We’ve had lots of clones, lots of Separatists, lots of Rebels, lots of Imperials. We had a fair few Mandalorians in the core box and then this year, the Mando count has been… one. That’s right, one lonely Mandalorian who just happened to be the Mandalorian. There hasn’t been much in the way of Mandalorians since they were first released and I’m so pleased that the year is ending with another release for them. Not only that, but there has been an errata to those core Mandalorians, namely Bo Katan and Clan Kryze, which now make them cross eras. What this means for players is that – finally – with this set, you can run a complete Mandalorian side! Great news for creating thematic games but also adding some variety with something a little different.
Not only that, but I always appreciate companies that are happy to admit that they hadn’t foreseen something and change it. Atomic Mass Games clearly hadn’t considered a full Mandalorian team, yet when they realised it could be done, they made it possible. It’s one of the things I love about them when it comes to Marvel Crisis Protocol, always making amendments when the need arises.
But back to the Mandalorians. There aren’t too many named characters for them as of yet but to have the Armourer as the lead to this set is very cool. I’ve recently started showing my daughter The Mandalorian and as soon as she saw this box, her eyes lit up. This character has really captured something, and it seems a release of the character will be very popular with fans and players alike. Opening the box, there is all we have come to expect: cards, sprue, bases and leaflet. Opening the instructions from the Atomic Mass Games website, it was time to start building.
First up is the primary, The Armourer. Immediately you are shown the two builds you can do, one with the jetpack and one without, which is clearly displayed on the back of the box. When I initially saw the choice on the box, for me it seemed obvious, of course I was going with the jetpack. Then when I saw the fur covered back, well my opinion shifted again. Maybe it’s because I’m rewatching season one, but the non-jetpack one I actually prefer. Because of that, I could completely skip step one which meant I only had two steps to complete the build! Although extremely simple, her weapons are very thin so be careful clipping them out. Joining the arms together – because of the thinness of them – can be a bit awkward. It’s because of how small and compact the model is, that the details look even more stunning than normal. To have such intricacies on such a small model is very impressive. It captures the character perfectly and I love the simple, almost unmoving stance the model has.
If two steps seemed a breeze, Paz Vizsla will make you think again with ten steps! More than making up for the short build of The Armourer. It is fairly simple to follow but there are a lot of small steps to bring everything together. When it comes to bringing both arms together, the joins are really tight. I don’t mean this as a negative, it just requires some care. Glue the right arm in first once assembled. There is no room for maneuver. When it is set, then place the left arm in. I used an ultra-thin glue as you have to really push the join into place. I did this first and then applied glue over the top. It comes together really well. This is the same for the tube and jetpack. They add to the figure without issue, which is a testament to the sculptor who has lined everything brilliantly. With so many little pieces, the details on this model are incredible. The gun, the armour, it’s all captured so well. The stance of Paz is right out of The Mandalorian. It’s a great model for hopefully a great unit.
Then it’s the two covert Mandalorians. The first is the male one. He’s very speedy to put together particularly after Vizsla. Once completed he is a sight to behold. This is my favorite model of the squad. The pose just says it all as he’s crouching to fire the rocket, it just looks so cool. Like the other models, the detail on this one is superb. The second Mandalorian is the female one. Let’s be honest, you couldn’t have a Mandalorian pack without at least one of them firing their jetpack. This is that model. Make sure you put the left arm before the right, as the right hand sits on top of the gauntlet on the left. The flames from the rocket are a bit flimsy, so just be careful when removing them and filing. Nothing too challenging and then there’s the cloak. This is a bit more of a hassle to get on, the grooves for it aren’t huge but with the backpack and having to watch the flames, it can be a bit tricky. It’s worth it but I wish it was an easier fit. This model is the most detailed of the lot, there’s so much going on. The flames, the cloak, the weaponry. It is a joy to look at.
The whole squad looks every part like the Mandalorians that they are. The detail on these models is incredible, it’s what I have come to expect from this game, but when you get models like this, it reinforces the amazing work the sculptures at Atomic Mass Games do.
Moving onto the cards themselves and we’ll start with the primary, The Armourer. Providing only two force might seem low but she does give players a massive nine squad points to spend. Both sides of her stance card are pure melee. ‘Insight of the Forge’ provides a bit more defense and seven melee attack dice. The Armourer can do a maximum of nine damage and a fair bit of movement. Having to get into melee to attack, this is essential for the character. The flip side, ‘Strength of the Hammer’ can do nine damage and is just outright more damage focused, particularly at the start of the combat tree. Her abilities don’t rely too much on the force, except one, ‘Both Hunter and Prey’. This costs one force and allows you to choose an enemy. You can advance or jump towards the enemy unit and if you’re engaged by the end of the movement, the enemy becomes exposed. Again, movement and melee combat is what The Armourer needs to be doing, and her abilities and combat tree seem to lean heavily on this. Her tactic allows herself and another Mandalorian character to jump. ‘Just As We Shape Mandalorian Steel, We Shape Ourselves’ (yes it’s a rather long named ability!) means that for every three damage on The Armourer, she rolls one extra dice for defense in melee. She also adds a dice for each injured token. She’s going to be difficult to get rid of. Her identity ability means that allied Mandalorians don’t have to increase the cost of active and reactive abilities if they have injured or wounded tokens. I can see this being essential for Mandalorian players. It keeps the need for force very low, particularly as the game plays out. The fact that I say essential just feels thematic. The Armourer is at the core of the Mandlorians we see in The Mandalorian and I think we’ll be seeing alot of use of this character.
