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 . . .

Comparison Group #1: Count Dooku, Yoda, and Emperor Palpatine

These three Force users all have Master of the Force 2, which means that they'll usually have two Force upgrades that exhaust each turn (like Force Push or Force Barrier) - though all three also have 3 Force slots, so they may have three of these upgrades in order to have some choice on what they reset. All three trade the Gear upgrade slot for the aforementioned third Force upgrade slot and a Command slot, which has LOTS of implications for these heroes (something we won't probe here). With these heroes costing between 35-50 extra points over Luke, I think it's pretty easy to agree that getting +2 equipment slots (especially 1 Force/1 Command) is going to be worth paying some points more than Luke's base cost.

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

None of these three heroes have Jump 1/Charge innately in their profile, though Yoda can get both of these by playing his 1-pip command card and Dooku and Yoda can both get Relentless from command cards (which is better than Charge since they both have ranged attacks and can perform an attack with that as a free action, while Luke has to spend a normal action to use his pistol). Yoda may not have Deflect, but he does have Ataru Mastery (which is like Deflect but more) and picks up a TON of extra special rules on different turns based on the command cards he plays.

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

Dooku gets less from his command cards, but he can have Relentless/Arsenal 2 with Versatile on his Force Lighting with his 1-pip and has Cunning/Makashi Mastery by default, which gives him some incredible strategic play, especially against Force users or units with Duelist. Both of these characters have ranged attacks and melee attacks that are comparable to Luke's, if not a little better.

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

Palpatine is a bit different - he doesn't have Jump, Deflect, or Charge and doesn't have any special rules to mitigate these losses. He does have Pulling the Strings, which is a great way to use an action on Palpatine to get a bonus action out of someone else (like performing a Recover action so you can clear suppression off of an important unit or resetting Force upgrades on a Force user who doesn't have Master of the Force). He's also got Entourage, which is great if you run Royal Guards and useless otherwise. He, like Yoda, has 5 Wounds/4 Courage, which is probably fine - especially if he took Esteemed Leader so that nearby Stormtroopers can assist whatever Entouraging Royal Guard unit is nearby in taking damage for the old man. Like Yoda, Palpatine is also slower, but that can be easily fixed with Burst of Speed in that extra Force slot. His melee attack is also a ranged attack and will perform about as well as Luke's Lightsaber and better than his pistol.

All told, I'd expect these guys to cost more - they do cost more than Luke and they often do what Luke does better than Luke . . . now are they worth 35-50pts more before you start slapping on upgrades? Probably - but I'm inclined to think that Luke could drop 10-15pts (bringing that gap to 45-65pts) without appearing to be a steal when compared to these guys.

Comparison Group #2: General Grievous, Fifth Brother, and Seventh Sister

On the other end of the spectrum, we have three "Force users" who either cost the same as Luke or less than Luke and have 0-1 Force upgrade slots: General Grievous, the Fifth Brother, and the Seventh Sister. If we look at the latter two first, they cost 40-45pts LESS than Luke and trade 1 Force slot and 1 Gear slot for 2 Training slots (which is probably a wash, but usually means you need to pick between Barrier or Push with these guys instead of getting both). 

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

Like Yoda/Dooku, Fifth Brother doesn't have Deflect or Charge, but he does have Block (which is more generic than Deflect) and Enrage 2 (so he'll get Charge and infinite Courage once he's taken two damage). He picks up the Dauntless keyword and loses 1 Courage and his melee and shooting attacks will do basically the same damage as Luke's (maybe more in with Ram 2 if he has the charge). My take on this guy is that he and Luke come out about even . . . but one costs 45pts less than the other.

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

Seventh Sister doesn't have Deflect but she also has Block. She picks up Disciplined 1 and Interrogate and loses 1 Wound. Her damage pools are the same as Fifth Brother's, but she doesn't have Ram (so she'll end up doing a little less damage than Luke in melee). For 40pts less, she's picking up a few special rules and losing a bit on damage and wounds . . . honestly, I don't think this is a fair trade.

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

General Grievous is the odd man out - he trades 2 Force slots and 1 Gear slot for 2 Command slots, 1 Training slot, and 1 Armament slot (which can now equip his DT-57 "Annihilator" blaster for free), which complicates the comparison between Luke and Grievous somewhat, but since neither of them have Master of the Force to reset their upgrades, this just means that Grievous can lean harder into the Command elements of the game (extending his command radius or picking up Esteemed Leader to help him survive a bit longer) while Luke gets to use the occasional Force ability. This might be a wash . . .

