Ok, let's talk about this rotation? This is the best topic ever on skirmish, let's keep it alive.

On 11/27/2017 at 5:26 AM, Ram said:

I agree. They are sturdy as h@ll and are good at pretty much all ranges. They are eEcho Base troopers on Glitterstim basically. I wrote them off for not having a +2 damage surge, but I was really wrong doing so.

Has anyone had success with covering fire or another long forgotten command card? Is there another way to get stun and the +2 going? Most other troopers tend to struggle getting enough damage to get the initial stun. Trip0 would be in the way. Thrawn may be too easy if the campaign and skirmish abilities are similar

Oh and we need a Glitterstim command card

On 4/25/2018 at 1:54 AM, Mantis731 said:

Ok, let's talk about this rotation? This is the best topic ever on skirmish, let's keep it alive.

Agreed! An update would be very much appreciated!

Was a great read!!

Man, both Trandos at tier IV. So brutal. I really, really love them in campaign. I want them to be good in skirmish so bad, but I've never really tried them because everyone says they're not worth it.

6 minutes ago, ClassicalMoser said:

Man, both Trandos at tier IV. So brutal. I really, really love them in campaign. I want them to be good in skirmish so bad, but I've never really tried them because everyone says they're not worth it.

You can still do that, unofficially

I heard that Extra Armor almost makes them worth it since their main issue is that they're squishy up close. I'm probably getting ToL for christmas so I'd like to try it. Curious if anyone else has experience with it? Also would that be a better value on regulars or Elites?

4 minutes ago, ClassicalMoser said:

I heard that Extra Armor almost makes them worth it since their main issue is that they're squishy up close. I'm probably getting ToL for christmas so I'd like to try it. Curious if anyone else has experience with it? Also would that be a better value on regulars or Elites?

Hate to burst your bubble, but the Elite Trandos have nearly the exact same damage profile as Elite Sentry Droids... when they get adjacent for +2 Damage. And that's before the Sentry Droid's reroll which they get every attack- and from range- and they have the same health. The only thing Trandos have going in their favor is better command cards to spike damage. I really want them to work too because I LOVE their minis and I love the idea of them, but they just don't cut it 😕

25 minutes ago, TheWelcomeMat88 said:

Hate to burst your bubble, but the Elite Trandos have nearly the exact same damage profile as Elite Sentry Droids... when they get adjacent for +2 Damage. And that's before the Sentry Droid's reroll which they get every attack- and from range- and they have the same health. The only thing Trandos have going in their favor is better command cards to spike damage. I really want them to work too because I LOVE their minis and I love the idea of them, but they just don't cut it 😕

They're next on my list to paint. I'm trying to decide whether or not to bother since I'm not likely to have time for a campaign for quite awhile. This is making me sad.

Doesn't relentless also offer some advantage to the Trandos? It's a lot easier to proc than ACP, plus they have to choose how to take the strain before the attack deals damage, which is a nice plus. Elite sentries and Elite Trandos compare very similarly, plus as you mentioned the hunter cards favor the Trandos. I guess multi-shot is better than ACP and the blue dice are awfully swingy for up close. Man I just want to make them work so badly. Maybe there's a good synergy to be had somewhere. Weequays for range plus ETrandos for up close? Strain hurts Specters a bit, doesn't it? Guess I'll be trying them out in person.

3 hours ago, ClassicalMoser said:

They're next on my list to paint. I'm trying to decide whether or not to bother since I'm not likely to have time for a campaign for quite awhile. This is making me sad.

Doesn't relentless also offer some advantage to the Trandos? It's a lot easier to proc than ACP, plus they have to choose how to take the strain before the attack deals damage, which is a nice plus. Elite sentries and Elite Trandos compare very similarly, plus as you mentioned the hunter cards favor the Trandos. I guess multi-shot is better than ACP and the blue dice are awfully swingy for up close. Man I just want to make them work so badly. Maybe there's a good synergy to be had somewhere. Weequays for range plus ETrandos for up close? Strain hurts Specters a bit, doesn't it? Guess I'll be trying them out in person.

