Finally, there is a squad pack to fill in the gray area in the Star Wars universe. The Fistful of Credits squad pack brings some of the most ruthless bounty hunters to Star Wars: Shatterpoint and we inch closer to a Bounty Hunters’ Guild list. Get ready to see what dynamics Cad Bane and Aurra Sing bring to the mix.
Cad Bane leads this ragtag crew, while Aurra Sing helps bring cohesion to A Fistful of Credits, and the Bounty Hunters Support Unit brings unity and coordination. As a squad, they offer versatility and depth; as models, they are a sight to behold. These are some of the best sculpts AMG has created.
Cad Bane, Notorious Hunter
As the primary unit, Cad Bane has nine Squad Points for creation, first at that price currently. Cad’s tags include Bounty Hunter, Mercenary, and Scoundrel, and he has two stances. His first stance is ‘Needs No Introduction,’ leaning heavily on damage and movement. A full walk down his tree can yield eight damage, a solid amount of movement (two jumps, a shove, and a pinned), or some healing and control (two heal, two shoves, and a disarm). This side also yields an extra block with Dogged Tenacity.
His second stance is ‘As Long As I Get Paid,’ which can get up to 9 damage but rolls one less die for ranged and an additional die for melee. You also receive an extra defense die in this stance, bringing a more predictable outcome to get you to the 3+ tier, achieving 2 blocks, a heal, and a jump.
How About You Step Aside?
Step Aside is a unique tactic. It allows Bane to offer the opponent a retreat, allowing them to Dash away from the objective. If they choose to Dash away, they will be Disarmed; if they stay and contest, they will be Restrained and Exposed. It’s up to your opponent decide their fate.
Rocket Boots
Rocket Boots let Cad Bane traverse the map any way he chooses with a jump.
No One Gets Between Me and My Job
Cad Bane is known for working with others and this one gives him some action when another unit activates.. Once an allied unit makes a combat action, you can target a character within a distance of 4 as long as Bane isn’t engaged. Bane deals two more Damage and can jump toward the targeted character if he is within 4 range.
I’ll Take on Any Job … For the Right Price
This ability is for refreshing Cad Bane’s limited force. If any allied character wounds an enemy you can refresh a Force, Bane may Heal 1, then if that character has a Bounty Hunter tag, you can refresh an additional Force.
Aurra Sing
Aurra Sing is a welcome addition to the Bounty Hunter, Mercenary, and Scoundrel tags. She is a powerful and versatile character that will be used in some great lists in Shatterpoint. She adds extra attack/damage, some movement, and a little tag manipulation with her powers to any squad she is attached to.
Aurra lends herself to being a ranged combat damage dealer. Her longer path with six successes will get you nine Damage, Pinned, Strained, Exposed, and Repositioned. You can take the top path to create a more movement-based attack, providing a Pinned, two Dashes, and a Climb, allowing her more mobility with fewer (four) successes.
Double the Contract, Double the Payout
Double the Contract is a simple action. Any combat action from a squadmate can let Aurra attack a different enemy than the first. This will require strategic positioning to make sure you are within range of the right enemy to utilize it.
Hit and Run
Utilizing Hit and Run lets Aurra reposition after a combat action.
Payday
Payday can potentially create synergy into a group that Aurra may not have originally fit, giving her a tag from a recently revealed order card.
Expendable Distraction
After Aurra makes a ranged attack and the enemy is engaged with at least one allied unit that is not wounded, she may add three dice to the attack roll. If the three dice are added, the allied unit receives two damages. A nice way to finish off your opponent though it comes with some risk.
Bounty Hunters Supporting Unit
A Fistful of Credits has some of the best sculptures in Star Wars: Shatterpoint, and the Bounty Hunters bring it to the next level. The sprawled cape of the Devaronian while firing in two directions like an old western shootout and the adorable Chadra-fan with Todo make for some of the most engaging models to date. Thanks to both the sculpts and playstyle, the entire box feels like an old western. In addition to the poses and theme, these characters are dual-era and can be utilized in the Clone Wars and Empire eras.
