Star Wars: Legion/Tactics/Rebels
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Contents
Why Play Rebels
Pros
- Better infantry shooting.
- Cheaper units on average.
- Cassian Andor
- You have Luke Skywalker, arguably one of the best all-around characters in the game
- Overall, one of the strongest and most competitive armies that make it to tournaments. The rebels have many abilities that both let you keep your troops on objectives, and improve their survivability.
Cons
- Literally everything in your army (with the exceptions of Luke and Mando units like Sabine) has white defense dice. literally. everything. Yes even the Airspeeder...This means that your troops are among the weakest in the game. Droids at least have the bodies to compensate. A 5+ and 6+ save aren't that different.
- You will often be relying on your commanders and keywords for dodge tokens, because using an action to dodge is questionable, at best, and a lot of units need them.
- You will almost always find yourself fielding either too much, or too little Anti-Tank in your lists, and find it equally punishing.
- Your Corp choices aren't necessarily bad, but are still lacking. Rebel DLTs and naked troopers are most used.
- You're technically terrorists. Freedom fighters, too, granted, but the point stands.
- Your competitive lists are very linear, as most of your units aren't efficient enough in the current meta.
- You have the worst heavy unit options in the game, and half of your special forces just really don't exist, competitively.
- A surprising amount of your units are overcosted, in general. like how Wookies cost nearly as much as Mandalorians with a massive power gap between the two.
Units
Commanders
1-2 Selections
The focal point of you army they often have game changing abilities.
Luke Skywalker
The Rebel Alliance's only Jedi, he represents Luke as he was around the time of The Empire Strikes Back. So he's a pretty heavy hitter but he is not at the level of the actual Jedi or Sith that the other factions can field.
Upgrade Cards
Force Upgrades (x2 Slots)
Unaligned Powers
Battle Meditation (10 pts.) - When you issue orders, you can give one of those orders to a friendly unit anywhere on the battlefield, even if it's not normally allowed by the Command Card. Can be pretty situational, but if you have a unit or two that you desperately want to give orders to, this is how. Generally though, giving those units HQ Uplinks or Long-Range Comlink is probably better.
Force Guidance (10 pts.) - As a free action, exhaust this to give one Surge Token to up to two units within range 1-2. If you really want surge tokens, here you go. Rebels have a lot of built-in surges already, so this upgrade's not quite as useful as it is in the Clone Wars-era armies.
Force Push (10 pts.) - As a free action, exhaust this to choose an enemy unit at range 1 and make it do a speed 1 move. A solid choice to help Luke get into melee, or push an enemy squad into an FD or Fleet Trooper standby range.
Force Reflexes (15 pts.) - As a free action, exhaust this to gain one Dodge token. You want this, since you need Dodge tokens to trigger Deflect.
Saber Throw (10 pts.) - allows you to make a ranged attack with one of you melee weapons at range 1-2, using half of that weapon's dice (rounded up). For Luke, it'll be doing 3 black with Pierce 2 and Impact 2. Just use the pistol. It's red dice, with pierce 2 and surge to crit. The impact doesn't matter at that point.
Light-side Powers
Hope (3 pts.) - Gain Inspire 1, allowing you to remove up to 1 suppression token from a friendly trooper unit at range 1-2, after your rally step every turn. Not terrible, and if you have a spare 3 points and a slot available, there are worse things do to with them. But there are other powers that are probably more useful if you can afford them. If you're taking a suppression heavy list, like one with Pathfinders, this may be more useful.
Jedi Mind Trick (5 pts.) - As a free action, exhaust this to place 2 suppression tokens on one enemy unit within range 1-2. This is kind of situational, but also generally good. A free action that will usually give enough suppression to suppress most units, outside of characters, is nice.
Gear Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token. You don't really want Luke standing around trying to do a General Veers impression.
Emergency Stims (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. Hopefully this lets a unit survive to shoot one more time. It isn't necessary, but nice to have.
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain. Jump 1 exists, so nah. Don't take this.
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds. Again, Jump should help here and this is largely unnecessary.
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy. Not a bad choice- it's super cheap and gets Luke slightly closer to the enemy.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token. You won't be getting many aim tokens, so don't bother with this one.
Command Cards
1 Pip: Son of Skywalker - Nominating only Luke, after Luke performs his first attack, he may perform one additional attack.
A-freaking-mazing. There is no other character, save for Darth Vader, who can put out this much attack potential in one turn. Since this is free action right after he attacks, it is even considered superior to Darth's 2nd attack ability since he has to shuffle his order back into the pool, meaning Luke has more damage output in dire situations. This will delete most units in the game, if not cripple them beyond repair.
2 Pip: My ally is the Force - Nominating 2 troopers, whenever a friendly trooper is issued an order, it gains 1 dodge token.
This card blends nicely with a few units. Rebel troopers need a dodge token to utilize their nimble keyword, and key units may also need the token to survive another round. This also works with Han and Chewie's teamwork keyword, because giving the dodge token to one will give one to the other, as well. Note that this isn't limited to the orders given from the card, though. HQ uplinks and coordinate effects also benefit from this bonus (Veterans, for example).
3 Pip: Return of the Jedi - Nominating Luke Skywalker and 2 units, when Luke Skywalker is issued an order, he gains 1 dodge token. When Luke Skywalker activates, each friendly trooper unit at range 1-3 of him may remove 1 suppression token.
Luke loves dodge tokens because of the deflect ability. The suppression removal is also amazing for your troops, and can help better manage suppression on units that rely on it (Pathfinders). Overall a great command card.
Tactics
Luke can take two Force upgrades- Reflexes, Push, and Jedi Mind Trick are fantastic choices, but what you take will probably depend on your style of play. Unlike other Jedi and Sith, however, he notably lacks the "Master of the Force" rule, which allows free recovery of exhausted Force powers, meaning you have to carefully plan how and when you use the Force powers that are exhaustible.
He is equipped with his father's lightsaber, an elegant weapon for a more civilized age. 6 black dice and surge to crit is deadly, but can be best combined with his "Son of Skywalker" command card to effectively delete any non-heavy unit in the game. He also carries a DL-44 Blaster Pistol, with range 2, 2 red dice, and Pierce 2. A solid option if you don't think you can get into melee, but, honestly, you shouldn't be using this weapon all too often. Jump 1 and Charge make the OG aggressive saber user.
A key to fielding Luke is correctly using his Commands. The two and three pip cards give him dodge tokens and help your otherwise fragile mooks out. The third gives him one round of brutal enemy slaughtering power. Having Leia or an Officer chaperone Luke and drop Dodge tokens on him may help as well. His immunity to pierce and the deflect rule make him the most resilient unit that Rebels have access to, outside of Sabine and Mandos. This further gives value to the two and three pip cards.
In summary, Luke is an impressive melee-oriented warrior in an army that is relatively fragile and not spectacular at melee. He can go toe-to-toe with just about any enemy in melee and still have a decent chance of surviving- even against Sith powerhouses like Darth Vader or Count Dooku.
Rebel Officer
Essentially a much cheaper, half-strength Leia Organa.
Upgrade Cards
Command Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Aggressive Tactics (10 pts.) - After issuing orders, give 1 surge token to up to 4 friendly units with a face-up order token. Not useful.
Commanding Presence (10 pts.) - When issuing orders, you can issue orders at range 1-4. Very situational.
Esteemed Leader (5 pts.) - Friendly trooper units at range 1 gain Guardian 1, helping you defend your points investment. Not at all worth it, like most other commanders.
Improvised Orders (10 pts.) - Exhaustible, but automatically readies in the end step. Draw 2, pick 1 token from your order pool. Generally a good option if none of the others speak to you and you can spare the points. 10 is a lot, though, so this will be rare.
Strict Orders (5 pts.) - Guarantees a trooper unit can remove a suppression when they activate, rather than leaving it to chance. Really good with the Officer's Inspire keyword.
Gear Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token. This is a support based commander, so not a bad choice.
Emergency Stims (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. Not worth it on such a low cost, expendable, commander.
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain. You're support based, so don't bother.
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds. Yet another upgrade for aggressive commanders. This, you are not.
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy. Not bad, for two points. Situationally good for the Officer.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token. Not at all worth it on your Officer, because he won't be shooting a ton, least of all aiming.
Command Cards
1 Pip: "Sabotaged Communications" - [1 Spec Ops or Operative] - your opponent issues one less order than their Command Card normally allows, to a minimum of 1. Note: not tied to the Officer, and may be issued by any Rebel Commander.
Meh. There's too many ways around this, and if your opponent uses a card that only issues to one unit, then it's wasted. Nearly useless against Confederacy.
2 Pip: "Turning the Tide" - [2 Support or Heavy] - each support or heavy unit gains Inspire 2. Note: not tied to the Officer, and may be issued by any Rebel Commander.
If you loaded up on gun turrets and speeders, suddenly your suppression tokens start vanishing. Note that it doesn't specify only the Supports/Heavies that were issued the orders, it's all of them. It's a shame our heavy options suck, currently. So this card is deceptively bad.
3 Pip: "Covering Fire" - [3 Corps] - when a friendly Corps unit makes a ranged attack, another friendly unit at range 1-2 may gain a Dodge token. Note: not tied to the Officer, and may be issued by any Rebel Commander.
A nice way of getting extra Dodge tokens onto your Nimble units, especially if you left Leia and the Rebel Officer at home. Overall a good card.
Tactics
As stated before, he's essentially the same as Leia but weaker and much cheaper. Best used in much the same role you'd use Leia, which is dishing out the Inspiration and Dodge tokens, and letting your more expensive characters like Sabine, Chewbacca, Jyn, and Luke whack things. Great for 50 points.
Leia Organa
The badass princess herself. She excels at "short-ranged sniper attacks," otherwise known as utilizing a pistol, while also greatly supporting other rebel units.
Upgrade Cards
Command Upgrades (x2 Slots)
Aggressive Tactics (10 pts.) - After issuing orders, give 1 surge token to up to 4 friendly units with a face-up order token. While not necessarily a bad option, There's also better ones. Surge tokens are nice, but usually not needed for Rebel units. Surge tokens generally matter more for red save units.
Commanding Presence (10 pts.) - When issuing orders, you can issue orders at range 1-4. Generally not the best option, either. Might be useful if you're using lots of Pathfinders, Commandos, and/or Speeders and are concerned about them getting out of range.
Esteemed Leader (5 pts.) - Friendly trooper units at range 1 gain Guardian 1, helping you defend your points investment. This used to be a common sight with Leia and can still be used to some good effect. Mildly recommended, but not absolutely necessary.
Improvised Orders (10 pts.) - Exhaustible, but automatically readies in the end step. Draw 2, pick 1 token from your order pool. This could help you draw that one fleet trooper squad, or FD cannon, or whatever else. Generally useful.
Strict Orders (5 pts.) - Guarantees a trooper unit can remove a suppression when they activate, rather than leaving it to chance. Leia already has Inspire 2 built in, but if you're facing a suppression-heavy army (like Empire with Palpatine and lots of mortars), this can be useful. Also helpful if you're using Jyn Erso and/or Pathfinders and want to keep their suppression under control.
Gear Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token. A pretty good choice since you'll probably want her gifting Dodge tokens as well. Leia is both shooty and support based, so this depends on what your balance between the two is.
Emergency Stims (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. It's not a bad upgrade. There might just be better options, and 8 points is a bit much.
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain. Only useful if you're playing on a table with lots of difficult terrain and desperately need Leia to be able to move.
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds. Like with Environmental Gear, it's only useful if you need to desperately move Leia. Otherwise, pass.
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy. Leia isn't really a front-line character like Luke or Sabine Wren. Unless you're going for a theme, pass.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token. Leia is probably the least selfish commander in the Rebel faction. Don't waste an action on aiming, let alone 6 points on this card.
Command Cards
1 Pip: "Coordinated Bombardment" - [Leia Organa] - At the end of Leia's activation, she calls in up to three long range bombardment strikes at two red dice each and with immunity to deflect.
It's got a very long minimum range of 4, so this is one you'll want to use early in the game or to pick off annoying snipers. Get rid of Limited Visibility, if you can, because it pretty much makes this card useless. Also note that since Leia is technically making the attack, her Sharpshooter 2 and innate critical surge also apply to the attack.
2 Pip: "No Time for Sorrows" - [2 Troopers] - When friendly units are issued orders, they can make a Speed-1 move.
This gives a little boost in movement for units which desperately need it. Fleets have trouble getting into range. Wookie need the extra boost. Mandos could benefit from this greatly, if they have the Duelist. It doesn't specify orders given from the card, either, so HQ uplinks and coordinate effects can also trigger this affect. It's a move (not a "move action"), so keywords like Relentless and Charge won't come into play but keywords like Agile and Tactical will. A deceptively useful ability.
3 Pip: "Somebody Has to Save Our Skins" - [Leia and 2 units] - After Leia activates, you may activate a friendly unit with a face-up Order Token within range 1-2 of her.
Lets you skip your enemy's activation once per battle. Can be useful in both delaying an inevitable nasty attack and in helping ensure you do damage where you really want to do it. Pathfinders in range and in trouble? Well, they can't be if the unit troubling them is dead.
Tactics
Leia is a rallying symbol for your army, literally inspiring her troops. Her Take Cover ability allows her to dish out Dodge tokens where needed, so Luke and your Nimble troops don't have to use an action to get one on their own. She's got a tasty little pistol that throws 3 black dice with Pierce 1 and surge to critical at range 1-2. Her Sharpshooter ability allows her to totally ignore any cover the enemy may be using. Her melee is the same as her shooting, but without the pierce, so maybe avoid it, yeah? She's a princess general that wants to be behind your lines, unlike Han or Luke. She's no slouch when dishing out ranged damage, of course, but that's not really why you want her in your army. Again, she wants to be behind your lines dishing out tokens and removing suppression. She's fragile, like most other Rebel commanders (6 wounds with white defense and defensive surge), so she'll crumple faster than Sheev's complexation, otherwise.
