Star Wars Legion Unit Review: Jyn Erso

Good morning gamers,

This is our first post in 2025 - and we're covering the first Rebel hero I purchased: Jyn Erso. I got her used because I thought she was cool - and if I was going to collect Rebel models, it was going to be a Scarif-themed list. Well, I've been playing with her for the better part of the year (on-and-off to experiment with other Rebel builds), and I've got to say, she's not the best Rebel Commander option, but she sure is tough to deal with (and two of her command cards are really good). So let's take a look at Jyn Erso and see what she brings to the table that the Rebels want.

Rebel Jyn Erso: The Profile

Much of Jyn's profile looks like a lot of other Rebel heroes - she's got 6 Wounds, Courage 3 (pretty rare, actually), surges for crit and block, rolls a white defense die, and is Speed-2. She's a commander with a nice array of upgrade slots (Command, Training, Gear, and Armament) and by default only has a melee weapon (though her Armament slot gives her a choice of gun options).

Two ways you can run Jyn - 102-109pts
Photo Credit: LegionHQ

Her keywords are reminiscent of Leia and Padme - she has Quick Thinking (Leia has Take Cover 2), Nimble, and Sharpshooter 1 (Leia has Sharpshooter 2). Quick Thinking is great on a Nimble character (as you want the dodge every turn, but you can also get a free aim token to help you out on offense) and any character with Sharpshooter 1 (or 2 if possible) is going to get more damage through cover than those without it (and if you can reduce your opponent's cover to 0, they won't benefit from Low Profile).

These keywords are pretty good, but Jyn's defining attribute compared to these two characters is Danger Sense 4. Danger Sense is pretty rare and appears on Cassian Andor (Danger Sense 3/Courage 2), Pyke Syndicate Capos (Danger Sense 2/Courage 2), Pyke Syndicate Foot Soldiers (Danger Sense 2/Courage 1-2, depending on the Personnel choice), and Rebel Pathfinders (Danger Sense 3/Courage 2). If you take Cassian's 3-pip Command card (Volunteer Mission), you can add Danger Sense 1 (or boost an existing Danger Sense by 1) to any Commanders, Operatives, and Special Forces units you have that receive orders. Outside of the Rebel Alliance, you can only find it on Cad Bane (Danger Sense 3/Courage 3 - well, him and the Pykes who are available to everyone). Given this list, Jyn is the only person with Danger Sense 4 innate (and could have Danger Sense 5 if paired with Cassian during one round) and is one of only two units that pairs Danger Sense with Courage 3 (which makes panicking her very difficult).

Now there may be some of you out there that think Danger Sense isn't very good - "all it does" is allow you to roll up to X more defense dice based on how many suppression tokens you have. Extra dice is always nice, but surging white defense dice aren't very good. So why lean into Danger Sense with Jyn instead of into a more reliable mechanic like Take Cover/Inspire from Leia (or Authoritative/Exemplar like Padme)? Well, there's a few reasons.

First, Danger Sense is a better rule than Impervious. Like Danger Sense, Impervious gives you extra defense dice, but the specific number of dice you roll is equal to the Pierce your opponent has. Against most lightsabers, this will mean that you roll 2 extra dice to counter the Pierce 2 that your opponent has. Against most blasters, this will be 1 extra die to counter Pierce 1 - you get the picture. However, if your opponent doesn't have Pierce, you get nothing. Danger Sense, on the other hand, gives you extra dice based on your suppression, NOT the value of a keyword your opponent's attack pool might have. Yes, if you only have (or can only gain) 1 suppression token when your opponent has Pierce 2, you're worse off than if you had Impervious, but most of the time, you'll have as many dice or more dice with Danger Sense than Impervious.

Second, Danger Sense can be triggered easily with Duck and Cover. Most of the profiles that have Danger Sense have a training slot (Pykes don't have Training slots, but everyone else does) and that means that when a range attack is declared against a unit with Danger Sense, they can roll at least 1 additional die by picking up a suppression token when the attack is declared with Duck and Cover. If they get to the dice-rolling stage, they'll pick up at least one additional suppression token after the attack resolves, which means Danger Sense 2 will be in full effect if they get shot at again (and Duck and Cover isn't exhausted when used, so they can push it to Danger Sense 3 if they benefit from that). Additionally, picking up suppression will also improve the cover of the target (going from cover 0 to cover 1 or cover 1 to cover 2), which can really only be countered if the attacking unit has Sharpshooter. Even with the cover changes, having any kind of cover upgraded to heavy cover makes those extra dice you're rolling later really, really useful.

Third, Danger Sense can lead to being suppressed, but it's better than being dead. None of the units with Danger Sense have Indomitable by default (though Cassian can give Danger Sense to Wookiee Warriors/Chewie who have Indomitable with his 3-pip and Cassian can give Indomitable to himself and one other Commander/Operative with his 2-pip), so there's a good chance that if you've piled up the suppression on yourself that you'll be acting with one fewer actions. Jyn is okay with this - if her goal is to stay where she is and stay alive, she can just do Quick Thinking and be perfectly happy with her life. Cassian can skip his aim or move action and just shoot with his rifle or pistol and be perfectly fine as well (especially if K-2 has given him an aim token or two). Rebel Pathfinders have Dauntless, so if they're suppressed, they can perform a move action by suffering 1 more suppression (which could bring them from 2 suppression to 3 suppression, which will max out their Danger Sense). All told, you can kind of work around the suppressed state - but you can't work around being dead (which happens a lot to these units if you can't get Danger Sense to trigger).

Okay, so given all this about Jyn, let's look at what she's actually good at and why you'd want to run over over other Rebel Commander options.

Jyn Erso: What's She Good At?

To make sure credit is given where credit is due, the first build (and by far the most successful build I've had with Jyn) was presented by Mike Barry on an episode of the Notorious Scoundrels podcast and hinges on the fact that Jyn takes forever to die. Between Quick Thinking (aim and dodge token), Nimble (get your dodge token back after you use it), Danger Sense 4 (more defense dice!), and options for Duck and Cover (more suppression to trigger Danger Sense) and Esteemed Leader (to pass damage on to friends), Jyn is VERY difficult to blow off the table in a single go. Prepared Supplies helps her a lot, since it allows her to have a dodge token handy if she doesn't get to go before she gets shot at.

Jyn's damage isn't particularly good, but it's also not bad - Sharpshooter 1 with 2 black/1 white at range 1-3 or 2 red/1 white at range 1-2 is "fine", but it's not going to blow away whole units. Surge for crit is always good to have and Pierce 1 on both sides of her config (which is free) is all but guaranteed to do damage when you use it. Her gun options are fine and her melee attack is . . . a bit underwhelming with "only" 4 black dice and Suppressive (and Charge only on the turn she plays her 1-pip Command Card). Jyn isn't going to top any charts for damage dealt, but if she has some help, she provides a good foundation for getting damage on even the toughest of foes. Still, if you're looking for better damage, you can get it from any number of other Commander or Operative options.

Jyn also gives you some tactical play with Infiltrate and a Command slot - though I generally find that her best Command upgrades help her more than those around her. Still, you'll have nearly full control over where she arrives (don't put her in a risky place - even though she doesn't die easily) and that's quite useful. Often times, however, this needs to be used in concert with the other units in her list (which for me is mostly Corps).

Okay, with all this in mind, let's see how Jyn stacks up to the other eight Commanders the Rebellion has in their arsenal (keeping in mind that you can only take two Commanders in a standard Rebel list) . . .

