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By
Julian H. Betancourt |
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STAR WARS MINIATURES:
A LOOK INTO A VERY SMALL REALM
In September
of 2004, Wizards of the Coast released a much anticipated
miniature game, Star Wars Miniatures.
Although not unfamiliar to Star Wars miniatures, it became the
first sci-fi entry by WOTC into the
pre painted miniatures rage. For those not aware about them,
think of them as the newest version of the highly successful
Dungeons and Dragons ... with a Star Wars twist. It is a head to
head game for competitive players, a line of prepainted, fully
assembled miniaturized figures, ranging in size from small to
large and averaging one and a half inches high (34 mm).
The
line offers a new dimension into Star Wars collecting with a
scale and level of detail never before applied to Star Wars. It
is a product that definitely appeals to role-players in their
adventures with such activities as battling and invites fans to
collect the miniatures as single pieces, allowing for a great
number of movie scene recreations.
Star Wars Miniatures is an entertaining game to play. Players can just pull it out of the box, set it on a table, look through the rules and be rolling the die in no time. Not difficult to play, the game captures a great deal of the Star Wars universe. You'll find heroes, villains, droids, creatures, and aliens of all sorts. But although it does not simulate much of Luca's galaxy fighting, it has enough bite to have you away from your daily routine and into a realm of shooting blasters, ignited sabers and onrushing empire servants.
Two
different sets have been made available up to this point:
STAR WARS MINIATURES:
WHAT TO GET. WHAT YOU'LL FIND INSIDE
STARTER PACKS:
The first thing to get, if your interest drives you to it, would
be the game's Starter Pack (also known as Entry Pack) a box
containing all the starting materials needed for a player to get
familiar with the game. Inside you will find a skirmish
rulebook, a fold out battle grid, terrain tiles, a stat card for
each miniature, a 20 sided-die and a bunch of mini figures, ten
to be exact.
Out
of all ten, eight of the figures are randomly inserted while two
of them, Luke and Vader for the Rebel Storm Pack, and Jango Fett and Obi-Wan
for the Clone Strike Pack, are exclusives to the Starter Packs
only. Included in the starter set you will also find a listing
with the names of all 60 figures making up the game and their
level of scarcity going from common to uncommon, rare and very
rare. By looking at the list one can very much know what is or
isn't easy to find.
MAP AND TILES:
The play map is a large fold out paper and pre-printed terrain.
It's two sided, so you can use either side you want. One side
being specific to the given game, whether Rebel Storm or Clone
Strike and the other side a more open terrain that can
be customized using the tiles. The included terrain tiles can be
used to make the game more interesting, altering the terrain
locations on the map.
BOOSTER PACKS:
Also known as Expansion Packs, are narrow boxes containing a
selection of seven randomized mini figures. Booster packs
support, on their own, the Rebel Storm and Clone Strike sets.
Included in the packs are seven stat cards, one for each
figure, and again a complete list of names for all 60 miniatures
belonging to the set.
Contrary
to the Started Packs, Booster Packs include Very Rare (VR)
miniatures. The Started Packs only offer Commons (C), Uncommons
(U) and Rare (R) figures. Booster packs provide them all,
practically guaranteeing a Rare (R) in every pack, allowing
to trade with others as well as an opportunity for army
building, from Stormtroopers to Geonosian Warriors.
STAT CARDS:
The included two sided stat cards each set provides feature on
one side the skirmish combat character's description, pointing
out strength, weakness, special abilities and their Force
powers. Some of the commander miniatures increase the battling
ability of other characters within their squads. The opposite
side of the stat cards feature a sketch of the character used to
create the miniature.
Here
is a detailed explanation on what you'll see on the skirmish
combat side of the stat cards:
The cards are of standard size and will easily fit in 9 pocket plastic sheets used for baseball card albums, thus you can nicely keep them in great condition if you wish to collect them.
ULTIMATE MISSIONS:
They are series of full color books accompanying each Star Wars
Miniatures expansion, providing in depth information and
suggestions to play the game for anyone wanting to expand their
Star Wars Miniatures experience. Besides their related game
content, a fold-out poster map and new color terrain tiles are
included, allowing gameplay to be diversified.
THE
GAME IN A NUTSHELL
With so many high detail but low fun games on the market today, the Star Wars Miniatures save the day by providing players with enjoyment not only to share with their friends but also with the little ones in their families.
The
Rebel Storm and Clone Strike games are the same as far as setting of
the rules. Only the use of different terrains (eg. Death Star for
Rebel Storm, Naboo for Clone Strike) and figures is what changes.
Nothing says you cannot use the CS Naboo Map with Stormies, or the
RS Death Star Map with Droidekas.
