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As the dust settles from the festive season, or at least the destruction of the Death Star, you’ve no doubt got vouchers burning a hole in your e-wallet. You may even have been lucky enough to get a copy of Shatterpoint, the Star Wars skirmish miniature game (from Atomic Mass Games). So, we thought we’d take a look at what your different options are if you want to dip your toe into the game further, fancy having some iconic characters to build and paint, or just an easy pick-up-and-play game with friends. Because of the way the game’s designed, we’re going to look at our favourite sets by era to expand your universe - though we must stress, you can Mix-and-Match just about anything. And at this time of year, it’s quite nice to have a long read as the Bantha milk eggnog settles, isn’t it?
CLONE WARS ERA
Separatist
Twice The Pride – Count Dooku and Appetite for Destruction - General Grievous
Now if you’re thinking of playing Separatists, realistically you’re going to want both of these. Dooku is good, with a potent set of choices between his ranged Force Lightning and melee duelling, though arguably he excels at neither so it’s a question of how you value adaptability in your play style. The Magnaguards, however, are utterly brutal and rather fantastic, quite possibly the most effective melee Support unit in the game (and really, really hard to drop). As such, they form the backbone of pretty much all Separatist lists, so you’d be a fool not to. And, of course, they pair well with the B2 Battle Droids from Grievous, which give you the ranged support - though don’t discount the fact that they are remarkably fast, especially given the usual Separatist movement malarky. Grievous is similarly devastating in melee, with multiple attacks and plenty of variety in his tree, as well as native climb with those scuttling claws of his. Kraken, his secondary, is only 4SP and does a lot of what Kilani does for 5SP in the base game so is a very good shout for keeping your units mobile whilst claiming back-field objectives (plus, it gains Protection and Steadfast when doing so). It’s fair to say that Grievous and the B2s balance one another out, so if you’re only getting one set to expand your core game, I’d go with Grievous... just. However, Dooku also comes with Jango Fett. Jango is a bit of a one-man army, as you’d expect. He’s very fast, he’s very manoeuvrable, and can get just about anywhere on the board you need him to. Don’t overcommit him – don’t lose your head – and save him into the later part of the game to wipe up exposed, wounded characters and lone objectives. Realistically, if you’re playing Separatists, you’ll want both.
Republic
Hello There! – Obi-Wan Kenobi and We Are Brave! – Padmé and Handmaids
Really? Padme? Well, yes, although as awesome as the model is, I would have liked an Episode II Action Padmé sculpt, personally. Bear with me, though. General Kenobi is another fantastic addition to the basic box, with a delightfully irritating Hello There! Pop-up attack: he’s ultra mobile, and absolute nuisance; he also pairs really well with the Bad Batch as a set, complementing them particularly well if you add his secondary, Commander Cody, into the mix: everything starts chaining Trooper bonuses, and you can get a lot of shots off – even your basic 501st from the core box become very threatening with rerolls from Cody. But, no, don’t discount Padme – and especially her Handmaids. Padmé is super sneaky, and Sabé even more so, with in-built bodyguard meaning that, whilst they’re not offensively strong, they are really good at playing the long game. The Handmaids are ridiculously fast and jumpy, and it’s worth remembering that Shatterpoint is a game all about terrain height; so put Kenobi and Padmé together you have unrivalled vertical board control (control, control, you must learn control!)
Lead by Example – Plo Koon, Ahsoka and the Wolf Pack
Plo Koon is a really exciting alternate leader, whether you’re just starting out or wanting to bring balance to the force. As well as standard force push and deflect abilities, he has a double move for trooper or padawan units (which will be great in the new Jedi Council set coming in 2025) as well as the ability to give himself the Exposed condition to give a friendly unit his Defence Expertise chart – and then move towards the attacking enemy. He really beefs up the durability of Trooper swarms, and with plenty of heal of his own, being exposed is rarely a significant disadvantage. The set also comes with a choice of Secondaries, with the reissue of the promo Padawan “Snips” Ahsoka who is, as you’d hope, fast and jumpy. She’s not bad, but must be paired with Plo to get the full benefit of her, which may feel a bit restrictive. Wolfe, on the other hand, dishes out climb but also 2 bonus dice when attacking enemies engaging your troopers. More impressively though is his innate Wolfpack ability, whereby successful dice of Clone Troopers cannot be modified by your opponent if within 5R of another Clone; this is really powerful and messes with a lot of tactics. The Wolfpack likewise can Dash and Focus, laying down Strained as co-ordinated fire: they are, in essence, a better version of the 501st, and this set in many ways feels like a levelling-up of the base game.
