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thrawn
image from Wizards of the Coast

Top 10 Minis of 2009
#9 - Thrawn, Mith'raw'nuruodo (Imperial Entanglements)

Date Reviewed: January 12, 2010

Ratings:  Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale 1 being the worst.
3 ... average. 5 is the highest rating.

100 pt: 2.50
200 pt: 4.75

 
Sith Dragon

#9 - Thrawn, Mith'raw'nuruodo (Imperial Entanglements)

Another year gone and another top 10 list! Over the next two weeks we will review the top 10 minis of 2009 as voted on by our pojo writers. At #9 is the new Thrawn that came out in Imperial Entanglements. While Thrawn did not make my personal top 10, he was right there. To be honest he was bumped out because i wanted a couple other figures that would not normally be in the list. The new Thrawn was very similar to the old Thrawn in stats and most abilities. He lost his force immunity in exchange for a commander effect that really added fire power to the Imperial arsenal. While for 12 pts less you could could get opportunist from Piett, that was only for troopers. Thrawn grants it for allies! This means most of the Vader's that were powerful before now gain a +4 ATK and 10 more damage. This led to some heavy hitting squads, usually amplified by Ozzel.

Since he still has swap and master tactician, he is an extremely good figure. The reason i did not place him higher is because the imperials have always had a hard time competing in the recent meta-game more than anything. If you are running Imperial at all, this is definitely a character you want to get your hands on. Another thing i like about this Thrawn is that it does not make the old Thrawn obsolete. Ysalimari can be a huge perk with all of the Jedi in the game.

Josh

Thrawn [Mitth’raw’nuourdo] (24/40, Rare—Imperial Entanglements; HP 70, ATT 11, DEF 18, DAM 10, DEP 32)

 

Representing the famed Grand Admiral during his early days of service to the Empire, this version of Thrawn plays quite a bit differently from his Grand Admiral counterpart. However, different is not necessarily a bad thing. If you’re play environment is not being dominated by Force-users, this version of Thrawn may actually be the better one to run. He deploys for five points less (for which he loses 10HP, a point on his attack bonus and the original’s anti-Force bubble of Ysalamiri) but his commander effect which is the standard “Thrawn swap” and granting Opportunist to all his allies is pretty impressive. While I personally miss Ysalamiri, it is a very conditionally useful ability. His commander effects are much more useful and can make for some pretty nasty combos. Personally, I shudder to think about Vader, Legacy of the Force having a triple attack go off that is bolstered by Opportunist (meaning he can do 90 points of damage in a single turn against an activated character, even more if you happen to have Imperial Governor Tarkin to grant Extra Attack as well). Master Tactician is a staple of Thrawn and can still be pretty useful if you’re opponent doesn’t have anyone with Never Tell Me The Odds or the Muun Tactics Broker to mess with your roll and turn them into ones.

 

His loss of Ysalamiri is important, however, the new commander effect definitely offsets that loss. This version of Thrawn still winds up with the same problems the Grand Admiral does. With the boom in the number of characters with Disruptive and ways to get around Master Tactician he does lose a bit of effectiveness. While he doesn’t replace the original Grand Admiral Thrawn, I think he definitely gives you a much more tailor-made Thrawn build. If you don’t need the Force bubble, take Thrawn out for a spin but if you do, you still have the option of running the Grand Admiral instead. Many times, when Wizards makes a new version of a non-Trilogy character, it often winds up completely overshadowing the original. However, both versions of Thrawn are still infinitely playable, just in different circumstances.

 

100 POINTS: Partnered with the proper mid-level beat stick (I’m thinking one of the more recent lower cost Vader’s that still pack a pretty huge punch), Thrawn’s commander effect giving Opportunist to all allies can be brutal. SCORE: 3

 

200 POINTS: Here, in a format where you can bring in a lot of support, Thrawn can become absolutely deadly. Master Tactician can give you control over initiative and who gets to go first and since you can have Opportunist board-wide can be a pretty big advantage. If you choose to go second every round that means that there will always be two characters you can tee off on with Opportunist. At the same time, though, if you find you need to go first on a turn providing your opponent isn’t running someone with Never Tell Me The Odds you can still do it unless you roll a one. SCORE: 4.5

 

Addendum for the Top 10 of 2009 List: It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since this piece was first released. While a lot of the squads that I posted on various sites that used Grand Admiral Thrawn garnered comments that I should replace him wholesale with Thrawn (Mitth’raw’nuruodo), I still feel the need to use the Grand Admiral but Thrawn has definitely moved up in my esteem after more use. Opportunist to all allies is pretty helpful, but sometimes, I honestly found the Grand Admiral’s effect of +3 to attack and defense to non-Unique followers more useful just because it was slightly less conditional. Still, Thrawn is a powerhouse and has definitely given the Imperials much more power, as if they really needed more of that.

 


RoqueSaber

Thrawn (Mitth’raw’nuruodo)

Cost: 32
HP: 70
Def: 18
Att: 11
Dmg: 10

Special Abilities:

Unique, Master Tactician

Commander Effect:

Allies gain Opportunist. At the end of this character’s turn, 2 allies within 6 squares of this character who are the same size may switch positions.

Does blue skin make you smarter? I don’t know, but Thrawn sure seems to make one think so. Mitth’raw’nuruodo (try pronouncing that one!) came in at #9 on my list too, what do ya know.

 

Thrawn is a flat out amazing piece. Even his previous incarnation from Universe is amazing. Firstly, his stats are very respectable for a commander. 70 HP, 18 defense, and 11 attack are all on the elite side. 10 damage leaves something to be desired, but what can you expect. Thrawn returns with his game changing Master Tactician ability. Guranteeing initiative 95% of the time, Thrawn is wonderful to play with and horrible to play against. Unfortunately, he lost his pet Ysalamiri and so does not retain that powerful ability.

 

His Commander Effect is where the difference between Old Thrawn and New Thrawn really stand out. Previously, GA Thrawn granted +3/+3 to non-unique followers. Mitthrawn not only raises the bar to Opportunist but also grants it to allies. Countless pieces are made much deadlier with this universal damage booster. Lord Vader can deal out a whopping 160 damage, Noghri Assassins can deal 30 damage to enemies regardless of whether or not they’ve activated, Emperor Palpatine on Throne can even shoot! For this reason, one of Mitthrawn’s best friends in Admiral Ozzel. Ozzel will help you out-activate your opponent so that Opportunist will come into play more often than not. Lastly, Mitthrawn retains his potent swap ability (remember to run Mas for board-wide swapping).

 

Mitthrawn really brings back some life into the Imperial faction. Although it makes Master Tactician even more common, it also increases the effectiveness of the Imperial faction as a whole. There are few pieces who cannot benefit in some way from his abilities or CE.

 

100: 2/5 As cool as he is, don’t run him here. You can’t really afford spending 1/3 of your points of a commander.

 

150: 4/5 His effectiveness skyrockets in 150. There are literally infinite options of how to run him. Ozzel is a strong partner to pair him with here.

 

200: 5/5 Few Imperial squads seem to leave Mitthrawn out nowadays, and for good reason. It doesn’t really matter what kind of squad you are playing, Thrawn will help you out in some way or another. Some squads, however, revolve around one of Thrawn’s bonuses. Swap squads abuse his swapping CE, while others abuse team-wide Opportunist. If you can play one of these bonuses for all it’s worth, you can probably get even more use out of him.


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