A Comprehensive Guide to Building Snowmen

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Some hate them, some love them, but most of us just tolerate them. That's right, we're talking about Snowtroopers today. Admittedly my knowledge on these fellows is mostly hubris (I don't even own any), but having played against them more than my fair share I feel confident enough to tell you how to listbuild with them. As always, I'm going to give my general reflections on the unit and then follow that up by breaking the article into three sections. After this I will point out synergies within the faction I think you should consider. The three sections are:

1) Listbuilding decisions that you should be making. These are what I would consider to be the optimal builds for a unit and the best way to invest your 800 points. If you're looking to do well with your list and do it "right" than you should start here.

2) Listbuilding decisions that are "neat." This section will be comprised of build choices that are either sub-optimal (but not terrible) or that offer fun and interesting interactions that may not be obvious at face value. The options presented here could easily be part of a tournament winning list, but probably shouldn't comprise the entirety of it. Neat "one-offs" that offer great value can often distract or surprise your opponent and give you an edge that did not exist previously. Alternatively they may provide solutions to issues that your list struggles with or simply "budget" versions of other entirely different units.

3) Listbuilding decisions that you should not be making. These are the decisions that I don't make and won't advocate for you to make either. While I am by no means infallible, I do believe these are the decisions that cost you games. You've only 800 points to spend in an army; don't waste them on prodigal decisions that hamper your ability to respond to your opponent. I won't cover every poor decision you could be making, but I will cover those that I see others making and advocating for that I disagree with.

Snowtroopers are unique for three main reasons. First of all, they are the only corps unit to have speed one. This means that although they are as slow as one can get, they cannot be any further slowed by climbing or by difficult terrain. This of course presents an issue when you need them to both move to an objective and perform an action when they get there; since they will have less movement range to base the objective token in question (think Vaporators, Recover the Supplies, or picking up a dropped Bombing Run token). A skilled player will of course plan around this and is unlikely to take an army full of only Snowtrooper corps anyways.

Secondly they are the only corps unit to have Steady. Steady mitigates many of the combat efficiency issues that speed one presents and is what makes the Snowtroopers "work." I'll mention examples later once we start talking about various builds, but Steady opens the door to a number of gameplay choices that mimic those of hero units. Please note that Steady is not Relentless. The Snowtrooper melee attack pool is quite good (surging black) but you won’t get any of these good attacks for free.

Lastly, they are the cheapest flamethrower unit in the game and the most "spammable" (since you can, in theory, bring six). They of course justify this cost by bringing the worst flamethrower in the game, but Blast and Spray are still good keywords. At the time of writing this I'm not sure how valuable this anecdote is, but I can only expect that Spray weapons will go up in value as Ewoks spread throughout the competitive scene.

1) Listbuilding decisions that you should be making.

"Naked" Snows

Snowtroopers without any upgrades, a true classic of Legion listbuilding. While they offer very little in terms of firepower (average of 2 hits when aimed), their value comes from the free attack that occurs at the end of their movement. This attack will likely do little more than dole out suppression, however there is always the possibility that dice variance will spike and give you critical results or enough hits to push through cover. If you are playing a game that requires mobility or flanking then Snowtroopers can really leverage their Steady keyword to find out of cover shots or support other more deadly pieces that are flanking with them.

Steady allows Snowtroopers to move and shoot even while suppressed; other organic troopers would need either Compel or Dauntless to do the same and gain no benefit from those keywords without suppression. This move can either be offensive or defensive, but regardless of your choice the free attack is still of great value.

It is a debate amongst my gaming group about which is better for the price: naked Snowtroopers or naked Stormtroopers. I personally prefer the snows since I value their ability to still move and shoot when suppressed, however Stormtroopers will outpace snows when speed is the only factor in the equation. So be sure you don't place yourself in a situation where you can't catch up in time.

Snowtroopers with the Flametrooper and Sonic Imploders

All the credit for this build belongs to Richard Lavery who showed me the power of this combination long before Blizzard Force was ever released. I have come to believe that this is the best way to run Snowtroopers. The combination of Suppressive with the Flametrooper means that if any defenders survived the initial attack, they are unlikely to aim and shoot in return. If you're familiar with Gar Saxon's and rebel Boba's Flame Projectors then you'll notice that recent flamethrower weapons have the Suppressive keyword built in. You could contribute this to power creep, but personally I would argue that the Flametrooper should have received this keyword from its conception (don’t know about you, but being set on fire kinda suppresses me).