No-Command-Slot Commanders: Cassian and Wicket

I'll start off by saying that I've played lots of games with both Cassian and Jyn (for thematic reasons - they're fine together) and Luke and Jyn (which is not thematic at all - but they probably work better together). Cassian plays a pretty different game from Jyn, but they do work well together. If you take Jyn (or any other Commander), he can swap his Commander token for an Operative token and gain Infiltrate - and if you also took K-2SO, both he and K-2 can show up in a strategic position and lay down long-range fire (or close-range fire, though I find he doesn't last as long in certain match ups when you do this). While Jyn wants to be embedded in the middle of a bunch of Corps units, Cassian can operate with just his trusty droid (and maybe an R5-carrying Rebel Trooper team) nearby. Jyn and Cassian can get good use out of their 2-pip command cards (Jyn's will give Cassian Teamwork: Jyn Erso so that he'll gain an aim/dodge token when Jyn performs a Quick Think - and she'll gain an aim token when Cassian moves; both characters can gain up to 3 tokens based on their damage intake from Cassian's 2-pip, which is great for keeping them both alive . . . or helping Cassian get those crits he loves so much).

Like Jyn, Cassian's guns all have Pierce 1 on them, but he'll be wielding either 1 red/1 black at infinite range (and Cumbersome), 1 red/2 white at close range (but only if you have your sniper equipped and need to move and shoot at someone close by), or 2 red/1 black (which is the pistol you ACTUALLY want to use at close range). With Marksman to boost these rolls (and aim tokens that can be gained from K-2SO, Tactical 1 if he's using a pistol, and potentially Jyn on a turn that she plays Trust Goes Both Ways).

Wicket . . . doesn't synergize that well with Jyn on paper - he can get Teamwork: Leia Organa with his 2-pip and if you take him and Leia, you can't take Jyn. However, Jyn DOES synergize well with Corps units that have lots of wounds, so Ewok Skirmishers are super good with her. Since Jyn has Infiltrate, you can also have Wicket slingshot two squads of Ewok Skirmishers an additional speed-2 move up (if Wicket has Forest Dwellers as well) - and this can provide you with some early-game meat shields to take hits for her.

Taking either of these units means that you'll only have one Command slot - and chances are good that Jyn won't be taking Improvised Orders, so you're going to be at the mercy of your order pool (or you need to invest in ways to get people orders, like HQ Uplinks and Coordinate). Building your list around Jyn means you have to come to grips with the fact that you won't have a lot of order control - so plan your command cards carefully to make sure you get the orders you need for the units who have to go first.

One Command-Slot Commanders: Rebel Officers, Pyke Syndicate Capos, Luke, Lando, and Han

There are five Rebel Commanders who have a single Command slot (like Jyn) - and they either have a Gear slot (like Jyn - but no Training/Config slots) or a Training and a Gear slot (like Jyn - but no Config slot). These heroes are going to directly compete with Jyn in one big way: they provide army-wide support abilities that are useful, while Jyn is more of a loner. Rebel Officers and Pyke Capos can get dodge tokens out to your team members - and at 48-50pts base, they're also likely to be quite cheap compared to Jyn. Sure, a Capo might take Vigilance to bring his cost up to 60pts (and a Rebel Officer might take Underworld Connections or Improvised Orders for 55pts), but they're still going to stay comfortably below Jyn's price point. Even if they splurge for Electrobinoculars or Portable Scanners, they're going to be a cheaper option.

Neither of these guys, however, is very dangerous - with 2-3 dice each and surge to hit on the Officer (nothing for the Capo), you'll be lucky to get a chip in with these guys at range 1-2 (or 3 for the Capo). In melee, a single black die is unlikely to do anything to anyone . . . Jyn might not deal a lot of damage, but she'll definitely outclass these guys. Furthermore, Jyn is hard to kill - and these guys are not. With 4 wounds and surging white defense dice to keep them alive, these guys can go down fast. Admittedly, the Capo has Danger Sense 2 (and Independent: Dodge), but there's a HUGE difference between Danger Sense 2 and Danger Sense 4.

Lando and Han are much closer correlaries to Jyn - both have low-die-pool pistols, but they also get Pierce and Sharpshooter - with reliable dice. Both have surge to crit to help their weak dice pools avoid cover and both have (or have a way to get) Gunslinger to attack multiple times with that pistol. On defense, both have surging white dice (like Jyn) but both have Uncanny Luck to reroll some of their failures, making their defense dice just a bit more reliable (and it's kind of like having Danger Sense 2-3 active all the time). At price points around 100, they're pretty comparable to Jyn - but their command cards are WAY juicier.

Still, in melee they leave something to be desired and if you don't plan to run both of them together, either of them would be happy to have an off-tank with them to help hold objectives. While they have some defensive keywords to help them out, neither of these guys wants to be targeted by a lot of shots - so having someone like Jyn around is quite useful. If your opponent has a unit that's trying to race somewhere and you need someone to intercept them and hold them up for a bit, Jyn is a FAR better choice for that than either of these guys. So . . . at least consider taking her.

We've talked about Luke already, but he (like Jyn, actually) has upgrades that can be used to help those around him (most notably Force Barrier), but he can certainly be built to only help himself (my go-to recently is to take Recon Intel, Burst of Speed, and Offensive Push). Taking Luke with Jyn is really good if he's in defensive mode because Barrier can keep Jyn alive even longer - but even if you take Luke in offensive mode, any efforts made to kill off Jyn will mean that less fire is coming for Luke (who is by far and away the more dangerous of the two from a damage perspective). If you need someone to sit on a POI for a few turns, Jyn is a great choice (and even more so if Luke is standing next to her).

Two Command-Slot Commanders: Leia Organa

This is probably the greatest reason for why Jyn isn't a common pick - Leia does a lot of what Jyn does . . . but for less points. Leia has 2 Command slots instead of 1 Command/1 Training - and no config, obviously. However, her base gun gives her 3 reds with surge for crit at range 1-3 - that's better than what Jyn has! With Sharpshooter 2 as well, she's more likely to get good mileage out of whatever hits she does get - and with Take Cover 2 and Nimble, she can match on defense what Jyn does (and help someone else in the process - like Jyn). With 3 black dice in melee, she's nearly Jyn's rival there too - though her attack is not suppressive.

It's the second command slot, however, that makes her really good - not only can she take Esteemed Leader if you're worried about her taking hits, but Leia can also take something more team-centric, like Strict Orders to deal with suppression tokens, Lead by Example (to give her a second application of Inspire 2), or Improvised Orders (which is always good to have if you're going to have a mixed order bag). For base 75pts, she's likely to end up being 10-15pts cheaper than Jyn once everything is said and done - and when points are precious, that can make all the difference between making the cut or not.

But like Lando and Han, she really doesn't want to intercept anyone - and unlike those two, she doesn't have any defensive rules to help her out besides the ability to get a dodge token and keep it each time she's attacked with Nimble. Pierce will hurt against her - as will large dice pools - both of which are less of an issue if you're screening a bunch of hits and rolling extra dice with Danger Sense. These two gals can work really well together though - give it a try sometime and see how hard they are to take down!

Okay, let's see what upgrades and command cards we should be looking at to get the most out of Jyn!

Jyn Erso: Recommended Upgrades and Command Cards

We've already talked about what these are going to be, but to fit the format of our other posts in this series here are the upgrades to consider taking for Jyn . . .

