Let’s be honest, one of the coolest Jedi to grace our screens has been Kit Fisto. Ever since his appearance in Attack of the Clones, he has fascinated fans. When he appeared in the original Clone Wars, fans – including myself – looked at those underwater scenes thinking, this guy is the business! He was then reintroduced in the newer Clone Wars with his padawan Nahdar, a hot-headed Jedi who… well… he had what was coming really! It was an awesome arc centered around Grievous’ lair, a truly dark feeling that I remember loving – if not been surprised by.
We have had a lot of clone sets for Star Wars: Shatterpoint. Do I wish there was something different in this box than a couple of Jedi and some clones? Absolutely not! Along with Kit and Nahdar, you get the clones that were in that episode arc: Commander Fil and Fil’s clones. Not only do the five models in the set give you some flexibility in creating your squad, but I also kind of feel that you are buying an episode arc in a box. As a huge fan of The Clone Wars, this could not be more perfect. With a Grievous box already out, it’s easy to partly recreate the battle involving all involved. I really hope Atomic Mass carries on with this theme for Clone Wars era boxes!
Suitably excited, it was time to open up the box. Everything was contained on a single sprue, with cards and the leaflet added on. Because of the five models, it meant that eight bases were included. This meant I had my pick of what sort of bases the models would go on, as well as a few spares. With the instructions loaded up on the Atomic Mass website, it was time to start building.
Up first is Kit Fisto. I’m going to be honest; this is not an easy model to put together. The body and legs go together just fine, lulling you into a false sense of security. The first part of the headtails (yes, there’s more than one), looks like it fits into the back of the head from the instructions. It actually fits into the side of his face. Make sure your glue has set on this firmly before going any further. The third piece then slots into place. The instructions then tell you to do the headfirst and they are absolutely right, put the head on the body before the arms, otherwise you’ll find yourself tangled in the lightsaber. Once Kit as a whole is done, it is then time to attach him to the base. Now it did take me a while, a long while and some memory jogging on the internet, to realise that the base is actually the creature that Kit kills in Grevious’s lair. It’s certainly something that will test a lot of fans, memory! But that’s not my main gripe. My main problem is the fact that Kit is joined by a single foot to this bit of terrain. Having had to deal with the ninjas from Marvel Crisis Protocol, these sorts of joins that we see fill me with loathing. Make sure you take your time with Kit, ensuring the glue is set before leaving him. I understand the desire for a dynamic pose, but I would always choose base stability over something that looks cool. Now don’t get me wrong, Kit looks fantastic, the detail is fantastic. I just want more solid ground! For the first model in a set this is likely to cause some frustration.
Next is Nahdar. Immediately from the instructions you can see that this is going to be a far easier build. It certainly is. It’s a joy when models can be put together like this, particularly after constructing Kit. The legs fit smoothly and are completely level so Nahdar can stand. Definitely place the arms on before the cloak and you will have an impressive model. I love the self-assuredness of the pose with Nahdar, the sculptor has done an excellent job conveying the arrogance that the character has.
Our attention then turns to the clones, starting with Captain Fil. He is very simple. Body, legs, put everything together. Shouldn’t cause anyone any real trouble. We’ve had numerous clones and yet I am always impressed with them. The pose, standing on a battle droid, giving orders, is just the coolest. The hand up as well, while we’ve seen this many times on screen, always takes me back to the very first time we saw arc troopers in the original Clone Wars. This is a huge level of awesomeness!
To round things off, it is the last two clones, clones D and E. Atomic Mass have got assembling clones down to a fine art now, and why shouldn’t they after all this time. The format for both of these clones is what you’d expect if you’ve constructed any of the previous releases. For clone D, left arm on first before the right; for clone E it’s the other way around. I know we have had a lot of clones for the game, but honestly, I never get tired of constructing them, seeing them, painting them. The design is superb and Atomic Mass get the poses right every time. Particularly clone E, who is kneeling, it feels so iconic.
With that done, the squad was complete and looking fantastic. The range of aliens, clones, it’s an attractive set to have. With everything assembled it was time to take a look at their cards to see if they were as attractive as a squad as the models were. First up is the primary Kit, who provides players with three force and eight spending points. Kit’s two stances are ‘Form I Shii-Cho’ and ‘Form IV Atura’. Neither provides Kit with any ranged attacks, so you need to get up close and personal with him. The former gives Kit more defense dice while the latter reduces the defense in favour for offensive. For this offensive, Form IV allows Kit to do a maximum of nine damage with lots and lots of shoving and jumping. He seems to be incredibly nimble. That said, Form I does one less damage, but with two less dice, the odds are not favorable. While there is a lot of movement, the trees are very fluid and so you can inflict a lot of conditions if needs be. What I like about his defense in Form I is that if you get three expertise, he can jump. The two seem to balance each other but I think it will take a bit of thought to get the correct side at the correct time. Moving onto his abilities, he only has one that costs a force, ‘force speed’. As the name suggests, Kit gets to advance for one force. The rest of his abilities are reactive – aside from his identity ability. The two reactives are ‘Riposte’ – that allows Kit to do two damage back to a melee attacker if they rolled a failure – and ‘Supporting Fire’ which when an allied ‘Galactic Republic’ unit makes an attack, if they are within five of Kit, they can dash after the attack. Not bad for abilities that don’t cost any force. The final ability is ‘I’m Afraid I Must Request Your Surrender.’ This all depends on the form visible on Kit’s stance card. If it is Form i, Kit has steadfast and adds an expertise to his defense rolls. If Form IV is active, Kit has protection and immunity from pinned. Also, any time he would advance, Kit can instead reposition. I think this is going to be Kit’s biggest strength is the huge amount of movement he can do, particularly with his combat tree.
