Today's piece is an interesting piece that i like several things on, but at the same time really dislike for several reasons. Palps on throne came in at number 6 on my list. This piece was huge as a counter to GOWK squads, but still has a place in today's game. One thing i love about this piece is that it really does not replace the RS emperor. Both are good and fill different niches. This new version is 7pts cheaper, and again lacks natural attacking powers. What this piece does is similar to the RS version in that he is a force weapon as well as a force battery for anyone on your squad, save droids. His force renewal 3 and cheaper cost makes him a better value than the RS version. So why doesn't he replace the old version? Well, for starters he has emplacement. You can pick anywhere on your half of the board to set up, but once he is set, he ain't moving. That is what i really dislike about this piece. You have to put him in a place to be effective, yet wont get torn apart by your opponent's shooters. The nice thing is that he has evade, but at the same time that is an ability that really doesn't fit the character but works well for the game.
The mega battery for sick Vader abilities was key in beating GOWK squads because of the direct damage ability. His popularity may have come down some, but at his cost, he can still be a great piece to use for a force battery. Characters with low attacks can use him for rerolls as well, so that too can help. There are also a lot of maps that will let you gain first round gambit and still be somewhat sheltered. I hate the emplacement part of this piece, but his uses are big enough that they can outweigh it. Palps is a piece that you will have to get use to running and place smart with.
Josh
Emperor Palpatine on Throne (13/40, Very Rare—Imperial
Entanglements; HP 130, ATT 0, DEF 21, DAM 0, DEP
33)
All stupid “on Throne” jokes aside, this
version of Palpatine is arguably the best version of
Palpatine that
Wizards has ever released. With
Force Renewal
3, this version of Palpatine is going to have
Force points to burn and thanks to his Commander
Effect which gives your entire squad access to his
Force points, he is definitely a Force to be
reckoned with. Now, characters like Vader’s
Apprentice and Vader, Unleashed don’t ever have to
worry about running low on Force points even though
they have
Force Renewal. As an
Emplacement,
Palpatine can’t move but he’s not going to be
defenseless.
Evade gives you the ability to dodge some damage
and with two impressive offensive Force powers (Force
Lightning 3 and
Force Push 2)
he can still defend himself without too much
trouble.
Force Push 2 gives you a great way to get around
Force Lightning 3’s arcing since Palpatine can’t move away from
characters that base him so you can just make them
move instead.
Force Lightning 3 also gives him the ability to
activate your opponent’s pieces if they fail their
saves on it, which can really help keep Emperor
Palpatine safe despite being unable to move.
For 33 points, you’re getting a very powerful
Force battery piece. Though you can’t move him, he’s
still got plenty of tricks up his sleeve to keep him
alive a lot longer.
100 POINTS: Much like the original Force battery
Palpatine, he
is small enough to run in 100 points without having to sacrifice
your beat stick too much. Considering how powerful
Vaders have gotten for 50 points, you can have a
pretty nasty squad of just a Vader and Palpatine and
still have room for a couple of stormtroopers.
SCORE: 4
200 POINTS: At this level, this version of Palpatine
is a must for any Force based Imperial squad. Now
characters like Vader’s Apprentice and Vader,
Unleashed can brutalize your opponent’s with their
high damage but high cost Force powers without too
much trouble. With a Force battery this big and
powerful (let’s be fair, by the time Vader,
Unleashed or his Apprentice get in range to use
their Force powers Palpatine will likely have 9-12
Force points already), the Imperial Force users
become even more deadly. SCORE: 5
Addendum for the Top 10 Minis of 2009 List—I
absolutely love this piece and really wish I had it
in my collection. It is a great boon to Imperials
across the board (as if they needed the extra help).
He’s best when working with the super-powered Force
users but even less insanely powerful ones like the
Imperial Knights benefit a lot from having this
piece around. To be honest, I am surprised he’s a
cheap as he is considering how much he brings to the
table. He brings a nearly unlimited supply of Force
points to Imperials and he really changed the game
for Imperial force users. And if you think this
piece is amazing, let me tell you, pieces #2 and #1
managed to even put him to shame.
Darth Mauler
We are now reviewing the final Top 3, starting with Emperor
Palpatine on Throne. He is another character with
only one thing to do. He generates force for a
squad, and with Force 3 and Force Renewal 3, he is
great at it. Unless you run Vader’s Apprentice,
Unleashed and/or Darth Vader, Unleashed, which is a
great idea, you will never run out of force.
Emplacement is actually somewhat as he can start in
gambit.
If you start him somewhere where he cannot be attacked by
enemies further than six away, your opponent likely
won’t try to kill him due to Force Lightning 3 and
Force Push 2 letting this chair fight back. Also,
killing him is no easy feat. With 130 hp, 21
defense, and Evade, that chair is tough. The evade
part has been subject to much controversy. How does
a guy in a chair dodge blaster bolts? There are two
explanations that I have seen.. Either the chair
swivels, or, as I saw in a sig on the Wizards forum,
Palpatine makes the bolts dodge him. Regardless,
everyone and their chair is getting evade now,
including Palpatine on Throne.
100 pts: 4/5 I would actually suggest trying to run him
here in a combo with Vader Unleashed or Vader’s
Apprentice Unleashed. Doing Force Lightning 5 or
Force Grip 4 every turn is going to give your
opponent a run for his money.
150/200 pts: 5/5 It doesn’t take one of the aforementioned
unleashed characters to benefit from force. Since
anyone can use a reroll, use him with virtually any
Imperial (except Grand Admiral Thrawn). Moving 2
extra squares is also helpful. And as an added
bonus, starting in gambit never hurt.
