Chewbacca v0.2
At first glance, Zeb is a tank unlike any other available in the Rebel stable. He has just one less health than Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, but can also pull JK Luke's trick of double moving and performing a free melee attack... for only 8 points. That seems pretty good! But how good is he? Let's run some numbers and see.
UPDATE: Just to be clear, Zeb's Bo-Rifle Staff Strike uses the same "perform an attack... without spending an action" language as JK Luke Skywalker. This means Zeb can attack once w/ his ranged attack AND once with his Bo-Rifle Staff Strike in the same activation.
Ranged Attack
First let's look at attacks made requiring Accuracy 4, a guaranteed hit for Zeb. The charts below are captured from the IA Attack Calculator and do not factor in rerolls:
Red: vs. 1 black die
Green: vs. 1 white die
Blue: Focused vs. 1 black die
Yellow: Focused vs. 1 white die
Focused Zeb can really dish it out: 60% chance of doing at least 5 DMG vs a black or white is spectacular. Red/Green with a surge for +2 DMG might be the best 2-die combination for damage output. (We'll see later what 2 red dice w/ a surge for +2 DMG looks like.)
Now we'll look at how unfocused Zeb works when needing Accuracy 5 (left image below) or Accuracy 6 (right image). Red is vs. 1 black die, Green is vs. 1 white die:
The miss chances are incredible here when Zeb is forced to spend a surge he rolled for the +2 Accuracy surge ability. In this way, Zeb reminds me of Bossk, another Red/Green ranged attacker that you don't want to attack further away than his guaranteed range of 3. Zeb using Hera's +2 Accuracy gift or the Deadeye command card can surprise opponents who think they're out of Zeb's effective range. Sadly, there's no Brawler cards that apply to ranged attacks (which would also help Bossk & Trandoshan Hunters).
Melee Attack
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the double-red attack with surge for +2 DMG:
Red: vs. 1 black die
Green: vs. 1 white die
Blue: Focused vs. 1 black die
Yellow: Focused vs. 1 white die
Yup. Zeb can move up to 8 spaces and then do...
that
. Notice two red vs 1 black is not a 100% guarantee. That's something I learned first-hand playing elite Gamorrean Guards.
Let's stretch out a bit here and look at Zeb's melee attack versus some common special defenses. First looking at just doing red/red:
Red: vs. 1 black die + 1 block
Green: vs. 1 black die + 1 evade
Blue: vs. 1 white die + 1 evade
Yellow: vs 2 black dice
And now look at red/red/green (from Focus):
Red: Focused vs. 1 black die + 1 block
Green: Focused vs. 1 black die + 1 evade
Blue: Focused vs. 1 white die + 1 evade
Yellow: Focused vs. 2 black dice
Since I didn't show you the "at least 1 DMG" results, I'll let you know that there is a 1% chance that Focused Zeb misses vs. black die + evade. (I will likely roll that result in the future.)
For 8 deployment points (and the deployment cost needed for Threepio or Gideon), Focused Bo-Staff-Swingin' Zeb (or Home Run Zeb) is going to be a nightmare to defend against. With a follow-up melee attack after his Focused melee attack, he can likely push 8+ DMG on just about any unique centerpiece figure... except for Vader.
You can boost Zeb's mobility and attack output with the Brawler command cards. Grisley Contest in particular seems like a required choice so that Home Run Zeb can add another 2 DMG onto his big swing. Parting Blow and cards that need a special action to perform (Cripple, Hold Ground, Emergency Aid, Focus, Ready Weapons) are viable for him once he gets in the thick of battle thanks to his free melee attack.
Defense
15 Health with a black die is just insane , but it doesn't make him invincible. Assuming that the average non-amplified attack (no Focus, Hidden, power tokens or any other abilities to increase damage output) is around 3 DMG, it will take 5 hits to bring Zeb down. It'll likely take 3 amplified attacks to remove Zeb -- and those attacks aren't going into your other figures on the board.
Having that surge for Recover 1 is nice, but it will rarely give Zeb enough health that keeps him around through the attack that *should* remove him.
His health is also an asset if you choose to run Zeb in a proper Guardian role, using Bodyguard command cards. If you don't use Bodyguard, he'll likely live long enough to grant somebody the benefits of Guardian Stance.
Utility
For objectives where you contest a control point -- aka at least one mission for each map currently in the tournament rotation -- Zeb will be a beast. Using the Take Position command card will grant him +1 BLOCK (if he also needs to move) or +2 BLOCK (if he doesn't).
But if you use Zeb to run at the biggest threat on your opponent's team and whack it with his staff, that's okay too.
Conclusions
You can put Zeb in your army and have zero cards your command card deck for him. He will still be a figure your opponent must play around. Tier 1?
Edited by cnemmickExplicitly stating Zeb can hit twice
