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 . . .

Rebel Support Units: A Quick Overview

The Rebel Alliance has 1 Mercenary and 3 Rebel Support units: AT-RTs (50pts base), 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Teams (65pts base), Swoop Bike Riders (Mercenary, 70pts base), and Tauntaun Riders (95pts base). If you assume that the AT-RT is paying at least 10pts for a Hardpoint upgrade (the Laser Cannon), the comparison point for the AT-RT is really 65 points . . . which means the AT-RT isn't that much cheaper than any of the other options (except Tauntauns).

Swoop Bikes are likely to remain 70pts when allied into a Rebel list and you're getting two minis with 3 Wounds each (6 Wounds total, same as the AT-RT) and Cover 1 instead of Armor 2 . . . yeah, these guys are gonna die a bit faster than an AT-RT will. However, with Speed 3 and the ability to perform up to 3 moves with an overrun attack on one of those moves (1 red/2 white with surge to hit, average expected damage of 1.250/0.375 hits/crits per attack) or move twice (with an overrun attack) and a blaster attack (2 red/2 black with surge to hit while both bikes are alive, average expected damage of 2.500/0.500 hits/crits per attack), this unit can deal a lot of chip damage very quickly. By contrast, you're only supposed to deal 1.375/0.750 hits/crits during an AT-RT's attack when it has the Laser Cannon equipped, which is only slightly better than the overrun attack by a Swoop Bike and slightly worse than the blaster attack of a full Swoop Bike unit. If you want speed and potentially more damage, a Swoop Bike team (or two if you take Underworld Connections) might be worth it.

The alternative fast attack option for Rebels are Tauntaun Riders. These guys are pricier than AT-RTs at 95pts base (though they don't really need anything else) and while they don't have Armor 2, they have 8 wounds between the two minis in the squad and Agile 1 (so if they perform two moves, they'll have 2 dodge tokens). Their shooting profile (while there's two of them) is a bit better than an AT-RT (2 red dice per mini with surge for hit and Sharpshooter 1 - average expected damage of 3.000/0.500 hits/crits per attack), but comes out about even once you're down to one Tauntaun. Still, with Relentless and Agile 1, these guys can make a free attack and gain a dodge token after taking a move action - that's really good action economy!

Where things get really interesting is if these guys charge: with an attack pool of 2 black/1 white and Ram 1 (which is really 4 black/2 white with Ram 2 while both minis are alive) and surge to hit, these guys are supposed to do 3.5 damage (2.500/1.000 hits/crits) on the charge, which is better than the 1.875/0.750 hits/crits from the AT-RT (before Impact 1 is resolved, should it apply). All told, the Tauntaun squad is faster, hits harder in melee, and does about the same damage at a distance (as a free action!) as the AT-RT. They're about as survivable, especially since 2 dodges after two move actions will basically equate to Armor 2 (so long as they're shot at once per round - and they have moved first, of course).

Finally, we have the FD Laser Cannon Team - and if you like the long-range poke option of the AT-RT with Laser Cannon, this is probably the better deal. With 5 blacks (the attack pool you get from the Rotary Blaster upgrade on the AT-RT), Impact 2 (which you get from the Laser Cannon - but that one has fewer dice), surge to hit (which isn't as great as surge for crit), and the option for 2 whites and Suppressive or 1 black and Impact 1 from your Generator upgrades (3pts each), you're going to do WAY more damage from up to range 5 with these guys (3.000/0.750 hits/crits and Impact 3 per attack with the Overcharged generator; 2.750/0.875 hits/crits and Impact 2/Suppressive with the Barrage generator). With Sentinel and easy access to standby tokens, these guys are pretty good. While not as resilient as AT-RTs (6 wounds without Armor 2), they're pretty hard to get to and can lay down fire across a battlefield with ease.

Probably the best thing about the AT-RT that makes them better than these other options is that they're a ground vehicle - which means that it's a mobile line-of-sight blocker for anything behind its base. Even though the AT-RT's profile is quite narrow, the base is what matters - and if you're behind the model's silhouette (extending from the base upwards to the top of the AT-RT - but not to its antenna), you can't be targeted. This is . . . really nice.

