Shatterpoint had immense success with its debut on the Grand Tournament circuit. Events worldwide have shown us that the new Star Wars miniatures game by Atomic Mass Games is ready to compete. The Las Vegas Open is a culmination of these events, leading to a tie in the largest tournament outside the French Mini-Legends GT in Bourges, with 54 players. This time last year, Shatterpoint had nothing but casual games happening at the premier tabletop convention, but a lot can change in one year!
Why LVO?
There are a plethora of competitive conventions throughout the year, with the upcoming Adepticon being a significant turnout for AMG, so why choose the Las Vegas Open? When comparing the convention to others, LVO has a few standout features. For one, its size is overwhelming. Held in the convention hall of the Rio, this convention runs every major tabletop game in the world with room to spare. The “rundown” hotel has certainly seen better days, but the cost is affordable thanks to Vegas’ notoriously cheap flights and reasonable room rates. LVO is an exciting location with a massively ambitious scene that appeals to casual and competitive players alike.
There were three events held for Shatterpoint, and most of this article will focus on the Main Event to give a meta-analysis of units used, missions selected, and matchups. That being said, I attended LVO this year and would be remiss if I didn’t give a brief overview of the wonderful side events provided.
Frenemies was a game mode released by AMG at Adepticon 2024. It limits a player’s list building by preventing tags from crossing between squads. For example, you could not run an entire Galactic Empire team because neither squad has the Empire tag. You would instead run one squad as Empire and the other as Rebel or whatever you choose to play with.
I was skeptical when this event initially came out, as there weren’t enough ways to create unique lists. Obviously, standout pairings such as Vader1/Dooku would dominate the format. I’m pleased to say that my skepticism is no longer warranted. Shatterpoint has finally hit the appropriate level of models and tags, allowing for extremely fun pairings and challenging matches. My games in this format were more invigorating and challenging than the main event simply because they shook what we, as players, knew to be the meta.
The Sunday event was a team tournament I did not participate in, but it had a fantastic turnout. Team events in Shatterpoint are played with two-person teams, and each person controls one squad’s actions. It’s a chill way to play the game after an exhausting weekend of competition. There is something to be said about playing a game with four people. If you are a newer player or aren’t, this format will help you learn how others play and build your skills for future events.
The Meta at LVO 2025
Let’s dive into some numbers, shall we? With 54 players, a significant standout is the mission selection. Unfortunately, it isn’t easy to get exact numbers from longshanks consistently now because not everyone fills out lists properly. This is based on what we can find.
- Never Tell Me The Odds – 18
- Shifting Priorities – 12
- Sabotage Showdown – 12
- Not Listed – 12
Never Tell has taken the lead as the most picked mission pack, and while it doesn’t appear like that was a large margin, let’s break down what mission packs people were winning with. In the Top 8, 7 of the 8 players took Never Tell as their mission pack, with only one person picking Shifting. This tells us that the top-end players are more comfortable winning with Never Tell than any other mission pack and that you will be fighting an uphill battle if you aren’t prepared for it.
So, what lists work with that mission? We will answer that when we review the top 8, but for now, let’s go over the unit selections for the event. The overall most taken units were as follows:
- Dark Troopers – 18
- Gideon Hask – 17
- Death Trooper Escort – 17
- Commander Iden – 16
- Imperial Special Forces 16
- Agent Kallus – 16
- Rebel Commandos – 15
- Fifth Brother – 15
- Moff Gideon – 15
Most units beyond this point are under double digits, with the next closest being The Mandalorian and Kanan at 13. It’s undoubtedly impressive that Empire has such a solid showing, with Commander Iden and Moff Gideon boxes clearly being the most popular standalone boxes to bring to a major event.
Dark Troopers are well above the cut for all supports in the game and arguably the best single model you can take, regardless of faction identity. With 8 health, protection, and above-average defensive expertise, the Dark Troopers are meant to take a point and not get punished. They are immune to Pin and have a force jump, so mobility is seldom a concern.
Meanwhile, Hask and Death Trooper Escort hold the title for most brought secondaries. Hask provides an extra strike to your team’s attacks, giving them consistency, while DTE provides insane mobility to your support or himself. I have firsthand experience with an opponent rushing across the board at the top of turn 1 to take my back point with DTE and leaving me the problematic choice of how to handle him, especially when he can reposition back to point for a force after an attack against him.
As for primaries, Commander Iden Versio is a clear-cut winner. While taken the most by the meta of LVO, did she perform the best? Spoilers: She did. But why do players take her? Remember that all the top 5 characters are Empire (6 if you count Kallus, which you shouldn’t), so Iden isn’t the sole reason she is taken to the table. With a great team behind her, her potent weapon, and outstanding speed, Iden is the queen of what makes an aggressive list. She also does so effortlessly as Hask gives her an extra strike, and the ISF starts infiltrating for easy objective access. The only thing Iden and her team doesn’t do well is take a hit.
