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HoSS Strategy Review: Darth Vader

Fi Skirata

New member
Please do not use the title HoSS Strategy Review in other strategy reviews unless you have received permission from one of the heads of HoSS.

Thank You
- Fi Skirata

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DARTHVADER-HoSS-Fig-Final_zpsda972ecb.png~original

Darth Vader: dark lord of the Sith, the right hand man for the Emperor and an over-all beast. He is the strongest of the currently released HoSS figures and has a price tag to match at a whopping 220. With this price tag, Darth Vader can cause massive amounts of damage to your opponents and intimidate any foe.

To understand how to best use Darth Vader, you first need to look at the stats:

Medium – Average; he can use this to take advantage of bushes and low outcrops, but he is vulnerable to some insta-kill powers.
Life=6 – A solid health level sitting slightly above average for classic figures and high for HoSS figures.
Move=5 – Average; he won’t get left behind, but he won’t be winning any glyph grabs either.
Range=1 – Close range, this means that he will have to get into the thick of things to do the most damage.
Attack=6 – A strong attack that sits above average. Good against heroes.
Defense=6 – A strong defense that sits above average. This will make him very hard to take down for most squads.
Points=220 – Highly expensive; he will eat up a big chunk of your points during drafting.

Force Choke – Between moving and attacking, you can attack someone within 4 clear sight spaces with 1 unblockable attack die. If you roll a skull you may roll again until you stop getting skulls.

Intimidating Presence - All opponents' Common Squad figures within 6 clear sight spaces of Darth Vader roll 1 less defense die.

You Have Failed Me For the Last Time – If a Unique Hero you control within 4 clear sight spaces of Darth Vader fails an attack, you must immediately use Force Choke on that figure.

Force Leap Symbol – Instead of a normal move, Darth Vader may move 3 spaces without becoming engaged, leap over obstacles and not stop for water. Darth Vader may ignore elevation changes of up to 25 levels when using Force Leap.

Force Push Symbol – Once per turn, before or after moving or attacking, Darth Vader may move a figure within two clear sight spaces of him. That figure is moved up to two hexes in a straight line on same-level or lower hexes.

Overall Analysis

Synergies:
This is the one area in which Darth Vader is lacking. He has no obvious synergies with any figures, though there are certain parings he does well with. I will go more in depth on those below.

Survivability:
With six defense and six life, Darth Vader certainly has a nice life-expectancy. He is a figure that you can charge into your enemy and last long enough to cause some massive, possibly game-changing, damage. However, he is vulnerable if engaged to more than a couple of foes as squads will wear him down if allowed to mob him. Don’t let him get surrounded and be wary of other high-strength heroes or those with instant-kill abilities.

Offense:
A six-die melee attack and an unblockable die ranged attack make Darth Vader a very offensive-strong figure. While his melee threat range of 6 (move 5 + range 1) is nothing to be sneezed at, his Force Choke special power’s threat range is a nice 9 (move 5 + range 4). Darth Vader also has the ability to use Force Choke and follow up with his strong melee attack! Just remember that he can only use his special on adjacent figures if you get him engaged.

Strategy:
Simply put, Darth Vader is a tank unit. He is meant for either dealing a lot of damage before dying or to soak up attacks. Due to his lack of explicit synergies and his powerful stats, he fits in with most armies fairly well, as long as you can afford the price.

There are two basic tactics for playing Darth Vader. One involves sending Vader out on a kamikaze run towards the enemy, with the hope of taking out as many enemy figures as possible before death. To do this best, make sure you have at least two OMs on Vader every round until he is killed. This strategy usually works best if you aim for wiping out the Unique Heroes first, as they are usually the toughest figures in an army. Remember when playing offensively like this, it is good to try to be engaged to at least two figures so as to make us of his melee attack and Force Choke. Just don’t let him get overwhelmed with too many engagements.

Additionally, there are some more army-specific strategies.

Scare them to Death:
Move Darth Vader and a squad of Stormtroopers or Death Star Troopers into a bunch of enemy common squad figures and fire away. If you position them right, then Vader will cause the squad figures to lose a defense die because of his Imposing Presence power, while the Stormtroopers/Death Star Troopers attack using their Imperial Marksmanship bonus.

Unlikely Alliance:
A pairing of Darth Vader and Han Solo is actually quite strong. Use Darth Vader to take out your opponent’s heavy-hitters and high-life heroes. Then use Han for squad killing and cleanup. This pairing works even better with Chewbacca, as he raises Han’s survivability and maneuverability.

Units to Avoid:
With a figure as well equipped all-around as Vader, there are not many figures that can be overly dangerous. However, one of the worst figures for Vader to encounter would be any Undead or Soulborgs/Droids. These figures are immune to Vader’s Force Choke, limiting him to just melee.
The Vampires could be considered his worst threat of all. With their ability to quickly traverse the map, their ability to heal upon killing, and their resistance to Force Choke, they can be a dangerous enemy. Cyprien is the worst of the worst, with his higher stats and his Chilling Touch he must be avoided if at all possible.
Soulborgs are also a big threat in their own way, with their ability to resist Force Choke and cause serious damages when they mob Vader; players should be wary when facing them. They can be best used by engaging Darth Vader, allowing other non-Soulborgs to shoot at him from a distance and not get Force Choked. Major X17 is the best for this, and engagement with him should be done carefully due to his Improved Cyberclaw. Even worse are the Gladiatrons, as once Vader is surrounded he won't be able to move or Force Choke, and these squads can pump out 4 big attacks a turn compared to his one.
 
I really liked this review Fi, very well done. If I might make a suggestion: post the card in the OP, and perhaps link to the archives of other HoSS units you mention.
 
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How much do you think Intimidating Presence could help units that get lots of attacks, like say Major Q9 and Deathwalker 8000? sorry I forgot the hep part in how much Darth Vader would increase their power against squadscape
 
How much do you think Intimidating Presence could units that get lots of attacks, like say Major Q9 and Deathwalker 8000?
I'm not quite sure what you are asking here. If you are wondering if it would affect Major Q9 or Deathwalker 8000, then it will not, as it only affects common squad figures. However, if you are suggesting pairing Vader with one of those two then that is an interesting idea.
 
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