Han Solo
An unconventional commander who excels at thinning out enemy infantry squads while playing havoc with his Command Cards.
Upgrade Cards
Command Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Aggressive Tactics (10 pts.) - After issuing orders, give 1 surge token to up to 4 friendly units with a face-up order token. It's an ok upgrade, but not recommended. More often than not, you won't get the full value of this upgrade, and the surge tokens won't make too big of a difference.
Commanding Presence (10 pts.) - When issuing orders, you can issue orders at range 1-4. Generally the table sizes are small and this isn't necessary, but you may find some situational use out of this.
Esteemed Leader (5 pts.) - Friendly trooper units at range 1 gain Guardian 1. This isn't necessarily bad, but also isn't necessarily good. Your troop choices are already fragile, and Han, while not the most durable, can definitely take a hit better than Jimmy from Dantooine.
Improvised Orders* (10 pts.) - Exhaustible, but automatically readies in the end step. Draw 2, pick 1 token from your order pool. Not a bad choice considering Han's ability to screw with Commands. Han's also on the card!
Strict Orders (5 pts.) - Any unit with a face up order token can choose to remove a suppression token rather than rolling during its Rally step. Can help keep the suppression under control.
Training Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Duck and Cover* (8 pts.) - You can intentionally gain 1 Suppression while being shot at, for cover. Now you have heavy cover on demand, on top of being able to reroll 3 defense dice per attack pool. Not a bad choice, but Han is also only courage 2, so be careful!
Endurance (6 pts.) - At the end of your activation, remove 1 Suppression for free. Again, he's only got Courage 2, so this can be helpful if your opponent has a lot of suppressive weapons (Shore mortars).
Hunter (6 pts.) - When attacking a wounded trooper unit, get 1 free aim token. Han's throwing red dice with surge, so he's already hitting 88% of the time with his pistol, he generally doesn't need this.
Overwatch (4 pts.) - Gain Sentinel, making your standby range 1-3. Generally not that useful to Han since his pistol range is 1-2, and he's probably better off doing other things.
Tenacity (4 pts.) - When making a melee attack, while you are wounded, gain 1 red attack die. Han's not that great in melee. 3 white with one red isn't that good, even with surge to crit. Just don't bother with this one.
Gear Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token. A nice way of giving Han something to do while he's out of his pistol's range. Plus, Chewy has teamwork with him, so this is a nice way to give both units an aim token, if need be.
Emergency Stims* (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. Not that great on Han, but can be useful in niche situations.
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain. Take this if you play on tables that are heavy with difficult terrain.
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds. Take this if you play on tables that are loaded with climbable terrain.
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy. Gives Han a little push forward at the start of the game, cheaply, so he can get into range 2 gunslinger range.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token. Han only shoots two dice, so this is totally unnecessary.
Command Cards
0 Pip: "Sorry About the Mess" - [Han Solo] - Counts as having 1 pip for deck-building. When Han is given his order, he also gains one Aim and one Dodge token.
Han shot first, Disney! It's the only zero pip Command Card in the game, meaning you will definitely get first activation. Teamwork with Chewbacca means great value out of this card, as well.
2 Pip: "Reckless Diversion" - [Han Solo and 1 Trooper unit] - When an enemy unit makes an attack, it must attack one of your units with a face-up order token, if able.
Essentially turns Han and one unit into sacrificial lambs. Given that most Rebel units aren't very tough, this can be tricky. Be sure to take advantage of cover and Nimble to ensure your guys stay alive while the rest of your army does the killing. Mandalorians are great candidates for this card, however, due to them being one of the hardest units in the game to kill.
3 Pip: "Change of Plans" - [Han Solo and 2 units] - When Command Cards are revealed, you may discard this card to force your opponent to return their Command back to their hand; you both redo the Command Phase, and your opponent can't choose the card you just forced them to return.
So Vader is about to Implacable his way into the beating heart of your army and slice it up real good? No, no he's not. Essentially spares you one turn of whatever nastiness your opponent is trying to unleash upon you. Make the best of it. Use this one carefully. Chewbacca can help get more value out of this card, though.
Tactics
Han has some decent ability at thinning enemy infantry, thanks to Gunslinger, innate surge to critical, and Sharpshooter. His infamous DL-44 pistol throws two red dice, and Gunslinger lets him fire at two different targets during a turn. He won't wipe out whole squads like, say, anyone carrying a lightsaber, so don't expect him to do that. He's fairly frail, throwing only white dice on defense, although he does have defensive surge and his Uncanny Luck gives him up to 3 rerolls every time he rolls defense. Where he excels is in screwing with the Commands. He gets some synergy when fielded alongside his friendly walking carpet Chewbacca.
The general idea is to just be as screwy with your opponent as possible, and utilize his pierce 2.
Overall, he is a good commander, but overpriced. Rex for Clones and our new addition of Cassian Andor puts his abilities into perspective, huh?
Jyn Erso
Stardust. Errata dropped her points to 110. She's an all-rounder who is decent at both shooting and melee, and has some abilities that coincide with Rebel Pathfinders
Upgrade Cards
Command Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Aggressive Tactics (10 pts.) - After issuing orders, give 1 surge token to up to 4 friendly units with a face-up order token. Not that useful. There's better options.
Commanding Presence (10 pts.) - When issuing orders, you can issue orders at range 1-4. Might be useful if you intend to rely on her as a commander and you use her infiltration to place her far from your front line. Pathfinders also infiltrate, so, if they're that far away, this can be useful.
Esteemed Leader (5 pts.) - Friendly trooper units at range 1 gain Guardian 1, helping you defend your points investment. Not recommended. You're units, outside of Mandos, are durable enough to warrant this, as Jyn can probably take the hit better.
Improvised Orders (10 pts.) - Exhaustible, but automatically readies in the end step. Draw 2, pick 1 token from your order pool. Not recommended.
Strict Orders (5 pts.) - Guarantees a trooper unit with face up order token can remove a suppression when they activate, rather than leaving it to chance. This can be nice, for suppression management. Danger Sense needs suppression, but too much can be a problem.
Training Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Duck and Cover (8 pts.) - You can intentionally gain 1 extra Suppression after being shot at. This is a really good choice, because Jyn wants suppression tokens to boost her defensive capabilities, and it doesn't require you to not have any already, so you can keep popping it each time she gets shot and max out her Danger Sense quickly. A really good upgrade for her.
Endurance (6 pts.) - At the end of your activation, remove 1 Suppression for free. Jyn wants suppression tokens because they boost her defense, so this may not be optimal. If you're worried you need more control over your suppression, though, this may be the case.
Hunter (6 pts.) - When attacking a wounded trooper unit, get 1 free aim token. Not a terrible choice if you find a way to have her pick on something that's already hurt. Mildly recommended.
Overwatch (4 pts.) - Gain Sentinel, making your standby range 1-3. Not worth it, because you'll rarely, if ever, take a standby action. It's just not worth it.
Tenacity (4 pts.) - When making a melee attack while you are wounded, gain 1 red attack die. This is a pretty good choice as Jyn's pretty strong in melee anyway and this just makes her better.
Gear Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token. Because of how she functions, she's probably not going to have a lot of opportunity to use these. Not recommended.
Emergency Stims (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. An upgrade to take if you have the points, but otherwise very mediocre.
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain. This can help her get into melee faster, so not a bad choice.
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds. This helps her get into melee more reliably, but not as recommended as Environmental Gear.
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy. She already has Infiltrate, so she doesn't really need it all that much.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token. This is generally not that useful for Jyn, outside of quick thinking into melee.
Armament Upgrade (x1 Slot)
- A-180 Blaster. A free reconfigurable weapon for just Stardust. In rifle mode is has 2 black dice and a white die shooting out to range 3. In pistol mode it swaps the black dice for reds out to range 2. It's free. You literally have no reason not to take this, considering Jyn doesn't actually have a gun at all, unless you do.
Command Cards
1 Pip: "Rebellious" - [Jyn Erso] - Jyn gains Charge. Once during that same game turn, when an enemy within 2 or less and line of sight of her activates, before it rallies she can gain a suppression token to make a free attack against that unit or make a free move.
The Command makes her into a combat monster for one turn. She can run up and charge something, whack it with her baton, and then when it activates, whack it again. You can also send her into a group of enemies and progressively whack each unit as they activate. Panicking? Nah. Panic doesn't matter because these actions don't take place during her activation. About to run off the board? nah, Dooku just looked at you funny. Time to ruin his day, if he's in melee range, because Danger Sense makes you surprisingly durable.
2 Pip: "Trust Goes Both Ways" - [Jyn Erso and 1 Trooper] - Jyn gains Inspire and the unit she issues an order to gains Teamwork with her.
A quick way to remove some suppression and potentially dish out some extra tokens, especially since Jyn's got "Quick Thinking". A decent card.
3 Pip: "Complete the Mission" - [3 Troopers] - Jyn gains Low Profile. When any trooper is given an order, it may gain 1 Suppression token. Additionally, any Trooper with a faceup order token can't become Suppressed or Panicked for that turn, and may remove one Suppression token at the end of its activation.
Gives at least three units extra cover while rendering them immune to Panic and Suppressed, and ensuring you'll lose some Suppression tokens. All good things. Generally good when combined with Pathfinders, because they'll likely be having suppression troubles by this point.
Tactics
Jyn Erso is like a hero version of the Rebel Pathfinders. She can Infiltrate, better getting into threat range, so long as it's three away from any enemy units. If you're the blue player, therefore setting up first, literally the entire map is your deployment zone for her. She has "Danger Sense", which gives her extra defense dice when she's got suppression tokens, with a high courage value, at 3, and can use one action to gain both a Dodge and an Aim token. With Nimble! She's decent at shooting but she really shines in melee. Her four black dice in melee are nothing to sneeze at, and if she's got an extra red from Tenacity, all the better. However, like most Rebels, she's somewhat frail, with only 6 wounds and white dice (with surge) on defense, although her Danger Sense can potentially help a little. It's also entirely possible she takes a good few wounds before you get full value out of danger sense, as unlikely as it is. Ideally, use her and Pathfinders to harass enemy flanks while avoiding specialist units that will tear them apart.
Captain Cassian Andor
Sneaky Spy with droid Buddy
For 90 points you get a premium spec ops agent for the Rebel cause. He comes with 6 wounds but only 2 courage, throwing white dice with surge on defense- but his Danger Sense 3 allows you to add defense dice equal to the number of suppression tokens he has (with a cap of 3) every time he defends. He also has offensive surge, punching for 2 red dice and his "Covert Blaster" is a pistol firing a red and two white dice with Pierce 1 at range 1-2. He can be upgraded with his unique A280-CFE rifle, which has two configurations- see "Upgrade Cards", below, for more details.
Since, as stated, he's a spec ops agent, he comes with a slew of special rules. For starters, he has the Covert Ops rule that allows you to change him to an Operative during deployment; if you do, he also can Infiltrate (you can deploy him anywhere on the table as long as he's not within range 3 of any enemy unit at the time he deploys- meaning if nobody's on the board yet when he deploys, he can deploy literally anywhere). This also means that if you don't field another Commanander, you are required to promote one of your Corps or Spec Ops units to be the army's commander (similar to when all of your commanders are killed- except in this case, it must be a Corps or Spec Ops). Marksman allows him to spend an Aim token to change a single attack die from blank to hit or from hit to crit, and Tactical 1 will ensure that if he moves, he gains that Aim token to do so. Lastly, Loadout allows you to set aside upgrades of same slot and equal or less points cost, and swap them out before the game starts- did you take Hunter but now feel like Endurance will serve you better? Swap them out!
Upgrade Cards
Training Upgrades (x2 Slot)
Duck and Cover (8 pts.) - You can intentionally gain 1 Suppression while being shot at, for cover. Works well with his Danger Sense ability.
Endurance (6 pts.) - At the end of your activation, remove 1 Suppression for free. He's only got Courage 2, so you need to keep suppression under control (despite needing suppression for Danger Sense).
Hunter (6 pts.) - When attacking a wounded trooper unit, get 1 free aim token. Especially useful when sniping enemy characters or multiwound troopers (like Royal Guards).
Overwatch (4 pts.) - Gain Sentinel, making your standby range 1-3. Not bad, synergizes especially well with his Crack Shot command card.
Tenacity (4 pts.) - When making a melee attack while you are wounded, gain 1 red attack die. Cassian's not bad in melee and has a mostly short-ranged focus anyway so this is a decent choice. If you're going for a sniper focus, you may want to skip this though.
Offensive Push (4 pts.) - exhaust to gain Tactical 1 (gain a free aim token after making a standard move). He already has Tactical 1 built-in, and they stack- however, he does have some abilities that need Aim tokens, like Marksman or his A280 pistol config. Very much worth taking for that reason.
Gear Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token. He's got enough on his plate as it is, do you really want him standing around using one of his precious actions giving someone else an Aim? Hard pass.
Emergency Stims (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. Lets a unit (hopefully) survive to shoot one more time.
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain. Take this if you play on tables that are heavy with difficult terrain.
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds. Take this if you play on tables that are loaded with climbable terrain.
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy. It's super cheap and helps get him where you want him. Rarely a bad choice.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token. He generally doesn't need this because Marksman allows you to simply change a die, or he's not usually throwing enough dice to warrant it.
Armament
A280-CFE Sniper Config (10 pts.) - Range 1 to infinity doing one red and one black with Pierce 1 and High Velocity (if the attack pool only has weapons with this rule, the target can't spend Dodge tokens). Also has Cumbersome (can't move and fire) and Configuration (allowing you to flip the card to the other configuration when doing a Recover action).
