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Darth Vader, Jedi Hunter Set: Universe #37/60 Date Reviewed: April 7, 2006 Image from Wizards.com Rating: 5.0 Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale 1 being the worst. 3 ... average. 5 is the highest rating.

 

Sith Dragon	Darth Vader, Jedi Hunter Imperial Cost: 75 HP: 140 ATK: +16 DEF: 23 DAM: 20 Triple attack; Dark Armor - When this character takes damage, reduce by 10, save 11; Jedi hunter - +4 ATK/+10 DAM against characters with a force rating. Force 2 Force Renewal - +1 force when he activates; Force grip(F1) - replace attacks sight, 10 DAM; Force whirlwind(F2) - replace attacks range 6, 20 damage to target and each adjacent target, save 11; Block; Deflect; Sweep. Today we come to the biggest character in the game at 75 points! (At least for now. He will soon fall to third or fourth biggest after Champions of the Force). But this bad boy comes loaded with all the options. His stats are impressive to say the least. While his HP is the same as the other Vader's, that is all they share. His defense is going to make him extremely hard to hit, especially in cover, from anyone not toting a mid to upper double digit base attack, and with a +16 attack he won't miss very often either. Dark armor is going to almost double his already impressive HP with some effective save rolling. The only way to get around this is to use a lightsaber (note lightsaber throw also gets around dark armor), BUT! and this is a big but, if you carry a lightsaber in this game, it also means you have a force rating which means Vader is going to deal out a whopping 30 DAM each hit. Add this to his triple attack and very few if any Jedi are going to last long against this behemoth. Right now I would say only Clone Strike Mace and Master Skywalker would have a prayer, but even they are fighting an uphill battle. He is one of the few characters that has force renewal, so his force arsenal will never likely run out unless you are needing lots of help from force powers and save rerolls. Grip can be nice against a grunt, but will not be used hardly ever. Whirlwind can be as good as Wednesday's RotS Vader and helps by also damaging adjacent characters. Since it cannot be bodyguarded, this is a good way to get around pesky bodyguards who are protecting a gonk or med droid. Down side is it is going to suck up force points and has a range of 6. Sweep will rarely be used also, but can be handy at times. The block and deflect is what really puts him over the top. Not only is he hard to hit....Not only is he hard to kill with damage reduction 10, save 11......But you finally hit him, and he can simply block/deflect the damage away. The only two downsides to Jedi Hunter are 1) Thrawn cancels out his deflect and making him awful pricey for not being able to use it, and 2) he is extremely expensive. This Vader is not some one you build an army with. He IS the army! People love him because he is an instant threat, especially if they run Thrawn to control initiatives. So is this Guy unbeatable? When he came out he was. People did not know how to come at him and Jedi were much more prevalent then they are now. If he had Sith Rage, then I might say he is broken, but as is, shooting squads can handle him if they can keep their distance. Because of Vader and Thrawn, shooting armies are pretty dominant right now, so he is being held in check by smart play. But with CotF coming, look for the the Jedi to strike back soon, and for one or two of the Jedi to attempt to knock Vader off his throne of power. To defeat Vader you need to do as much damage from afar as possible. Shooters, Yesterday's Vader with RS Emperor, and the like can soften him up quite a bit. If you are running Jedi, Mace or Master Skywalker better be one of your Jedi or you are going to have a long day of short games against him. 100pt: This Guy is it! he isn't the only squad, but not many squads will be able to handle him outside of Boba and Aurra shooting squads. You will be low on activations, but with that much of an arsenal, just play smart and you will be fine. 200pt: Again a top tier team, but with the prevalence of the shooting squads he is a bit more vulnerable. Choose his support carefully because at 200 points he can get mowed down by power hitters and effect squads pretty quickly despite his awesome abilities. "Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?"
