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Pojo's Star Wars
Minis Site
Mini of the Day
Destroyer Droid
Set: Revenge of the
Sith
#30/60
Date Reviewed: April 28, 2006
![](http://www.wizards.com/swminis/images/rots/30_DestroyerDroid.jpg)
Image from
Wizards.com
Rating:
4.0
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale 1 being the
worst.
3 ... average. 5 is the highest rating. |
![](destroyer_droid_30.jpg) |
Xoulrath
|
Ah, now we're
talkin'! The Destroyer Droid. One of my favorite
figures in the game and movies. Especially useful
in-game, when the saves are with you, and always
good with a bodyguard and Repair, especially when
that Repair comes from Wat Tambor, with a value of
20.
Let's look at it's Abilities first, because that is
what makes the DD:
Droid Immune to critical hits; not subject to
commander effects
Double Attack On its turn, this character can make 1
extra attack instead of moving.
Shields 2 When this character takes damage, make 2
saves; each roll of 11 reduces the damage dealt by
10.
Wheel Form This character can move up to 18 squares
if it does not attack.
This is really what makes the DD worth the hefty 30
point asking price. Stats aren't as important in
this case, because, 1) Seperatist droids can receive
insane Attack boosts; and, 2) The Shields 2 Ability,
especially when combined with a Bodyguard Droid and
Wat, can be your worst nightmare.
The fact that the DD is a droid works the Shields
angle even better, because of the built in critical
hit immunity. It is especially nice when the point
cost of a character like Mace Windu or Darth Maul is
hampered somewhat because of this fact. Double
Attack is always nice, especially when attached to
20 Damage, and the defensive front the DD brings to
bear on opponents. It is made all the more
worthwhile by a BDO's +4 Attack from Fire Control
(reviewed Wednesday), and has a nice melding with
the Super Battle Droid Commander, since that piece
grants Careful Shot +4, which negates the ability to
move, so you may as well stand and fire twice.
Wheeled Form is great for getting set up to bring
your arms to bear quickly, provided you don't outrun
your support; and is very handy when a fast retreat
is needed.
40 HP's, 16 Defense, +8 Attack, 20 Damage. Those are
the stats. Not impressive, given the cost. It is
easily forgiven, because, as already mentioned,
boosting Attack is very simple and most important,
cost effective. 20 Damage is always welcome,
especially so on a Double Attacking figure. Since
the DD will spend most of it's time in cover, a
solid 20 Defense isn't bad, especially when combined
with the "Feedback Loop" (Shields 2, Bodyguard
Droid, Repair 20). The 40 HP's are more than
appropriate once you realize the Shields 2 will
negate, on average, half of every 20 Damage hit the
DD takes, reducing it to 10; and has a 75% chance to
negate a 10 Damage hit to nothing. Again, made
stronger by the "Feedback Loop".
You'll notice I haven't talked about the DD's
weakness(es) yet. Well, as with a good number of
some of the better pieces, the DD's weakness is also
it's greatest strength. The DD is worth every bit of
it's 30 points, so long as you run it in the
"Feedback Loop", and bring at least a BDO, if not
also an SBD Commander. Run it as a 30 point shooter,
with no thought towards boosting his attack, or
really maximizing the defensive potential, and
you'll quickly wonder why so many people speak
highly of this droid.
There is one more thing that takes the DD off of
it's pedestal, and that is the X-1 Viper Droid in
the 200 point DCI scene. For a mere 46 points, and
(at the moment) the guarantee you won't get stuck
somewhere you can't get out, the X-1 is the better
buy. Molecular Shielding is far prefferable to
Shields 2, as it has about the same success rate,
and causes Damage to the attacking character equal
to it's Damage value. It is both offensive and
defensive at the same time. Add to that it's beefier
HP's, at 130; the same Defense of 16/20 (in cover);
and a more impressive base Damage of 30, with Double
Attack; backed by the same Attack value of the DD
(and boosted in the same way), you realize it's more
beneficial to bring the X-1, and it's slightly
modified version of the "Feedback Loop". Another
possible exception to the DD's prevailance in 200,
is the combination of Grievous, Supreme Commander;
BDO; SBD Commander; and Dwarf Spider Droids. All of
which can be backed by a less defensive version of
the "Feedback Loop", that focuses more on offense
than defense; and makes a strong argument for
itself.
In the end, it comes down to what you want to do.
