Force 2, Force Renewal 2, Master of the Force 2,
Force Defense, Lightsaber Defense, Master Speed
Commander Effect: Each ally with a force rating
gains Force Renewal 1.
Of all the interesting and controversial pieces that
will be brought to us with the June 30th release of
Jedi Acadamy, this piece is by far the most
interesting and controversial. It seems that Wizards
has finally decided to give us an "epic" piece, and
here it is: Grand Master Luke Skywalker. Towering
above the last New Republic Luke, GM Luke is both
more powerful and much higher costed. And, after
looking at it in detail, much more playable in
competitive Star Wars minis.
First of all, GM Luke has the best stats you will
ever see on a miniature. 150 HP is very solid
(although kind of low for the cost, don't you
think?), 23 defense is about the highest it goes, 19
attack is revolutionary and won't miss anything,
practically, and finally the 20 damage is the norm.
Beyond his great stats, GM Luke becomes very
powerful with the vast ammount of abilities that he
has at his disposal. Having both Twin and Triple
Attack is insane. Not only does this let GM Luke
base someone then hit twice, but it also allows him
to attack SIX times without moving... and with 19
attack, that is likely 120 damage, enough to kill
just about anything. To make him even more hell
against melee units, Luke also gets Djem So Mastery,
which gives him a 50% chance to retaliate against
melee attacks at +10 damage. And with Twin Attack,
that becomes two attacks. So... you want to hit GM
Luke with a melee attack? Well, here's a 50% 60
damage to the face! Needless to say, GM Luke will
wreck just about any melee attacker in the game
without fail. Hell, he could take on an army of
melee attackers and take it down single handedly.
To make matters even more sexy, Luke's force
abilities make him a defensive juggernaught as well
as the offensive juggernaught I have proven it to be
already. While he starts off with a low 2 force, his
Force Renewal 2 will quickly stop that problem. In
fact, by the time GM Luke is in any real engagement,
he should have 6-8 force points to play around with.
And as I said before, his abilities are designed so
that GM Luke will have a lot of surviveability. He
recieves both Force Defense AND Lightsaber Defense.
Lightsaber Defense is simply Lightsaber Block and
Deflect in one, so he can dodge any attack with a
save of 11. Further, GM Luke can stop direct damage
attacks (which has long been stated the best way to
deal with the other defensive juggernaught in the
game, General Obi-Wan Kenobi) and other force powers
with Force Defense. GM Luke also gets Master Speed,
which allows him to charge and retreat when needed
with virtually no trouble at all. And the final blow
of his epic force powers... GM Luke has Master of
the Force 2, which can be used to magnifiy Luke's
running even further, try and make a save twice, or
even block a force power and a save... the
possibilities are endless.
While is commander effect is (very!) powerful, on a
115 point unit, it really isn't that useful. Yes, it
will give Force Renewal 1 some other NR Jedi who
desperately need some renewal (Corran Horn, I'm
looking at you...), but the fact of the matter is
that it is my opinion GM Luke has a commander effect
so he won't be a follower and get boosted by other
commander effects that would break him further.
Maybe his commander effect will become more useful
when and if newer NR units come out that could
really use the Regeneration (a JWM-esqe piece for
the NR, perhaps???), but for now it is simply a
nifty bonus to playing the juggernaught that is GM
Luke.
GM Luke does work well with quite a few pieces, and
I think he will really become the centerpiece of
competitive NR armies. One such piece is his
sister, the new Leia, Leia Skaywalker Jedi Knight
(also coming out in Jedi Acadamy). Leia Skywalker
JK's commander effect allows allies (not followers,
so GM Luke can still benefit) within 6 squares to
reroll saves. So wait... that means... Yup,
Lightsaber Defense gets boosted from a 50% chance to
a 75% chance. And GM Luke could still spend a
forcepoint to reroll it again if he wanted to. Not
to mention that Leia Skywalker JK is only 25 points,
fitting perfectly with GM Luke in both 150 point and
200 point skirmishs, the Skywalker Twin combo could
be very deadly. It would force opponents to try and
finish Leia off first, while GM Luke butchers their
team. I'm really liking where the New Republic is
headed!!
