Rapid Reactions: Commander Cody looks pretty sweet!

Atomic Mass Games has given GAR enthusiasts an exciting new Commander to look forward to!

I get that most of you other players left Ministravaganza with full bellies but those of us who are of a Republic persuasion felt a bit peckish by the end, especially since we found out the Ahsoka was going to the Rebels first (if you want my real opinion on that, you’re probably going to have to have to find me on an “After Dark” on our Patreon or something). AMG was kind enough, however, to tell us that alongside Ahsoka, GAR was going to get a new Commander. The hottest guesses were either Cody or Mace Windu since they’re the biggest clone and the biggest Jedi respectively that don’t have a figure yet. Honestly, Cody was what I was hoping for most since I want non-Jedi non-Wookiee clone lists to be relevant in the meta again (in a way that DOESN’T obliterate everything like Rex Star did). We were also told that AMG was going to present at San Diego Comic Con and while I had hope I didn’t really think we’d get a confirmation and I certainly didn’t expect a card.

And yet…

Boom! Seemingly out of nowhere we got pings on The Legion Discord, with some wondering if this was an insanely elaborate photoshop even, but it quickly became clear that it was quite real!

I’d like to begin by thanking a gentleman named Larry Ross. He’s the one who snapped the above photo, and without him who knows if we’d even have gotten the glimpse we did since I didn’t see any other photos of this scooting around. Larry also shared the details of what was and wasn’t discussed during the presentation so that us super-fans don’t have to wonder about it. For being quick on the draw and a good sport messaging with us on Facebook, TFT is going to be giving him a FREE set of “Authority” Command tokens as soon as they’re ready for the next release to show our appreciation. Thanks again Larry!

The Presentation Itself

Let’s start off by saying that we should remind ourselves this was at a Comic Con where interests are even broader than most of your big generic gaming cons. Therefore, most of the presentation was geared towards non-Legion players, which makes total sense. We certainly do hope it helps the game grow, but I can report that there was no additional discussion on anything related to Cody such as his command cards or the releases going out alongside him. There was a Q and A session where the following 2 questions were asked. Please note that the below is paraphrased second-hand so take it with a grain of salt.

Q: Is there a plan to integrate new rules into the old RRG?

A: Yes, there are plans to do so in the future but it’s possible that it will need to be redone/reformatted and the reason it hasn’t been melded is related to different versions of Adobe being used at different times. It was confirmed that copyright issues are not the reason that they were done as addendums.

Q: Will there be inquisitors in the future?

A: Inquisitors are cool, and anything is possible. [Author’s note: I want to make doubly clear that TFT is not reporting confirmation of Inquisitors, Simone of AMG apparently said that they wouldn’t be answering questions about future releases before the session so if you ask me it’s nice that they even said anything at all to this one]

Reportedly there were no other questions. Now then, onto the man of the hour.

Commander Cody

Cody brings more of a “GI Joe” flavor to clones that was missing with Rex. Our long-beloved 501st Captain is more of a dive in to get the job done yourself type with his unit card, tactical and a Range 2 gunslinger gives the feel of getting in close with the enemy and shooting down hallways. Cody though? He’s built for the open field. Let’s quickly break down the features we know and the ones we don’t quite know yet.