Surely, however, Armor 2 makes this guy competitive with the other Rebel options, right? Armor's good, right? Well, it is good and it might even be competitive. . . but let's do a quick overview of how opponents can deal with full Armor units, shall we?

Armor X and Impact: When Crit Fishing Gets Easy

Full Armor was originally created so that units could shrug off damage - and make no mistake, my LAAT in the past has reduced enemy attacks from Rebel Veterans from 7-8 icons to only 2-3 crits that need to be saved, so it makes a difference. With full Armor going down to Armor X on everything we have at the moment, Armor X on units is quite a bit less good than full Armor was. Even if full Armor was still a thing, there are several ways - most of which are pretty common to all factions - to deal damage to full Armor units: roll crit results naturally, surge for crit, and the Impact keyword.

When it comes to rolling crits naturally, the simplest way to do this is . . . to just throw more dice. Since all dice, regardless of color, have the same number of crit results (one-of-eight), adding more dice - regardless of their color - makes you more likely to get crit results. Some Heavy Weapon choices (like the T-21 Stormtrooper upgrade) are cheap because they don't have good dice (4 white dice) and to make up for giving you white dice on top of the white dice the unit normally rolls, you get Critical 2 . . . which is AWESOME if you're trying to take down a unit with Armor (or if that unit is behind cover or is relying on dodges to keep it alive).

If you can't throw lots of dice, it pays to surge for crit, which might be innate to the unit (only on certain Commander/Operative choices, the Chewie AT-ST, E-Webs, T-47 Airspeeders, and Rebel AT-RTs) or available because you purchased an upgrade that has the Critical X keyword (there are lots of Critical 1 options, but you can get Critical 2 from a Dewback Rider/Stormtrooper/Imperial Special Forces T-21, the Infantry Support Platform Twin Laser Cannons, Proton Charge Saboteurs, Mark II Medium Blasters, and the Rebel Veteran CM-O/93). If you have Critical in your arsenal (even if you would normally surge to hit), your chances of getting a surge go up a bit because now two faces on each of your dice (up to the amount of Critical X you have) can become crits. If you're throwing buckets of dice WITH Critical X in your attack pool . . . I mean, that's pretty good.

Finally, there's Impact - and this is how most units try to deal with full Armor. In most situations, you will have access to Impact 1 or Impact 2, which means 1-2 hits will become crits after cover is factored in (which vehicles don't get cover from terrain anymore, so that'll mostly be for flying vehicles). Weak Point X can make some vehicles cough up even more damage to enemy units, but this is limited to Heavy unit options - not Supports. AT-RTs might not have Weak Point, but with "only" 6 wounds (and surging white defense dice), you're gonna take a lot of damage if your opponent brought any amount of Impact in his list.

There are also some units that really pile on the Impact - HH-12 Stormtroopers have Impact 3 and AT-STs, GAV tanks/FD Laser Cannons can have Impact 3-4 depending on what upgrades they take, and a full strength Clone Commando unit (or any unit with Impact Grenades at range 1) can have Impact 4 at Range 1-2. Impact isn't hard to get - and if your opponent can get 3-4 hits through, it's pretty much a death sentence for the AT-RT after two volleys.

I think there is a place for AT-RTs still - we'll get into this in the upgrade section - but before we do, let's move on to the final critique of these guys: they're not Republic AT-RTs.

Rebel vs. Republic Units: An AT-RT Story

The Republic AT-RT costs 60pts base (+10pts over the Rebel AT-RT) and has virtually the same profile. It differs in that it a) has surge to hit instead of surge to crit, b) has a red defense die instead of a surging white defense die, and c) has a default range weapon that has 1 black/2 white for its pool with Critical 1/Impact 1 . . . which is basically +1 Black die and Impact 1 over what the Rebel variant has (once surge for crit is factored in).

What this means practically is that you don't have to run a Hardpoint upgrade on the Republic one, which saves you money if the Rebel AT-RT didn't take the Laser Cannon (which is going to do marginally more damage than the Republic AT-RT). Armor 2 is pretty good - and if you can get it cheaply (which both AT-RTs do), you can lean into the armor skew pretty hard and punish any foes who didn't bring Impact to the table. However, if your opponent can get crits naturally, with the Critical keyword or the Impact keyword, a Republic AT-RT is going to have to lean on its defense die . . . which isn't great, but is still better than the Rebel AT-RT.

