Star Wars Legion: Stormtrooper Tactics
Stormtroopers are the shock troops of the Empire and the basic unit of Imperial armies in Legion. Let’s take a look at how to get the most out of them.
Currently, in Star Wars Legion every Imperial force is going to include some Stormtroopers. They form the basis of all Imperial armies and going forward will continue to be a staple of the Empire’s forces. Getting the most out of your Stormtroopers is going to be a big key to winning any game of Legion, so let’s talk about how to do that.
The Basics
Stormtroopers serve as an excellent mirror to the Rebel Troopers we talked about last time. Whereas the Rebel troopers are fragile, Stormtroopers are tough and tanky. A red defense die gives them a 50% chance to shrug off any hit. They are slightly more expensive than their Rebel counterparts at 44 points for 4, or 11 points each, and also can add both a 5th trooper and a heavy weapon trooper. While they can tank hits, their significant weakness is their gun. The E-11 Blaster Rifle has 1-3 range, which is solid but only uses white dice, making it very inaccurate. An offensive surge and Precise, which ups the effect they get from Aim tokens help to mitigate this, but they still lack in the offense department.
Advance and Take Ground
While the Stormtroopers may not be the most killy unit in the Imperial arsenal, they do fill a great role in taking and holding objectives. Thanks to their armor they can survive attacks even in the open. This means that running them across open ground to secure an objective isn’t suicide for them. Moreover, once they get on an objective, they can are pretty hard to dislodge. This fits the overall Imperial theme; they aren’t about sulking in the shadows like Rebel scum. The Empire rules the galaxy and Stormtroopers are proud to stride across their conquered worlds.
Should you find your Stormtroopers outgunned close combat is also a valid tactic for them. While Rebel infantry can out shoot them, in combat both units roll black dice, and the Stormtroopers better armor and offensive surge will give them a decisive edge. Don’t fear to use these troops to storm an enemy position, that is after all how they get their name.
Heavy Support
How you outfit your troopers is going to determine a lot about how you use them. Stormtroopers have access to two heavy weapons.
The DLT-19 adds some extra, mobile, anti-tank firepower into a Stormtrooper squad. It’s two red dice make it about as deadly on average as four regular troopers, and its extra range doesn’t hurt. It also gives the attack Impact 1 meaning its great for putting a bit of hurt on enemy armor, such as the nimble AT-RTs. At 24 points it’s affordable, only slightly double the cost of a Stormtrooper for more than double the firepower. If you want to beef up a squad and keep it mobile for taking objective its a great option.
The HH-12 is the other heavy weapon available to Stormtroopers and boy does it pack a punch! With three black dice and impact three, this weapon will put the hurt on any target but is especially useful for tackling enemy armor. Unfortunately, it has a couple of big downsides. It’s got a minimum range of 2, meaning it can’t hit close targets, and worse Cumbersome means it can’t move and fire either. On top of that, you have to exhaust the card to use it, mean you’ve got a spend actions to be able to fire with it. All of this means not only will a unit with an HH-12 most likely not be moving much, but it also may not be aiming much. Still, this is an excellent weapon for a squad that plans to sit on an objective in your backfield and throw fire down range.
Upgrades!
Targeting Scopes is a great little upgrade that boosts your units aim tokens. This is upgrade seems a natural fit for Stormtroopers as it increases their nature Precise 1 to Precise 2, thus allowing them to reroll four dice per aim token. That much rerolling can make even E-11s deadly. Give this to a squad that plans to sit back, take careful aim and shot up the enemy; it makes a good combo with a DLT-19 for extra firepower.
Grappling Hooks is a cheap card. Outside of that its usefulness is dependent on the kind of terrain you are using. Since it doesn’t cost an action of its own to use there is very little reason, other than a couple of points, not to take it.
Grenades
Concussion Grenades allow your unit to ignore cover at range one. While this ability can be nifty, it’s not all that great. Whats much more important is that it gives the unit black dice, which is a big upgrade from their white dice. If you are fighting a lot of Rebels who are always in cover it can be a good option, but for me the better one is:
Like Concussion Grenades, Impact Grenades give you an extra rule at close range and a black dice. Impact is, however, a much more useful rule for Imperial making them very deadly to vehicles at close range. Since the keywords for the Grenade stack and unit of 4 troopers, all attack with the grenades would get impact four making them very deadly to armor. There is a role in most armies for a fast moving squad with impact grenades to hunt enemy armor at close range. Since you want to get close anyway, Grenades are a great way to boost your attack dice and give you some helpful extra rules.
Final Thoughts
Stormtroopers are a tough unit that excels at taking and holding objectives. While they may not have the native firepower of the Rebels, they face the right upgrades can add a lot to them. Equipped with Grenades at close range they become deadlier than the Rebels, while still being resistance to attacks. Focusing your squad builds on certain roles will help. Give squads HH-12s or targeting scopes for sitting on objectives or DLT-19s and Concussion Grenades for running forward and taking the fight to the enemy. Either way, properly equipped and played your Stormtroopers will help solidify Imperial rule across the galaxy.
Let us know how you use Stormtroopers in Star Wars Legion, down in the comments!
