Padmé Amidala – Revisited

Today we are going to look back at a character that has been a favourite of mine, Padmé Amidala. Padmé has changed a fair bit since we last looked at her in June 2021. Over two years later and we have had a few rules changes that have effected her a lot. Let’s explore her place in the game today.

Strengths

• Excellent support character
• Excellent command cards
• Decent offensive capabilities

Weaknesses

• Can be fragile
• In an expensive faction

Her strengths and weaknesses are basically unchanged. Just how they’re utilized is a bit different.

Overview

Padmé Amidala

85 Points: Padmé comes in at 85 points, this is fairly average for support characters. 85 points for all her keywords can feel like a steal. Overall, Padmé is at a cost where she is an option, but GAR is an expensive faction and you have to make sacrifices to fit Padmé in.

Defense: Padmé has 6 wounds with white surging defense dice. She does also have Nimble which can boost her defense. You really want her to be out of line of sight (LOS) though. If Padmé can be seen, she can be removed.

Offense: Padmé has Sharpshooter 2 which makes her offense fairly potent for a support character. Her base gun is range 1-2 3B Pierce 1. This gun is really good for shooting opposing close range units that make it to your lines, especially if you want to fire support, as Padmé surges to hit. Padmé also throws 3B in melee which is fine, but Padmé should never really be in melee. Padmé can also be given a range 1-3 1R1W gun that also has Pierce 1. This gun is really good if you want to run Padmé a bit more aggressively as it does consistent damage and is another very good Fire Support option.

Support Keywords

Quick Thinking: Padmé can take the action Quick Thinking. This action produces 1 aim and 1 dodge token. This combos well with Exemplar to share tokens with the army. On top of Quick Thinking you can also take an aim or dodge action, generating 3 green tokens with 2 actions.

Authoritative: Padmé has the Authoritative keyword which is basically like having a Comms Relay. This is really good for her own command cards as she is able to pass off an order on herself to another unit. Authoritative can also be used in specific instances if you need to order a unit that is within range of Padmé but not the commander. Authoritative can also be paired with Seize the Initiative to get a once per game order wherever you need it.

Exemplar: Padmé’s “banner” keyword is Exemplar. This allows her to share aims, dodges and surges at range 1-2 with any friendly unit. This is especially good now as with rules changes clones can only share one token per attack/defence. Exemplar is a multiplier of this ability as you’re able to spend a clone token as well as any Exemplar tokens you want to. This can give you plenty of dodges and surges to make your castle resilient. Or, you can throw a bunch of dice and aims at an enemy and watch them disappear quickly.

Upgrades

Command

Padmé’s command slot is quite unique for an operative. It complements her support keywords excellently, allowing her to support her army even more.

Aggressive Tactics

Mostly negligible on Padmé as she’s an operative so cannot use generic command cards.

Commanding Presence

Another card that is mostly negligible except that Padmé has Authoritative. Commanding Presence would allow her to issue orders with Authoritative up to range 4. I could see some niche uses for flanking forces. The only problem with this is that you want your units to be close to her anyways.

Esteemed Leader

Keeping Padmé alive is paramount, esteemed leader can help you do that. I would recommend passing on this card though as she shouldn’t be getting attacked, and you don’t really want to guardian onto clones that aren’t Boil.

Improvised Orders

Improvised Orders certainly is an option on Padmé. If you are running an Anakin/Padmé list then Improvised Orders might be a consideration for instance. She doesn’t want to ever recover though so you won’t be getting multiple uses of this card per turn.

Inspiring Presence

Padmé is on this card for a reason. As she is an operative she doesn’t come with a command bubble, with this card she will get a large one. The biggest issue with this card is that the Republic army doesn’t really need help with courage for the most part. This card would be helpful if you find yourself encountering a lot of suppressive weapons in your games. Inspiring Presence would be particularly useful if you anticipate using a lot of courage 1 units and don’t have a Courage 3 commander.

Lead by Example

An upgrade that can really limit your susceptibility to suppression problems. Lead by Example is an excellent upgrade for Padmé. You want her to be at range 1-2 of your army anyways so Inspire fits that bill excellently.