100 points: 1/5, Erm... Well, It can't be used here
(costing 15 points more than the maximum!) so
naturally, it gets the lowest rating possibile...
150 points: 4/5 Can definatly be good here. Combine
with the new Leia and you're in business!
200 points: 4.5/5 Will be the centerpiece of
competitive New Republic armies, I'm convinced. The
best thing is, he's only a Rare, so he will be easy
to obtain. I'm starting to like WOTC's policy that
the best figures in a set are starting to be Rare,
and Very Rares are becoming more of the "fun
pieces".
Sculpt: 2/5, I'm not a big fan of Jedi characters
that don't have a visable Lightsaber... Lightsabers
make Jedi look cool. I might just ask my opponent in
tournaments that I'm using GM Luke if I could use
Luke, JM's sculpt instead... Most players won't
mind, I hope.
Josh
Grand Master Luke
Skywalker (27/40, Rare—Jedi Academy; 150HP, ATT 19,
DEF 23, DAM 20, DEP 115)
Normally, I don’t usually
put the stat card on my reviews but since this
figure hasn’t released yet, here’s what’s on the
card:
Special Abilities:
Unique, Melee
Attack, Triple Attack, Twin Attack, Djem So Style
Mastery (Whenever this character is hit with a melee
attack, make a save of 11. On a success, this
character can make an immediate attack with +10
Damage against that attacker.)
Force Powers: Force 2, Force Renewal
2, Master of the Force 2, Force Defense, Lightsaber
Defense (1 Force: When hit by an attack, this
character takes no damage with a save of 11.),
Master Speed
Commander Effect:
Each ally with a Force rating gains Force Renewal 1.
First of all, Star Wars
Minis picks up its first character that costs over
100 points. However, this version of Luke is really
worth every point. Starting with his Commander
Effect, New Republic Jedi squads get a serious shot
in the arm. A lot of their really great Jedi pieces
were pretty expensive but lacked Force Renewal. Now
character like Corran Horn or Jacen Skywalker can
use their expensive powers more than once a turn.
I’m also a big fan of giving Force Renewal to Jaina
just because she’s actually going to be a strong
piece now that she can Deflect more often. Another
possible candidate for a Grand Master Luke squad is
Kyp Durron just because you can get Force Renewal
right away without having to sacrifice someone to
get it.
On to Luke’s special
abilities, this version of Luke is an absolute
beast. With a possible six attacks per round thanks
to Triple and Twin, this Luke can really beat
people around. Add in a stronger form of Djem So
that gives you the free attack plus a 10 point
damage boost if you make the save and this Luke is a
serious melee threat.
However, not examining
Luke’s Force powers would be silly and here is where
he really becomes worth the points. With Force
Renewal 2 and Master of the Force 2, Luke will have
a pretty solid supply of Force points and can
protect himself effectively. Force Defense will let
him cancel out Force powers used near him which can
be pretty nasty if your opponent is using some of
the more expensive offensive Force powers like Force
Lightning since the Force points are still spent.
Add in the new Lightsaber Defense, which protects
Luke from any attack not just melee or
nonmelee and Luke is going to be pretty hard to
kill. Master Speed is also nice to see on Luke since
it allows him to get into the thick of things much
more quickly.
200 POINTS: This Luke is
absolutely incredible. The only real drawback is his
price, since even in this point level bracket, Luke
is over half your squad. You’ll want to run him in a
Jedi build and depending on the Jedi you run, you
could wind up really low on activations,
which can be pretty important at the 200 point
level. This Luke definitely gives the New Republic
Jedi squads a serious shot in the arm and will be
seen in most Jedi builds from this point on, I
think. SCORE: 4.5 (The only reason he’s not a
perfect 5 is that cost issue. I understand why
they priced him so high, but it still can be a mild
drawback since he’s totally unusable in one format
of the game and let’s be fair, he’s not going to be
terribly effective at the 150 point level as well.
