The man of the hour, Andor, with his trusted – or should that be absolutely terrifying holding onto human shields – droid, K-2SO. Fans have wanted this pair for a very long time and I for one am very glad they are here. They also come with two Rebel Pathfinders, which could be considered annoying as they don’t come with Jyn herself, but I actually really like it. First off, there is the fact that there is now a Jyn pack available and with this pack as well, you can field the entire Rogue One crew. It also means that this in itself lets you run an Andor pack without having to purchase something else. Considering how popular Andor has become, I think this is a very smart move by Atomic Mass. I for one want to run a low-level Rebel team set before the film, so all the characters in the Jyn pack wouldn’t actually be present.
Atomic Mass are very good at judging when sets should be released. This isn’t the first time where a release has coincided with a television release or anniversary, it really hooks you in so you want the set. Being such a huge fan of Andor, the fact that this set was released before the Jyn Erso set is just perfect, as I want my hands more on this than I do the other.
So, let’s find out what is inside of the box. As usual there is the set of cards, a single sprue containing all the models, a sprue of four bases and the leaflet with the QR code to take you to the assembly instructions. With these loaded we can immediately start building. First up for construction is the man himself: Andor. The instructions are fairly straightforward, with only four steps. What I really appreciate is that on this one there is a clear instruction that the legs need to be attached first. I’ve often found that following the instructions in the given order can sometimes lead to problems and the order needs changing. Yet here, there is a clear reason why, the left hand needs to fit onto the trousers. Everything fits extremely well together and there is going to be very little here to cause anyone concern. I have seen some people comment on the face, that it doesn’t seem accurate. For me, the face is spot on for a clean shaven Andor. I think we have seen him so much with facial hair that we’re not used to him clean shaven. The sculptor here has left it to the painters to put on that facial hair. As a painter, I don’t mind this as it means we can decide how old he is and what stage he’s at. The pose itself is typical Andor. It’s not mobile but stationary, a kind of ‘who gives a -’ look about him.
Next up is K-2. he is an extremely simple two step build, although there is no option of a human shield… shame! Put the two parts of the body together, attach the four limbs and head and you are done. There is no give in the legs so you don’t have to worry about lining them up to ensure he can stand. The left arm with the blaster can be pointed upwards if you choose, but this seems very uncharacteristic of K-2, so I kept him in the right pose. In terms of pose, you can really sense his movement with this, the way his thighs come forward, really gives you the right feel with him. The outstretched hand I like but I’m already thinking of getting a second one of him as I think it would be very easy to place a stormtrooper into that human shield position.
Next is Sefla. Three steps and a very helpful alternate view for one of the joins. There is nothing complicated here if you change the order slightly. At step two, don’t attach C05 and C06 until after you have attached the body in step three, it will make your life a lot easier. Also with the arms, glue the left on first and the right will fit snuggly into place. There is an obvious likeness to the character of Sefla. I love the dynamic pose that is not too over the top, fitting in right with the rest of the squad.
Finally, it is Rodma. Oh dear, there’s a hair piece. If you have played Marvel Crisis Protocol in the early days, you will know my dread. Thankfully this isn’t too bad, but it can be a bit fiddly. While I want to say that the rest of the build is fine there is one glaring error. On the last stage it says to add the headfirst. While I appreciate the tip it is absolutely the wrong one, the head should go on last otherwise you are going to spend forever trying to get the strap of the gun over it. Put the right arm on first. The strap will need a slight push to get over the collar of the jacket, but you will hear a click. Once it is in place the head attaches seamlessly. I can only imagine Atomic Mass has put that instruction incorrectly. The model itself I like, and I’m really pleased they chose a female to balance the ranks out slightly.
The squad, as a whole, looks fantastic together. Sure, there are no alternate part swaps, they are as they are. But they aren’t too dynamic, I think really reflecting what these characters are like in Rogue One and/or Andor. With the models built, it’s time to look at the cards. Let’s start with the obvious, none of the units have a tactic, unlike almost every other squad you can buy in a box. I wonder if this will have an impact when they’re on the table, I usually pick units that do have tactics to give me a bit of an edge.
