STAR WARS: SHATTERPOINT LEAD BY EXAMPLE
A Plo by Plo account of Atomic Mass’ latest release
Designer: Will Shick | Publisher: Atomic Mass Games
After a relatively slow period for Shatterpoint releases, Atomic Mass has been ramping it up recently. You can’t move for squad packs featuring the likes of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, murderous Ewoks and now Jedi Master Plo Koon. You know, Plo Koon. The dude that sits next to Samuel L. Jackson in the prequels and doesn’t really say anything. Plo Koon! He gets killed immediately when Order 66 is executed. PLO KOON!
Ok, perhaps that’s a bit unfair. Plo Koon does have a significant part to play in the Clone Wars animated series, which is better than the prequels anyway, right? Despite the fact this Jedi Master may not have the pull of some of the bigger names, the dynamism of the poses in this squad pack are going to immediately attract some diehard Shatterpoint fans.
It seems a while since we’ve had dramatic miniatures of leaping Mandalorians or the brutal Jedi Hunters but this set feels like we’re back on familiar ground. Plo Koon is seen blocking a potential shot with his lightsaber, while Ahsoka poses calmly and the 104th Troopers are modelled mid-battle. However, it’s Commander Wolffe that really catches the eye, as he dramatically dives out of the way of danger. Superb! Even better, all these minis were super easy to put together with minimal parts and the decorative base of Wolffe is just *Dexter Jettster’s kiss*. More of this please Atomic Mass.
Now, you may be thinking you’ve seen Padawan Ahsoka before… and you’d be right. This miniature was a pre-order exclusive at launch, so some players will have had her since last year. However, it’s good to see Atomic Mass offering her to the masses who missed out upon her initial release. What’s more, she’s a Secondary Unit (unlike the Primary version of Ahsoka in the core set), so you can finally run her and Anakin Skywalker in the same squad together - just like an episode of the Clone Wars.
In terms of how this squad pack plays, first up you’ll only have space to run Ahsoka or Commander Wolffe as your Secondary Unit because you can choose just one. As you might expect, the latter combines slightly better with the Clone Troopers included thanks to the fact he can move fellow troopers around and gets a bonus for attacking an enemy in melee who is engaged with another Clone Trooper unit. This focus on melee bonuses puts Wolffe and the 104th in a really interesting design space, compared to previous releases which tended to be better at ranged combat. In fact, Wolffe feels like a more combat-focused secondary for your Clone Troopers - compared to the likes of Commander Rex - and we’re interested to see how he combines with the previously released 501st or 212th clones.
Plo Koon, meanwhile, is fantastic at moving your characters and also your opponent’s characters around the board. In a game where objectives play such a key element, it’s so powerful to be able to move enemies off an objective or push your models across the battlefield early in a game. He’s also got a great ability called “We can do this the Simple Way or the Difficult Way” which allows troopers or Padawan characters to use Plo Koon’s defence stat, then move. This feels really thematic and ties in with a Jedi Master helping potentially weaker units. We can see Plo Koon finding his way into plenty of lists!
❚ PLAY IT? YES
Lead by Example is a very versatile and exciting Squad Pack, with some dynamic miniatures. Plus, it’s great to have Padawan Ahsoka to run alongside Anakin from the core set.