REBELLION ERA
Rebels
Real Quiet Like, Yub Nub, Ee Chee Wa Ma! – Endor Leia, Ewoks and Endor Han
One of the most strongly thematic, and unexpectedly potent sets, comes from the back end of RotJ. Now of course Ewoks are very marmite generally, so you have to reconcile how you feel about playing with a bunch of muppets. However, there’s a couple of things worth bearing in mind here. First, the Han set is excellent all-round: he is a good leader with potent shooting on one side and a multi-branched tree on the other that can deal out any and all condition, plus the ability to gain momentum when your opponent wounds one of your units (which, frankly, is a bit bonkers). Chewie is a tank, a 12 Health secondary (that’s as much as Vader, people) for serious close quarters, and the Rebel Commandos have innate Hunker and Infiltrate, so can start up the board in cover from the outset. Couple that with a swarm of Ewoks and you’ve got a very dangerous list. Chewie can also be used to tie up your opponent’s forces whilst not worrying about losing Momentum (relatively speaking) if he goes down thanks to Han. Whilst Leia, Threepio and Artoo are not fantastic, all of the Ewoks are extremely nasty, with the addition of traps meaning you can stack your order deck and adapt to whatever your opponent brings to the table. You can even afford to ditch either Chewie or the Commandos and go all in – I’m a fan of Han, Wicket and Logray, but each to their own – or use Hera from the Spectre set to spice things up (more on her in a bit). For those of us that made their poor parents sit through Ewoks: Caravan of Courage as a child, this is a great set that’s on theme and brings the danger.
Stronger Than Fear and Make the Impossible Possible – Rebels: Spectre
There is no pair of Shatterpoint sets my kids wanted more than this. And with good reason: they are not just thematically strong (as you’d expect), complementing one another perfectly, but a seriously competitive, combative combination.
Kanan is ultra versatile, his stances reflecting his hidden past, giving you the choice of a double dash for a fellow Spectre crewmember or a Heal + force refresh. As well as having the standard deflect and force push, he can also double heal / jump if a fellow Rebel is wounded (+ a 5D attack if it’s a Spectre) – so if, like me, you like to play aggro, this a real asset. Ezra is great as an objective counter, winning ties and able to shove (and potentially pin) supports within 3 – plus, if he can wound them too, gaining an extra momentum. He’s remarkably durable, too, with TRIPLE heal at step 3 of his combat tree! He also gets a free jump if there’s a force user primary within 3; so, together, don’t discount Kanan & Ezra as a team-up with Plo Koon. As for Support, well, Zeb is predictably unsubtle. For a force, he gets a free move & focus which is... ok. However, he can also use a Force for a second 5D attack against a target, which is very nasty, especially combined he can remove Wounded for 2 injury tokens – he’s pretty much unkillable at that point.
Hera, meanwhile, gives out a standard dash (or full Move to Spectre), but the rest of her bag of tricks is truly special. She grants cover to all Rebels in R4 (not just Spectre!), and can spend 2 force to flip a Wounded Rebel to Injured (much like Zeb’s ability) plus Reposition towards an Active Objective – dangerous stuff. Oh, and then there’s her other ability, spending a Momentum – or free if you use your Shatterpoint card to activate her – to heal 3 damage and a condition from ALL rebels within 5R. Now, yes, she’s only a 9 Health leader, but that’s a crazy good ability, plus she has masses of healing on her tree and means she is not only a great pick for Spectre but any Rebel list: pair her with Endor Chewie and the Rebel Commandos, for example, for a really interesting General Syndulla list. But together with Kanan, you have a nice balance of aggro and defensive leaders for your squads. Sabine, meanwhile, enjoys blowing stuff up. For a force, she can drop 5D on anything with R2 of an objective (plus, this sits at step 3 of her attack tree too) – plus she’s sitting with sharpshooter and usually a free focus, too, so normally throwing out 8D on the attack. She’s fast, too, able to turn any move into a jump (go Mando!), and because she has the Mandalorian keyword can easily be splashed into lists with Din Djarin or the Covert. Chopper is a pretty good melee machine, too, for a support character. Its real strength lies in its Mayhem ability, which for a force dumps conditions onto an enemy within R2 before closing up for an 8D attack (with Mayhem at the end of the tree to boot!) Chopper is actually quite tricky to use, and needs to be judiciously given free moves to maximise potential, though can jump for a force also. But hey, it’s everyone’s favourite war criminal, after all.
