Queue the Imperial March music as the Star Wars Shatterpoint Emperor’s Servant, Darth Vader rules are here!
If you want to see everything that comes with the core set and where you can grab yours, you can check that out here.
For now, though, let’s check out the new rules for Darth Vader from the Fear and Deadmen Pack Expansion for Star Wars Shatterpoint, revealed by Atomic Mass Games.
Let’s take a look at the expansion itself first, which you can order here, or if you’re reading this after 1/26/2024, you can pick it up from your favorite local store!
Star Wars: Shatterpoint – Fear and Dead Men Squad Pack: $49.99
Click on these links to order yours for less from these retailers: | Amazon | Asmodee Website | Dicehead Games | Bazooka Games | Frontline Gaming | Element Games (UK) | or | eBay
It’s always exciting to see alternative minis, especially of the penultimate series bad guy himself!
Star Wars Shatterpoint Emperor’s Servant, Darth Vader Rules
As hoped for, Darth Vader is well suited for an aggressive playstyle, rewarding those willing to press forward and attack unflinchingly. He is strongly connected to his inner Anger, Hate, Aggression. This Active ability lets Darth Vader Dash to better reach the nearest foe and use the Force to add 3 dice to his next attack roll, but carries some risk of creating an opening for the enemy. If the attack roll includes any failures, Darth Vader is left Exposed. The Emperor’s Servant does not fear attack, as those seeking to take advantage of this will suffer in turn. You Are Unwise to Lower Your Defenses is a Reactive ability that lets him retaliate to damage those who strike at him in melee, so long as they roll a failure.
As you would expect, he has a ton of abilities! It only makes sense, but they have done an excellent job of really rewarding you for playing aggressively, as he can heal himself quite well, has tons of attack power, and does a lot of extra damage.
You Don’t Know the Power of the Dark Side displays Darth Vader’s resiliency, a potent Tactics ability that removes either damage or a condition at the start of his activation, as well as refreshing one Force. And no one who fights alongside him has liberty to relax under Vader’s watchful eye; Perhaps I Can Find New Ways to Motivate Them is an Innate ability that triggers on his wounding an enemy, allowing one of Vader’s allies to Dash into position. You Cannot Hide Forever is Darth Vader’s very potent Identity ability that allows him to activate again before refreshing the Order Deck if he did not wound an adversary during his activation, letting him renew the hunt for his chosen prey.
Then, if you don’t damage someone, you can refresh your activation and get the rest of your army moving up quickly. Honestly, Vader has a ton of incredible abilities and should be excellent in armies that want to push forward quickly.
Emperor’s Servant, Darth Vader Rules For Stances
Darth Vader’s two stances allow him to switch between the two variants of his favored lightsaber Form V, which evolved to emphasize offensive capabilities, proving quite fluid and adaptable. The Form V Shien variant is slightly more reactive, effective at redirecting an adversary’s attacks and helping evade incoming blaster fire. In this stance Darth Vader benefits from higher Ranged and Melee Defense stats. This form works best when Vader is still at some distance from his foes, facilitating deadly throws of his lightsaber. This stance’s Combat Tree offers a diverse array of tactical options and a degree of damage mitigation through Healing, with additional healing made possible through its Defense Expertise Chart. The Combat Tree provides an immediate Shove, with a chance of a second Shove by advancing up on either branch, and the choice of following the Healing branch (which can Expose the foe) or selecting the branch with the ability to Pin and Disarm the foe, and potentially gain a vital Reposition.
His stances also offer a ton of options. You can either go with a more reactive stance that will help him get to combat without taking as much damage. Or, you can just go with the lightsaber-focused stance and charge forward with all kinds of damage!
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
