Star Wars Legion Unit Review: BARC Speeders

Good morning gamers,

A while ago, we covered Obi-Wan Kenobi and Phase I Clone Troopers - both of which come in the Clone Wars core set and both of which I love very, very much. Today we're (finally) covering the last of the elements of the core set, the BARC Speeder. This unit takes up a Support slot and originally "competed" with AT-RTs and Fluttercraft . . . but if we're honest, all three really compete with Clone Commandos now, in addition to the Corps and Special Forces options available to the Republic (which are all REALLY good options).

Because a vanilla Clone Trooper Infantry squad (or an ARC Trooper Strike Team) costs about as much as a BARC Speeder, it's been very tempting for me to just go with the infantry squads and skip these guys altogether. It's taken me a long time to like these guys, but I think they do have a place in some Republic lists. Let's take a look at the profile and see what makes these vehicles special . . .

BARC Speeders: The Profile

BARC Speeders got a points increase with the new edition and start at 65 points - and as you can see in the image below, running them without upgrades is a perfectly fine thing to do. BARCs only have two upgrade slots - and if you don't take a crew upgrade, you'll have a Speed 3 speeder. Unlike Speeder Bikes, STAP Riders, and Swoop Bikes, however, a BARC Speeder is a single-model Support unit, which limits its firepower when compared to these other units (unless you take a crew upgrade - in which case, you'll be slower than the other speeder units).

Four perfectly defensible loadouts for your BARCs - 65-99pts
Photo Credit: LegionHQ

BARCs are speeders, so naturally their distinctives from other Republic Support options include Speeder 1 (allowing them to go over terrain up to height 1 and they get a compulsory move at the start or end of their activation) and Cover 1 (which is great when cover is harder to get). While Cover 1 is all nice and good (it really means that you always have light cover - assuming your opponent doesn't have Sharpshooter or Blast), it's the Speeder 1 that's the real gem here. Since Speeder 1 gives you a free move action, even a Speed 2 BARC Speeder with a crew upgrade can move pretty far if it performs three move actions. In the main, your weapons are going to be Fixed: Front, so having the flexibility to take that compulsory move at the beginning of your activation (if you don't have your intended target in your forward arc) or at the end of your activation (if you can already see the target and want to get away) is really nice. Depending on your crew upgrade, however, you  might need to have your target in the forward arc - but it certainly helps.

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: Yoda

Good morning gamers,

Today, we're turning our attention to the little green man (well, alien dude) who is easily the most powerful Jedi in the prequel trilogy: Yoda. I got started with Obi-Wan and tried out Yoda with a proxy in one game before I was like, "Wow, this guy plays REALLY differently from Obi-Wan!" Sure, you can use Force Barrier and spam out dodge tokens with both of them, but if you want to have someone who can sit back OR fight competently, you want Yoda. If you want some command cards with both power and longevity, you want Yoda. If your opponent plans to head-hunt your characters . . . you probably want Yoda in that matchup too. So let's dig in and find out what this guy is all about!

Yoda: The Profile

There are three Force Users currently available to the Republic in Star Wars Legion: Obi-Wan Kenobi (who we've already viewed), Anakin Skywalker (who I don't have any plans of getting any time soon), and Yoda (who is really fun to use). We've had a preview (just concept stuff) for generic Jedi models that can be added to ARC Troopers and ARF Troopers (probably more on them at the start of 2025) and Ahsoka (Commander and Operative versions), but for now, your Jedi options for the Republic are Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Yoda. If you just go off what we know about these guys in the films, you'd expect Yoda to be a powerhouse character and clearly better than the other two. Yoda is probably the better choice overall, but there are trades that you have to make when taking him.

Two possible load-outs for Yoda: 230-245pts
Photo Credit: Legion HQ

First with the pros: Yoda is Courage 4 instead of your named-Republic-hero-standard of 3 and has surge for Crit and Blockinnate in his profile (with the stereotypical red defense die for Force Users). With a solid lightsaber attack (4 red dice with Impact 2/Pierce 2 and surge for crit) and a Force Wave range 1-2 attack (4 black dice with Blast/Suppressive), Yoda has some excellent options for dealing damage, getting all his actions, keeping his units from pannicking, and just generally resisting damage.

Like all Force Users, his lightsaber gives him Immune: Pierce and while about half of the Force Users in the game have Master of the Force 1, Yoda has Master of the Force 2 (which is only available at the moment on Count Dooku and Emperor Palpatine). While this isn't innately better than Master of the Force 1, being able to reset two of your exhausted Force upgrades at the end of your activation is awesome and gives you a lot more play in what upgrades to take.

