There was a lot to process with assembling the two newly released packs for Star Wars Legion. The Imperial and Rebel Officer and Agent expansions were immense. Lots of cards, lots of variations for the models and opening army lists, particularly for new players. While I had been slightly more impressed with the Imperial expansion over the Rebel version, I was very intrigued to see how they would both work on the battlefield.
I do need to mention that you will notice that my Imperial officer and agent are already painted. Like most painters, I have a long queue of models all vying for attention. Something about the sculpts, the customisation made me put these models right to the top of the pile, so much so that even before I had played with them for this review, I was getting the paints out. I’m not usually so quick with newly released models, but the new models coming out for Legion seem to be begging to be painted.
If you have seen my previous two reviews for these sets, you will know that I looked at the cards and models in those reviews. This review is very much focused on what the sets provide in terms of actual tabletop play. I sat down with my son – Charlie – ready to punish his puny rebellion to pieces (not literally, as that would be rather cruel to all those models!).
For both forces, we still used the recommended recon list from the starter set, took the leaders out and switched in the officers and agents. For the Imperials this meant my officer was leading with Academy Trained, Heavy Blaster Pistol and Command and Control Uplink. For my agent, I went a little crazy and armed her with Platoon Commander, Stun Baton, Combat Armour and Seeker Droid. All of this instead of Vader which also gave me three points to spare! My son for Rebels did the same – removed Luke and one Wookiee (and used the ‘other wookiee’ unit) – so he could gear his team up. His officer, he gave a Heavy Blaster Pistol, Thermal Detonator, Proven Tactician and Combat Armour. His agent was a lot more… er… conservative with Unseen Saboteur and that big – very big – Repeating Blaster. Oh, this was going to be interesting…
So how did the officers and agents do? Well, they performed exactly the same for each side. It’s strange to play with them, as my son and I are only just getting back into the game. We don’t have a huge number of extra units yet to choose, we have just swapped the provided leader with these two units. I liken it to Assassin’s Creed; you start with everything and then you get put back into your place to relearn it all. Here, we’ve used the best leaders, we have seen what they can do and now we get the lower grunts. They are not equals and they shouldn’t be. Both my son and I could see the limitations of these units, that they can’t just charge in and take a unit on, they have to be used far more carefully.
This might seem like I am saying that these aren’t units to use, that is far from the truth. The cheap costs and customisation allow these units to fit within whatever army you are building and allows you to take on different units rather than placing so many points on your commander. As more units become available to players, I can see that being a huge plus for having these units. I did notice without Vader, that I was really missing his command cards. The abilities are very powerful. Yet, my agent and commander were taking on my son’s units in round two. With Vader this is almost nigh on possible. My son didn’t seem to have much problem with his, but then Luke doesn’t seem quite as powerful as Vader.
With both of these sets, that we did kit out to the maximum, a lot of it all came down to the dice roll. I had some absolute dire rolls, as did Charlie. His heavy repeating blaster, on paper, seems powerful, but when he rolled, he only managed one hit! This is a game where dice rolls are so important. I realized with my commander that having him aim was crucial to making him more effective and help with those pesky dice. While the dice were frustrating, I had other units to help back me up and I wasn’t screaming in frustration at a 170-point unit missing an easy target. Having the officer and agent just helps to balance everything out a little.
I loved the building, the creation of these characters to use in their respective forces and now that Charlie and I have played with them I admire them even more. These aren’t the incredible leaders that the starter sets come with, they are your standard leaders, the ones that are just trying their best to get the job done. It is the customisation, the ability for you to work them in with your points to create a force that utilizes all the aspects of the game that are available. While I feel the Imperial set gives you a bit more in terms of model, in terms of game play, both these sets are even, which is the most important part. If – like us – you started with the starter sets, these next sets are essential for your growing army.
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