Let me start by saying HOLY POWER CREEP BATMAN!

The Elite Wing Guard are the new kings on the block.

They are flat out better than Elite Stormtroopers.
I think the regular ones are fairly balanced but the elites take the 9pt efficiency to a whole new level.

Same damage output with rerolls as eStormies. Same Health and Speed. Extra Guardian Keyword for free. And recover 2 instead of accuracy 3.

I guess this one is personal opinion but I hardly ever use the accuracy surge on stormtroopers. They are tough enough and come back with reinforcements. They don't need to be taking shots at long range and wasting surges that could otherwise be 2 damage. These guys are the same, but you now get the option of doing less damage and healing.

Its basically a better heal than snowtroopers, just as easy to use, and doesn't take a separate action, which means it doesn't affect your damage output as much.

The guardian keyword also gives them access to Guardian Stance and Bodyguard which is handy with the squishy expensive merc units like Trandos and HKs.

I consider the strain ability as a bonus. Nothing special to write home about, but still handy. It's basically an offensive version of the Royal Guard's ability.

Could be super annoying if you block LOS with junk droids or hired guns forcing your opponent to take strain when attacking.

If used well, it's much more useful than a few focus tokens from dying like the Stormtroopers get.

The Ugnaught Tinkerer seems like pretty good filler for 3pts. I don't think the elite version is worth the extra 2 points.

Having the junk droid sit on objectives, terminals, open doors etc is pretty good... it basically gives you some extra free actions.
We don't know exactly what the limitations are for Companions just yet, but seems like it's worth the low cost.

If you can move the ugnaught, create the droid, then move the droid and interact/attack/move again, it will be pretty useful.

If the droid is not created ready, it will not be anywhere near as good.

Well the card says the Junk Droid readies at the start of your activation, so I think it's unlikely that it can act in the same turn it's created. Unless that's a specific companion rule.

It's basically going to be a turn 1 thing to make the droid... after that, the usefulness might vary depending on the companion rules.

At worst it's an extra crappy attack and something for opponents to waste an attack on.
I think their best job will be to sit on terminals.

Every other figure is deployed ready, so why wouldn't the junk droid start ready? This better be in the rulebook.

I guess it could go either way. We'll have to wait for the companion rules.

If it does start ready, then that makes it bloody amazing. It's almost like getting an extra action that turn (and 2 every other turn if it doesn't die).

Move - make droid, droid moves twice. You've now moved a figure 12 spaces to contest an objective or terminal.

or

Shoot, make droid, droid moves, droid shoots. It's not a great attack but it's better than nothing.

Perhaps companions can't interact or control objectives/terminals.

That may well be the case otherwise I think they might be too strong.

The more I think about it, the more I think these are the two options:

1) Droid starts ready but companions can't interact or control terminals/objectives

2) Droid starts depleted but companions can interact and control terminals/objectives

Every other figure is deployed ready, so why wouldn't the junk droid start ready? This better be in the rulebook.

The junk droid does not start ready. It's on the Ugnaught card. The only exception is Overclock, which allows you to perform the text abilities as an interrupt.

Oh man, Under Duress... this looks like the Strain love I've been waiting for. Gotta paint more Trandos now!

Every other figure is deployed ready, so why wouldn't the junk droid start ready? This better be in the rulebook.

The junk droid does not start ready. It's on the Ugnaught card. The only exception is Overclock, which allows you to perform the text abilities as an interrupt.

The Spot Weld special action in the Ugnaught card does not say to exhaust the Junk Droid when it is placed, so the status of the Junk Droid companion card is not changed by it.

If the rules follow what we know about deployment cards, if the Junk Droid was exhausted before Spot Weld, it is still exhausted after Spot Weld. But because Junk Droid readies at the beginning of an Ugnaught's activation, I think that can only happen if the Junk Droid already activated during the virtual group activation. We will probably need a clarification though about whether Scrap Batallion refers to the virtual group activation or the Ugnaught's own activation. I would guess the group activation, otherwise the Junk Droid could activate twice on the first round and only after the Ugnaught during the following rounds. Having multiple Ugnaughts will certainly provide some AP moments.