What Did Well
But let’s move past the numbers on who was taken and see what units reached the end. A couple of standout units had a surprising showing, while some were likely more expected.
For Primaries, Princess Leia, Charming to the Last was brought 10 times, and all 10 players were in the top half. The top 16 alone had six copies of her in it! On revenge triggers, Kanan had 11 showings in the top half out of 13, and 7 of those made the top 16. Rebels might not dominate like Empire, but these primaries are obvious hurdles for Iden and Moff Gideon players. Overall, they have an impressive showing and emphasize that reactive lists do well vs aggressive ones.
Rebel Commandos should be mentioned as a staple pick for pairing with Rebel leaders. Taken 15 times overall, not a single unit was found in the bottom half of players. Commandos end up being the highest-appearing unit in the Top 8. Is this a statement on how good they are as a unit, or just how few options the Rebels have to play with?
With Never Tell being the most popular mission pack, I’m leaning more toward the former, as Commandos do quite well with their extended deployment. The Commandos also hit like a truck and can be versatile on their tree with movement, shoves, and heals or conditions and damage. That being said, anything that does pin and one damage as their first step will have a hard time vs Dark Troopers.
LVO Hot Takes
A few standouts are Luke Skywalker, Daring Hero, who was only taken twice but in the 1st and 9th place Swiss list. Han and Chewie were only taken 5 times, yet 2 made it to the top 8. Dengar was taken 3 times, with 1 reaching the top 8. Lando Calrissian was only taken twice and had a top 8 appearance by Blake “Blokanator.” He also took one of two copies of Elite Squad Troopers in that list.
Some underwhelming results were Cad Bane, Greef Karga, B1 Droids, Hando, Gwarm, and Ig-11, who all were taken no more than 2 times but failed to make the top half. The bounty hunter theme shouldn’t dissuade you from playing them, though, since Shaak-Ti is on the horizon and could potentially help mercenaries struggling to find a home.
Archetypes at LVO
Before we break down the lists in the Top 8, I want to review some of the dominant archetypes from the Swiss. The first and obvious one….
Long Live the Empire
The best part of this list is that it exists solely in two boxes. It’s incredibly easy to buy into and try out for yourself, and I recommend it. Even if you are not an Empire player and don’t get that same satisfaction of laying waste to rebel scum as I do, you should still consider playing them to learn the limits of their strength.
This Empire list can be labeled as aggressive and relentless. I label it a swarm army in which it rushes points quickly and doesn’t push enemies off objectives but straight up eliminates them. The Empire was blessed with long-range and efficient attacks that were all the more brutal by Gideon Hask. The Moff Gideon box offers sturdy and reliable models that can hold points and be a pain to remove. The Iden box is quick and efficient, with easy access to extended deployment, which the mission Never Tell Me the Odds loves.
If you want to pick up Empire, be wary of how aggressive you play. Your models aren’t invincible, and if your opponent has revenge triggers, you WILL have a difficult time. Learn to play with what your opponent can do and be patient in picking your targets.
The Ghost Crew
Rebels, like the Empire, can be built in many different ways, but the Spectre crew is what the Empire fears most. Kanan Jarrus is arguably the best model in the game on his own. His revenge trigger is nearly unstoppable, thanks to the double heal and jump. The attack has amazing expertise, allowing for three damage and a minimum shove almost every time. He can be mobile, has a force push for diceless displacement, and dares your opponent to shoot him with deflect.
But having the best unit in the game isn’t good enough to win. You still have 5 other units to play with, and some Specters don’t shine quite as brightly. Hera is now being used to great success, and we will see more of that in the Top 8. It turns out that being able to tactic move a friendly model, shove an enemy, and reposition while recovering a wounded model can swing many points. This list will not be as easy as Empire, but it’s a fantastic option for aggressive players.
LVO Top 8 Breakdown
The following players made the top 8. I want to list them all by name because ‘making the cut’ on a 54-person event is no small feat. Let’s congratulate Matt, Scott, Kenny, Blake, Justin, Jeff, Jake, and Andrew!
The data going into the top cut is interesting and often looked at at face value. For example, it’s easy to see the numbers and think that The Mandalorian and Kanan were the best represented since 4 out of the 8 players had these two on their lists. While we must acknowledge that there must be some reason those primaries were the most consistent, we must also consider their purpose in that list.
Empire, which dominated the Swiss, had 3 players bring Iden and Moff, although not necessarily together. With so many Empire players in Swiss, a fair amount should represent the top 8, as the odds were just in their favor. But never tell Blake or Jake those odds as they brought unusual lists in Hunter/Lando or Grievous/Lumi or Obi/Hunter. That isn’t to say that these pairings are bad, but they were the only ones to reach this high despite the oppressive nature of Commander Iden’s swarm tactics.
