It’s that time of year—an old map goes out, and a new one comes in. The map rotating out will be ISB Training Grounds. To replace it, and to keep the map rotation balanced, we focused on adding a more ranged-friendly map. While our last rotation added a completely new map, Corellian Underground, this rotation will return to a slightly more familiar map, but one that hasn’t been seen in quite some time.
The new map rotating in will be Lothal Wastes, from the Tyrants of Lothal expansion. Veterans will recognize this map as one of the last maps in the FFG tournament rotation. This map uses tiles from the Core box and the Tyrants of Lothal box.
Lothal Wastes is one of the largest maps in the game. Still, there are many opportunities for varied types of play on this map. While there are many open sightlines, importantly, many spaces are still safe from certain sections of the map. Ranged figures will want to sit back and snipe, but the long hallway in front of each deployment zone will force them to commit to a flank of the map and require likely an entire activation to reposition. The fact that this camping spot is in direct line of sight of the Deployment zone makes Lie in Ambush strategies (E-web, Wampa, Trandoshans, etc.) particularly deadly.
Melee figures, therefore, will have to determine on which flank it is most safe to push up. Although it will be telegraphed well in advanced, if played appropriately, most shots on the way in can be avoided. While they are not immediately obvious, there are some relatively safe spots on the map, even if it seems like you are standing in the middle of the open field all the time. It is left as an exercise to the reader to find these spots!
Many of the tiles in this map have a single piece of blocking terrain in the center. These locations can significantly disrupt sightlines, but only from a subset of angles. Thus, it will be essential to be able to calculate the extent of your opponent’s potential or probable movement, and determine if your figures will be safe or not. Figures with additional movement, like Dewbacks, Tauntauns, and Speeder Bikes, will excel on this map by not being limited to 4 spaces of movement prior to attacking.
The difficult terrain diagonally across the chasm does not matter a whole lot, since it is usually easy enough to move diagonally across it. The difficult terrain square in the corner below the chasm, however, is often critical for figures attempting to round that corner and get a shot into the opponent’s back lines. The difficult terrain around the smaller spire often means that crossing to the other flank takes 1-2 extra movement points, usually because you are forced to go around it.
One key position to note on this map is the combination of impassable and blocking terrain on the right side, known colloquially as “The Spire”. Note carefully this following clarification from the rules as regards the blocking terrain space in the center of The Spire:
While a figure occupies a space bordered on all four edges by walls or spaces that contain blocking terrain (such as in ToL 01B ”the Spire”):
• Those spaces of blocking terrain do not block counting spaces to or from that figure’s space.
• Those spaces of blocking terrain do not block line of sight to or from that figure’s space.
• Melee attacks can be declared by or targeting that figure, ignoring those spaces of blocking terrain.
• Those spaces of blocking terrain still block movement.
Consolidated Imperial Assault Rules
Veterans may remember that Sabine was a deadly character on this flank of the map. Similarly, other small, Mobile figures like Boba, Gar Saxon, Paz, Super Commandos, etc. will excel in this location. Given the rules above, one of the best spaces to sit in is the bottom of the cross, as opposed to the center, which does not trigger the above rules. If you are playing against these figures, it might be wise to concede this side and focus on the other side, even at the cost of your terminal. Conversely, figures like Darth Vader may enjoy pushing up on this flank due to the relative protection the blocking terrain offers.
The map is mostly symmetric but with a few key differences between Deployment zones. The terminals are at least 4 spaces away from each Deployment zone, so players running R2 will have to give him some sort of movement boost (Smooth Landing, Gideon, etc.) in order draw that card. Similar difficulties will be involved for any 3-speed support figures that wish to stand on the terminal. The hallway next to Blue zone extends one more space to the left, making it slightly more difficult to control that flank from the Blue side. Which side is “better” for the player starting with initiative will depend highly on the matchup and list.
A quick look at the objectives:
On Mission B, the fluctuations (circles on the minimap) are worth 1 VP. Which is not a lot, but figures that are on the objectives (not adjacent, but literally on top of them), can get a power token based on the color of the objective. Generally, however, it is best not to over-expose your figures to only earn 1 VP. This mission is more geared towards the long game, but don’t underestimate the impact of power tokens at a critical moment. Rogue One might like these a lot, for example.
On Mission A, the critical positions (same locations as the fluctuations) are worth 2 VP, which means it is a lot more worthwhile to capture them. However, the most critical part of this mission is the after-deployment movement. 8 spaces!!! That’s a lot. Notably, it follows the rules for passing, so lists with a lower activation count will have the advantage of being able to wait for their opponent to commit figures before having to commit any of theirs. This movement can combo especially well with figures like Ezra, Cassian, Rebel Pathfinders, etc., although is worse for Bodhi and Hera, since figures are deployed one at a time.
This side of the map will reward aggressive play, and you will quickly be able to punish your opponent for splitting their figures up. It is worthwhile for players to have a rough plan of where their figures can go within 8 spaces of the Deployment zone, although the best players will be able to alter those plans in response to opponent deployments.
Hopefully, these two missions will be able to strike a good competitive balance between support-heavy lists (favored on side B) and attacker-heavy lists (favored on side A). For the player, striking a balance between both attackers and support while building a list will be important to come out on top. Or, perhaps putting all your eggs in one basket might just work. Give it a spin and try out the map!
We hope everyone enjoys this new map in rotation. If you find any good tricks or strategies on this map, or are looking for a place to discuss the best way to play these missions, we encourage you to come join the conversation on our discord server: https://discord.gg/P9wdfpD9ez