If the Junk Droid entered play by that Spot Weld action, it enters the game ready.

Can the Ugnaught create more than one Droid? I mean i don't see limitations written or anything unless i'm missing something.

Can the Ugnaught create more than one Droid? I mean i don't see limitations written or anything unless i'm missing something.

The articles and the Ugnaught deployment cards use "the Junk Droid". (We don't see the Companion rules until we see them...)

Also interesting: The eUgnaughts Spot Weld text changed from the initial Bespin preview (makes sense though, since the GT was different from the regular - so either it needed a new name, or they needed to change Spot Weld). If there is only one Junk Droid (which I assume), then having multiple Ugnaughts could be interesting to activate it over and over.

Not sure the Junk Droid gets a deployment card. That would be sick. Take the Initiative with the Junk Droid

Not sure the Junk Droid gets a deployment card. That would be sick. Take the Initiative with the Junk Droid

I'm certain Junk Droid doesn't get a deployment card. We have already seen the Junk Droid's card in the first Besbin Gambit preview.

Here: https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/3/4/the-bespin-gambit/

Yeah and it's part of the Ugnaught's group, so its deployment card is really the Ugnaught's deployment card.

So let me see if I'm getting this. Let's say there is already a Junk Droid out there.

I activate eUgnaught. JD could move 4, move 4. Then eUgnaught can -> Overcharge to let JD interrupt to attack and then -> Spotweld to bring him back adjacent to the Ugnaught?

I'm thinking the eUgnaught is going to be the one sitting on terminals, yo-yoing the JD back and forth. These guys are going to be fun.

Skirmish Analysis (Reposted from the announce thread)

Wing Guard - Keep the Peace is a decent ability to help spread around damage and the fact that it doesn't work on Guardians means you'll want to mix up your figures (generally good). The recover ability is quite synergistic since you'll be taking 1 or 2 damage here and there anyway. The Elite ones are you want to be since they surge for 2 damage and re-roll just like the venerable Elite Stormtroopers. Is it worth loosing the eStomies Last Stand Focus ability and accuracy surge for a recover surge and Keep the Peace? I think the answer is: it depends but sometimes yes (which is great). Notably however: Keep the Peace and Squad Training are a bit of a nonbo together as you want to be adjacent to Troopers but not Guardians (all the more reason to mix in other Stormtroopers!). Obviously, the biggest gain for Scum here is that they finally get access to Reinforcements and Grenadier, some of the best command cards in the current meta: I certainly see starting my Merc Lists with 2x eWings for now.

Ugnaught Tinkerer - AFAIK you can only have one companion Junk Droid at a time and if your Tinkerer is killed your Junk Droid goes too. Assuming those are both true I'm a bit underwhelmed: the droids are fine as a way to assert area control, finish weakened figures, and soak attacks away from your main figures. The problem is really that the Tinkerer itself becomes the proper (and weak) target. So either you hide it away in back where you don't get much utility other than the Junk Droid (not worth 3 points) or you risk it up front where it's a much easier target assuming it's worth targeting over anything else. Since it rolls pretty weak attack die, it may be best to ignore it and focus on other more dangerous figures that do more damage. The Elite version helps a lot on health, Overclock, and with Pierce 2, but 5 points is beyond filler range, and I'm doubtful that its offensive abilities merit the points in a competitive skirmish list where those same points are more than half of a Bantha, HK, or eWing Guard.

Under Duress - This is exactly what strain focused builds needed to see to supercharge the discarding process. I'm still unsure if there are enough reliable strain effects attached to good figures that I would want to play this but it will only get better as more are printed in the future (i.e. Wing Gaurds). I would have liked this a lot more at 1 point but 2 is probably a better for the future.

So let me see if I'm getting this. Let's say there is already a Junk Droid out there.

I activate eUgnaught. JD could move 4, move 4. Then eUgnaught can -> Overcharge to let JD interrupt to attack and then -> Spotweld to bring him back adjacent to the Ugnaught?