Lando’s Lead
At its core, this is an Empire list. Lando allows fellow scoundrels Hunter and Wrecker to pledge themselves to the Empire. That means an extra strike for the Bad Batch when Hunter will enable them to convert a failure to a strike or expertise. This synergy feels wrong but looks oh-so-good. Did I forget to mention that Elite Squad Troopers can expose targets, too? Now, this is just getting ridiculous.
But let us return to “why were Mandalorian and Kanan so represented?” At a casual level, these models fare well into the Empire matchup. They can outmaneuver the Empire and punish aggression through Kanan’s pistol or The Mandalorian’s reposition and heals. Princess Leia, Charming to the Last, has a decent revenge trigger and was taken in 3 top 8 lists. Indeed, there is a trend of what players feel is good vs. Empire, but this is where it gets interesting.
What Was Played?
With 7 games over 14 lists, the most played unit was Hask and Imperial Special Forces with 6. Dark Troopers were taken 5 times, with Rebel Commandos only at 3. Ezra and Chopper? 2 times. Out of Primaries, it was Iden and Moff Giddeon with 5, and then Kanan with 3.
Now, as lists start to lose games, they can’t be taken again, which will skew the numbers. The winning list was from Scott, and he only took Iden/Moff in all three of his games!
However, when we consider that his other list had Kanan in it, and he played against other Empire players yet still chose to do the mirror instead, we must recognize that Kanan isn’t a de facto solution to playing into Empire.
An important fact we haven’t hit on yet for the top 8 is mission selection. This should be a wake-up call to anyone wanting to play Shatterpoint competitively. Out of the 8 lists, 7 of them took Never Tell Me the Odds. When you consider the advanced deployed units in both Empire and Rebels, it makes sense that that mission is so well received. The last mission taken by Jake was Shifting Priorities, which almost feels like the cheap knockoff to Odds at this point.
The final match was a Rebels vs Empire classic bout among brothers. Kenny and Scott are both brilliant players, and I have no doubt that either could have won that game. Regarding the highest level of gameplay, it all boils down to inches. I felt rather positive after seeing the game unfold, as Iden can be terrifying to play against, and Kanan is a beast of a model. I don’t want those two models to feel unstoppable; frankly, they aren’t. These players won because of fantastic placement, excellent timing, and a fair bit of luck. Congrats to them both.
The top 8 players are masters of their list. They played what they felt comfortable with and were likely some of the best options for piloting such lists. Shatterpoint, especially in a highly competitive setting, will often come down to the most subtle of plays and the slightest of variance, which is why we must not be discouraged by results. That being said, we can take a lot of information from these types of events to determine which models are given that slight edge on the battlefield.
Commander Iden is a beatable model, but LVO has stated her power level loud and clear in the current meta. Maybe you need to join the Empire to defeat her, or perhaps there is an unusual list that stops Moff Giddeon in his tracks which has still yet to be discovered. Either way, I hope this article helps to prepare you for your next event… perhaps Adepticon?
Goonhammer Commentary
Kyle Russell/Bagelbots: So… Iden is fine… right? Making an appearance in three of the top four, and the 4th taking Inferno Squad with Lando shows the dominance they bring to the table. Seeing Iden’s overall win rate was a bit surprising. Showing up in 53 games overall and a 43% win rate goes to show that practice, knowing your list and knowing your match ups is key to making it to the top. As I prep for Adepticon, I know I’m making sure I’m ready for Never Tell Me the Odds, and putting together a crew ready to tackle the Empire. Also, huge shoutout to some excellent players bringing Luminara to a 71% win rate at LVO, with some out of the box pairings like Grievous, Moff Gideon and The Armorer.
Cody Hawkins/tatetothetot: There are many different ways to approach the meta right now and that’s exciting to me. It’s obvious what the big bads are in Iden and Kanan but nothing in this game is unbeatable. I would love to see more Charming Leia and her box used in its entirety. Luke is wicked fast and HanChew is a very underrated support. This event really showed their strengths and that they aren’t on the field enough.
Samuel Sweeten: While this event demonstrated unique lists can work, LVO still demonstrated Iden, or perhaps more accurately Gideon Hask, remains the ruler of the galaxy. Despite this, I think the fact that Iden had a poor overall win rate is a reflection of the fact that familiarity with a list and developing a finely-tuned gameplan is more important than just placing the best possible stats on the table and charging forward.
Matt Cerino/Daimyo Matt: Another theme from the top cut was premiere lists with a mix of an “aggressive” list and a “control” list, myself included. This happens to be my preferred plan going into such a large field. It allows the range to be able to address any of the potential lists across the table. It just requires some practice in being able to predict what your opponent is going to drop against you.
Tom Reuhl/theReuhler: Big thank you to Grimbarian Phil for putting together the data as it was rolling in from the tournament and giving us the push to get this article started!
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