A280-CFE Pistol Config (10 pts.) - Range 1-2 throwing two red and one black with Pierce 1 and Long Shot 1 (while attacking, spend an Aim token to increase the maximum range of the weapon by 1).
Command Cards
1 Pip: "Crack Shot" - [Cassian Andor] - Cassian gains an Aim token and Gunslinger. At the end of his activation, he gains a Suppression token and a Standby token. Basically, you drop this and he can essentially fire four times, plus gain an Aim (to reroll dice or use his Marksman ability) and a suppression to help with his Danger Sense. Yikes!
2 Pip: "Last Stand" - [Cassian Andor & 1 Trooper] - when Cassian issues an order to a commander or operative, the unit gains Indomitable (roll red dice for rallying rather than white) and gains 1 aim, dodge or suppression for each wound token that unit has (max of 3). Seems like a decent late game drop when everyone's gotten a little beat up and you want to get one last good round of killing out of your characters. And an interesting little wrinkle... if you use Covert Ops to make Cassian an operative, but you don't have another commander, the Covert Ops rule states that you must promote a Spec Ops or Corps to be your acting Commander... meaning they can benefit from this (although it'll be tricky to pull off that wound part, considering wookiees are the only multi-wound models and they already have Indomitable... so it's nothing to write home about... it's just something to remember).
3 Pip: "Volunteer Mission" - [Cassian Andor & 2 Troopers] - when Cassian issues an order to a commander, operative or spec ops unit, that unit recovers, gains Danger Sense 1, and may gain one suppression token. Not bad. This absolutely screams to be used on Pathfinders and Jyn Erso, because that Danger Sense will stack with what they already have, plus everyone gets to recover and switch their configs for free.
Tactics
He basically can be used one of two ways- use him as a sniper, which he's pretty good at. Or have him act as a mobile, short-ranged infantry mauler similar to Han Solo. With the latter, however, the trick is that his courage is only 2, so he'll quickly find himself losing an action if you're not careful. He synergizes really well with Jyn Erso unsurprisingly, and her "Complete the Mission" command can be especially useful in the late game to ensure that he... well... completes the mission.
Operatives
0-2 Selections
Some heroes are not meant to lead. Operatives are powerful individual units often with unique abilities.
Chewbacca
Wookiee first mate. The walking carpet, himself! No, like, really. It's his tag line under his name, on the card.
Nork Deddog but smarter, Vitrix Guard but shootier, Tyrant Guard but with eyes.
Upgrade Cards
Training Upgrades (x2 Slots)
Duck and Cover (8 pts.) - You can intentionally gain 1 Suppression while being shot at, for cover. Chewbacca only has courage 2, so suppression can be an issue. He's also one of the most durable commander or operative units Rebels have, out of sheer wounds alone. The cover from this would be nice, but isn't at all necessary.
Endurance (6 pts.) - At the end of your activation, remove 1 Suppression for free. Chewy is courage 2, so this isn't a bad one to take. Especially with his melee capabilities.
Hunter (6 pts.) - When attacking a wounded trooper unit, get 1 free aim token. When working with Han, this means that Han would also get an aim token through the Teamwork keyword. It's worth considering if you want Han to get more aims, but not at all necessary.
Overwatch (4 pts.) - Gain Sentinel, making your standby range 1-3. Not that useful for Chewy, as you'll rarely want to be on standby duty with him.
Tenacity (4 pts.) - When making a melee attack, while you are wounded, gain 1 red attack die. This one's really nice for Chewbacca, due to his high wound count and 4 red, surge to crit, melee. His melee is already really good, though, so, if you want to take other upgrades, you definitely can.
Gear Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token. Give Han an aim token, to give yourself one? Useful, but not necessary.
Emergency Stims (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. Chewy is a melee monster. If he's taking enough damage and you're worried about him dieing before he finishes off that last Stormtrooper squad, go for it!
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain. Chewy already has unhindered. Pointless. Why is this even an option?
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds. Chewy already has expert climber, as well. Pointless. Why is this even an option?
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy. Chewbacca wants to get into melee, so this isn't that bad. It's generally good to take, if you have the points.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token. This is nice on Chewy, with his 2 red and 2 white dice, but not needed. Pass.
Command Cards
1 Pip: "Common Cause" - [Chewbacca and Luke Skywalker] - After either Luke or Chewbacca activates, the other may activate if they still have a face up Order token.
Lets Chewbacca and Luke go roughshod on whatever fools are near them. Oh, what's that? You activated Chewy before Luke, or vice-versa? Guess you get to use him again!
2 Pip: "Brains and Brawn" - [Chewbacca and Leia Organa] - When Leia makes a ranged attack, if Chewbacca is not engaged in melee, has line of sight to her target, and is within range 1-3 of her target, he can add one of his ranged weapons to the attack pool.
A superior version of the Fire Support rule. Chewbacca doesn't lose his activation when he does this special attack, nor does he have to have a face up order token. It gives Leia's attack a significant boost. In addition to the dice, it gives his Impact 1 and Pierce 1 keywords.
3 Pip: "Notorious Scoundrels" - [Chewbacca and Han Solo] - You can take one of Han's Command Cards out of the discard pile and return it to your hand.
Remember when you discarded Change of Plans to avoid Vader's Implacable? Well you can get it back. Or get back Sorry for the Mess and let Han shoot first again. Now you can make a Han list even more screwy for your opponent to deal with!
Tactics
Chewbacca is essentially the OG glass cannon. He only have a 6+ save, but with 9 wounds, and even more if given dodges and heavy cover. When he's hit in the open, though, you'll feel it. Tenacity is often used and highly recommended because of this fragility. His Enrage 4 rule, which makes his courage - and gives him Charge, make it so you want him taking some wounds, so don't feel too bad about any damage he takes right away. With this, he'll be dealing about as much damage, if not more, than some saber users! Guardian 3 allows him to tank wounds for other units or characters, making so you'll probably be taking those wounds, whether or opponent wants you to or not. He also has Teamwork: Han, so he gets tokens when Han does, and vice-versa. Really nice for any list with these two!
Luke Skywalker
Not to be confused with the Commander of the same name; note that operative Luke can use commander Luke's Command Cards, and vice versa.
He represents Luke as he was seen in Return of the Jedi, complete with the spiffy black costume.
Upgrade Cards
Force Upgrades (x3 Slots)
Unaligned Powers
Battle Meditation (10 pts.) - When Luke issues orders, you can give one of those orders to any friendly unit anywhere on the battlefield instead of what the command card dictates. Very situational, especially considering 4 of Luke's 6 personal command cards only target himself (meaning you'd be passing his own order- which you'll probably want him to have). But if you took something like a T-47 speeder and you really want to make sure it always gets an order every turn, this is the easiest way to do so.
Force Guidance (10 pts.) - Exhaust this to give a surge token to up to 2 friendly units at range 1-2, as a free action. Not terrible but surge tokens aren't as useful for Rebels as they are for Clones/Separatists, or even Empire, since most Rebel units have built-in offensive and defensive surges (and the few that don't have both generally have at least defensive). Plus Luke only has Master of the Force 1, meaning you might only get one use out of this depending on what other Force powers you take.
Force Push (10 pts.) - Exhaust this ability and use a free action to force a trooper unit at range 1 to perform a speed 1 move, even if they're engaged. Can occasionally be useful for helping get Luke into melee, where he's at his best- but the short range can be a limiting factor (if you're close enough to use it, you're probably close enough to charge already). Or use it to shove enemy troopers out into the open (or out of melee... looking at you, Vader) for your other units to cut down with volleys of blaster fire.
Force Reflexes (15 pts.) - Exhaust this card to gain a dodge token, as a free action. Pretty much a "must have" unless you plan to lean heavily on his command cards (some of which give him free Dodge tokens) and/or Princess Leia (or the generic officer).
Saber Throw (10 pts.) - Spend an action to perform an attack with one of you melee weapons at range 1-2, using half of that weapon's dice (rounded up). Gives him a pretty potent ranged attack (4 black with critical surge, Impact 2 and Pierce 2). It'll still cost him an action to use since he doesn't have Relentless like his dad.
Light-side Powers
Hope (3 pts.) - Gain Inspire 1, allowing you to remove up to 1 suppression token from another friendly trooper unit at range 1-2, after your rally step every turn. Super cheap, and not bad, especially if you didn't take Leia (or you did but you just want some extra suppression control).
Jedi Mind Trick (5 pts.) - Exhaust this card to give 2 suppression tokens to an enemy trooper unit at range 1-2, as a free action. Not bad, especially if you intend to make use of Luke's "You Serve Your Master Well" command. But, again, bear in mind that you may get limited use of it if you take other exhaustible Force upgrades (like Reflexes or Guidance) since Luke only has Master of the Force 1.
Training Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Duck and Cover (8 pts.) - You can intentionally gain 1 Suppression while being shot at, for cover. Not terrible but Luke's got good defensive abilities and there may be more attractive options.
Endurance (6 pts.) - At the end of your activation, remove 1 Suppression for free. Luke has Courage 4, so suppression's usually not much of a problem for him.
Hunter (6 pts.) - When attacking a wounded trooper unit, get 1 free aim token. Good choice if you intend to go character hunting with Luke.
Overwatch (4 pts.) - Gain Sentinel, making your standby range 1-3. Luke doesn't really want to be on Standby.
Tenacity (4 pts.) - When making a melee attack, while you are wounded, gain 1 red attack die. A great choice since he'll probably draw a good deal of firepower and if he gets hurt, he's suddenly even better in melee (and he already was very good).
Command Cards
1 Pip: "You Serve Your Master Well" - [Luke Skywalker] - Luke gains a free action: choose a friendly trooper unit (except Commanders or Operatives) at range 1 or a Suppressed enemy unit (except Commanders or Operatives) at range 1 and perform a free move or attack action with it. If the target is an enemy unit, it can attack another enemy unit.
Luke does a super Jedi mind trick to grant a unit a free action, or even make an enemy unit attack one of its friends. Note that if targeting an enemy, they must be Suppressed- they have to have enough suppression tokens equal to or exceeding the unit's courage. Jedi Mind Trick suddenly becomes a more attractive upgrade...
2 Pip: "Full of Surprises" - [Luke Skywalker] - Luke gains a Dodge token. Luke gets extra defense dice equal to his Courage minus the number of Suppression tokens he has.
Luke becomes a tank for a turn. Ouch. Note that the bonus dice are white (rather than the red dice he normally throws). Also, the more units shoot at him, the less bonus dice he'll be gaining.
3 Pip: "I Am a Jedi" - [Luke Skywalker] - Luke gains defensive surge but can't attack this turn. When he is issued an order, he can choose two enemy trooper units within range 1 and they are unable to attack this turn.
Luke spends a turn doing something aside from attacking and paralyzes enemy units. Position him well and completely negate the powerful attack-related 1-pip Commands of other commanders, such as "And Now... You Will Die", "Sorry about the mess", or "Trained In Your Jedi Arts".
Tactics
Unlike trainee Luke, operative Luke is a Jedi like his father before him. He hits slightly harder than his trainee version with 7 black dice, giving him (statistically) about equal damage to what the commander version of his old man does. His upped 7 health makes him tankier than before while 4 courage makes him essentially fearless. Disengage gives him a massive mobility upgrade that lets him dance around other Force users, as he can freely leave combat and potentially allow allies to shoot at targets right after he stabs them; and he still has Jump 1 like his trainee version. He is also much more in tune with the Force, having a third Force upgrade slot and Master of the Force 1. His training slot also lets you take upgrades like Tenacity to give him an additional red die in melee when he's wounded, allowing you to roll 8 dice.
However all that training boosts his cost higher than even Lord Vader, a most impressive 200 points before upgrades. He also loses his pistol, opting to use his more civilized weapon, and he lost his gear slot, so no stims here. One needs to invest more points in an already expensive unit for Saber Throw if you want a ranged weapon (and bear in mind that he only has Charge, so he has to spend an attack action to throw his saber). He is also an operative, so he doesn't have courage bubble to prevent panic in friendlies, and you'll need to take a commander to be your general while Luke murders things- thankfully there is a decent, cheap option available. Luke's sister isn't a bad option either, as he'll like having the dodge tokens she can dish out and her Inspire is a nice bonus.
He also has a far superior outfit to commander Luke, trading boring fatigues for slick black Jedi attire.
R2-D2
Everyone's favorite astromech droid, the architect of the Rebellion, the Resistance, and a elite operative of the GAR, R2-D2 has done brought down more governments than you could possibly imagine. Even if you could imagine quite a bit. Now he is an operative unit for the Good factions of legion. Bundled with his Robosexual life partner C-3PO in a Terrain expansion, you now have the option to add this smoking[1] robot to your army
Upgrade Cards
Comms Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Comms Jammer (15 pts.) - Prevents enemy units at range 1 from receiving orders.
Comms Relay (5 pts.) - Allows a unit with this equipped to pass an order to another friendly unit at range 1-2, but this means the squad that "passes" the order doesn't get one.
HQ Uplink (10 pts.) - Exhaust this to allow a unit to issue an order to itself.
Integrated Comms Antenna (3 pts.) is a Droid Trooper-only upgrade. Essentially a reverse of the Commanding Presence upgrade, it allows your unit to be issued an order if it's within range 4 of the commander instead of the normal range 3.
Long-Range Comlink (10 pts.) - You always count as being within range of your commander. Pointless se above.
C-3PO
C-3P0 is a 15 point upgrade to the unit. He adds two health and a stormtroopers shooting worth of dice to the melee pool with a clumsy kick. The real reason to let him tag along is to have him Calculate odds Giving a in range 1 Dodge, 1 Aim, and 1 suppression token, because talking to him is as stressful as being shot. He also has a rather unique ability Distract which overrides Inconspicuous and forces 1 Trooper unit to attack them. If you aren't planning on using Secret Mission this can be really useful. Especially if your opponet has locked into using a powerful command card like Z-X Flame projector, or Now you will Die!, or even just to keep a unit of battle droids fro shooting something squishy with a radiation cannon. Even more hilarious is units like OP Vader and Commander Luke have "guns" so if they can't reach you to lightsaber you like say if there is a screening unit in the way they will have to shoot you.