Now the Republic has a Heavy unit that doesn't suffer as much from these woes: the LAAT/LE Patrol Transport. LAATs have Armor 5 and surging white defense dice (an improvement over the Rebel AT-RT), but this is paired with Cover 1 (to potentially remove hits before Impact can convert hits to crits) and immunity to melee/Range 1 weapons (which includes lightsabers and Impact Grenades - both of which are good sources of Impact, if not crit results). If you're facing a LAAT, your options for getting damage past its full Armor are lessened. AT-RTs of both stripes don't have Weak Point to give the enemy Impact where they otherwise wouldn't like some vehicles do, but they are also susceptible to a lot of damage options - especially now that they don't have full Armor. Still, these guys are pretty cheap, so if you compare two AT-RTs to the cost of a decked-out LAAT, the AT-RTs might be the better purchase.

With all this in mind, let's look at the upgrades we can take and how we can salvage something good from this unit . . .

Rebel AT-RTs: Recommended Upgrades

I think if you're going to run an AT-RT, you're looking at one of two builds - and only two builds. Both involve a Hardpoint upgrade and only one needs a Comms upgrade. Let's see what these are (and why the third Hardpoint is not necessary).

Hardpoint

Our first stop is the cheapest of the Hardpoint upgrades, the Laser Cannon. This weapon (which we used as our baseline) brings a Rebel AT-RT up to 60 points and gives it 1 red/2 black and Impact 3 . . . perfect for chopping through Armor, but the dice pool itself is quite limited. If you plan to run this unit - and I think it's fine to run - you want to use it as a means of plucking wounds off armored units (who might be very difficult to kill otherwise) or getting hits in on Turn 1 against trooper units from up to range 4 away. If you perform a Speed-1 Scout move, a normal Speed-2 move, and then perform an attack, you should be able to shoot at anything you want - and place a line-of-sight blocker to shield whatever infantry are running on behind it (like Rebel Troopers). If your opponent has gotten within range 1 so you don't have a good target with your range 2-4 laser cannon), you can charge and focus on using that sweet melee profile.

The next most expensive Hardpoint upgrade is the Flamethrower. For 5pts more than the Laser Cannon, you get 2 black dice and spray (so that's 2 black dice per mini in the target squad) at range 1 - and with the update in Legion 2.6, this applies to melee attacks too! You also have Blast, so unlike the Laser Cannon, you're not worried about Cover - which is less reliable than it used to be, but this will also wipe out the Low Profile keyword. Depending on how many minis are in the unit you're shooting at, this will either be a great attack pool . . . or a very, very bad one. Against Corps squads and most Special Forces squads, Flamethrowers are great, since the 2 black/mini is supposed to get slightly more hits than the unit has miniatures - perfect for killing off a whole unit or greatly crippling it. Against solo units (e.g. most Heavy units, some Support units, and basically all Commander/Operative units), you've got just 2 dice . . . not so great.

The other downside to taking the Flamethrower is that you have to get to range 1 before you can use it. This means the AT-RT probably wants to do a last-first maneuver where they get deployed late in the first round, Scout-1 and double-move to sprint forward as far as they can (which means you'll need to keep an egress route open for them when moving your other units onto the board), and then try to activate first on the following round so it can move-shoot. If done correctly, this can be devastating (and should allow them to shoot anyone on the board). Miscalculations will be costly, though - hopefully 6 Wounds with Armor 2 and surging whites (yaye?!?!?!?) helps with that some.

This leaves us with the last Hardpoint upgrade - and the most expensive one - the Rotary Blaster. If you're running the Republic AT-RT, this might a good choice. The Armor-Piercing Shells Ordnance option available to the Republic's Heavy units is going to outclass the Laser Cannon on the Republic AT-RT and Clone vehicles don't generally want to get within range 1 of things if they can help it (though maybe if you're screening for a full ARC Trooper unit, you might). Rolling 5 black dice (with surge to hit innately) is pretty good - and basically what you'd be getting from a Clone Trooper Infantry squad with a Medic (basically the same cost, but without Armor 2 and with token sharing). You could also, of course, just use your base blaster (which is about half as good) and leave this upgrade at home.