Empire
Fear and Dead Men – Darth Vader & Stormtroopers
Let’s be clear, Vader is an absolute killing machine. Is he broken? That’s a tough one. I would say no, but only just. You have to know how to deal with him. Also, the game is much more than combat, which is easy to forget. Nevertheless, Vader is putting out double or even triple damage on pretty much every success, moving and rolling extra dice on a force – oh, and if he DOESN’T wound a foe, his card goes back into the deck, so he can activate again. He is, quite rightly, terrifying. The Stormtrooper Sergeant and Stormtroopers are, unsurprisingly, designed to work together. The Imperial gimmick is taking damage to move and focus, which we see across the range; however, the advantage we see here is that all Stormtroopers then have Heal early on in their attack trees to mitigate this. The Empire is perfect to learn the game with, as it’s all about combat... but who to pair with the mighty Lord of the Sith?
You Have Something I Want – Moff Gideon and Good Soldiers Follow Orders – Crosshairs and Elite Squad
So, this is a bit tricky, actually. Because Moff Gideon is good, but very tough to use. He can dole out conditions, with 3 possible tracks on a single side, and Reposition any of your units to an objective, at a cost of 2 damage. Typical high risk/reward of the Empire. He also makes things very hard for your opponent, as placing units in reserve costs them an additional force. However, it is the Secondary and Supports that make this a real must-buy for the Empire. The Death Trooper Escort can dish out anywhere between 1 and 3 extra free movements a turn (on a damaged unit, Reposition/Dash/Reposition) so you can charge around the battlefield with total abandon. The Dark Troopers, however, are monstrous for 4SP. Force jump as a free move and the ability to impose Strained through Co-ordinated Fire is incredibly nasty. They churn out damage with 6 dice and ranged 5 – they’re not fancy, just absolutely lethal.
Similarly, the Elites can be added to any other Empire set as back-up, and it can be worth considering as a mix-and-match with Gideon, swapping him out for everyone’s favourite sniper. Although Crosshairs’ bonus move ability costs a force, which is disappointing, it’s his Reflector disks you’ll be relying on: drawing LOS from a friendly unit in LOS and R4 effectively means a potential shooting range of the entire board. Combine that with the speed of Dark Troopers and the Death Trooper Escort - especially if you combo that with Crosshairs’ Expendable Distraction ability, damaging your own units for more damage output – and you have a truly vicious combat force. Firebrand’s flamethrower is represented by a tree of double-damage shoves down the line, which is pretty nasty and gives you a bit more tactical flexibility. The Elite troopers dish out expose, but are otherwise fairly conventional, so you are probably more likely to use Dark Troopers instead.
Not Accepting Surrenders – Thrawn and Today the Rebellion Dies – Inferno Squad
Now these two don’t need to be paired together, and indeed either also complements Vader well: but together, they’re the full package. Thrawn plays like nothing and no-one else in the game – well, maybe a bit like the Ewoks (sorry what?) insofar as he has Tactics cards which shuffle into the order deck, a bit like Ewok traps. The tactics give you enormous versatility. At the start of the game, you pick 2 of the 3, but each of them has a further pair of choices. You can adapt to your list, with tactics to enhance not only Supporting Units but other Empire units and even Bounty Hunters. You can even disrupt the activation sequence, pulling out units as you see fit. It’s very Thrawn, and for the tactical potential options he presents. Whilst he’ll often protect back field objectives, he can Reposition and add 3D when contesting objectives for a Force. He doesn’t have to use force to place units in reserve, though can do so to remove conditions. His combat trees are about movement and healing when you need it, but there’s plenty of damage on the reverse, so he has the flexibility you need, when you need it.
Kallus is great whether you’re using him in an Empire or Rebel list, as he can be tagged as an Empire Spy Trooper or Rebel Scoundrel Spectre , and for a force can gets a reroll for each tag shared. He can also Focus and gain Sharpshooter 2 and Impact 2 for a single force - potent, if draining, but can be an effective alternative to Sabine in Spectre lists. Suddenly, you’re looking at 9 dice with rerolls, which is almost unmatched in the game. And he’s just a strong in an Empire list with the rest of the ISB. The ISB troopers are an interesting tar pit unit, not only because they’re typically hitting 8D in melee but they do 2 damage to any unit trying to break out of melee with them. They’re easy to underestimate, as they don’t feel like they should be a dedicated melee force, but they’re the ideal complement to any other Empire box you fancy.