Additionally, the Sonic Imploders offer black dice for the rest of the snowtrooper unit to utilize instead of their white dice. When performing an attack against another five man corps unit you should expect to find 5.6 hits with this combination. Blast ensures there is no cover and even a red defense dice unit should expect to take three wounds. If you are attacking a white defense dice unit (surging or not) it's reasonable to expect to leave just the unit leader alive. With Ewoks arriving on the scene (they struggle with suppression btw), stonks can only increase for this combo.

I'll also take this moment to mention Fragmentation Grenades as well. While this upgrade does exchange four black dice for four red dice the damage increase isn't that substantial. You'll only jump from an expected 5.6 hits to instead 6.6 hits. An extra hit is great (especially when combined with Blast) but it does cost two more points. Choosing this grenade choice over Sonic Imploders isn't bad, but since Snowtroopers already surge to hit and Blast will already negate cover; then the Surge: Critical portion of the card is largely insignificant.

2) Listbuilding decisions that are "neat."

Snowtroopers with just the Flametrooper

Much of what I said above applies, but you should really find those extra three points to suppress your opponent with. If you leave one or two models alive after an attack (remember your attack pool will be weaker swapping those four black for whites) the last thing you want is your opponent removing a suppression and then slipping away where you can't reach them. I've not much else to say about this combo other than while still good, it's truly a last year's build that can really benefit from a small addition of grenades.

Snowtroopers with Gideon Hask

Arguably the best way to build "shooty" Snowtroopers, Gideon Hask adds an extra two hits to your attack pool which makes their shot worth more than just a suppression. However, most often those two extra hits (3.2 in total) will simply be soaked up by heavy cover leaving your opponent rolling a single defense die. In order to make this combo "good" you'll need to either get an aim token (4 hits) or a flanking shot. If you don't, you're going to be wondering why you wasted 73 points on this build when a Pyke team with a rifle is only 68.

And truthfully, I'm not entirely sure why you would make this choice when there are an abundance of better "shooty" builds that can be found within Stormtroopers for less points. Gideon Hask (and Del Meeko as well) are best in Inferno Squadron and occasionally in Shoretroopers if you aren't bringing Iden Versio. There's a reason this build is "neat" and not top tier.

The T7 Ion Trooper

I truly wish this build could be more meta. Snowtroopers are in a unique place with their Steady keyword wherein they can recover, move and shoot all in the same activation. This allows them to overcome the awkwardness of an exhaustible weapon, which is great, but not enough to make this build work. Incredibly the main issue with the T-7 Ion Disruptor Rifle is its low impact value. In order to apply the effects of the Ion keyword you need to deal a wound. With an impact value of only one it's tough to get wounds through on red save armor units, and these are the units you most want to harm! Statistically this build has a 90% chance of dealing an ion token to an armored unit. But frankly that's just really mediocre for a 62 point "soft" answer to armor. It's not terrible, but you'd be better off re-allocating those points elsewhere in your list.

There are other upgrades you could add to this build to try and shore up its weaknesses and I'll mention them now. You can of course attempt to make up for its lack of impact with Impact Grenades, but you'll be forced to find range one in order to make the dream come true. I'd welcome you to charge my tank at range one and see how that goes for you. Droid Popper grenades allow you to get Ion 2 in an attack pool, which could really hurt a tank. However it's more likely though that you'll never get to range one of an armored piece alive and will instead use your ion value against droid troopers. Fully shutting down a Droid Trooper unit for a round is cool, but don't get caught up in a dream world where you can reliably make it work.

The last "combo" you could add to this build is a Comms Technician with an exhaustible comms upgrade, you could then recover both your upgrade and your weapon at the same time! However the only available exhaustible upgrade is HQ Uplink and this would just be a terrible way to spend your points. If you're looking for a neat double recover option, then the tried and true HH-12 Specialist combo (or the South Carolina Special as my group refers to it) is the way you want to go.

The last thing to mention in this sadly off-meta build is the interaction of Ion and shield tokens. The CRB reads "If an attack pool includes the Ion X keyword, at the start of the Modify Attack Dice step of the attack sequence, before any other effects, the defending unit must flip active shield tokens, if able, for each hit symbol or critical symbol result in the attack roll, up to X." So like, if your meta is full of Droidekas or Mandalorians, I guess this might not be the worst idea?

Snowtroopers with either Medics or Astromechs

Two speed-one moves is almost the equivalent of a speed three move. This means that Steady Snowtroopers with noncombatants can get slightly more value out of following and supporting a hero/tank around the battlefield than a unit of storms or shores. Unless your hero is Boba Fett, it's unlikely they can escape the heal range of your snows with a medic (remember your cohesion can extend your reach forward as well). Furthermore a Snowtrooper unit that double moves can both heal and shoot at the end of those two moves. The attack won't be much, but if the target is out of cover or needs to be suppressed then this is value enough IMO to consider taking Snowtroopers as your noncombatant carriers instead of Stormtroopers.