If you're gonna try them, I think the Regulars may be the way to go. 3 cost for 6 health points is a pretty good health to cost ratio, and if they are adjacent they only do 1 dmg max less than the elites who cost 2 more points. They have pierce 2 and the strain can definitely help add some damage or (hopefully) mill a few good cards. Probably one of the nicest things they can add is the bleed, which does mess with Spectre Cell if you can pile it on a few figures.

4 hours ago, TheWelcomeMat88 said:

If you're gonna try them, I think the Regulars may be the way to go. 3 cost for 6 health points is a pretty good health to cost ratio, and if they are adjacent they only do 1 dmg max less than the elites who cost 2 more points. They have pierce 2 and the strain can definitely help add some damage or (hopefully) mill a few good cards. Probably one of the nicest things they can add is the bleed, which does mess with Spectre Cell if you can pile it on a few figures.

Sounds great. I think I'll do that along with extra armor. I like the versatility that it provides: You get to decide who to give the extra health to after you see what kind of list you're facing. By default, put it on the Trandos, but if the matchup is bad enough for them, count them a loss and stock up on someone else? I'm still pretty new at skirmish, so it may be a dumb idea. Still, the idea of two 8-health trandoshans for 8 points is pretty nice, given the options they provide. I've already started painting them.

52 minutes ago, ClassicalMoser said:

Sounds great. I think I'll do that along with extra armor. I like the versatility that it provides: You get to decide who to give the extra health to after you see what kind of list you're facing. By default, put it on the Trandos, but if the matchup is bad enough for them, count them a loss and stock up on someone else? I'm still pretty new at skirmish, so it may be a dumb idea. Still, the idea of two 8-health trandoshans for 8 points is pretty nice, given the options they provide. I've already started painting them.

Theoretically it's nice to think of them as having 2 extra health, but if you are wanting to run Trandos competitively you have to take into account the amount of pierce that's in the meta these days...Darth Vader and the 5/6 members of team Spectre cell have access to pierce 2 or pierce 3, so that block isn't always guaranteed to be valuable. Extra Armor is really strong because it is so flexible. I think the Trandos are fun, but the problem for them is that stat-wise they don't hold a candle to Elite Weequays for the same cost- and weequays have the better trait "Smuggler" compared to "Brawler" for the Trandoshans. Weequays also have a reroll and are more consistent ranged units who have a way to potentially 'get rid' of dodges via making an opponent reroll (which is very strong). In the current meta Weequays aren't seeing as much play because 1) Doubt makes it hard to focus them both in certain matchups, 2) Vader and Spectre Cell lists get "in your face" pretty quick, so it's likely they will sometimes only get 1 focused attack before biting the dust. Also, another thing to take into account with the Trandos is that pierce 2 can be negated by Zillo Technique (basically still an auto-include in every Imperial List it's just that good), so one of your attacks is gonna do next to nothing.

All that being said, Trandos are a bunch of fun. If you run some of the "Strain Train" cards like Shoot the Messenger, Out of Time, and stuff like that, you could really do some fun strain things. Also "Headhunter" is a really strong upgrade for them because you can force your opponent to discard cards from hand, which is a very strong ability. They do slightly better on maps like Tarkin Initiative Labs, but struggle on long maps like Lothal Wastes (likely to see the next tournament rotation soon).

Can't wait to see those painted beauties

Would love to see an updated version of this to include Specter Cell and Thrawn.

On 1/28/2019 at 3:44 PM, BlodVargarna said:

Would love to see an updated version of this to include Specter Cell and Thrawn.

I would like that as well. 🧙‍♀️

@theaficionado any thoughts on wave 11's Death Troopers and cats along with the now-errata'ed Spectre?

He hasn't logged-in, in a year and a half I'll doubt he'll response.