IG-88 – Unit Guide

This unit guide will cover IG-88 Notorious Assassin Droid for Star Wars: Legion.

With the release of the IGs and Din Djarin, there are now 6 different bounty hunters that are playable in the Empire. Despite this competition, IG-88 stands out as a points efficient and deadly addition to the Imperial roster. In this article I am going to describe some of the basic stats for IG-88, cover upgrade options, discuss the play style of IG-88, and finish with some lists that IG-88 fits well in.

Strengths

• Armor 1 and Impervious in a faction with cheap repair
• Deadly attack (Arsenal 2, Sharpshooter 1, Pierce 1, Surge to Critical)
• Droid Trooper without AI

Weaknesses

• No mobility keywords
• Only one training upgrade slot
• Mercenary unit (can not receive orders from units outside the Rogues affiliation)

Overview

Points:

IG-88 is 110 points which is the second most expensive bounty hunter in Empire (Boba is 120, all others are 105). This price makes IG-88 extremely compelling considering the abilities he brings to the table. IG-88 can complement a variety of units and is a highly effective inclusion in many Imperial armies.

Offense:

IG-88’s offensive profile is devastating. IG-88 has one melee weapon, two ranged weapons, Arsenal 2, Sharpshooter 1, and surge to critical. Below is a table summary of the average unaimed hits for each weapon profile. IG-88 is effective at virtually every range making the droid a flexible offensive threat. IG-88 can take chip shots at range 4, contributing during the approach. Once the gap has closed to range 3, Arsenal 2 combines both the E-11 and DLT-20A into a single dice pool. Unaimed, this dice pool averages 3 hits, 1.5 crits, with Sharpshooter 1 and Pierce 1. IG-88 has multiple command cards that give him free aims, augmenting his damage output. His attack scales well with aims since IG-88 surges to crit and has black dice in his attack pool. While IG-88 by no means is a melee focused unit he still has a solid melee attack pool between the Vibro-Cleaver and Versatile E-11. IG-88’s 1 pip Focused on the Kill makes it so opposing units that have a bounty token cannot spend any defensive tokens when attacked by IG-88. This ability is amazing for claiming bounty and preventing units like force users and Pyke Capos from spending dodges.

Defense:

IG-88 has 5 health, red saves, Impervious and Armor 1. IG-88 has 10 effective wounds which can be further augmented by Repair. Empire has access to inexpensive repair like the R4 Astromech Droid and Del Meeko, which increase the survivability of IG-88. While this health pool is decent, the main defensive ability of IG-88 is Armor 1. Since IG-88 is a trooper mini he can get cover from barricades. Heavy cover combined with Armor 1 shaves 3 hits off each attack, making it difficult for opponents to force saves on IG-88. His command cards also provide extra defensive capabilities. Notably the 1 pip Focused on the Kill and 2 pip Independent Programing both provide permanent effects that increase his defensive power. I will go into more detail on these command cards later in this article.

Utility/Support:

IG-88 is a droid trooper, which means he cannot be suppressed. The 2 pip A Machine Made for Killing gives IG-88 Demoralize 3 for one turn which hands out suppression, providing some bonus utility for the turn it is played.

Mobility:

The 2 pip A Machine Made for Killing gives IG-88 Steady for a single turn, temporarily increasing his mobility. This makes it so IG-88 can double move and attack in a single turn.

Upgrades

IG-88 has three upgrade card slots, one training, one comms, and one gear. IG-88 is primarily an aggressive damage dealer, so the upgrades I selected support that playstyle.

Training:

As with most of the bounty hunters the training slot is very competitive and is rarely left blank if you have the points to spare.

Hunter

Hunter is a way to get consistent aims when attacking a wounded unit. This is especially good on bounty hunters since they are often trying to claim a bounty on multi wound Commanders or Operatives. IG-88’s 1 pip also synergizes well with this card, making your attacks even more deadly when attacking a wounded bounty target.

Offensive Push

Offensive Push is another way to get free aims. Offensive Push often results in one extra aim per game which is why I typically prefer Hunter. That being said, Offensive Push is also more flexible since it does not require a wound on the unit you are attacking. You can also get more value out of this card when you run IG-88 along side General Veers and his 3 pip Imperial Discipline.

Seize the Initiative

Normally, Mercenary units lose value from orders because of Independent. Once IG-88 has played Independent Programming, he gains an aim each time IG-88 issues an order to himself. This means unlike many other Mercenary units, IG-88 synergizes extremely well with Seize the Initiative. You not only get an extra turn of order control, but you also gain a free aim token. This together makes Seize the Initiative a great choice for IG-88.

Comms:

I leave the comms upgrade slot empty the most often on IG-88, but if you have extra points lying around there are still some decent options.

