The Captain - Leader of the Squad

"In my book, experience outranks everything"

- Captain Rex

In Strike Team, the commander is replaced by your squad captain. In addition to giving out orders, the Captain is also the most well rounded and capable unit in a squad.

With a ranged weapon of 3 dice and Critical 1, the Captain is able to dish out significant amounts of damage, even against enemies in cover. Additionally, the Captain is the only non-Assault trooper with multiple dice for melee.

The starting attribute of the Captain is Aggressive Tactics. 

"While you are the nominated commander, after issuing orders , choose up to 4 friendly units with faceup order tokens. Each chosen unit gains 1 surge token." 

For Strike Team, troopers can gain abilities through progression (or you can choose the power level in quick-play). The abilities are on a tech tree where you choose one of two options (similar to X-COM). The tech tree for the Captain, like all the Elite troopers, is split into two ideals. In this case, the Captain can be built for a ruthless tactician or a cunning leader.

Abilities

 

Level 1

  Choosing between Spotter 2 and Take Cover 2 means upping your offense or defense in addition to the surge tokens. These actions also encourage using your Captain first.

Level 2

 This choice determines if your leader is feared or inspiring. Demoralize 1 or Inspire 1 manages suppression and action economy.

Level 3

 Gaining Sharpshooter 1 or Surge:Crit, is a tough decision. The former allows you to reliably minimize the effects of cover. While Surge:Crit can help against cover, it also provides help against potentially armored Heavy Troopers.

Level 4

 Choose between the survival of your Captain with Esteemed Leader or focus on getting your orders out with Commanding Presence.

Command Cards

Acting as the commander, a starting captain will get the 6 generic command cards for their faction. As they level up, they'll be able to add more powerful command cards like Deploy the Garrison or Somebody Has to Save Our Skins.

Lead your squad to victory!

The captain is designed to not only fend for themselves, but provide the support necessary for the rest of the team to do their job. 

Next time, we will take a look at the Heavy Trooper.