So far, we've talked with seven of the participants in the 2019 Star Wars™: Legion World Championships, getting their insights into their armies, strategies, and plans for the Clone Wars factions. Today, our countdown concludes as we talk with World Champion Luke Cook and hear about his championship list and what units he's playing now!

How does it feel to be the very first Star Wars: Legion World Champion?

I am not going to lie, it is pretty cool to have had the opportunity to play at Worlds and then also to win it all. As a native Buffalonian, I know what it’s like to lose a lot, so it felt really good to bring home a World Championship to our city!

What are some of your memories from Worlds? Do any games in particular stand out to you?

The best memories from Worlds, were just hanging with all the guys at dinner and in the hotel room playing Star Wars™: Outer Rim. I think one of the greatest moments from all my games would be in the semifinal match with Eric Riha, when Palpatine decided to blow himself up trying to lightning Boba Fett and Boba refused to take any damage with his Mandalorian armor.

Tell me a bit about your Worlds list. What were you going for with it? 

The Worlds meta is a lot different than what we see now. Back then it was really focused on efficiency. In my Worlds list I have my focus piece, Boba Fett, who can claim objectives and make big plays. A solid commander in Veers, who can really support the army well. The six DLT Stormtrooper units who make up the beef of the army and create my gunline. And then three crackshot sniper strike teams, who support from the back and can pick off lone unit leaders and such.

Was there anything about the meta you were responding to when you put your list together?

One of the things that was interesting in the meta at the time was bringing medics, who could heal your focus pieces, or bring back those really important second strike team models. However, I ultimately decided not to bring any medics because I didn’t want to drop upgrades or a DLT heavy weapon. What’s interesting is I happened to be the only one not running a medic. Another big part of my list was running a 7 point bid, which I think was the perfect call and I was able to predict everyone else’s bid very well. This gave me the choice to be blue player in every game except for one, in which Matthew Kissh was running the same 7 point bid with his Palpatine list.

How much time do you dedicate to practicing Legion and testing different lists?

I try to play at least 1 game a week kicking my dad’s butt in the basement. I am on the forums, discord groups, and facebook group daily. Keeping in touch with the community is very important, because you can take ideas from others that you think are good or you can ask questions and theorycraft with other great players. I would say I have played in a total of about 25-30 Legion tournaments, from local 12 person tourneys to 64 person tournaments at conventions. Playing in tournaments has really helped improve my game. It’s a great way to get 3-4 matches in on a single day, as well as really test your ideas and strategies. I recommend anyone who wants to play competitively to go to their LFGS and play in tournaments.

Did any units in your list perform particularly well?

Boba Fett was the real MVP throughout the tournament. The threat of the bounty victory point and his mobility can really place pressure on your opponent.

Did you experiment with any variations of your list before the tournament?

Yes! I had done some things to try and fit a medic in and such, but ultimately chose to run what I did. One thing that I had added to my list was the Recon Intel upgrade to a few units of my Stormtroopers. This helped me get them into position quicker and setup and first turn coordinated fire if my opponent deployed very aggressively.

What approach do you take to new units being released? Do you test them out?

Usually we will proxy things as the information is revealed to us through the articles and when they first come out, it’s the new hotness to try and test out how they work and what they pair well with. One of my favorite parts of Legion is list building and trying to come up with that new combo that people haven’t seen yet.

Do you have any favorite Clone Wars units?

My new favorite unit in the game is Dooku. His cards and abilities are really fun and have great control over not only what you can do, but also what the opponent does as well. Dooku paired with his minion, General Grievous is a really fun list to play! The horde behind them is also awesome. Dropping 48 models on the table of battle droids is so thematic.

Are you looking forward to any Clone Wars units?

The new heavy tank units for both Republic and Separatists look really cool. I can’t wait to try and build lists with those two units. The iconic models really grab people’s attention in a store or convention. When someone sees me or anyone playing an AT-ST it really pulls them over to check out the game which I love.