Ewoks: The terror of Endor and the only thing Darth Vader truly fears. When mother nature says enough is enough and creates scions of chaos… nightmare fuel dressed in a cute plushie disguise. Don’t get them wet after dark, am I right? Gremlins anyone?
Okay so why do we play Ewoks? Because they are derpy and ridiculous and it’s borderline humiliating to lose to them. I personally play them because I enjoy the challenge and I like the chaos energy they bring to the table. Are they good? Well… Let’s deep dive into them and see.
How They Play
When considering Ewoks, it can be difficult to know how to play them correctly. They are quick and have some good synergies but they also seem to die easily. My gut reaction was to play them like a Zerg swarm and just rush them at points, but this resulted in me burning out early. So I tried out the glass canon approach thinking they had decent damage output, but this isn’t exactly accurate either, as very few Ewoks actually hit hard enough to match wounds with other factions. Chirpa might be able to handle most anything in the game but that’s not reason enough to consider them a high damage faction.
I think it’s best to analyze what makes them good and create a strategy revolving around that. On a scale of 1 to 10, here is where I consider Ewoks power level to be at.
The Furious Furry Fighters
Synergy – 9/10
Movement – 8/10
Power – 5/10
Attrition – 4/10
Map Control – 6/10
Why Play Ewoks?
I should specify that when I refer to Ewoks, it’s everything in the Yub Nub and Ee Chee Wa Maa! Squad packs. This includes Leia, Freedom Fighter and C-3PO and R2D2. Overall, Ewoks are fragile models and are all lackluster at best. They have 0 diceless displacement and can struggle to deal with steadfast units. They have low health pools with poor defensive expertise. What are they even good at?
Looking at the strengths listed above, Ewoks have some of the greatest synergies in the game and Leia, Freedom Fighter will only ever increase that potential. Turning any Rebel you can think of into an Ewok allows for interesting builds that can accomplish various tasks however you see fit to use them. Logray and Chirpa give outstanding bonuses in the form of extra dice. Logray and Wicket skyrocket the Ewoks’ mobility by dashing multiple models through tactic abilities or innate passives. The faction has access to Coordinated Fire: Pin and Coordinated Fire: Expose allowing your models to either go aggressive or play for control. The models individually are weak, but as a whole they have outstanding synergies and buffs that allow for a fearsome force when played properly, and nothing is quite as frightening as a Leia + Logray List. Let’s see why!
Leia, Freedom Fighter
This model is the keystone of Ewok gameplay, even if she isn’t technically an Ewok herself. Her passive to turn Rebels into Ewoks and visa versa opens the door to fun and unique builds. I mean, just look at what it does to C-3P0 and R2D2, one of the worst models in the game.
This is an example of how “fun” Ewoks get to be. Being with Leia means C-3P0 is an Ewok which, according to Goodness Gracious Me, also means they can never be attacked at range. You can have a model that can NEVER be shot at ranged EVER. Cry more, Iden.
So as you start to experiment with Ewoks, know that you will always start here.
Her tactic, Infiltrate, globally advances any Rebel on your team; this is outstanding but keep in mind that Ewoks in the mid-game tend to get bogged down with engagement, meaning your advance is usually just a dash. I’ve had a few instances where the model I want to move just can’t get there thanks to being engaged.
Coordinated Fire: Expose is often considered the strongest CF in the game, and for good reason. Ewok damage output can be pretty low, so dishing out expose from one of your sturdiest models is extremely helpful.
Leia has decent defensive stats with a 5/6 that interchanges based on stance. When she hunkers, she can have 7+ dice vs ranged easy. It’s for this reason that I often keep her in the melee stance to increase that defensive value since hunkers are so easy for her to acquire.
Her offensive capabilities are somewhat lacking. Overall, she’s fine but what you will often find is that 3 expertise feels bad. One crit and a reposition doesn’t really give you what you need but it does mean that Leia can be surprisingly mobile. Her other abilities help with that too between defensive maneuvers (more hunker!) and explosive charge. Don’t forget that you can pick an inactive point to bomb other models while dashing your own. I’ve done this trick a few times to push models back onto proper points and apply incidental damage to the enemy!
Logray
This model is the reason you play Ewoks. Sure, Leia pulls it all together but Logray is what makes it work. I have a lot to say here so I’m going to jump right into it.
Logray’s tactic easily rates as one of the best tactics in the game. It has two parts:
- All warriors get to heal and hunker. This can mean either taking off a condition or taking off 2 damage.
- All scouts get to dash.
