More Vader in Shatterpoint a Good Thing – Fear and Dead Men Squad Pack Review

A while ago, Shatterpoint fans were treated to an (overly) expensive diorama pack that included a Darth Vader figure. People went nuts for that pack, and that Darth Vader character was really great to have on the table. With the recent releases for Star Wars Shatterpoint, there is now a more affordable Vader with his own Storm Troopers. Let’s take a look at this release and whether it’s right for you!

Again, first and foremost, let’s talk about the sculpts. While I prefer the Vader sculpt from the earlier release, this Vader and the Storm Troopers is still insanely good. Atomic Mass Games makes good miniatures, there is no doubt about that. I’ve yet to find a sculpt that I thought was subpar. In a few instances – Ahsoka for example – we have had multiple figures to compare, so again, I like the previous Vader sculpt and pose better. But this one is still fantastic, and when painted on the table, it looks phenomenal.

While the Storm Troopers included in this pack are a bit nondescript…I’m not sure what else you would expect from Storm Troopers. They are by definition, nondescript!

But lets get to the cards. This Vader is really strong, but he comes with some pretty big drawbacks, most notably his less than stellar Force power. With only 3 Force and 7 Squad points, you will not be bringing the most powerful secondary character or support characters to the table. That being said, this Vader is pretty strong.

We don’t go into depth on EVERYTHING these characters can do, but always try to give you a feel for what we think worked for us when playing with them on the table. This Vader is all about attacking enemies, and in fact, if you don’t wound an enemy after activating Vader he is put on the bottom of your draw pile. Early on this could be good to get this powerful character moving and using actions, but at some point, if he is the only character you have, you need to do some wounding to not only give other characters a turn to move and such, but also to refresh your few Force points!

Vader does get a Force refresh at the start of his turn, and the ability to remove two damage or one condition from himself. This is a pretty big deal and again highlights how powerful this version of Vader really is. I love the ability to add dice to his attack rolls even though he likely will get a condition after attacking. I also like that after Vader wounds someone, a Galactic Empire character can dash – this can be great for seizing objectives otherwise out of Vader’s range. Again, strong character, but with weak support.

The Storm Trooper Sergeant isn’t a bad secondary character, and when you use his Coordinated Offensive he can add extra dice for other Troopers within 5 and in Line of Sight. It’s hard to not realize, however, how under powered he is as a Secondary when compared to other Secondary units on the table. That doesn’t make him unusable, and in a team with Vader and other Troopers he’s more than adequate. If you enjoy some of the cool things other Secondary units you’ve played with in the past can do, you might be a bit disappointed here.

And we get to the Storm Troopers themselves. Listen, in the world of Storm Troopers, they are a dime-a-dozen. Unfortunately in Shatterpoint, I’d argue they are a dime-a-dozen as well! I’m not sure they are any worse than other Support units, but I wouldn’t expect too much from them.

Overall, this pack is an interesting one for me. I think overall it works really well, but some veteran players might not enjoy what the Storm Troopers bring to the table when compared to other Secondary and Support units. Still, this is the best version of Vader and a blast to play, so even if you leave the other characters on the sidelines, it’s worth getting for Vader alone!