I’m a big fan of Inferno Squad from playing Battlefront II with the kids, they’re really competitive in Star Wars Unlimited, and I love their fluff, so I had high hopes for this incarnation. I love Iden, she’s so sneaky: free dash for a friendly empire scout within R4 and for her, plus another for herself gaining focus and sharpshooter for a force if within R4 of an enemy – so fast. She (or rather her droid) can remove Hunker or inflict Exposed for a Force, too; nice to see the versatility, as Hunker is a bit less meta these days. Her commander ability triggers when ANY friendly empire character wounds an enemy to disarm or Strain another, plus Heal & Reposition a friendly. Extremely potent, great with Vader or Crosshairs. Gideon Hask is, on the surface, not that exciting: he has the fairly regular thing of injuring your own troops for a bonus, in his case a Reposition for a Force; similarly, he can Dash, Focus and gain Sharpshooter. However, his combat tree is the winner, as it has a dedicated double damage branch or shove branch, making him ideal whether for combat or taking objectives, though if you’re going to rotate anything out it would be him *cough* bounty hunter *cough*. Plus, you get a choice of Support options in the set (personally, I quite like using BOTH with Vader). Del Meeko, with his Trick Shot gets an automatic damage (and removes Hunker) on an opposing unit in LOS at the start of his activation, and can take 2 combat actions, has sharpshooter 2, ignores cover AND for a force his Covert Ops ability can add another point of sharpshooter, a focus and ignore cover. I mean, really. That’s just filthy. Interestingly, his expertise also adds Dash, allowing him to strafe in a quite unexpected fashion; he’s an incredibly strong support character, in a slot with a lot of good Imperial options. But, of course, sometimes you want a two character unit, and the Special Forces do just that. They’re pretty tough, removing a damage and a condition at the start of their activation (which is vey decent) as well as the same Covert Ops ability and Infiltrate. They’re not bad, quite situational though.
Neutral
Clone Force 99 – The Bad Batch
We Don’t Need Their Scum – Bounty Hunters
It is not an exaggeration to say that if you buy one set, buy this. As well as being amazing sculpts, and just being plain cool, they are the perfect addition to the core box, or any other set of clones, rebels or scoundrels – if you want to run something a bit more piratical, for example, try them with Hondo or Lando. But as an addition to the basic box, they really shine.
Hunter is, rightly, devastating. On the surface, it’s standard stuff: a free dash for other clones (or move for Bad Batch), a reactive dash and 5D attack for a force. However, it’s in explicitly hunting (ahem) enemy primaries that he excels, with a free dash after the enemy primary moves, plus rerolling up to 2 fails on defence (or all if Exposed). But the kicker is that allied clones can turn an attack fail into a Hit – and Bad Batch can turn them into an Expertise. Both of his stances are high movement, high damage, and ladle out the conditions with abandon. I’ve seen him take down Maul, Grievous, Dooku... with barely a scratch. Wrecker (Rickah!) and Omega are a single large-based model, are all about objectives, and where most of your force will be getting spent. As well as getting a free dash that can also shove an enemy within R1, they can do a 5D attack to an enemy model within R3 on an objective for a force, or do an extra ranged attack for 2 Force. Plus, they grant Protection and Steadfast to the rest of your team whilst unwounded, making everyone better for free. Suddenly, those 501st clones are threatening again. Their stances are also interesting, with Wrecker about damage and alternating shove/move, and Omega about healing and dealing (conditions, that is). For Support, you have to choose between Crosshairs and Echo & Tech, which is tough; more often than not, you’ll want them to be in both your slots; this version of Crosshairs is Clone Wars era only (the rest of the Batch being Rebellion also), so he’s a good pick in the slot alongside a Jedi Primary of your choice – Obi-wan, say, and then Rex as your Secondary. He has the Trick Shot ability (as discussed above with Del Meeko), can climb and focus for a Force (not completely meh), can remove conditions from friendlies engaged in combat (which is rather neat) and has sharpshooter 2... which means that if you’re willing to spend the Force for the climb, he’s a 10D R5 attack. On an optimal roll, he’s putting out 9 damage and 2 crits (remember, Hunter’s changing a fail into an Expertise for you), making him the most deadly Support in the game. Echo & Tech are a bit more of a finesse unit, with the ability to remove an enemy’s control of an objective if they’re hunkered; they can hunker/dash for a force, but better to team up with Captain Rex, who grants a free dash and hunker when he activates. Their tree is not bad, crucially applying Strain from the outset, but more importantly friendly Primaries and Secondaries within R4 remove a condition at the start of their activation, which is a great way to wipe out those pesky Strains, Pins and so on. Together, they really are everything you’d want from the Bad Batch.