Gunnar "Darth
Malstrom" Malstrom
Grand Master Luke Skywalker (Rebel R)
Cost: 115
HP: 150
Def: 23
Att/Dam: 19/20
Special Abilities:
Unique
Melee Attack (Can attack only adjacent enemies)
Triple Attack (On his turn, this character can make
2 extra attacks instead of moving)
Twin Attack (Whenever this character attacks, he
makes 1 extra attack against the same target)
Djem So Style Mastery (Whenever this character is
hit by a Melee Attack, make a save of 11. On a
success, this character can make an immediate attack
with +10 Damage against that attacker.)
Force Powers:
Force 2
Force Renewal 2 (This character gets 2 Force points
each time he activates)
Master of the Force 2 (May spend Force points up to
2 times in a single turn)
Force Defense (Force 3: Cancel a Force power used by
a character within 6 squares)
Lightsaber Defense (Force 1: When hit by an attack,
this character takes no damage with a save of 11)
Master Speed (Force 1: This character can move 6
extra squares on his turn as part of his move)
Commander Effect:
Each Ally with a force point gains Force Renewal 1
DarthMalstrom is back with a Grand Daddy of them all
Grand Master Luke. There is so much to say about
this piece I don't know where to start. Let's start
with the big wow, 115 points… yeah 115 points. We
finally have a piece over 100 points and this piece
is a beast. Is he worth 115 points? Some people
say no… I on the other hand say sure… why not.
Let's start with his stats. His 19 Attack is the
highest base attack in the game putting him up there
with Exar Kun. His def is 23, which is pretty
freaking good. He has 150 HP, which puts him close
to the elite. These stats alone put him up there…
but does it warrant him being the highest costing
piece by 20 points (not counting the AT-AT of
course).
Well let's look at his force powers. He has Renewal
two, and Master 2 (which is what Luke, Jedi Master
needed badly). He has Master Speed, which allows
him to get into the action fast. He has Force
Defense, which lets him cancel force powers. He
also has Lightsaber Defense, which is just
Block/Deflect rolled up into one power. All these
are good, but not 115 worthy. Where he becomes the
stud of all studs is his abilities.
Let's start off with the givens, Melee and Triple
attack, I don't think a 100+ piece should ever have
less. Now onto the abilities that cause us all to
take a double take. He has twin, and I believe he
is the only piece with Triple and twin. If your
opponent is dumb enough to base GML you could
possibly you could get six attacks with Luke. You
could put an even 120 on anyone. And with +19
attack you aren't going to miss much. Now onto the
what possibly makes Luke worth the 100+ points is
his Djem So Mastery. We know Djem So allows you to
make an attack when you are hit by a Melee attack,
and with Twin you get to make two attacks when you
are hit. Well the Mastery version allows you to
take that attack at +10 damage. So if anyone is
dumb enough to base you and hits, you can attack
that person twice @ +19/30 each time. Ouch!!!
Oh yeah, he also has one of the best commander
effects in the game, allowing all Allies with a
force point Force Renewal 1. When the Republic saw
this commander effect I know they were all praying
Grand Master Yoda would have this commander effect…
sorry guys he didn't. Also if you didn't notice
that is a board wide commander effect, not a within
6 effect.
So with all that why wouldn't you play GML. Well
his biggest weakness is that he is a commander,
which makes it so you can't use Wedge's commander
effect. I think allowing him access to Evade and
Mobil would be just as bad as SSM and Mettle are on
GoWK. Another thing bad about his commander effect
is that it seems all the NR pieces coming out all
have Force Renewal already. Sure he can help some
big characters, but it seems like all the pieces
that I thought would not have renewal all seem to
have it already, so it seems absolutely pointless.
Don't get me wrong, he turns Mara and Kyle into
beasts, but at 115 for Luke, and the 40 some odd
points you would be using to turn these fantastic
pieces into gods, you might as well go a different
route. And is I believe Luke's biggest weakness,
and that he is Unique and counts as Luke Skywalker.
Which means that you are spending 100 more points to
do something that Luke FS can do. Now Luke FS is
nowhere near the power house Luke GM is, but you
might want to think about saving the 100 points on
something else and still run Luke FS.
