Shadow trooper

"Shadow troopers! Don't underestimate them!"

- Admiral Gial Ackbar of the Rebel Alliance

Shadow troopers were elite and highly trained stormtroopers that served the Galactic Empire. They wore distinguishing black suits of experimental armor equipped with cloaking devices, which rendered them almost completely invisible and highly suited for stealth missions.

History
Shadow troopers were highly trained, elite, and fanatically loyal stormtroopers that served the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War. They were based off of their clone shadow trooper predecessors.

Equipment
Shadow troopers wore specialized, experimental stealth armor made from the stygian-triprismatic polymer material, which enchanced their stealth capability and allowed them to avoid sensors. Although their suits were entirely black in color, the Imperial crest adorned their armor on the top left torso region, and their helmets featured gray-colored visors. Similar in design to the traditional stormtrooper armor, shadow troopers carried N-20 Baradium-core thermal detonators in matching black color on the back of their utility belt. The troopers were also equipped with portable cloaking devices that rendered them almost completely invisible as they moved around. Outfitted with a wide range of survival equipment, shadow troopers wielded T-21 heavy blasters and flash grenades.

Application
Shadow troopers' stealth equipment made them highly suited for missions where cunning, rather than brute force was required. They were able to appear out of thin air and surprise their enemies. With their T-21 heavy blasters capable of delivering massive damage at long ranges, and flash grenades capable of disorienting their opponents, these elite shock troops attacked in hordes to overwhelm their enemies.

Creation and introduction into Star Wars canon
Shadow troopers first appeared in Star Wars canon in Star Wars Battlefront, the 2015 video game developed by EA DICE. The all-black stormtroopers equipped with cloaking devices were originally introduced in the Star Wars Legends continuity, however, which were known as "shadow stormtroopers" or "Blackhole stormtroopers" and first appeared in the 1979 comic strip Gambler's World. The 2008 Legends video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed also introduced gray-colored stormtroopers with blue-lit plating who possessed the same ability, identified as "Shadow Troopers."

The cards for the shadow trooper in Star Wars: Force Collection, a digital card game based on the canonical continuity, were initially labeled "Shadow Stormtrooper," but they were later changed to "Shadow Trooper."

Star Wars Battlefront series
"Unlikely we'll see the Shadowtrooper return though - there's a new Black Stormtrooper in town."

- Dennis Brännvall answers a fan's question on Twitter

Although the promotional image for shadow troopers on the official Star Wars Battlefront website depicts a shadow trooper wielding a DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle, the description near the image, also the game itself, explicitly state that they carried T-21 heavy blasters.

According to Dennis Brännvall, associate design director for Star Wars Battlefront II, it is unlikely that the shadow troopers will be included to the sequel game due to the addition of another black-colored stormtrooper &mdash;the death troopers.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Battlefront