All Terrain Armored Transport

The standard Imperial Walker, all out defense. Armor and Shields are great when paired together. One way I like to utilize this defensive unit is to play Hidden Arsenal (with Cloud City Battleground) to place a couple of Vehicle Shields Packages on the All Terrain Armored Transport. With 2 equipped, this unit has Armor and Shields 3—enough to hold things for awhile. If Emperor Palpatine (G) is out it can Intercept and make a dog’s dinner out of your opponent’s swarms. While this is fun, it is probably not that efficient. Keep it alive with Imperial Misdirection. Overall, while I like this unit, it is far too pricey (you can deploy a Patrol Mode Vulture Droid for the same build) and later walkers, such as Tempest Force AT-AT, push this unit out of the running.

Rating: 2.5

Blizzard Force AT-ST

Light side’s Explore the Swamp got you down? Attack with this little fellow and watch your opponent’s face fall as you pull your Forests of Endor or Carbon-Freezing Chamber. Any unit that benefits you in more than one way is something to look out for, and Locations can be quite powerful. This unit is also great because it can respond to your opponent’s plays. For example, if the Light side player deployed a Lars Homestead, you can use the Blizzard Force AT-ST to search your deck for a replacement.

However, at 40 speed this unit may not live to scout its Location. Usually this will be destroyed before it has a chance to attack because your opponent will not want you to search for that Location. Just because this walker has a huge target on it doesn’t mean that you can’t use that to this advantage—after all, it’s only 3 build.

This AT-ST is nice with an Imperial City or two, and the boost in speed from Endor Scout Walker can ensure its ability will be used. That said, it doesn’t really need any help to warrant a place in many decks, especially decks that rely on specific Locations.

Rating: 4

All Terrain Troop Transport

This unit is for a Stormtrooper rather than walker deck. The 8 build price-tag is sky high, and surely prevents people from playing it. Even if you do start playing free Stormtroopers with it you will have a sitting duck for two turns. I like what Wizards was trying to do with the All Terrain Troop Transport, but this unit is just too inefficient. If you are running a Stormtrooper deck and are looking for a build engine it would be much more beneficial to include cost-reducing cards such as Felucia Battlegrounds or Lama Su (A).

Rating: 1.75

All Terrain Scout Transport

A small but solid little unit that is somewhat unremarkable. This fits nicely in Imperial decks needing to fill a low-cost ground slot (I’ve actually played this unit quite a bit for that very reason). The 3 Health and Armor make this one of the best-defended 3 Build units in the Ground arena. Offensively, there’s not much to look at with 40 Speed and 2 Power, but the Executor (A) and other cards can help bump things up, and the attractive Tempest One (A) will make this AT-ST hit harder with Critical Hit 2. Some decks can reduce the build of low-cost units to where they are either free or only a single build, and this unit can work there. Heavy Artillery is awesome with numerous walkers and can devastate an opponent’s Ground or Space.

Rating: 3

Blizzard Force AT-AT

A modest offering, this 5 build walker was completely outclassed the moment Battle of Endor’s Tempest Force AT-AT hit the scene. For one more build, the latter gives you +20 Speed, +2 Power, +2 Health, and replaces Accuracy with Overkill.

Still, this unit is not a complete throw-away. I can see playing this card in decks that use a limited format, such as a deck that only take cards from the Empire Strikes Back film (limiting to each movie is a very enjoyable way to make decks and play). General Maximilian Veers (A) will make the most of Blizzard Force AT-AT’s Accuracy by increasing the power and re-rolling misses, but he is better elsewhere.

Rating: 2.5

AT-AT

An intriguing unit from Rogues and Scoudrels that always reminded me of the Avenger (A). While it has the nice “Damage from this unit can’t be prevented.” text, this walker is really more of a defensive threat. When this card attacks, the opposing unit will retreat almost always, which is why this walker pairs well with Blockade Battleship (an awesome and, I believe underappreciated unit).

Having your opponent’s units retreat is not necessarily a bad thing—it’s better to attack your opponent’s slower units with the AT-AT so that if they retreat you won’t have to worry about them coming after you. Speed boosts, such as Endor Scout Walker and AT-AT Driver, therefore greatly increase this unit’s value. Additionally, any 5 Build unit with 5 Health and Armor deserves a second look purely as a means to hold the arena. You will be glad you included this if you are playing against Jedi in Ground because of its unpreventable damage.

Rating: 3.25

Blizzard One (A)

Although it is one of my favorites, one thing the ESB expansion got wrong was extensive over-costing. Armor and Critical Hit are solid abilities, but they shouldn’t beggar a player. I tried to get my head around why Wizards made this unit so expensive. What it has going for it are a solid offense and defense combined with a fair Speed (40 is not terribly low). Maybe they thought that a strong all-around unit needed to be extra expensive. How much would this unit need to cost for me to play it? maybe 7, in today’s environment. The IDC sure stuck it to this card with Tempest One (A), which is cheaper and gives Critical Hit to all walkers (the -10 speed is well worth it). I can see virtually no reason to play this card, unless you have some sort of combo with Failed For the Last Time (and even then—why?).

Rating: 1.5

AT-AT Assault Group

There’s no getting around it—13 is a TON of build. However, in this instance, that investment yields a devastating defensive monster. In my experience, this unit has a larger impact on the Ground arena than any other single Dark side Ground unit. Other units may be more efficient overall, but this one is the most dominating (assuming you can get it out, of course). Many Light side players will abandon the Ground arena rather than devote the resources required to destroy this unit.

While it stands strong on its own, some cards help to make it even better. Imperial City, despite the cost benefit, is actually not one of them. If you have one in both Character and Ground that will reduce its cost by 2, but this Location is expensive and requires the deployment of 5 Imperial units each to see a return—better for swarms. Emperor Palpatine (G) is terrific with AT-AT Assault Group because he grants Intercept (very handy for a card with great defense). Probably the best card to go with the AT-AT Assault Group is Imperial Misdirection. If this unit has Intercept from the Emperor, take all the damage from the LS’s attacks then play Imperial Misdirection to your Imperial Scout Bike when the AT-AT Assault Group has 10 damage. Unless the Light side has built a massive ground force, this should be enough to secure the arena.

The only times I’ve ever seen this unit go down, and that is not often, is to swarms. A Bigger Fish helps, and AT-AT Driver helps even more. Against swarms this will take damage quickly, and Imperial Misdirection (as discussed above) is the best damage-remover.

Be particularly cautious about deploying this in set up unless the LS devoted considerable resources there. This squad is only for decks with a dedicated build engine. A word to the wise: watch out for Dismiss or Thwart, which are particularly good against this unit (you place the two damage and still take the full damage from the attack). I believe this trumps other DS Ground super heavies like the Trade Federation Control Core - if only because it pairs so well with Imperial Misdirection (one of the game’s best Battle cards).

Rating: 4

Thanks for reading my (long-winded) musings! Stay tuned next time for a discussion on alternative and fun ways to play Star Wars TCG!

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