Starting with the primary, Andor. He gives you two force but a rather impressive nine squad points. I wouldn’t have expected much force from him and only one of his abilities requires a force to use at any rate. That ability is his active one, ‘We Need to Blend In.’ This ability allows Andor and another ‘Rebel Alliance’ unit to dash. If that other unit is a ‘spy’, both Andor and the unit get a hunker token. I like that this has no range, so you can really select the best unit to help get into position. ‘This Town is Ready to Blow’ is a reactive ability that allows Andor to roll three attack dice when a player claims a struggle card. Each enemy unit that is contesting an active objective suffers damage for each hit and expertise rolled. This seems incredible, it’s not when an enemy claims a struggle card but any player including yourself. I can see this really annoying opponents! ‘We’ve All Done Terrible Things’ allows Andor to roll three more attack dice for a ranged attack if the enemy is engaged but causing two damage to your own engaged unit. Thematically this makes a lot of sense, and I think the sacrifice might be worth trying to be sure an enemy is destroyed. For his identity ability – ‘Make Ten Men Feel Like a Hundred’ – when an allied unit becomes wounded, another allied unit may advance, or if they’re a spy, reposition. However, the one I really like, if a ‘Rebel Alliance’ unit is activated with a Shatterpoint card, they get impact 2 and sharpshooter 2. That is incredibly powerful, giving even more power to the Shatterpoint card. Andor clearly wants to be run with Rebels and even better, spies. Looking at his stance card, Andor’s two sides are ‘Light It Up’ and ‘All the Way’. The latter is his slightly better melee and the former his better ranged stance. No matter which side, he is rolling five defense dice but ‘All the Way’ allows for some healing. For this stance, he is rolling seven dice for both melee and ranged, with the ability to do nine damage. There is focus on shoving and movement. On the flip side, the damage is the same, but there’s a lot more effects to inflict on your opponent.
The secondary is K-2SO, who is an expensive five points. Starting with his stance card, he can do a maximum of eight damage, rolling seven dice no matter whether he is in melee or ranged. This seems ok, but why does he cost so much? His active ability – ‘Why Does She Get a Blaster and I Don’t? – costs a force and allows K-2 to move towards a ‘Rebel Alliance’ character and then that character can hunker or remove a condition. Not bad. The other ability that K-2 has that costs a force is ‘Congratulations, You Are Being Rescued’. When a ‘Rebel Alliance’ unit within four is wounded, K-2 can dash toward the enemy and then do a five dice attack. Handy. K-2 then has two innate abilities. The first, ‘Goodbye’, When K-2 is wounded, the attacking character gets pinned and strain. An allied ‘spy’ character within three can then dash. Additionally, if K-2 has one or more wounded tokens at the end of his turn, you can spend up to two momentum to move the struggle token one place for each token but then K-2 is defeated. This is going to make opponents think carefully about attacking K-2 and I also like he has a sacrifice, but like he does in Rogue One. The final ability – ‘Lockdown’ – means that if K-2 isn’t wounded, your opponent cannot replace or remove your control tokens if K-2 is contesting it. Basically, no matter what state he’s in, K-2 is going to be annoying your opponent! Is he worth five points? I’m not convinced yet but being able to sit him on an objective and cause trouble might be worth it.
Last up are the Rebel Pathfinders, which cost four points. Rolling six dice whether melee or ranged they can do a maximum of 6 damage. Like K-2, they have two abilities that each cost a force. The first – ‘Defensive Maneuver’ – allows each character to dash and then gain hunker. The second, ‘Cloak and Dagger’, which allows them to roll three additional dice. If the target is a primary, they then add damage to the pool for each critical rolled. So, their damage output can be rather impressive! Once the attack is resolved, the combat action ends. This seems very useful and a way for a small unit to deal with primaries. The last two abilities allow the unit to gain a hunker at the end of setup, have immunity to pinned and have the ability scale. Also, whenever they dash, if they have a hunker token, they may advance instead. All of this makes this unit seem really well rounded and one that I can see becoming a staple in Rebel forces.
Looking at cards is one thing but how did they measure up when on the board? These are not a huge, in-your-face squad, they are much more subtle than that. Andor is a strong leader, letting you move others into position, which worked really well. He was able to deal out a fair amount of damage, but I think he is one for keeping a little further back. ‘This Town Is Ready to Blow’ knocked out three units after the first struggle, something to be very impressed by and helped to even the playing field for the second struggle.
The pathfinders are perhaps one of the strongest in the box. They can hold their own against a primary, they almost wounded Krennic in a single go, which I was rather impressed with! Usually, you must watch your supporting characters, but when used right, you can leave these guys and gals to their own devices.
K-2, while I adore the character, was a little lacking when I used him. Sure, he could get some objectives and shove the opposition, but he was a bit bland. I wanted something a bit more from him, particularly considering he cost five points. I don’t know what I want, but I just wanted a bit more. Maybe I’ll change my mind with more games.
This is an enjoyable set, allowing players to recreate moments from Rogue One and Andor. It isn’t going to completely change the way you play or construct your squads, but if you like the characters, that might be enough. If you are a Rebel player, the pathfinders are certainly worth a look at, maybe even a first choice for you. Andor and K-2 require a bit more thought. I ran them with ‘This Is Some Rescue’ squad pack, which worked exceptionally well. I’m sure there will be better fits in the future. All in all, a solid release for Rebel players.
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