Hello everyone, and welcome to another IA Continuity Project Season 7 Spoiler! Today, we are taking a look at the shock troops of the Imperial Inquisitorius: the Purge Troopers and Purge Commander from Jedi: Fallen Order. We on the Steering Committee loved Fallen Order, and we worked hard to bring the intimidating new Troopers to Imperial Assault!
“A Jedi! This is What I Trained For”
In Fallen Order, the melee Purge Troopers act as powerful obstacles to Cal Kestis’s journey. Whenever one shows up, you know you are in for a tough fight as they try to execute Order 66 against the orphaned Padawan. Because they are meant to fight Jedi, their Cortosis Armor offers some lightsaber resistance; when combined with Zillo Technique, the Purge Trooper is immune to a lightsaber swing, meaning they can afford to get in close to their preferred prey.
The Purge Troopers are trained with a variety of weapons, and choose the weapons they need when they deploy for a new mission. We implemented this flexibility with the use of loadout cards. When you deploy a Purge Trooper, you get to choose what weapon will be the best fit for the mission at hand. The Electrobatons are great against large groups of weak enemies, especially if they have white dice; by making two attacks in a row, they can chew through weak defenses or deal smaller amounts of damage to multiple figures to finish them off. The Electrostaff is most useful against figures with strong defenses like Darth Vader or figures that use defensive power tokens like The Mandalorian (Renegade Hunter), as they quickly move around the raised defenses. Finally, the large Electrohammer, with its +2 damage surge and shockwave, is best used against figures with innate defenses like The Mandalorian (Rising Phoenix) and against lists that like to cluster in boxes around figures like C-3P0.
The final factor that makes Purge Troopers a powerful addition to the Empire’s ranks is their versatile and powerful mix of traits. As Hunters, the Purge Troopers can deal massive damage in a single attack with cards like Heightened Reflexes and Primary Target. As Troopers, they have access to additional attacks from Call the Vanguard and support from figures like Director Krennic and Kayn Somos. Finally, as Brawlers they have the ability to move into an enemy formation and lock them down with fear of Parting Blows. With access to such a suite of cards and abilities, the Steering Committee expects the versatile Purge Troopers to make a major impact on Imperial list building, as they fit equally well into a Trooper/Brawler list alongside Riot Troopers as they do alongside other Imperial Hunters like Mara Jade, BT-1, and the new and improved Grand Inquisitor!
The Hunt is On
While the Purge Troopers are all ultimately under the command of the Inquisitors, within their ranks they answer to the Purge Commander. These Leaders, armed with large DC-15LE blaster rifles and powerful Shock Grenades, are able to engage their foes at both short and long range. The grenades discourage enemies from getting too close, lest they take unblockable damage and become Weakened for their trouble. Meanwhile, their Blue/Blue/Green attack pool is capable of making long range shots as their Jedi quarry approach. Finally, their Coordinated Hunt ability makes both their attacks and those of their fellow Hunters much more consistent… so long as the Purge Commander can see the action.
With their long range attack pool and ability to buff themselves and fellow hunters, Purge Commanders are best suited to engaging from the rear of a formation alongside other ranged Hunters hired from the Mercenary faction while Purge Troopers, Inquisitors, or Riot Troopers engage the enemy directly. From this position, they can utilize their Officers Training, give Inspiring Speeches, and issue New Orders as needed. The Steering Committee expects that the Purge Commander will form a supportive backbone for an Imperial Hunters archetype while providing a solid mid-range deployment for Trooper lists to hold rear-line objectives and harry the enemy with long-range fire.
No One Expects the Imperial Inquisition!
The IA Continuity Project Steering Committee expects the Purge Troopers and Purge Commanders to form the backbone of a new Hunter/Trooper list archetype in the Imperial faction. However, these versatile soldiers will make great low-cost additions to existing Trooper armies as well. We hope you enjoy playing them as much as we enjoyed creating them! The road they took was long and interesting, and perhaps in the future that will make a fine designer diary.
In the meantime, though, we look forward to hearing your thoughts on them! Tell us what you think on the IACP Discord and the Zion’s Finest Slack channels. This is the second to last Season 7 spoiler. Tune in tomorrow for the last Season 7 spoiler as we look at several new unique figures!