Character Review: CT-1701

Good morning gamers,

We’ve come to it at last – the final playable Rebel Hero for the Imperial Assault campaign. There are tons of heroes in Imperial Assault who like to do the shooting game – some from up close and some from far away (and some who don’t really care), but there are few who can deal quite as much carnage as CT-1701. He’s also incredibly flexible as a shooting character, since he doesn’t have pistol or rifle requirements to use his special abilities (and he can be taken as either a bolt-slinging maniac or as a level-headed squad leader). Let’s see what this guy brings to the table that’s new to Imperial Assault. 

CT-1701: So You Like Shooting, Huh? 

I’m a huge fan of Star Wars: Rebels – it’s a great show. Rebels was very exciting for me because we learn – SPOILER ALERT – that Captain Rex and some of his Clone buddies survived the Clone Wars and didn’t go all Order-66 on the Jedi. This made me SO happy and I love the episodes with Rex. CT-1701 is our “Captain Rex” kind of Clone in Imperial Assault – an ex-Clone Trooper who’s trying to help the Rebellion fight against the Empire. 

He’s also got a really wild shooting profile: while he’s unwounded, his shooting attacks can surge for 1 Damage Power Token (DPT), which is really great, since he can also spend 2 strain (even after he’s been wounded) to perform a second shooting attack at a figure within 3 spaces of the previous target (though that person gets a white die added to their defense pool). If you shoot at one figure, surge for a DPT, and then get to shoot again, you know that you can wipe out the block result that may or may not come from the new white die and still do damage to your target (assuming that he doesn’t get a dodge, of course – more on this later).  

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team

Hey Reader!

Following up on our last post on Rebel Veterans, today we're looking at the 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team, one of four Support choices for the Rebels (as of this writing), and perhaps the most controversial. From what I've seen online, there seems to be a consensus among Legion players about the three support unit choices for Rebels: the AT-RT is suboptimal but if you need some speed and bought the core set it could be worse, the Laser Cannon Team has very limited utility thanks to it being Stationary (more on that in a bit), Swoop Bikes are finicky and tend to die pretty quickly, and the Tauntaun Riders are awesome because they are pretty flexible and offer a decent bit of firepower while still being survivable and relatively cheap. 

And I'm not here to disagree with people who have been playing for years, but I think a lot of people sell the laser cannon short, and I'm here to offer an argument (probably too long) in its defense.

Today we'll be looking at their stats (and what makes them so good), their synergies (as they don't have command cards, but they do have a lot of useful synergies with both other units and specific command cards), and some tactical use for them in your rebel force. I should also note in passing before we begin that the Battle of Hoth is my favorite battle in Star Wars (rivaled only by the battle on and over Scarif Base), and this opinion is likely tainted by nostalgia for one of the best battles is sci-fi movie history. But I still think the math, strategic analysis, and tactical recommendations below are solid, despite the nostalgia, but if you disagree, this might be why I rate it so high.

I.  Stats: A 5 in Offense, a 3 in Defense

From a stats perspective, the 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team (hereafter "Laser Cannon Team") is the best firepower that the Rebels get in the game. At a reliable 6-7 dice (depending on which generator upgrade you purchase for 3pts, which means you should always take one, because paying 3pts to get 1-2 dice and a special rule cannot be matched by any other unit in the game) with a Range 1-5 and offensive surges, you have to realize upfront that this is more firepower in a single unit that you can get on any Rebel Commander or Operative, and it's more reliable firepower than you'll find on a Core or Special Forces unit once they start taking 1-2 casualties. And with the points reduction from 70pts printed on the card to 65pts, the value for the firepower you get is only going up.

It also has all of the special rules we expect and want, with no extra fluff to detract from what this unit is designed to do. It is Stationary (so wherever you deploy it at the start of the game is where it will stay), but it can Full Pivot, so with a Move action you can get a 360-degree line of fire. The former means that it costs less points than it would otherwise cost, and the latter makes it so that it can't be easily flanked (though it comes with a reasonable tradeoff). 

It also has Sentinel, which means if you give it a Standby token you have the ability to interrupt enemies up to 18" away (Range 1-3), which could be advantageous for dealing with enemies trying to move from cover to cover to avoid being hit by you.

What's Wrong With Commander Luke?

Good morning gamers,

I've been playing a lot recently with Commander Luke in Star Wars Legion - and I think Luke costs too much. To be exact, I think a 10-15pt drop in price would probably make him more playable and appealing to Rebel players. Why? Because when you compare him to all of the other Force users (or pseudo-Force users) in the game, he's just that little bit too expensive compared to them all. And I mean ALL of them.

So today, we're going to walk through the Force users that are currently in Star Wars Legion and see what their comparison is to Luke.