We Don’t Need Their Scum – Bounty Hunters
One of the most unusual sets out there, this is the only set that is not a full squad – instead, it’s 4 secondary characters, to flesh out lots of different lists. And as character models, the sculpts are all top-notch, too.
Boba Fett: I mean it’s Boba Fett. Of course he’s cool; everyone loves Boba Fett. At 4SP, he can be given either the Empire or Scoundrel tag, so can be a versatile addition to a lot of lists. Everything we’ve said about Jango goes, inevitably, for Boba. He’s an ultra-manoeuvrable objective grabber - he has a free jump move AND a reactive jump – as well as the ability to disarm AND pin a foe within 3R for a force. Couple that with a damage tree that is more about the conditions than damage per se (compared to Jango, that is), but the ability trigger a reactive for free up the line, he requires a little more finesse to use but is arguably more versatile than his old man.
Dengar: Blessed with perhaps the most interesting ability in the game, Dengar is my eldest’s favourite from the films (hence the handle @brickbuiltdengar): Dengar can gain any keyword in your team for a force, which is crazy and allows for all manner of shenanigans. This allows you to splash a bit more punch whilst not losing synergies in all sorts of lists, from Inferno Squad to Ewoks! Tired of those Stormtrooper Sergeants not pulling their weight? Add a Dengar with Stormtrooper. Not sure if this IS the way? Foundling Dengar is your guy! I just love that he can literally fit any list and synergise perfectly, and at 4SP, he’s at the sweet spot for most lists. His card can be put in reserve for free, so he's always when you want, and a free move means he’s usually where you want him, too.
Bossk: I am a BIG fan of Bossk. He gives serious heft to any list, as he is basically a one-man murder machine (although he is a team player, getting free moves if there’s other Bounty Hunters) - oh, and at 3SP he’s CHEAP, too. He is not subtle at all, but he’s a distraction your opponent cannot ignore, a bit like Chewbacca – not as high stamina but his regeneration makes up for that, wiping out all conditions and damage every turn. I really like to throw him an opponent and cause chaos with a rampage through them. He can tie down really dangerous high attack leaders like Maul or Hunter and act as tar-pit in the enemy lines whilst you score objectives and pick up the points that way (and again, like Chewie, you can put him with Han to not lose Momentum). His Explosive Ordnance and move-based ranged attack tree – something that Chewie is a bit lacking in – gives him a bit more versatility. Oh – and like Dengar, he can gain ANY tag! Bossk, to me, is the MVP.
IG-88: If you have the 5 SP to spare, IG-88 is a brutal addition. He free moves and focuses every turn, so effectively he’s a 4 action character – and has 2 rerolls as well. For a force, he can throw out negative conditions to nearby opponents and/or can get extra attack dice on contested objectives if you have other Bounty Hunters, making a really solid pick with Hondo, though he holds his own regardless. As well as throwing out double damage from the outset any of the steps on his attack tree include free moves, so he can race around the board and present a deeply scary threat. Yes, he’s a big buy, but he can be a real game-changer.
NEW REPUBLIC ERA
This is The Way – The Mandalorian Covert
If you’re wanting a really focused, thematic list, well this most certainly IS the way. The Armorer is the lynchpin: a Leader that’s all about support and synergy. Her limitless range ability grants a free jump to herself and a friendly Mandalorian, and for a force she can jump or move towards an enemy also. In the spirit of Mando resilience, allied Mandalorians don’t have to spend force for abilities if Injured/Wounded – and in and of herself, she gets tougher the more damage she has, making her an absolute nuisance. Her combat stances are all melee, one more conventionally about damage, but the other all about conditions (with a choice of Strain or Disarm from the outset), meaning that with her general toughness she can completely lock down objectives. Paz Vizsla, meanwhile, removes conditions and allows all Support characters within 4 to jump, which is really, really scary. He has a strong retaliate, as you would hope, and can bounce back from being Wounded to instead reactivate at the cost of 2 Injuries afterwards. The members of the Covert, meanwhile, are pretty standard Mandos like the core box, with the same degree of customisation, so you can mix and match as you see fit: it's another great example of ways to expand the base game, particularly now that Bo-Katan has been errata’d to be part of the Republic Era. Or, go nuts, and add in Din Djarin for extra Mando fun (though I’d switch out Bossk for Greff Karga, personally).
Final Thoughts
These are just a few ideas to get you started. There’s plenty of other options we’ve not explored, and ultimately, just have fun! Play your way, with what you want. Why NOT pair up Luke and Vader, and be a Jedi like your father? Shatterpoint is ultimately a fast, fun way to enjoy an immersive Star Wars experience. Just don’t get cocky, kid...