Command

If you want her to tank for you, Esteemed Leader is your go-to - but you want to include with her LOTS of Corps units. My favorites to include for this job are Mark-II Medium Blaster Troopers, who double-function as an augment to her offense with Fire Support, but can also take up to 3 wounds for her without reducing their offensive efficiency. Yes, the more damage they take the more likely they are to be targeted by the enemy, but some good cover on them and maybe access to Force Barrier can keep these guys in the game for a LONG time. If you have 2 Mark-IIs in your list, you have to have 2 Rebel Veterans as well - and chances are good, the Vets are close by. If that's true, then Jyn can shuffle up to 4 hits off of herself onto these guys AFTER using a dodge token and cover. Sheesh, that's good.

As a support character, Vigilance is pretty good. For 7pts more, Jyn can keep her dodge token at the end of each round (always great on a character with Nimble) OR make sure up to 2 Corps units (or 1 other unit) within range 1-2 of her keep a dodge token. Running her alongside Rebel Vets who didn't get shot (or Rebel Troopers who are running around as healing caddies)? Yeah, they'll all be happy if they can keep their dodges.

There is theoretically a case for taking Inspiring Presence to extend the radius of her Courage 3, anti-suppression upgrades like Strict Orders or Lead by Example, or even the all-desired Improvised Orders - but if you want two of these, you can take Leia with Jyn OR you can take one of these upgrades with Han, Lando, or a Rebel Officer. You won't get Courage 3 with Inspiring Presence, but that's the only difference you'll see.

Training

This is Duck and Cover - always. I can see the argument for a more offensive-oriented Jyn taking Tenacity to up the damage on her Tonfa or a mroe defensive-oriented Jyn taking Situational Awareness or Up Close and Personal to help her with her dodge game. One might even consider taking Seize the Initiative to get her order token out of your pool (especially if you're running her with Cassian and K-2SO and she's your only Commander token). However, Duck and Cover serves a myriad of uses and really helps her long-term staying power in a way that dodge tokens just don't. So . . . take Duck and Cover.

Gear

Since Jyn has Nimble, Prepared Supplies is a given - it just is. Like the training upgrades we just discussed, there are other upgrades that lend themselves to consideration (like Targeting Scopes to improve the efficiency of her aim tokens in both ranged and melee attacks or Unhindered to make sure her Charge turn is extra good), but Prepared Supplies is just too good on defense for these other options to really compete.

Config

When I put Jyn in a list, I always give her the free A-180 Pistol Config, but I will say that the 5pt Jyn's SE-14 Blaster (base 10pts, but -5pts if Jyn is in your list) isn't a bad option if you want to lean into the Suppressive mechanic. If you went with this build, taking Targeting Scopes might have some credence because 5 white dice that surge for crit with Pierce 1 and 3 rerolled dice (so effectively 5-8 chances to get crits) can do a TON of damage. However, the range flexibility and more reliable dice pools (albeit smaller dice pools) of the A-180 config are just so good that I never leave home without it. Even if Jyn stays at range 1-3 with 2 black/1 white, the Pierce 1 and Sharpshooter 1 that Jyn has (with an aim token if you had the actions to also do a Quick Think) makes this guy really reliable for clipping off 1-2 wounds when you shoot with it. If you've had success with the SE-14, great - I just always take the A-180.

Command Cards

When it comes to Command cards, Jyn is pretty good - her 3-pip (Complete the Mission) is super useful with the ability to make 3 Trooper units immune to being suppressed or pannicked for the round and giving herself Low Profile for that much-desired extra hit cancellation. If you're running her with Han and Chewie, this isn't as necessary as the Change of Plans/Notorious Scoundrels combo, but if you're taking anyone else, I'd highly recommend you take this command card.

Similarly, Jyn's 2-pip (Trust Goes Both Ways) is a great way to make sure that nearby units don't struggle with suppression as much (Inspire 2) and someone near her gets an order token and Teamwork: Jyn Erso (which is super good with Han and Chewie or Cassian and K-2SO). The Rebel 2-pip command slot is pretty competitive, but I usually try to find a place for this card (Jedi love it, units with Teamwork already love it, anyone who wants a dodge/aim token loves it - you get it, basically everyone who's a Trooper loves it).

Jyn's 1-pip (Rebellious) is . . . highly situational. Like her other command cards, she picks up a special rule (Charge - a good one, I'll admit) and she can even perform a free attack against a unit that activates near her OR perform a free move action if getting clear is more important. She also picks up a suppression token when she does this, which is great for the retaliation blow that's sure to follow (either right away or from another hostile unit later in the round). The thing is, Jyn's melee attack . . . really isn't that good. It's better than a lot of other Rebel heroes have, but it's still not good. A free pistol attack and suppression token is nice (especially if you did a last/first thing between the two rounds and can get 3 shots off against a unit before they get to do anything to you), but if you're concerned that Jyn won't have good targets to charge (maybe you're playing against a gunline list that won't be coming to you), a different 1-pip (even a generic 1-pip) would be just fine.

Speaking of generic command cards, Jyn benefits a lot from Covering Fire. If Jyn has Esteemed Leader, she's going to be near a bunch of Corps. Covering Fire doesn't require the Corps units to have had a face-up order token, so issuing orders to 3 Corps units (like Rebel Veterans who coordinate with Mark-IIs or Rebel Trooper with medical droids) can mean a LOT of dodges are flowing Jyn's way. Once you have several dodges on Jyn, you can send the dodge tokens to the Corps units around her - but you'll always have the option to restock Jyn's supply if you need to.

Thematically, the best character to take with her is Cassian, who we've already mentioned can provide several boosts from his 2-pip (Last Stand) and his 3-pip (Volunteer Mission) command cards. With Last Stand, Cassian can issue an order to Jyn (always useful to be able to choose when she activates), give her Indomitable for the turn, and can give her an aim, dodge, or suppression token for each wound she's taken up to 3 . . . this will usually be dodge tokens (but could also be suppression tokens if for some reason those have been cleared). Volunteer Mission allows her to recover (which could clear some or all of her suppression tokens - but mostly you want to use it to flip your A-180 config if you don't have the most optimal side), improves her Danger Sense to 5, and allows her to pick up a suppression token . . . nifty.

You can also run Jyn with either version of Luke Skywalker to benefit from one of his 2-pip command cards (My Ally is the Force). This command card is super simple and super good - anyone who received an order this turn gains a dodge token. Doesn't matter if Luke gave them an order, if they got an order from an HQ Uplink or Seize the Initiative or Coordinate - however you got one, you get a dodge token. Boom - free dodge for Jyn that she can keep all round with Nimble. Perfection.

Finally, we have Han Solo and Reckless Diversion. Jyn is really good at staying alive - and because she doesn't have Guardian or access to Force Barrier, she's good at staying alive, but she can't take damage for the people around her. Well, never fear - run her with Han, issue her an order with Reckless Diversion, then activate Han first so she's the only unit with a face-up order token (don't issue orders with HQ Uplinks or anything). If she's the only unit that has a face-up order token and every enemy unit can see her, they have to shoot at her . . . period. Run her with some Corps nearby and they can take a glancing hit or two for her while she absorbs all those salvos . . . and probably walks away from the fight at the end. Then, if you want to be really mean, you run her with Chewie, play Notorious Scoundrels on the following turn, and potentially grab Reckless Diversion all over again . . . yeah, it's fun.

Jyn Erso: Sample List and Strategy

Jyn wants to be surrounded by Corps units, so naturally, I've placed her in a list with the maximum 6 Corps units. I've also paired her with Han and Chewie, which is great for messing with your opponent, giving her a helper with Guardian 3 (to supplement the Guardian 1 from Esteemed Leader), and to give you two good shooters (with poor dice pools - but we'll fix that in a minute) to supplement her chip damage.