Baseline Comparison

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

For our purposes today, here are the important bits from Luke's profile:

• Luke has 2 Force upgrade slots (most Force users have at least two) and has 1 Gear upgrade slot (no one else has a gear slot);
• Luke has 6 Wounds/3 Courage and no defensive surges without using Deflect (or one specific command card);
• Luke has Jump 1, Charge, Deflect, and Immune: Pierce as keywords (and most notably, no Master of the Force X);
• Luke's lightsaber has 6 black dice, surge for crit, and Impact 2/Pierce 2; and
• Luke's DL-44 is a range attack option with 2 red dice, surge for crit, and Pierce 2.

All told, this is a perfectly fine profile - but I think it costs just a bit too much. Let's see why this is by looking at the other Force users in the game, starting with . . .

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: Rebel Veterans

Hey Reader!

Following up on our last post on Leia Organa, today we're looking at Rebel Veterans (because my journey with Legion started with the Echo Base Defenders battle force, which my choices for the next few weeks will likely reveal!), one of four Core choices for the Rebels (as of this writing, and I don't include Pike Syndicate because they're mercenaries). 

Today we'll be looking at their stats (and what makes them so good), their synergies (as they don't have command cards, but they do have a lot of useful synergies with both other units and specific command cards), and some tactical use for them in your rebel force.

I.  Stats: Best Core the Rebels Have

From a stats perspective, I contend the Rebel Veteran is the best core troops you get. For ranged attacks their 1 black dice each is arguably more reliable than the two white dice of the Rebel Fleet Troopers, as you get better range with basically the same chances to hit, so it's just easier to get hits in as you have an extra 6" of range.

Similarly you're better than Rebel Soldiers, as they have the same rifle but no surge to hit, so you are slightly better on offense. And of course you're better than the Ewoks because they don't start with a ranged attack (so their ranged damage is low). 

In melee all Rebel Core (including ewoks) get 1 black dice, but as we transition to defensive stats, the advantage of the Rebel Veteran in close combat is that they last longer thanks to having easy access to a Dodge token, which is where we turn next.

Character Review: Tress Hacnua

We’re back in the character review series for Imperial Assault and we’ve come to the first of two Rebel heroes that were released with the Tyrants of Lothal expansion. Tress Hacnua is the melee-oriented hero in that release and she’s an interesting person to play with (both in the campaign and the skirmish game). She, like Saska, Loku, and Drokkatta, introduced a new type of token into the game – let’s see what she does! 

Tress Hacnua: Dragonsnake Variation and Whatever Else You Want 

Tress’s special thing is the use of “style tokens,” which by default can be used to increase the damage of a melee attack that she makes (either with her Reinforced Cyberarm or a different melee weapon). While there are lots of cool abilities that she can trigger, the pervasive theme throughout her upgrades is how you use your style tokens (be it to get extra block, extra surge, Cleave, or performing free actions). Her Fyrnock Style ability (which she keeps if she’s wounded) allows her to get a style token after performing an attack, so just by attacking, you can start buffing your characters. 

But her Dragonsnake Variation upgrade (3XP) gives her not only +2 Health, but also gives her 1 style token each time a hostile figure is defeated during her activation – which means that if you can both attack an enemy figure and kill at least one enemy figure, you can get 2 style tokens to either power up her next attack OR perform other cool actions. In my mind, this upgrade is a given for her – and probably the first one you go for (and, oh by the way, it gets her some extra health – always a good thing to have on a white die character). 

Star Wars Legion: My Top 5 Empire Units

Hello there!    

I am Gorgoroth, the son of Tiberius. Tiberius has talked about me in his posts. I am writing SWL posts because in 2024 I became in love with tabletop boardgames in general. But the reason you are here is because I will be going through my top 5 empire units today and I hope you enjoy. So without further ado I will start at number 5 which is the empires greatest core unit . . . Shoretroopers.

Pick #5: Shoretroopers

I chose shores for number 5 for this reason: they are so far the only black dice attacking unit that is also core in the whole legion of core available to the Galactic Empire. They also have an incredible heavy weapon option (range 1-4 BBWW Critical 1) so they pack a punch. They also, if you take them, give you the option to run another core option.....DF90 mortar troopers. They are a separate core unit that has Fire Support. They have an attack pool of 3 whites, Critical 1, and Suppressive. They are, in my opinion, the worst core in the game. Shoretroopers are a great core investment and are used in most of my armies (emphasis on most). They are incredibly useful and can, if needed, take a huge beating. Who else can take a huge beating? LAAT patrol transports! And these bad boys are number 4 on this amazing list.