Strict Orders

Strict orders is generally a good way to help deal with suppression. In current clone armies you’ll usually have a fair number of faceup orders so you’ll get good use of this card. Clones currently don’t often struggle with suppression so you probably don’t need this card for now.

Vigilance

Vigilance is an excellent choice for Padmé. Vigilance helps you to lean into what she is good at, sharing tokens. Vigilance is probably the best card for her in most situations. Vigilance does have the added cost of being 12 points now. This massive increase in cost has largely seen it dropped from most places.

Training

Padmé’s training slot is certainly one that doesn’t need to be filled, there’re a few cards that should be considered.

Offensive Push

Offensive Push could be taken on Padmé if you want to play a more aggressive play style. This card would allow her to gain Tactical for a move to keep providing tokens for the army, even as she re-locates. This could also be useful in an alpha strike list as you often need to move her at least once at the beginning of the game to get her in an ideal location.

Offensive Push could also be used if you want to use her as a fire support platform as you could move-shoot and generate an aim token.

Situational Awareness

This card can help make Padmé much more survivable as she’ll almost always have a dodge on her. Situational Awareness can also help if you want to play her more aggressively in conjunction with Nimble and potentially Vigilance.

Seize the Initiative

Seize the Initiative is really good on a lot of characters. It is even better on Padmé as she has Authoritative which means she can use Seize to give an order to something else. Seize is definitely not a card to take every time but can be used to make some really interesting combinations.

Gear

Padmé’s gear slot is most of the time going to remain empty, there’s really only a couple cards that I could see putting on her.

Prepared Supplies

As with all characters with Nimble, Prepared Supplies should always be a consideration. Unfortunately you can not use Exemplar with Prepared Supplies tokens so that it’s definitely not a card you will push towards taking.

Targeting Scopes

If you plan to use Padmé as a fire support enabler, then targeting scopes might be a consideration for you. I probably would never do this myself but could see a case for it.

Recon Intel

The only gear I’ve ever put on my Padmé. Scout 1 is often enough to get her to the position she will remain for the entire game, essentially saving a move action, allowing more token generation.

Don’t forget if you infiltrate Padme via Diplomatic Cover she can still utilize the Scout move after she deploys.

Armament

Only one option here, but it’s a good one.

Looted E-5 Blaster

A solid weapon combined with her Sharpshooter 2. The most important part of this weapon is that it is Range 3, allowing her to contribute to the fight and/or provide a fire support platform from a much safer distance. The decision whether or not to take this weapon comes down to whether or not you think you ever want to shoot with Padmé. I usually forgo this weapon as I want her to create tokens. However, there’ve been many circumstances where I wish I had her gun. Her base gun is still great so if you can’t fit this gun in or you decide not to take it, no worries.

Command Cards

3-Pip Diplomatic Cover

This card is fairly straight forward on the surface but there is some nuance.

First off, it only orders herself which isn’t great for a 3 pip. However, she does have Authoritative which makes the single order more versatile, and clones get plenty of free orders usually anyways.

This card has the option to Divulge at the beginning of the deploy units step. The decision whether or not to Divulge is rather huge as it can determine Padmé’s role for the entire game. If you do divulge it will give her Secret Mission which can be game winning. My recommendation is to figure out in list building whether you will Divulge or not when you play games, as her non-divulge effect Reliable 1 can be used to give surges to armies that lack them. This card is especially handy though as it can make her a flex piece. I have sometimes divulged when not planning to after observing the ban phase and the opponent’s army.

Most of the time when playing Padmé you should try to play this card first round, either because you have to because of Divulge, or, if you’re not Divulging, so you can get the most out of the Reliable.

2-Pip Aggressive Negotiations

Padmé’s 2 pip is an amazing command card that is very versatile. This card has so many uses, many that are game changing.

At minimum, this card will hand out 2 green tokens, they can be what you need if you are looking for a first shot, or a couple dodges to keep a unit alive.

