First, a huge thank you to Atomic Mass Games for sending us a review copy to paint up and review! Star Wars properties like Andor and Rogue One are some of my favorite properties in the Star Wars universe, due in part to their more grounded approach to the world in which their stories occur. The Rebel Sleeper Cell absolutely encapsulates the vibe of these properties, and I was absolutely jazzed when my box came in the mail.
What’s in the Box?
The box contains all of the parts needed to build six Rebel Sleeper Cell models, an Astromech Droid, and a Marksman. Everything went together very easily, and I loved that I could mix and match the included heads with whichever body pose you wanted, and the kit even included some non-humanoid heads that you can use, too.
What’s on the Card?
The Rebel Sleeper Cell is a 70-point Special Forces unit that starts with 6 models without any upgrades. They have an envious red attack dice with their Det Packs in melee that also has Impact 1 if you’re facing more heavily armored opponents, or a black dice and a white dice if you’re using their Blaster Pistols (which also have the Suppressive keyword). They can also shoot up to Range 2 with their Blaster Pistols and roll 2 black attack dice. This unit is meant to be mobile and have a large impact when it chooses to strike, and the rules on its card help that translate to the game. They convert surges to hits and blocks when attacking or defending, and with Nimble and Tactical 1, this unit will always have a Dodge token and will almost always be able to get some hits through thanks to gaining an Aim token after it makes a standard Move action. They can also move into position early in the game with Scout 2. Like a lot of Rebel units, they are incredibly fragile with white defense dice and only 1 Wound per model, but will still be rather tough to move with 2 Courage..
Unique Upgrades
For 5 points, you can include an R4 Astromech. This is a great upgrade as it continues to stack Dodge tokens on the unit, and synergizes well with Nimble. For 28 points, you can add a Rebel Marksman to this unit. Not only is the model cool as Hell, but I think this marksman works well with what this unit wants to do, which is disrupt enemy plans and not be engaged.
Field them or Forget Them
The problem with this unit is that it’s in the same category as Rebel Commandos, and is more expensive before you add any upgrades. You do get a couple more models, and can possibly overwhelm your opponent by the sheer weight of dice that you are rolling. I do think this unit has a place in your army if the meta you are facing has a ton of armored units in it and you need a way to counter it. Additional upgrades you may want to consider for this unit include Recon Intel, Emergency Transponder, and Up Close and Personal. But it means you have to sink points into them that could be spent elsewhere. I think one of these units completely tricked out with upgrades could be useful in a Rebel force as long as you have the points to spend on them. They can hold a flank fairly well, but I don’t know that I would build my entire strategy around this unit.
Did I get it right? Completely wrong? Somewhere in-between? Let us know in the comments below!
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