to get it off on. In this kind of
Seperatist squad, these things are worth their 27
points for sure (and then some!).
This piece is really a tribute to how great JA
really is. Almost everything in the set is playable,
and this piece is no exception. Great new toy for
Grievous squads.
100 points: 2/5, Can't do much with Grievous DAC
squads here, and you probably won't be able to throw
in enough support to really take full use of HK-50s.
200 points: 4/5, That's better! I think these will
find their way into many DAC squads due to their
large damage output potential. This should be a fun
one, boys!
Sculpt: 3/5, Nothing special but looks good, just
like most of the rest of the set.
Josh
HK-50 Assassin Droid
(33/40, Uncommon—Jedi Academy; HP 70, ATT 10, DEF
18, DAM 30, DEP 27)
Since the
Clone Wars expansion gave us a comparable
assassin droid, this review is going to be comparing
and contrasting these two robotic engines of
destruction. The generic HK is 10 points more
expensive than his generic IG-series compatriot.
However, for those ten extra points, it picks up ten
extra hit points, an extra plus one on attack bonus
and can deal ten more points of damage. Both of them
have Opportunist and in HK’s case then he can become
a +14 to hit for 40 points of damage. Add in that
he’s a perfect candidate for General Grievous, Droid
Army Commander’s nasty Commander Effect and you have
one really nasty droid.
100 POINTS: In this build,
to be honest, he might just be a little too
expensive to run effectively. The IG-86 Assassin
Droid is a much cheaper model that can do everything
the HK-50 can only slightly weaker. In 100 point
builds where activations can be just as important as
your choice of beat stick, the IG-86 is probably the
wiser investment. SCORE: 2
200 POINTS: This format
has points to burn and here you’ll be much better
served running the HK-50 just because it’s a cheap,
base 30 damage character not restricted by Heavy
Weapon. Opportunist makes him even more dangerous
with the chance for 40 points of damage in a single
turn. Here, the best build for him is the Grievous,
Droid Army Commander for Twin Attack and a +4 bonus
to attack and defense (raising him to a +14 to hit
and 22 defense without cover and mind you with
Opportunist it becomes a +18 to hit). SCORE: 4
Special Abilities:
Droid (Immune to critical hits; not subject to
commander effects)
Opportunist (+4 Attack and +10 Damage against an
enemy who has activated this round)
Hey guys… I'm back with a review of the new HK-50
Droid from Jedi Academy. This guys is an absolute
beast. When adding General Grievous, DAC and The
Battle Droid Officer this guy can twin @ +22 for 40
while being 26 defense in cover. And for only 27 (26
w/ Gha Nachkt) points why wouldn't you put him in
your squad? The reason might lie in his IG cousin.
Compared to IG-86 he is 10 points more, and for
those 10 points you gain +1 Attack, +10 Hit Points
(moving him up to 70 which we know what that means
by now) and +10 Damage. All of which are valid
reasons, but when you do the math, you might want to
rethink running HK. For 54 points you can run 2 HK
droids, and for 3 points less you can run 3 IG
droids. For 54 points you get a combined 140 HP and
the ability (if they all hit) to do 160 damage a
round at +22, and two activations. Now for 3 less
points you get a combined 180 HP and the ability to
do 180 damage while attacking at +21 with three
activations. I think I would save the 3 points.
I think they missed a great opportunity with this
piece. IG-88 BH has opportunist and so does IG-86.
HK-47 has cunning, I think HK-50 should as well. If
HK had cunning and IG had opportunist I think every
squad would run a combination of both, but for my
money I would save the 10 points.
Now of course he is fringe and doesn't have to be in
Seps, but an extra +8 Attack, +4 Defense, and Twin
is huge,
Onto the ratings:
100pts 2/5: For this guy to be all that he can be…
he needs to be in GGDAC's Army. And after adding the
BDO you get 6 points. My first thought was not at
all, but with Grievous being able to draw the Melee
pieces HK could sit back and unload. It is not top
tier or anything, but it might win you a game or
two.
150pts 3/5: In this format you might be able to add
two more HK droids. Once again not top tier, but not
bad.
200pts 5/5: Sure I would rather run IG, but for only
27 points this piece is by far the best ranged piece
in JA, and one of the best shooting droids in the
game. Sure there are better options, but as a single
piece review I have to say he is great.
