Hasbro’s deluxe line is generally a good one, although the releases of late seem to have even less perceived value than the first couple.  The general routine seems to be that we get a basic figure of a character, and then Hasbro determines that it would work well with some additional accessory (or several) that makes it worthwhile to pick up extras.  This model would appear to be more successful when the character is a generic army builder, because many collectors are OK with adding more of the figure to their collections, especially when some cool and unique world-building accessories are included.  This was the case for the Incinerator Stormtrooper and Stormtrooper with E-Web Cannon, for example.  It also works when you have a unique character, but the accessory loadout makes another purchase worthwhile, like in the case of Ahsoka.  And sometimes you just get a hefty figure that doesn’t work in the main line, like Paz Vizsla.

In this case, none of those boxes are checked.  The closest would be the accessories.  In the case of this Tusken Warrior, you get a newly sculpted Massiff.  No other accessories are included.  So we have to ask ourselves, is this worth an additional $11?

The massiff is really nice.  Unlike the previous version which dates to 2002 and was released a total of 4 times (one of them is not pictured above, which is the one that was included in the variant TAC Battle Pack), this one has articulation beyond just the jaw.  The head is on a ball joint, so it can look around, as well as tilt sideways.  And each arm/leg has a ball joint that allows for some limited range of motion, although the pre-posed elbows/knees and ankles make it a challenge to do much other than in the main standing pose.

The Massiff is smaller than the previous release, but has a better sculpt and better paint operations, on top of the articulation.  There’s no doubt that it’s an improvement, but we have to wonder if it was worth the tooling budget.  This is the question we have to ask every time Hasbro releases a newly tooled product, which presumably comes at the expense of a figure, at least to some degree. In this particular case, that might not be a valid question, if we assume that the cost to produce the set was passed on to Target.  We are told that exclusives do not impact the main line.

The Tusken Warrior is the exact same figure that was recently released as VC279 Tusken Warrior.  It was a decent figure, especially since a sizable chunk was kit bashed.  But other than the premium feel that the soft goods might offer, the warrior included a lone gaderffii stick as an accessory.  It seemed meager even for the mainline.  But when it’s part of the deluxe set, it seems particularly weak.

Of all the deluxe figures that Hasbro as put out of the last 2 years or so, this is the least exciting.  If you already picked up this figure in the main line, it’s not going to generate a ton of enthusiasm to pick up this set.  The Massiff is excellent, but maybe not enough to warrant a purchase, especially if you have one or two lying around from decades past.  It might have been more interesting if Hasbro just included a generic Tusken Raider, with a unique color scheme than was included in the recent 4-pack.  That could have made it easier to decide to purchase.

The warrior is a solid figure.  The Massiff is a solid accessory.  I’ll give the set an 8/10 without considering the price, but if you’ll have to determine if $28 is worth it to add to your collection.