Customizable Commanders, Part I: The Rebel Alliance

Good morning gamers,

Last week, we got the scene-to-stats articles for both the Imperial and Rebel customizable leaders and boy are there some interesting options available to us now! This article will be reviewing the Rebel options and our next article will look at the Imperial ones (sorry, Din, your article will just have to wait). If you haven't seen the article yet, you can view it here and I gotta say, I'm pretty stoked about how well AMG is publicizing their products and I'm excited to give some of these combos a try! Also, while I'm giving my amateur thoughts, I think the special edition video from the Notorious Scoundrels is well worth the listen.

This article will attempt to puzzle through some interesting combos for the four different doctrines available in the kit, with the understanding that this is all very new and there will be much to be seen in the coming months for how you actually want to run these after some play testing and tournament use shakes out. We'll also be reviewing these profiles in comparison to an existing profile to see what the existing profile is giving you and whether it's better to slot in the old character or the new one. We'll start with my favorite of the batch . . .

Rebel Officer with Proven Tactician: 65+ pts

The Rebel Officer profile begins with 6 Wounds/Courage 2, but taking the Proven Tactician upgrade boosts that to 6 Wounds/Courage 3. The Inspire 1 that's provided in the base profile isn't augmented at all, but this Commander option is a slot-in for your support options with the old Padme Amidala trick of Quick Thinking/Exemplar (he just needed Authoritative to have the trifecta of Padme support abilities from last edition). While the utility of his last boost will only be found on the first turn of the game, getting a free Speed-1 move on all of your Corps that end the round within range 1 of this commander from Reinforcements can mean that Rebel Veterans and Mark II Medium Blasters (traditionally slow Corps units in a game where getting places is usually the name of the game) can "do their thing" of Speed-1-moving and shooting with a slow and steady advance followed up by another Speed-1, which gives them the same amount of ground gained as Snowtroopers (who I think most players would agree are pretty good). This doctrine is a 10pt upgrade, which makes it pricier than other doctrines but only marginally so and I think the benefits of it are clear: move-Quick-Thinking-Inspire every round to give your units access to an aim/dodge token when they need it and clear a suppression token. Doctrine Rating: A.

Photo credit: Tabletop Admiral

The prime point of comparison is Leia Organa, who is very much in a sit-in-the-back-and-support role, though her ability to do damage with her pistol is likely to be more reliable than what this Officer is packing unless the Officer takes the repeater gun (which I don't think is worth the investment - but I'm willing to be proven wrong). Leia begins 10-points more expensive and has 6 Wounds/Courage 2 (so -1 Courage, which does matter a bit on a Commander) and Inspire 2 instead of Inspire 1 (which can matter very much if you have a lot of Courage 1 Corps running around). While these two flip-flops aren't exactly a wash, they're pretty much a wash in my book.

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: Republic Chewbacca

Good morning gamers,

We're back in Republic and we're talking about Chewbacca today - a character that you either love or hate depending on your perspective on white saves. Chewie's one of three Commander options available to the Wookiee Defenders battle force and remains the cheapest available at the moment (time will tell if the new customizable Commander/Operative Jedi will come in below him, but I doubt it). With flexible melee and ranged attack options, reliable damage in either form, and the standard big-Wound-bad-Save profile you expect from a Wookiee character, we'll look today to see how good Chewie is at being a Republic Commander, both in and out of the Wookiee Defenders battle force.

Republic Chewbacca: The Profile

To start with, Chewie is 90pts, which is cheaper than either a "melee Wookiee" or a "gun Wookiee" squad. We'll go over his upgrades in a bit, but suffice it to say that you're probably not getting him for more than 98pts and he's fine even at 90pts. Compared to the Wookiee Chieftain profile, Chewie's got some pretty standard Wookiee characteristics (and some hero characteristics in general) with Courage 2, Speed 2, non-surging white saves (more on that in a minute), and surge to hit. Where he shines above most other characters, however, is his Wound Threshold of 9, which means you have to dump more fire into him than normal (even over Rebel Chewie and all Force Users - who admittedly have Immune: Pierce and at least red saves).

Chewie's keywords change his base stats quite a bit, however: he's got Enrage 4, which means after he takes 4 wounds, he gets Charge and infinite Courage - so his Courage 2 stat probably won't stay Courage 2 for a while. As a Commander, this also means that once he's taken 4 wounds, your units within range 3 of him can't be panicked, which is GREAT for scoring (though if you're running mostly Wookiee units, you have Indomitable on everyone to clear suppression anyway - but hey, not having to roll is better than rolling a better die). He also has Guardian 2: Commander, which can force Chewie to take hits in place of a Wookiee Chieftain or Yoda (and soon to be generic Jedi) in the Wookiee Defenders list or for another fairly fragile commander in a Republic list (which could be a Clone Commander, Rex, Cody, Ahsoka, Anakin, or the aforementioned other Commanders). While this is a nice add-on, it's also just fine to run Chewie without another Commander (either in a standard game or in Recon where you can't take another Commander) and just chalk this up as a useless keyword. The main reason you'd want to use this Guardian ability is to a) provide Backup to an Operative (like Bad Batch or Padme in a generic Republic list) and b) so you can trigger Enrage 4 without having to be shot at.

