Talk:"Chopper" (Astromech)/@comment-134.3.17.1-20180104210630/@comment-454133-20180104214455

Worth noting though, R5-P9 is usually at least as good if not better. Chopper takes both an action and an upgrade card, while R5-P9 only requires an action (focus). Unless something removes your focus token (e.g. Torani or Hotshot Co-Pilot, which appear to be rare cases), you can keep it until the end of the round and spend it for a shield repair. So just for that reason, R5-P9 is usually stronger.

And with R5-P9, you have the option to instead spend the focus token on defense to prevent 1 or more damage, which makes it a much stronger option overall. Preventing 1 or 2 damage is stronger than recovering 1 damage later. And he lasts longer in a protracted battle, while Chopper eventually runs out of upgrades.

That said, he is also 2 more points, but he lets you run your Y-Wing with fewer upgrades too (and/or keep your upgrades), which could be cheaper depending on how you would have loaded Horton anyway.

Chopper is cool, but always compare him to other options when making your choice.