Pick #4: LAAT/LE Patrol Transport

Why are laats on this list? I did it because a simple reason crossed my mind while wrestling my siblings: they are closed transports. This means whoever starts in a laat is pretty much invulnerable. So it is perfect to take vulnerable or slow units into the fray unscathed. It is also no slouch in a fight either, it has awesome blasters (1-3BBBR) plus the ordnance option which in my opinion is the armor piercing shells (2-3RBB Impact 3). It is one heck of a power piece as well as a helper piece. If that was somehow not enough then there is one - just one - more ace up my sleeve: It, if you take Governor Pryce, can be your commander. Warning: brains are exploding in New York, Detroit, or wherever you're from. Please stay alert and don't step on the brains because they couldn't handle the amazing knowledge they just died from. Thanks. The mention of scattering brains reminds me that we are not even close to done so let's just get number 3 over with: it's Royal Guards.

Pick #3: Imperial Royal Guards

Of course it's royal guards. If you know anything about me you would know that I love magnaguards from the separatist faction. These guys are incredible at what they do. They have Guardian and Disciplined 2 (for the young people out there, disciplined means that candy's "come here and eat me" effect has no power over you. Keep working on it, kids). They also have double blacks at B2 Battle Droid range for their pistols. Why do they have pistols? In the Emperor's throne room you don't see the royal guards pull out their "pistols" do you? Anyway, they have incredible melee attacks and you can pair that with their red defense and 2 wounds each and get close to your guts exploding. Now I have to wrap the royal guards up because they are no match for the man who pulled his nerve together and battled Mando. That's right, it's none other than Moff Gideon.

Pick #2: Moff Gideon

Moff Gideon has always been buds with me - especially when I dumped Din for Cad. I love his versatility when it comes to strategy. He has the Darksaber, which has 5 blacks, Impact 1 and Pierce 1. It also gives him demoralize but that keyword is garbage. He has an excellent blaster and a 2-outta-3 chance of blocking blaster bolts when people get violent. But he shines with his command cards. His 1-pip is garbage; it gives him Agile 1 and that's basically it. His 2-pip helps Dark Troopers fly around the board which is only useful if you run them and they are a heap of points. But his 3-pip issues orders to 3 heavy or core units, and they all gain Fire Support. Now any Clone player knows that Fire Support is one of the best keywords in the game. In fact, I have used him with the number 1 unit before. Who is it you may ask? Well don't beg, it is the greatest unit in the game: the unstoppable Dark Troopers.

Pick #1: Dark Troopers

Here's a question, why are the Dark Troopers number 1? Here's an excellent answer: they do huge amounts of damage and are impossible to kill off. They are excellent units and make me say two words when an enemy player brings them to the table. "Oh man." So yeah, they are so incred...wait, hold on, pause, reset. They're only speed 1! Yes, it's a problem, but there is an excellent answer: Moff Gideon's 2-pip. With this you can jump them across the board and use their power and might to kill everybody. They are the only units with 2 activations every round. Yeah, it's a thing. Well, I am going to wrap this up with a few words.....

May the force be with you.

IP Class Deck Review: Overwhelming Suppression

Good morning gamers,

We’ve come to it at last – the last Imperial Class Deck to be released for the game (and the last one we need to do a walk-through of): Overwhelming Suppression. This deck has Admiral Thrawn written all over it, but it takes a very different approach with its upgrades than other command decks. Instead of leaning hard into one mechanic (or possibly two), this deck feels very much like it wants to be several existing class decks, but not go quite as hard into what they do – giving it more flexibility and a greater set of options than normal. In particular, I feel like this deck does the best things that you find in the Nemesis deck (which I love) and the Power of the Dark Side deck (which I don’t like very much) and melds them into what might be . . . the best Imperial class deck ever. Let’s see what’s in it . . . 

Overwhelming Suppression: Nemesis-Light, Power-of-the-Dark-Side-Light 

Your default upgrade (Commence Landing) makes you do something that’s unique to this class deck; you play with your hand of deployment cards face-up. Normally, the Imperial Player (IP) gets to keep their units a secret from the Rebel players, but not in this deck. In trade, the IP can place 1 Damage Power Token (DPT) and one Block Power Token (BPT) on cards in their hand. When you buy these units, they deploy with these tokens (distributed amongst the figures in the group – remember, there’s a limit of 2 tokens/figure!). This can make some of your units just a bit punchier (or hardier) out of the gate! 

In my opinion, you should always take Personal Flagship (1XP) to get a Villain of your choice – the villains add a lot of flavor to the game and since you can change out which villain you have each game, you can tailor your deck to how you’re feeling each game (which is awesome). This villain gets added as an extra open group to your hand and when you activate them, a friendly figure near the villain gets either a DPT or a BPT (which means the guys escorting your villain will be able to last longer or provide added muscle). Honestly, take this upgrade, always!