The Imperial Officer

Bringing Junior Rebecca in a squad of snows is not an inherently bad idea, it's just a pricey one. The courage two means you're far more likely to get your second action each round; but you've already got Steady. If you're having trouble getting your flamethrowers to the front due to suppression then Jr. Becky will aid both her own team and friendly units around her (Inspire cannot be used on the unit that equips it). For an offensive squad this upgrade simply makes them do what they are already doing better.

In a defensive focused squad, don't. Seventeen additional points for an objective playing team is nearly half the price of another Snowtrooper unit. Additional inspiration in your backline is great, but you've got true commanders who can do it better. If you've managed to build a list that is corps centric and doesn't have two commanders in it, please reconsider. The Galactic Empire has a host of excellent middle management position leaders that you should consider including in your army.

3) Listbuilding decisions that you should not be making.

Snowtroopers with Del Meeko

I'll make this one short and sweet. Del is a sniper. Snipers need two things, aim support and the Sharpshooter keyword. Snowtroopers offer neither of those and instead want to move closer to your enemy. Del Meeko is even worse than a Scout Trooper sniper since he has Lethal 1 instead of Pierce 1. The lack of Sharpshooter 1 on Snowtroopers means that even if you find two hits you won't be punching through cover. Instead you'll spend your single aim to hunt for a critical result and then won't be able to pierce it when the time is right. Just don't pursue this build, actual sniper strike teams are better and cheaper.

The "fifth trooper"

I can think of few circumstances where this would be a wise way to spend your points. I'll mention a possible use for this personnel upgrade later on; but I'll warn you now, it's still not good.

Targeting Scopes

Hey whatta ya know? This upgrade is still bad! Don't take Targeting Scopes; the math shows that you aren't spending your points well. Even when you bring the Flametrooper this upgrade is not helping you, it only drags down the rest of your list by gobbling up the much needed points.

Synergies to Consider:

Ok then, let's move on to some synergies I think are worth considering when you are running Snowtroopers. Many of these will be tangentially helpful, but I'll note them anyways. I'm going to start with other units to place around them and then finish up with some battle deck card notes.

Blizzard Force

I'd be remiss if I didn't include it in this article, but I don't know what to add that most folks don't already know. I'm not going to go into any depth here because everyone knows Blizzard Force is really good and all their command cards are busted. I will just note that both "Overwhelming Barrage" and "Debark for Ground Assault" are both very good for Snowtroopers (especially if you're running Sonic Imploders and are already playing the suppression game).

Compelling Commanders

Snowtroopers have an issue with speed, a "need" if you will. Vader and Krennic can both help them get around this issue when it arises. Furthermore, Steady can trigger off of this free movement action. This free move action doesn't need to be a full speed 1 move either. You could move as little as you like and still trigger your free shot from Steady. If you need to get into range one in order to turn up the heat (flamethrower), then Compel can help ensure you'll get there. Compel is most helpful when your Snowtroopers need to move to an objective and interact with it, but this article isn't about how to use Compel so I digress.

Each of these commanders has a command card that also provides synergy, but I'll get to those in a moment.

Imperial Discipline

A free recover action is always helpful, especially if you're running a T-7 Ion Rifle. It's not going to be the linchpin of your list, but giving two Snowtroopers a free action apiece can be a big boon when the circumstances call for it.

Annihilation Looms

This is barely worth mentioning, but I'll note that Compel and this command card give a slight leg up to units with free actions. If everyone has one action less this round due to suppression, then your extra Steady action means you still have a leg up over your opponent. If you're in range to compel, then truthfully you've hardly lost any of your efficiency (provided you needed to move this round).

Ruthless Tactics

Need to burn your opponents but want to have dice mods as well? This kinda sorta does what Coordinated Fire does but in a less convenient way. You can either store up observation tokens for your flamethrower rush, or just plink at a unit with your measly four white dice and contribute more than your usual suppression token.

Coordinated Fire

Speaking of which, here's a card that all Imperial corps love, Snowtroopers notwithstanding. If you're double-move rushing in with a wave of flamethrowers, then someone else will need to take the initial aim action. Once the chain is started a typical aimed flamethrower attack will find 1.1 more hits than if it didn't have the token. When you consider the Blast keyword being in effect, each hit carries more value than before.

Palpatine’s "pull the strings"

Pulling the Strings allows for either a free move or a free attack action. Snowtroopers ask: Por que no los dos? If you're looking to attack twice with your ion rifle (once in your activation and once outside) then this is the way to do it. This possibility for a double ion from a single ion rifle could mean locking down a magnaguard unit or even a tank if your activation timing is right. The free move could also help you close the distance to your opponents (in order to burn them) and give them an extra suppression or wound on the way in.

