Season 5 Preview: Your Prey Will Know Fear

Hello everyone, and welcome to the first spoiler article of Imperial Assault Continuity Project Season 5! Today, we are pleased to present upgrades to two classic Imperial Assault figures, as well as a powerful new command card that elevates your Creatures to become kings of the jungle.

Terror of Echo Base

The first new Creature that will stalk the battlefield of Season 5 is the new and improved Wampa! Previously, the Wampa in Imperial Assault was known as a slow brute that could rarely catch its prey, and was not worth the massive 8-point investment. We made three simple changes to Hoth’s greatest predators: we reduced its cost by 2, changed the Hunger ability to make it faster, and gave it Reach. Together, these changes enable the Wampa to chase down and kill its prey. Now, it can run across the battlefield and deliver Deathblows like we saw in Battlefront II (2005)’s Hunt mode.

The extra mobility on the Wampa means that it can better maneuver its 2-square base around the tight corners of indoor maps without needing to rely on Beast Tamer to get into striking distance. This saves the upgrade for use with other creatures, or you can use it to move up to 9 spaces (Beast Tamer + Hunger + move action) and still perform an attack! When focused or given a surge token, the Wampa can use its Bleed, Stun surge to incapacitate an enemy figure, making it much easier for the Wampa’s pack to catch up and finish the hunt.

Bringing Order to a Lawless Waste

The next change to Imperial Assault’s Creature menagerie is a long-overdue update to everyone’s favorite lizard wrangler: Captain Terro! Terro always sat on the edge of viability in the Imperial faction because his flamethrower could deal good damage to closely packed enemies, but he had trouble maneuvering crowded battle spaces and his Blue/Green/Yellow attack pool left a lot to be desired. By adding Efficient Travel and Professional to Terro, the Steering Committee hopes to see the Wasteland Enforcer become a competitive pick in Imperial Villains lists, alongside other leaders like Thrawn, Palpatine, and more figures yet to be revealed…

We also hope to see Terro become a natural leader in Imperial Troopers lists, aided by his improved Cavalry Charge command card. The biggest change is the timing of the ability: now, Terro and his allies can benefit from the Charge from the beginning of a round, rather than only after Terro activates. Extending the offensive aura means that Terro’s allied Troopers will be able to pump out much more damage without waiting for Terro to act first. Astute readers will note that the damage buff also affects Terro, making his already-decent attack that much better for a round. Together, the changes to Terro’s deployment and command cards will make him a top-tier enforcer of the Emperor’s will in the lawless Outer Rim.

Stalk Your Prey

The final boost to the Creature archetype in Season 5 is the addition of a capstone command card. Now, your Creatures will have a 3-point command card that will make your opponents tremble in fear as they turn from warriors into mere prey. When your large creatures (sorry Loth Cats, but you are far too small to be the Apex Predator!) use this card, they become focused, hidden predators, ready to tear their prey limb from limb.

At first glance, Apex Predator seems to improve your Creatures on every possible dimension: they will move faster, hit harder, recover health, and keep some power tokens for defense. Note, though, that the card does not resolve the greatest weaknesses of the Creature trait: vulnerability to harmful conditions like Stunned and Bleeding, and having to be close to enemies and thus vulnerable to their attacks. Instead, Apex Predator amplifies Creatures’ greatest strength: mauling their prey from close range! In this way, Apex Predator is similar to its fellow capstone card, Assassinate, and we hope it has just as large an impact on the game.

By changing Wampas, Captain Terro, and adding a new capstone command card, the Steering Committee hopes to see the Creature trait come into its own as a force to be reckoned with in the IACP metagame. Are you excited to see our furry and scaly friends join the metagame, or are you afraid of the creatures rustling in the bushes, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike? Either way, we would love to hear your thoughts about these new cards on our Discord server, Facebook group, and in the Zion’s Finest Slack channel. May your senses always be sharp, and your prey unsuspecting…

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