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: The Bad Batch, Part II

Good morning gamers,

Last time, we looked at the Republic Bad Batch profile (and the various things you can include in your lists to keep them going or augment what they do). In today's post, we're looking at the post-Order-66 Bad Batch and how they operate differently on the tabletop with the loss of Crosshair and the potential addition of Omega. Let's review the profile (and how it's changed in its Rebel incarnation) before hopping into the strategy for using them.

Rebel Bad Batch: The Profile

The Bad Batch for the Rebel Alliance is a four-man unit that needs to equip 4  Heavy Weapon "upgrades" (Hunter, Echo, Tech, and Wrecker - not Crosshair).  Their only optional "upgrade" is to add Omega as a Counterpart. With 2 wounds/mini normally (3 wounds on Wrecker) and 1 wound on Omega if you add her to the squad, these guys have a very impressive 10 wounds (slightly below the Republic version's 11) and Courage 3, which makes it very, VERY difficult to both suppress this unit and punch through their wounds. With a rare-for-Rebels non-surging red saves and speed 2, these guys add an element of resiliency to your list that many Rebel operatives . . . actually can compete with, but with about half the wounds that these guys will have.

They have some unit special rules that can be summarized as ARC-Trooper-like: Scale, Sharpshooter 1, and Impervious are standard issue on ARCs, which gives these guys reliability when moving over difficult terrain/scaling walls and reducing enemy cover when they shoot into cover - these are the kinds of boosts that fill the dreams of Sleeper Cell or Rebel Commando units. Impervious gives them something against Pierce, though Impervious itself is more of a "nice when it works" kind of proposition.

They also have Steady, which is different and more flexible than the Charge that you find on ARCs (which gives ARCs a free attack action when they end a move in melee, instead of a free attack action when they end a move NOT in melee for the Bad Batch). With 1 red each in melee and 1 black/1 white at range, these guys don't look far off from their 140pt price tag (20pts cheaper than the Republic version, but only 10pts less if you add Omega), but there are more special rules to this unit . . .

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: The Bad Batch, Part I

Good morning gamers,

They're big (Wrecker in particular), they're bad (it's in the name), and they're by far and away the most potent Republic Operative choice (which is really not saying much) - oh yes, it's a review of the Bad Batch today! This band of misfits can do some extraordinary damage on the tabletop, and while they don't have any slots for gear or training upgrades, having them in your list MIGHT mean that certain other units you bring will be taking certain upgrades. Let's see what makes these guys awesome and what you should consider bringing in order to make them better!

Republic Bad Batch: The Profile

The Bad Batch for the Republic is a five-man unit that needs to equip 5 Heavy Weapon "upgrades" (Hunter, Echo, Tech, Crosshair, and Wrecker). With 2 wounds/mini (3 wounds on Wrecker), this squads has a very impressive 11 wounds and Courage 3, which is very, VERY difficult to both suppress and punch through. With the Republic trooper standard of non-surging red saves and speed 2, these guys will fit in with just about every other Republic infantry option.

They have some unit special rules that can be summarized as ARC-Trooper-like: Scale, Sharpshooter 1, and Impervious are standard issue on ARCs, which gives these guys reliability when moving over difficult terrain/scaling walls and reducing enemy cover when they shoot into cover. Impervious gives them something against Pierce, though Impervious itself is more of a "nice when it works" kind of proposition.

They also have Steady, which is different and more flexible than the Charge that you find on ARCs (which gives ARCs a free attack action when they end a move in melee, instead of a free attack action when they end a move NOT in melee for the Bad Batch). With 1 red each in melee and 1 black/1 white at range, these guys don't look far off from their 160pt price tag, but there are more special rules to this unit . . .

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: K-2SO

Good morning gamers,

Last time we looked at the updated Cassian Andor profile and today, we're looking at his buddy, K-2SO. Cassian and K-2 were purchased right after Jyn as the second and third Rebel units in my Legion collection and I love these guys. Let's see how K-2 has changed in the new edition.

K-2SO: The Profile

K-2SO's profile hasn't changed at all - he's still got 5 wounds/Courage 2 (which only matters for panic, thanks to the Droid Trooper keyword), Speed 2, non-surging red saves, and surge for crit on offense (which is REALLY useful). He has no ranged weapon by default, but has a 4-red die melee attack that unlike Chewie's melee attack doesn't have Lethal 1 (so no Pierce from this guy).

Most of his keywords are the same too - he still has Armor 1 (which is good for his resiliency) and Incognito (which is REALLY good for keeping him alive on Turns 1-2), he still has Detachment: Cassian Andor (so K-2SO doesn't count towards your two Operative slots and can deploy near Cassian) and Teamwork: Cassian Andor (so when one gets an aim/dodge token within range 2 of the other, the other gets one as well), which are both great as well. Finally, he retained the Calculate Odds special action, so someone (including himself) at range 2 can gain an aim token, a dodge token, and a suppression token - and if that person is himself or Cassian, then the other gets the aim/dodge tokens as well thanks to Teamwork.