I guess since we are talking about how to play him I
think it is a good time to talk about how to beat
him. First off if you are playing against GML do
not, I repeat do not base him. If you base him you
are done. Darth Bane or Vader JH wouldn't even last
long against Luke. So stay away, far away. That
being said, the way to beat him is direct damage.
Once runs out of force he becomes quite beatable.
Also mobil shooters can do a good job of beating
Luke… but like I sad… DO NOT BASE HIM!!!!!!!
Onto the goods…
100 PTS N/A: I wish they would have dropped his
commander Effect and made him a solid 100 points, I
think he would have dominated this format, but he is
115 hence he cannot even enjoy the show.
150 PTS 1/5: You can play him here, but with only
35 points left it would be hard to field a really
competitive squad with GML. Not that it can't be
done, but it would be a lot harder.
200 PTS 3/5: Okay here is where you are going to
find Luke hanging out most. The key to running a
GML Squad is that you need to get rid of the
shooters and direct damage givers first. What I
would recommend doing is running someone who could
hit hard with Accurate Shot so they can take out the
people that can hurt Luke. Like I said once Melee
attackers are the only ones left you win. I think
one of the best pieces to use with GM Luke is NR
Han. He can give Luke the Range support he needs.
Also with Luke you need Dodonna to at least slow
down your squad. Now in 200 those three pieces
leave you with 26 points left… which just happens to
be the cost of Kyp Durron. Think this squad is
pretty good. Sure it has its weaknesses, but with
GML I think this is your best squad.
Samurai13
Wow. 115
points, for a single unit. A true one man army. Luke
is the most expensive unit, not counting the AT- AT.
Coming in with 150 Hp and a defense at the highest
natural in the game of 23, Luke, will definetly be
able to be shot at a few time. However, for 115
points, I would have liked to have seen some more
HP. An amazing attack of 23, and the solid, but
standard, 20 damage. Just looking at these stats,
Luke seems best compared to Exar Kun. He will hit
almost all the time, but high roles will be needed
to hit him. From the start, Luke shows himself a
strong fighter.
To support his good stats, Luke has some nice
abilities. Of course he has Unique and Melee attack,
but lets face it, if he was a shooter, he would
truly be broken. Along with this, Luke has the
deadly combination of Triple Attack and Twin Attack.
Because of the way the abilities are worded, Luke
can fire off six attacks at the same target if he
doesn't move. This is because Triple attack let's
him make three attacks and twin attack lets him make
an extra attack after each attack he does. And
finally, Luke has Djem So Style Mastery. This is
basicly a free Lightsaber Riposite at a +10 damage.
This means any one who bases him is toast.
For Force Powers, Luke as the standard F2 and to
really extend his power he has FR2. He also has
MotF2, which lets him spend Force points twice per
turn. True to the more peaceful Jedi nature, Luke
has no offensive force powers. Force Defense allows
him to cancel a force power used within 6 squares.
This could come in handy against the Force that do a
lot of damage, such as Force Lightning. He also has
Lightsaber Defence, which is Lighsaber block and
Deflect all rolled into one. Very handy, and it
helps extend his HP by a lot. And to finish off his
Force Powers, Luke has Master Speed, which is great
for basing Shooters to prepare for an attackthat
will wipe out anyone.
And to finish off this piece, we have a very good
Commander Effect. Each ally with a Force rating
gains FR1. This is very useful, but it won't affect
a lot of units, depending on the point build. I
would probably use Jaina or Jacen.
So, this one man army is truly that, for you can't
put much else in. However, the problem with one man
armies is that as soon as they are killed, no more
army. I personally would have liked to have seen him
with more HP. His bane is shooters. Sure he can
block their attacks, but he is eventually going to
run out on Force points. And being 115 points, as
soon as he goes down, the battle is pretty much
over. I don't know if I like him, but I think he can
do well. I believe the best way to kill him is too
hope you can disintegrate him, or using an army of
Cal Dor Bounty hunters, that base him and then blow
up. They are also good, because if he doesn't kill
them, they have a pretty good chance of hitting him.