For Corps, we've taken two pairs of Rebel Veterans and Mark II Medium Blasters (which is a great way to get some extra dice for Han and Jyn - or Chewie) and so long as these guys stay near each other, we don't have to worry about order control for them thanks to the Comms Techs with HQ Uplinks we've put in these squads. This makes them expensive, but it also makes them order-independent (and more survivable thanks to triggering Defend 1). So help these guys out (and our three named heroes), we've taken 2 squads of Rebel Troopers with Medical Droids - because healing is good (especially when you plan to utilize Esteemed Leader).

To give Jyn or Han some free speed, we've rounded out the list with an X-34 Landspeeder, which is pretty dangerous on offense with the Hotshot Pilot, Mark II Medium Blaster, and Rocket Gunner (1 red/5 black/1 white at range 3, single rainbow pool at range 4, 1 red/5 black/3 white at range 2, 4 black/2 white at range 1) and is not too shabby on defense with Cover 1/Armor 2 innate and Shielded 2 from the Refurbished Gonk droid. Our goal is to keep the damage off this guy, which will hopefully be possible with the shields/armor/cover knocking out up to 5 hits (2 of which could be crits).

Here's the list (as usual, you can check it out on LegionHQ here):

• Jyn Erso with Esteemed Leader, Duck and Cover, Prepared Supplies, A-180 Config
• Han Solo
• Chewbacca with Protector
• Rebel Veterans with CM-0/93 Trooper, Comms Technician, and HQ Uplink x2
• Mark II Medium Blaster Trooper x2
• Rebel Troopers with Medical Droid x2
• X-34 Landspeeder with Hotshot Pilot, Rocket Gunner, Refurbished "Gonk" Droid, and Mark II Medium Blaster

Our command cards give us a lot of play with Jyn: Reckless Diversion with Jyn and Han is really powerful - and if you slurp up that card again with Notorious Scoundrels, you can have Jyn tank for you twice during a game (which is nasty if she's embedded between 2 Mark IIs who can absorb a hit for her each time she gets shot at - and 2 medical droids to keep those guys from taking too much damage!). Sorry About the Mess can be played right after you play Change of Plans to make sure you get a good priority order and Jyn is only needed to play Trust Goes Both Ways (which is a great way to get extra tokens on Jyn, Han, and Chewie - as well as some Inspire action for those Courage 1 Corps units you have). Finally, we have Ambush, which anyone can play - and in an army where you might not be able to count on your heroes making it to the end, this is just a nice card to have in your back pocket.

The firepower coming off this team is decent with the Vets and Landspeeder getting good dice pools and Han/Jyn getting better dice pools with the Fire Supports from the Mark IIs. Your Rebel Troopers (and possibly Chewie) won't be contributing much, but they're there to hold the line and keep the rest of the group together. For fun, I built a second list with Jyn in it - and this one features Jyn on Endor with Wicket, a few Rebel Veterans/Commandos/emplacement troopers, and (of course) lots of Ewoks (list can be viewed in LegionHQ here):

• Jyn Erso with Esteemed Leader, Duck and Cover, Prepared Supplies, and A-180 Config
• Wicket with Forest Dwellers and Duck and Cover
• Rebel Veterans with CM-0/93 Trooper, Comms Technician, and HQ Uplink x2
• Mark-II Medium Blaster Trooper x2
• Ewok Skirmishers with Forest Dwellers x2
• Ewok Slingers
• Rebel Commandos with DH-447 Sniper, Duck and Cover, and Smoke Grenades x2
• FD 1.4 Laser Cannon Team with HQ Uplink and Overcharged Generator

This list has 12 activations and can have 5 order tokens on the board JUST from HQ Uplinks if Coordinate triggers properly. Jyn and Wicket (and basically anything that can shoot in this list) can benefit from the Fire Support from the Mark-IIs, and there are LOTS of wounds that can be spent on Jyn's behalf in this list. Ewok Slingers and Rebel Commandos bring in some extra firepower, as does the FD Cannon, which can ensure that a long-range attrition war sees us at least partly in the game. All told, we've brought a lot of threat to the fight - but we can't force our opponent to attack Jyn in this list . . . something's gotta give to get Wicket in the list.

Jyn Erso: Final Review

Jyn is a tricky unit to use well - and it's taken me a long time (and a lot of mistakes) to learn how to make her work. But she's great and very fun to use - and when she needs to do damage, she can do some (it's not just tanking with her all the time).

Overall profile review: 3/5 stars. While Lyn is great, I can't give her THAT great of a review - small changes to her profile or her 1-pip command card would be GREAT (like Gunslinger, Guardian 2, or Relentless on her 1-pip instead of Charge) as would a points drop to make her closer to Leia's cost of 75 instead of Cassian's cost of 90. If she's going to have very moderated damage and have to set up a few things in order to tank damage for days, she probably shouldn't be close to 100pts. She just shouldn't.

Well, that's it for this year, but we'll be back in January with more Star Wars Legion unit reviews! Until next time, happy hobbying!

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: Rebel AT-RTs

Good morning gamers,

Over the past two posts, I've tried to find good things to say about Commander Luke and Rebel Troopers - both of whom are provided in the Galactic Civil War Core Set and both of which got updates (for the better) with the Legion 2.6 release.

Today we're wrapping up the discussion about the Rebel units in the Core Set with the Rebel AT-RT . . . and these guys got a surprising face lift with the new edition (despite taking a big downgrade on one of their special rules). We'll start by looking at what's good in the profile (and how it's changed), what's regrettable about the profile (and Rebel list building in general), and then look at how we can make these guys work. Let's dig in!

Rebel AT-RTs: The Profile

The Rebel AT-RT is Support unit choice that went from having full Armor to Armor 2- that's not a good thing. It still has 6 wounds but picked up defensive surges on its white die (which is pretty good for a Support unit - and a better health-for-cost than you're going to get from any other Rebel Corps or Special Forces unit) with Resilience 4 (so you have to be basically dead before you break - which is also good) and can surge for crit (which is superb). It also has Climbing Vehicle (so it can climb, which most Supports that aren't fliers are unable to do) and Expert Climber (so it can move its full movement while climbing instead of reducing its speed to Speed-1). Finally, the Rebel AT-RT picked up Scout 1, which is excellent for getting up onto the board on the first turn so it can take advantage of its Hardpoint upgrade (more on the options you have for this particular upgrade slot later).

The AT-RT has two weapons innate on it and a Hardpoint upgrade slot. Its melee weapon is pretty good (3 reds with Impact 1) and its ranged weapon is not (two whites with surge for crit, no Fixed keyword). We'll dig into the Hardpoint upgrades a bit later but suffice it to say that most of the time, you're going to want to take a Hardpoint upgrade because it's just going to do more damage than you can normally. With the changes in Legion 2.6, AT-RTs can also score objectives now, which is always nice. All told, for 50pts (5pts cheaper than before), it's not a bad unit . . .

Three possible builds for the AT-RT (60-70pts)
Photo Credit: Tabletop Admiral

. . . except it kind of is. There are three big factors working against AT-RTs: first, there are three other Rebel/Mercenary Support units who are competing with AT-RTs for three Support slots. Second, the Rebel AT-RT is often compared to the Republic AT-RT, which has some marked improvements (and only one downgrade) for basically the same price. Third, Armor 2 is great . . . but only to a point. Let's flesh each of these complaints out a bit so we can understand what we're dealing with - and then figure out where the AT-RTs place is in Rebel lists . . .