Paz Vizsla is the expensive five-point cost secondary. As you’d expect, ‘Heavy Firepower’ is better at ranged than melee and can do a maximum of eight damage on his combat tree. If you get any expertise on your rolls, you’ll automatically get three hits, rather scary unless you can roll a decent defense roll! Paz does have a second side, ‘Fearless’, which focuses purely on melee. Giving Paz eight dice it can do a maximum of nine damage. His tactic makes running a full Mandalorian team seem obvious, as any Mandalorian unit within four at the start of Vizsla’s activation may remove a damage or condition. Then each supporting Mandalorian unit with four may jump. Combined with The Armourer, I love that all these Mandlorians are going to be very difficult to kill, they are simply stubborn. Very thematic! ‘I’ll Cover the Rear’ is the only force cost ability Paz has. It requires the stance card to be on the ‘Heavy Firepower’ side. If it is, when an allied character within two is attacked, Vizsla can jump and then make a five dice attack. ‘Go. There Are Too Many. This Is the Way’ means that when Paz is wounded, he can gain two injured tokens to remove the wounded token, all damage and one condition to then make a five dice attack against the unit that wounded him. This will only be pulled off once in the game, but it could make the difference between winning the game and losing. The final ability means that when the stance card is on ‘Fearless’ Paz gains steadfast. Also, when he has an injured token, he can’t be put into reserve. Vizsla feels very thematic and dare I say it, worth the five-point cost. You want to throw him into the enemy and not be afraid to give him those two injury tokens.
That leaves the Covert Mandalorians as the four cost supporting unit. Rolling five dice for both melee and ranged, they can do a maximum of seven damage with some movement available near the end of the combat tree. They only have one ability that costs a force, which is their jetpack. No surprise, it allows them to jump. ‘Mandalorian Armaments’ allows you to choose one for the turn: sharpshooter one or impact one. I love when you can choose things for your units, it provides a bit more flexibility during the game. ‘Mandalorians Are Stronger Together’ means when this unit moves, if they end within two of another Mandaloiran, they can focus. Lastly, when their order card is in the order deck or reserve they have protection. They seem like a solid supporting unit and I’m going to say it again, thematic.
Thematic. I keep saying it and this squad feels very thematic. As a squad by themselves, they seem very strong and one heck of a squad to field. Coupling that with the fact that you can now field a pure Mandlorian team thanks to the errata, makes them seem even more tantalizing. Let’s see how this squad, heck how the Mandlorians, do on the tabletop.
Obviously, I ran a full Mandalorian squad and my gosh, did it show. But let me save that conversation for another day! This squad is why we’re here. So, let’s begin with the least impressive unit, the Covert Mandalorians. Now I say least impressive in a squad that is full of impressiveness. They are what you would expect from Mandalorians. Good armour, highly maneuverable and can blast out some alright damage. I mean even this was rather handy with the sort of terrain setups I use.
But the gems in this set are the primary and secondary. The Armourer is extremely fast, even by Mandalorian standards and she packs a punch when she quickly gets to her opponent. Not only that, but she can take a beating, which is useful as I would imagine most players would charge her in as she doesn’t have any ranged attacks. It took four different attacks to finally wound the Armourer. It was great watching the Beskar take hits down to nothing. On the other hand, Paz is – quite simply – a tank. He has no problems taking out units in a single attack and frequently did. It is rather impressive the amount of damage output he can provide on his turn. Put him together with the Armourer and have them daily close together, and you have a practically unstoppable combination. The only issue is the lack of force. You do really feel it with this squad as there’s nothing to allow you to do a force refresh before the order deck needs refreshing. But with all the amazing things this squad can do, there had to be at least one negative!
This is a squad that opens so many doors. It’s a squad that works very well together, even its ‘weakest’ unit is pretty darn good. It also allows you to have a full Mandalorian side to play with, which is thematic, and scary to face against as they do all their speedy movements across the tabletop. You also have models that are highly detailed and beautiful to look at and I can’t wait for when I can get them to my painting desk. This squad gives you the ability to field a completely different team to what we’ve been able to, and I think just from the simple view of variation, they are a must by along with the core set. It adds something a little different to Jedi and droids in a fun, exciting way.
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