Top 5 Empire Units (for Legion II)

Good morning gamers

This is Gorgoroth, and I am here to talk about my top 5 Empire units for the updated Legion. Now if you read my other post about my top 5 Empire units, you will know that I specialize in this department in not just words, but humor. However, that was before all the rules changed, so then I realized that I was spreading pure lies to all you good folks who read our stupid stuff (Ed. it's not stupid, you rapscallion! ~Tiberius). 

So, since I felt bad about that, I have returned to do it again while the rules are still new and so I can show you awesome strategies while everybody is still learning. So, lets jump in starting at number 5 which is of course.....

Pick #5: Shoretroopers

Photo Credit: Tabletop Admiral

These guys were always awesome when I ran them and they are, not surprisingly, still awesome. They are still the only Empire Corps unit with black dice on their guns and they picked up Prepared Positions which gives them a dodge token when they deploy and lets them deploy without spending an action. They are at Speed 1 now but are still red dice defenders which gives them the leg up. Now that I have poured out my heart on these guys, I need to address their heavy weapon which is in my opinion the most awesome weapon in the game (no offense, Vader. Darth Vader: "None (wheeze) taken (wheeze).") So yeah, they are really awesome but do you know what is even more awesome? Moving On!

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: LAAT/LE Patrol Transport, Part II

Good morning gamers,

Last time, we looked at the LAAT/LE Patrol Transport in Republic lists and today we're looking at what appears to be the same unit but in Empire lists. While the Comms and Ordnance upgrades are the same, the Empire list itself and the Pilot options available to the Empire changes how useful a LAAT is (and how it's played) dramatically. We're going to begin by going back over the profile - if you read the Republic post, much of this will sound familiar . . .

LAAT/LE Patrol Transport: The Profile

LAATs are Heavy unit choices and like most heavy options, they have Armor 5 (slapping the first five hit results in the attack pool is basically like what full armor was, though big dice pools are likely to get some hits past Armor 5 - but more on that later). Armor X is one of those keywords that's so powerful, that there are OTHER keywords specifically designed to counter it (the Impact keyword, which turns Hits into Crits, and the Critical keyword, which turns surge results into Crits). While LAATs are probably one of the least popular full armor units in the game, they have some of the best supporting keywords alongside the Armor X keyword.

Three logical LAAT layouts, running you 116-133pts
Photo Credit: LegionHQ

LAATs also have Cover 1, which will remove 1 Hit result before keywords like Impact are applied - super useful. They're also Immune to Blast (so you can't take their Cover 1 away), Melee weapons (so you don't have to worry about Jedi slamming you with 6+ dice and loads of Pierce/Impact), and Range 1 weapons (which includes all grenades - one of which has Impact). It's important to note that most weapons with Blast happen to be Range 1 weapons, but for the few that aren't (Bunker Buster Shells, the MPL Barrage Trooper, and the B2-HA Trooper), you're immune to those too. With a white defense die and defensive surges, any damage that does make it through is probably going to be successful in wounding you (especially if Pierce is present), but you'll be shrugging off most of the dice that are thrown your way.

Legion review: Legion is a Whole New Game

 Good Morning gamers!

This is Gorgoroth here and I am about to talk about the new Legion redo. 

So there I was, watching on a phone as Legion1 changed into Legion2. And I was thinking," I collect an army and make an amazing strategy for Legion1 and the game changes on me? This does not bode well for my luck expectancy." So I decided to try the new game and I really want to share my experience with you on how that went. 

1. Clone commandos are still OP (ugh);
2. Since I don't roll white dice particularly well I didn't have good cover...and everybody who plays Legion knows how that feels (double ugh); and
3. Since I couldn't kill Obi-wan Kenobi or Padme or that unmistakably annoying Fives's squad, I.. got my butt kicked and I admit this in shame and complete honesty.

And I have only have only 11 letters to say to this...keep Playing. This game has its pros and cons and some pros, like a certain three that I'll mention a little bit later, are definitely worth playing for. So let's just cut the drama and just roll into number 1.

1. Sniping is easier, since you roll extra defense dice for cover instead of gaining automatic block for cover there is a pretty good chance you hit with a rifle and if that sounds bad to you, you can find comfort in that sniper rifles except for the clone commando rifles (which is totally unfair) cost like 10 points more.
2. An extra 200 points, so that you can buy your leader, punch, and bodies and still have room for all your favorite toys that make this game worth playing like Cad Bane who is undeniably, particularly, awesome. This is also really nice if you play shoretroopers who are good but expensive. A few extra points to field them is always welcome.
3. There can be a legion, since there is this new upgrade that can add a bunch of bodies, which can add up to a bunch of bullets in your opponent's face. This is also really nice if you need to just hold an objective all game because you will know you are never going down.