The more flashier ability on this card is a Speed-1 move on ordered units. This can be critical for objective play; Hostage Exchange and Recover The Supplies come to mind. This ability can also move units into a fire support location, or just move a unit out of danger. This card has so many uses and needs experience to know exactly when to play this card and for what purpose.

1-Pip Our Fate is in Your Hands

Probably the most niche of Padmé’s cards, this card can be amazing in the right circumstance.

First off, this card is a 1-pip that can, combined with Authoritative, give an order to any unit. If you end up playing this card as essentially a second copy of Ambush, you’re still happy with it.

The effect in this card can be used to help deal with suppression if it is starting to build up. In GAR right now there are few common options for suppression removal when you need it. This card can be used to pull suppression off a key unit to allow them to not panic, or even get two actions to go claim an objective. When you pull off suppression you also can create up to two dodge tokens which can then help keep your army alive. I often find that this card is really useful to play when there are two suppression down at the start of the turn. I’m usually not concerned with getting rid of the suppression but instead with creating two dodge tokens.

This card also gives Padmé Danger Sense 2. If you are going for Secret Mission, Danger Sense may be crucial to keep her alive. Don’t depend on Danger Sense though and generally it is forgettable on this card.

General Strategy

Padmé should always be kept safe, this is paramount. When you are setting up and deploying, try to identify where she will go/end up. You want to find a LOS blocker that will keep her safe but will allow her to be roughly centered in your army with plenty of LOS to your own army.

If you want to be playing Padmé as a fire support enabler you most likely should have her Looted E-5 Blaster. I would recommend using Aggressive Negotiations to help with fire support. You can pull off some really cool plays if you use it to move Padmé and another unit into range of an enemy unit. Padmé can then fire and move to safety, or aim fire if you’re confident she’ll be safe. You can also use Aggressive Negotiations if you go late with Padmé to get a shot, then, when you play Aggressive Negotiations you can move her back into safety.

Padmé also gets Infiltrate with Diplomatic Cover which could be used to Infiltrate into a forward position or even onto a center box. Be very careful if you decide to do this, as if Padmé dies you just threw away about 90 crucial points to your list. I could see a center box infiltrate if it is also limited vis, or if the opponent doesn’t have many large dice pools. Padmé will of course have a dodge from Diplomatic Cover which will help keep her alive turn 1 with Nimble.

Padmé is also the most common potential appearance of Secret Mission in the game right now which is noteworthy. It’s often best to flex into secret mission when you’re at a scoring unit deficit or on an objective that often ties. The most common instance of this is Breakthrough when your opponent has more activations then you. Secret Mission can help level the playing field.

Lists

This is really the thing that has changed most in the last two years. The two main lists we explored 2 years ago was Rexstarish and Saber Go Brrrrrr. Both are basically dead, largely because of the Exemplar change that removed standbys from that ability.

Padmé’s role though is still largely the same, she’s a support character to make your army better.

So after worlds my list got 5 points cheaper. This means that it is slightly different now, drop a set of Impact Grenades and put in Lead by Example.

This list took me all the way to a top 8 finish, only faltering then to Blizzard Force. This list is a tough nut to crack, with a lot of dodge generation and Situational Awareness.

This list does show one of Padmé’s limitations though. As things stand right now the first unit you will put into a list will be Anakin. So really, the only lists that Padmé will probably go into is Anakin lists. This is totally fine though as they have good command card synergy and help to pull the army in a coherent direction together.

A list to give an idea how Padmé can slot into more gunline esqe lists. This list has a lot of fire power and is bolstered by Padmé giving extra green token access. This list is also going to be leaning into fire supporting Cody a lot which is why the Clone Commander is included for Direct. You could also cut him to get another clone squad and put Seize on Padmé for essentially the same effect.

Final Thoughts

This article was an interesting task as it was fascinating to go back over work from over two years ago and see what is the same and what is different. Padmé’s role has changed very little over that time but what she can do has changed a lot. She’s still an excellent, though sometimes hard to fit, addition to most GAR lists.