Miniatures Jedi Academy Set Review (No. 1 of 4)
| Jedi Academy Set Review (No. 1 of 4) |
| Written by Fool | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, 25 August 2009 13:50 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Welcome to the SWMGamers.com set review for Jedi Academy. This is the first of four including the first 10 pieces, and faction reviews on three of the factions. Enjoy the review!
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Review: The much anticipated Jedi Exile received a Mini in Jedi Academy and it certainly does not disappoint. Good core stats which include 120 Hit Points, 20 Defense and a decent +14 Attack are complimented with some decent Special Abilities which include Double Attack, Lightsaber Duelist and the fitting addition of Empathy. It's hard to say how usable Empathy will be but at least opens up the option of adding some Savage beasts to the OR without having to put up with the detriment of "Savage". The Jedi Exile has some great Force Powers - although less then you would expect, Renewal is to be expected and Defense will certainly come in handy nullifying enemy Force Powers. Repulse 3 although situational, can come in handy if the situation presents itself. Also adding a great Commander Effect which affects Allies which can come in handy the Jedi Exile grants Allies in 6 Extra Attack which can really come in handy - especially with Twin Attackers. Probably the best addition to the Old Republic from this set, the Jedi Exile should factor into a few builds adding a few new elements to a faction that certainly needed it. 
Review: When Exar Kun struck down his master at the floor of the Senate, it changed the way the galaxy viewed the Jedi at the time and spurned one of the tumultuous times of the Star Wars era. It's nice to see Vodo-Siosk Baas represented in Miniature form that much is for sure. For 44 points, 120 Hit Points, 22 Defense and +15 Attack is very aggressively priced for what we see out there on other Jedi. Especially the +15 Attack and the very high defense. Vodo is the cheapest piece with 22 defense and only one of three pieces in the game under 50 points to have 22 defense. Double Attack and Parry as well as Melee Attack are Vodo's only Special Abilities - Parry will help give him survivability especially when coupled with the Mettle granting Nomi Sunrider from Legacy of the Force. Vodo's Force Powers are intriguing to say the least. Perhaps the only piece to have Master of the Force 2 but no renewal, he also has Force Alter and Force Spirit 4 - which will come in handy to boost other allied Force users granting them 4 Force Points and Master of the Force 2. Perhaps the largest detriment to Vodo is the lack of a Lightsaber. Against pieces with Dark Armor he will have a difficult time dealing enough damage against Revan and the Vader's with Dark Armor. Other then that, Vodo is a pretty decent addition to the Old Republic faction. 
Review: Darth Maul is introduced to the Sith Faction in Jedi Academy and perhaps has one of the best poses in the set. At 43 points, he will be a true "Dynamic Duo" with Darth Sidious, Sith Master allowing them to be played in tandem in the Dynamic Duo events, as well as the 100 point "fun" matches. Significantly different from any other Maul we've seen thus far, Maul Sith Apprentice is also priced at least 10 points less then any other rendition. Maul perhaps some of the most diverse and different pieces in the game all of which are completely different then the other. All four different Mauls (three from the Separatist faction and this one) all offer different elements and although none are truly "better" then the other, they all offer a few different tricks. This Maul certainly is going to "hit" less then the other Maul's - a paltry +11 attack is pitiful but put him in a squad with Darth Malak, DlotS from Kotor and you're up to a respectable +15 which is probably what the designers had in mind when building him (which is unfortunate as without Malak and all the Lightsaber Duelist out there, Maul is going to struggle mightily to hit). The low attack however is complemented by Vaapad Style - offering critical hits on 18, 19 and 20 which is an improvement on the standard "Deadly Attack" that Maul has had in the past. Triple Attack also means that based, he will have a shot at least when he DOES hit to crit more often then other renditions of Maul. Somewhat weak in Force Points - again probably taking into account his lack of knowledge of the Force and playing off the "Apprentice" Moniker, Maul can receive a nice boost from Darth Sidious, Hologram allowing Force Renewal 1 to kick in. Otherwise, Knight Speed, Riposte and Rage probably won't see a lot of action - depending on fighting styles. Some may elect to save the Force Points to re-roll the often misses that will come as a result of the +11 attack. Maul is a nice boost to the Sith - a decent cost, with the potential to triple for 150 damage (With Rage and 3 crits), he can certainly pack a punch. Lacking the offensive firepower is a detriment and it's too bad the designers felt to make him "suffer" with all the other Commander Effects the Sith can boost him with. The only last nitpick for Maul and Sidious is the lack of affinity to the Empire and Separatist factions - which Maul could certainly be extremely deadly in coupled with say Asajj Ventress. Loner would have been a nice fitting addition for Maul and it's too bad he lacks Rolling Cleave - an awesome ability that makes the original Darth Maul rendition from Clone Strike certainly worth playing even today. 
