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In The Box
The packaging for Asajj Ventress is very bare bones. This comes with the sprue for the model, the unit card, command cards and a promotional poster. There is a lack of instructions with this expansion, with them being available via a QR code on the reverse of the poster. The poster itself is a beautiful piece or artwork that serves as a good reference for colours when painting the miniature. One of the main drawbacks of this expansion is the lack of upgrade cards. Ventress comes with no upgrade cards at all, meaning you will be required to either use existing force upgrade cards you own, or buy the upgrade card pack 1 (which I would recommend for any expanding army.)
Preparing The Miniature
The plastic used is of excellent quality and really shows the leaps and bounds that Atomic Mass have made with their models since the beginning of the game. It is sturdy and not easily bent or broken, with even the smaller parts feeling robust. Despite the lack of instructions, it is easy to assemble the miniature with only the images on the box, but if needed the instructions can be found using the QR code provided. Ventress can be easily painted after assembly as there are no hidden areas or hard to reach details. The painting itself can be a little tricky solely due to the skin tone. This may not be a problem for more accomplished painters, but unfortunately some of the facial details especially can be a challenge.
On The Table
With 4 different operative options to be had for the Separatist Army and most being good choices it might seem like Asajj Ventress, at 150 points, has stiff competition. One of this operative's greatest strengths comes from her versatility though. Her 3-pip command card gives you a choice of new abilities to take, with bounty and outmaneuver being particularly powerful for her. Always having access to the Relentless ability makes the inclusion of a saber throw upgrade a must, the free attack after a move action gives you the extra option of more dodge tokens, or double move. Speaking of dodge tokens, Ventress can convert these to improve her dice roll using her Jar Kai Mastery. I do not have access to an Offensive/Defensive upgrade card, but can imagine this to be a power combo, giving more punch to her already formidable 8 black dice pool. Round this off with Battle Meditation to allow her to pass her order to another unite and taking advantage of her free dodge for forgoing an order and you have an incredibly high damage potential. Ventress does have her down sides though. The lack of Mastery of the Force means cards such as Force Reflex require a recover action should you wish to include it, or any similar consumable resource. She also has only 5 wounds, giving her the lowest out of all the options for operatives available for the Separatists. Adding the use of dodge tokens for offensive as well as defensive abilities to the low wounds does make it easy for an opponent to capitalize on an overly aggressive playstyle.
Asajj Ventress is an incredibly fun unit to command during a game and looks excellent with an aggressive pose that reflects the abilities afforded the character. The glass cannon character supports a high risk and high reward playstyle that will leave you thrilled with her purely destructive abilities. Unfortunately, the lack of upgrade cards leaves her lacking unless you already have relevant upgrade cards available, or order a card pack 1 to bolster her. This leaves her unable to make best uses of her abilities and not suitable for anyone just starting a CIS army. With that being said if you have the upgrade cards for her I would absolutely recommend purchasing this expansion if you have the upgrades to spare. She is one of the most fun characters in Legion for me, and I hope you too.
