Updated: Jun 12
Squad built in Tabletop Admiral
I thought about starting with something people are more likely to play off the bat, like all clones or all mandos. But where’s the fun in that? Let’s get Strike Team Thoughts off to a spicy start with this mixed-affiliation list. Head-canon wise I think of it as Obi-Wan bringing Dooku back to the light side, but you could also think of it as a timeline where Dooku successfully recruits Obi-Wan on Geonosis. The concept for this list is simple: fit a lot of good, effective units together. It takes my favourite Galactic Republic units and adds in the brutal efficiency of the Separatist Alliance.
Obi & Rex
These guys start in different squads and just kinda do their own thing, but Rex is still benefiting a lot from Obi via Knowledge and Defense. Often I’m using Get a Move On, Soldier to move Rex. Force isn’t at too much of a premium in this list so I’ll often use Defensive Maneuver as well. With two dashes Rex doesn’t often need a move action to get where he wants, which opens up a focus or take cover action and an attack. Motoring around the board with Rex gaining 2-3 hunkers and also healing 2-3 via Bring It On Clankers feels great. Then if they try to shoot Rex he can do even more healing and dash.
Obi-Wan is going to jump around, hitting things with 10 dice attacks and being a pain to damage. What else do I need to say?
Obi and Rex can both go and do their own thing while still supporting each other with range agnostic abilities. In this manner they offset the Separatist portion of the list which is more more focused on relative positioning between the units. It’s very helpful to have a couple units that can operate independently as needed. Dooku & His Droid Boys
When everything is clicking just right droids can be very tough to beat. They get so many out of activation moves to get around the battlefield, but if you don’t get Dooku or Kalani early then droids lack in-activation moves to get in position early. MagnaGuards can be especially timing sensitive in the early game since they have no ranged attack. As such, they’re a great candidate to go in reserve then get put on the bottom of the deck with Obi’s Patience ability. Once things get going though, it’s wild. Big 8 dice attacks from B1s and 7 dice attacks from Magnas if Kalani is nearby. Or 6 dice magna attacks if Brave, but Foolish is triggered (you could do a 6 dice B1 attack but Magnas are just a better candidate most of the time).
Because of the reliance on inter-unit synergy I tend to use the Separatists in central positions while Obi and Rex deal with the flanks. Kalani makes the whole thing tick but is very susceptible to melee attacks, so keeping a MagnaGuard in front of him is a great policy. Other Things to Consider The list starts with 7 force and can refresh it. Droids don’t spend much of it so go crazy with Rex/Obi/Dooku. Be careful with the reserve slot. It feels bad to draw magnas or B1s early before they’ve been moved by Dooku or Kalani, so you want to be able to toss them in reserve (or at the bottom of the deck for B1s). I’m pretty much never reserving anyone but Obi or Magnas the first time I go through the deck. Piggy-backing off the above, don’t be afraid to move Dooku up early. He brings the Magnas forward, has a very serviceable ranged attack and he can stand up to a few attacks. I’ve never regretted activating Dooku early or using the Shatterpoint card on him if I draw that early.
Final Conclusions
I think Friends of Qui-Gon is quite strong, probably better than a “pure Separatist” version swapping out Obi/Rex for Asajj/Jango. It’s probably a bit worse than full clones and a bit worse than fulls mandos over the course of a long event just due wanting a fairly specific draw order from the deck. However, I think it’s ceiling when everything is firing properly is probably the highest out there for wave 1 lists.
What kind of mix and match lists have you been trying with the wave 1 content?