The X-1 is nice, but too costly to be run
effectively in 100, and the DD offers some real
flexibility, both in points and movement in 200,
that the Viper can't match. The Dwarf Spider build
is great, as it gives the offense of the X-1, while
keeping some of the manueverability of the DD, less
the outright speed. It does, however, lose the
defensive potential of both builds. That is where
the DD shines. It is a great piece with balance on
both offense and defense, at a not too steep price,
that yields some great results in the process,
provided it has the right support. Plus, the Clone
Strike pose is great.
|
Sith Dragon |
Destroyer
Droid
Separatist
Cost: 30
HP: 40
DEF: 16
ATK: +8
DAM: 20
Double Attack, Shields 2, Wheeled Form
Here we have one of the best pieces the droid armies
have available for them. The destroyer droid is
quite simple but very effective. 40 HP may not sound
like much, but when you add in the shield rolls,
this guy just got an infinite amount of life, great
save rolling required. The 16 DEF is solid, and can
make it at least miss-able by all but major beat
sticks. Its +8 ATK is very standard for big droid
pieces. By itself, it isn't real great, but if you
get the Battle droid officer, Grievous SC, and the
Super Battle Droid Commander all involved, you have
a piece that can end up with a +20 attack! No one
will turn that down.
As for the abilities, the double attack is good
because it can sit there and pound away at
characters and do a hefty amount of damage for only
30 pts.Shields 2 is all about the dice roll, and you
should play it cautiously as you never know when
your die may turn on you. I usually miss about every
roll there is so my destroyers tend to go down
rather fast, but I have seen games where its shields
have withstood double attacking Jedi for several
turns while taking minimal damage. Wheel form is a
good thing when used correctly. Unlike other Wheeled
abilities out there, you are not given an attack at
the end, but with the nature of this character you
shouldn't. What it gives you is the ability to run
up and get into position fast, and if need be
retreat in a hurry to your healers and bodyguards.
The destroyers effectiveness diminished with the
release of Universe. After the Universe set, we were
given a great many characters that can dish out over
30pts of damage in a single attack on a regular
basis, so while the shields can still negate up to
20 of that, it can no longer keep all of the damage
off of the droid. Against 10 DAM hitters you stand a
very good chance of not taking any damage between
the two rolls. With 20 DAM characters, even blocking
only half of your rolls, just turned the destroyer
into an 80 HP character. However once you start
talking +30 DAM this little guy takes a beating
unless you can roll perfect shields and will most
likely be gone in two attacks without healing and
bodyguards.
100 pt: This guy can be good in this format, but he
won't get as much support to help him out. With a
number of characters that can do well in this format
with double attacks and/or 30 DAM, Sep droids as a
whole are not going to do well here.
200pt: Here you can use all the tools and back-up
you need to make this guy effective. You have access
to bodyguards, repair, and attack boosters. Plus his
attack help is greater as well. You can now add in
more destroyers, Vipers, spider droids, etc. Droids
are becoming very dangerous in this format.
"Dude, the fat guy totally just blew up!" -Pink 5 |
Ten-Eyed
Man
|
Destroyer
Droid
At this point in the game’s history, the Separatist
faction suffers from some problems. The big problem
is that it’s sort of divided into two sub-factions:
the droid army, and everybody else. Since the big,
bad Sith types in this faction don’t get much in the
way of support, they can be difficult to use, except
in a sort of “lone wolf” or “kill a few pieces then
get in way over your head and get cut to ribbons”
sort of capacity.
But screw the big, bad Sith: we’ve got Destroyer
Droids. They’re dreamy, with their Wheel
Form-provided mobility, fairly high (and very
buffable) Attack rating, Double Attack, and Shields
ability.
It’s that last thing that makes them worthwhile
despite their pathetic 40 Hit Points on a 30-point
figure. Many, many games have been decided one way
or another by the quality of a player’s Shields
rolls (thank goodness there’s no way for DDs to
benefit from Clone Strike Yoda’s Commander Effect,
or they’d be all but unstoppable). Besides the
actual tactical advantage of Shields, there’s also
the subtle psychological advantage they provide.
Many opponents are hesitant to “waste” attacks on
something that might just ignore it, even when the
Destroyer is their only real opposition.
Shields also provide the valuable service of working
well with Darth Sidious’ Pawn of the Dark Side
ability. Normally, he grants a non-unique follower
an extra turn, then inflicts 10 damage on it, but
Shields 2 makes for a 75% chance to ignore the cost
and just get another Double Attack off with the
Destroyer. Neat (though those that don’t like
gambling on a 75% chance should check out the
Hailfire Droid).
Finally, the thing that made the Destroyer much more
playable was the addition of the Bodyguard Droid for
the Separatists in Revenge of the Sith. Another 60
Hit Points that still get to benefit from Shields
and have a respectable melee attack of their own?
Heck, yes. The one problem with this concept is
things like Force Lightning and Missiles, which can
punish you severely for having your pieces all
standing next to each other. Watch any enemy pieces
with abilities like this carefully.
The bottom line is that the Destroyer Droid is one
of the major workhorses of the Separatists, and one
of the better reasons to play the faction.
Overall rating in 100: 4
Overall rating in 200: 4.5
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