An interesting point was recently raised in fan discussions. Given the fact that recovering the stolen Death Star plans was so important, why didn’t Vader use Death troopers to get them back? We might think Death Troopers were not the right type of soldier, but time had more to do with it.
In-Universe Reason Why Vader Didn’t Use Death Troopers
In response to this question, we may think that “Vader went himself,” so he “didn’t need any.” Or, that “Stormtroopers took the ship just fine,” and so again, Death troopers weren’t needed. Yet, the idea that this was the wrong type of mission for them is closer to the mark.
As one post above described, Death troopers typically “were assigned as elite bodyguards and covert operatives to high-ranking Imperial figures.” A mission that required “brute boarding” was more than sufficiently suited for “Vader’s 501st Legion.”
This explanation accords with the official description of Death troopers as an “elite variant of stormtroopers specializing in stealth, espionage and lethality.” They did protect top Imperial officers and worked as “special-assignment commandos for Imperial Intelligence.” These fierce, elite, and specialized troops were meant for specific protection and undercover missions.
We might think of Thrawn’s guard or Gideon’s guard as good reflections of their protective services. Or, we may conjure up thoughts of Death troopers taking on covert missions that aligned with the Tarkin Initiative. Special-ops forces at hand for Imperial purposes.
However, wouldn’t recovering the Death Star plans fall under the category of special operations missions related to protecting intelligence? Likewise, Vader himself had a guard unit that went with him to Tatooine following the Cloud City duel with Luke.
So, Death troopers may not have originally been purposed for this type of work, but it would be within their realm of business, especially given the importance of getting the plans back.
A Lack of Time
A few fans from the opening Reddit forum mentioned an even better reason–lack of time. We can recall how hectic the Battle of Scariff was in Rogue One, with “the remaining copy of the blueprints” transmitted up to the Profundity.
We can relive some of the fast-paced action in this scene. As Vader pursued in the Devastator, he didn’t have time to assemble a squadron of Death troopers. They were deployed on Scariff, but that would have taken too long to draw on them.
If Vader had more time, he may very well have called Death troopers to retrieve the stolen plans. After all, they played a major part in tracking down and capturing Galen Erso. If they could bring back a person, they could recover the Death Star plans.
By extension, we may think that they could have been deployed to Tatooine afterward to track down the plans that R2 stored away. That would have been a good idea, but sandtroopers were appointed for this mission. They were especially outfitted for desert missions and would have succeeded if it weren’t for the pesky persistence of Luke and Obi-Wan to get off the planet.
Out-of-Universe Explanation
Death troopers were not around in the Star Wars galaxy yet. Of course, we saw them in Rogue One, which predates A New Hope in the timeline. But in terms of movie productions, we didn’t have this type of specialized trooper.
After Rogue One, Death troopers appeared in Rebels, The Mandalorian, and Andor. For many fans, they became a “favorite,” “threatening” type of stormtrooper. They did have some crossover with the previous Undead Troopers, with Palpatine capitalizing on rumors about them.
The 2009 novel Death Troopers provided a basis for these zombie troops, but the Death troopers of Rogue One through Andor emerged as separate elite forces that could have been used to track down the Death Star plans.
Vader and Death Troopers
Ultimately, Vader didn’t have the time to initially use Death troopers to recover the plans. They were more suited for other duties, but they could have been used, time permitting. Afterward, Vader must have decided that sandtroopers could retrieve what he needed, but he was wrong.