Star Wars: Legion Test Play

Went to my friendly local gaming store with the boys recently to check out Star Wars:  Legion.  Here's my brief review based on a test play recreating the Battle of Endor.  The Empire and the Rebel Alliance clash over control of the bunker housing the new Death Star's field generator.

The forces:
- The Empire had two fire teams' worth of storm troopers, a three-vehicle unit of speeder bikes, and Darth Vader.
- The Rebel Alliance had two fire teams' worth of troopers, an open-topped mini-walker (like an AT-ST, but smaller), and Luke Skywalker.

The two sides seek cover and exchange fire.  The speeder bike trio, partially obscured by the tree trunk at left, advances on the Rebel flank.



The Rebel troops exchange fire with the storm troopers.

The speeder bike trio has already been reduced by Rebel fire, and then Skywalker jumps out and cuts down the remaining bike.

Skywalker seizes the initiative and jumps into melee combat with the nearest storm trooper unit, wiping them out.  You can see that the storm trooper team to the right of Vader has taken casualties from accurate Rebel fire.





Skywalker, however, proved no match for dear old dad.  Vader closed the distance and promptly cut Luke down.

Unfortunately for Vader, the rest of the Empire force has been destroyed by the combined weight of Rebel fire.  Now he has to brave the whole weight of Rebel blasters while closing the distance with the Rebel line.

Vader couldn't close the distance in time.  He almost made it, but a lucky streak from the Rebel firing line brought him down.

 

A quick run-down of my impressions:

- Unit activation runs on different command schemes that let a different type and number of units activate, and in different priority.  I generally liked it, and prefer it to 40k's system.
- The proprietary dice system is apparently a carryover concept from the X-Wing system.  It took a minute to get used to, but I thought it worked well from what I saw.

- The unit types played true to Star Wars orthodoxy.  Vader proved slow moving but a wrecking ball in melee combat.  Luke was more agile and still formidable, but unable to go toe-to-toe with his old man.  Rebels outshoot storm troopers but don't have the same armor and, hence, ability to soak up damage.

- I didn't get a chance to really ring out the possibilities that the vehicles might offer.  The small-ish board meant that the speed and flanking possibility of the speeder bikes weren't really in play.  And they proved surprisingly fragile in the face of Rebel fire.
- I'm not a fan of the scale of the miniatures.  The existing Star Wars miniatures used in the 28mm-ish Imperial Assault are much smaller than the Legion line.  For perspective, I'm of the mind that anything bigger than 20 or 25mm is ridiculous for anything primarily involving gunfire, and the 32mm/heroic scale figures in Legion go well beyond that.  I readily admit that they aren't as complex as 40k minis to assemble, and paint up quite beautifully.  I'm just not sold on the size, and was told that the AT-ST model will be as big as 7-11 Big Gulp cup.

Bottom Line:  While enjoyable and more nuanced than some other sci-fi fire team-based games, I personally didn't care for the large scale of the miniatures.  I don't plan to invest in the system, but won't be opposed to my boys getting in to it.