Grievous costs the same as Luke (150pts) and doesn't have Deflect, Jump 1, Charge, or Immune: Pierce . . . but he does have Block (better than Deflect), Scale (which is basically Jump 2 if you want to stay on the terrain you're going over - but not the same as Jump 1 if you want to get past a piece of terrain), Relentless (which is better than Charge), and Impervious (which is nowhere near as good as Immune: Pierce). As you can see . . . these might be a wash too between the two characters, with Grievous pulling slightly ahead if you think Scale and Jump 1 should be treated as basically the same thing.

Grievous picks up extra rules though - he has Jedi Hunter (which is a conditional surge for crit - but pretty good if you're hunting down units with Force upgrades), Arsenal 2 (which makes his attack pool in melee much better with 2 reds/4 blacks/2 whites with Pierce 2/Impact 2 OR allows him to use just one lightsaber with 1 red/2 black/1 white with Pierce 1/Impact 1 and make a blaster shot with 2 blacks/2 whites and Critical 1/Pierce 1 - and since it has range 1-2 or melee, can be combined with his lightsaber or could be used against someone else). The Critical 1 on this blaster is nice - it balances out the fact that Grievous can't surge for crits innately (except against Force users, thanks to Jedi Hunter), but it also gives him the flexibility to do a little damage to whatever unit he's in melee with (and if he wants to stay in melee to avoid being shot to pieces, killing off that unit might not be the best thing) and instead get some damage on another unit nearby.

Besides the attack pool and special rules, Grievous has 2 more Wounds than Luke and 1 less Courage, which has its drawbacks, for sure, but the free attack action from Relentless can be really useful in making up for being suppressed (though investing in anti-suppression stuff for him has incredible value as well - something we'll talk about when we tackle Grievous next year). When comparing the ranged weapons of Luke and Grievous, the damage output is roughly the same (Grievous is expected to score slightly less than Luke with 1.625 hits/shot vs. Luke's 1.75 hits/shot) and Grievous only has Pierce 1 vs. Luke's Pierce 2. If Luke has Relentless and could shoot as a free action after moving, he'd be better for sure. However, since Luke has to spend an action moving and a separate action shooting (not to mention Versatile enabling Grievous to shoot while in combat so he can't be tied down in order to prevent his shots from going off) . . . I think Grievous's gun is probably better overall.

While Grievous's command cards aren't very good, he has the ability to get Disengage from one of them, which is quite useful (and can give friendly units nearby Guardian so that he doesn't take as much damage). All told, Luke has the better command card suite, but what Grievous gets can still be useful (though if you can take other command cards, I would).

All told, these guys cost the same as Luke or less than Luke and Luke is either worse or only slightly better at some things . . . it seems to me like a points drop would be useful (not just for Luke, but also for Grievous).

Comparison Group #3: Ahsoka, Separatist Maul, Shadow Collective Maul, and Asajj Ventress

This group is, I think, the most interesting comparison to Commander Luke - heroes who cost around the same as Luke (0-20pts more), don't have Master of the Force, and can be devastating combat pieces in melee should your opponent try to rush you (aka, excellent "linebackers"). We'll start off with the first Rebel Force user we have compared to Luke, Ahsoka.

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

Fulchrum Ahsoka Tano comes in at 165pts (15pts more than Luke) and trades 1 Gear upgrade for 2 Training upgrades, she has Jump 2 instead of Jump 1, and picks up Defend 1 and Jar'Kai Mastery instead of having a shooting attack. The double-rainbow lightsaber from Ahsoka is going to do as much damage as Luke's lightsaber, except that she has Defend 1 and Jar'Kai Mastery to improve her dice rolls with her dodge tokens . . . so functionally, if she gets an order token (which she can get from command cards or the Seize the Initiative upgrade for 5pts), she's going to do more damage than Luke - and a TON more damage than Luke on the turn she plays her 1-pip.

For 15pts more, Ahsoka appears to be WAY better than Luke. The only real advantage that Luke has is that he's a Commander option (which is required in your list) and Ahsoka is an Operative option (and so you have to pay for a Commander as well). This argument loses a lot of its bite since the best units available to the Rebels are their Commanders and Operatives and so they probably want all four slots filled . . . and given the choice between giving up a Commander slot for Luke (where heroes like Leia, Cassian, Han, and even generic Rebel Officers are competing for the gold) or an Operative slot for Ahsoka (where her closest competitors are Daimyo Boba, K-2SO if you brought Cassian, and Chewie), I think most players would rather have Ahsoka (though if Luke were to drop 10-15pts, I think a reconsideration might be in order).

