While most rebels might fear Star Destroyers or giant battle stations, the true might of the Empire lies in its cunning strategic minds. Grand Admiral Thrawn stands as an example of Imperial order and dedication as he focuses on the eradication of Rebel forces and their allies, ending threats to the Empire quickly, preferably before they have a chance to do any real damage.
From Chiss Ascendancy to Grand Admiral
Originally serving in the Expansionary Defense Fleet for the Chiss Ascendancy, Thrawn pledged his loyalty to Emperor Palpatine for the benefit of his people. Thus began his entry into the Navy and his eventual promotion to Grand Admiral. As Grand Admiral, Thrawn’s influence spread in countless directions, whether it was weakening the rebels on Lothal or the implementation of key TIE fighter advancements. Grand Admiral Thrawn brings a suite of abilities to Star Wars™: Shatterpoint that support Galactic Empire units and allow them to outmaneuver and outwit your opponents!
Strategic Mastermind
Thrawn’s mind for plots and his ability to outwit his opponents is represented in several ways on his card, but first among them might be the ability to include two out of three available Grand Strategy cards in your Order Deck. These unique cards may be reminiscent to those that accompany Ewok Trappers, but represent a refined approach that offers Thrawn much more variability. Each Grand Strategy has two possible choices that a player may choose from to take advantage on the battlefield. These Grand Strategies allow Thrawn and his forces to either react to the battlefield or plan ahead to seize the advantage. However, each of these choices also has a negative effect on the chosen friendly unit, whether it’s losing hunker after dashing forward or becoming pinned. Thrawn asks much of the troops under his command, but they gladly follow him due to his results.
Active Ability: I Want You to Know Failure, Utter Defeat
Thrawn’s Active Ability, I Want you to Know Failure, Utter Defeat, allows him to strategically reposition for the cost of one Force. While this might be helpful to keep Thrawn safe, if he is contesting an Active objective it will also have the added benefit of increasing his next attack by 3 dice! Whether it’s seizing a point or getting to safety, Thrawn is always looking for the optimal location.
Innate Ability: We Must Wait and Watch
Thrawn is always finding the most favorable position for not just himself but his allies and subordinates as well. This is represented with his Innate ability, We Must Wait and Watch. This key ability makes reserving a unit card into your Order Deck cost one less Force, for a cost of zero! More importantly, it also allows that reserved unit to instead use that saved Force to remove a damage or condition and have one character in that unit make a reposition movement. Oftentimes in Shatterpoint a unit doesn’t have a strong target or Active objective, and this ability truly allows Thrawn to move Imperial forces up into optimal positions to prepare for their upcoming activation.
Identity Ability: To Defeat an Enemy You Must Know Them
While Thrawn pushes his forces, he also protects his assets and respects their sacrifices, and his troops see it. His Identity ability To Defeat an Enemy You Must Know Them gives Protection to Imperial forces with an injured token that are engaged with an enemy character. He also allows a unique twist on Star Wars: Shatterpoint, refreshing your Order Deck when an allied Primary Unit is wounded! This allows players to take advantage of their own shortcomings, and allows Battle Tactics and Force Points to be used more frequently than otherwise thought. However, you must consider the loss of any unrevealed Order Cards that would be shuffled back into the deck and potentially left unplayed for longer than usual.
Stances: Strategic Genius and Aggressive Assault
While attacking, Thrawn’s two stances represent his approach to engagement, either using his Strategic Genius or pushing forward with an Aggressive Assault. Strategic Genius gives a slight bonus to ranged attacks and slightly stronger melee defense with results that increase his support. On an optimal roll of Strategic Genius, Thrawn can heal four times, push an enemy target three times, give up to two status effects, or even a mix of support abilities that your squad needs the most. Savvy players will notice, Thrawn can even pin enemies using ranged attacks with this stance, a welcome bonus against enemy insurgents trying to outmaneuver him!
Aggressive Assault, meanwhile, does exactly what it sounds like. With his Chiss Martial Arts, Thrawn rolls 7 dice attacking in melee and with one expertise he can get a PIN with a single Critical Result. While his attack tree can do up to nine damage, it also includes a suite of abilities like reposition or status effects that a savvy commander can use to their advantage.
Agent Kallus and the ISB
Accompanying Thrawn in his hunt for rebels and sympathizers is Agent Kallus and agents of the Imperial Security Bureau. To fans of Star Wars Rebels, Agent Kallus, Inside Man represents not only one of their greatest enemies but also a powerful ally by the end of the show. This change in loyalty appears on his card as Uncertain Loyalties, allowing Kallus to choose from two sets of dynamic tags and fit your strike force. This is also represented in his Imperial Intelligence ability, which gets stronger for each tag he shares with the ally.
Prepared for Any Encounter
His impressive martial prowess in all forms is represented in Prepared for any Encounter, allowing him an extra 3 dice from a free focus, combined with Sharpshooter[2] or Impact[2]. This will grant him an impressive 9 dice attack using Tactical Supremacy in ranged or melee.
Galactic Imperial Security Bureau
Members of the Galactic Imperial Security Bureau, or ISB for short, protect the Galactic Empire from internal security threats, like the insurgency on Lothal. As such, they excel at engaging enemies in melee and holding them there in order to detain or interrogate them with the help of higher-ranking agents. ISB Agents can use Assault Tactics to gain the upper hand, moving up and giving them a free focus, very useful combined with their innate Impact [1]. Enemies will be reluctant or unable to get away, because they also damage enemies when disengaging with them using their Imperial Detention ability.
Combine Assault Tactics with Impact [1] and they’ll easily be swinging 8 dice in melee and punishing enemy characters from trying to move out of their zone of control.