The only requirement for both is that the model must also be an Ewok.
Leia is both a warrior and a scout which adds to her survivability while also making it very difficult to keep her pinned down. Plus it’s ANOTHER way for her to get hunkers! There are also plenty of other scouts to build a list with to give you the most mobile tactic in the game. This is kept in check by the fact that your supports can die easily, but early on this tactic is devastating for your opponent.
Elder’s Command is another dash and 5 dice attack option that several other models have. It’s limited to supporting Ewoks but can be quite helpful in moving your models even further or going for that checky push. There are some Rebel supports, such as Zeb, that really love making 5 die attacks.
Protective Wards deserves mention as Ewoks have pretty poor health stats overall. The extra die Logray provides is important but range limited. This is why the Zerg Rush tactic doesn’t always work well, since your models will leave his range 4 bubble. Supports, however, only need one model to be within 4 for both models to get the extra die, so keep that in mind.
Secret Ingredients allows for force refreshes and dashes on wounding the enemy but I’ve found it really just means Logray is a 4 force primary. Sometimes the dash helps but more often, you just are flipping a coin to see if you can get a force back. This ability will only work on Ewok attacks though.
List Building
Unless you are going full Ewok with Logray/Chirpa, your list will likely consist of Leia which is why we are going to build a Logray/Leia list today. Logray is great because of all the dashing he allows but in order to benefit from that, you have to take scouts. Here are all the scout options in Rebels that you can take:
- Ewok Trappers
- Rebel Commandos
- Leia, Freedom Fighter
- Chewie (Secondary)
- Paploo
Han Solo is technically a rebel scout, but it’s impossible for him to ever benefit from Logray at this point in the game.
With those units in mind, here is the highest scout count you can get. I added Luke as our secondary under Leia since there are no other 3pt secondaries in Rebels currently.
This list allows Logray to heal Leia, then move 4 units with Chewie, Trappers, Leia, and Commandos off his tactic. That’s a ton of dashing and doesn’t even account for his Dash/5 dice attack active! I should underline that this list is strictly to take advantage of the scout dashes and you can decide for yourself if you want to go in a different direction with a different list.
For example, you can pivot to add Wicket who has amazing potential being able to dash supports and himself with a tactic as well as being fairly tanky. Zeb, as mentioned earlier, is a solid option for a 5 dice attack with Logray and allows you to have a tanky support option with that extra defense die from Logray. Ewok Hunters are fantastic at pinning the enemy and work well vs Droids and other armies that want to do lots of out of activation movements.
But for this article, I’m going to focus on how to play the scout variation and maximize Logray’s dashing potential.
Strategies
Scout Rush
Zerg Rush-style play has its downsides but if you are going to do it, this is the list that will succeed. What strategy you follow will greatly depend on how the pregame goes. Are you going first? What scenario are you playing? What list is your opponent playing? All of these options lead to you needing to adapt, and likely adapt more than your opponent will.
The start of the game determines your pacing as an Ewok Player. If you are going first, I recommend playing on Shifting priorities. This list is very fast and if you pull Logray or Trap on turn 1, then you need to press the advantage. Here is a recommendation for starting deployment.
The concept is relatively simple: You are trying to position your models in such a way that Logray can move all of them onto the center line. In this configuration, both Commandos can take two center points while Leia can cover a back point that might get left behind. Meanwhile, your trappers push up to the third center line; they will need Logray’s help with “Elder’s Command” to officially take the point. Logray can push up to the center to increase his aura range or hide on the left flank to limit enemy models that might want to go for him. Whatever you decide, you end up taking four points with your supports and with several hunker tokens applied. Trappers may be 7 health but against ranged attacks they would potentially roll 9 dice thanks to hunker and Logray’s defensive buff! This will roughly be your positioning after a turn 1 Logray.
This opening sets the tone of the entire struggle and requires you to keep pressure on your opponent no matter the cost. Your models are incredibly mobile on their own, and Logray just sweetens the pot. Luke gets a free reposition, an advance, and a climb action plus a shot if needed. This is an example of a model that can be on any point you want him to be on. Is your opponent taking the left flank and threatening the middle? Use Leia’s tactic on herself so she can advance twice and reinforce it! Ewoks using this strategy are about taking points early and reacting to what your opponent does to maintain the advantage.
But keep in mind! Ewoks are still squishy and you will eventually start to lose the attrition battle so don’t be surprised when you find yourself in the second struggle with limited active models.