What we know

• Observe 2 as a free action: This is pretty cool and is the first time since R2 that I can think of an action (repair in that case) being free on one card and not-so-free on another. For those who don’t recall, Observe 2 means that at range 1-3 of an enemy unit that is in line of sight, Cody can put 2 Observation tokens on that unit. This means that along with Target Cody is going to generate 3 free tokens during most turns, which is pretty sweet. Observation is a key way to get around the newer clone token sharing rules as well. If it wasn’t free this would be fairly blasé but free is free and I think this is really neat.
• Jump 1: He carries what’s called a “propulsion pack” after converting to his Phase 2 armor so that’s basically what this is, I’ll take it; the Jump 2 is usually unnecessary and having it built in means not having to errata the old jetpack.
• Take Cover 1: At first glance this may seem strange on a clone trooper but it’s often an improvement on simply self dodging for a few reasons. First, he can give it to anything including a vehicle or a Jedi “friend.” Second, he can add a portable scanner to get some efficiency out of it and generate two (often shareable) dodges with one action, very nice. Third, on turns where he’s totally hiding you can take cover and then dodge.
• Direct Vehicle: Here’s a fun one! This is probably mostly for the heavies (the tank and the ISP seem like the best cases to make) but many GAR lists feature naked BARC’s now so it wouldn’t go to waste in “pure” gunlines. The most ideal situation to me would be if the Clone AT-RT got a minor buff in the form of a points decrease or an upgrade to one of its weapons. Honestly a naked or flamer ATRT with a comms relay is not a terrible choice, you get a crit 1 impact gun and it allows you to use the relay to order whoever you want which could be Fives, a Jedi, or Cody himself. Or, obviously, a Saber or Infantry Support Platform with Linked Targeting is a plenty good way to take advantage of the keyword.
• Target 1: This will functionally mean he generates almost as many aims as Rex does with Tactical over the course of the game, clearly useful for a weapon with lethal.
• Command slot: Aggressive Tactics when he’s the only named Commander, lots of other choices when he isn’t.
• Training slot: Maybe Offensive Push to make the most out of the “big” FS shot. Hunter or Seize aren’t totally crazy either.
• Gear slot: Probably either blank portable scanners to make Take Cover into a “2” for efficiency, scopes probably would only get used once. Of course there could be new gear out with him or before this release?
• 5 Health, 2 Courage with red saves: Same as Rex. Some day I’d like to hear why genetically engineered super soldiers have less health than Iden and Kallus, who yes are cool but…aren’t genetically engineered super soldiers. Yes I know clones have de facto surge to block, leave me alone and let me pretend I have a good point here.
• Surge to crit: Good to have in this here faction, see below for my “Fun with Fire Support” examples
• Range X (probably 1, maybe 2) – Range 4 Red Red Black White, Lethal 1, Impact 1 weapon: Basically, this is an Echo strike team gun at range 3 that loses sharpshooter 1 but can be used at range 4. With the mods available to him he should be able to get 1 piercing damage through pretty reliably, making him kind of a mix between Cassian’s pistol and Bossk.

Fun with Fire Support

Before we get to the pure conjecture I want to take an aside to say that this guy is really promising as a fire support platform for several reasons:

• Surge->Crit with Lethal 1 (obviously)
• An aim and two observes before any non-free actions are taken
• A face up to vehicles, which can be key on one-pips (which is usually when you want to fire support, when they can’t act first to prepare for it by dodging or running). Obviously if the vehicle is starting the FS then he won’t be the one involved but this gives you some good options.
• Jump 1 to get change heavy cover to open in certain situations, which is usually better than an aim action
• He can do it from a safer distance than Jedi or Rex can

Here’s some math on fire support shots that are possible with him just for fun (All these assume two aims and 2 observation tokens to use for the shot, all done with “Tell Me The Odds”):

• with Z6 clones against stormtroopers in heavy cover: 5.803 wounds (dead!)
• with Z6 clones against Han Solo in heavy cover plus low profile: 5.639 wounds (dead half the time!)
• with Z6 clones against Magnas in the open with a dodge and a surge: 5.582 wounds (bye bye RPS)
• with RPS clones against a Spider in the open: 6.424 wounds (DIAF…please)

I think this is really important to point out: Cody is especially notable as a fire support platform because of the free mods which allow him to either take an extra aim or move to make the most out of the shot on a 1 pip to nail an enemy unit before it can act. This is and always has been the bread and butter case for using fire support. And while Anakin’s saber throw is still usually going to be the “ultimate” fire support starter against vehicles and troopers in the open, Cody will actually get you more wounds than an un-aimed (which is usually true) Anakin shot against most targets in cover! Check out the math for yourself, and this is before we have seen any command cards. If his 1 pip gives him even a single aim then the power level starts getting pretty unreal, we’re talking 10 hits on average before your choice to spend the last aim on pierce or a reroll. That will very reliably take out heavy corps in cover and significantly threaten to one shot non-Jedi heroes and severely hurt undodged/unsurged Jedi.

