The latest version of the Star Wars™: Legion Rules Reference is now online! This update comes as players from around the globe are preparing for the World Championships at Adepticon 2020 from March 25-29 and contains the usual refinements and clarifications that come with a rules update. Learn more about these changes directly from developer Luke Eddy in the paragraphs below and download the new Rules Reference to see all the changes for yourself!

Hello, Legion players!

Whether you’re playing or tuning in to watch live, I hope everyone is excited for the upcoming Star Wars: Legion World Championships, I certainly am! Ahead of that event, and the upcoming release of new units for the Clone Wars factions, we’re proud to release an update to the Star Wars: Legion rules reference document. I’d like to take a few minutes to walk you through a couple of the important changes in this update.

As a game developer, a living rules reference is an amazing tool at our disposal. It allows us to add exciting new content, make necessary rules changes, rebalance existing units, and clarify interactions that the community has questions about. As the players, you reap the benefits of a constantly evolving and improving game experience. The strength of Legion as a game system is the simplicity of its core mechanics working alongside the complexity of its strategies and interactions; with this in mind, there are several minor but substantive changes in this update that will have a significant impact on the game, but might be easy to miss on a casual reading of the updated rules reference.

The two most important changes will affect two of the most popular units: Shoretroopers and Tauntaun Riders.  Both of these units are hugely successful in that they play into archetypal strategies of their respective factions. Shoretroopers and their DF-90 mortars bolster an Imperial gun line–outranging their opponents and forcing them to cross a deadly no-man’s land while the Shoretroopers hold their position and take aimed shots.

Meanwhile, Tauntaun Riders take the fight up close and personal and are the epitome of the Rebel’s close quarters combat tactics, which we’ve seen previously embodied by units like Luke Skywalker and Sabine Wren. The strategies Shoretroopers and Tauntaun Riders employ is not an issue, but the effectiveness with which they accomplish these strategies, however, is too efficient. We’ve found that these units are punching above their class and, consequently, this update will remove the most abused aspect of each of these units, making them feel fairer on the battlefield.

The upgrade card Comms Relay has been errata’d so that it can be equipped only by non-emplacement trooper units. For anyone familiar with Shoretrooper strategies, this targeted change breaks up the coordinate keyword/Comms Relay order chain. This interaction was known in testing, but we didn’t anticipate the degree to which it would be efficiently leveraged in competitive play.

The other targeted change is an update to the creature trooper engagement rules—now creature troopers must withdraw to exit a melee with another trooper. They must use their entire activation and perform a speed-1 move; the only exception is that they can still perform free actions and therefore use abilities like Reposition and Relentless. While still possessing a powerful alpha strike, this means that Tauntaun Riders must carefully consider their targets and cannot freely move from one engagement to another. To make this change easier for players to remember, emplacement troopers will also have these same withdraw rules, meaning that all troopers must withdraw but those with a notched base may also perform free actions when doing so.

As astute players will note, these changes are indirect and target only specific aspects of these units; this is intentional as we try to avoid errata to cards—and especially unit cards—whenever possible. We will continue to keep a close eye on these units, and the changes in this update don’t preclude more direct changes in the future to the efficiency of the units themselves. In addition, Shoretroopers and Tauntaun Riders will be carefully evaluated later this year when we release our next competitive points rebalance.

Fresh Orders

While reading through the updated document, which I would encourage all players to do, you’ll also encounter many sections that have simply had their wording updated to convey a rule more clearly, without actually changing how the game is played. Amongst these, however, are several other quality of life changes that I’d like to specifically call to players’ attention as they’re minor changes but have a significant impact on various aspects of the game.

• To further align the creature trooper and emplacement trooper movement rules, emplacement troopers can now reverse, and creatures cannot climb or clamber.
• In additional to a distance of speed-1, units with the Detachment keyword must also deploy within height one of their parent unit.
• Players can no longer “lock” a notched base mini in place (such that it cannot pivot) by placing another minis’ notches or base within the notch of the first mini’s base.
• The Bounty and Secret Mission keywords no longer interact in any way; their respective requirements for gaining a victory token function essentially as is described on unit cards.
• When a unit leader is displaced, they’re placed at speed-1 of their original position, rather than at range 1.
• Players can now premeasure with a movement tool at any time. The skill of Legion is found in its strategy, and it’s not intended to have “gotcha” moments were a player misjudges distance after already committing to an action. However, to keep players from spending too much time premeasuring, only 1 movement tool and/or 1 range tool may be used at a time.
• We’ve added an additional section describing the concept of margin of error and how players should resolve movement issues that arise from the physical nature of a minis game.
• In addition to Comms Relay, two other upgrade cards have had minor errata. Commanding Presence now specifies range “1–4” (as opposed to merely range 4). And Wedge Antilles now simply allows a vehicle to pivot as a free action.
• Lastly, the Team Battle rules have been updated to allow players to issue orders to their teammate’s units. This will allow Chewbacca’s command cards to really shine, as well as add another layer of strategy for the Clone Wars factions that rely heavily on being issued orders for their respective abilities.

I hope whatever faction or army archetype you play, this update improves your Star Wars: Legion experience. Thanks so much for playing our game and being a part of the awesome Legion community!

Download the new Star Wars: Legion Rules Reference now to read the entire update. As always, game rules, tournament regulations, and other support materials can be found on our Star Wars: Legion page.