Unique, Melee Attack, Double Attack, Cunning Attack,
Djem So Style, Greater Mobile Attack, Stealth
Force 4, Lightsaber Deflect, Levitation 1
I'm actually a really big fan of this Luke. First of
all, it is extremely cheap at 27 points. With that
point value. For those 27 abilities, Luke, Rebel
Commando gives you an array of different ability to
use to give yourself the advantage in combat. This
IS NOT a beatstick, and therefore should not be
charged into combat. But as a support piece, this
Luke can excel beyond the other versions of him.
First, let's look at its lackluster stats. 70 HP is
a nice number for HP. Since it is odd, it will
require that extra hit to KO when your opponent hits
you for the usual 20-damage attacks. However, it's
still not great HP and Luke will not be able to take
too many hits. Combine that with 18 defense, which
isn't great, and you have yourself a very frail
piece, more frail than most 27-costed pieces. This
Luke also has a mere 8 attack, which means it will
need some good rolls in order to hit some higher
defense characters.
The abilities are where this Luke shines, though.
One thing that I have always admired about the Rebel
faction is that they seem to have really great
support pieces, and this one is no exception.
Greater Mobile Attack is a very good ability that
allows you to move before and after attacking, AND
double attack even when moving. Unfortunately, the
ability isn't as amazing as it sounds for a Jedi
character due to pesky Attack of Opportunity rolls.
Still, it allows Luke to make a Double Attack when
charging a character. And if Luke manages to kill
his target, he can retreat with his remaining move
points. Luke can achieve his killings with Cunning
Attack, an ability that boosts attack and damage
when attacking an enemy who hasn't activated yet.
While this is useful for Luke to beat up on
characters who haven't activated, this does require
you to win initiative a lot in order to take full
advantage. If your opponent wins initiative, you can
bet that any characters within 6 squares of Luke
will be activated. Djem So Style is a useful
ability, but I can't say that it really helps this
Luke too much. After all, this IS NOT a Luke that
you want to take a Melee attack. Just about every
useable Jedi in the game will be able to KO it with
only a few attacks. My point is, if a piece is close
enough for you to use Djem So, you are too close.
This Luke also has Stealth though, which allows him
to do what he does best: Hide in the shadows while
picking off things who haven't activated, and
abusing one of the force powers that is pretty
exclusive: Levitate 1. Luke has 4 Force. While that
isn't great, he does have pretty good Force for 27
points and the trick is to use it sparingly, when
you really need to. Luke does have Lightsaber
Deflect, a nice compliment to Stealth, but the main
ability that sets this Luke above the rest is
Levitate 1, which allows you to move one Small or
Medium ally within 6 squares to another spot within
6 squares. This can be used to retreat a weakened
unit, charge a beatstick with Double or Triple
attack next to an enemy unit so that he can hit with
those multiple attacks, or use it to tacticfully
place your units and give them extra movement,
avoiding negative terrain. I believe this Luke
hindges on how well you are able to abuse Levitate
1.
Overall, a good "toolbox" Luke. Not going to be
winning many duels hand-to-hand, but if played
correctly, can give you a major advantage in a
skirmish.
100 points:3/5, In 100 points, this is a quarter of
your army. While it is no means a bad piece for 27
points, there is better. And with only 73 additional
points to work with, you may not be able to get the
best usage from Luke, Rebel Commando's abilities.
200 points: 4/5, Much cheaper to use it here and the
benefits are multipled. Combining this with a force
battery like Yoda of Degobah is an option to get rid
of the pesky disadvantage of having a mere 4 Force,
but this unit can be very beneficial here.
Sculpt: 4/5, I like it. Gives me back memories from
Return of the Jedi.
