Databank Download: Lord Maul

SWP01LORD Maul

Once battered and broken, now restored and fueled only by his hatred of an old rival, Lord Maul™ is the focus of today’s Star Wars™: Shatterpoint Unit preview.

Thought dead, Maul survived his injuries by focusing on his hatred of Obi-Wan Kenobi™, the Jedi who cut him in half. His shattered body was dumped amid the refuse of a junk planet, where he was found by his brother Savage Opress™. Opress brought Maul back to his homeworld of Dathomir, where the Nightsister Mother Talzin™ used dark magicks to restore his mind and body. Maul reemerged, still obsessed with Kenobi. With his newly regained strength, he formed the Shadow Collective and took control of Mandalore. Unsatisfied by the power and status he has claimed, Lord Maul’s focus lies on his all-consuming desire for revenge.

Lord Maul comes to the battlefield prepared to wreak havoc on anyone who stands in his way. After all that he has endured, Maul is Sustained By Rage. This Identity ability defines Lord Maul’s playstyle, allowing him to suffer damage instead of spending force to pay for his abilities. That isn’t the only benefit of this ability, though, it also grants Maul additional attack based on how much damage he has suffered over the course of the game. Bearing this in mind, along with his Durability of 2, Lord Maul is an extreme glass cannon whose influence on the battlefield is often bombastic and short-lived. Lord Maul provides a solid 8 squad points during strike team construction, so players will have plenty of room to fit more long-lasting Secondary and Supporting Units to focus on holding objectives while Lord Maul does what he does best.

Lord Maul excels at rushing down enemy Units – quickly closing distance and weakening the foe before striking. Force Speed gives Maul an additional full advance during his activation – and if that isn’t quite enough distance to reach his target, he is quick to point out that There is No Place to Run. This ability has a hefty Force cost, but it is undeniably effective, both Pulling an enemy character closer to Maul and applying the Exposed condition. Looking across the battlefield, it may seem a good strategy to try and eliminate Lord Maul as a threat before he can deal damage, to which Lord Maul has only one response – Revenge, I Must Have Revenge. When Lord Maul is Wounded by a melee attack, he has the chance move and strike back with a 5 dice attack. That may not sound like much, but with added bonus dice from Sustained By Rage, these reactionary strikes can pack a surprising punch!

As a Primary Unit, Lord Maul can choose from two Stances in combat. Sinister Cunning is a Stance that doles out a fair number of conditions and offers Lord Maul a strong Ranged attack option. Dark Rage is a high damage Stance with multiple Shove results in later Combat Tree Options. One key difference in these stances is their Defensive Expertise Charts, with Sinister Cunning providing more solid damage mitigation and Dark Rage relying more on healing after the fact and applying pressure against more control focused combatants. Lord Maul is an undeniably fierce combatant – and with proper management of his Stamina and Stance choices, players will soon help him have his revenge.

That does it for our first look at Lord Maul!

Make sure to check back for our next Star Wars: Shatterpoint Unit preview, where we give you a first look at how your favorite characters from the Star Wars galaxy translate into the gameplay of Star Wars: Shatterpoint. Pre-order your own copy of the Star Wars: Shatterpoint Core Set at your local game store or through the webstore today.

Until next time, Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off!