Star Wars Legion Unit Review: Darth Vader, Part II

Good morning gamers,

We're looking at the other side of the coin from last time and viewing the Operative Vader profile. In many ways, this version of Vader is similar to the previous one - he hits hard, he has a lot of great keywords, and he's going to change the way your opponent plays (probably because he'll be monopolizing your command hand). At the same time, there are a lot of trades (both positive and negative) to taking this version of Vader. Let's see what he brings to the table (and what he leaves behind) from his more popular Commander variant.

Darth Vader, The Emperor's Apprentice: The Profile

Darth Vader boasts less-strong-but-still-strong combat profile compared to his Commander variant with 5 red dice and Impact 3/Pierce 3 - and unlike Commander Vader, he has a 2 black dice range 1-2 attack option that has Blast (no cover saves) and Scatter (you get to re-cohere the unit around its unit leader - which likely denies cover for your friends on future shots). While he doesn't have the innate ability to surge, access to aim tokens and occasionally surge tokens are definitely options in your list building - and against anyone with a Force slot, he gains surge-to-crit on offense thanks to Jedi Hunter. With the Relentless keyword, Vader can turn any move action into a follow-on attack action (up to one attack each turn - though he can perform two activations in a single round with Implacable). Yes, Vader is trying to deal as much damage as he can - and when he deals damage in melee, he's pretty incredible (his ranged attack is mostly to trigger suppression and bring a unit out of cover).

This version of Vader is Speed-2, which is good and might making getting Burst of Speed for a Speed-3 activation unnecessary. Having Speed-2 and Relentless means that anyone that moves to Range-2 of Vader should expect to take a hit to the face with a lightsaber - and if you want to avoid being moved towards him, you probably need to stay at Range-4 of him, which is hard to do. This version of Vader has Courage 3 instead of infinite Courage (and he's an Operative who doesn't have access to a Command slot), which means that he can't keep your units from panicking - so be sure to bring Commanders who will keep your boys in the fight (possibly with Compel to make up for what you're losing from Commander Vader). Like his Commander version, Vader has Master of the Force 1, which is great for making sure that any exhaustible Force upgrades you take can come back to you at the end of each activation (not turn - activation) so you can use them again.

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: Darth Vader, Part I

Good morning gamers,

We're tackling the big man himself, "Commander Vader", today. Vader is a staple in basically every Imperial list and the reason for it is simple: whether he's hacking things with his lightsaber or just forcing Imperial Corps units to stay on target, he's changing the state of the game. We'll be looking today at what makes this version of Vader so good, but we'll be looking next time at what his Operative variant brings to the table (and loses in the conversion process). By far and away, this is the most prevalent version of Vader you're going to see - and for good reason!

Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith: The Profile

Darth Vader boasts an incredibly strong combat profile with 6 red dice and Impact 3/Pierce 3 - if given Saber Throw (which you should always give him - I left it home for a three-round Recon tournament once and sort of regretted it, as great as having Push and Choke was), he can reliably cut into enemy armor and any damage that he deals will automatically work against the target unit in most situations. While he doesn't have the innate ability to surge, access to aim tokens and occasionally surge tokens are definitely options in your list building. With the Relentless keyword, Vader can turn any move action into a follow-on attack action (up to one attack each turn), but might be able to perform a second attack via the Blizzard Force 2-pip command card (and can even perform two activations in a single round with Implacable). Yes, Vader is trying to deal as much damage as he can - and when he deals damage, he's pretty incredible.

He's only Speed-1, which often means that you want to factor in options for speed with him (more on that when we cover both the Force upgrades and what command cards you take below). Speed-1 isn't that much slower than Speed-2, but avoiding him is a lot easier than the Operative variant just because a unit that moves Speed-2 once can ensure that they are safe if they started at least range 1/2 away from him before they moved. Vader also has infinite Courage, which means that any friendly units within range 3 of him (potentially range 4) never count as being panicked - which is fantastic when paired with his Compel: Corps Trooper ability, which can give any suppressed-but-not-panicked Corps units more suppression (Cover 1 for the win!) in order to get a free move . . . which is sort of like not being suppressed at all. Vader also has Master of the Force 1, which is great for making sure that any exhaustible Force upgrades you take can come back to you at the end of each activation (not turn - activation) so you can use them again.

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: Stormtrooper Heavy Response Unit

Good morning gamers,

Last time, we looked at the stock-standard Stormtrooper unit that's available to the Empire in every single army list (and was included in all but the Blizzard Force battle force starter box as your Imperial Corps choice). Today, we're looking at their Blizzard Force cousin, the Stormtrooper Heavy Response Unit (HRU from now on), which has many of the same attributes of normal Stormtroopers, but with one big exception: you have to take two Heavy Weapon upgrades and you can't take any other upgrades. Since this is exclusive to the Blizzard Force battle force, you also can't take as many Heavy Weapon upgrades as the normal squad can (none of the named guys - Gideon Hask, Del Meeko, or Agent Kallus) and per the usual, you can't take multiple copies of the same upgrade. This gives us a few different combos that we can play with, but we have a way to determine what the "best choice" is, depending on what you want your squad to do. Let's see how the profile has changed and how this modifies the way we think about fielding the unit.