Review: When it was revealed that Darth Plagueis this wise was going to see himself as a Miniature in Jedi Academy there were certainly a lot of curiosities as to what he would be reflected as. An extremely Unique piece, Plagueis definitely offers a twist of the Dark Side of the force. We saw a few different version of Force Corruption in the past but what Plagueis brings is certainly a far deadlier version of the ability that really was hard to justify on Revan when it only did 20 damage. Granted, Force Corruption 3 and 4 costs more Force Points both abilities are similar to the "Unleashed" versions of Push and Repulse where Corruption 3 replaces turn and corrupts the target and each target adjacent to it - certainly making bodyguard squads cringe when they see Plagueis on the board. Force Corruption 4 hits one target with 40 damage. Definitely a great Force Power on non-Force users, Corruption can literally kill an opponent extremely quickly if the save 11's cannot be achieved. That makes this ability very deadly on pieces like Boba Fett who don't have the luxury to re-roll unless a Commander Effect requires to. Although overkill it can also wipe out a 40 HP enemy (like the Human Bodyguard) in one shot. Force Renewal 2 means that after the first activation Plagueis is primed and ready to go on Corrupting early on. The second Force angle that Plagueis brings is Essence of Life - extremely fitting for a character who could twist the dark side of the Force to essentially save lives. This Force Power is far greater then Avoid Defeat and keep in mind the target can certainly re-roll if they have Force Points to do so. Not overly strong for his cost in core abilities and Special abilities, Plagueis is most certainly a support piece that can both extend the lives of allies in the squad as well as deal some sickening damage through corruption. The only downside is that against the Vong, Corruption is totally useless of course but with Parry, Plagueis certainly has some survivability if he can roll well and Essence of Life is an ability that certainly can take effect against any enemy. Although expensive at over 60 points in terms somewhat of what he brings, Plagueis may have some life in the 200 point games, and can certainly work well as a nice Sith support piece. 
Review: With the addition of Darth Sidious, Hologram to the Sith Faction in Clone Wars, it was only a matter of time until some of the popular Sith Lords made their way into the Sith Faction as well to help boost the Sith. Finally, in Jedi Academy we see Darth Sidious, Sith Master and he does not disappoint for what he brings to the table to the Sith. A mix of Darth Sidious from Clone Strike and Emperor Palpatine, Sith Lord from Revenge of the Sith, Darth Sidious Sith Master definitely brings a few new elements to the Sith allowing a number of different and new angles to try allowing them to gain a few more tricks in the bag. Similar statistically speaking to both Emperor Palpatine, Sith Lord and Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious, Sith Master has slightly lower Hit points then both, 1 less Defense then Palpatine and suffers from slightly lower attack from Palpatine - the same Defense/Attack as Sidious. The standard "Melee Attack" and "Triple Attack" package for the offensive version of Palpasids is in effect making him deadly when based. His Force Powers are a nice addition as well. The first of all the Sidious/Palpatine pieces to have Master of the Force 2 (which will increase his odds of hitting) or allow him to move farther to base, he also has Force Lightning and a nice addition is an ability we haven't seen since Clone Strike - "Pawn of the Dark Side". This will work VERY will in the Sith faction, especially with the SHAD, Sith Assault Droid and the multitude of decent non-unique Sith pieces. Finally, we see a nice Commander Effect - "Swap" brought to the Sith Faction. This is definitely a great addition to the Sith Faction giving them some credibility. Lacking only tempo control now, they are certainly becoming very competitive with each set released. Darth Sidious, Sith Master also is very aggressively priced (less then Palpatine and Sidious) and will figure into a few different Sith builds. 
Review: Referred to by Fingersandteeth as the "Crap War Droid", the Krath war droid is a lackluster addition to the Sith Faction. For a massive 18 points, you only gain 40 Hit Points, decent defense (18) and respectable attack (11) - if you can live long enough to get off some attacks. The fact that the Krath War Droid has Melee Attack is another hindrance. Working with Revan is suspected (+4 Attack and Intuition if it's within 6 squares) but the Krath War Droid will not find its way into many builds - unless you're re-creating the Empress Teta Crisis where the Krath started a massive war against the Republic around the time of Exar Kun (and Ulic Qel-Droma). Hopefully if more "Krath" additions come in later sets, they are more playable then this piece. Which just isn't worth the cost of 18 - especially with the Hit Points only being 40. You're better off adding 4 more points and taking a Sith Lord (or 5 more for a Sith Apprentice). 
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