Star Wars Legion Unit Review: Rebel Sleeper Cell

Good morning gamers,

Rebels have been pretty dominant since the arrival of the Rebel Sleeper Cell unit came to version 2.6 - they were originally very overtuned to be good at playing the new game of Legion and have gotten some points hikes to ease them off a bit. While some players were running three of these every single time they hit the table, modern lists post-price-hikes have seen a more modest number of 1-2 Sleepers in Rebel lists (often accompanied by some form of Ewok Slinger squad, Mandalorians, and very, VERY occasionally Rebel Commandos or Wookiees).

Today we're digging into the Rebel Sleeper Cell unit and what's still good about them, even after they got their price hikes. Let's see what the profile has to offer and why this is still very much a good choice in Rebel lists.

Rebel Sleeper Cell: The Profile

I'm not sure that you could tune this unit any more than it is now, except by giving it better saves. You've got the stock-standard Rebel Special Forces stats of Courage 2, Speed-2, surging-white saves, and 1 Health each - but with a starting unit size of 6 models and surging-white saves, they're quite a bit more durable than most of their competitors (Rebel Commandos and Mandalorian Resistance - one could make an argument for Wookiees and Ewoks being more durable because of the sheer amount of wounds they have). To help their durability, they have Nimble, though no innate ways to get dodge support. With Exemplar heroes (and possibly some upgrades), it's not hard to trigger Nimble, though the issue is usually timing. Still, if you can get a dodge token on these guys (or can borrow it from someone), they'll be guaranteed one extra life so long as your opponent hasn't leaned into High Velocity (beware those perennial Clone Commandos and those cheaper AATs).

These guys have settled into a unit cost of 77pts and boy do they pack a PUNCH on offense! At range 1-2, they roll 2 black dice each with surge to hit, which means that a six-man Sleeper Cell unit is expected to get 7.5 hits/attack - and that's before any aim tokens that they use for rerolls with Tactical 1! With Scout 2, they're probably moving twice on the first turn (moving roughly 12" up the board), which means anyone who drifted 12" or more up their side of the board might be in range on the first turn - and with two aim tokens to fix the 4.5 dice that missed, you're looking at close to 10 expected hits on the first turn (some of which are likely to be crits). Yeah, they're nasty. Additionally, once in melee, they have the option to roll 1 red each with Impact 1 on each of those weapons (reliable into armor units) or roll 1 black/1 white with suppressive (pretty decent against most trooper units). All in all, these guys have a great offensive package - and one that feels much better than it should for a sub-80pt unit!

Rebel Sleeper Cell: Recommended Upgrades

I don't think there's much that you want to dump into this unit - they're already nearly 80 points with only 8-12 effective wounds (depending on how much dodge support you have). That's not a terrible points-to-wounds ratio, but it's not good. As such, while there are definitely some upgrades you might look into, I wouldn't dig into more than one (maybe two) of them at a time.

Heavy Weapon x1

Your only option is the Rebel Marksman and at 28pts, he's WAY to expensive for the +1 surging-white wound that you get and a special rule that will take one of your two actions (which you usually want to use to move-shoot so you can trigger Tactical 1 and throw a bunch of dice). Considering that for the cost of two Rebel Marksmen in two Sleeper Cell units you can almost get three Sleeper Cell units (and you are only 9pts shy of a super-sized block of Ewok Slingers), I think you always leave this guy at home.

Personnel x1

The Astromech is the only Personnel choice you can take with these guys (not to be confused with the R5 Astromech that can heal your vehicles) - this guy is now 10pts and is often fielded with Sleeper Cell units, as ending your move near a POI gives you a dodge token (great for Nimble). This guy is most useful if you plan to get order control on your Sleeper Cell units, as the benefits of the Astromech (besides the "cheap" seventh wound) are felt if they activate early, as generating that dodge to trigger Nimble has to happen before they get shot. You're probably hoping to play conservatively with them as well - otherwise, paying 20pts for 2 Astros across 2 Sleeper Cells might be better spent on other units.

Training x1

I don't think you need anything for this slot - the most valuable upgrade is not actually a Training upgrade that these guys take, but rather the Strike Team Leader on one of your Rebel Operatives, as this can generate a free aim or dodge token for one of your Sleeper Cell units within range-2 at the start of each round (and you get Backup from the Sleeper unit for that Operative). This is cheaper than the Astromech and gives you the dodge token at the start of the round, which I think is more useful than the Astromech if you're planning to delay their activation until the end of each round. You can, however, only do this for one Sleeper Cell unit (which is great if you're doing a double-Ewok-Slinger list).

Comms x1

I don't think you need a Comms upgrade on these guys, but a Hacked Comms Unit or Comms Jammer could be good if you plan to throw these guys towards important pieces in the enemy army (or any part of the enemy army if they're relying on Coordinate). I'm not sure how long a Sleeper Cell unit is going to last if it's diving to within range 1 of at least one unit that's still going to be on the board, but theoretically if you're rolling that side, you might stand a chance of surviving. If you plan to play more carefully with your Sleeper Cell and simultaneously don't plan to have order control on them, then an Emergency Transponder is pretty cheap and can give them another Aim token, a dodge token, or remove a suppression so they aren't suppressed. These are all good, but I think ultimately optional, things you can buy. 

Gear x1

I think the go-to Gear upgrade for these guys is Targeting Scopes - since you're generating at least one aim token each round (especially on the first round), rerolling an extra die when you shoot makes these guys more likely to hit their maximum ceiling of damage. While I'm not going to say that this is a bad choice, I've also not had issues getting to near-ceiling values or even hitting the ceiling with just my normal aim tokens. Take Targeting Scopes if you wish, but also don't if you wish. 