Command Cards
1 Pip: "Blast Off!" - [R2-D2] - R2 increases his speed by one, and gains a Dodge token, a Suppression token, Disengage, and a Jump 1 action.
Basically gives you a turn where R2 is focused on fleeing the scene.
2 Pip: "Impromptu Immolation" - [R2-D2] - R2 can make a free move action after making an attack; he also gains a 2 white dice attack with range melee to 1, which also has Blast, Spray, and Suppression.
Remember in Revenge of the Sith when R2 sprayed oil on some super battle droids and then fried them? Yeah, he does that, and it's kind of nasty. White dice limits the power of the attack but if it targets a large unit, you could be tossing some dice.
3 Pip: "Smoke Screen" - [R2-D2 and 1 trooper unit] - when R2 issues an order to a unit, that unit may make a free speed 1 move. Additionally, at the start of his activation R2 gains a free action to lay smoke (he can place a smoke token within range 1, and all units fully within 1" of the token get +1 cover).
R2 does that smoke thing from the end of The Empire Strikes Back.
Tactics
Buffs all around. Or.... So if you keep scrolling down you will notice a vehicle that can transport one model, and can potentially move speed three three times in a turn, and R2 can fix vehicles and has special mission.
Sabine Wren
A powerful Mandalorian warrior who fancies herself an artist. She's a powerful damage dealer who also has the potential to survive a great amount of return damage.
Upgrade Cards
Training Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Duck and Cover (8 pts.) - You can intentionally gain 1 Suppression while being shot at to gain cover. Meh. She's pretty tough already, but she will likely attract a lot of attention. Just bear in mind her Courage is only 2.
Endurance (6 pts.) - At the end of your activation, remove 1 Suppression for free. Relatively low Courage makes this an attractive option, although Dauntless mitigates this a bit.
Hunter (6 pts.) - When attacking a wounded trooper unit, get 1 free aim token. A solid choice. Make sure her target gets hurt just once and then have her chop away with the Darksaber.
Overwatch (4 pts.) - Gain Sentinel, making your standby range 1-3. No No No NO. You don't want her on Standby, you want her moving forward and chopping up the enemy with the Darksaber.
Tenacity (4 pts.) - When making a melee attack while you are wounded, gain 1 red attack die. A pretty good option, assuming you gave her the Darksaber and you can get her wounded before she gets into melee (which can be difficult).
Gear Upgrades (x2 Slots)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token. Sabine is best when moving and attacking, not standing around doing a poor Leia impression. Pass.
Emergency Stims (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. Lets a unit (hopefully) survive to activate one more time.
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain. She can jump and doesn't need this.
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds. She can jump and doesn't need this.
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy. Super cheap and gets her slightly closer to the enemy, although with her high movement value, this might be better used on a different unit.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token. Especially a good choice if you took Hunter. Otherwise, make sure you have some way of getting her Aim tokens (her "Legacy of Mandalore" command, for example).
Personal Combat Shield(10 Pts.) - Gain Shielded 1 and Recharge 1. It gives you a guaranteed block when active. Recharge allows you to reactivate the free block by using a Recover action. Takes an already tough character and makes her even tougher- and you can use it to block Criticals too (unlike dodge or cover).
Electro Grappling Line(5 Pts.) - Exhaust and spend an action to give one enemy unit within range 1 and line of sight 2 immobilized tokens and 2 suppression tokens. Each immobilized token causes the target to lose one level of movement speed. The immobilized tokens are discarded at the end of the target's activation (not during the End Phase like usual), so it effectively shuts down a powerful enemy for one activation.
Armament Upgrade (x1 Slot)
The Darksaber (25 Pts.) From House Vizsla to Maul to Sabine, Mandalorian Excalibur is a rather powerful sword putting out five black dice in melee with Impact and Pierce of one each. She also gains Dauntless allowing her to take a suppression token for a free move if she's suppressed but not panicked; and Immunity to Pierce when she's in melee. You definitely want this.
Command Cards
1 Pip: "Explosions!" - [Sabine Wren] - Sabine gains the Arm 2 action, which allows her to drop two bomb tokens within range 1 of her. After she does so, she can make a free Speed-1 move. For the rest of the game, she has Detonate 2, and can cause those bombs to explode any time later in the game after any unit performs an action. The bombs hit all units within range 1 of the bomb token, doing 1 red and 1 white to each affected unit with critical surge and ignoring cover.
A decent 1 pip card that allows you to set traps and potentially control enemy movements. The damage isn't spectacular but a red die per attack means you're almost guaranteed to get at least one hit. Can be useful for thinning out the enemy a little with some careful placement.
2 Pip: "Symbol of Rebellion" - [Sabine Wren] - when Sabine activates, she recovers. During her activation, she can place a "graffiti token" on the battlefield.
Allows her to get back her shields and any other exhausted cards, plus she can clear out any suppression tokens she may have. The graffiti token is permanent, and allows your units near it to roll an extra die when trying to Rally, while causing enemy units near it to roll one less. Not a bad way to give your troops a slight morale boost while doing the opposite to your foe.
3 Pip: "Legacy of Mandalore" - [Sabine Wren and 2 Troopers] - Sabine gains Inspire 1, and each time she issues an order to a Commander, Operative, or Spec Ops unit, she gains 1 Dodge or 1 Aim token.
Very nice way of giving Sabine a boost. Don't forget that she's an Operative herself, so it would trigger the free token too.
Tactics
It should be pretty obvious how best to use Sabine- she's a fast-moving combat monster, and when armed with the Darksaber she's on par with any lightsaber-wielding fool. Even when not in melee, she can thin enemy units with her blaster pistol (one of each color attack dice), which she can fire twice (at different targets) due to Gunslinger. Thanks to her Mandalorian armor, she's arguably the toughest unit in the Rebel army- since she throws red defensive dice, and has built in defensive surge, Nimble, and Impervious- and that's before you give her a personal energy shield (which, unfortunately, doesn't automatically recharge like Droideka shields) or that she's Immune to Pierce in melee if she's carrying Darksaber. That said, she doesn't have Charge or Relentless, so she'll need to maneuver carefully to get into melee and still be able to swing that Darksaber; speed three somewhat mitigates this though. Dauntless from the Darksaber will also help her maintain her mobility even if she becomes suppressed.
K-2S0
Droid Buddy to a Sneaky Spy
To start, he's got Detachment with Cassian Andor, so you have to field Cassian to field him (but not vice versa), and they have to be deployed near each other. He's got 5 wounds and courage 2, with a 4+ armor save (red, no surge) and Armor 1. Solid. For offense, he's only got a melee attack throwing 4 red dice with critical surge. Also solid. He's a droid trooper, meaning he's got all the fun droid trooper stuff like he can be repaired by a astromech or R2D2, he's immune to poison, he's immune to being suppressed but doesn't get the cover boost from suppression, etc. He has Calculate Odds like C-3PO, allowing him to give a friendly unit at range 1 an aim, a dodge, and a suppression at the cost of an action. And because he's a reprogrammed Imperial droid, he has Incognito, which disallows enemies from attacking him beyond range 1 unless at some point in the game he has attacked or used an objective card action (ie he's grabbed an objective somehow). Lastly, he's got Teamwork with Cassian- so drop Calculate Odds on Cassian and K-2 gets the green tokens too!
Upgrade Cards
Comms
Comms Jammer (15 pts., reduced to 5 pts. by rules errata) - Prevents enemy units at range 1 from receiving orders. Not a terrible take although if you're in range to actually use it, you're in range to negate K-2's Incognito.
Comms Relay (5 pts.) - Allows a unit with this equipped to pass an order to another friendly unit at range 1-2, but this means the squad that "passes" the order doesn't get one. If he's got an order, you probably want him using it himself...
HQ Uplink (10 pts.) - Exhaust this to allow a unit to issue an order to itself. Very useful for times when your Command is limited (like Son of Skywalker) and you really want to get this unit an order.
Long-Range Comlink (10 pts., reduced to 5 pts. by rules errata) - You always count as being within range of your commander. Situational, and not very helpful on smaller battlefields.
Armament
Jyn's SE-14 Blaster (10 pts.) - range 1-2 with 5 white, Pierce 1 and Suppressive. Wow. Bear in mind that K-2 has critical surge built in, so this is a pretty solid take, especially if you got aim tokens somehow (Teamwork with Cassian, maybe?).
Command Cards
He only has one:
3 Pip: "Sacrifice" - [K-2SO & Cassian Andor] - K-2 gains Guardian 4. At the end of his activation, select a friendly commander or operative at range 1, kill K-2, and enemy units cannot do ranged attacks against the selected character for the rest of the turn. Does Op Luke have one wound left and you desperately want to keep him from being shot to pieces? Here you go.
Tactics
To Fill in
Corps
3-6 Selections
The meat, they hold the line and die in the trenches.
Fleet Troopers
Dakka troops. A slight points hike over the basic Troopers gives you one of the odder entries in terms of basic troopers. Each trooper throws around two white dice each, but only to range two. The have Ready 1 Giving you an aim token when you go on standby. They are profoundly good on tight maps (like inside a ship) when they can get in close or make the enemy to them. In more open maps they can have trouble getting in to range and end up losing your standby to suppression far more easily.
Upgrade Cards
Heavy Weapon Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Scatter Gun Trooper (23 pts.) - adds a Fleet Trooper carrying a Trandoshan shotgun- 2 red dice at range 1-2 with Pierce 1. Good synergy with the rest of the squad and their short ranged, rapid fire pistols.
MPL-57 Barrage Trooper (25 pts.) - adds a Fleet Trooper carrying a miniature grenade launcher. It fires 1 black and 2 white dice with Ignore Cover and Impact 2 at range 1-3, but must exhaust to fire. A versatile weapon that can help deal with vehicles but also has its uses against infantry (eg negating cover for the whole squad). Having to ready it before firing again can slow down your squad, however, it doesn't have Cumbersome like most anti-tank weapons.
Personnel Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Fleet Trooper (11 pts.) - adds an extra mook to the squad.
Rebel Officer (19 pts.) - adds an old dude to your squad, who becomes your new squad leader. He also increases your squad's Courage by 1, and has Inspire 1. A nice little courage boost for your squad, and can help prevent your squads from panicking.
Rebel Comms Technician (9 pts.) - adds a mook with a radio to your squad; also forces you to take a Comms upgrade on the squad. If you want to anchor your line with HQ Uplink or another comms upgrade, then here's your chance to do just that.
R5 Astromech Droid (8 pts.) - adds a little droid to your squad. It can't fight or be removed as a casualty until only the leader is left, but twice per battle, as a free action, it can repair one hit point or one damage token on a friendly vehicle. If you plan to lean heavily on vehicles, a worthy option. However the short range means it'll be difficult for speeders to benefit.
2-1B Medical Droid (18 pts.) - adds a healer droid to your squad. It can't fight or be removed as a casualty until only the leader is left, but twice per battle as a free action it can heal a lost wound from a nearby trooper squad. It can heal back a wound on a wounded model or resurrect a lost model from a unit (if it's a multiwound unit like Wookiees, the model comes back with only 1 wound) but cannot resurrect a fully destroyed unit. Considering how fragile your Rebels are, this is a pretty good choice, especially if it can save an expensive character from death.
Gear Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token.
Emergency Stims (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. Lets a unit (hopefully) survive to shoot one more time.
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain.
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds.
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token. Ready gives you a aim token when you go on standby and you have a LOT of white dice to reroll.
Grenade Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Concussion Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die, that ignores cover. Short range attack on an already short range unit, although you're only throwing white dice on your normal attacks. Not a terrible choice if cover is a problem; if it's not, fragmentation grenades are superior.
Fragmentation Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 red die and surge to crit. Very nasty surprise for any enemies who get too close.
Impact Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die and Impact 1. Great for making enemy tanks disappear, but short range means they'll see it coming.
Smoke Grenades (6 pts.) - Spend an action to deploy a Smoke Token within range 1 of your unit leader. Smoke tokens give +1 Cover to all units whose leader is within range 1 of them, but also grant that cover to an enemy unit they shoot at. It makes your fragile troops just a nudge more difficult to kill (unless they actually are in heavy cover already).
Tactics
If rebels had cardboard for armor, then the fleet troopers have wet paper, as they lack nimble for surviving focused fire. They also lack range, as their guns only reach range 2.
However, they are close combat specialists, throwing out 8 white dice with surge to hit on a naked squad with potentially 10 white dice, 2 red dice, and a pierce for good measure with the shotgun and a fifth trooper. Laugh maniacally as you ask to borrow your opponents dice. They are much more specialized than the standard rebel trooper, you will want to keep them as a mobile reserve for reversing enemy breakthroughs or using them near line-of-sight blocking terrain as area denial. Never get into a gunline battle with them as they lack the range to push back even a basic stormtrooper squad in the open
Rebel Troopers
They have big rifles and recycle dodges.
Upgrade Cards
Heavy Weapon Upgrades (x1 Slot)
MPL-57 Ion Trooper (32 pts.) - Adds a Rebel trooper with an ion cannon that fires range 1-3, 2 red dice with Ion 1 and Impact 1, but must exhaust to fire. A decent way of whittling down enemy tanks while also slowing them down (Ion causes the vehicle to lose an action). It also works on droid units, so these are super attractive when facing Confederacy. Additionally, the Ion rule gets rid of shield points on any units that may have them (primarily Droidekas). Unfortunately, having to ready it before you can fire it again can slow you down; thankfully it does not suffer from Cumbersome like most anti-tank weaponry.
