Hey guys wanted to get some strategy and tactics going for skirmish here so I'm starting a weekly thread about it. Each week I'm going to choose two deployment cards and two command cards that we can talk about for the week. Post whatever advice or experience you have using the cards that can help the community out. Also since the discussion will probably be similar I'm lumping the Elite and Regular versions together.

This weeks cards are

Deployment - Stormtrooper, Gideon Argus

Command Cards - Urgency, To the Limit

Stormtroopers are one of my favorite units. There is a good reason that two units of elite Stormtroopers is basically the start to any Imperial list now. After the nerf, they are the hardest hitting and one of the more durable squads out there. With the ability to reinforce, the stormtroopers have been and probably will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in the skirmish scene. The way I like to run them is to take two of one unit and pair them with one of another unit. That way you have two groups of three from different cards in order to protect your point investment and to have a trooper to respawn from.

Honestly though my favorite part about the Stormtroopers is the reroll ability. With clever positioning, this allows a player to have incredibly consistent dice without relying on a 3 range bubble from Luke or investing in skirmish upgrades.

Gideon is just great:

5 health for 3 points is fantastic for a unique figure (1.66 health / point).

The damage, he is able to dish out is great for a 3 point figure, especially for a unique.

The ability to Focus another figure is great. More often than not, this equals 1 green die of unblocked damage plus Surge shenanigans (Leia, Saboteurs).

The ability to move another figure 2 spaces often makes a big difference for the ability to accomplish mission objectives one the first turn.

He uses his abilities in line of sight without any range restrictions, so you don't have to be near any opposing attacker.

He is the only Rebel Leader that doesn't have more important things to do than using Leader command cards.

He is the perfect figure for On A Diplomatic Mission.

Gideon with On A Diplomatic Mission is a staple for Rebels, Gideon without On A Diplomatic Mission is a staple for Mercs.

I've used to the limit when I was playing with Kayn, since he relies so much on the ->Squad Command action. Other candidates are Gideon, Officers, or perhaps Vader/RGC with their Brutality (but you better have a Rally in hand if you try that...)

I've used to the limit when I was playing with Kayn, since he relies so much on the ->Squad Command action. Other candidates are Gideon, Officers, or perhaps Vader/RGC with their Brutality (but you better have a Rally in hand if you try that...)

This is actually the trap I think I was falling into with To the Limit, it's actually worth considering even for characters who don't have special actions depending on how many command cards in your deck provide a special action.

So - for example, if you did something like Telekinetic Throw with Diala, you could THEN do that third action, be it a move or attack or even another special action.

I think it's actually much stronger than it looks, if you consider your command deck, too.

I have been seriously hurt twice now by Gideon and Take it Down. I used to think it's too hard to pull off. But since heavy blast is less of an issue now, I can definitely see it.

Urgency has lost a bit of it's appeal. I'd rather take Fleet Footed now.

I have been seriously hurt twice now by Gideon and Take it Down. I used to think it's too hard to pull off. But since heavy blast is less of an issue now, I can definitely see it.

Urgency has lost a bit of it's appeal. I'd rather take Fleet Footed now.

I think Urgency is still a great get, but the non-activation requirement of fleet footed certainly makes it more versatile. Stuff like Beast Tamer, Opportunistic, Field Tactician, all have diminished Urgency's appeal to me

Some new (to me) revelations I saw recently on urgency and to the limit (and correct me if I'm wrong or misremembering, but be sure to check the rules forum because there is a huge discussion on them there and that's where I saw this):

Urgency - the movement points from urgency don't go into a pool to be used later or partial before an attack and then after the attack. They have to be used all at once.

To the Limit - can't be used to add an extra move, because the action of taking movement points is not the spending of the movement points. So the moment you take the action to receive movement points, you would become stunned, and thus unable to move.

Stormtroopers are great.

As far as I can tell, they're the most versatile and well-priced units on the field point for point.

Standard Stormies excel at delaying activations, plinking damage against anyone with fewer than two defense dice, and playing objectives.

As was mentioned above, you can split two groups in such a way that three stormtroopers on a single objective can be wiped out without actually losing either deployment card (one of my favorite strategies).

Their attack re-roll makes them surprisingly reliable damage dealers, their surge for accuracy helps them take questionable shots, and when you have a lot of cheap ones on the board your opponent will always be wondering if you're sitting on a Grenadier command card.

They also pair well with several different high point cost characters. Their synergy with Kayn is obvious, even if Kayn himself is over-priced, and they make GREAT bodyguards for the RGC to set off Executor (without using Probe Droids for the same purpose).

The Elite Stormtrooper is better in every possible way, from dealing more damage to taking more for not TOO many more points (one per model), but without ousting the usefulness of the cheap-o basic Stormtrooper IMO.

I have been seriously hurt twice now by Gideon and Take it Down. I used to think it's too hard to pull off.

