Republic Squadrons - Deltas and Jedi

The fanciest and most expensive squadrons in the GAR to start, the Delta provides the first available way to get dedicated Force powers onto the table.  Let's see what they can do!

I'm sure I won't be referencing this as a painting guide repeatedly...

Look it's Obi Wan!

Clocking in at 17 points, this is not a squadron to be spammed, which makes sense.  There weren't 134 points of Jedi out there, all fighting in the same battle.  The anti-squadron dice are the strongest base in the GAR with 3 blue 1 black, which benefits from Adept 1.  It can also combine with Swarm, if you gave it that from the Nevoota Bee.  The 1 blue anti-ship benefits from Adept as well, so it's sorta like having a black dice there (0.75 expected damage from a black dice versus 0.75 for a rerolled blue dice).  And yes, you can use the Adept on the Counter attack as well.  Keeping it semi-alive is that dodge ability, which functions like an imitation defense token.  This is great against things like TIE Bombers and really not going to save you if you hit 2-3 Interceptors.  You can reroll 1, and it DOES help, but 4 rerolled into 3 damage still REALLY hurts.  Be careful not to bite off more than you can chew, remember that a bunch of generic Jedi died on Geonosis.

The trick with these is to NOT spam them; two generics (or an ace and generic) paired with Axe can REALLY keep these alive.  Presumably, when someone hits you with counter-2 or an attack, Dodge forces them to reroll one hit and Axe spends a token to prevent another.  This HELPS especially against counter; this does diddly when Saber Squadron rolls 6 damage against your squad; you just sorta.... feel sad then.  I realize the advice of "Don't get into that situation" is INCREDIBLY useful, no notes.  Sorry.  Pick off stragglers at the edges, then start beating up other squadrons as needed.

One note about Adept-X; it is NOT "I can reroll one dice X times," it's "I can reroll X dice once."  This matters more with Adept 2, but I wanted to put it here instead of below each ace below.  Because usually when you see Deltas, though, it's going to be the aces.  And what a great selection we have!

Snips!

Miss Tano is a great addition to your squad ball, granting you that pseudo-Jendon or Adar Tallon effect that squadron balls have loved for a while.  Giving you another free 2 blue dice attack is nice, especially if you pair her with an Adept-2 Jedi (listed below or Anakin) or Kickback for the crazy movement shenanigan spam.  For added fun, find a way to include FCT in your list and have her keep hopping back and forth, as she grants an attack each time.

It's not easy being green....

Kit Fisto doesn't SEEM strong at first glance; I admit it took me a bit to realize his worth.  But he does 3 things very well.  First, he doesn't DIE.  Preventing 3 damage and just letting you keep trucking is a powerful ability, especially if you combine it with Axe's ability for a potential 4 damage ignore.  Second, he provides Intel.  I'm aware it's not the "cool" thing any more, but when you have 3 ARCs trying to blow up your opponent's ship but can't move because Shara is engaging all of them, you'll be glad you brought him.  Lastly, he provides a reason for your opponent to never play your Asteroid Tactics.  Preventing 3 damage in a pseudo scatter effect is incredibly strong, and as it's prevention (not modification), it gets around Lando's ability.  And then you hop onto an asteroid again to gain that token back, and let an exogorth eat your opponent! There's a lot more here than meets the eye, I promise.  He also has Adept 2, so he pairs nicely with Ahsoka above.

Luminara are we, not this crude matter...

Luminara Unduli is a great way to make your opponent hate fighting you.  Giving out obstruction to everything that attacks a non-unique friendly is like "what if Jamming Field was worth taking?" on a squadron.  The ISSUE here is that she gives it out to people within 1 of her, confusing their attack.  She doesn't protect your squads at distance 1; got it? They have to be within distance 1 of her to get the debuff.  This usually ends up with her leading the charge in the front of 3-4 generic V19s.  Their escort keeps her alive, and her debuff means that your opponent's attacks are obstructed.  Try not to let them shoot HER instead (this means she wants to alpha strike your opponents and prevent them from engaging her and only her).  You CAN, because she is speed 4, start with her behind a line of V19s (speed 3) and push her forward such that she starts in protection from attacks and ends up leading the charge.  Again, as a Scatter Ace, however, she can get very squishy very quickly.  Protect her well.  She wants to be part of a squadron ball that wants to stay around for a while, so more of a V19s and Deltas ball.  And yes, she'll benefit other Deltas here as well.  Obstructing one dice and then rerolling another hit can make those Deltas live a lot longer than you'd believe!

The death of Strategic Advisor provided many opportunities for growth

Plo Koon looks tailor made for Y-wings and more specifically V19s (as usual with these Jedi!).  Giving both of those non-unique squadrons at distance 1 counter 1 means that yes, your V19s can counter-attack and use Swarm on it.  Adept-2 means he pairs with Ahsoka, and his ability wants to focus down the squadron fight on your side faster.  He's a flip side of Luminara, as while she wants to prevent damage coming in, he wants to provide more going into your opponent.  Combining them is great, but it's also 47 points.  If you can factor that in..... but that's a topic for a different article!

Ah yes, very important to bring your lightsaber in case you need to make a Hot Landing.

Anakin (or Splashikin as Truth has started calling him) is your basic Jedi ace.  Dude hits like a TRUCK and is worth bringing for sure; I'd almost count him as your first ace a lot of the time!  His ability only works on his activation, so a second shot from Ahsoka (above) doesn't let him use his ability, but the dice he throws and the damage he can do are significant.  3 damage and 1 accuracy (not impossible from 4 dice and Adept-2) or 2 damage and 2 accuracies, combined with his own ability can instantly kill any 3-hull scatter ace.  Imperials and CIS pilots fear this Jedi Master Knight. His black die anti-ship with Adept should be 1 damage almost every time, and it is well worth throwing him against ships when you've mopped up the squads.  For added fun, pair him with Flight Controllers.  He's also the only ace with both Dodge AND defense tokens.  Make sure to apply THAT first before you do anything else.  He is a 4 hull scatter ace, though, and remains quite squishy.  Make sure you have V19s, probably Axe especially, protecting him to keep him alive and only in the engagements that matter.  If you over extend him, or ANY of these Deltas, for that matter, they will die.