Moff Gideon

Out of all the synergies I'm going to suggest, this is the one I most want to see someone succeed with (it won't be me since I don't own any Snowtroopers!). I believe there is a synergy to be exploited with Gideon's Ruthless ability. Free actions for free wounds are tricky and it can be hard to use them correctly. All the same, if you're bringing flamethrowers then free moves give you that oomph that you're missing. Three speed-one moves take you from outside range three to decidedly within range one. If you combined this ability with Coordinated Fire then you could devastate your opponents line with your triple-moving Flametroopers!

If you were worried about the wound you would take from using this ability, then you could take the extra snowtrooper model from the personnel upgrade. I don't think it's a wise use of points, but it's about the only time I could ever see myself (or rather, you, since I don't own any Snowtroopers) ever taking that upgrade.

New Ways to Motivate Them

This is similar to what I just discussed above, except it's limited to a single round and requires order tokens; but you can use this ability at range three instead of just range two! This ability does not specify corps units (unlike Ruthless) and frankly is better used on bounty hunters or other heroes. I wouldn't plan for this to be a crucial part of your gameplan, but the possibility exists.

Payload and Breakthrough

"The moving objectives" as I like to call them. These present a double-edged sword for Snowtroopers. On one hand the Steady keyword gives you the ability to move twice and still get a shot while you push your bomb cart or hustle your keister across no-mans land towards the far corner of your opponents deployment zone.

On the other hand you’ve got noticeably less movement speed when the circumstances call for it. Including these cards in your battle deck won’t always be a death sentence for your list, but you’ve gotta be careful they don’t come back and bite you. All I can say is: proceed slowly with caution, Snowtroopers literally can’t do anything else.

Hostage Exchange

The objective where Snowtroopers truly shine the brightest. Hostage holding units decrease their speed by one, to a minimum of one. If you’re a Snowtrooper then you’ve lost no utility in this respect. Furthermore, a hostage holding unit starts close to the middle of the map, but needs to get into their deployment zone before the end of the game. A Snowtrooper unit with a hostage can get a free shot with Steady at the start of the game while plodding their way back home. If this shot gives an ion token to an enemy vehicle, then the resulting lost action could keep that vehicle from providing the cover the enemy hostage unit would love to receive.

Alternatively, you could choose violence instead. A hostage holding Flametrooper unit could simply forgo their objective responsibilities and make a headlong charge towards the enemy’s line knowing full-well that they cannot be shot at in the first round. Surviving the second round is unlikely, but if you manage to die in the right spot then the hostage objective could be treacherous for either player to acquire. A flaming snow team also makes a great dice pool to throw at the opposing hostage holding unit at the start of round two. This attack may not kill them, but if paired with Sonic Imploders then you could remove their second action and find yourself a path to victory.

Limited Visibility and Flamethrowers

The first of the battle deck synergies is an obvious one. If you’re looking to get in there and burn ‘em down, then you’ll embrace any advantage you can get from this condition. With proper planning and timing you can position yourself behind a good line of sight blocker during round one and get your Flametroopers in position for a turn two or three dive. This condition pairs well with objectives that encourage early scoring, such as Intercept the Transmissions.

Rapid Reinforcement and Flamethrowers

Again, let's get you as close as possible to your opponent without giving them a chance to shoot back. You’ll need to be careful with your timing and order control to ensure you don’t pull and place your Snowtroopers too early and thus lose them, but the trade off can lead to a devastating round two flanking maneuver.

Danger Close and Hemmed In

I’m gonna lump these two together because the story is the same for the both of ‘em. If you brought flamethrowers, get close faster. If you didn’t, then the only deployment Snowtroopers will dislike is Long March (because they are slow marchers). Deployments are very neutral for snowtroopers, but given their druthers they’d prefer the close range options.

And so concludes my comprehensive guide on Snowtroopers! If you’ve got thoughts, opinions, hot takes or even cold takes (you know, because of the snow) then please post them in the comments below! Furthermore, if you successfully make the Moff Gideon and Flametroopers combo work in a sizable tournament then I'd be delighted to know. In fact, if you do well and can show me your results on GameUplink then I'll send you a sticker or something for making me feel vindicated.

My next article will be a reflection on my NOVA experience and on the Shadow Collective, so please check back in a week or two for that write-up. Additionally, if there is a unit you’d like to see me cover then please leave a comment below or send me a suggestion at thecarolinaholochronicles@gmail.com. Be on the lookout for the next article soon, this time on the state of the Shadow Collective battleforce.

That’s all for now, thanks for reading and I hope you learned something!