For the Rebel AT-RT . . . there's no point in taking this thing. Why? Because you can get more dice at longer range with Impact 3 or Impact 2/Suppressive from the FD Laser Cannon for 2pts less. Yes, the FD Laser Cannon can't move and it doesn't have Armor 2 - but those are the only possible downsides this unit has and its longer range makes up for it not having Armor 2 because it can sit safely away from the fighting and still lend that amazing firing barrage to support the front lines. If you like the Rotary Blaster on AT-RTs, great - but you should try the FD Cannon sometime.

Comms

Half of the Comms upgrades aren't useful to you in any way - without Coordinate, Command Control Array is no good to you. While getting a free order token could be nice, using HQ Uplink more than once will require your AT-RT to recover and then either move or shoot . . . and if it chooses to not move, you probably would have been better off with an FD Cannon (which can take the HQ Uplink and get good use out of it, since it needs to recover anyway to reset its generator upgrade). The Linked Targeting Array is only useful if you're issued orders - and unless you have command cards specifically designed to give orders to a support unit (or just a "unit" instead of a "Trooper"), chances are good you're not getting an order token. Similarly, if you don't get issued an order, then the Comms Relay isn't doing anything for you, so I wouldn't take that either.

This leaves us with four upgrades to consider: the Comms Jammer, the Hacked Comms Unit, the Emergency Transponder, and the Onboard Comms Channel. The Emergency Transponder is an interesting choice, but it's a 4-point upgrade for a one-time aim or dodge token . . . frankly, I don't think this is worth putting on an AT-RT. Yes, an aim token could be really good - and yes, a dodge token when you have a non-surging white defense die is really useful too. But for 4pts . . . I mean, there are LOTS of units this could go on (or the points could be shuffled elsewhere) . . . I'd just skip it.

I'm also willing to entertain the thought of taking the Onboard Comms Channel now that transporting a unit isn't required. At 10pts, it's a bit pricey, but Coordinate will mean that each time you issue one of these guys an order token, another Trooper (which could be a Commander or Operative) will also get an order. 10pts per order token is pretty good if you know that these guys are going to be near Troopers (and since a Laser Cannon + OCC AT-RT only costs 70pts, you could have one of these guys sitting near a long-range shooting unit - though again, you have to be able to issue them orders).

The Hacked Comms Unit would be an interesting add-on to a Flamethrower AT-RT, but that's literally the only AT-RT build that would want to be within range 1 of the enemy. Getting that order token would make that last-first thing a lot easier, so there's probably a case for taking it . . .

. . . but I'd take the Comms Jammer. This upgrade also requires you to be within range 1 of at least one enemy unit, but ALL enemy units within range 1 are prevented from receiving an order token unless they're giving it to themselves - which is VERY nice for getting the last-first thing to work (and disrupting a lot of other things). If you're able to dive-bomb an AT-RT effectively into the enemy, a Comms Jammer can turn a gutsy late-turn play into a really powerful start-of-turn play.

Okay, let's dig into a list that chooses to run AT-RTs!

Rebel AT-RTs: Sample List and Strategy

We're going to look at two Rebel lists today - each featuring a different AT-RT build. If you're looking for long-range firepower, you can run three AT-RTs with Laser Cannons/Onboard Comms Channels with 6 squads of Rebel Troopers, Commander Luke, and the Bad Batch (11 activations, list on Tabletop Admiral here):

• Luke Skywalker with Force Barrier, Offensive/Defensive Stance, Prepared Supplies
• The Bad Batch with Omega
• 2x Rebel Troopers with SX-21, Rebel Trooper Squad, and Prepared Supplies 
• 2x Rebel Troopers with 2-1B Medical Droid, Prepared Supplies, and smoke grenades
• 2x Rebel Troopers with R5 Astromech and Prepared Supplies
• Rebel Commandos with Duck and Cover
• Rebel Commando Strike Team with Proton Charge Saboteur 
• 3x Rebel AT-RT with Laser Cannon

Luke provides us with some extra defensive tech in the form of Force Barrier and has the option to flex to protect himself with Defensive Stance or get a little more range and oomph out of his blaster with Offensive stance (or to really jazz up a Son of Skywalker turn). The Bad Batch is our hammer, dive-bombing into the enemy to deal death and destruction, while the AT-RTs provide line-of-sight blocking for the Rebel Troopers and the Bad Batch on the first turn of the game.