Z-6 Trooper (22 pts.) - Adds a bad ass Rebel carrying a minigun. Fires 6 white dice at range 1-3, giving you the opportunity to roll a lot of dice that are mostly going to miss. Still, when you manage to get 4+ hits from it, it'll be epic.
SX-21 Trooper (20 pts.) - adds an alien Rebel carrying a blunderbuss-style cannon that fires range 1-2, 2 red and 2 white with Impact 1. You trade some range for some impressive firepower that makes the squad even a little useful against enemy tanks. It's not terrible.
DLT-20A Trooper (26 pts.) - adds an alien Rebel carrying a modified version of the standard Stormtrooper machine gun. Fires 2 black and 1 white at range 1-4 with Critical 1. Range boost and a little extra firepower isn't a bad thing, and Critical 1 is icing on the cake.
Personnel Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Rebel Trooper (10 pts.) - adds an extra mook to your squad. Hooray!
Rebel Officer (19 pts.) - adds an old dude to your squad, who becomes your new squad leader. He also increases your squad's Courage by 1, and has Inspire 1. A nice little courage boost for your squad, and can help prevent your squads from panicking.
Rebel Trooper Captain (14 pts.) - adds a captain to your squad. He gives you a Training upgrade slot, and acts as your squad's leader. Additionally, you can exhaust him at the start of the unit's activation to render it immune to being Suppressed for that activation at the cost of also not being able to remove suppression tokens. Allows your squad one turn to act normally despite being Suppressed, and the upgrade slot can be handy to grab something like Hunter.
Rebel Trooper Specialist (14 pts.) - adds a specialist to your squad. He grants the squad an extra Gear upgrade slot, and you can exhaust him to gain either a Dodge or a Surge token. For 4 pts over the cost of a normal Rebel trooper, you're essentially gaining the ability to automatically get a Dodge token at least once per battle without having the rely on Leia, the Officer, or using a Dodge action. And it doesn't prohibit you from doing a Dodge action or getting a Dodge from Leia/the Officer, so you could potentially have 3 Dodge tokens if you think your squad's about to get lit up.
Rebel Comms Technician (9 pts.) - adds a mook with a radio to your squad; also forces you to take a Comms upgrade on the squad. If you want to anchor your line with HQ Uplink or another comms upgrade, then here's your chance to do just that.
R5 Astromech Droid (8 pts.) - adds a little droid to your squad. It can't fight or be removed as a casualty until only the leader is left, but twice per battle, as a free action, it can repair one hit point or one damage token on a friendly vehicle. If you plan to lean heavily on vehicles, a worthy option. However the short range means it'll be difficult for speeders to benefit.
2-1B Medical Droid (18 pts.) - adds a healer droid to your squad. It can't fight or be removed as a casualty until only the leader is left, but twice per battle as a free action it can heal a lost wound from a nearby trooper squad. It can heal back a wound on a wounded model or resurrect a lost model from a unit (if it's a multiwound unit like Wookiees, the model comes back with only 1 wound) but cannot resurrect a fully destroyed unit. Considering how fragile your Rebels are, this is a pretty good choice, especially if it can save an expensive character from death.
Gear Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token.
Emergency Stims (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. Lets a unit (hopefully) survive to shoot one more time.
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain.
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds.
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token.
Grenade Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Concussion Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die, that ignores cover. You're already throwing black dice with your basic rifles, but this could be useful if you get up close to the enemy and toss one to ensure you ignore enemy cover.
Fragmentation Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 red die and surge to crit. Very nasty surprise for any enemies who get too close.
Impact Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die and Impact 1. Great for making enemy tanks disappear, but short range means they'll see it coming, and if your opponent has no tanks, they're wasted since you already shoot black dice.
Smoke Grenades (6 pts.) - Spend an action to deploy a Smoke Token within range 1 of your unit leader. Smoke tokens give +1 Cover to all units whose leader is within range 1 of them, but also grant that cover to an enemy unit they shoot at. It makes your fragile troops just a nudge more difficult to kill (unless they actually are in heavy cover already).
Tactics
Your standard infantry, black dice on attack gives them a 50% chance to hit each. Like almost all Rebels they throw white defense dice with surge, but still only offers a 33% chance to survive a shot, so dodges and cover are mandatory for keeping them alive in a firefight. Compared to stormtroopers, they can shoot straight without an aim token, but melt if caught out of cover. Most likely, you want to run them naked for holding points, with a Z6 for assaults, or the DLT for gunlines.
The Z6 gives impressive spike damage at the cost of reliability, making it a supporting element to the rest of the squads firepower. The DLT, in comparison, gives the range necessary to trade shots with distant opponents and has more consistent damage, although without a hail Mary of rolling 4 or more hits (for the mathematically inclined the Z6 will do almost exactly the same damage to storm troopers out of cover and slightly more damage to enemies in cover and at slightly lower cost, but the DLT has an easier time hitting due to better range)
Rebel Veterans
Rebel troopers who've been in a few battles, so they've learned a thing or two.
Upgrade Cards
Heavy Weapon Upgrades (x1 Slot)
CM-0/93 Trooper (31 pts.) - adds a heavy cannon that throws 4 white dice at range 1-3, but adds Critical 2 to the attack. Nice little burst of power for your squad of already solid shooters.
Personnel Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Rebel Veteran (12 pts.) - adds an extra mook to your squad.
Rebel Officer (19 pts.) - adds an old dude to your squad, who becomes your new squad leader. He also increases your squad's Courage by 1, and has Inspire 1. A nice little courage boost for your squad, and can help prevent your squads from panicking.
Rebel Comms Technician (9 pts.) - adds a mook with a radio to your squad; also forces you to take a Comms upgrade on the squad. If you want to anchor your line with HQ Uplink or another comms upgrade, then here's your chance to do just that.
R5 Astromech Droid (8 pts.) - adds a little droid to your squad. It can't fight or be removed as a casualty until only the leader is left, but twice per battle, as a free action, it can repair one hit point or one damage token on a friendly vehicle. If you plan to lean heavily on vehicles, a worthy option. However the short range means it'll be difficult for speeders to benefit.
2-1B Medical Droid (18 pts.) - adds a healer droid to your squad. It can't fight or be removed as a casualty until only the leader is left, but twice per battle as a free action it can heal a lost wound from a nearby trooper squad. It can heal back a wound on a wounded model or resurrect a lost model from a unit (if it's a multiwound unit like Wookiees, the model comes back with only 1 wound) but cannot resurrect a fully destroyed unit. Considering how fragile your Rebels are, this is a pretty good choice, especially if it can save an expensive character from death.
Training Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Duck and Cover (8 pts.) - You can intentionally gain 1 Suppression while being shot at, for cover.
Endurance (6 pts.) - At the end of your activation, remove 1 Suppression for free.
Hunter (6 pts.) - When attacking a wounded trooper unit, get 1 free aim token.
Overwatch (4 pts.) - Gain Sentinal, making your standby range 1-3.
Tenacity (4 pts.) - When making a melee attack, while you are wounded, gain 1 red attack die.
Gear Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token.
Emergency Stims (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. Lets a unit (hopefully) survive to shoot one more time.
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain.
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds.
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token.
Grenade Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Concussion Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die, that ignores cover. You already chuck black dice when attacking, so this is of limited use, unless you're super worried about cover.
Fragmentation Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 red die and surge to crit. Very nasty surprise for any enemies who get too close.
Impact Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die and Impact 1. Great for making enemy tanks disappear, but short range means they'll see it coming.
Smoke Grenades (6 pts.) - Spend an action to deploy a Smoke Token within range 1 of your unit leader. Smoke tokens give +1 Cover to all units whose leader is within range 1 of them, but also grant that cover to an enemy unit they shoot at. It makes your fragile troops just a nudge more difficult to kill (unless they actually are in heavy cover already).
Tactics
These guys are a lot like the basic Rebel troopers with some tweaks. The most notable change is that they lose the Nimble ability that the Rebel troopers have; instead, they have Defend 1, which grants them one free Dodge token when they are issued an order. Nimble is a tough thing to lose, as the Veterans are otherwise no better at defense than Rebel troopers (1 wound each with white defense dice and surge). They still throw black dice (still at range 1-3) when shooting but pick up normal surge, making them slightly better at that. Their only heavy weapon just adds a bunch of white dice with critical surge- although these guys already have regular surge, so it's just giving you a chance to ignore dodge/cover on some surges. They also gain a Training upgrade slot, allowing you to take valuable upgrades like Duck and Cover or Endurance to try to keep them in the fight, or Hunter to give them a slight offensive bump.
Lastly, for each of these units you field, you're allowed to field one of the Mark II Medium Blasters. Veterans have the Coordinate rule with Emplacement troopers, giving them some synergy with the Mark II as well as with the 1.4 FD cannon. See their entries, below.
Mark II Medium Blaster Trooper
It's a veteran Rebel equipped with a miniaturized version of the Empire's E-Web blaster.
Upgrade Cards
Comms Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Comms Jammer (15 pts., dropped to 5 pts. by Rules Errata) - Prevents enemy units at range 1 from receiving orders. This unit should never be close enough to use this.
Comms Relay (5 pts.) - Allows a unit with this equipped to pass an order to another friendly unit at range 1-2, but this means the squad that "passes" the order doesn't get one. Thanks to the Coordinate shenanigans, you could potentially use this to pass on orders to units you couldn't otherwise give an order token to, like a vehicle when the Command Card only allows troopers. But... you also need a face up order on this unit to use this unit's Fire Support, so... meh. The 1.6 version of the Rules Reference Guide has errata'ed this to be "Non-Emplacement Trooper only".
HQ Uplink (10 pts.) - Exhaust this to allow a unit to issue an order to itself. Not a bad choice; it ensures you'll get an order token on the unit at least once when you really want it, especially if your Veterans aren't near it to Coordinate. A little expensive for such a fragile unit though, and might be better used elsewhere.
Long-Range Comlink (10 pts.) - You always count as being within range of your commander. Situational, and not very helpful on smaller battlefields. Could be useful if you're using the Disarray or Rapid Reinforcments battle cards, but really, making use of the Veterans' Coordinate is probably a better option.
Linked Targeting Array (5 pts.) - You gain Target 1 (when issued an order, gain an Aim Token). Can't go wrong with Aim tokens, especially if you're not planning on using Fire Support.
Tactics
You can field one of these per unit of Rebel Veterans that you also field. They also have to deploy near each other, which you want anyway because the Coordinate rule allows your Veterans to issue an order to one of these units when they are issued an order themselves. Interestingly, the Rules Reference states that the unit with the Detachment rule- the Medium Blaster in this case- doesn't have to deploy in the deployment zone, meaning with some clever positioning you could effectively get a free Scout-1 move out of it.
It throws four black dice at range 1-3 with Critical 2; it already has normal surge built in. It also has Fire Support- if it's got a face up order token and is within range/LOS of the target, it can add its dice and Critical 2 to another friendly unit's shooting pool. So it can give your nearby squads some heavy punch when you really need it. This can be a critical part of your gunline- this is why you want to make sure you're using Coordinate to keep it ready to fire. It also has Sentinel for the boost on Standby range, as most gun emplacements do. Don't forget that you can use Standby to get around the gun's Cumbersome rule...
You are generally going to want to field it naked, or maybe with a Linked Targeting Array (you can't use its upgrades when it does Fire Support; moreover, it can't move and fire so it'll be sitting still when you wanting it shooting independently... meaning you can use its other action to gain an Aim token unless you really want a Dodge on it- which, to be fair, you might, hence the Array upgrade). When it does have to make a move, remember that it can make one free 360º pivot before or after each movement it makes (due to Reposition and Full Pivot).
It's still a fairly fragile Rebel unit- 3 wounds, 2 Courage, and white dice with surge on defense. Make sure to maximize Cover as much as possible to keep it alive.
Synergy Intensifies: while not quite as scary as their Imperial counterpart's version, the Rebel Veterans and the Medium Blaster can do a gunline tactic to turn one order into up to FOUR. Take three Veteran squads and three blasters; upgrade the blasters with the "Comms Relay". When issuing orders, issue an order to one of the Veteran squads. They then use Coordinate to issue an order to a blaster; the blaster then uses Comms Relay to pass that order to the next Veteran squad, that Veteran squad Coordinates, and so on. Each Veteran squad now has a face up order token (and can benefit from Strict Order, Aggressive Tactics, etc), plus a Dodge token due to Defend 1, plus you have that third Medium Blaster's order- it can keep it or use Relay to pass it to another unit. You can also substitute the 1.4 FD if desired, although it's much more expensive. Speaking of cost, this tactic isn't super cheap- one Veteran squad with an extra dood plus the Medium Blaster with Relay will cost a total of 103 points. The 1.6 version of the rules has errata'ed the Comms Relay to be "Non-Emplacement Trooper Only". This is no longer a viable tactic.
Special Forces
0-3
Slightly more elite troopers to back up your Corps. Most of them are basically more specialized versions of Corps units.
Rebel Commandos
Veteran Rebel troops who specialize a little bit more in sniping and spec ops.
Upgrade Cards
Heavy Weapon Upgrades (x1 Slot)
DH-447 Sniper (28 pts.) - Gain a sniper with range 1+ (amended in the 1.51 errata to range 1-5) throwing a black and a white die, with Pierce 1. It also has the "High Velocity" rule, which means that if the attack pool only consists of weapons bearing this rule, the target unit cannot spend Dodge tokens. This makes it pretty valuable for knocking wounds off enemy characters, especially those who rely on Dodges (eg anyone with Block or Deflect).