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: Rebel Troopers

Good morning gamers,

If you haven't read Centaur's article on Rebel Veterans yet, you should - check it out and then keep reading. Prior to the release of Legion 2.6 (or Legion 2.0, depending on who you talk to), the common advice was that "Rebel Veterans are good and Rebel Troopers are bad." This always felt like a shame to me, since Rebel Troopers are the OG and actually had a rather interesting place in Legion. With the updated Rebel Trooper profile, Rebel Troopers have emerged into a realm of their own - still very squishy, but not as bad as they used to be.

So what we're going to do today is look at the new Rebel Trooper profile first in the light of their competition, and then after we've aired all the dirty laundry, we'll take another look and see what's to like about these units. Let's start off with their profile . . .

Rebel Troopers: The Profile

Rebel Troopers have a pretty average profile - Speed 2, 1 Wound, Courage 1, 1 black die in both melee and at range 1-3, 4 Trooper models to start with . . . nothing to write home about. Their white defense save with defensive surges is better than B1 Battle Droids and Wookiees, but is still pretty garbage, especially if you're coming to the Rebel faction after playing with the Empire or the Republic (like I am) where basically everyone has red defense saves.

Four perfectly valid Rebel Trooper builds (47-106pts)
Photo Credit: Tabletop Admiral

These guys used to have only one keyword: Nimble. Nimble allows you to get bonus saves from each of your dodge tokens (since you get one back each time you spend at least one), but unless you START with dodge tokens on your guys, Nimble isn't going to do anything for you (and since that usually required taking a dodge action, Rebel Troopers were in a much worse spot than Rebel Veterans who got a dodge token that didn't come back when issued an order - they've changed that, by the way). With the Legion 2.6 update, Rebel Troopers picked up Agile 1 as well, which gives them a dodge token each time they move - perfect! I was hoping these guys would get some way of getting dodge tokens automatically and I hoped it wouldn't involve giving them Defend 1 (which would undoubtedly be good, since they wouldn't have to activate to get their dodge token) - I'll take Agile 1 instead.

While 40 points for a Corps squad looks good (especially if you're coming from the Republic where all your guys cost a lot more - and the excellent nature of the Heavy Weapon/Squad Leader choices makes you want to invest a LOT in those units), once you consider the other Rebel Corps units, you realize that 40pts is pretty standard and basically everyone lives in that band.

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: Luke Skywalker (Hero of the Rebellion)

Good morning gamers,

I've spent the better part of the year talking about the Republic in Star Wars Legion and Centaur has written up articles on the various units he's been using for the Rebels, but as we close in the end of the year, I'm going to write about three Rebel units I've been trying to make work recently: Commander Luke, Rebel Troopers, and Rebel AT-RTs - or put differently, the stuff from the core set.

The best place to start with the Rebels if you're interested in also collecting the Empire is the core set (otherwise, you should do what Centaur did and just get the Echo Base Defenders set). If you're starting with the core set, your first lists will probably start with Luke - and Centaur has already done a review of the best upgrades for Luke (and I basically agree on all of them) in the context of the Echo Base Defenders list, which is probably one of the better ways to actually run this version of Luke. While I originally wrote this article complaining about Luke (but also trying to give him a fair shake and give an honest take on "how to run him"), the changes he got with the Legion 2.6 (or "Legion 2.0") revamp have changed a lot about what I originally wrote - let's see what the OG Rebel hero has to offer (especially in comparison to other force users in the game)!

Luke Skywalker, Hero of the Rebellion: The Profile

Commander Luke went from having 2 Force upgrade slots and 1 Gear slot to having 1 Force, 1 Command, 1 Training, and 1 Gear slot - which means he traded 1 Force slot for 1 Command/1 Training, which is a good thing when you don't have Master of the Force. As is the case with about half of the force users in the game, Commander Luke has no Master of the Force, which means he can only use an exhaustible Force upgrade once without performing a recover action - and none of Luke's Command Cards give him a recover action during the Issue Orders phase.

Two reasonable builds for Luke, 138-140pts
Photo Credit: Tabletop Admiral

Luke also has four keywords that are pretty standard on most force users:  he traded Deflect for Block (gains surge for block against all attacks when he spends a dodge token), Jump 1, Charge, and Immune: Pierce. While these will rarely give Luke an advantage over other force users, the addition of Sharpshooter 1 with an improved pistol (more on that in a moment) and Inspire 2 give you some really interesting options for Luke.

Luke also has some pretty hero-standard stats with a red defense die, 6 Wounds/3 Courage, and Speed 2. His lightsaber is still pretty good, though it changed from 6 blacks/Pierce 2/Impact 2/surge for crit to 2 reds/3 blacks/Pierce 1/Impact 2/surge for crit. He also has a pretty unique blaster option (which went from 2 red with Pierce 2 to 1 red/3 black with Pierce 1/Long Shot/Sharpshooter 1). With a 30pt points drop (from 150 to 120), Luke is in a pretty decent spot relative to other force users who lack Master of the Force.

Echo Base Defenders

Luke is the only force user available to the Echo Base Defenders battle force - and while you don't necessarily need a force user in every list, utility abilities like Jedi Mind Trick/Force Push or defensive abilities like Force Barrier can be very, VERY helpful. Commander Luke is one of three force users available to the Rebellion and he's technically the cheapest as well . . . and he's the only option for the Echo Base Defenders . . . so maybe there's a place for him . . .

. . . but Centaur doesn't think so - and honestly, with all of the points-efficient units you already have in that list (Rebel Veterans, FD cannons, Leia, Han, and Chewie), I'm not sure that you NEED Luke in your lists. Still, this version of Luke is, in my opinion, far more likely to see playing time in an Echo Base list than he is in a normal Rebel list. We'll dig more into why this is some other time, but for now, we'll look at the upgrades you can take on Luke and which options rise to the top of the pile . . .

Luke Skywalker: Recommended Upgrades and Command Cards

Luke now has access to four (instead of two) upgrade types, which means our options for him have grown . . . a little. It's important to note that Luke is the only Force user in the game with access to Gear upgrades, but as we'll see, the pickings are pretty slim there.

Force

When I play with Obi-Wan in Republic lists, I'm always torn between Force Barrier, Force Push, and Battle Meditation. Barrier helps keep your units alive (really useful when you have elite infantry around you - which the Republic always does), Push helps you move enemy units into tactically advantageous positions for you and/or tactically disadvantageous positions for your opponent (which is really useful too - but also got really expensive in the new edition), and Battle Meditation makes sure the orders you want issued get issued no matter what command card you play. I think most competitive players would favor Barrier and Push, but I generally favor Barrier and Meditation instead . . . but by all means, take Push if you want it.

When I'm running Yoda, I'm torn between Force Barrier, Force Push (or Jedi Mind Trick if I lack the points for Push), Burst of Speed, and Force Guidance. While easily the weakest of the set, Force Guidance is a really great ability for any list that has lots of hungry white dice on offense . . .

Luke is in an oddly different position, however, from these two heroes: yes, Barrier is super useful in a Rebel list where any time you need to roll defense dice you probably have a worse chance of succeeding than failing, but the units you can keep alive on the Rebel side are not as elite (usually) as those you'll find in Republic lists. Push is always useful - and especially so when you have someone like Luke in your list who has Charge (and potentially a free attack action on the turn he plays Son of Skywalker, which we'll talk about shortly). Battle Meditation is a pretty useful ability, but you generally want Luke to have an order token so he can go when he needs to go - which might be first, last, or right after he's saved a unit's bacon with Barrier. Force Guidance has some play, but only if your units don't already surge on offense - Rebel Veterans, Rebel Commandos, and most of the heroes surge on both offense and defense already, but Luke can only surge on defense if he has a dodge token handy (so he can at least help himself).

