I think it’s universally agreed that Rogue One has been the greatest Star Wars film to be released in the Disney era. Not only did it spawn one of the greatest Star Wars television shows, but it also made us rethink what we knew about A New Hope. Finally, Atomic Mass Games have given us the characters so players can take them to the battlefield. This set brings all the characters from the film to the game, apart from Andor and K-2SO. While I originally was surprised by this, having played with the first set, I completely appreciate why Atomic Mass Games did this. The first box allows you to play during the Andor events. This set then expands on this, so by running both squads, you get the Rogue One experience. This squad contains Jyn Erso, Bodhi Rook, Baze and Chirrut, completing the main characters from Rogue One.
I was eager to see how this squad works with one another but also how it would complement the All the Way Squad Pack which is Cassian’s pack. Opening the box, there was a single sprue containing the models, bases, cards and the leaflet with all the information needed to send you to the Atomic Mass Games website for the build instructions. It has been a while since I’ve used the QR code, I usually just go straight to the assembly part of the website. One thing I did notice is that if you do it this way, you won’t find this pack in the instructions, but if you put it into the keyword search it pops up. One of those slight bugs just to be aware of.
With these four models, it probably goes without saying that there are no alternate builds. This is a run of the mill, clip, file and glue. While there are times that I like variations, I also appreciate there are times when it is just not needed. This is certainly one of those times. The first up to build is Jyn. The build starts off fine but then there is part A05. This is a holster that has part of Jyn’s weapon hanging off. The join between the two weapon parts is tiny. I was terrified of cutting it off the sprue; it came off fine. However, as soon as I tried to place it, the thing snapped. It is extremely delicate. Some extra thin glue did the job perfectly of fixing it, but it is very easy to break. I wonder if it will last on the tabletop during games. Because of this, I wish that as soon as I’d assembled and glued the body and legs together, I’d have attached it straight to the base. I knocked the hanging part a couple of times, which didn’t help the strength of the join. Get the model to the base as quickly as possible. After that, right arm, left arm and then I glued the scarf on before the head, to enable me to make sure the head was correctly posed with the rest of the body. While the hanging weapon is frustrating, the model itself looks fantastic. The detail on Erso is amazing, and even though I thought I knew the outfit, the model lets you see it in a completely different light. Added to this is the superb likeness to Felicity Jones, the sculptor has got the face just right. The pose also perfectly captures the character. The two hands on the blaster, the flowing scarf: it’s a great model.
Next is Chirrut. Like Jyn, there is nothing overly complicated here but the parts and the way they join can be slightly fiddly. This is certainly a set that requires you to take that bit of extra time to make sure you are getting things right. There’s nothing really bad about the assembly, it’s just that there are a lot of different parts on each of these models. When it comes to Chirrut’s arms, glue the left in before the right, it will make everything much easier. Also, part B10, the part of his rifle that needs attaching, I would do before attaching the whole thing to Chirrut’s back. Although fiddly, the detail on the model is insane. There is just so much here, so much to feast your eyes on. Let alone the pose, that is just Chirrut through and through, you have the robes, the two weapons, the pouches, the face, there is just so much here. Another fantastic model.
Then it is the turn of Baze. While he looks complicated and should be as fiddly as the previous two models, he is actually a joy to put together. There are lots of parts intertwining and yet everything fits perfectly together. There was no stress with arms and the cable from the backpack, it was a very enjoyable building experience. The model itself, like the others, is superb. The detail, the face, the pose, the weight of what he is carrying is evident in his stance. It all works so well.
Finally, it is Bodhi. Bodhi is like Baze, simple to put together but full of detail. There is a separate hair piece, which has never been Atomic Mass Games’ strongest attribute, and here the hair must join to not one but two different pieces. Yet it all goes together easily. I like the detail, I like the stance, the only thing I’m not sure of is the face sculpt. It doesn’t look quite right to me, but I’ll save further judgement until I’ve painted it.
With the squad complete it’s easy to see just how well sculpted and detailed this box is. It is exquisite. Yes, I’m biased because I love Rogue One so much, but I imagine if you are looking at the box and this review then you are too. This captures each character, mesmerizes you with the detail and just looks the part.
With the models assembled it was time to turn our attention to the cards. Jyn Erso is the primary of the squad, bringing three force and eight squad points. Her two stances are ‘Resisting Arrest’ and ‘Aggravated Assault’. The first has one more dice for ranged, the flip side, one more dice for melee. For ‘Resisting Arrest’, you do a maximum of nine damage, but it is a very complex tree that allows for lots of variations, depending on what you want to inflict on your opponent. On the flip side, you can still do a maximum of eight damage, but the tree is a little bit simpler to try and sort out. In terms of abilities, her tactic allows Jyn or a Rebel Alliance supporting unit to either advance or make a five dice attack. I like the options here as I think a five dice attack done at the right time could be extremely helpful. If you haven’t got anyone to attack, the tactic isn’t unusable. ‘Reckless, Aggressive and Undisciplined’ is the only one of Jyn’s abilities that cost a force. When Jyn makes a melee attack, she can add two dice for each enemy that she is engaged with but not attacking and is not wounded. It sounds good – well great – in principle but I do wonder how often that situation is going to arise. ‘I Rebel’ I can’t help but think of the book I, Jedi from the Expanded Universe. After Jyn makes an attack, she can advance. She can also do this twice during her activation. Very mobile and very in keeping with the character of Jyn. Finally, ‘The Time to Fight Is Now’ means that when a Rebel Alliance unit needs force but there isn’t enough, you can lose a momentum to pay the cost. Also, once a turn, when your opponent gains momentum, Jyn can heal two. Throwing her into a lot of enemies for that extra dice doesn’t sound quite so bad now! The character is interesting, certainly in keeping with the character we all know. I’m interested to see just how often these situations arise, or how many of them I can orchestrate to allow Jyn to shine.
