General description:
General Windu is the Republic’s newest and largest beat stick, coming in at a large 72-point cost (beating himself I might add). This Windu boasts the same stats as his Clone Strike (CS) and Revenge of the Sith (RotS) versions, and even comes equipped with the threat range of Vaapad-Style Fighting Special Ability, which is what most people found lacking of the Jedi Master version of Mace from Revenge of the Sith. Being a General. What makes this version of Windu special is the new force powers he picked up and his remarkable Command Effect.
Starting with the Force Powers, Windu picked up some old great Force Powers such as Force Absorb, Lightsaber Sweep, and Master Speed. Mace also had his toke Lightsaber Block replaced with Lightsaber Riposte (which according to players can be a bonus or a disadvantage, I see it as a disadvantage, I would rather stop damage). These powers give Windu a special mobility and adaptability against a wide range of characters. Windu also picks up the new Shatterpoint Force Power, which allows you to desinate a enemy, and for the remainder of the battle, make your 1st attack each round against that enemy a natural 20. While sounding great in theory, I find its range 6 and replaces turn requirements too much for practical use.
The catch to having all these great force powers is that General Windu is the only member of the 70+ point club that does not have Force Renewal, and with only 5 Force Points, I find it rare that I will spend 2 of them for an Force Absorb, or 1 for a Shatterpoint..
But Windu has one final trick up his sleeve for the unbeliever; his command effect that grants followers within 6 squares extra attack. This amazing CE allows for many possibilities that will be shown in the following sections. It also helps him that he can have his Command Effect extended via some Booming Voice help.
Uses:
General Windu, due to his cost and the fact that a significant part of his playability is based on his Command Effect is limited in my opinion competitively to the 200-point level. I think Windu falls into the same boat as Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master, and Exar Kun on this. For the 100-point games I would still take the Clone Strike Mace Windu over General Windu any day.
Strategies and game play:
General Windu can be used two real ways; he can lead a mass of Follower Jedis (my picks would be Depa Billaba, Luminara, Barriss Offee, Saeesse Tiin, Obi-Wan on Boga, and Jedi Weapon Master) or he can hang back using the Booming Voice from Mas Ammeda and then act as a clean up crew when the time is right.
An strong 200 point army revolving around Mace involves the Republic Commando Sev and Clone Commander Bacura. With Bacara, your Republic Commandos gain a “super” stealth forcing opponents to come adjacent to attack them, even if they have Accurate Shot. And when you add that defensive advantage to the extra attack that Sev gains from General Windu, it in my opinion makes one of the best shooting armies in the game. I listed my version of Sev’s Strike below.
Sev’s Strike V.10a
Clone Commander Bacara
General Windu
Mas Amedda
R2-D2 Astromech Droid
Republic Commando- Sev x4
Republic Commando- Scorch
Gran Raider x2
Combos with other miniatures:
General Windu is 72 points for the combos he can use. The 1st and most obivious one would be combining Mace with Mas Ammeda so that the 6 square range on his Command Effect is lifted, giving pretty much every follower in your squad extra attack. This is the basis for my Sev’s Strike Army listed above, and for many other great shooters in this game.
Windu gives great characters like Boba Fett Triple Attack, Aurra Sing Double Attack, and improves any number of 20-30 point Jedi. Note also that Depa Billaba with General Windu’s Command Effect is a 29-point triple attacker with Vaapad Style Fighting and a +13 Attack, which gives her a large damage output potential, even against characters well over her cost.
General Windu also requires some combos to overcome his own weaknesses. R2-D2 Astromech Droid can help General Windu overcome any mobility issues he might have with Tow Cable and a free 12 movement for General Windu to use Triple Attack. You can also overcome General Windu’s lack of Force Renewal with the new poncho wearing Qui-Gon Jinn, Jedi Master’s Force Spirit Power which when Qui-Gon Jinn is defeated, grants a allied Force User 6 extra force points.
Ways to counteract it:
Since General Windu is a Jedi, I will start with the most obvious, which is Thrawn. Windu cannot Riposte, Sweep, or even Shatterpoint inside Thrawn’s bubble, somewhat lowering his combat effectiveness. General Windu also does not have the important Lightsaber Deflect or Reflect, forcing him to rely on his defense alive not to be blasted by the strong shooters in this game such as Boba Fett and Aurra Sing. And the new Siths such as Darth Bane and Exar Kun have huge advantages over General Windu, Bane’s being straight up more offensive power than Windu and Exar Kun’s anti-jedi command effect and Dark Force Spirit.
Strengths/Pros:
Triple Attack and Vaapad-Style Fighting
Best Command Effect in Game
Great Force Powers
High Hit Points and High Defense
Weaknesses/Cons:
Dependence on R2-D2 and Master Speed for Mobility and maximum attacks
No Force Renewal
Block downgraded to Riposte (debatable)
No Deflect
Thrawn
Needs Mas Amedda for Command Effect to really shine
Dependence on Combos to take out other 60+ units
Block downgraded to Riposte (debatable)
Artwork and aesthetics:
I like in Star Wars Miniatures the iconic poses, and this Windu delivers the iconic scene with his duel with Palpatine in excellent fashion, the robe, the lightsaber, everything are down well, and my Windu even had a straight lightsaber for once, now if only they made my favorite poncho wearing Jedi so well posed.
Overall rating:
Since when you weigh the benefits vs. weaknesses, and acknowledge the ways to overcome his shortfalls with good play and combos, I give General Windu a 9 out of 10.
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