Databank Download: Director Krennic and Shoretroopers

As seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars™ Story, Orson Krennic served as the director of the Imperial Military Department of Advanced Weapons Research and spearheaded the development and construction of the Death Star superweapon. In that capacity, he weaponized kyber crystals and controlled his scientific staff to maximize the destructive capacity of the superweapon while also maintaining strict secrecy. Part of his responsibilities were quelling rumors of the superweapon’s existence through any means necessary, which he executed successfully for the two decades of its secretive development.

A proud yet ambitious servant of the Empire, he hoped this would help show Emperor Palpatine his value and elevate him to higher positions above his rivals. Due to the broad scope of his responsibilities and Krennic’s high rank, he would often seize command of various garrisons of stormtroopers when needed, as well as commanding his distinctive platoon of death troopers that often escorted Director Krennic whenever he left the security of Imperial bases.

While players might first notice Krennic’s Force points of 2, do not be fooled his impressive 9 squad points and his powerful Identity will more than make up for that in flexibility and represents that while Krennic is not a martial warrior himself, he exerts his strength as the might of Imperial stormtroopers under his command. With that in mind, players will notice that the Deploy the Garrison Squad Pack has extra versatility, with 2 strong Supporting Units of thematic stormtroopers from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the Shoretroopers and the Death Troopers. Director Krennic’s tabletop rules represent this versatility as well, exerting control of the battlefield by maximizing the effectiveness of his stormtroopers.

Krennic’s most obvious way he sends his troops out to do his bidding is with Deploy the Garrison, an active ability he’ll use on a single Stormtrooper Supporting character, which gives them a Dash toward an Active objective followed by a Hunker token and letting them make a five-dice attack. With the varied Stormtrooper Supporting Units available to the Galactic Empire and lack of a range requirement, players will be able to respond to any situation the enemies of the Empire try to put them in.

In Rogue One, Star Wars fans saw Director Krennic forced to respond to setback after setback to Project Stardust, and this rule is represented in Your Concerns Are Hardly Warranted. This rule may be pricey at two Force points, but it has a potentially game-changing effect, effectively stopping your opponent from gaining a Momentum for Wounding one of your units. In a close match, this effect might be the line between victory and defeat.

While Director Krennic prefers to send in his troops for victory, he also wants to be the one to get the accolades himself, shown with the Reactive ability We Stand Here Amidst My Achievements. This allows him to Dash and make a five dice attack against any available target, ensuring the attention remains on himself. Depending on which stance Krennic is in, you can potentially get a variety of useful effects.

Most players focus on building around their Primary character’s Identity ability, and as you might expect, Krennic’s Identity abilities are just as self-serving as he is. Peace and Security for the Galaxy changes based on which Stance he is using. If Krennic has his High Aspirations side of his Stance Card, then at the end of his activation you can take control of an Active objective he is contesting and can’t lose control of it until the next turn, forcing your opponent to either wait or move on to a more accessible target. This can be especially impactful if you only need a single difficult objective to win, or use your Shatterpoint Card to activate Krennic twice in a row. Imagine putting Krennic in reserve to scare your opponents with his upcoming powerful move! If Krennic is using his Arrogance Stance side then instead he reduces the first Active or Reactive ability each turn by one Force power. This allows him to use We Stand Here Amidst My Achievements for free on any Primary or Secondary character’s Turn, and essentially makes the 2 Force points seem a lot more useful. Krennic is a masterful manager of others, after all!

In addition to what’s granted with We Stand Here Amidst My Achievements, Krennic’s Arrogance Stance has access to extremely versatile and diverse choices while sacrificing dice and better expertise results, while High Aspirations more accurately represents his focus and dedication. It has increased attack dice and better expertise results in exchange for shorter range and fewer choices for success.

On the rare occasion when the Galactic Empire needed a garrison on a tropical planet or coastal area, the Shoretroopers were the established variant chosen to defend the areas and galactic interests. Wearing their distinctive sand-colored armor, these stormtroopers wear modified armor and specialized weaponry to fit the unique challenges of maintenance near sand and large bodies of water. Shoretroopers form the majority of forces protecting the Citadel Tower and its data vaults from ground threats.

Shoretroopers have the Defensive Maneuver Active ability, giving each character in the unit a Dash and the unit a Hunker token. More interesting, however, is the For the Empire Active ability, which also requires one of the unit’s two actions to use. When activated, it allows an Engaged enemy character to be Pushed range 2 away and gain the Exposed special condition. This can give them an easy way to take over an Objective token and open the target up for enemy fire.

Representing the Shoretroopers’ existence as a mostly defensive unit like on Scarif is the Innate ability, Garrison Force. This grants them an extra attack die when making attacks outside their activation as long as they have a Hunker token. This synergizes well with Krennic’s Deploy the Garrison ability (hence the names) but also any other out-of-activation abilities like General Veers’s I Will Have Results. Additionally, the Garrison Force rule grants them Steadfast and Protection as long as they are contesting an Active objective. This gives them even more resistance to damage and removal as long as they are where you want them, holding the garrison. Finally, they have the Only Imperial Stormtroopers Are So Precise Innate ability common among Stormtroopers in Star Wars: Shatterpoint, granting them Sharpshooter 1. They are highly trained soldiers, after all.

With the focus on defense and holding their garrison, of course Garrison Tactics would grant the Shoretroopers easy access to the Pin and Disarm special conditions, giving them excellent resources which prevents incoming enemies. Unique among Stormtroopers is the easy access to multiple spaces with healing, however, allowing the Shoretroopers to hunker down and ensure that they can stay in the fight for longer, or support their Primary and Secondary commanders even better.

That’s it for today’s deep dive on Director Krennic and his Shoretroopers! Be sure to check back for the second part of this transmission where we take a closer look at the Death Trooper Specialist and Death Troopers under Krennic’s command. The Deploy the Garrison Squad Pack is available for pre-order at your local friendly game store or through the webstore today!

Until next time, Atomic Mass Games, signing off!