Star Wars: Shatterpoint – Fistfull of Credits Squad Pack Review

Of all the 2023 Star Wars: Shatterpoint releases, my father-in-law was looking forward to Cad Bane and the Fistfull of Credits Squad Pack. Cad Bane is one of his favourite Star Wars characters, so to have him available in Star Wars: Shatterpoint was a really big deal. But how does this character stack up when finally on the table? How is the secondary character, and the supports? Let’s take a look!

Cad Bane

The big thing with Cad Bane is that he has 9 Squad Points, which means he can build a team like no one before him. That also means that theoretically, he is the weakest primary character available in the game. I know that every character has its strengths and weaknesses, but Cad does truly feel just a step behind the others. That is made up, however, by his choice of allies, which is incredibly important.

Offsetting the 9 Squad Points is only 2 Force Points, which is pretty low for a Primary character. With Force Points being so valuable in certain situations, this most definitely could handicap this character and the squad. How About You Step Aside is actually a pretty interesting ability, although it does cost a Force Point. With this ability, Cad can make an enemy unit contesting an objective, dash. If they are still contesting the objective after the dash, they receive Strain and Expose. If they are NOT contesting the objective after the deash, they receive Disarm. There are a lot of interesting things to think about with this move, which is what I really like about some of the more recent Shatterpoint character releases.

Rocket Boots will allow Cad a bit more movement with a jump ability (which on the downside costs 1 Force Point). No One Gets Between Me and My Job is also pretty slick, as it allows Cade to hit a character within 4 with a few more damage counters. If he cannot reach a character, he can jump towards them instead. Again, however, as with his other abilities, this one also costs 1 Force Point!

One of the better abilities for Cade is the I’ll Take On Any Job … For the Right Price which is a Force Point renewal ability. This is important for Cad as he has so few Force Points to work with, and a great ability if you have Force Point use heavy characters in your party!

Overall, I think Cad is a great character, and changes up your strategy just enough to make him feel unique. Even though he might not have the best abilities, and his limited force could cause issues, I think overall he’s a great addition to the game.

Aurra Sing

When I first read the cards for Aurra I wasn’t all that excited. This wasn’t a character I was looking forward to using from the Fistfull of Credits Squad Pack. Many of her abilities seemed like rehashes of abilities we’ve seen from other characters with very slight variations. On the table, I can say she wasn’t one of my favourites.

Her Double the Contract, Double the Payout move is something we’ve seen a variation of before, allowing her to perform a second attack using 5-dice on another enemy unit within range. I think it’s neat that Aurra gets to take the second attack herself, making this ability more like Anakin’s overpowered ability, and less like characters who allow other units to make 5-dice attacks. Hit and Run feels like a necessary ability for this character. With only 8 points of health and the ability to only take 2 wounds, getting out of engaged combat is key. The reposition this provides is pretty vital, although comes at a cost of 1 Force Point!

Pay Day is by far the coolest (and most unique) ability in this box. It allows Aurra to gain a new tag (on the bottom of the card) when a new card is revealed, which could allow for some unique partnerships between Aurra and both lightside and darkside units. Need to be part of the Galactic Republic for a turn? No worries. Need to be part of the Separatist Alliance? Also no problem! It does come at a cost of 1 Force Point though…in a box not filled with Force Points!

Expendable Distractions is a pretty good ability as well, giving 3 extra dice to Aurra’s attack roll if the enemy is engaged with an ally. Nothing crazy, but a good ability if you can set it up!

Overall, I think Aurra is a much better character than I was thinking. It’s hard to make her Pay Day ability pay off (I’ve had games where it just never mattered as much as I would have hoped), but the few times I did make it work, it felt really good. I think as I use Aurra in different squad combinations, I might find it more beneficial.

Bounty Hunters

I’m not going to talk too much about the Bounty Hunter support characters. They have a few unique abilities that I like, such as the On the Trail ability which allows the support characters to dash towards an enemy at the start of their turn. I think this might be the first tactical ability for a support unit of this type, so that is really cool and makes them a good choice for your squad. Movement is always good.

The other abilities here are nothing too crazy. We have the Sharpshooter ability, the ability to disarm opponents, and more. Standard stuff for support units, but good nonetheless. They are a support unit I enjoyed using, and will use in the future in specific squads!

Conclusion

Overall, again I think that Atomic Mass Games has done enough to make Fistfull of Credits Squad Pack a worthwhile pickup for people invested in the game. Having Cad Bane is phenomenal, and I think a lot of people are going to be really happy about that. The character sculpts are phenomenal as well, and look amazing on the table. I cannot wait to play more with this squad!