Updated December 2024
If you’re a big fan of war crimes but you don’t want to play Anakin, have I got the unit for you!
“Chopper” (C1-10P), Spectre-3 is available in the Make the Impossible Possible squad box.
Well, 4pc is pretty standard for a support. One body, however, is not very common (though becoming more so). One body means less objective play and fewer attacks, so we’ll have to see if Chopper’s kit makes up for that deficiency. The only note here is that Spectres are quite mix-and-matchable with both primaries being 8sp and all other units being 4pc, so that gives some flexibility when list building.
Eight stamina is just fine for a support, nothing really to see there.
Mayhem is where the crimes are committed. It’s a fun ability and quite handy in a pinch. Usually, I only break it out when I’m hoping for an expose before a critical attack. Strain and disarm are also great at disrupting future activations so they bring good value as well. If you are fishing for any one condition (expose, for example) be aware that it’s about a 70% chance that you will get the one condition you are hoping for.
Rocket Booster is a pretty standard ability. Extra ways to move in-activation are good!
“Chopper,” Sometimes You Do It Right comes up relatively infrequently but can be a high-impact ability when it does. Chopper won’t be one-shotting enemies, but with some setup he can deliver a killing blow. Most supports can’t move others during their activation, so potentially giving out a reposition can be a big deal when it comes to flipping objectives. Chopper can also use it on himself if he needs to zoom somewhere. Range 2 is pretty short, however, so keep this in mind as you position prior to the kill.
Sturdy Construction is where Chopper makes his mark. Protection is a pretty common, and good, ability that will often keep him alive longer than expected. Immunity to pin and disarm is big for a number of reasons. For Chopper’s activation, he is usually limited to “move and hit someone” so both of those stay effective without pesky conditions getting in the way (strain can still mess him up, of course). Out-of-activation Chopper is a great target for movement effects since he will never be pinned. Defensively, pin immunity particularly can save some damage. There are a number of popular support units with pin early in their tree (ARF, Rebel Commandos) so avoiding double-pin is an extra damage saved in addition to staying unpinned. The disarm immunity does this to an extent, too, but early tree disarms are much less common.
Is That One of Ours? is another piece of defensive tech that Chopper can make good use of. If I reserve any Spectre in the first struggle, it’s usually Chopper. If he goes last then he can immediately go back in the deck and become immune to ranged attacks again. While he waits, he can hold onto home objectives quite well since it will tough for enemies to knock him away while he’s immune to ranged attacks.
Is this tree great? Not really, considering this is a unit that only makes one attack. Chopper maxes out at six damage, so he won’t be one-shotting anything in the game. However, Chopper is pretty good at shoving. Whether at range or in melee, he needs just one expertise to get a crit which can become a shove if it gets through. It’s not flashy, but reliable shove access can keep his turns from feeling like total duds. Eight dice in melee is nothing to sneeze at either.
Defensively, four dice is not a lot at range. However, Chopper won’t be defending at range all that often. In melee, five dice with decent expertise isn’t bad considering Chopper’s Sturdy Construction.
| + Pros | – Cons |
| Very durable | Single body support that makes one attack |
| Great target for out-of-activation movement effects | Often has a low-impact activation |
Two-body supports are a big upgrade over one-body supports. However, they can’t do much in the objective game when they are wounded. Chopper might not do a ton during his own turn, but if someone needs to be dashed onto an objective then he’s usually a great choice. Not only will he not be pinned, he’ll probably be unwounded and able to contest. He carries the valuable Spectre tag, meaning he superpowers Kanan. If people don’t wound Chopper because Kanan is around, they can’t always pivot and condition him up due to his Sturdy Construction. In those circumstances, Chopper can kind of do what he wants. Condition immunity usually gives Chopper the edge over Zeb when you are only taking one Spectre support. Outside of Spectres, Chopper can work in a number of rebel lists, but a big part of that is rebels lack appealing support options outside of Rebel Commandos. It won’t take much for a new two-body support to come out and take Chopper’s spot. Wherever you put him, include a number of units that can move him around and use him as an objective sitter.
Astromechs in Star Wars always seem to get the job done. Chopper isn’t a flashy Shatterpoint unit, and taking him in a world of two-body supports can be a bit of a hard pill to swallow. However, at the end of the day, he is usually hanging around and able to get the job done. He’ll usually be alive and unpinned, and maybe even immune to ranged attacks, so make sure you can leverage that and get him onto objectives!
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