I first started playing proxy games with General Obi-Wan Kenobi and his crew, I assumed that Obi would be a 7SP character because 212th didn’t seem much better than the 501st. Since then, the 212th have grown on me quite a bit. They aren’t very durable, but they can contribute good damage from range if they aren’t shooting enemies with crit mitigation.
212th Clone Troopers are available in the Hello There! squad box.
Main card
4PC puts these clones in the same cost zone as Mandalorian supports, B2s, and inquisitor supports. I am past the point of thinking 212th should be a 3 cost support but given their defensive profile I feel like maybe they are in a weird zone where they’re worth more like 3.5PC. As such, costing 4PC is defensible.
Abilities
The 212th clones have only 7 stamina and 2 durability, which is on the low end for supports. I think clones pay a health tax for having hunker access.
Defensive Maneuver is a classic clone ability. Getting the hunker is very nice for the 212th since it helps shore up their lacklustre defense. If you’re keeping them way in the back you may not need a hunker, but if you’re trying to push forward to claim some objectives then a hunker will be very helpful to not get one-shot.
Coordinated Fire: Pin can be meh or absolutely game-changing, depending on the situation. Sometimes an enemy won’t care much about a pin, and other times it will wreck all their plans. It’s the condition with the highest ceiling, in my opinion, and on average it’s pretty good. This is an ability I find easy to forget because it happens before dice are rolled. Until the 212th are injured or wounded the ability is free so no reason not to use it if you can. Once it costs force then I’m not using it very often. That’s another reason to keep the 212th towards the back and away from danger – keep Coordinated Fire free! Of course, the further back they are the less likely enemies will be in range.
Brothers in Arms is another standard clone ability (unless you’re Commander Cody) and makes clones a pain in the butt to get off objectives. If you don’t have force for Defensive Maneuver, then taking the Take Cover action for a hunker and a little movement is a great choice for these clones.
Bullseye Training
Hmmm, not a lot of choices here. Don’t get wowed by the four damage at the end of the tree, if you get a lucky spike which gives you four successes after defense that’s great, but nothing to rely on. Even against B1 Battle Droids in no cover, a 212th 6 dice ranged attack only has a 10% chance of getting 4+ successes after defense. The strength of the 212th is their crits and ranged expertise. They average 1.2 crits with a 34% chance of 2+ crits, plus they’ll get at least one expertise 83% of the time. Just two crits and one expertise at range gives 3 damage, a pin and shove, or 4 damage and a shove if the unit already has a pin (which is easy enough considering Coordinated Fire: Pin). Do that a couple times and it’s a lot of damage. I think my early frustration around the 212th was that I was attacking units with crit mitigation. Don’t do that. If the 212th can’t get crits through they aren’t doing very much at all.
Defensively it’s simple: the 212th will die easily. They have Bullseye Training; they are supposed to be snipers. They may have to go to the frontlines occasionally but beware they won’t last long if your opponent wants them gone.
Synergy & Wrap Up
| + Pros | – Cons |
| Can push through substaintial damage with crits and expertise | Very squishy |
| Easy pin access can be game changing | Combat tree has no options |
The 4PC cost might be a tad high for the 212th troopers, but if I have points to spend I’m still taking them over 501st Clone Troopers. Crits and damage in their expertise means the 212th can push through pretty good damage on enemies without crit mitigation. They are snipers so they don’t want to be shot back. Remembering to use Coordinated Fire: Pin early and often will have a big effect on your opponent’s choices.
Synergy wise the 212th love being in a Galactic Republic focused list to trigger Coordinated Fire as much as possible. Due to their hunker synergy, General Obi-Wan Kenobi and/or CC-7567 Captain Rex are good units to have in the strike team.
