Hunting Banthas
Well, the Bantha Rider has arrived for Imperial Assault and
we are now experiencing just how rough something like this fast-moving lump of
fur can be. The real key to this beast is the two methods of direct damage that
they bring to the table: Stampede, where they just step on any figure that
happens to be in their way at the end of their movement for 1 damage, and
Trample, where they use an action to roll a red die and do that much damage to
up to three adjacent models.
These abilities are rough, but would be easily dealt with if
not for support cards. The first is Beast Tamer. This card allows the Bantha to
get in a free move, and this works even if the Bantha is stunned (the Tamer
grants 5 movement points to the Bantha, which then clears the Stun and then spends
the points – you do cost the Bantha one action with that Stun, though). This
allows the Bantha to just truck across the board: 15 spaces with a triple move,
17 if they have Gideon as well and use him first. Or, once the guy has gotten
close to your people, Tamer allows the Bantha to 1) move for Stampede, 2)
Trample, then 3) attack whoever is left standing after all that. Ow ow ow. And
you have to expect that if they are playing Devious Scheme, which they
absolutely should, they will do that last once none of your people can react,
and then do it all again with their first activation of the second turn.
That’s bad enough. But wait, there’s more. Gideon, remember
him? He can move anything in his line of sight. And what is that special rule
about Line of Sight? Figures do not block line of sight to or from Massive
figures. So even if there is another Bantha Rider in between Gideon and the
forward Bantha, he can still make the furry beastie move two spaces and tap
dance on your figures feet some more. Pull a command card like Field Tactician?
That’s another opportunity. Opportunist? There is another 3 movement points to
stomp around on. Close the Gap? Yep, the Bantha is a Brawler. Up to two more
figures can get smushed. Single Purpose allows the Bantha to Trample twice
(remember, they could still have the Tamer move the guy first). To The Limit
can allow an attack after a Trample. And none of that includes the purpose
built Jundland Terror cards that can be brought, allowing more stompy and
tramply action at the end of a round. There are probably other nasty things in
command cards that I haven’t seen or thought of. But you get the picture:
command cards and support characters are awesome for Mr. Fluffy.
So what they heck do you do about such a beastie? Well, the
first thing should be pretty obvious. DON’T BUNCH UP. Yeah, I know you like
hanging out with C-3PO, and getting Royal Guard protection is a fine thing, but
none of that means squat when a Bantha steps on your face. And we’re not
talking about separating like you did when Elite Rebel Saboteurs could put a
Blast 5 on your butt, I mean really spread out. The Bantha’s base is 3x2
squares, and they can Trample anyone adjacent.
Your safest bet is to have no figure within 4 spaces of another: that
will prevent the giant tap-dancer from hitting more than one figure. When you
can’t do that, make sure that everyone is at least 2 spaces away from each
other, so that at least you can’t get more than one figure both Stampeded and
then Trampled. But since Trample is the real killer, 4 spaces is safest.
Second, deny the Bantha player command cards. Do whatever
you can to prevent him from holding terminals. Put Strain on his weaker
characters (don’t bother with the Bantha, they’ll just take damage). If you
have a mechanic like Mak’s to discard cards from his hand, do it. Without those
boosts, the Bantha isn’t quite as scary. And shoot that twit Gideon between the
eyes if you can get to him.
Then, just pour fire onto those Banthas. They are beefy, but
with no defense die, they do go down pretty quick. Putting Stun on them is also
great to prevent them from being moved outside of their activation and to deny
them an action. But remember: Trample isn’t an attack, nor is it leaving their
space. Stun will NOT stop it.
Finally, the Banthas are going to change the meta
drastically. The clumps of Stormtroopers and Rebels around Leia and C-3PO are
going to be at a serious disadvantage. But that doesn’t mean such models are
useless. Look for Deployment groups with Surges for damage. Pierce is nice but
it does exactly squat against a Bantha. Elite Stormtroopers, on the other hand?
Using Squad Training I was able to consistently put 14-15 damage on Banthas
with one activation of a full group. And remember, 4 distance between each other
is just enough to run over to another member of the squad and get that reroll.
This is also a great opportunity for Provoke. Put a Trooper adjacent to a
non-Bantha to force that other group to activate next, and that will allow
another big group of Troopers to pour fire into the furball.
And this could easily bring in some models that we have
previously seen almost completely ignored in competitive play: other Massive
figures. Remember, a Massive figure can’t enter a space occupied by another
Massive figure. So suddenly putting out that Repulsor means that is one avenue
of approach that a Bantha won’t be taking, and you can still shoot through it
to hit the Bantha, assuming the twin blasts of the tank don’t finish it off
first. General Weiss, with his ability to bring back lots of Elite
Stormtroopers, is looking mighty tempting as the world’s scariest Bantha road
block.
No question, the Bantha is changing a ton about the way we
play this game. But Mr. Fluffy is not ending the game, and the dual Bantha
Rider list is certainly not another 4x4.