I'm thinking the eUgnaught is going to be the one sitting on terminals, yo-yoing the JD back and forth. These guys are going to be fun.

I hadn't thought of it like this at all! So, this makes it sound like every ugnaught can summon the junk droid to them wherever they are on the map and your junk droid will be ready on EVERY Ugnaught's turn. And if your junk droid dies, use another Ugnaught to bring it back. Yes it sounds like at least one Ugnaught would be great to camp terminals and they still get to move and attack with the junk droid while back covering the terminal/objective!

Can you imagine six ugnaughts summoning the junk droid all over the map, the junk droid getting to attack six times (maybe even eight with overcharge) each round just picking people off or taking hits and being resummoned but you wasted your opponents attacks!

Hmmm, these are some interesting ideas. I wonder what additional rules there will be regarding companions?

Also, it's important to remember for skirmish that the junk droid will be a figure that can attack, interact (probably), contest objectives (probably), block spaces, and take 1 point of damage to defeat, all without giving your opponent any points for defeating it!

Hmmm, these are some interesting ideas. I wonder what additional rules there will be regarding companions?

Also, it's important to remember for skirmish that the junk droid will be a figure that can attack, interact (probably), contest objectives (probably), block spaces, and take 1 point of damage to defeat, all without giving your opponent any points for defeating it!

I'm already thinking of other shenanigans for these guys.

I agree that we really need to see the Companion rules to figure out their full potential. My biggest question at the moment is: Can they be Focused?

I already looked over a possible Ugnaught/JD/Last Resort combo but I'm pretty sure Last Resort cannot be triggered by the JD. Likely for the best. Respawning suicide droids would probably be too much...

You could take Fenn with Wing guards. Just recover 4 dmg why don'tcha?

As for Tinkerers, put Last Resort on it and then apply it to the only Junky?

I don't see why Junk Droids couldn't be focused or apply Last Resort (last resort is a deplete, and you can't apply more than one of the same attachment to a group, so you couldn't just stack those to get a bunch of bomb droids, as hilarious as that would be...)

Both of those effects only require a figure as their target, and I would expect that companions are treated as figures.

There's no deployment card for a Junk Droid. There's nothing to attach the upgrade to.

I doubt very much that attacking it to the Ugnaught would carry it over to the Droid.

They can probably be focused, but there might be something in the companion rules against that too.

But Last resort says

"Deplete this card when a figure in this group has suffered equal to its Health. Before that figure is defeated, roll 1 red die. Each figure and object on or adjacent to that figure suffers equal to the results."

And the Tinkerer says

"The Junk Droid may activate as though it was part of your group"

So, the question is, can it act as a part of your group and deplete last resort? I hope yes.

But Last resort says

"Deplete this card when a figure in this group has suffered equal to its Health. Before that figure is defeated, roll 1 red die. Each figure and object on or adjacent to that figure suffers equal to the results."

And the Tinkerer says

"The Junk Droid may activate as though it was part of your group"

So, the question is, can it act as a part of your group and deplete last resort? I hope yes.

I think the most important part is "activates as though it was part of your group".

It is not actually a part of the group, it just activated as such. That is why a single JD can be activated numerous times per round from different Ugnaught units. It doesn't actually belong to any one unit.

I want it to work but I really do not see it hashing out.

Time to beat a dead horse here again but do you think that we skirmish players are going to get stiffed (again) on a second elite Wing Guard card forcing us to buy 2 Bespin boxes to play competitive skirmish merc squads in tournaments? Would be nice to get that 1 extra piece of cardboard this time round FFG

Yep, that's the horse again. There will be just one card in the box. The packaging is streamlined towards campaign, so as not to confuse anyone with instructions to take stuff out of their game on account of specific circumstances.

Just borrow a second card from another player at the event. I can't imagine anyone ever refusing such a request.

The packaging isn't ideal for skirmish, but it's not like it makes for an impassable barrier to play.