There are then two secondaries you can run. One is Nahdar who costs five points and with the clones, makes a perfectly costing squad with Kit. Then there is Commander Fil who is a very cheap three points. I don’t think Fil is necessarily ideal to use with Kit as I’m going to assume he and his clones want to work together, but we shall see. I’ll start with Nahdar. Like Kit, Nahdar also has the Form IV stance, so has no ranged attack. He can do a maximum of eight damage. Also, like Kit, he does like his movement, and I can see how these two will work well together. His defense is only four dice and with only eight health, I do worry he will be a little too easy to kill. Nahdar does have a tactic that allows you to choose an allied character who can then dash. This will at least allow Nahdar to help keep other units with him (or himself rushing along). It feels thematic to the television show; he can wait with his troops or surge ahead for the kill. ‘I Will Hold Them Off’ is the only ability that costs a force but is so true to the episodes we see him. If he is attacking a supporting character, he adds a dice, a secondary two dice and a primary three dice. Yet with so little defense, I can see Nahdar ending up like…well… Nahdar! It is so thematic, tempting you to go after the biggest units on the board. ‘I Got Carried Away’ helps tempt you further for when an enemy primary unit moves, Nahdar can dash towards that unit! It is may so don’t feel like you must! The final ability is ‘I’ve Been Waiting for This’ allows Nahdar to heal two and refresh force when an enemy primary or secondary unit engages with him. I mean what am I saying, this temptation is too much, of course you are going to rush Nahdar in! This character feels extremely thematic, more so than Kit and although I know when I get him on the table I will regret every rush towards the enemy, I also can’t wait to try it out!
The far more conservative secondary, Commander Fil, can both shoot and stay away from the enemy! Fil can do a maximum of six damage, and his defense isn’t too bad, rolling five dice. ‘Commanding Presence’ is the only ability free of a force cost, which allows a Galactic Republic Trooper within three to take a damage rather than gain a condition. This could be extremely handy, particularly with strain. The other three abilities Fil has each cost a force. ‘Grappling Hook’ allows Fil to climb then gain a hunker token. ‘We Can Take Him Down Easy’ means Fil can add two dice to his attack if attacking a primary. Ok so maybe he won’t stay too far away from the enemy! The final ability is ‘We Specialise in Making Entrances’. This uses the keyword ‘Fil’s Squad’, which at the minute is just Fil and Fil’s Clones. So, when they make an attack, if the defending character is within two of an objective, one allied Jedi may advance to the target. Obviously if this is Kit, he can completely reposition. I can see how these three would work well together. There is nothing too sensational about Fil, and clearly, he needs his own clones to work at optimal efficiency. That said, he is only a three-cost secondary and needing his clones, that is only six cos altogether. I think for Fil to work, there will need to be another release with his key words or possibly use bounty hunters.
Having looked at Commander Fil, let’s take a look at his three cost clones. Five maximum damage is not the best, nor the worst. If they have a hunker token, they are steadfast, which conveniently works with ‘Defensive Maneuver’ that costs a force but allows them to dash and then gain a hunker. Their other force cost ability is the same as Fil, ‘We can Take Him Down Easy’ that adds two dice when attacking a primary. With a lower damage output, I don’t know if that is as impressive as it is with Fil. The final ability is ‘Supporting Fire’, allowing an attacking Galactic Republic unit within five to heal. Very standard but at three points cost, I don’t think I’d be expecting much more.
This seems to be a mixed bag. The Jedi look good, interesting and thematic. The clones, there isn’t too much that stands out over others. That’s easy to say from words, but how do they all work when brought to the tabletop?
Let me say it now, Kit Fisto is like a flying Kermit. One minute he is there, the next he is not. Kit is a Jedi to be reckoned with. He can fly across the board, kick just about anyone about, and then carry on jumping the rest of the way. He is something else! He really changed the tide of the game in our battle, and I can see me using him a lot in future games. Jumping across the board is such fun! Something I would expect from this character.
Equally fun is Nahdar. He can take out just about anyone when timed right. Primaries should be your target, but you need to ensure you take them out. If you don’t, your Nahdar will meet a similar fate to actual Nahdar… which is what happened in my game. Nahdar was able to do incredible damage output but exposed, he couldn’t take the damage back. His force refresh and heal is very good, but this can be subverted by using ranged attacks against him. Still, he is so thematic, I really like him and how he works. He’s one of those characters I’d use for an enjoyable game but for tournaments he’s too much of a liability.
So, let’s get to the weakest links, the clones. I can’t help but say that they serve no purpose in this set except for name. They don’t really do much and although their cost is cheap, if you just want to run Fil and his clones, there is no primary with only six squad points, meaning to make the most out of them, you need to split them across two squads. Nothing here sets them apart and it’s a shame as the rest of the box is so good and fun.
I love this set. The clones are a letdown, perhaps a sign that we’ve had too many clone releases. As for Kit and Nahdar, the words awesome, cool and fun spring straight to mind. These two are a lot of fun and I think I will be running them lots. Yes, Nahdar has his weaknesses, but they are so thematic it just makes running him even cooler. And cool, what could be cooler than Kit Fisto jumping across the gaming table?
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