Ten-Eyed Man	Darth Vader, Jedi Hunter Probably the most discussed piece in the game. Arguably the most powerful, and certainly the most expensive piece short of the AT-AT, Darth Vader, Jedi Hunter is almost comically good. His numbers are all insanely high, being obviously taken from Darth Vader, Sith Lord (they share the distinction of the highest base Defense in the game). His Force powers are so numerous that they had to break out the teeny font in order to print them all on one card. He has Force Renewal, allowing him to use his many powers for as long as the game goes on. Finally, there are two abilities that make the whole package actually worth your 75 point investment: Jedi Hunter and Dark Armor. Jedi Hunter means that against most of the high-end pieces in the game (almost all of which have Force ratings), he’s attacking at a +20 for 30 damage per. Since he’s got Triple Attack (of course), this is a virtually guaranteed 90 damage per turn. Even against non-Force-users, he’s insanely formidable. Dark Armor means, on the average, that he’s taking 5 fewer points of damage from every attack that hits him (assuming it can get past Lightsaber Block and Lightsaber Deflect). He can therefore stretch his 140 hit points out much further than the five pieces in the game that have more than that. The short version is, he really is worth his 75 points. In 100-point squads, he’s obviously most of your squad, which seems like it shouldn’t work (ask Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master), and yet it does. What’s more, it works so well that unless your opponent has brought one of the tier one squads, you’ll probably mop them up (at least in 100; I have much less experience with the piece in 200 points, where he can’t be quite as dominant). I like Darth Vader (who doesn’t?). I like the idea of the 800-pound gorilla of this game being a version of Darth Vader. I really think WOTC went overboard on this one, however. He can be beaten, but I don’t like any one piece being such a powerful force on the tourney scene (Aurra Sing, I’m also looking in your direction). Overall rating: 5
KC Tyler	We it comes down to Darth Vader Jedi Hunter it only one answer the best character in the game pound for pound he is a Mike Tyson in his prime just a killer in terms of play. He has the same hitpoints as the other Vaders at 140 hitpoints, Defense is 23 which is the highest in the game and + 16 which also is the tied for the highest and 20 damage with a triple attack. This Vader has Dark Armor which any damage taken other than a lightsaber he gets to roll to decrease the damage by 10. Then he can do 30 damage and extra +4 to his attack againt any character with a force rating. Well to me these ability alone get him so much power but this isn’t all he has 6 different force abilities like sweep, grip from Dark Jedi Vader and that with Block and deflected he can block any type of attack. Vader also has Renewal which only Yoda from Clone Strike, Emperor Palpatine for Rebel Storm, Darth Sidious Clone Strike and , Luke Skywalker Jedi Master to regenerate force have but that not all he has a power which is called force whirlwind which he causes one target and two adjacent within 6 squares 20 damage with a save of 11. The best figure in all the sets and he is just a rare figure not hard to get in booster.
Xoulrath	140 HP's, +16 Attack, 23 Defense, 20 Damage. Triple Attack, Melee Attack, and the two most important abilities that this version of Vader posesses, Jedi Hunter and Dark Armor. These last two abilities are primarily responsible for Darth Vader, Jedi Hunter being a main stay piece in the competitive scene. Dark Armor gives Vader a chance to reduce any damage recieved from all but adjacent lightsaber attacks, by 10 HP's. This ability is very nice when Boba Fett or Aurra Sing are on the opposite side of the table. If they manage to hit, and Vader fails his Deflect roll, then Dark Armor still leaves a chance to reduce the hit, making for a very rough time for non Melee figures. Aurra can deal full damage due to her having a lightsaber if she is adjacent to Vader, but then she risks Vader's other brutal ability, Jedi Hunter. Somehow, a Triple Attacking Jedi Hunting Vader tends to keep Aurra Sing at bay. It tends to keep most Force users at bay. On the one hand, characters with lightsabers deal the most reliable damage to Vader, yet those same characters are all Force users and suffer from the wrath of Jedi Hunter. This situation is made more dire for the common Force user because of Vader's Triple Attack. Vader also has a large variety of Force powers to choose from: Force Grip (Force 1, replaces attacks: sight; 10 damage.) Force Renewal 1 (This character gets Force 1 each time he activates.) Force Whirlwind (Force 2, replaces attacks: range 6; 20 damage to target and each character adjacent to that target; save 11.) Lightsaber Block (Force 1: When hit by a melee attack, this character takes no damage on a save of 11.) Lightsaber Deflect (Force 1: When hit by a non-melee attack, this character takes no damage with a save of 11.) Lightsaber Sweep (Force 1, replaces attacks: This character can attack every adjacent enemy once.) Lightsaber Deflect, combined with his high defense, and his Dark Armor, are a large reason for him being able to take on the likes of the best shooters in the game, while giving himself the time he needs to close, and deal out the hurt. Block is necessary to protect himself against the Lightsaber wielders who are able to bypass his Dark Armor. Grip gives him some range. Whirlwind and Sweep are both great crowd control measures. Whirlwind can be especially useful against towed figures, for dealing some damage to said figure, while hurting the little astromech droid carrying them around. Force Renewal is an absolute must, to be able to take advantage of his Force powers, and keeping his points up for Block/Deflect. All in all, he is worth his 75 points, but it really comes down to you making your saves. Especially the Dark Armor saves. In a 100 point format, he can dominate because he is able to absorb so much damage. He also negates a lot of once very useful Jedi. With Gambit, he can camp the center, relying on his defense, Deflect, and Dark Armor to keep him safe, forcing the opponent to play on your terms. Far from unbeatable, but very tough to take down, if you aren't building as if you will face him. At the 200 point level, he becomes an incredible tank/beatstick. With access to Thrawn, you can guarantee initiative to make sure you get his Triple off, and Swap is probably the next best thing to R2, Astro. An interesting pose, not my favorite, but not my least liked, either. Darth Vader, Jedi Hunter should be a must have for any collector, simply because he is Darth Vader. For players, he is an absolute must, espsecially if you play in a Force user heavy environment. A great piece that is both easy for newcomers and younger children to use, while being a serious menace in the hands of an experienced player.