To be honest if I hadn't dusted Luke at that time I would not have been able to recover from your initial onslaught. In short Take It Down saved my bacon in that game and were instrumental in flipping it in my favour.

I'm really loving Stormtroopers at the moment, with a preference for the Elite version. They punch harder, can take more punishment, and if you kill one, the next one will just kill you back harder because of the focus. That being said, non-elite Stormtroopers might be stronger, even if the Elites suit my play style better, just for the mass of units you can field if you use the regulars.

I suspect, though, that the arrival of the Bantha will be the Alderaan of lists too dependent on mass, as a thousand Stormtroopers will cry out and then suddenly go silent.

Urgency - the movement points from urgency don't go into a pool to be used later or partial before an attack and then after the attack. They have to be used all at once.

To the Limit - can't be used to add an extra move, because the action of taking movement points is not the spending of the movement points. So the moment you take the action to receive movement points, you would become stunned, and thus unable to move.

Except - funny coincidence - if you use that extra action to play Urgency specifically. As the movement points gotten from Urgency are part of Urgency and must be spent while resolving Urgency (rather than getting them in your movement point piggybank) it must follow that you only get stunned from To The Limit once you are done with the movement from Urgency.

I've used to the limit when I was playing with Kayn, since he relies so much on the ->Squad Command action. Other candidates are Gideon, Officers, or perhaps Vader/RGC with their Brutality (but you better have a Rally in hand if you try that...)

This is actually the trap I think I was falling into with To the Limit, it's actually worth considering even for characters who don't have special actions depending on how many command cards in your deck provide a special action.

So - for example, if you did something like Telekinetic Throw with Diala, you could THEN do that third action, be it a move or attack or even another special action.

I think it's actually much stronger than it looks, if you consider your command deck, too.

I does synergise very well with the Snowtroopers, by the way, as they are very likely to use their Enviromental Recovery Gear frequently to heal friendly figures anyway and can remove their own stun while at it. This also evens out the usual dilemma with the Snowtroopers: shall I move them in a position to attack or to heal. You cannot do both, unless you have a To the Limit and can get in a position where you can do both.

I'm probably not the first to notice this but haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere so this seems like a good place to highlight:

To the Limit + Bossk (from the upcoming Bespin Gambit) is a great combo. It allows you to move, shoot, and then Indiscriminate Fire all in one activation which is pretty good by itself, but then, because Bossk is awesome, he removes the Stun at the end of the round. No downside! It seems almost as powerful as a cards normally restricted to a single character.

I'm probably not the first to notice this but haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere so this seems like a good place to highlight:

To the Limit + Bossk (from the upcoming Bespin Gambit) is a great combo. It allows you to move, shoot, and then Indiscriminate Fire all in one activation which is pretty good by itself, but then, because Bossk is awesome, he removes the Stun at the end of the round. No downside! It seems almost as powerful as a cards normally restricted to a single character.

On paper it looks solid, I won't lie looks like it has potential, but be careful you don’t get caught out the intricacies of the rules around the card.

To use the card you will need to Move (using all movement points, or you will lose the remaining ones) - Indiscriminate fire - Play to the limit - Attack - get stunned in that specific order. You can't attack then move or move then attack as your first 2 actions as neither trigger the ability to use to the limit.

Due to the wording of To the limit you have to play it directly after using a special ability so you have to use indiscriminate fire and then to the limit straight afterwards. If you choose the movement action you become stunned and can't use the movement points you just gained (unless of course you have rally as well but that seems quite inefficient usage of command cards).

Still very good if your happy to move into the fray, indiscriminate fire then shoot (becoming stunned) as long as you can take a beating from whatever it was you ran towards.

Since this thread got a bit of a bump, I just wanted to chime in on this...

Urgency - the movement points from urgency don't go into a pool to be used later or partial before an attack and then after the attack. They have to be used all at once.

I don't believe this is true.

That's the case with interrupts... but Urgency isn't an interrupt. It's a special action that you have to use in your activation. It gives you movement points, it doesn't say "move X spaces". Movement points can be spent as you like during your activation. It's only outside of your activation that you have to use them all at once.

Basically, Urgency movement points DO go into the movement pool.

Since this thread got a bit of a bump, I just wanted to chime in on this...

Urgency - the movement points from urgency don't go into a pool to be used later or partial before an attack and then after the attack. They have to be used all at once.

I don't believe this is true.

That's the case with interrupts... but Urgency isn't an interrupt. It's a special action that you have to use in your activation. It gives you movement points, it doesn't say "move X spaces". Movement points can be spent as you like during your activation. It's only outside of your activation that you have to use them all at once.

Basically, Urgency movement points DO go into the movement pool.

Go check it out in the rules forum sticky. It was a whole long discussion. I used to think the same thing. Official responses were made though.

It is true. Take a look in the RRG under Actions. Movement points gained during a special action must be spent during that action.

Well there you go.... Thanks for the clarification. I'll be sure to pass this onto my group.