Prior to Legion 2.6, I basically had two Force upgrade pairings for Luke: Force Barrier with Force Lift and Force Push with Force Guidance. If you want Luke to keep the units around him alive, you take Barrier and Lift; if you want Luke to be able to manipulate your opponent's pieces (probably in a more offensive role), you take Push and Guidance.

But where in the outer rim did Force Lift come from? Well, Lift had three advantages if you were running Luke defensively in a Rebel list. First and foremost, it gave you a barrier (horizontal heavy cover) that you could place near Luke at the start of the game. If you had vulnerable pieces that really want to have cover to help them stay alive (which basically all Rebel units want), Force Lift was very useful. It's also very cheap at 5pts . . .

Second, Force Lift could be tapped to move the barrier (or a different barrier) to a new location within range 1 - which meant that Luke could manipulate the location of your barrier (and potentially other barriers if you were playing with Fortified Positions as your battlefield condition) to make sure your heavy cover moved with your army as you maneuvered the board. This was VERY useful, since positioning with Rebel lists was (and still is) key.

Third, Force Lift was one of those upgrades that you could benefit from every turn without having to perform a recover action. Yes, you couldn't move the barrier without recovering, but if the barrier was set up where you needed it for the rest of the game, you didn't care anymore about Lift being exhausted. Barrier, Push, and Force Guidance all require you to recover in order to be useful - but the usefulness of Force Lift started on turn 1 and would continue to provide usefulness throughout the game, regardless of whether Luke recovers.

You may have noticed that the past few paragraphs are all in the past-tense - and that's because with the release of Legion 2.6, Force Lift is no longer in the game. It's gone - bye-bye - along with several other upgrades that just didn't work out with the new rules pack. This is a bit of a shame in my book, but it is what it is.

Force Guidance on Luke is still great if he's going offensive, since he can give himself a surge token (and possibly a surge token to someone else - like a Z-6 squad or a Wookiee squad) to help keep himself alive. If I'm dive-bombing Luke, I could try to use Force Push to manipulate my matchups, but I think if you're going to take Force Push, you really need to get use out of it every turn (so putting it on Commander Luke isn't nearly as good as putting it on Operative Luke).

Previously, you could actually do a pairing of upgrades with Luke (Barrier + Lift or Push + Guidance), but now you need to choose. I think there's a legitimate place for Luke to use Force Barrier in Rebel lists still (and even more so now that cover is far less reliable at saving wounds) and there's definitely a place for Force Guidance too. Beyond that, there's theoretically a use for Battle Meditation if paired with Underworld Connections and a good mercenary unit that you want to receive an order token every turn (like, the Bad Batch).

Since Luke doesn't have Master of the Force, he can safely take Burst of Speed to help him move faster on one turn - like when he plays Son of Skywalker. This is more expensive than some of the other options, but could give you the positioning you want on a critical turn.

One final Force upgrade that bears noting is Hope: this isn't a great Force upgrade in general, but Luke has Inspire 2 already, so paying 3pts to make him Inspire 3 (and perhaps +8pts to get Lead by Example to make that Inspire 5) could go a long way towards countering a suppression-heavy meta (or one that splits fire a lot in order to get a lot of shots on units - like the Bad Batch). You can probably do better with 10-15pts spent on your Force/Command upgrades than the 11pts you'd be spending for Inspire 3 on these two upgrades, but it's still a thing you could do.

Command

This is a new slot for Luke - and it's a good one on a number of levels. First off, if you need Improvised Orders in your list to get some order token control, it's probably going to have to be on a Commander - and with certain Rebel commanders not having Command slots (oh Cassian . . .), it's great that Luke finally got one. Most of the good Rebel command cards only issue orders to the heroes that play them, so having Improvised Orders can be helpful in making sure that a unit that needs to activate now can do so.

Like other heavy-hitter heroes who don't want to be killed on the approach, Luke can also take Esteemed Leader, which is particularly helpful if you've chosen to spam out Corps units (as they can each gain Guardian 1 while near Luke - and are probably providing him with Backup as well). For 5pts, this is also a great command upgrade.

As was previously mentioned, there's a case for getting Inspire 5 with Lead by Example and Hope, but it's a skew tactic at best. Aggressive Tactics could be really good, but it very much depends on whether or not you're going to get out 4+ order tokens - and if you have the points for the upgrade as well (if you're running Echo Base Defenders and have a bunch of HQ Uplinks, this isn't a bad idea). Similarly, Vigilance could be really good, but it's also very expensive and list-dependent. Finally, if you plan to issue orders with Battle Meditation to friendly mercenary models (like the Bad Batch), you'll need to take Underworld Connections - it's also a great upgrade for getting a cheap second squad of Ewok Slingers into a list.

Gear

As far as gear upgrades are concerned, there's only one that I take (and I always take it): Prepared Supplies. A cached dodge token is really useful when you have Deflect - and Luke is the only force user with the ability to get a cached dodge token. When paired with some of his command cards that can give him a dodge token when he's issued an order, this gives him a better chance than most of actually being able to get the surge conversion on defense. There's probably a world where Recon Intel, Targeting Scopes, or Environmental Gear are better than Prepared Supplies (all of which were highlighted by Centaur in his post earlier in the year), but I'd rather just have Prepared Supplies. Admittedly, if Recon Intel is paired with Burst of Speed, you could get a CRAZY first turn if Luke played Son of Skywalker and got a free speed-1 scout move, followed by two speed-3 moves that prompt two melee attack actions (or a free speed-1 scout move, one speed-3 move and two blaster attack actions) . . .

Training

Luke's Training upgrade slot is a great addition - and whenever you have a force user with a training slot, you at least consider taking Tenacity. For 6pts, an extra red die in melee once you've taken a wound is really sweet, but Luke's lightsaber gets less mileage out of it than most force users because he only has Pierce 1. 

If you're looking for a more defensive build for Luke, Defensive Stance is a great choice for making sure he has dodge tokens to avoid taking damage and make the Block keyword work (and it can be flipped to Offensive Stance so Luke can get aim tokens if you prefer - perfect for getting Long Shot/some rerolls with his pistol or making sure those 2 red/3 black dice in melee actually land five hits).

Depending on how heavy you're leaning on Luke's command cards, Seize the Initiative might be a good one to take - if you have all six of Luke's cards, he'll only need it on the turn he plays My Ally is the Force (more on this card later), but since he'll benefit from the boosts of the command card if he has this upgrade, it's not a bad shout.

Finally, if you don't think you can trigger Block very reliably, you can default to Into the Fray, which will give him a surge token each time an enemy unit activates within range 1 of him. This is not as reliable (and basically as expensive) as Defensive Stance (since the dodge tokens from that are giving him full surge conversion AND blocking a hit), but it's cheaper and doesn't require Luke to go first (though you have to get surge faces for them to do anything - and your opponent needs to have units near you).

Command Cards

Luke has six command cards - three that are provided by his Commander variant in the Galactic Civil War core set and three that are provided in his Operative pack - and they're all useful, though the Operative pack ones require some finesse to use well. If you plan to lean hard into using Luke, you can certainly take all six of them. Luke's 1-pip command cards are really good - Son of Skywalker allows Luke to perform a free additional attack after he performs an attack, which allows him to perform an aim-move/charge-attack-attack against an enemy unit on a critical turn - or a scout-1-move-move/charge-attack-attack against an enemy unit on the first turn if he's given the Recon Intel upgrade. This is pretty powerful with his lightsaber, but can also be used to perform a lightsaber attack against a weakened unit and a blaster attack if he kills the unit he charged (or he can perform two blaster attacks without charging if you don't need the movement - his blaster is about as good as his lightsaber now).

