Bossky Bossk
1st March 2025
Barry
6 mins
Following on my article about my favourite bandaged bounty hunter – it should also go without mention that Bossk is another regular in my rotation for almost any game I can field him in. Bossk (aka Bossk’wassak’Cradossk…apparently?) was represented in the EU as a ruthless and ambitious but dull instrument – with the same amount of finesse as my basset hound destroying a yogurt tub he found in the recycling bin.
In the new Disney canon he’s been equally absent as Dengar, so my opinion of him remains largely formed by Shadows of the Empire where he has his own crew chasing Boba Fett, and of course Robot Chicken where he may or may not cosplay as James Bond.
X-Wing Miniatures
Bossk was one of my go to in first edition of X-Wing supported by his little cronies 4LOM and Zuckuss to try and king hit something with that nice fat arc. The only problem was Imperial Aces could never get hit by anything unless their dice completely crapped out and even then they had Palp and auto-thrusters. So he would be teamed up with Dengar and his Hotshot Co-Pilot which helped elevate the damage output through a form of token denial.
Second Edition Bossk is a bit different, generally being stuck at initiative 4 he needs support from his peers to ensure he can take that essential reinforce to live, and find some other way to mod his attack output. Gamut Key is pretty great at this though right now in XWA he takes up almost half the loadout. As points vary so does Bossk’s ability to punch through but when you get those hits in they start to hurt – but finding a way to fit 000 and BT-1 never goes astray.
I also love that right now I can have Bossk, Moralo, and Aphra in a list together. Not sure how long that will last so better get it back on the table soon-ish.
Armada
Bossk continues to hit like a truck in Armada for anything he’s able to catch up to – again the similarity to my sluggish basset hound remains true. Four black dice are nice to have for taking down a squadron, though he starts to really sing when he’s taken a damage and gets to set that blue die when engaging. If you’re particularly inclined activating him with Flight Controllers for another blue can ruin any aces day.
But as I’ve eluded to he’s hard work – and he’s not cheap at 23pts you’re not far off just paying for Defender Vader. So I’ve often had him set aside for things like Rebellion in the Rim or when Jim runs “Who’s the Bossk?” on the off chance I can get two Bossk’s on the table.
Hey I don’t make the rules I just think them up and write them down…
Imperial Assault
FFG were definitely decided Bossk’s theme was just outright damage output – and I think Imperial Assault takes the cake with the action, “Indiscriminate Fire”. His attacks are nothing to sneeze at either, and whilst it looks meger with just a red and green die, he has plus hits, accuracy and can spend a surge for pierce. Suddenly not so shabby.
This is also where Bossk starts becoming truly scary – regenerating himself at the end of rounds and finding himself impervious to the effects of harmful conditions. This was something I kind of recall from playing Battlefront (the EA one not the good one) where he dealt out chemical weapons but seemed unfazed by the whole ordeal.
I also actually like Battlefront I just wish it wasn’t so…EA.
Outer Rim
FFG pulled back on the damage output for Bossk here but continued the habit of shaking damage as opposed to dealing it out by using an action to recover health and repair his ship. The incentive for violence is measured by his ability to score a fame by fighting (and beating) a player with more fame than you.
Though character stats are kind of mediocre to begin with so you’re gonna want some tools to help you on your journey.
If you can get it – and that’s a big if -the Hounds Tooth also lets Bossk live to fight another day when defeated and also recover two damage again. So killing a thematic Bossk becomes a big ask when players are fighting each other – but getting that ship or the crew you want in Outer Rim is always a gamble.
Honestly couldn’t get a decent picture of his Outer Rim card…so here’s him cosplaying.
Round Up
Unlike Dengar, Bossk has at least appeared in the Clone Wars series and is a bit more of a known quantity for it. Am I disappointed he hasn’t made another appearance in The Mandalorian or Book of Boba Fett yet? Sure – though I suppose if he did am I expecting some deeply philosophical or progressive ideas from him?
No – he’s a giant lizard. And outside of the Robot Chicken version of the character I do appreciate the FFG’s themes for the bounty hunters. Bossk is a slow moving, hard hitting and hard to kill brick wall in almost any game – usually accompanied with a rough burden of execution which stops him being an auto-pick.
But you’ll have fun with him. Another thing people might find fun - I’ve been painting my Shatterpoint model of Bossk for… over 3 months now. How do any of you find this relaxing as a hobby? It’s beyond me.
Stay salty.
- Barry