Squad Analysis: Never Accepting Surrenders Squad Pack in English

With Grand Admiral Thrawn, one of the most brilliant and captivating strategists in the Star Wars universe enters the battlefield in Shatterpoint. Thrawn, the mysterious Chiss (not to be confused with the Pantorans!), stands out above all for his unparalleled intelligence, tactical acumen, and ability to analyze enemies through their art and culture. He is accompanied by the crème de la crème of the brutal Imperial Intelligence: Agent Kallus and the ISB agents.

Grand Admiral Thrawn

Role: Thrawn is a master strategist focused on optimally positioning the strike team. At first glance, his abilities may seem weak, as many are self-harm or condition-based. But a closer look reveals immense potential.

Strengths:

Unrivaled Deck Manipulation: Thrawn brings three (!) Battle Tactic cards. Thats more than even the cunning Ewoks have. Two of them can be shuffled into the deck, revealing his true strength. See the example combo below.

Deck Refresh on Damage: Whenever an allied Primary unit is wounded by an enemy attack, the tactic deck may be refreshed. What does that buy you? Instant access to new cards (making you unpredictable) and a full restoration of Force resources.

Repositioning: Through “we must wait…,” he can reposition a unit placed in Reserve. This offers immense tactical flexibility. The aim with Thrawn is to always have units in Reserve for maximum activation options. Deck manipulation means the opponent leaves activation order to chance. Thrawn works to skew that chance in your favor.

Here’s an example of a wild Thrawn combo:

- Battle Tactic 1 drawn: A unit may "advance," performing a long move.

- Battle Tactic 2 drawn: A support unit may "dash," performing a short move.

- Secondary Unit drawn and placed in Reserve: it can reposition.

- Thrawn drawn: via “I want you to know,” reposition + additional move.

In this crazy example, four (!) units can be moved in a single activation. Though rare, it shows Thrawn’s breadth of movement effects. And as we know movement wins games in Shatterpoint!

His stats are very solid. “Strategic Genius” is built for ranged combat, while “Aggressive Assault” suits close-quarters fighting.

Crazy Boshuda Tip:

Thrawn + IG‑11 Self-Destruct Combo

Goal: Cycle through your deck fast to use Battle Tactics more often.

Trigger IG‑11’s self-destruct early > reduce deck size > more movement effects.

Downsides: fewer units on the board, but can be hugely valuable in final Struggle when Priority tokens flip quickly.

Verdict: Competitively probably not optimal, but extremely fun!

Weaknesses:

Thrawn only starts with 2 Force Points.

He has one of the steepest learning curves in the game. Beginners will struggle to master him.

Rating: A-

Agent Kallus – Inside Man

Role: Kallus hands out buffs to your strike team and is a flexible mid-range character, strong in both melee and ranged combat thanks to Impact 2 and Sharpshooter 2.

Strengths:

Good Objective Capture: Two “Shoves” on his first two fields are always good.

Tag Choice Before Setup: Kallus can choose to be Galactic Empire, Spy, Trooper or Rebel Alliance, Scoundrel, Spectre. Not just lore-accurate but it grants interesting synergies as well.

Self-Buff with “Prepared…“: Kallus immediately gets a Focus action and gains Sharpshooter 2 and Impact 2 for 1 Power.

Super Buff with “Imperial Intelligence”: For each shared tag category, an allied character may re-roll a die (costs 1 Force). Kallus alone can re-roll 3 dice, as he shares three tags with himself. This is his most important ability.

Boshuda Trick: Kallus shines with Leia Freedom Fighter and the Ewoks/Spectres. Leia gives all Rebels the Ewok tag, so Kallus and the Spectres often share four tags: Rebel, Ewok, Scoundrel, Spectre. Result: up to 4 dice re-rolls per attack or defense!

Weaknesses:

Mobility is limited: his Tactical gives only a short move and must end toward an enemy. Fortunately, his ranged reach is 5.

Not great at applying Conditions: just one Pin and one Exposed, and both come late in his combat tree.

Force hungry: once wounded, you need to carefully choose which abilities to spend force on.

Rating: B+

ISB Agents

Role: Solid 3-point support unit focused on melee combat.

Strengths:

Impact 1 + Imperial Detention make them dangerous in melee. Plus they can lock up enemies, which is their main role.

Strong Synergy with Kallus: With shared tags, Imperial Intelligence allows them 3 re-rolls.

Weaknesses:

Stat-wise, they’re average. 

They don’t excel at capturing or holding objectives.

Compared to other Imperial support units, they’re in the lower mid-tier—but for only 3 points, they’re worth considering in some lists.

Rating: B

Recommended Squad Combos

Vader (1 or 2) + Stormtrooper Sergeant & Stormtroopers: Plenty of healing balances out Thrawns self-harm mechanisms, enabling solid objective play.

Thrawn + Veers + Stormtroopers: Maximum deck control, ideal for strategic players. Note: Veers has competitive weaknesses and is currently in need of a rework by AMG.

Lando (with Empire tag) + Bossk + Dark Troopers: Crazy deck manipulation + strong Condition effects.

Challenging Opponents

Aggressive Imperial lists (e.g., Iden/Moff): Risk of rapid losses before your setup is established.

Other fast lists like Ewoks or Droids: They're swift on objectives, hard to catch, and pursue similar goals as Thrawn.

Mission Evaluations

Shifting Priorities: Very well-suited. Thrawn Lists can cover great distances quickly.

Never Tell Me the Odds: Problematic becsuse too little kill potential and Force resources to consistently pay for things.

Conclusion

The “Never Accepting Surrenders Squad Pack” is a highly challenging and strategically/tactically rich expansion for the Empire. It elevates deck manipulation and lateral mobility to a whole new level. Hard to pilot for beginners, but enormously rewarding for experienced Shatterpoint strategists who enjoy planning and executing wild combinations.

May the Force be with you! Utinni.

If you have a special topic request or’d like to support us:

kofi.com/boshudapodcast