We have some order flexibility with Push and Assault - which could go to the AT-RTs or the characters. The other command cards will issue orders to just Luke, 2 Trooper units (probably Luke and an important Rebel Trooper squad), or just the Bad Batch.

Our second list showcases the Flamethrower AT-RTs - and as a result, we're looking at a melee-oriented list that's trying to get up in people's grills and run things over (with the AT-RTs giving us line of sight blockers as we roll up the field). We've swapped out the Rebel Troopers for Fleet Troopers, we've taken Leia and Wicket instead of Luke, we've kept the Bad Batch (no Omega this time) and 3 AT-RTs (but with Comms Jammers and Flamethrowers instead of Laser Cannons and OCCs - same cost), a set of Rebel Commandos/Strike team with Saboteur, and four squads of Ewoks (two Skirmishers and two Slingers). It's a ripe good old time with 16 activations (the list on Tabletop Admiral is here):

• Leia Organa with Underworld Connections
• Wicket with Forest Dwellers
• The Bad Batch
• 2x Fleet Troopers with Scatter Gun Trooper
• 1x Fleet Troopers with 2-1B Medical Droid
• 2x Fleet Troopers with R5 Astromechs
• 2x Ewok Skirmishers with Call to Arms
• 1x Rebel Commandos with Duck and Cover 
• 2x Ewok Slingers with Forest Dwellers
• 3x AT-RT with Flamethrower and Comms Jammer

The activation count is higher in this list and its aim is simple: use tricks to make sure hard-hitting things in melee stay alive. The first turn will see Leia playing A Beautiful Friendship (giving orders to herself, Wicket, and one other Ewok unit - a Slinger unit, probably). On each of the following turns, Leia or Wicket will get an extra order token to to hand out when they issue orders (either can use Ambush, Leia has No Time for Sorrows and Somebody has to Save Our Skins). The Bad Batch has both Ploy (use it for their own token - it's the only singlet and allows you to activate them whenever you wish) and We Do What We Do - great to play on back-to-back turns when you want to get the Bad Batch into action late in one round (with We Do What We Do) then go first on the following turn.

The AT-RTs are actually the linchpin of this list - they're the ones that are going to keep the damage down as you approach, allowing relatively small units to arrive with their full punch. We have quite a bit of Scout in our list (and Wicket gives us more), so moving up the board shouldn't be hard on the first turn. With the AT-RTs giving us line of sight blockers to keep us alive, we should be able to assault on the second turn with all of our guys alive (and hopefully the Armor 2 will keep these guys alive just long enough to activate on the second turn).

Rebel AT-RTs: Final Review

I think there's a lot to not like about these guys, but they've improved on me in the new edition. When I was first writing this review, I gave these guys 1 star - they weren't great units, but with the way Legion has changed, the downgrade in cost has helped outweigh a lot of their other reductions and AT-RTs are able to fill a very odd niche role for Rebel lists. For 210pts, you could get a lot squishier stuff in a Rebel list.

Overall profile review: 2/5 stars.  I didn't give these guys 1 star, but I do think they're gonna die quickly. Honestly, I'd like them to have the non-surging red die that the Clones get - and a decent base gun so I could run them without a hardpoint upgrade like the Republic can - but I'll take and use what we've got.

When we return next year, we'll be covering one of my favorite heroes (who snuck into a list today) for the Rebels: Jyn Erso. It took me a few games of blundering around with Jyn to figure out that her damage output isn't great for her cost. Then it took me listening to a podcast to realize what she was good at. Now, she's a staple of my Rebel lists - and I love that so much. Find out what's great about Jyn next time - and until then, happy new year and happy hobbying!