Proton Charge Saboteur (26 pts.) - Gain a trooper carrying the explosive charges used by the Rebels at Endor. The trooper can drop one per turn within range 1 of himself, and detonate them any time thereafter after a unit completes an action. The explosion does an attack of 1 red and 2 white (with Blast, Impact 1, and critical surge) to all units within range 1 of it. Not a bad way to thin out bottlenecked enemy units, but be wary of blowing up your own unit(s).
Training Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Duck and Cover (8 pts.) - You can intentionally gain 1 Suppression while being shot at, for cover. Not a terrible choice considering the Commandos come with the Low Profile rule; however, if you have them in at least light cover, this is a useless upgrade.
Endurance (6 pts.) - At the end of your activation, remove 1 Suppression for free. Good for keeping the squad's suppression under control, especially if they wind up isolated from a commander.
Hunter (6 pts.) - When attacking a wounded trooper unit, get 1 free aim token. Especially useful if you've gone with the sniper and use him to focus fire on enemy characters.
Overwatch (4 pts.) - Gain Sentinel, making your standby range 1-3. Not a bad choice, especially if your squad doesn't have the sniper. But if you do have a sniper, you're essentially limiting the range of that expensive long range weapon to 3 (you can still fire past range 3 when the Standby triggers- but something has to come within range 3 to trigger the Standby...).
Tenacity (4 pts.) - When making a melee attack while the unit has lost a model, gain 1 red attack die. You don't want these guys in melee. They're not terrible at it, but it's not their strength.
Comms Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Comms Jammer (15 pts., reduced to 5 pts. by rules errata) - Prevents enemy units at range 1 from receiving orders. Might be useful for screwing with Confederacy droids doing their Coordinate daisy chains, or if you've gone the Saboteur route and just want to screw with the enemy, but otherwise, meh. This is primarily a ranged unit and generally shouldn't get close enough to use this.
Comms Relay (5 pts.) - Allows a unit with this equipped to pass an order to another friendly unit at range 1-2, but this means the squad that "passes" the order doesn't get one. If these guys can be issued an order, you probably want them using that order and not passing it on.
HQ Uplink (10 pts.) - Exhaust this to allow a unit to issue an order to itself. Very useful for times when your Command is limited (like Son of Skywalker) and you really want to get this unit an order.
Long-Range Comlink (10 pts., reduced to 5 pts. by rules errata) - You always count as being within range of your commander. Situational, and not very helpful on smaller battlefields. Could be useful if you're doing a mission like Disarray, or their Scout move has pushed this squad too far away from the Commander to be issued orders.
Gear Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token. Not really that useful for this unit as it's a strong offensive unit that you want shooting, not dumping tokens on other units.
Emergency Stims (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. Lets a unit (hopefully) survive to shoot one more time.
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain. These guys really shouldn't be moving too much but if you are very afraid of slowing down due to terrain, here's the fix. Also could be useful if using the Saboteur and looking to get up close fast- this gear will ensure that you aren't slowed down as you try to get close. Also note that their Scout move ignores difficult terrain.
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds. As with environmental gear, this isn't a high priority upgrade unless that specific kind of terrain is an issue for you.
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy. Very cheap, and stacks with the Commandos' Scout 2 rule, giving them a hefty Scout 3 move to start the game. Very good option that you should always consider taking.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token. These guys throw black dice with surge on offense, so they hit about 63% of the time- rerolls are always welcome. This is a pretty good choice.
Grenade Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Concussion Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die, that ignores cover. You're already throwing black dice and have Sharpshooter 1, so these are of limited usefulness to this squad.
Fragmentation Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 red die with critical surge. A very nasty surprise for enemies who get too close; 1:4 chance of crit even makes them potentially useful against enemy tanks.
Impact Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die and Impact 1. Very useful for popping enemy AT-ST's but the short range means they'll probably see it coming.
Smoke Grenades (6 pts.) - as a normal action, the unit leader gains Smoke 1. This allows him to drop a smoke token within range 1 of him. A smoke token gives +1 Cover to all units whose leader is within range 1 of it, but also grants that cover to an enemy unit they shoot at. Stacks with other smoke tokens and the Low Profile rule that the Scouts already have- but you can get the same effect by just having them in some sort of cover anyway. Generally a pass because this unit is expensive and you're going to want it aiming/dodging and firing, not dropping smoke.
Tactics
These guys are very similar to the Rebel Veterans. They have the same stats but +1 Courage. They lose the Defend rule and instead gain Low Profile (which is generally better than Defend), Scout 2, and Sharpshooter 1. They throw the same one black die with range 1-3 each, also with normal surge. These guys are good for ranged combat, especially for picking away at enemy troops who think they're in a good defensive position. As for the upgrades, the sniper works well since it's just adding more ranged power. The saboteur still has the same A-200 rifle as his comrades but gains the super short ranged bomb dropping as described above. Give the Saboteur squad some Frag grenades and you suddenly have a fairly effective assault squad.
The downsides to these guys start with that despite how expensive they are (60 pts before any upgrades, as opposed to basic Rebel troopers only costing 40), they're still just Rebels. One wound each with white defense dice (plus surge) means they're just as frail as all other Rebel units (apart from Sabine and Luke). And if you go big on the bells and whistles, the squad can easily cost over 100 pts. You need to decide what role you want the squad to fill, and then upgrade them to suit that. They are too expensive to try to fill multiple roles.
Rebel Commandos Strike Team
A two man team of Commando specialists.
Upgrade Cards
Heavy Weapon Upgrades (x1 Slot)
DH-447 Sniper (28 pts.) - Gain a sniper with range 1+ (amended in the 1.51 errata to range 1-5) throwing a black and a white die, with Pierce 1. It also has the "High Velocity" rule, which means that if the attack pool only consists of weapons bearing this rule, the target unit cannot spend Dodge tokens. This makes it pretty valuable for knocking wounds off enemy characters, especially those who rely on Dodges (eg anyone with Block or Deflect).
Proton Charge Saboteur (26 pts.) - Gain a trooper carrying the explosive charges used by the Rebels at Endor. The trooper can drop one per turn within range 1 of himself, and detonate them any time thereafter after a unit completes an action. The explosion does an attack of 1 red and 2 white (with Blast, Impact 1, and critical surge) to all units within range 1 of it. Not a bad way to thin out bottlenecked enemy units, but be wary of blowing up your own unit(s).
Training Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Duck and Cover (8 pts.) - You can intentionally gain 1 Suppression while being shot at, for cover. You don't really need this thanks to Low Profile- if you have a least light cover, this upgrade is useless.
Endurance (6 pts.) - At the end of your activation, remove 1 Suppression for free. A little pricey for such a small unit, but does help keep suppression under control.
Hunter (6 pts.) - When attacking a wounded trooper unit, get 1 free aim token. Very helpful for sniping characters.
Overwatch (4 pts.) - Gain Sentinel, making your standby range 1-3. You probably don't need this. The sniper has great range and you're effectively limiting it to range 3 with Standby. The saboteur has super short range, and you probably want to get up close to actually drop his bombs.
Tenacity (4 pts.) - When making a melee attack while the unit is wounded, it gains 1 red attack die. To actually use this, you'd have to be down to one model left in the unit. And that one model has to be in melee. Where you probably don't want him to be.
Comms Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Comms Jammer (15 pts. reduced to 5 pts. by rules errata) - Prevents enemy units at range 1 from receiving orders. Might be useful on the saboteur unit but the sniper should never be close enough to use it.
Comms Relay (5 pts.) - Allows a unit with this equipped to pass an order to another friendly unit at range 1-2, but this means the squad that "passes" the order doesn't get one. Limited utility since, how often is that situation going to come up with these guys?
HQ Uplink (10 pts.) - Exhaust this to allow a unit to issue an order to itself. A little costly but can ensure that your dudes get an order when you really need it.
Long-Range Comlink (10 pts., reduced to 5 pts. by rules errata) - You always count as being within range of your commander. Situational, and not very helpful on smaller battlefields. On larger battlefields or when fighting a mission like Disarray, can be very useful.
Gear Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token. Rather expensive and generally better on other units- you want these guys doing their appointed mission, not sitting around dropping Aim tokens on others.
Emergency Stims (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. Lets a unit (hopefully) survive to shoot one more time. Considering these guys are wiped out after suffering two wounds, this is not a bad option.
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain. If you're struggling with being slowed by difficult terrain, this will help. However, unless you're going with the saboteur option and are looking to act as an assault unit, you probably don't need this.
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds. If you're struggling with lots of climbable terrain, this will help. Otherwise, pass.
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy. Stacks with the Scout 2 that the team already has, for Scout 3. It's also cheap, making this a very attractive choice.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token. Not really super necessary since the team will never be throwing that many dice to begin with.
Grenade Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Concussion Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die and ignores cover. These guys already throw black dice with Sharpshooter 1 so they're at least partially ignoring cover. And the small size of the squad will limit the damage they can do.
Fragmentation Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 red die and critical surge. Can be a nasty surprise but small squad size will severely limit damage potential.
Impact Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die and Impact 1. Useful for punching holes in enemy tanks but small squad size will severely limit damage potential.
Smoke Grenades (6 pts.) - as a normal action, the unit leader gains Smoke 1. This allows him to drop a smoke token within range 1 of him. Any unit whose leader is within range 1 of the token gains +1 cover, but it also grants that bonus to the unit's target when shooting. Does not stack with Low Profile (which requires the unit to be in light cover to benefit). Just remember that it does take one of your unit's two actions.
Tactics
The unit consists of one man, and you are required to buy a heavy weapon to accompany him- and that heavy weapon trooper becomes the unit leader. This gives you a Commando squad heavy weapon without having to actually field a whole squad. The Sniper team is particularly effective at controlling sectors, given the long range and the threat they pose to enemy elites/characters. Just be wary that, as always, they're still just fragile Rebels. Be sure to position them in at least light cover to increase the odds they'll survive any shooting they may suffer. As with the full Commando squad, decide what you want these guys to do and then equip them to fit that role- they can't really do multiple roles.
Rebel Pathfinders
The squad of Rebels that accompanied Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor to Scarif at the climax of Rogue One. They excel at sneaking into forward positions and springing surprise attacks while maximizing cover to survive counterattacks.
Upgrade Cards
Heavy Weapon Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Pao (22 pts.) - adds the unique Pao character to your squad. He becomes the squad's leader and has the Inspire 1 rule, plus his rifle fires 1 red and 1 white at range 1-4. He gives a slight bump to ranged firepower plus a morale boost
Bistan (32 pts.) - adds the unique Bistan character to your squad. Exhaust him to make an attack at range 1-4 doing 1 black and 4 white with Impact 1 and Ion 1. He gives your squad some utility against vehicles as well as basically doubling your dice output at long range. Just bear in mind that he exhausts to fire, and you'll have to spend a Recover action to fire him again.
Training Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Duck and Cover (8 pts.) - You can intentionally gain 1 Suppression while being shot at for cover. This works well with the Danger Sense rule, and you should seriously consider taking this.
Endurance (6 pts.) - At the end of your activation, remove 1 Suppression for free. Could be useful to keep your suppression tokens under control, although you do want some tokens for their Danger Sense ability.
Hunter (6 pts.) - When attacking a wounded trooper unit, get 1 free aim token. Aim tokens are always nice, and since your normal and long range configs are throwing white dice, rerolls are very useful.
Overwatch (4 pts.) - Gain Sentinel, making your standby range 1-3. Can be useful if you're trying to set up surprise attacks around bottlenecks and such.
Tenacity (4 pts.) - When making a melee attack while you are wounded, gain 1 red attack die. While Pathfinders aren't terrible at melee, they're not great at it either, and should probably focus on ranged combat.
Comms Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Comms Jammer (15 pts., dropped to 5 pts. by Rules Errata) - Prevents enemy units at range 1 from receiving orders. Could be fun for screwing with B1 and B2 Battle droids trying to make use of their Coordinate rule; otherwise, pretty situational, and there may be better options.
Comms Relay (5 pts.) - Allows a unit with this equipped to pass an order to another friendly unit at range 1-2, but this means the squad that "passes" the order doesn't get one.
HQ Uplink (10 pts.) - Exhaust this to allow a unit to issue an order to itself. Useful for keeping orders on the unit even when they're away from the commander (which is possible considering Pathfinders infiltrate).
Long-Range Comlink (10 pts., dropped to 5 pts. by Rules Errata) - You always count as being within range of your commander. Situational, and not very helpful on smaller battlefields.
Gear Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token. Pathfinders need to manage their actions carefully and don't really have the luxury of using those actions to pretend to be General Veers.
Emergency Stims (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. Lets a unit (hopefully) survive to shoot one more time.
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain. If you're playing a table with lots of difficult terrain, here's a remedy.
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds. If you're playing a table with lots of climbable terrain, here's a remedy.
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy. Works well with Infiltration to get your Pathfinders where you want them, and it's cheap.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token. If you're able to reliably get aim tokens (Hunter upgrade, a friendly unit with Electrobinoculars, etc), this will help with the white dice you roll on your long range attacks.
Armament Upgrade (x1 Slot)
A-300 Short Range Config (6 pts., dropped to 0 pts. by Rules Errata) - one red die per trooper at range 1-2. Essentially turns your A-300 into a hard hitting pistol. Recover to flip the card to the Long Range Config.
A-300 Long Range Config (6 pts., dropped to 0 pts. by Rules Errata) - one white die per trooper at range 1-4. Lose a white die to gain a bump in range. Recover to flip the card to the Short Range Config.
Grenade Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Concussion Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die that ignores cover. The short ranged config on your A-300s is probably better.
Fragmentation Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 red die and critical surge. Exactly the same as your Short Range Config but with critical surge instead of normal surge. Could be useful in a pinch if you get stuck with your A-300s in Long Range configuration. Is that worth 5 pts to you?
Impact Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die and Impact 1. These guys don't have any real usefulness against tanks; this makes them rather good against tanks. If you know you're facing an AT-ST, you should consider taking these.