I will note before we begin that Blizzard Force allows you to run both standard Stormtroopers as well as Stormtrooper HRUs AND you're limited to 2 of these units - any additional Corps units that you add (one of which is mandatory) will be Snowtroopers. Choosing whether to take Standard Stormtroopers or HRUs (or just more Snows) is a real decision point - and I don't think there's an obvious answer when you get down to it.

Stormtroopers HRU: The Profile

Many of the attributes of this Stormtrooper profile are the same as the standard version - Speed 2, non-surging red saves, surge to hit on offense, and Courage 1. These guys retain Precise 1 (so they're still a bit aim hungry - but probably not AS aim hungry as their standard cousins), but they pick up Unhindered, which is kind of like having a standard Stormtrooper unit that paid 2pts for Environmental Gear. Since Snowtroopers also have Unhindered (ignores difficult terrain when moving), these guys are able to keep up with Snowtroopers (sort of - double-moving Snows are hard to keep pace with, especially with Imperial March . . . also, it's unclear if you want to keep up with Snowtroopers, but more on that in a moment). Their Flexible Response 2 special rule requires that they take two Heavy Weapon Upgrades - but unlike Strike Teams, neither of these Heavy Weapon units gains the Leader keyword (which has big implications on the attrition effect for this unit).

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: Stormtroopers

Good morning gamers,

We're kicking off the new year with a unit I have been using a lot: Stormtroopers. These are the OG Corps units for the Empire and in many ways, they've been surpassed by Snowtroopers (and maybe other Corps options). Still, these guys are still the default Imperial Corps for the starter sets and they also have a lot of customizability (for both Heavy Weapons and Personnel choices, and unit cards - though we'll be looking at the Heavy Response Unit variant next time). With a new battle force that allows you to run seven of these guys, maybe we're in a new era for the humble Stormtrooper to shine. Let's see what these guys bring to the table.

Stormtroopers: The Profile

Stormtroopers are only 44pts base and have red saves - this puts them top of the list (tied with Snowtroopers) for cheapest red-dice-save unit in the game. They keep their cost down by having surging-white attack dice and a single situational special rule - and if you have ways to generate aim tokens on these units (or on units with Exemplar within range 2), these guys don't feel like they're rolling white dice. Beyond this, you have some standard stats of Speed 2, Courage 1, and 4 starting models - all in all, not bad for just over 40pts. 

Customizable Commanders, Part IV: The Separatist Alliance

Good morning gamers,

This is our third post in reviewing the new customizable commanders and operatives for the four factions in Star Wars Legion. We've already looked at the Rebel and Imperial options and today we're tackling my beloved Republic and the customizable Jedi heroes that you can field. If you haven't seen the article yet, you can view it here.

Like the previous article, we'll be looking at the four doctrines provided in the new kit and how that shakes out with the SEVEN different Jedi builds you can have (max of four, of course, since the doctrines are unique . . . some might say max of two, depending on whether you think two of the doctrines are playable). We'll start off with the one that is unique to Commanders . . .

Super Tactical Command Droids: What's The Difference?

In the previous three posts, we looked at the minor differences between Rebel Officers/Agents (Inspire vs. Independent: Dodge and Nimble), Imperial Officers/Agents (Inspire vs. Relentless), and Jedi Knights (Master of the Force 1) - there are sometimes stat differences (Courage or Wounds) as well and it translates into differences in cost, but by and large, the points cost difference isn't the biggest difference between models. The doctrines you can take are also different - some doctrines are unique to the Commander or Operative choice or can be shared between the two with a maximum of one per army.

The Super Tacs . . . don't really work this way. The difference between the Commander and Operative Super Tacs is incredibly small - the Commander is 10pts more expensive and has -1 Courage (huh?), +1 Hardpoint upgrade, +1 Command upgrade, -1 Armament upgrade, and doesn't have Aid: Droid Trooper. In short . . . unless you want 3 Hardpoints or a Command upgrade, the Operative variant is cheaper, has high Courage (that can't be used to cancel AI/prevent panicking), and has the ability to shuffle tokens to friendly Droid Troopers (like Kalani?).

In addition, there are only two Super-Tac doctrines and they can both be used by both variants . . . also, all of the Hardpoints can be used by both variants . . . so if you prefer the Operatives, take them with whatever combo you want. If you prefer the Commander variants (though I feel like the Commanders lot is in a LOT of contention between Dooku, Wheelbike Grievous, Poggle, and Kalani), take those. I don't think it matters - take whoever you want. As a result, this article is going to be a lot shorter than the previous ones because I'm only going to evaluate the two doctrines against a universal "Super Tactical Command Droid", as I don't think the differences matter that much.