You Serve Your Master Well is a 1-pip command card that allows Luke to either pick a friendly non-Commander/Operative unit or a suppressed enemy non-Commander/Operative unit and perform a free move or attack. This is particularly good for objective play where you might need an extra friendly unit to move near an objective marker (or move an enemy unit away from an objective marker), but can also be used to just get a little more oomph out of one of your nearby Corps or Special Forces units - or borrowing an enemy unit that's very close to Luke that can blow a hole through another enemy unit (or leave an objective so you can secure it). Of the three Operative command cards, this is probably the least nuanced and can at least be used to get a quick extra shot in from your gunline while your opponent is closing in (since having a friendly unit at range 1 of Luke is quite likely, especially if you chose a Force Barrier/defensive build). If you plan to bring Luke in your list (either version), both of these are excellent command cards.

Luke's 2-pip command cards are a bit more hit and miss. I really like My Ally Is the Force, which allows Luke to issue orders to two Trooper units (which could be himself, but doesn't have to be). When this command card is played, all friendly troopers who receive an order gain a dodge token - but unlike other command cards, you don't have to be issued an order by the command card, you just need to receive an order. So . . . if you have HQ Uplinks on Comms Techs embedded in Rebel Veterans or on Rebel Pathfinders/FD Cannons, they can gain dodge tokens this round as well. Additionally, Commanders or Operatives who took Seize the Initiative can also gain dodge tokens - and anyone who doesn't have these options just needs to be close to Luke for Barrier (and two of them can get dodge tokens from the orders issued by the card). Pretty slick. 

Ahsoka, Luke, and Rebel Veterans are the clear winners for this card, since Ahsoka has Defend 1 (which means she'll start the round with two dodge tokens), Luke has Block (which requires dodge tokens in order to gain surge for block), and Rebel Veterans have Coordinate: Emplacement Trooper to make sure those Mark-II Medium Blasters or FD Cannons you have nearby are also getting orders/dodges. Sheesh, that's a good 2-pip . . . I'd always take this one.

Luke's Full of Surprises command card is also good, but I think it's much better on Operative Luke than Commander Luke - and it's probably best to play after Luke has jumped into melee. Luke gets a dodge token when the command card is played (this is the second time he's been able to generate at least one dodge token - and Luke can actually issue the order to someone else with Battle Meditation and still get the dodge token) and anytime he defends himself, he rolls extra white defense dice based on how much higher his Courage value is over his suppression tokens. 

Luke is more likely to pick up suppression tokens if he's being shot at than if he's being targeted in melee, so the ideal situation is to play this card the turn AFTER he jumps into something big with Son of Skywalker to avoid being pummelled in return. Ideally, he'll also have no suppression tokens (which could happen if he does a recover-move/charge-attack-attack on his Son of Skywalker turn) so that he can roll 3-4 extra defense dice, depending on whether you have Commander Luke or Operative Luke. Even if you're supporting your gunline, Courage 3 without any starting suppression means Luke should be able to shrug off some damage each turn from shooting should he not be in melee.

Luke's 3-pip cards are less good but not bad. The Return of the Jedi command card issues Luke a dodge token (but only if he gets the order) and allows each friendly trooper unit within range 1-3 of him (so . . . probably everyone) to remove 1 suppression token. This is better than Inspire 1 (which targets a single friendly unit at range 1-2), but not as great as Vader's Master of Evil command card that applies 3 suppression to every enemy unit at range 1-2 . . . which is just bananas. This is also one of two command cards that Luke has that issues orders to units other than himself, so in that respect, it's quite good (and particularly so for any Courage 1 Corps units you have nearby). Is it better than Assault (or a lot of other 3-pip command cards)? Hard to say - it very much depends on how much you need the suppression removal (and to a lesser extent, how important that dodge token is).

Finally, the I am a Jedi command card issues an order to just Luke and he gains surge for block and cannot perform attacks. In trade, when he is issued an order (so don't hand that off with Battle Meditation), he can choose up to 2 enemy trooper units at range 1 of him who cannot perform attacks either. Clearly, this is intended to say, "I won't get my heavy-hitter this round, but you won't get two of yours (trooper heavy-hitters, that is)." Because Luke has to be at range 1 of both enemy trooper units, this is probably also a command card that you want to use when you're engaged in melee - but it doesn't necessarily have to be to prevent the unit that Luke is engaged with from pummelling him. No, it can instead be used when Luke dives into an enemy gunline to prevent the heaviest hitters in the gunline from shooting at your friends. If used by Commander Luke, you'd probably do well to perform a dodge action to stay alive and either a second dodge action if you're engaged or a move action to tie someone down if you're not engaged. I think this one is too niche for me, but a skilled player can get excellent value from it.

Commander Luke also benefits from other command cards - while paying for both Luke and Ahsoka is costly, Ahsoka benefits greatly from Luke's My Ally is the Force command card (as has already been mentioned) and Luke benefits from Ahsoka's Swift Protector 2-pip command card (where Ahsoka gains Guardian 2 and Luke can gain a dodge token each time he's attack so long as he's within range 1 of Ahsoka) and A New Beginning (which gives Ahsoka Inspire 2 and allows her to recover, while Luke gains his choice of an aim or dodge token - you're probably taking the dodge token). A New Beginning can easily replace Return of the Jedi, while Swift Protector is probably replacing Full of Suprises.

Since Commander Luke doesn't have the Master of the Force keyword, Cassian's Volunteer Mission command card is excellent, since Cassian, Luke, and potentially one other Operative/Special Forces unit (maybe Ahsoka?) can perform a free recover action, gain Danger Sense 1, and can pick up a suppression token to trigger Danger Sense (+1 defense die every time they are attacked). While more situationally useful, Cassian's Last Stand command card is an easy way to get dodge tokens on a damaged Luke (up to 3 of them) OR get an aim and possibly 1-2 dodge tokens on a damaged Luke (if you want to deal damage a bit more reliably).

If you field Luke with Chewbacca (and in all probability, Han Solo as well), Chewie's 1-pip command card, Common Cause, allows Luke and Chewie to activate one after the other. This is a great way to deal a one-two punch to your opponent with Chewie's blaster and Luke's Lightsaber or pistol - and Luke's force abilities can be used to augment Chewie quite a bit (if you go the Barrier route, you can make sure Chewie has some damage mitigation, while the Guidance build can give Chewie - and himself - a surge token to help on defense). This provides some really good tempo flow for you - and it's one of very few 1-pip command cards that issues orders innately to more than one unit (though you don't want Luke passing around the order token with Battle Meditation or this card will only work when Luke activates first).

If Han is also in your list, Reckless Diversion is an interesting option, allowing you to force units to attack Luke instead of other units in your list . . . which might not end so well for Luke, but it COULD keep vulnerable scoring units from being killed. If Luke has Chewie to Guardian hits off of him - and ideally a medical droid to get wounds that get through off of him - you could see a lot of fire being avoided (especially if Han goes first and Luke is the only remaining unit with a faceup order token). Plus, Luke has a red defense die - most Rebel units don't have that (vehicles included), so funneling as much damage to Luke as possible is probably winning you something, even if he takes a lot of hits.