Smoke Grenades (6 pts.) - Spend an action to gain Smoke 1, which allows you to deploy a smoke token within range 1 and line of sight of your squad leader. Smoke tokens grant +1 Cover to all units whose unit leader is within range 1 of a token, but also grants the +1 cover to the target of that unit when it fires- so make sure you fire before dropping one of these. Since these guys infiltrate, there's a good chance they could be isolated away from the rest of your army, and a little extra cover couldn't hurt. But by the same token, their actions need to be managed carefully and spending an action on deploying smoke means you're skipping doing something else (especially once they become Suppressed and lose an action).
Tactics
Pathfinders are another solid shooting unit in an army that focuses heavily on good shooting. Think of those aforementioned Rebels in Rogue One, and how they fought, and that's how you should use these guys- have them skulk ahead of your army, pin the enemy in place, and weather return fire while the rest of your army gets into position to help them out.
They have three ways they can fire their guns. At ranges greater than 2, their guns throw white dice (and the unit has inherent normal surge), so they're not going to be doing a ton of damage. But at range 2 or less, the short ranged configuration can really dish out some damage, throwing red dice. They also have some interesting abilities to help with defense. Pathfinders throw white defense dice with surge, like most of their Rebel compatriots. Additionally, they have the Danger Sense 3 rule, which allows them to choose not to remove suppression tokens, and when defending against ranged attacks, they can roll extra defense dice equal to the number of suppression tokens they have, to a maximum of 3 extra dice. They also have Dauntless, which allows them to make a free move when they're suppressed (but not panicked) if they take an extra suppression token- so they still function largely normally even when full of suppression tokens. Their Courage 2, however, means they can't go overboard with the suppression, so manage that carefully. While they're not terrible at melee, they're not great at it either, and they'll get slaughtered by enemy melee specialists. Lastly, they have the Infiltrate rule, which allows them to deploy almost anywhere on the battlefield.
Pathfinders synergize rather well with Jyn Erso, who has similar abilities and has Command Cards that work well with them (notably "Trust Goes Both Ways" followed by her Quick Thinking ability); and when she lends them her Courage 3, it'll help keep them in the fight. Like Erso, they have Infiltrate and can start out anywhere on the board as long as no enemy unit is within range 3 of them when they deploy. Deploy them first and they can be anywhere...
Very much worth remembering that they will always have access to two different blasters the one on the configuration card and the baseline profile. You will probably only have use for the long range profile for a turn or two, but after that you will be using one of the others. Against armored targets you will be best using the rifle profile since you are fishing for crits, not the most efficient choice but if you need to you need to...
Wookie Warriors
Do you like tearing arms off things? So do these guys- it's a squad of Chewbaccas.
Upgrade Cards
Heavy Weapon Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Bowcaster Wookiee (35 pts.) - gives you an extra wookiee carrying a weaker version of Chewbacca's bowcaster- it fires one each of Red and white dice at range 1-3, with Impact 1 and Pierce 1. Gives your squad a little ranged punch and can even ping a wound on an AT-ST if necessary. It's also the only way to add another model to the small unit. With a red dice and Peirce 1 the best use of it its to put a wound on a target so you can trigger hunter when you make it to melee. Even the threat of letting Wookies catch a wounded soft character, basically anyone without a lightsaber, is enough to force a more defensive play style.
Training Upgrades (x2 Slots)
Duck and Cover (8 pts.) - You can intentionally gain 1 Suppression while being shot at, for cover. Wookiees are pretty easy to kill, so anything that can help keep them alive is welcome, and their Indomitable rule helps keep suppression under control.
Endurance (6 pts.) - At the end of your activation, remove 1 Suppression for free. Indomitable makes this not super necessary.
Hunter (6 pts.) - When attacking a wounded trooper unit, get 1 free aim token. Very handy for when you finally get these guys into melee, assuming you manage to wound your target first.
Overwatch (4 pts.) - Gain Sentinel, making your standby range 1-3. Wookiees specialize in close quarters and melee combat; they generally shouldn't be on Standby.
Tenacity (4 pts.) - When making a melee attack while you are wounded, gain 1 red attack die. Another excellent choice as your wookiees are fairly easy to wound and any melee boost is welcome.
Gear Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token. No. You don't want Wookiees wasting actions on these.
Emergency Stims (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. Lets a unit (hopefully) survive to shoot one more time.
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain. Wookiees already have the Unhindered rule and don't need this.
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds. Wookiees already have the Expert Climber rule and don't need this.
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy. Gets you slightly closer to the thing you want to rip arms off of, and it's super cheap. A decent choice.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token. If you've got Hunter or some other way of getting easy Aim tokens, this can be worth taking. But you probably don't want to be stopping your advance to have the Wookiees take an Aim action.
Grenade Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Concussion Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die that ignores cover. Unless your target is in heavy cover, your pistols are probably better. Though you only need to have one [Wookie] throw one to give you whole pool Ignores cover', effectively only giving up one white die. Still might not be worth it since if you are range you probably should have charged.
Fragmentation Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 red die and critical surge. Not a bad choice for when you can't quite get a charge off.
Impact Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die and Impact 1. These make tanks go boom. However, the small squad size of the wookiees limits the damage potential.
Smoke Grenades (6 pts.) - Spend an action to gain Smoke 1, which allows you to place a smoke token within range 1 and line of sight of the squad's leader. Smoke tokens give +1 Cover to all units whose leader is within range 1 of them, but also grant that cover to an enemy unit they shoot at. While this is handy for helping protect your totally unarmored wookiees as they advance, it's probably better on a cheaper unit like Rebel troopers, and then let them lay down cover for the wooks.
Tactics
Like Chewbacca, these guys should be considered a "glass cannon". Excluding characters, they are the second best melee unit in the game- they throw 2 black dice per model with normal surge; and they have an OK pistol attack (1 black and 1 white at range 1-2). But they are rather easy to kill; while they do have a high wound threshold of 3 per model, they also only throw white dice with no surge on defense. They have lots of wounds but when they get hit, they are probably taking that hit. Thankfully they have Charge and two rules that allow them to traverse terrain without difficulty. They also have the Indomitable rule, which allows them to roll red defense dice to Rally rather than white- giving them pretty good control over suppression. Make heavy use of Dodges and Cover to keep these guys alive and get them into melee as quickly as you can.
Mandalorian Resistance
Currently On Pre-order
A squad of Mandalorian warriors fighting against the Empire. Sporting heavy armor and lots of pistols, will presumably mirror Sabine Wren's rules and be potent short range combatants. Apparently there will also be an option to field one squad of them as Clan Wren warriors under the command of their clan leader Ursa Wren (Sabine's mom) herself.
Upgrade Cards
Heavy Weapon Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Beskad Duelist (28 pts.) - adds a mini with a 2 red melee attack, and the new Duelist rule. Duelist grants the unit Pierce 1 when they spend an Aim token in melee, and Immune: Pierce when they spend a dodge.
Armament Upgrades (x Slot)
Jetpack Rockets (8 pts.) - each model can fire a rocket with range 3-4, 1 red each and Impact 1. Has a big green X on the side, which presumably means it's one shot per battle only or something, because this is pretty brutal. It gives the Rebels a much needed and very powerful anti-tank attack. The long minimum range means this will generally be an opening salvo type of thing.
Training Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Duck and Cover (8 pts.) - You can intentionally gain 1 Suppression while being shot at, for cover.
Endurance (6 pts.) - At the end of your activation, remove 1 Suppression for free.
Hunter (6 pts.) - When attacking a wounded trooper unit, get 1 free aim token.
Overwatch (4 pts.) - Gain Sentinel, making your standby range 1-3.
Tenacity (4 pts.) - When making a melee attack while you are wounded gain 1 red attack die. S
Comms Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Comms Jammer (15 pts.; reduced to 5 pts. in Rules Errata) - Prevents enemy units at range 1 from receiving orders (unless it's a character issuing an order to himself).
Comms Relay (5 pts.) - Allows a unit with this equipped to pass an order to another friendly unit at range 1-2, but this means the squad that "passes" the order doesn't get one.
HQ Uplink (10 pts.) - Exhaust this to allow a unit to issue an order to itself. Potentially useful if you expect the unit to be away from the commander or just want to ensure they get issued an order when you really need it.
Long-Range Comlink (10 pts.) - You always count as being within range of your commander.
Gear Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Electrobinoculars (8 pts.) - Gain the ability to spend an action to give another friendly unit at range 1 an aim token.
Emergency Stims (8 pts.) - When you would suffer wounds, prevent up to 2 of them, then suffer the same amount you absorbed with this card at the end of your next activation. Lets a unit (hopefully) survive to shoot one more time. Could be useful if you finally get near the enemy and want one last chance at blasting those black dice of death.
Environmental Gear (3 pts.) - Gain Unhindered, allowing you to ignore difficult terrain.
Grappling Hooks (3 pts.) - Gain Expert Climber, allowing you to clamber without rolling dice or taking wounds.
Recon Intel (2 pts.) - Gain Scout 1, allowing you to make a speed-1 move after you deploy.
Targeting Scopes (6 pts.) - Gain Precise 1, allowing you to re-roll 3 dice when you spend an aim token.
Grenade Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Concussion Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die that ignores cover.
Fragmentation Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 red die and critical surge.
Impact Grenades (5 pts.) - Range 1 attack with 1 black die and Impact 1.
Smoke Grenades (6 pts.) - Use an action to gain Smoke 1, allowing you to put a smoke token out within range 1 and line of sight of the unit leader. Each smoke token gives +1 Cover to all trooper units whose squad leader is within range 1 of it- and it gives that bonus to troopers those units shoot at (it works both ways).
Tactics
Stuff
Support
0-3 Selections
Light vehicles and Beasts
1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team
The big dish-shaped laser cannon from the Rebel base on Hoth during The Empire Strikes Back.
This turret is 100% stationary and incapable of movement except for pivots, although it can be deep striked when using rapid reinforcements (somehow). As compensation for its inability to move, it has a relatively powerful cannon with range 1-5, 5 black dice, and impact 2, one of your only true anti-tank weapons. This rolls an average of 3 hits per shot and 2 against armor, and outside the range of everything but snipers. It has a hard time pushing through cover on its own but it can still reliably suppress targets. It also has a 4 white dice secondary weapon, but its basically useless, as pivot firing is a better emergency option.
Sentinel grants improved standby range, which is situational but nice to have.
Upgrade Cards
Comms Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Comms Jammer (15 pts.) - Prevents enemy units at range 1 from receiving orders. This unit cannot move so it shouldn't ever be able to use this.
Comms Relay (5 pts.) - Allows a unit with this equipped to pass an order to another friendly unit at range 1-2, but this means the squad that "passes" the order doesn't get one.Per the 1.6 version of the rules, emplacement troopers cannot take this.
HQ Uplink (10 pts.) - Exhaust this to allow a unit to issue an order to itself. Not a terrible choice, it ensures you can get an order token on this when you most want it.
Long-Range Comlink (10 pts.) - You always count as being within range of your commander. Situational, and not very helpful on smaller battlefields. Though your imobile nature means that you are more likly than other units to be out paced by your leaders.
Generator Upgrade (x1 Slot)
Barrage Generator (10 pts.) - Exhaust this card to add 2 white dice and Suppressive to your attack with a weapon that has Fixed. Makes the gun a little more useful for shooting at infantry. White dice aren't amazing but Suppressive is useful (unless Vader is commanding the enemy force...).
Overcharged Generator (10 pts.) - Exhaust this card to add 1 black die and Impact 1 to your attack with a weapon that has Fixed. Takes a gun that's good against tanks and makes it even better- 6 black dice with Impact 3 is nothing to sneeze at.
Tactics
It's an immobile heavy cannon that specializes at blasting apart enemy tanks, but is still capable of destroying enemy infantry as well. It's only got 6 wounds and white defense dice with surge for defensive properties, so it's certainly not invincible. It also has only Courage 2, and if it panics, rather than fleeing (since it's stationary) it simply does nothing for its activation- so if it starts taking fire, make sure you have a way of keeping it firing. But it has extreme long range, so take advantage of this to do heavy damage to enemy AT-STs before they are in range to shoot back.
The barrage generator is a better choice against infantry (the most common list you might face), suppressive is pretty powerful and hard to come by in the rebel army and 2 white adds 0.75 damage. The Overcharged generator is more situational but will allow you to whack AT-STs or tanks, it only adds an additional 0.625 damage but impact 3 adds another wound against armor.
They are emplacement troopers, so they benefit from the coordinate ability of Rebel Veterans. If combined with Linked Targeting arrays, you get a free aim token everytime your veterans are ordered, boosting number of potential hits from 3 to 4.
AT-RT
Ironstriders, basically. These are your standard light tank, and nothing says janky rebel underdogs than using 20 year old clone war surplus to fight for freedom. They have an anemic 2 white dice attack and a white die with no surge on defence, but have armor to absorb hits. Do not under estimate their tankiness, as anything other than impact weapons has only a 1/8 chance to hit, and they have a decent health pool.
To make up for the weak emergency weapon the pilot carries, it`s hardpoint can be equipped for any mission and all choices hit pretty hard.
It has decent mobility with its larger base giving it a bit more speed and its height lets it cross barricades without being slowed, although this also costs it potential cover. Climbing vehicle lets it climb as if it was a trooper and Expert Climber lets it clamber without hurting itself, so you can take the high ground when the opportunity presents itself. Still abides by vehicle rules so it needs to steer like a car, think ahead of where it will end up so you dont waste actions pivoting.
Upgrade Cards
Hardpoint Upgrade (x1 Slot)
AT-RT Laser Cannon (35 pts, lowered to 20 pts. by rules errata) - range 2-4 firing one red and two black with Fixed: Front and Impact 3. A pretty good anti-tank gun, although the minimum range means you need to make sure you keep your distance. Still, if your opponent brought an AT-ST, this should do a decent job of plugging holes in it.
