Who The Force Is That? #1: Cade Skywalker

Welcome to “Who The Force Is That?”, an ongoing series at Lost Hemisphere that seeks to shed some light on some of the more obscure corners of the Star Wars Miniatures universe. After all, we all know Yoda and Boba Fett and the like, but there are tons of pieces that are pulled from lesser-known parts of the canon, and it’s my goal to give them the publicity they deserve. To that end, I’ll be recapping the history of the character and reviewing the piece in terms of its usability and how well it represents its namesake. First up: Cade Skywalker.

Wouldn’t it be so awesome if Han Solo had a lightsaber? And then he flew around collecting bounties just like Boba Fett except with a hot sidekick?

Don’t act like it wouldn’t be. The inherent radness of such a scenario is so potentially devastating that it can only be expressed via the following equation, preferably scratched onto the back of a Trapper Keeper (Trapper Keepers, of course, being the only materials rad enough to withstand it):

r = H + L (F + S) / a

The writers of the ongoing Dark Horse series Star Wars: Legacy decided not only to tempt the fates and try to constrain such dangerous levels of awesome on mere paper, but also to make their guy a Skywalker. That sound you just heard was your brain popping.

Granted, the idea of a Skywalker who forsakes his Jedi destiny to become a bounty-hunting rogue is one that approaches levels of wish fulfillment seen primarily in fanfiction. Still, it helps that Cade is at least interesting and part of better material than the stuff WampaFan69’s been peddling.

The Story

Cade Skywalker is the star of Legacy and the great grandson of Luke Skywalker, as well as the cousin to lots of other Skywalkers I can’t be bothered to research. His father is Kol Skywalker – for those of you working through the current EU continuity, that would make him Ben Skywalker’s son – but it doesn’t really matter because he’s not in the series for long before a Sith attack on the Jedi temple where both Skywalkers live and train claims his life and the lives of many others.

Cade escapes and discovers on the shuttle that he can focus his anger and sorrow into an ability that allows him to heal people from the brink of death – notably, his master Wolf Sazen (likely the subject of a future WTFIT). This, of course, is seen by the Jedi as a path to the dark side, further solidifying the order’s reputation as the biggest spoilsports in the universe.

Furious and ready for revenge, Cade decides to hijack a fighter and go after the Sith himself, but gets shot out of the sky and ends up apprenticing himself to pirates and getting himself into debt. Which, you know, given this economy, is as sound a life plan as any.  Eventually he scrapes up enough credits to buy his own ship and staffs it with Deliah Blue, who is an attractive pink woman and the ship’s mechanic, and his friend from his pirate days and co-pilot Jariah Syn. They fly around hunting bounties and doing various tasks of questionable legality, and all the while Cade hides his true identity from everyone.

Well, everyone except his great-grandfather, who regularly appears to him as a Force spirit despite Cade’s best attempts to use the hallucinogenic properties of “death sticks” to block off his connection to the Force and keep Luke from bothering him. That’s what I love about Star Wars. Even throwaway jokes will eventually become a major plot point.

Eventually, Cade reveals himself to be a Jedi after circumstances require it, and goes on the traditional Skywalker journey of becoming both a powerful Jedi and occasionally a whiny jerk. I don’t want to reveal much more about his path because 1) Legacy is actually pretty good and 2) I’m still working my way through it and don’t want to spoil it for myself.

So how did Cade fare when he made the jump from paper to plastic?

The Figure

Mr. Skywalker regularly goes for around $40 on eBay and the various game store websites. There’s a reason for that – he’s pretty awesome.

Granted, his hefty cost of 61 means you have to make some decisions about how you want to build your squads. He doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room in the standard 100-point format, but pair him up with the right support figures and you may not really need anyone else.

The key to Cade is versatility. Not only is he capable of truly sickening damage output thanks to the combination of Double Attack and Twin Attack, which gives him the possibility of four continuous attack rolls at 20 damage each if they land (yes, Mike, you can do that, I checked), he also has the highest Force Heal rating in the game (which, given his innate healing ability, makes sense). No other figure can heal 40 damage with that ability, but Cade can, and it could potentially turn a game for you. Also, factor in the Splash 10 ability, which does 10 damage to anyone adjacent to his target, and he’s not bad at clearing a room, either.

Cade is also great at killing big-name and commander figures thanks to his Bounty Hunter +4 ability, which modifies his attack by giving him +4 against any figure that counts as a Unique.  Couple that with a potential 80 damage or better on any given turn, and there isn’t much your opponent can bring that will stand against him. In the games I played before writing this article, Scooter walked through the best Clone Troopers and Sith I could throw at him without ol’ Cade taking a scratch.

The trick to using Cade, despite the lightsaber he carries, seems to be parking him in cover and leaving him there, firing away at your opponents and not moving so Double Attack still activates. His Bounty Hunter ability helps him overcome penalties for firing through cover so long as he’s firing at a unique figure. You can also get up into your opponent’s face if necessary, as Cade can certainly handle trading damage back and forth, but in my experience he seems to work best as a sniper. In fact, because he works best as a sniper he may not always be the most exciting piece to play – he just sort of stays put for the most part.

For synergy and support, look for pieces that add even more to Cade’s repertoire. I found some luck using Czerka Scientist to grant him the Jolt ability, which effectively keeps your opponent from using whatever character is hit by his attack so long as they don’t make a saving throw. This works especially well on turns where you win the initiative. There are no doubt dozens of other figures that work as well, but that’s all I can speak to from my experience.

Overall, Cade is probably a 9/10. He’s a bit pricey (both in points and in cash), but he’s also definitely worth building a squad or two around. If you pull him, give him a try before you throw him up on eBay to reap the windfall profits. You might enjoy it!

- Bryan Carr is the host, producer, and creator of the award-winning Geekspeak podcast, and a hero to the children. Thanks to Rebel Scum for the scan of the card and the closeup on the figure, and Wookieepedia for the background info.