The Bounty Hunters are rolling sixes on both ranged and melee but have a slight advantage to range with the 2+ unblocked success possibility, which gets lost on the melee. You are running and gunning with the Bounty Hunters, with the option to do more and the ability to grab more tags, depending on your leader.
You can start the skill tree on the top, earning five Damage, two Dashes, a Pin, and giving an Exposed condition. If you take the lower starter tree, you can get additional Damage but lose a Dash.
On the Trail
A free Dash, off to a great start and moving fast!
Tools of the Trade
This can give some versatility to disarming an enemy or adding two extra dice to your melee/ranged combat attack. Having a choice here is great, you’ll always get what you need.
Payday
Just like Aurra Sing, Payday has the potential to create synergy into a group that the Bounty Hunters may not have originally fit—giving them a tag from a recently revealed order card.
Gameplay Tactics
When building a squad, you should consider that Cad Bane only brings two Force to the pool. This box of characters can fit into most lists due to their tag-absorbing abilities. With some synergy between Cad Bane and Jango Fett, there is great potential to refresh the limited Force pool. We will talk about two full squad build-out options:
Strike Team 1:
Cad Bane, Aurra Sing, Bounty Hunters
Count Dooku, Jango Fett, B1 Battle Droids
With a total Force pool of 6, refreshing your pool will be your secondary focus after taking objective points. This list gives a solid amount of mobility with jetpacks and boots with Jango and Bane. You will want to utilize Dooku’s ability ‘Leader of the Separatist Army,’ which can allow any Separatist Alliance tag within 3 to Dash. Since Sing and Bounty Hunters can take on any tag (for a Force), you can move one of four characters in your strike team.
Get Aurra Sing in the fray quickly to get her on a point and utilizing her Hit and Run to reposition. She should be in a shooting position throughout the game. You should then move up Jango so he can take a farther point quickly and then utilize his movement ability to get out just as fast, taking a central position to turn on his overwatch with ‘Not So Fast.’
Five out of six units are ranged attackers. which should be considered when positioning. Make sure they can get range down the field and aren’t stuck behind a building in the direction the enemy is approaching you.
Strike Team 2:
Darth Vader (Jedi Hunter), Jango Fett, MagnaGuard
Cad Bane, Aurra Sing, Bounty Hunters
Utilizing the tactics of the first strike team, you will add the MagnaGuard to the melee fight. Darth Vader, Jedi Hunter, is currently one of the best characters in Star Wars: Shatterpoint, and giving him an opportunity to lead this pack of bounty hunters can work well. Nearly all the tactics are the same, but now Vader can provide additional hitting power for the second melee units (the MagnaGuards).
Moving Vader and the MagnaGuards together in close proximity could create a meat grinder on the objective point you use them to obtain/maintain. The MagnaGuards’ Bodyguard ability can provide additional cover, and non-wounded MagnaGuards can intercede by preventing engaged enemy characters from damaging Vader.
This list makes Aurra Sing and the Bounty Hunters’ ability to take on tags inert; they may feel underutilized. However, they should be covering your tanks as you take points.
The Future of Bounty Hunters, Mercenaries, and Scoundrels
With their ability to slip into almost any list, Bounty Hunters have a ton of potential, but must be fleshed out as a faction. Separatist and Galactic Republic synergy have their place, but we need something to get the Merc faction up and running.
On the horizon is the new squad pack ‘That’s Just Good Business,’ which features Hondo Ohnaka and will give us our second Mercenary primary, allowing for a full strike team of just scum in the Clone Wars era. We could also see some synergy between the upcoming Mandalorian and Han Solo/Chewbacca squad boxes and the Bounty Hunters unit since they are multi-era (assuming the others will be the Galactic Empire era).
The Fistful of Credits squad pack adds a much-needed change from the Jedi/Sith rabble we have seen so far—a heavy, welcome dose of Cad Bane’s distinctive stance and tactical prowess with his ragtag crew in tow. With dynamic sculpts, engaging gameplay mechanics, and a promising future on the horizon, “A Fistful of Credits” sets the stage for bounty hunters to be a formidable strike team, leaving fans eagerly anticipating the next chapter in the ever-expanding saga of Bounty Hunters, Mercenaries, and Scoundrels in the Star Wars: Shatterpoint universe.