What we don’t know (Mostly, his command cards)

I think it’s going to be a fair guess that he has no additional upgrade slots, but I suppose a comms is possible. Also, a big big factor to remember is that it would only take a few points adjustments or rules adjustments for various clone units to change the calculus on this character drastically before release. But aside from the those the main question is what are those commands gonna do? My semi-wild prediction would be that his 1 pip is geared for fire support, maybe an aim and marksman for the turn and precise or something, the 2 would be a vehicle buff, and the 3 is either a permanent or a one-turn army buff. If we’re really lucky he’ll get a special command he can use with Obi, since right now “Take Cover” is the closest thing for synergy with his most special of friends. I can’t wait to find out!

Dear AMG: If you have art for the shot above with the title “When have I ever let you down?” then I will love you, and also hate you, forever

Bonus: Clone personnel?!

Keen observers will note that the shot above also has two new personnel upgrades that can go into any Clone corps unit. We can assume that they’ll come with Cody, which makes sense because they’re also in Ghost Company in the 212th. Here are some quick thoughts on them:

Probably sort of a niche pick, Disciplined probably doesn’t help phase 2’s a lot with their courage and phase 1’s are usually more helped by “Strict Orders” (flexibility and timing) but it’s an extra attack dice and the scout 1 is nice. My best case for it right now is on a DP-23 with recon intel to have a tough-to-suppress shotgun unit that gets a headstart in the game…buuuuut a Phase 1 Captain is cheaper and more reliable at ducking suppression when it really matters. We’ll have to see.

Note the cost is cut-off and dark here but it’s also “15.” It also gives Scout 1 which is neat but Guardian 1 is very interesting on a potentially very cheap unit. At 67 points a Boil-only Phase 1 would be the cheapest permanent guardian in the game, and while it’s one fewer guardian value and 3 fewer health than a naked IRG this unit would have more access to surges via Aggressive Tactics or Bolster (it would likely not be able to share other clone’s surge tokens when doing guardian rolls based on the way the rules are currently written) and it would be able to do something other than act as a sponge since it can take aims and dodges its friends can use.

Things are looking up for the Galactic Republic!

Since I have this platform, I want to repeat this important message for those who haven’t seen it?

Yeah, I think GAR is generally a bit underpowered right now but not enormously and a few minor points adjustments could likely bring it back to par without sling-shotting it all over again.

But what I and many other GAR players would really like is some more variety for the competitive scene. Right now it’s notable when a list that doesn’t feature Yoda or Anakin even makes the cut let alone win tournaments with substantial player counts (>20 or so). I had a lot of fun with Anakin for most of a year an did pretty well with him (made cut at Adepticon, Grand Finals in Invader League) but I’m honestly a bit tired of the type of painstaking play (and dependence on good terrain) that’s required to do well with a GAR Jedi list and I’d love to mess around with a clone-only gunline or (non-Anakin/Yoda based) vehicle list that allows me to compete with a level of choice that the other factions have. GAR just generally feels a bit constricted because of high costs and low options and Cody seems like a promising way to allow players to experiment a bit more while still staying on level with the rest of the field (for those of us who care about such things, and if you don’t that’s cool too!)

I want to take a moment to point out that AMG made a really brilliant play with “Waxer” and “Boil.” Most of us thought that Echo and Fives were going to be fairly one-off but the willingness to bend the rules and put minis meant for something totally different (assumedly) in with a commander is a great creative step that I can’t applaud enough! The Clone Wars cartoons featured a lot of surprisingly memorable “named” clones who shouldn’t realistically be their own commander/operative but would add a lot of flavor and variety to the game as a personnel or heavy upgrade. It would be really neat to someday field a 9-10 activation squad where every unit had a unique clone in it, something to hope for/look forward to!

Finally, I think it’s worth speculating about the potential for a 212th Battle Force. This would basically be “501st with Cody and Obi instead of Rex and Anakin,” but as we all know the part that really matters is the cards and force org they put with it. Based on the inclusion of Waxer and Boil, we can guess that if they were going to do a Battle Force then it would be based on Ryloth and have somewhat of a Phase 1 and AT-RT focus.

Right now, we can guess that we’ll see Cody on the table by the start of next Summer (we’re assuming he’ll release alongside Rebel Ahsoka) but we’ll be sure to let you know when you can pre-order him on our store (still worth a click now though if you want to pre-order some of the goodies we saw in “Ministravaganza” last week). For now though let us know what you think of Cody in the comments, and thanks for reading!