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

As we turn to the Separatists, we have to begin with Asajj Ventress, who costs the same points as Luke, trades the Gear slot for 2 Training slots (again - this will be a theme for this group, by the way), upgrades Charge and Jump 1 to Relentless and Jump 2, and picks up a ton of keywords (Independent: Dodge with Jar'Kai Mastery, Indomitable, and either Bounty and Reinforcements OR Demoralize 1, Makashi Mastery, and Outmaneuver from her divulged 3-pip). For one turn of the game, she also gains Jedi Hunter if you play that command card.

There are some trades, however: she has 5 Wounds/2 Courage instead of 6 Wounds/3 Courage, she doesn't innately surge for crit like Luke does, and she has no innate shooting attack, but with 8 black dice (and Jar'Kai Mastery with Independent: Dodge), she's capable of more damage than Luke is (and while she doesn't have a shooting attack in her starting profile, having Relentless and a Force slot for Saber Throw means she could be rolling 4 blacks with Pierce 2/Impact 2, which is slightly better than what Luke is going to get). All told, I don't think I'd gripe if Luke were 10-15pts cheaper than her.

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

The CIS also has access to Darth Maul, who for 10pts more than Luke also trades the Gear slot for 2 Training slots, trades Charge for Juyo Mastery (which gives him +1 action that can't be used to perform 3 move actions if he's taken at least one wound), and might have Disengage or Jedi Hunter during different turns from his command cards. The lack of surging options does limit his effectiveness, but with similar overall damage from a 4 red/4 white attack pool, a Saber Throw from this guy is going to be twice as nasty against most threats than Luke's pistol. I'm not a huge fan of this version of Maul, but even I think that 10pts more than Luke is worth it.

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

While Separatist Maul isn't my cup of tea, Shadow Collective Maul is awesome. For 20pts more than Luke, you lose the Gear slot (surprised?) to gain 1 Command slot (awesome), 1 Training slot (also awesome), and 1 Armament slot (which you don't have to equip, but if you do, you get the Darksaber). Like CIS Maul, you don't have Charge, but you pick up Juyo Mastery, which is more flexible than Charge (and you start the game with a Wound thanks to Wound 1, so you can perform your free action every turn). Maul picks up Allies of Convenience as well (always great in a list full of Mercenaries) and if he has the Darksaber equipped (which has the same dice pool as Luke's lightsaber and gives Maul surge for crit - so the damage output is exactly the same), you pick up Cunning. With potentially 6 command cards that can be used by Maul, this could mean winning ties for priority anytime you play a command card. Like CIS Maul, this Maul also has no shooting attack, but you can solve that easily enough with Saber Throw.

Bottom Line: all four of these heroes can be added into lists to make them better - and at least three of them (Ahsoka, Asajj, and SC Maul) are staples of the competitive scene. Luke's relatively similar price just makes him fall behind the rest . . . but I feel like that could be easily solved.

Comparison Group #4: Operative Luke, Commander Vader, Operative Vader, and Obi-Wan Kenobi

These four heroes are going to be more expensive than Luke - but unlike Yoda/Palpatine/Dooku, these guys all have Master of the Force 1 instead of Master of the Force 2. Still, having any kind of Force ability reset at the end of your activation is amazing and great for your action economy so you can avoid having to perform a recover action.

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

Our first stop is with Luke's future self, Operative Luke. This version of Luke costs 45pts more (ouch), but picks up the aforementioned Master of the Force 1 and Disengage keywords, trades the Gear slot for 1 Force and 1 Training slot, gets +1 Wound and +1 Courage, adds 1 black die to his melee attack, and doesn't start with a shooting attack (but once again, you can get Saber Throw to get a marginally better shooting attack than Commander Luke's pistol). The extra Wound/Courage makes Op-Luke's 2-pip (which Commander Luke can use a lot less effectively) help him perform the tank roll really well - especially if he's in melee and unlikely to pick up suppression tokens. The extra damage that he does, the ability to disengage to get to the targets that he wants, and the Training slot to give him defensive surges with Into the Fray, an extra red die with Tenacity, or even an order token with Seize the Initiative (should you not have all six of his command cards in your hand) makes him incredibly flexible as a hero. For 45pts, he's probably worth the trade, though this is about the same difference in points as the first batch of heroes and you're not getting Master of the Force 2.

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

Released alongside Commander Luke is Commander Vader, who has gotten a touch-up treatment after his original release. At 40pts more than Commander Luke, this version of Vader picks up Master of the Force 1, Relentless instead of Charge, and Compel: Corps Trooper instead of Jump 1. With +1 Wound, infinite Courage, and -1 Speed, Vader is a slow-moving (unless he takes Burst of Speed) but pretty unstoppable powerhouse of a unit. While Luke has 6 blacks with surge for crit with his lightsaber, Vader has 6 reds without the ability to surge (but he can get Reliable 2 from his Darkness Descends command card). Oh, and his lightsaber is Pierce 3/Impact 3 instead of Pierce 2/Impact 2. If he's equipped with Saber Throw, he's an absolute menace and WAY more threatening than Luke.