So if you need some encouragement to keep playing, just remember that no matter what happens, this is still a game of legion. And I can't end this post better than that so here ends my post and may the Force be with you.

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: LAAT/LE Patrol Transport, Part I

Good morning gamers,

The past few posts have been about Wookiees - mostly in the Republic faction, but we also looked at their applications in Rebel factions. When I first considered getting Wookiees (especially the melee-oriented Noble Fighter variants), I was like, "Man, I need a way to get these guys into combat before they lose someone!" Naturally, as a Republic player, this meant buying one thing: a LAAT/LE Patrol Transport (hereafter LAAT - though I traditionally refer to it as the "battle Orca" because of my painting scheme).

<my LAAT>

No, this thing doesn't look like the LAATs that we get in Attack of the Clones - it's a patrol transport variant that looks far more at home in a hangar full of TIE Fighters than amongst Clone combat gear. LAATs, like Wookiees, are multi-faction and can be fielded by both the Republic and the Empire. Today's post will be focused on the use of LAATs in the Republic and we'll pick up the topic for the Empire next time. Let's see what this thing can do . . .

Yeah, when you say LAAT, this is what I think of . . .

LAAT/LE Patrol Transport: The Profile

LAATs are Heavy unit choices and like most heavy options, they have Armor 5 (slapping the first five hit results in the attack pool is basically like what full armor was, though big dice pools are likely to get some hits past Armor 5 - but more on that later). Armor X is one of those keywords that's so powerful, that there are OTHER keywords specifically designed to counter it (the Impact keyword, which turns Hits into Crits, and the Critical keyword, which turns surge results into Crits). While LAATs are probably one of the least popular full armor units in the game, they have some of the best supporting keywords alongside the Armor X keyword.

A very traditional - and a very untraditional - LAAT build for the Republic - 119-125pts
Photo Credit: LegionHQ

LAATs also have Cover 1, which will remove 1 Hit result before keywords like Impact are applied - super useful. They're also Immune to Blast (so you can't take their Cover 1 away), Melee weapons (so you don't have to worry about Jedi slamming you with 6+ dice and loads of Pierce/Impact), and Range 1 weapons (which includes all grenades - one of which has Impact). It's important to note that most weapons with Blast happen to be Range 1 weapons, but for the few that aren't (Bunker Buster Shells, the MPL Barrage Trooper, and the B2-HA Trooper), you're immune to those too. With a white defense die and defensive surges, any damage that does make it through is probably going to be successful in wounding you (especially if Pierce is present), but you'll be shrugging off most of the dice that are thrown your way.

Star Wars Legion Unit Review: Wookiee Warriors, Part II

Good morning gamers,

Today we're covering the other Wookiee Warrior profile: the Kashyyyk Defenders (or Kashyyyk Resistance if you're playing with the Rebels). When I first looked at the two Wookiee profiles, I was like, "Well, the Noble Fighters are just better." In many ways, I still think that's true - but while the offensive capabilities of the Kashyyyk Defenders/Resistance are slightly dampened, they provide a slightly different (and overall quite useful) support capability for their Wookiee comrades. Let's see what they can do . . .

Wookiee Warriors, Kashyyyk Defenders: The Profile

While I think the Heavy Weapon choices are the only "essentials," there are actually quite a few good upgrades for these guys
Photo Credit: Legion HQ

The Kashyyyk Defender variant trades the melee-oriented rules of Charge and Duelist to gain the shooting-oriented rule Sharpshooter 1. There are other Special Forces units with Sharpshooter available to the Republic and Rebel Alliance (ARC Troopers, Rebel Commandos, and their Strike Team variants), so Wookiee Warriors aren't unique in this respect. However, with cover giving an additional save now (and an encouragement to have lots of terrain on the board to take advantage of this), having Sharpshooter of some kind is a way to make sure that you have a better chance of getting your hard-earned hits through the cover and onto your opponent. Defensively, Kashyyyk Defenders only differ from the Noble Fighters in that they don't have Duelist  - they still have just 3 Wounds, a white defense die, and no surge for block.

Kashyyyk Defenders are a bit more expensive than their Noble Fighter brothers (72pts instead of 69pts, which translates into 1pt more per model), and whether the extra point to get Sharpshooter and lose Charge/Duelist is worth it is anyone's guess (I think the Noble Fighters are slightly better because they cost marginally less, but you're welcome to think differently). These guys still have Courage 2 and Indomitable, which changes what kinds of upgrades you might be willing to take.