The one I usually look at is Prepared Supplies - for half the cost of the Astromech (and slightly cheaper than Strike Team Leader on an Operative), you can have a cached dodge token, which will be as good as Strike Team Leader once (you'll have it when you need it without having to activate your unit as early as possible) and if you've already got Strike Team Leader helping out one of your Sleeper Cell units and find that there's another that needs help, this is a cheap way to get them a dodge token. If you don't have an Exemplar hero to help these guys out, consider getting Prepared Supplies.

Rebel Sleeper Cell : Sample Lists and Strategies

Our first list is an 11-act "Rebel good stuff" list that features some of their more prominent players at this moment (though it's impossible to get them all in one list!). It includes one unit of Rebel Sleeper Cell (with Prepared Supplies), Han Solo, the Bad Batch, and a Rebel Agent (for some sweet, sweet first-turn plays), and four mech units (two Landspeeders, two AT-RTs) to support three Rebel Trooper Squads (one of which, of course, has Cassian in it - I opted for a Rebel Trooper chassis for him because the Rebel Trooper SX-21 is cheaper than the Fleet Trooper Scatter Gun and I didn't have the points for the Fleet Trooper variant):

• Han Solo
• The Bad Batch with Omega
• Rebel Agent with Reluctant Hero, Heavy Blaster Pistol, and Thermal Detonator
• 2x Rebel Troopers
• 1x Rebel Troopers with Cassian Andor, SX-21 Trooper, and Rebel Trooper Squad
• 1x Rebel Sleeper Cell with Prepared Supplies
• 2x AT-RTs with AT-RT Rotary Blaster
• 2x X-34 Landspeeders with M-45 Ion Blaster, HQ Uplink, RPS-6 Rocket Gunner, and Unstable Astromech

This list will likely begin by playing Sorry about the Mess to throw off whatever our opponent's Turn 1 plan was, then we can shift if we want into either Assault (issuing orders to both Landspeeders with their HQ Uplinks and then other orders to the Sleeper Cell, Han, and the Cassian squad) OR Battlefield Reconnaissance (issuing orders to both Landspeeders, Sleeper Cell, and the Imperial Agent), but with the knowledge that we'll have a pass token that turn. The list packs a punch from everything except the Rebel Troopers (and sort of Han), which I like a lot. 11 activations isn't as high as I'd like, but it works.

Our second list attempts to run three Sleeper Cell - one of each of the viable configurations (Emergency Transponder with Strike Team Leader, Prepared Supplies, and Astromech) for some variety of options - and it runs 14 activations with the goal of spreading our opponent thin so Sleeper Cell can do its thing:

• Rebel Officer with Frontline Commander and Vibro Axe
• Rebel Officer with Proven Tactician and Repeating Blaster
• Rebel Agent with Reluctant Hero, Strike Team Leader, Heavy Blaster Pistol, and Thermal Detonator
• 2x Rebel Veterans
• 2x Mark II Medium Blasters
• 1x Fleet Troopers with Cassian Andor, Fleet Trooper Squad, and Scatter Gun Trooper
• 1x Rebel Sleeper Cell with Prepared Supplies
• 1x Rebel Sleeper Cell with Emergency Transponder (and Strike Team Leader benefits)
• 1x Rebel Sleeper Cell with Astromech
• 3x AT-RTs with AT-RT Rotary Blaster

This list has a few options for first-turn plays - I think you probably want to use Assault on the first turn so you can issue orders to all three Sleeper Cell units - you don't really mind if everyone else goes whenever they go (since you have 5 Corps tokens to delay the arrival of Andor's unit - which is a super-Fleet squad this time). The AT-RTs and the Rebel Vets are there to spread out on objectives, while your Sleeper Cell figure out what part of the battle needs their help the most - and you might want two working together and one working with the Rebel Agent (you know, if you don't need all three AND the Agent rushing the same place). The Frontline-Officer is a valuable aid to both the Veterans (who can benefit from Dauntless) and Cassian's squad (who would love some aims from the Tactical 1/Aid that the Frontline-Officer has). The Tac-Officer can also pass around tokens, though some early damage with the repeater will also be welcome.

Rebel Sleeper Cell: Final Review

I really like these guys - they hit hard, but melt away quickly if exposed. I think there's a lot of finesse to using these guys well and I'm happy they went up a bit in price (they needed to become a little worse). If you don't have three copies, I think that's just fine - I only use one usually - I think the Landspeeders do much the same function, but get two shots on the first round if you're toting the Hardpoint/RPS-6 slots with the Unstable Astromech (while I think the Ion Blaster that I used above is better into a droid-heavy/vehicle-heavy meta, I think the Mark-II with shorter range, no meaningful keywords, but reduced price might also be worth taking . . . though I always get the Ions if I can).

Overall Unit Review: 5/5 stars. I mean, these guys are perfect the way they are - though I wouldn't mind if the Marksman upgrade went under the knife - each model is theoretically about 13pts each, so either his points should come down to 14-15pts OR his ability should be a free action (especially since it's unreliable). Beyond that, I think the unit is great and doesn't need any changes.

Next time, we're back in the Empire and going to look at the humble Snowtrooper. These guys were always good in my opinion (Steady is a nice keyword to have stapled to your profile), but with changes in Legion 2.6 taking away the exhaust from their Ion heavy and the arrival of the Imperial March upgrade, these guys have taken the Imperial meta by storm (a snow storm, if you will). Find out what's so great about these guys (and how to get those darn flamethrowers to work properly) next time. Until then, happy hobbying!