Super Tactical Command Droid with Seek and Destroy: 65+ pts

The cost above reflects an Operative taking the 5pt doctrine (limit 2), but I actually think this is better on the Commander variant. The boosts from this is Demoralize 1, Marksman, and Target 1. The combination of Target and Marksman is great if you're using this guy with the Optimized Task Flow upgrade (8pts) to get Direct: AI Unit. This is cheaper than an HQ Uplink on B1s and can be used to spin the Coordinate chain and he'll end up with an order token at the end if you play it right. With an aim by default, you can guarantee 1 hit from your 3-die attacks makes it through, which gives you reliable suppression output between Demoralize 1 and your shooting attack if you didn't pay for a weapon - and very reliable damage if you paid for an Electrostaff (10pts). Doctrine Rating: A-.

Customizable Commanders, Part III: The Republic

Good morning gamers,

This is our third post in reviewing the new customizable commanders and operatives for the four factions in Star Wars Legion. We've already looked at the Rebel and Imperial options and today we're tackling my beloved Republic and the customizable Jedi heroes that you can field. If you haven't seen the article yet, you can view it here.

Like the previous article, we'll be looking at the four doctrines provided in the new kit and how that shakes out with the SEVEN different Jedi builds you can have (max of four, of course, since the doctrines are unique . . . some might say max of two, depending on whether you think two of the doctrines are playable). We'll start off with the one that is unique to Commanders . . .

Jedi Knight General with General of the Republic: 110+ pts

Right off the bat, one should note that ALL of the Jedi options are going to be expensive. Before you buy the required doctrines (5-10pts) and the required lightsabers (all free - though I expect that to change in the future) and the basically-required Jedi Training upgrade (5-8pts) and the basically-required Force upgrade (at least 5pts, unless you're leaning into Hope?!?!?!), any Commander or Operative Jedi that you make is going to be pretty pricey. This shouldn't surprise anyone who's seen the non-customizable Jedi, but it's worth pointing out that relative to what we've seen with the Empire and Rebels, this is quite the investment.

Jedi Knight Generals are Commanders with 6 Wounds/Courage 3, which makes them pretty durable and they have great anti-panic bubbles. With 2 Force Upgrade slots and 2 Training slots (only one of which can hold a Jedi Training upgrade), you have a good amount of upgrade options before factoring in any extra upgrade options that your Doctrine/Jedi Trainings give you. The General of the Republic doctrine gives you a Command slot (only way to get one on these commanders) and you also pick up Inspire 1 (fine), Bolster 2 as an action (also fine), and Direct: Clone Trooper (excellent). Doctrine Rating: B.

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: 74-Z Speeder Bikes

Good morning gamers,

This will be our last unit review for the year (we'll be looking at the customizable Jedi/Super-Tacs in November and taking December off, as usual) and we're looking at an Imperial unit that I've been playing with a lot recently: 74-Z Speeder Bikes. These guys were super good in the last edition of the game, able to skew easily in several scenarios (and you could massively underbid points so you got your scenario decks and make your opponent's life difficult). In the current edition of the game, these guys are super fast, but much harder to keep alive. Let's see what their place is and what you should consider getting for them . . .

74-Z Speeder Bikes: The Profile

Like a handful of supports (including most speeder units), Speeder Bikes are a two-model unit, each with 3 Wounds for 6 Wounds total. This puts them on-par with things like AT-RTs in raw wounds, but behind units like Tauntauns and functionally behind units like Droidekas who have an abundance of shields most of the time. The biggest appeal of these guys is their relatively low points cost (currently 70, but it's fluctuated some since I started playing the game) and their incredible speed (Speed-3 with a compulsory move from Speeder 1). Defensively, their innate Cover 1 and surging white save isn't great, so most players consider these guys to be very, very fragile (and I happen to agree - I've misplayed and lost these guys SO many times!).

Offensively, they hit pretty hard for being a 70-point, two-model unit: if shooting in their forward arc, they've got a double-rainbow of 2 red/2 black/2 white with surge to hit and Impact 2, which downgrades to 1 red/1 black/1 white with surge to hit and Impact 1 when the first speeder dies (not if the first speeder dies - when the first speeder dies). The end result is that each speeder is supposed to deal about 2 hits, which means you can jump out with the compulsory move, put 2-4 hits into something, then whip around again to duck to safety. If you're lucky, this will chip away at things (including Armored units), but you won't be blowing anything away with this guy.

If you aren't looking where you want to shoot, you do have an omni-directional pistol shot of 2 black dice per Speeder and you can even split-fire if you want to with one speeder using the rainbow attack and one speeder using the pistol. Both are likely to get at least 1 hit through to the defense roll, which means you can suppress enemy units that are sitting on objectives as you pass on to another one - pretty slick, if you ask me.

That being said, the strength of Speeder Bikes has always been in taking multiple copies of them - one Speeder Bike popping out and shooting at an enemy unit is all fine and good, but if you have a line of Speeder Bikes that harass a unit that's already gone (and ideally has very few friends nearby who have yet to go), you can cripple a unit that started the round out healthy and leave it as a smoking shell or a handful of guys by the end. Since Speeders can also contest objectives, having a mob of speeders end their move near a far-flung objective or two (either by double-moving and shooting OR by triple-moving) can really swing the VPs your opponent was counting on.