The Furball
This second strategy centers on being patient and using your mobility to strike out at your opponent’s mistakes. You are playing the long game here in hopes that your natural defensive buffs and quick speed will allow you to out-position your opponent. I use this strategy if I’m going second against an attrition style list or on Sabotage Showdown. The goal is to keep your units close to each other so that they can all react efficiently against your opponent’s aggression, prevent pushes they may apply with cluttered models, benefit from defensive auras, and limit your opponent’s reach. When going second, you always get see where your opponent deploys first. Your Furball deployment should be on one side of the map away from what you perceive to be the danger. Here is an example deployment against an aggressive list on Sabotage Showdown.
In this example, we are against Han Solo and we are desperately afraid of him. This means we are going to deploy opposite of him to limit his influence on the game. The right zone we will hold with just one commando placed farther back in the hopes that he can’t be targeted easily. We keep our other commando on the left point but within range of Chewie for his expertise bonus and Logray for the extra die. This commando rolls 8 dice with a free expertise vs ranged giving him the best chance possible to survive against something trying to shoot him turn 1.
Our goal in this game is to win the left zone no matter what the opposing player throws at it. Ideally, we will have more meaningful activations since our units are much faster than the average squad which allows us to react with attacks while they likely just hunker onto points. Eventually, we overwhelm the left side and take their back point while occasionally throwing someone like Luke across the map to retake a right point. This strategy requires patience in positioning and awareness in what your opponent is capable of. Take advantage of your extended deployment with the commandos to favor one side of the board especially since you have several strong auras when playing Ewoks. Showdown can be a slow struggle 1 and while you might start to lose initially, you can easily recover and win the struggle through attrition. It feels great watching a powerhouse like Vader have to activate with no real target to attack.
Matchups
I’ll conclude with some advice on the current meta and what matchups Ewoks want to see and which ones they struggle against.
The Bad
Empire: This might not be much of a surprise, but the Empire is a dreadful matchup for Ewoks. Iden can do everything Logray can do with the added bonus of wounding more consistently. A turn 1 Iden or ISF play will often result in an Ewok support being wounded before you even get to play the game, even with all your natural defensive buffs. The Empire just has consistent damage and great mobility allowing them to keep up with Ewoks and eventually out attrition them.
Galactic Republic (Obi Wan): You may have noticed by now that Ewoks don’t have any diceless displacement. They also don’t have many models with easy access to double shoves, meaning steadfast models are a massive pain to deal with. Obi Wan allows clones to keep their hunkers for steadfast and even if you do manage to push them off, they just remove a hunker and hop back on. Their weakness is their low health pool but outside of the rebel commandos, you aren’t going to be easily taking down clones. Leia does have the ability to strip models of their hunkers and you should honestly consider using it, but my real advice is to just avoid this matchup if possible.
The Good
Kanan: It doesn’t really matter much what Kanan pairs himself with, Ewoks have a decent time against it all. Why? Because sticks and stones really do hurt the Ghost Crew’s bones. Ewoks have fantastic ways to wound without needing to attack which completely avoids Kanan’s revenge trigger. Traps, Chewie’s 5 dice damage ability, and Leia’s explosive charge are all reasons you want to attack just for pushes and pins. The goal should be to displace your opponent and get them nearly wounded so you can finish them with a well-timed Leia bomb. Be wary not to fall behind in attrition though! Your supports are still squishy and Chewie/Leia can’t hold all the points on their own. Sometimes you just need to cave in and wound your opponent early if it means potentially winning a struggle. Those moments should probably be reserved for just killing “Rebel” models though and not Spectre, if you can avoid it.
Confederacy of Independent Systems: There are many similarities between Ewoks and Droids that would lead you to think this is a mirror match. The differences, however, are extremely important in why Ewoks have an edge. Droids are highly mobile with powerful stat block units such as Magna Guard or Jango. They synergize well with each other, pack a punch, and can resist most counter attacks thanks to high health pools and protection.
But Ewoks have pins. A lot of pins, in fact. Keeping the CIS faction slow allows for Ewoks to control the battlefield and wounding will eventually happen as most droids have rather poor defenses. A rebel commando should almost always full tree a droid rolling 2 or 3 blocks.
Conclusion
So are they good? We all know it’s not that simple. Ewoks can win but they also can lose… pretty easily, I would say. They have some terrible matchups but they do have a place in the meta. I personally play them now just to deal with Kanan while my other premier list can focus on Empire. They are a blast to play and extremely versatile! You have to get creative when handling low stamina models and I know you can do it. If there is anything an Ewok can do, it’s catch your opponent by surprise.
Go smash some helmets my friends.
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