Battle Of Orto Plutonia - TCW [SOTDS] - Battle Packs

The disappearance of clone troopers from a Republic outpost brings Anakin, Obi-Wan Captain Rex and Pantoran officials to Orto Plutonia. Dressed in cold weather gear to protect them from the extreme cold, they meet with the native Talz and their leader Thi-Sen. When diplomatic negotiations fail between the Pantorans and the Talz, the Jedi and clone troopers are forced to battle the Talz.

The “Shadow of The Dark Side” Battle Packs in The Clone Wars line are really of a high quality in general. Sometimes Hasbro decides to thrown in repacks like Holocron Heist or Jedi Showdown into the mix, but for the most part we are getting multiple all-new figures that make these sets truly worth purchasing. Although the Battle Of Orto Plutonia is an "all-new" Battle Packs set, the contents that make it up are anything but new. And while it’s not entirely a disappointment, it’s disappointing in that Hasbro couldn’t have given us a slight retool or repaint in it to make it completely worthwhile. There were a ton of Talz warriors in the Trespass episode of Season 1, so why reissue Thi-Sen here? They should have included two generic warriors instead. But that’s just our opinion. That being said, the set is a nice balance of clones, creatures and Jedi and the presentation of the packaging is very attractive. It may not offer anything “new” but there are good quality figures included here and besides being much needed at retail again, kids love Star Wars character dress in snow gear. But do you (as a collector) need these figures again? Well, actually, many of you indeed do.

Thi-Sen was part of a wave of figures that was next to impossible to locate at retail. Along with Commander TX-20 (CW46) and Darth Sidious (CW45), Thi-Sen and company may just be the hardest figures to locate in the red phase of The Clone Wars line. The paint job is exactly the same, so Thi-Sen safely falls under the “repack” banner. And the same is true for the other figures as well. The Battle Of Orto Plutonia Battle Packs set is not “bad” but it may not be necessary for those who picked these four figures up individually. Anakin Skywalker is a repack of 2010’s TCW [S2] Anakin Skywalker (CW42) figure, Obi-Wan Kenobi is a repack of 2010’s TCW [S2} Obi-Wan Kenobi (CW48) figure and Captain Rex in a repack of 2010’s TCW [S2] Captain Rex (CW50) figure. There are little to no paint differences between those contained in the Battle Packs set and their basic carded counterpart. The only thing new “one of everything” collectors might distress about are the game card specific to each character and the battle mat. But to be honest, we aren’t sure if even the most hardcore collectors even care about these things.

The Battle Of Orto Plutonia Battle Packs set is definitely a nice gift set to find at retail. It’s very well balanced and makes a few of the harder to find figures much easier to locate now. Although Captain Rex has been reissued in the “Shadow Of The Dark Side” phase of The Clone Wars line, the other figures in this set have not been so lucky. Time will tell if this set is a success at retail or not. But it seems anything under the Battle Packs banner is sure to sell through for the most part (there are exceptions of course – look at the Gelagrub Patrol set). But we are happy to see Thi-Sen garner shelf space again because he is an excellent action figure. (Learn more about him HERE.) We do hope that Hasbro is working on more sets that showcase their most impressive work like ARC Troopers or Clone Troopers & Droids because that is what this line needs it order to sustain itself at retail. The occasional repack is OK, but new product is absolutely what is going to keep the line strong and inordinately healthy. The Battle Of Orto Plutonia set is definitely not a must-have set, but it certainly serves a purpose, just maybe not yours.