The secondary is Bodhi, who costs three points. He rolls better at ranged – for both attack and defense – and can do a maximum of seven damage. Only one of his abilities costs a force which is ‘Rogue One, Pulling Away’. This allows you to choose a Rebel Alliance unit within four of Bodhi and they can advance. If they are also a spy, Bodhi can advance too. ‘I Just Need an Open Line’ means if Bodhi is contesting an objective and there are no enemies, you roll three attack dice unless your opponent spends a momentum. For every expertise, you gain a momentum. This works brilliantly with Jyn and these two clearly are meant to be run together. You build up your momentum and then Jyn spends it. It means you are relying a lot less on force, which makes sense with this unit. That leaves ‘Galen Said I Could Get Right by Myself, If I Was Brave Enough’, and yes that is a mouthful to say to your opponent! Rebel Alliance characters within three of Bodhi that are contesting objectives get steadfast and spies doing the same get immunity to Exposed. Very handy and with Bodhi’s ability you are going to want him near objectives. I also like that if units are with him that they get these perks to try and be brave to keep Bodhi alive. I’m already reliving Rogue One in my head!
That leaves the five-cost supporting unit Baze and Chirrut. The stance card has one side with Baze’s image called ‘The Force Is with Me’ and the other side with Chirrut called ‘I Am One with the Force’. I love these two already! The sides are similar in terms of damage and dice, both rolling the same and both able to do a maximum of six damage. The trees are slightly different but what stance you have will greatly affect their abilities. Their tactic allows them to refresh force and for every wounded or injured token they have you can refresh another force or remove a damage or condition from them. They only have one ability that costs a force: ‘We’ve Been in Worse Cages Than This One’. If their stance card is on ‘I Am One with the Force’ both Chirrut and Baze can advance. If it is on the flip side, one of them may reposition. For ‘Guardians of the Whills’ the stance set also makes a difference. If the stance is set to ‘The Force is with Me’, they have steadfast and impact one. If it is on the flipside, they have cover one and sharpshooter one. As soon as they change their stance, they also make a focus action, which I think is very useful. That leaves one ability: ‘He’s Praying for the Door to Open’. This is for determining control of an objective if both Baze and Chirrut are there. If there’s a tie, you can spend a force to remove the control token. If you don’t remove a token, you can gain a momentum. Again, this works well with Jyn and her ability and as a squad, they don’t seem to utilise too much force.
All in all, this looks like an interesting squad, one that works differently to what we have seen before. It was time to take them to the battlefield, along with some other Rebels, to see how they performed. Let’s start with Jyn. For me, she was the star of the squad. Her movement around the board is fantastic and with dash if she gets an expertise in her defense roll, just really suits the character. In fact, I didn’t find that I got to use the dash, because my opponent on his attack usually gave me pinned, but what it did mean was that I wasn’t hampered when Jyn activated, she was ready and raring to go. It felt so cinematic, she would keep down with fire and then quickly move on to her objective. Charlie – my son and opponent – didn’t give Jyn an easy ride, sending shoretroopers, Vader and Krennic after her. After all these attacks, she was still standing and running and causing mayhem. In other words, she can take a beating or three!
Bodhi, I used completely wrong, activating him far too late when everyone else had run off! It meant that a lot of his abilities didn’t work. What I did note was the sheer number of times that he would have come in incredibly useful in the game. Let’s just say a lesson learnt and I’m eager to use him again as I can see how he would be so useful.
Chirrut and Baze were a joy to use and so cinematic. I think you’re always going to flip their stance card and so you automatically start looking for situations where the stance card will benefit in terms of attack. I had the pair rushing forward to take on Vader. It was a cinematic moment of pure joy. Rushing up the ladder, Baze firing, Chirrut attacking in melee and… well ok they didn’t do much damage to Vader, but it felt so fantastic. Not only that but they were able to still be alive after Vader put forward his retribution on Chirrut. Not an easy task to do. They are a solid unit that work really well with one another and with other units. I can easily see myself using them in completely different squads that don’t have anyone from Rogue One.
This squad was always going to be a hit with me but it’s an even bigger hit seeing them on the table. They work so well as their own units and it’s those cinematic moments that are so easy to create because of how the rules work for each of these characters. It’s a joy, like you are playing out your own Star Wars movie. The models are just a mountain of detail, and I can’t wait to begin to paint them. If you are a fan of Rogue One, if you want to create your own stories with these characters, this set is an obvious and easy buy.
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