The only "new" (but functionally no difference) keyword change for K-2 is that he gained Infiltrate - which really doesn't matter with Detachment, but it's nice to have if K-2 has to go down first. In most games, if Cassian goes down first and K-2 arrives to give him buffs (Calculate Odds + dodge action), then K-2 will probably be using Detachment to arrive nearby and the Infiltrate doesn't matter - and sometimes the Detachment deployment will be the same as an Infiltrate action anyway, so it doubly doesn't matter. But in the set of cases where you want K-2 coming down first, Infiltrate is nice to have.

Okay, let's take a look at the upgrades we can take (or more appropriately, not take) on this guy.

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: Cassian Andor

Good morning gamers,

We're back in Rebel territory today, talking about the updated Cassian Andor profile! Cassian is a favorite of mine and he was one of the first models I purchased for the Rebel faction in Star Wars Legion. We'll be looking at the new operative profile he has and see what there is to like about the changes that he got in the new edition. Let's start with his "updated" profile.

Cassian Andor: The Profile

Cassian's profile is . . . basically what it was. He's still the stock-standard Speed 2/Courage 2 that you'd expect from a hero and has 6 wounds with the Rebel standard surging-white save. He surges to hit still, but with Marksman, he can turn any hit result into a crit result for every aim token he wishes to spend (though unless you're trying to get past Armor, turning your blanks into hits is probably a better use of Marksman). He still has the aforementioned Marksman and Tactical 1, which makes a move-shoot by Cassian really solid. He still has Danger Sense 3, which is . . . fine on defense (though it will often mean that he might be suppressed when it's his turn to activate.

Cassian lost Loadout and Covert Ops - everyone did - but he functionally got the Operative status/Infiltrate that Covert Ops used to give him, and pairing that with the new keyword of Field Commander, he's FAR more useful in Recon games (trying to use him in skirmish with his previous card was a non-starter - believe me, I tried). He also picked up Sharpshooter 1, which isn't phenomenal, but it is useful when you have small dice pools (which Cassian does). Finally, he gained Equip: A280 - which is still a free upgrade, so you were already stapling it to him every time anyway. The A280 configs haven't changed - and I'd keep it in the pistol configuration 90% of the time since you can get up to range 3 with Long Shot and it has Pierce 1 standard with 2 red/1 black dice (and with Marksman and a move-shoot, it's not hard to get 3-hits-Pierce-1 with Sharpshooter-1 if that matters).

Okay, let's take a look at the upgrades you should take!

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: Clone Commandos

Good morning gamers,

We're back to reviewing profiles for Star Wars Legion - and with the updated cards dropped on the AMG website, we can be pretty confident that the unit we're looking at today, Clone Commandos, won't see massive changes in this new edition of the game. When Clone Commandos first dropped into the competitive scene, they were SUPER strong. Even after a drastic price hike that brought other Republic Support options into the discussion (most notably AT-RTs), Commandos are still a powerful force on the table, whether you run one squad, two squads, or three squads.

Clone Commandos: The Profile

Clone Commandos have a pretty normal Republic profile at first glance - 1 wound each, Courage 2, no-surge conversion on offense or defense, and speed 2. Like ARCs, they have limited numbers (4 models, no extras) but each guy has 2 attack dice (2 black in melee, 1 black/1 white at range 1-2 with suppressive). However, between their specialized gear (which will consume both their Gear and Armament slots every time because they are required/free) and their special rules, these guys might be pricier than ARCs, but I think they're always worth taking.

They have a wealth of special rules that help them out on defense - they have Equip: Katarn Pattern Armor, which forces them to take the Katarn Pattern Armor at no extra cost to reduce the results of a defense result to only suffering 1 wound instead of what they would have gotten. This upgrade is an Expend piece, so you only get a do-over once (so best if you have other ways of funnelling off damage). They also have Shielded 1 and Recharge 1, so they will start with a shield token to absorb a hit/crit result from a shooting attack and can reactivate it by performing a Recover action (which they are likely to do every turn). While not explicitly a defensive keyword, Infiltrate allows them to deploy as a free action anywhere within your deployment zone, which means they can appear behind fat rocks or a barricade to give them cover and hopefully manage their incoming fire.

On offense, they have Target 1 - and if these guys are getting orders every turn, having an aim token that can be shared with other Clones or used to improve their impressive dice pools is pretty sweet. They also have their free config, which isn't a special rule, but does give them a range 3-4 1 red die attack pool that has High Velocity when everyone is using it and Lethal 1 if at least one guy is using it (so you can use that aim token from Target 1 to add Pierce 1 to your attack results instead of rerolling failed dice). Alternatively, you can flip the card over at the start of your activation to have a 2 black range 1-2 gun that has Impact 1 for each gun using it and Scatter. The Impact doesn't usually matter against units that can be Scattered, but having the flexibility of tackling armored targets with up to Impact 4 or moving multi-model trooper squads out of cover/into charge range of a friendly unit can be pretty helpful.