When you think of The Clone Wars, we naturally think of clones versus droids. They are the main fighters in the war. There have been lots (and lots) of clone releases, yet for droids, they are somewhat lacking. Thankfully, the Twice the Pride Squad Pack introduces another type of droid in the form of the Magnaguards, as well as the leader of the Separatists himself, Count Dooku. This set looks like the perfect compliment to what is already available in the core set for dark side scum – I mean users! Surprisingly, Jango Fett is the other character in this set. While it makes sense in terms of Attack of the Clones, he isn’t actually in The Clone Wars for obvious reasons. Yet to have him in this set shows that this isn’t going to stop Atomic Mass from producing some of the coolest characters in a galaxy far, far away.
I still love that everything is contained on a single sprue for the models and then the bases. This sprue is slightly bigger, in part due to the number of lowing cloaks on the models. Cards inside, scan the QR code to get assembly instructions and it’s onto assembling Dooku. He is very straightforward to put together and shouldn’t present players with too many issues. I do really like the alternate arm sculpt, so you can have Dooku either using the force or using force lightning. I’m finding with all these alternatives in the squad packs, that the choices aren’t easy, both sculpted arms look great! I ended up going with the non-Force lightning just because I think it’s a tool Dooku would try to use as little as often. The flow of the cloak is great from a painting point of view, as it can be attached to the model but still have plenty of space to get a brush to every part, meaning it doesn’t need to be part assembled. My only issue with the model is the face; there is a mould line straight down the middle. This was also a problem with Obi-Wan Kenobi in the diorama pack. This one is a little easier to sort with some careful filing but when you are trying to capture the likeness of an established character, mould lines are the last thing you want. Other than this, the model is stunning and the sculpt on Dooku’s face captures his likeness brilliantly.
Next, it’s onto Jango Fett. Although there is lots of detail and parts on Jango, he is simple to put together. What will take up your time is admiring the attention to detail: there’s a lot. From the armour that we all know, to the weapons on his gauntlets, there is just so much to admire on this figure. I’ll go as far to say that this is my second favourite model for Shatterpoint to date. The sculptor hasn’t gone over the top with the pose, it’s straight up Jango. Without doing jump pack poses or anything too motionful, you have a figure that just oozes cool simply for being him. The only thing to point out is that instruction step seven is actually six, don’t worry, you’re not missing a part on your instructions!
Finally it is the two Magnaguards. Looking down at the sprue, there were a lot of pieces left. Clearly, the most challenging aspect of the squad pack had arrived! For Magnaguard pose A, the body and pelvis are straightforward and Atomic Mass makes sure that you can only fit everything together correctly (particularly when joining the two parts together). The right leg I found to be a little more flexible. Thankfully the left is far easier to find the right position, so glue this one first then the right. This allows you to position the right correctly so both feet are on the base correctly. With the arms, I actually glued C9 and C10 together first before inserting and glueing the right arm in. Then I glued the left arm into its slot and lined it up with the weapon. The fit was perfect. None of these are particularly difficult but just require a bit of forethought to know how best to do them. What impressed me again with both guards was the detail, it’s exquisite. The designer has really brought these characters to life. The one issue I really thought I would have with this model was the cloak, I really thought I would have to leave it unassembled in order to be able to paint the underside. Thankfully there is plenty of room for a brush so it can be fully assembled and played with while it gets added to the painting queue.
Magnaguard pose B is a bit easier to assemble than pose A because only one hand is holding the weapon. The cloak, again, I thought would be an issue, particularly looking at the image on the box. However, in the instructions, the weapon actually comes outside of the cloak not on the inside. It’s a small change but makes painting (and thus the assembly) an awful lot easier.
Onto the cards. Dooku’s stance card has two sides: force mastery and form two. The form two has an incredible amount of damage, whereas force mastery allows for healing and a heap of condition tokens on your opponent. As for the abilities themselves, his tactic allows himself and a Separatist character within three to move. Nothing unusual about this sort of tactic but one that makes a huge difference in terms of reaching and claiming those objectives quickly, ‘Surely you can do better’ allows you to use the force to change your opponent’s successes to failures. It seems horrendous but also a very quick way to lose your force allowance quickly. ‘Twice the Pride, Double the Fall’ utilises the above ability. If an opponent’s attack has no hits, Dooku can dash and do a five dice attack. It sounds great until you could be spending up to four force to make it happen. I’m not sure how often the circumstances will allow it to happen. Brave but foolish allows you to refresh two force when a primary or secondary unit is wounded. With the amount of force, you’re bound to get through, this is most welcome! I guess with Dooku, I was expecting more, as he’s the leader of the Separatists. But then again, he rarely gets involved in the fighting in The Clone Wars. He sits back and manipulates. Perhaps I’m looking at him a little wrong and when I get him to the battlefield, he’ll make a bit more sense.
Jango on the other hand is just awesome from the word go. His stance card and a lot of his abilities are all about jumping with his jetpack. His manoeuvrability is superb, and I think he’ll spend lots of games up and down the battlefield. He has capture wise to pull enemies closer to you, if enemies activate too close to you can possibly cause damage, it’s exactly what you would hope and expect from a character like Jango. His ‘I’m Just Looking to get Paid’ works really well and I can see been a favourite in squads: when he wounds a primary or secondary unit, you refresh two force and Jango can heal two. Maybe Dooku will be able to make use of his force heavy abilities after all! For any squad, the ability to refresh force is a very important one. Jango I just love. Thematically he looks great and I’m excited to get him to the table.
The Magnaguards. If you look at their card it’s all about protection, as it should be. They’ll move with a primary and stop opponents attacking them, letting the Magnaguards take the brunt. All very thematic. Then I realised that this supporting unit has ten health! I think that’s the highest in the game so far! That’s an incredible amount of damage that they can take while supporting a primary unit. This unit is simple, simple yet by the looks of it, very effective.
The first time the primary unit hasn’t enthralled me, yet the rest of the squad has me. So, how do they measure up on the battlefield? Well, I underestimated Dooku! The fact him and another character can move on his activation gets them into battle really quickly. Combine it with a Magnaguard who can then move when Dooku does, and you find that Dooku is in the thick of things and protected at the same time. His stance card also allows him to do a lot of shoving and repositioning and I found myself able to move between objectives with ease. He is a slow, quiet fighter and actually, this fits his character perfectly.
Jango can move around a lot, yet I found that a lot of his traits couldn’t trigger if your opponent was careful enough to stay away. He’s one that I definitely need a bit more time with as for me, he is the weakest in this set. When you look online, everyone raves how good he is. Maybe I’m getting old before my time and prefer the elegance of the elderly Count Dooku!
The absolutely shining stars of the set, however, are the Magnaguards. You are going to want to be taking these if you are a Separatist player. They don’t have a huge number of abilities but their ability to protect other characters, their ten health, and the way they convert expertise is all a deadly combination. These guys pack a punch and can take a beating themselves. The fact they can move with a character means they don’t get left behind. These are a must.
This is another squad pack that really feels thematic. Yes, Jango I need a bit more playing with to see his potential but even so, the theme of him jumping around, of attacking those close by, shows his strong theme. Dooku and the Magnaguard are truly awesome, both in terms of their ability to move so quickly across the board together as well as in terms of taking enemies out. The way Magnaguards can protect your characters is going to see them fielded in lots of squads and at a cost of three, they’re a bargain no matter how you look at them. This is just another example of the care and love that Atomic Mass are showing with this game, and I can’t wait to see what else is in store.