AT-RT Rotary Blaster (30 pts., lowered to 20 pts. by rules errata) - range 1-3 firing five black dice and with Fixed: Front. Pretty solid, no frills anti-infantry weapon. And with the built-in critical surge of the AT-RT, it can be quite mean.
AT-RT Flame Thrower (25 pts, lowered to 20 pts. by rules errata) - range 1 firing two black with Fixed: Front, Blast (ignore cover), and Spray (add its attack value to the pool once for every visible model in the target unit). Pretty brutal flame thrower attack if you can get close enough to use it.
Comms Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Comms Jammer (15 pts., lowered to 5 pts. by rules errata) - Prevents enemy units at range 1 from receiving orders. Meh. Could be useful to screw with Confederacy B1 droids daisychaining orders while you're roasting them with the flame thrower.
Comms Relay (5 pts.) - Allows a unit with this equipped to pass an order to another friendly unit at range 1-2, but this means the squad that "passes" the order doesn't get one. Probably not super useful since in all likelihood, you're actually going to want to make sure this unit gets that order. Per the 1.6 version of the rules, these cannot be taken on vehicles.
HQ Uplink (10 pts.) - Exhaust this to allow a unit to issue an order to itself. A solid choice to ensure it gets an order even though the Command card you're using is troopers only.
Long-Range Comlink (10 pts.) - You always count as being within range of your commander. Situational, and not very helpful on smaller battlefields. Could be useful if you're doing a wonky scenario, like one that includes the Disarray deployment.
Linked Targeting Array (5 pts.) - Gives you a free Aim token when the unit is issued an order. Aim tokens are always nice to have, especially with the gobs of black dice this guy can throw.
Tactics
This is a strange little gun platform. It's got three guns to choose from and they're all pretty good at doing what they do- roasting enemies, blasting tanks, or chewing infantry, for 75 points (assuming no Comms upgrade is taken). It's pretty good in melee too, throwing three red dice as it rakes people with its foot claws. It's actually pretty sturdy as well, with the Armor rule and 6 wounds, but the 6+ save (white dice without surge) on defense isn't very impressive. It can climb terrain without penalty, so use that to your advantage, and use terrain to block incoming fire.
So basically pick a role for it- long range anti-tank, medium range anti-infantry, or brutal short range anti-infantry, upgrade it with the appropriate hard point, and send it out to do just that.
Tauntaun Riders
Cold weather fast attack.
Upgrade Cards
Training Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Duck and Cover (8 pts.) - You can intentionally gain 1 Suppression while being shot at, for cover. Can be useful, along with Agile, in helping keep your tauntauns alive as they charge forward.
Endurance (6 pts.) - At the end of your activation, remove 1 Suppression for free. Also potentially useful as they only have Courage 2 and you want to keep them moving.
Hunter (6 pts.) - When attacking a wounded trooper unit, get 1 free aim token. Rerolls are generally nice.
Overwatch (4 pts.) - Gain Sentinal, making your standby range 1-3. Not a good option, as they guys want to be moving and attacking, not standing still. Plus their guns are only range 2.
Tenacity (4 pts.) - When making a melee attack, while you are wounded, gain 1 red attack die. Very attractive option, as these are a melee oriented unit. Gladly trade one wound for extra pop in melee.
Comms Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Comms Jammer (15 pts. dropped to 5 pts. by Rules Errata) - Prevents enemy units at range 1 from receiving orders. Could be useful especially when facing a battle droid army.
Comms Relay (5 pts.) - Allows a unit with this equipped to pass an order to another friendly unit at range 1-2, but this means the squad that "passes" the order doesn't get one. Meh.
HQ Uplink (10 pts.) - Exhaust this to allow a unit to issue an order to itself. Ensures at least once per battle you'll get these guys an order when you need them to.
Long-Range Comlink (10 pts.) - You always count as being within range of your commander. Situational, and not very helpful on smaller battlefields.
Tactics
These guys are a surprisingly hard hitting assault unit. They move shockingly fast (movement 3, with Reposition and Unhindered), have Relentless to ensure they can still attack after making said movement, and hit really hard. They carry pistols (range 1-2) that fire a respectable 2 red dice per model with Sharpshooter 1 to (partially) ignore cover, and then in melee they swing for 2 black and a white each. Additionally, each model has "Ram 1", which allows you to automatically turn one die (per model in the unit) to a critical hit as long as one of the moves you made that turn went for the full distance. Those white dice that almost always miss suddenly become rather useful! And if all that weren't enough, every time the unit makes a standard move, it gets a dodge token thanks to Agile. These guys are rather tanky for a Rebel unit but they're certainly not invincible either- they have 4 wounds per model but, like most Rebel units, only have a 5+ save on defense (white dice with surge).
Use these guys as a fast moving battering ram, collecting up Dodge tokens to protect them and then bulldoze into an enemy you want dead. Lather, rinse, repeat.
The 1.6 version of the rules have altered the Creature Trooper rules slightly so that they can no longer climb/clamber, nor can they do the hit and run attack that made them so nasty. The pre-1.6 version of the rules allowed Creature Troopers (like Tauntauns) to disengage from combat without having to make a withdraw action- they could simply walk away and attack somewhere else. The post-1.6 version of the rules toned them down, so that they now make a withdraw move to leave combat like everyone else, but they're still allowed to take free actions or use abilities.
Heavy
0-2 Selections
The other big units to build the rest of the your army around.
T-47 Air Speeder
Yet another repurposed civilian vehicle. This one was a shipyard tug. It is your air support. It has to make a speed 3 move (for free) every turn which means that it can zip around the battlefield faster than just about anything else. The cannons that were integrated were a fine choice as they are hands down the most powerful in the game. You also have immunity to a lot of things, melee, range 1, anything with blast, which in combination with armor makes you one of the slipperiest units in the game. All for less than the Palpatine you shot off the table turn two.
Upgrade Cards
Pilot Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Ryder Azadi (5 pts.) - Unique. Exhaust to increase or decrease your speed by 1 while making a move. Gives a quick burst of speed or slows the unit down right when you need it; but you'll need to do a Recover action to use it again.
Outer Rim Speeder Jockey (10 pts.) - Gain Cover 1 - The speeder has cover one by default so now you always have heavy cover. This is an excellent choice. Bear in mind that Cover is applied to an attack before Impact. If your opponet is crit fishing for their anti-armor needs they will just be only focusing on crits which ignore cover and didge tokens. Meaning that if there aren't a lot of heavy weapons this pilot can be overkill.
Wedge Antilles (5 pts.) - Unique. Exhaust to gain Full Pivot (allows you to make a 360º pivot). Like Ryder Azadi, gives you extra maneuverability at the cost of having to exhaust him.
Hardpoint Upgrade (x1 Slot)
Mo/Dk Power Harpoon (3 pts.) - range 1-2, 1 red die with Impact 1 and Fixed: Rear. Also has a "Tow Cable" rule- if it successfully wounds a vehicle, you can cause that vehicle to execute a Pivot move. The short range is off-putting but you're practically guaranteed to hit that vehicle when you are in range, and the pivot forces the tank to waste a move action to face the direction it wants. It is also cheap so the first time it kills anything even a battle droid it will earn it's points back. Light vehicles are the most vulnerable to it. Scout Bikes and unshielded Destroyers Droids are choice targets.
Ax-108 Ground Buzzer (10 pts.) - range 1-2, 4 black with Fixed: Rear. A pretty good shooting attack that lets you fire backwards as the speeder zips around.
Comms Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Comms Jammer (15 pts., dropped to 5 pts. by Rules Errata) - Prevents enemy units at range 1 from receiving orders. Your fast speeder generally won't be close enough to enemies to actually use this.
Comms Relay (5 pts.) - Allows a unit with this equipped to pass an order to another friendly unit at range 1-2, but this means the squad that "passes" the order doesn't get one. Per the 1.6 version of the rules, these are now not allowed to be taken on vehicles.
HQ Uplink (10 pts.) - Exhaust this to allow a unit to issue an order to itself. Not a bad choice, ensures you'll get an order token on the unit at least once when you really want it.
Long-Range Comlink (10 pts.) - You always count as being within range of your commander. Situational, and not very helpful on smaller battlefields.
Linked Targeting Array (5 pts.) - You gain Target 1 (when issued an order, gain an Aim Token). Can't go wrong with Aim tokens.
Tactics
The T-47 basically lets you have an airplane doing airstrikes. Its main gun (range 1-3, 3 red 3 black and Impact 3) is actually slightly better than the main gun on an AT-ST, and will help make short work of AT-STs. It's fast (movement 3 with Speeder 2 guaranteeing that it will always get at least one move), and fairly durable thanks to its 7 wounds, Cover, Armor, and immunity to blast and melee weapons. Note also that the errata in the Rules Reference also grants it immunity to weapons that have a range 1 only- which essentially means your opponent can't chuck grenades or shoot flamethrowers at it.
X-34 Land Speeder
Remember watching A New Hope the first time and seeing Luke's beater space car of a land speeder and thinking, wow what a great vehicle to fight main line battle tanks with? No? well you should have picked a faction with a dedicated manufacturing base. Despite the improvised nature of the craft the base vehicle is fairly durable with six wounds Armor 2 and Cover 1 Base line it only has 2 white so it needs those upgrades.
Upgrade Cards
Pilot Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Ryder Azadi (5 pts.) - Unique. Exhaust to increase or decrease your speed by 1 while making a move. Gives a quick burst of speed or slows the unit down right when you need it; but you'll need to do a Recover action to use it again.
Outer Rim Speeder Jockey (10 pts.) - Gain Cover 1 - The speeder has cover one by default so now you always have heavy cover. This is an excellent choice. Bear in mind that Cover is applied to an attack before Impact.
Wedge Antilles (5 pts.) - Unique. Exhaust to gain Full Pivot (allows you to make a 360º pivot). Like Ryder Azadi, gives you extra maneuverability at the cost of having to exhaust him.
Crew Upgrades (x2 Slots)
A-300 Rifle Gunner (9 pts.) - Just 2 white dice out to range 3, essentially doubling the "firepower" of the basic unit. Not great but it's more dice being tossed, and the X-34 does have offensive surge.
RPS-6 Rocket Gunner (36 pts.) - adds a missile launcher with range 2-4 and throwing one each white, red, and black dice and with Impact 2. It's a little pricey but unlike most other missile launchers, doesn't exhaust to attack. Even if you're not facing a tank, red and black dice are very welcome, as this vehicle tends to throw a lot of white.
Hardpoint Upgrade (x1 Slot)
Mark II Medium Blaster (34 pts.) - throws four black dice at range 1-3, and with Fixed: Front (can only fire in the front arc). Now we're talking, that's some decent firepower. Combine with the RPS-6 and it's still pretty good even against enemy tanks.
M-45 Ion Blaster (38 pts.) - exhausts to fire, but throws 1 black and 4 white at range 1-4 with Fixed: Front, Impact 1, and Ion 1. Not a bad choice if you know you're facing enemy tanks or battle droids (the ion effect works against them too, plus it negates droideka shields), but exhausting to fire means you'll have to use Recover actions to fire it again. Take with the RPS-6 if you really want to put some hurt on your opponent's AT-ST.
Comms Upgrades (x1 Slot)
Comms Jammer (15 pts., dropped to 5 pts. by Rules Errata) - Prevents enemy units at range 1 from receiving orders. You generally don't really want this close enough to enemies to actually use this.
Comms Relay (5 pts.) - Allows a unit with this equipped to pass an order to another friendly unit at range 1-2, but this means the squad that "passes" the order doesn't get one. Per the 1.6 version of the rules, vehicles cannot take this.
HQ Uplink (10 pts.) - Exhaust this to allow a unit to issue an order to itself. Not a bad choice, ensures you'll get an order token on the unit at least once when you really want it.
Long-Range Comlink (10 pts.) - You always count as being within range of your commander. Situational, and not very helpful on smaller battlefields.
Linked Targeting Array (5 pts.) - You gain Target 1 (when issued an order, gain an Aim Token). Aim tokens are always helpful, especially with the preponderance of white dice this thing tends to throw.
Tactics
The X-34 is basically a medium range gun platform, and can be especially nasty if used in an anti-tank role. Have it zip around the enemy and unload the pain, since Arsenal 3 means it can fire all of its guns (except the driver's pistol). Six wounds, Armor 2 and Cover give it some resilience, although like almost all Rebel units, it's only tossing white dice with surge on defense, so it's not invincible either. It can even transport a character, but if the vehicle suffers any wounds, the character will automatically suffer one too without being able to defend. Also beware... if you take all the bells and whistles on this, it'll be about as expensive as an AT-ST, but without the firepower or resilience.
Unit Upgrade Boxes
Fantasy Flight Games has seen fit to release new boxes with additional and supplementary upgrades in them. Most of them can be applied to any Trooper unit with the proper slots.
Rebel Specialists Personnel
Personel Upgrades
- Rebel Officer
- R5 "Astromech"
- Rebel Coms Tech
- 2-1B Medical Droid
Tactics & Build Help
- Have you tried Taun-Tauns yet?
- All of your commanders and operatives are good. Even the overpriced ones, like Han, are still good.
- Taking Luke and Leia, the wonder twins, for their immense synergy is advisable. Luke is fast, hits hard but is the centre of attention while Leia can hand him dodge tokens to trigger deflect and is better at babysitting the troops.
- The support rank is probably the best in the game with all 3 being solid choices. Taun-Tauns are kinda overpowered but the AT-RT is a flexible light tank with competitive hardpoints and the FD laser turret is an underrated but solid artillery piece.
- Rebel DLTs are very competitive right now, outside of completely naked troopers.
- Mandalorians and Sniper teams are amazing, although sniper teams have fallen off a bit since the Clone Wars strike teams released.