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

Operative Vader is slightly cheaper (25pts more than Luke), has Master of the Force 1, trades the Gear slot for 2 Training slots (shocker), doesn't have Jump 1, but upgrades Charge into Relentless, picks up Jedi Hunter, and has 7 Wounds/3 Courage with a slightly reduced melee attack than his Commander variant (5 reds with Impact 3/Pierce 3), but it's still pretty devastating compared to what Luke is bringing. He doesn't have surge for crit innately in this form (unless he's fighting a Force user, of course), but his shooting attack has Blast and Scatter, which makes the weaker die pool much better against targets in cover. This version of Vader is probably less popular than Commander Vader (especially now that you can't bring him in Blizzard Force), but is still incredibly good and definitely a better deal than Luke.

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

Finally, we have my favorite Force user: Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan is - surprisingly - only 20pts more than Luke and he's got Master of the Force 1, trades the Gear slot for 1 Command and 1 Training slot, upgrades Deflect to Soresu Mastery (which is basically Deflect with some special rules for Guardian), and picks up Guardian 3 (which is really useful for keeping your Clones alive). With a double rainbow roll instead of the all-blacks pool, Obi-Wan's damage should be about the same (though surge for crit on Luke is better than Critical 2 for Obi-Wan - but most of the time, it should shake out about the same). Picking up one extra upgrade slot, two new rules, and upgrading a third one seems to be a pretty good bargain for only 20pts . . . but if that were 30-35pts, I think it would be a much closer comparison.

Comparison Group #5: Anakin Skywalker

Photo Credit: LegionHQ

And now we come to it at last: comparing Commander Luke to Anakin Skywalker. Anakin is, in my opinion, the most underpriced Force user in the game. Bar none. For 5pts more than Luke, Anakin loses the Gear slot and picks up 2 Training slots, and upgrades Deflect to Djem So Mastery (which bounces 1 damage back if you block at least one hit - which means you'll do less damage than someone with Deflect if they get 2+ defensive surges, but you will otherwise do the same or more damage back . . . oh, and you can benefit from this even in melee). With 5 red dice with Impact 3/Pierce 3 (like Operative Vader) and no innate shooting ability (and both Force Barrier and Force Push competing for his Force slots), if this was all Anakin had to offer, the price comparison would probably be favoring Luke . .

. . . but that's not all the story. All three of Anakin's command cards give him permanent ability boosts. While Luke starts with Charge, Anakin can gain Relentless and Outmaneuver from his 1-pip. While Luke starts with surge for crit, Anakin can get surge for crit, Master of the Force 1, and Defend 1 with his 2-pip. Luke's out of boosts, but Anakin's 3-pip can give him Exemplar and Reliable 2 so that his friends can borrow his aim/dodge/surge tokens . . . that's pretty crazy. All told, Anakin starts off 15pts cheaper than Obi-Wan and gets better than his former master after he's played all three of his command cards. Yes, the order in which they're played matters a lot, but on the whole, Anakin just seems to be a really points efficient hero - perhaps even too points efficient.

The only balancing factor is Anakin's flaw card, which basically prevents him from being issued an order from a command card for one round if he starts the round with a suppression token. This is easily remedied by playing a command card that belongs to someone else - or by investing in upgrades that will remove Anakin's suppression tokens at the end of the round (and keeping an eye on the conditions that will cause Anakin to pick up suppression tokens from his own command cards . . . because they do that sort of thing).

Still, I don't see how Anakin - flaw or no flaw - should be only 5pts more than Luke . . . I just don't see it. If Luke were to be 15-20pts cheaper . . . I still think Anakin would be the better deal (and without a points increase on Anakin's part, I think Anakin will still appear to be the best Force user for cost in the game, even though my own playstyle for the Republic favors Obi-Wan and Yoda).

Conclusion

So yeah . . . I think Luke should drop 10-15pts. While Vader and Han got profile refreshes since their release, Luke has remained the same (only dropping 10pts) and while a refresh for him would be nice (upgrading Charge to Relentless would change a lot - as would surging for block, which almost no Force users do without the use of Deflect or a Mastery keyword), I think a slight points modification for this particular profile would be sufficient. If you have thoughts on Luke, let us know in the comments below! Until next time, happy hobbying!