If you're running Leia Organa, Luke could get some movement out of No Time for Sorrows, but he can also perform a back-to-back activation with Leia on the turn she plays her 3-pip command card, Somebody Has to Save Our Skins. Luke would then be one of two other units to get an order token, so if you had Rebel Veterans in your list, they could still get an order token from Leia. If you have Common Cause and Somebody Has to Save Our Skins in your command hand (with Luke, Chewie, and Leia - which is probably only happening in an Echo Base Defenders list), you could potentially have back-to-back activations from Luke and Chewie on one turn and Luke and Leia on another turn . . . this could swing the cadence of the game quite dramatically (there are other synergies that could arise here as well, but we'll save that for a later post).

Speaking of the Echo Base Defenders battle force, the 2-pip battle force command card Courage of the Rebellion is yet another command card that allows Luke to perform a recover - and since you can only get free recover actions from Cassian otherwise, having this in the EBD battle force is really, REALLY helpful for Luke. Depending on the heroes you take, however, this may be competing with a LOT of other 2-pip command cards (especially since My Ally is the Force is super strong when all the Corps units you can get are Rebel Veterans).

Finally, if you're running "just Luke" and don't have any of these other characters, there's some value you can get out of the generic Rebel 3-pip command card, Covering Fire. If you have 3-4 Rebel Veterans in your list (which would allow you to coordinate with both Mark II Medium Blasters and FD Cannons), each time one of those Rebel Veterans performs an attack while at range 1-2 of Luke, Luke can get a dodge token. This is particularly good if you're trying to dissuade your opponent from attacking Luke (either because he's a valuable scoring piece, or just to keep him from being killed). This technique does require your Corps units to be alive and active, but Luke can benefit from it.

Well . . . that was a lot . . . so let's wrap this up with a list!

Luke Skywalker: Sample List and Strategy

I've chosen to showcase Luke in an 11-activation Echo Base Defenders list - and this one is focused heavily on gaining order control and blowing the enemy off the board as quickly as possible. Luke is in defensive mode and is joined by Leah, Han, and Chewie (you can view the list on Tabletop Admiral here):

• Luke Skywalker with Force Barrier, Defensive Stance, and Prepared Supplies
• Han Solo with Up Close and Personal
• Leia Organa
• Chewbacca
• 2x Rebel Veterans with CM-0/93 Trooper, Comms Technician, and HQ Uplink
• Rebel Veterans with CM-0/93 Trooper and Rebel Veteran
• Rebel Veterans with CM-0/93 Trooper, Rebel Veteran, and Smoke Grenade
• 2x Mark II Medium Blaster
• 2x FD Laser Cannon Team with HQ Uplink and Overcharged Generator

The list focuses heavily on keeping the two Rebel Veterans with HQ Uplinks within coordinate range of the Mark IIs - and as many units as possible should be at range 1 of Luke or Chewie. Leia is present for support, keeping suppression off our Courage 1 units and providing chip damage where she can. Thanks to being able to issue orders to six of our units every turn with HQ Uplinks/Coordinate, we don't have to worry about order control that much (we'll have 3 commanders, 1 operative, and 2 corps in the pool BEFORE we issue orders with command cards).

Luke brings Son of Skywalker to the table and My Ally is the Force, the former allowing him to be a damage powerhouse (5 order tokens of 3 types in the pool) and the other making sure that he and Leia start the round with a dodge token each (4 order tokens of 3 types in the pool). Any Rebel Veterans who issue themselves orders with their HQ Uplinks (and the four emplacement troopers) will also get dodge tokens, so this is a pretty good first turn option to avoid chip damage on your Prepared Positions units (you might want to issue the orders to the squads of Vets who don't have HQ Uplinks so all of your starting units have two dodge tokens).

We've also taken the one-two punch combo of Change of Plans/Notorious Scoundrels to mess with our opponent's second turn command card choice - and if we play Change of Plans/Common Cause on the third turn, we can REALLY delay the arrival of a good command card until the game is nearly over (or the game times out) AND golly can Chewie and Luke deal some damage as we transition from defending our friends to slugging it out with the enemy. If the following turn prompts Luke to use Son of Skywalker (or if we play Son of Skywalker on Turn 3 instead of Common Cause), there's a good chance we could clear a LOT of units over two turns with these guys.

If you're not playing EBD, you could also use Luke as a first-turn dive-bomber, dealing tons of damage up front to buy you some much-needed time later in the game. This approach doesn't use Rebel Veterans (or anyone with Prepared Positions) - instead, it leans into the Agile 1 mechanic on Rebel Troopers so your army can start off the board but still get 2 dodge tokens when they're done moving. This strategy also relies on a first-turn Son of Skywalker play with Luke, focusing most of his upgrades on getting onto the board quickly and then dealing vast devastation (which you can see here):

• Luke Skywalker with Burst of Speed, Underworld Connections, and Recon Intel
• Cassian Andor with Duck and Cover and A280-CFE config
• Din Djarin with Din's Flame Projector, Din's Amban Rifle, and Grogu
• IG-11 with Bounty Programming
• K-2SO with Jyn's SE-14 Blaster
• Rebel Troopers with Rebel Trooper Squad and Prepared Supplies 
• 2x Rebel Troopers with 2-1B Medical Droids and Prepared Supplies 
• Rebel Troopers with Prepared Supplies 
• 3x AT-RT with AT-RT Laser Cannon

This list also has 12 activations, but relies on Luke jumping in on the first turn to muck up the enemy's positioning. With a Scout-1 move (4" straight forward) and Burst of Speed to improve Luke to Speed 3 (8" move) and Charge, Luke can move 20" up the board in a single turn and can perform two attack actions to absolutely obliterate a unit on the turn he arrives. If your opponent didn't push up far enough for this to work, you can Scout-1, aim, and shoot with 18" range from Long Shot.

You can follow this up on the following turn with My Ally is the Force (so Luke and a friend - probably Cassian) can gain a dodge token - and you can get some extra dodge tokens with The Hand Thing when you need them. Cassian (and K-2SO near him) will also be able to pick up tokens this way, so this can be used as a way of protecting Cassian/K-2SO if they got hurt on the first round OR as a way of ditch-effort saving Luke.

Your other command cards are better for later in the game - This is the Way is a great way to get a close-range shot (with pistol and flame projector, ideally) with Din while he's performing his special Amban rifle action (as it gives him a move action, which triggers Relentless), Sacrifice can be a great way to use K-2SO as a tank for the friends you'll have operating nearby, and Anti-Capture Protocols can just sit in your command hand - though it's not a bad Round 2 card if Luke isn't in danger and no one can kill IG-11.

The AT-RTs provide mobile line-of-sight blockers and long-range firepower to assist the two bounty hunters and Cassian to deal damage across the board. With Luke causing trouble early and the potential for two bonus VPs from Bounty, the hope is that the Rebel Troopers and AT-RTs are able to focus on securing "safe" objectives while they and the characters force enemy units to clear off of objectives. If you can get a leg-up at the start of the game, you might be in good shape to be ahead on VPs when the game ends.

Luke Skywalker, Hero of the Rebellion: Final Review

I love that Luke got a points drop (more so than other Force Users did) and I think if he's run without Force Push, he can be a pretty decent hero for his cost. It's hard to change gears from the Republic Force Users to using Luke, but he's got some features that the others don't have and that I like a lot.

Overall profile review: 3/5 stars. I think not having Master of the Force (and Relentless) does limit Luke's overall effectiveness, but Force Barrier in the new edition is good for Rebels, as is the opportunity to funnel attacks towards himself (and deal quite a bit of punch up close or with his pistol).

Next time, we're turning to the original Rebel Corps unit: Rebel Troopers. These guys have gone from stellar status to absolute garbage status to possibly okay status for most players, but I like them. Join me as we walk through my short-but-hard journey of finding builds for these guys that I like (and how they've changed with the new edition). Until next time, happy hobbying!