The combat and movement are simple to understand, yet it isn't simplistic. The tactics are in-depth but without mind-rattling in-depth rules. Just roll the d20 die, add it to your attack factor and compare it to the target's defense. It's still critical to seek cover, place leaders where they may help subordinates, mass fire and use unique models' special abilities. In order to play a game, each player must create a squad with a limit agreed upon. The games are divided into three groups. The Rebel Storm set is equally divided, with each group containing 20 characters for a total of sixty different characters. The Rebel Storm set is made of:
While the Imperials and Rebels don't mix, the Fringe can join either force or create their own squad. In two player games, one player should play Empire and the other Rebel forces. The Clone Strike set is unequally divided in three groups. The Clone Strike set is made of:
While the Republic and Separatist don't mix, the Fringe can join either force or create their own squad. In two player games, one player should play Republic and the other Separatist forces. The squads are built in secrecy by the players, allowing for the game to be more varied and fair. When the forces have been chosen and the squads are ready, they can be placed in pre talked about starting areas, or those areas already marked on the map. In a two player game Rebel (RS) or Republic (CS) set up first and Empire (RS) or Separatist (CS) go second. Once all the miniatures are on the map, initiative time is up by rolling the provided d20 die. Special considerations such as squeezing through passages are given to larger size miniatures such as Jabba the Hutt or the Wampa, for instance, but they are not frequent to come upon due to the rarity of the larger figures. These "extra punches" are clearly explained in diagrams. Depending on the terrain used, movement on the map becomes complicated. For instance, objects such as walls cannot be gone through. On the other hand, doors could either be open or impassible, depending whether they are open or not. Moving diagonally or areas with low objects in them are counted as double spaces for movement. If you move diagonally in a space with low objects, a penalty costing four spaces from a mini's movement will be given. The penalties stack. When attacking, a line of sight is required in order to have an opportunity to succeed, thus attacks are straight forward. For range attacks, low objects and some characters get counted as cover, which adds +4 to the defense of the defending model. Ranged and Melee attacks get taken care of by rolling a d20 and adding the Attack modifier on the stat card. Doubling the damage dealt, Natural 20's always succeed. On the other hand, 1's always a fail. Stated on the back of the stat cards, If applicable, Force abilities take the place of an attack. An attacker's damage value gets subtracted from the defender's hit points, if an attack connects, being Melee or ranged and any appropriate special ability is applied. There are some Force attacks that use the damage value stated on the attack on the card, making things much easier to keep up with. The game ends when, if players have agreed upon playing a certain scenario, one player achieves the objectives of the mission or only one player remains.
STAR WARS MINIATURES: First of, let's keep in mind we are dealing here with figures approximately an inch and a half tall, with certain figures such as the Wampa slightly taller. As such and being part of a role playing game, they do not have articulation and are permanently attached to their rounded bases. With this said, the detail, paint application, extensive array of characters and poses could fairly be tagged as superb. For customizers liking to re paint, these miniatures hold paint well and they do look better than most of the HeroClix sculpts. There are a couple of instances where the sculpts are a little out of scale when placed next to other human sized counterparts such as the rebel pilot, per say, in the Rebel Storm set, but considering this is minimal, it isn't something to honestly complain about. Overall the miniatures are very accurate as far as color of their clothes and weaponry is concerned. With the exception of the larger and some of the rarer figures, the likeness isn't precise. But, How much detail can you give to a face slightly bigger than a grain of rice? A problem we do face with the sculpts is that a great number of their weapons are bent. The pieces being so small, the soft nature of the plastic and being shoved in their packs cause this to happen. For instance lightsabers, staffs and gun barrels are frequently found slanted. And although I was first very disappointed by this, I was soon told about a happy solution to this situation, boiling water! Using a small pot, boil two to three cups of water in it. Grab the out of shape miniatures with some metal tongue or pliers and dip in the boiling water the bent part of the sculpt, for a few seconds. The plastic will soften greatly. Pull the figure out and using your fingers reshape the area. Be fast and hold the appropriate shape for a few seconds more. As the plastic hardens, the correct shape will remain in place, with the end result of a perfectly straight saber or staff. Sometimes this process needs to be repeated as some figures will bend out of shape again.
STAR WARS MINIATURES: AS I write this, twelve promo figures with unique bases have been issued. Most of them were given out at several conventions at the WOTC stand in 2004, some were promoted through British publications and in 2005, one was included as a pack in with Wave 12 of Unleashed figures. Here are the details on these exclusives:
There may be some slight differences in the paint on these freebie pieces, but they are minimal. The noticeable uniqueness of these miniatures is only subject to their bases and how they have been stamped, differing from the regular issues by showing the name of a publisher, convention, etc.
Despite
their "honorable" Exclusive status, they are common on trade
sites and the aftermarket. Mainly because they are exactly
looking as their standard issued counterparts.
STAR WARS MINIATURES: REBEL STORM SET Rebel
Imperial
Fringe
CLONE STRIKE
SET
Separatist
Fringe
FINAL THOUGHT
This
isn't the most exciting game this side of the Galaxy. Rarer
characters are often more powerful and low power troops are
easily overpowered by named characters of same points value
being somewhat predictable. But it is all
together neat Star Wars fun.
The
miniatures can be used for RPGs or as minis for other games if
the rules aren't of your liking, and they are worth the
basic price for a booster pack, anywhere between $10.00 to
$13.00 depending on where you buy them. On the downside single
figures such as Very Rares (VR) can fetch some ridiculous prices
in the secondary market, for instance a #42 Rebel Storm set VR
Boba Fett can easily sell for as high as $75.00. However, one
has to realize the odds are extremely slim to find this figure
and would take quite a few booster packages to be opened, at
almost $13.00 each, to find the Fett thus the price could be, in
a certain way, reasonable.
And
speaking of the miniatures, these are excellent quality durable
sculpts, tough to break, easy on the eye and bursting with
action, providing a quick and fun game to play whenever the
chance calls for it. No need for painting, no special carriers
to purchase and their distribution ratio assures a rare
character in every booster pack. A great concept and a fine
effort by the Wizards.
Enjoy
the Guide!
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