devtrackers.gg
Hi Holotable Heroes,
Your favorite Clone Troopers from the 501st are entering battle with renewed resolve. Echo, Fives, and Rex have been reworked and proudly represent their legion with a new 501st faction tag!
Following the commands of a Jedi General, Clone Captain Rex leads the 501st into the heat of battle, and Rex’s reworked kit allows the new 501st faction to synergize even better with their mass-produced brethren. Fives and Echo work well together, and their history in Domino Squad means Fives is willing to sacrifice anything to keep his Clone Trooper allies alive. Echo lays down a hail of blaster fire whenever his allies take aim and can now stun enemy Droids. Don’t underestimate this hard-hitting squad – their quick reflexes and counter attacks were the downfall of many droid armies and anyone else who stood against the Galactic Republic.
There’s a ton that’s changed with these characters and a host of designers were a part of this rework, CG_ParkingInstructor, CG_Prophet, CG_Brandon, CG_Prototype. These designers are big fans of the Clone Wars TV show; perfect to ask about why we reworked the Clones, what makes the OG Stormtroopers so cool and what we can expect from the squad!
Check out the full kit in the Character Strategy and Arena section.
[list]
[*] CT-21-0408 "Echo" (Rework)
[*] CT-5555 "Fives" (Rework)
[*] CT-7567 "Rex" (Rework)
[*] Ahsoka Tano (Touch Up)
[/list]
Q: What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the Clone Troopers?
A: CG_Prophet: Dee Bradley Baker! (He is the voice of the clones in the show)
CG_ParkingInstructor: Loyalty, Brotherhood, and Sacrifice. The Clone Troopers are tightly knit army, and throughout the show you really see how closely they support each other.
CG_Prototype: They are an interesting dichotomy. Despite being mass produced, disposable clone soldiers, they are valued as individuals and have distinct personalities.
CG_Brandon:I think Yoda sets the tone for the whole series in the first episode when he asks the Clones to take off their helmets. A Clone Trooper replies “There's not much to look at here, sir. We all share the same face” but Yoda disagrees “Deceive you, your eyes can. Very different, each one of you are”
Q: Why did we rework these characters now? Why didn’t all the clones get a rework?
A: CG_Prophet: The Clone Troopers were in need of rework prior to the release of the Light Side version of Geonosis. Rex, Echo and Fives are essentially part of a sub-faction inside the Clone Troopers, and this gives us some room to create a more thematic squad around the 501st. Shaak Ti helped Clone squads in general but we felt there was still room to improve.
CG_ParkingInstructor: We also wanted to increase their viability in Grand Arena and Territory Wars while preparing for the Light Side version of Geonosis. I wanted to do more after last year’s anniversary and target smaller group to do a deeper rework. With less characters, it means we had time for a more substantial rework and it still leaves space for the 212th Attack Battalion in the future if we want.
Q: What does the 501st tag bring to the holotables? Why not all the Clones?
A: CG_Prototype: Limiting the rework to just 3 units enabled us to give these characters a considerable power boost without disrupting the current meta or limiting the design space for the future. Some of these abilities that could seriously break things if they interact with other characters and not just the 501st, such as CT-5555’s savior-like ability. We focused on making this squad fun and thematic while creating some unique interactions to keep players on their toes.
CG_ParkingInstructor: We wanted a really tight synergy between the 3 units to reflect the TV show instead of a loose connection to all Clone Troopers. We felt it didn’t make much sense to rework them and not have some specific call outs to each other in their kits.
CG_Prophet: Rex was an interesting one to rework because we wanted his Unique Ability to feel like the captain of the squad even if he’s not technically lead. We’ve designed them as a squad that allows for a strong multi-faction interactions. There are only 3 so you will have to use them as a multi-faction team and we hope there is a lively debate on who else to bring in to battle with them.
Q: What are the biggest changes to the Clones faction with this rework?
A: CG_Prototype: Most importantly Rex uses his jetpack now! Besides that, we’ve pushed each unit in the 501st deeper into their role (Tank or Support) and reflects some of their accomplishments in the TV show: Rex’s strong leadership, Echo’s EMP Grenade can now stun droids enemies, Fives sacrifices himself for his 501st allies (Crumb: Spoiler alert! Jeez) and emphasize the bromance between Echo and Fives.
CG_Prophet: I want to mention that Rex’s Special 2 is very powerful. It’s so strong we had to start it on cooldown but you can stack up some serious damage.
Q: Were there specific scenes or moments were you trying to capture with the Clone reworks?
A: CG_Brandon: All of us looked at the show for inspiration. We are huge fans and wanted to bring some of those amazing moments and relationships to the holotables. I hope you can see the hints of the Domino squad storyline or frequent rapport between Fives and Echo in the kits we designed.
CG_Prototype: There are some bigger parts of the story we wanted to reinforce like Fives’ eventual demise or Rex’s general personality as the leader/captain of the squad.
Q: Who do you suggest we pair with the three 501st Clones?
A: CG_Brandon: I’d choose Shaak Ti as lead if you are looking for a team with a massive amount of assists. Shaak Ti is fairly strong against AoE squads as she gains a ton of turn meter and frequently hands out retribution when her squad is damaged. Rex is still a solid choice as the 501st receive increased survivability, but at his core, he’s still Rex. For the last pick, Ahsoka has the 501st tag so she’s an obvious choice but Cody is still has solid synergies with the squad under Shaak Ti.
Q: Ahsoka also received some minor changes, how does she interact with the reworked Clones?
A: CG_Prophet: I wanted to play up the history of Rex and Ahsoka, which starts at odds but grow to become a close friendship by the end of show. Ahsoka hasn’t changed dramatically with this touch-up but she will trigger bonus stats more often under Rex’s lead, she will get some additional health since she has the 501st tag, and if Ahsoka with partnered with any 501st trooper, she heals with her basic attack.
Q: You showed us some awesome photos of your Star Wars collection the other day while we were chatting. Do you mind if I share them and are you excited for the next season of Clone Wars?
A: CG_Parking Instructor: Sure, I love the Clone Troopers if that’s not apparent from the picture below. The Clone Wars is one of my favorite parts of Star Wars lore but my house is covered in Star Wars figurines from all the eras.
CG_Prophet: I’m not at ParkingInstructor levels of collection but I have a couple clone wars pieces that I really like haha
CG_Brandon: I’ve been waiting for the next season of Clone Wars for a long time. I’m also excited for possible future clones!
CG_ParkingInstructor’s Collection
CG_PI’s display case
CG_Prophet’s Rex and Gen Ken