I heard someone say, “Bossk, meh he’s not so great.”

After recovering from my palm reflexively hitting my forehead, I thought this needs to be discussed.

I think Bossk is a VERY powerful unit. Too powerful? The jury’s still out on that one. The problem is that Bossk can’t be played like other Imperial units since he only has white defence dice with no surge. Because of this, the best place for Bossk is at range 4 beside some sight blocking terrain. Attacking at range 4 means there are very few units that can actually attack him, and most of them can only get 3 hits at most (DLTs and AT-RT Laser).

Of his Command cards, the one pip is probably the weakest imo. To use Bossk’s 1 pip, he needs to be at range 1. Since his range attack is 2-4, it means if he is still in range one the following round he can’t even attack. Not that he would survive the retaliation attack after dropping the dioxin bomb. The bomb itself can do a max of 3 damage. Granted that is 3 damage per unit in range, it still means that a full rebel Z-6 unit will have its leader, the Z-6 and one more mini to retaliate with if they don’t make any saves. Keep in mind the third point of damage done by dioxin is done after the unit activates, meaning that unit will still have dice from that mini to attack with. If you’re attacking another Imperial unit they may also save and statistically will save at lease one of those hits, meaning a unit affected by the bomb will lose one mini, then be able to attack, then lose a second mini at the end of their activation. Yeah, not so great. There are far better one pip cards, especially if you have Veers or Krennic or even Boba in your list too.

Bossk’s two pip card is ok, but keep in mind you just cause you can do two attacks, doesn’t mean you get three actions (unless you’re taking a damage to move). This card is great to attack twice, then duck into cover, especially if your opponent is trying to close range on Bossk. The next round after you play this card, you can have Bossk pop up again at range 4.

TBH when I first saw Bossk’s three pip card, I thought it was crap, but now I think it’s his most powerful. It gives one aim after each enemy unit activation, so you will generally have 10 aims on Bossk. I’m sure someone is thinking, “what the heck would I want so many aims for?” So you can fish for crits without worry of missing on any die. Having 5 crits is a big deal. It means cover or dodge tokens are meaningless or a armoured unit will be taking a good chunk of damage this round. It means if Bossk attacks a rebel unit with a dodge token and in cover, he will probably wipe them off the table, because they will only have their white defence dice to save them and one will be Pierced. Sounds pretty good to me.

Now just to circle back to why you want Bossk to be at range 4 and how much of a steal he is at 110 points. Bossk has 4 white and 1 red at range 2-4 with Pierce 1 and Suppressive. A unit of Stormtroopers with DLT, roll 4 white and 2 red (only one less die), but the troopers can’t all attack at range 4 (only the DLT). Yes the troopers cost 42 points less and have red defence dice, but they don’t have Pierce or Suppressive, nor can they regenerate, or move as easily (Unhindered and Expert Climber). So for the extra 42 points you get all that plus you have 2 health more. I’m telling you 110 points is a steal. Now if you’re thinking, “But how do I keep him at range 4?” It shouldn’t be that hard with Unhindered and Expert Climber.

As for upgrades, I think it would be foolish not to put Emergency Stims on Bossk. It means if you take 7 damage, you could heal before you actually have to apply the last two to Bossk. It makes Bossk’s health 9 instead of 7 just because of his healing ability. Another good upgrade for Bossk would be Hunter, but it isn’t as important as including Emergency Stims. Having Duck and Cover as an upgrade can also help Bossk since he has white defence dice with no surge. Reducing hits will help keep him alive, especially if he’s attacked by a Deathtrooper squad from range 4 (one of the few units that can attack at range 4 with a decent amount of dice 4 black, 2 red, 1 white) and with the Enrage ability Bossk can clear stress quickly.

I hope I’ve illustrated some of Bossk’s virtues, and I haven’t even mentioned Bounty. Having the ability to gain an extra victory point is big and since Bossk can attack from range 4, he actually has a little easier time than Boba. Boba is faster and has Jump, but you need range 2 to get Boba’s second weapon in range where Bossk gets all 5 dice at range 4.

But what do you think of Bossk?

I think a smart player will focus down bossk at the right time. He's not that durable when focused on.

I think he's very strong against rebels, but not so much against imps.

Like most units in this game, they really shine under the right circumstances.

Make sure you have plenty of terrain as per the RRG guidelines.

But yes, as someone who plays both factions, I really like him. But I think he needs to be played right. The 3 pip is awesome, but the enemy will have most of the round to try to get around it, via denying targets.

Like him. Think he’s good - selectively. I don’t think he’s meh and I think he’s probably not as strong as you may be suggesting.

I view his one pip as the “oh no- get out of dodge” card for if his enemies managed to close the distance to try and deal with him up close.

Can you re roll a re rolled die using aim? i thought that you actually can't reroll more than once each die...perhaps this was for imperial assault

Bossk is a cool fun unit and i look forward to playing him and playing against him. Is Bossk the best new unit? No. Sabine Wren is going to be complained about for many moons to come. Tuantuan Riders and the dewback are my picks for best new units, with Tuantuan riders edging out dewbacks, simply cause i am a rebel player.

1 hour ago, naitsirk said:

Can you re roll a re rolled die using aim? i thought that you actually can't reroll more than once each die...perhaps this was for imperial assault

The “one reroll per die” is from x-wing. It may be in IA, but I never played it.

In Legion, as long as you have aim tokens you can keep rerolling the same die until you get what you want (or choose a different die, whatever). Aim just says up to 2 dice may be rerolled (or more with precise keyword).

Love him. He is fragile when focused, but a good Bossk player will never let you get more than two shots in the same turn on him. You want to camp out near a LOS blocker and use last/first activations and the free moves from his command cards to pop in and out of sight at the right times. If your opponent is taking shots at him but unable to finish him off you can make them legitimately waste a number of shots because of Regenerate. If you take stims (which I prefer) it further raises the threshold needed to straight out kill him in one shot.

I've been running him very successfully with Veers for Invader League, and have been quite surprised by how well he's done.

That said, I think he's actually better in Empire mirrors. My toughest games have been against Rebel opponents. His pierce goes a long way against Empire, and the burst damage from the Z-6 can threaten him while he's in cover much better than the DLT.

I think if you’re facing Bossk, it would be unwise to allow him to joust with your units, and preferable to activate after he does (to prevent last/first activation regeneration).

I think Bossk wants to hunt Leia, weers, krenic or Han.

Boba is nice vs lightsaber beatsticks thanks to his high mobility, impervious and 1 pip. Bossk can stay at a distance and be a threat + hos regen makes him win most long range trades.

Bossk's supressive weapon has a chance to make all the 2 courage heroes lose an action after 1 shot and his command cards rewards facing multiple small units.

His weakness is the same as chewbacca. High amount of wounds (reg included) but weak defence so massive dice regardless of pierce will shred him.