Well, i think the #1 figure of the year is a no
brainer. The mouse droid, also number one on my
list, has been one of the most anticipated minis
since it was hinted at over a year before its
release. What doesnt this mini have going for it. It
was a new 3pt figure, which is always good for
filling squad points. It is a non-unique droid with
a friggin 20 DEF! No sending cheap fodder pieces to
kill this piece. You are generally going to want to
take this piece out as soon as you can, so it will
require a main attack to take it out. Best yet, was
its ability to relay ranged commander effects. This
made many of the fragile commanders attempt-able if
not down right playable. Now this is still a distant
second to Mas Amedda, but to all the factions that
do not have access to Mas, I don't think they are
going to complain. They are cheap enough that you
can generally add 2-3 depending on your build and
still get some Ugs in there.
Now there is one complaint i have for this
figure. I really dislike the fact they not only made
this an uncommon in the set, but they made it one of
the rare uncommons that you are not going to get in
every case. This combined with the necessity to have
them, and the fact people are going to run 2,3 and
even 4 of these has made these painful to get your
hands on. You are going to shell out $12 easily for
these guys. Yet WotC in their infinite wisdom keeps
reprinting crap commons that no one wants instead of
giving this figure another printing. In my opinion
this piece along with some other must haves, like
ugnaughts, need to be released in a blister pack or
something, making them easier to obtain for players.
Great piece but horrible distribution.
Josh
Mouse Droid (36/40, Uncommon—Imperial
Entanglements; HP 10, DEF 20, ATT 0, DAM 0, DEP
3)
When you look up the phras “game changing” in the
dictionary, the picture of this little guy will be
there. For only three points, you are getting a
wonderful Fringe piece that really makes your
commanders sing.
Relay Orders
allows you to count distance for the purpose of
commander effects not just from the commander
himself, but also this piece. Now factions other
than Republic and Imperial get access to a piece
that can increase the range of a commander effect.
All sorts or great commander effects get an extra
boost thanks to
Relay Orders.
For three points, its defense is also quite
impressive, which is definitely a good thing. With
as powerful as this little thing is, it’ll be pretty
high on your opponent’s hit list for any of their
characters with
Accurate
Shot. This little thing is going to see play all
over the place and at only three points you can fit
it in anywhere you need to.
100 POINTS: Characters with commander effects don’t
generally see much play at this level, but at the
same time with as cheap as it is, you might
seriously think about trying some commanders down
here just because it can really increase their
effectiveness. SCORE: 4
200 POINTS: At this level, running a Mouse Droid is
an absolute no-brainer. All the other factions that
have desperately
needed
access to Mas Amedda’s
Booming
Voice get a much needed assistance with this
little Fringe guy. Its hit point levels aren’t very
high, so you’ll need to find a way to protect it but
there are some options there (personally, I’m
thinking it’s a perfect candidate for the Verpine
Tech’s Droid
Defender) but mercifully its defense is also
surprisingly beefy, not because of armor but just
because they’re so small. This little droid is going
to see a lot of play for years to come and it’s no
real surprised that it is the #1 mini of the year.
SCORE: 5
Darth Mauler
The Mouse Droid had to be on the top 10. You all
knew it was here. After becoming a must-have in
every squad regardless of faction, and becoming a $5
uncommon, the Mouse Droid is the top mini of 2009.
The Mouse Droid has stats that range from
horrible to phenomenal. 10 hp is the only possible
amount really at 3 measly points. 0 attack and 0
damage are the worst possible, so they have to fall
into the horrible category. Its defense, however, is
a whopping 20. Only 7 other non-uniques have such a
high defense, and only one, the Jensaarai Defender,
has a higher defense. This has caused the Mouse to
be a useful shield. One Mouse Droid (or maybe two,
judging by the mini) is enough to block a Twin
Attack for only 3 points. It even has a 49% chance
of surviving a Twin from Dash (with both or neither
Opportunist and cover in effect). Being able to keep
you power shooters alive is undoubtedly worth 3
points.
It gets better, though. In addition to the
obvious Droid SA, the Mouse Droid has Relay Orders,
allowing CEs normally limited to six squares to
count range from the Mouse Droid as well. This gives
every faction something that previously was limited
to the Empire and Republic: the ability to hide a
limited-range Commander in a corner while the CE
still works. This is a huge step forward for all the
other factions.
In addition to all this, the MD works extra
well for the Separatists. GGDAC+Cover=Mouse Droid
with 28 defense. Furthermore, most droid squads have
Gha Nackht, who can cut the Mouse Droid’s cost to 2,
making it the cheapest character in the game. For a
while, there was fear of the Mouse becoming a
shooter due to the Roger Roger ability of the Battle
Droid Sergeant. Only a pre-release errata regarding
the ability stopped the creation of Mouse Droid
armies.
The effect of the Mouse Droid has been
tremendous. I never build a squad without one or two
Mouse Droids, even if just for the mobile cover.
Being as amazing as I have shown the Mouse Droid to
be, its price has risen to $4-$5 in most online
shops, making the availability more of a limit than
the point cost for this 3-point wonder.
100/150/200 pts: 5/5 Have a limited-range
commander? Need cover? Need to boost activations?
Even if you only answered yes to one of these three,
the Mouse is the choice for you. The Mouse droid is
amazing in all formats.
RoqueSaber
Mouse Droid
Cost: 3
HP: 10
Def: 20
Att: 0
Dmg: 0
Special Abilities:
Relay Ordesr
And here we are with the #1 mini of 2009. It’s
probably no surprise to many who were expecting it
to show up, this little guy seriously changed the
game, arguably more so than any of the other Top 10
pieces. As one of the four 3 points pieces, the
Mouse can literally fit anywhere and be useful.
Relay Orders is also such a powerful ability, the
Mouse has become a necessity in pretty much all
squads that rely on CE’s (excluding
Imperial/Republic as they have access to Mas).
Additionally, what is up with 20 defense? I’ve had
one Mouse put up as a “shield” to protect a more
expensive piece, and it literally took 4 shots just
to hit this guy. The only downside to the Mouse is
its price. Because of their insane amount of
utility, no one wants to give them up (no thanks to
the players who have 10+ of them…). So unless you
but IE cases in bulk, get lucky on eBay, or are
willing to dish out some serious dough, good luck on
getting a good number of these.
100/150/200: 5/5 Once again, I’m lumping them all
together. Cheap, effective, and deadly. You can’t
really go wrong with a Mouse or two. Even in
Imperial or Republic squads, Mice serve as a good
backup in case Mas gets taken out or as door
openers/shields.