Emergency Transponder

Emergency Transponder is an inexpensive way to gain another free aim token. If you already have Hunter, equipping Emergency Transponder is a great alternative to Offensive Push. Because IG-88 has a 6 dice attack pool he can make great use of the extra aims.

HQ Uplink

Similar to Seize the Initiative, HQ Uplink is great for IG-88 providing extra order control. HQ Uplink is much more expensive and best when used alongside General Veers since he can provide free recover actions.

Gear:

IG-88 also has a variety of effective gear options if you have the points to spend.

Emergency Stims

IG-88 is only 5 wounds, which can be burst down by sustained fire. Emergency Stims can help keep him alive longer so you can repair the wounds off.

Recon Intel

Recon Intel is only 2 points and can help you place IG-88 in a slightly more favorable start position.

Targeting Scopes

Targeting Scopes is my favorite gear option for IG-88. He has a variety of ways to generate free aim tokens and has a large 6 dice pool to spend those aims on. Targeting Scopes is guaranteed to raise his overall efficiency since you will at a minimum generate 2+ free aim tokes from command cards. My personal favorite loadout for IG-88 is Hunter and Targeting Scopes combined.

How to Play

General Role:

IG-88 is a well rounded unit with both strong defense and offensive capabilities. One of his most unique features is his command card hand. IG-88 has a single 1 pip and two 2 pip cards. In Empire, the 3 pip slot is extremely crowded, with cards like Tactical Strike and Darkness Descends being must haves for their respective units. This puts IG-88 in a unique position and makes him an ideal choice for armies with multiple Commanders and Operatives.

IG-88’s command hand is not the only reason he is worth bringing. In combat, IG-88 is able to contribute at nearly every range from melee all the way to range 4. He can sit safely at range 4, taking long range shots with his Modified DLT-20A Rifle during the approach. Since IG-88 has a formidable defensive profile, he is able to also brawl at range 3 and trade shots with the enemy army. Even in melee, IG-88 can still be effective. While IG-88 is not a melee centric unit, his Vibro-Cleaver and the Modified E-11 Blaster can both be used while IG-88 is engaged. If an aggressive unit engages IG-88 he can still fire out of the melee at range 3 to contribute to the ranged battle. While IG-88 is not the most mobile, he is deadly for his points cost, making him an excellent choice to support your army in a firefight.

1 Pip: Focused on the Kill

Focused on the Kill is IG-88’s 1 pip command card. It gives a single order out to IG-88 and has the Permanent keyword. Each of IG-88’s unique command cards have the Permanent keyword and augment his power. The 1 pip makes it so enemy units that have a bounty token cannot spend tokens when IG-88 attacks them. This is excellent against force users since they typically rely on dodge tokens to activate Deflect and gain surge to block. Also, low health commanders like the Pyke Capo can be hard to kill due to their dodge tokens, but this ability simply bypasses that. Against a Capo, a sniper can land a single wound on a Capo, which then triggers IG-88’s Hunter for a free aim to easily finish off the Pyke Capo and claim the bounty. The second part of the card makes it so IG-88 cannot die until the end phase. This means it doesn’t matter if your opponent plays a 1 pip to try and kill IG-88 before he activates. IG-88 will always be able to activate and complete whatever task he is trying to accomplish that turn.

2 Pip: Independent Programming

Independent Programming is one of IG-88’s 2 pips. This card has a simple effect: when IG-88 issues himself an order he gets an aim, otherwise he has Independent: Dodge. Essentially after you play this card you get a free aim or dodge based on if you have an order or not. This is an amazing effect. On turns when a unit does not have an order it is more at risk of dying to focus fire. This situation makes a dodge ideal. In the opposite scenario you often want an Aim when you have an order and can either activate first to kill something or activate last to safely attack. If you have Seize the Initiative on IG-88 this card can generate up to 4 aim tokens in one game. This card’s effect is simple but effective increasing the defense and offense of IG-88.

2 Pip: A Machine Made for Killing

A Machine Made for Killing is IG-88’s second 2 pip command card. This card is shared and is usable with either IG-11 or IG-88. The card gives IG-88 a free aim token, Demoralize 3, and Steady. This card can be used in two different ways. The first use is to double move then attack, which makes IG-88’s threat range roughly range 5. The second use is to move out, shoot then move back behind cover with the second move. This option makes it so IG-88 can make an attack with no risk of return fire against opposing units. When possible, this move can be a great opening attack that your opponent has no chance to return fire on. Demoralize 3 is just a bonus on this card. The main value is Steady and the free aim, making it so IG-88 can have a devastating attack the turn it is played.

List Building

I find IG-88 is best in double bounty armies alongside Iden Versio. IG-88 is great in double bounty, because his 1 pip works even on units that were targeted by another bounty hunter. Also, IG-88 has no 3 pip, making it so he fits nicely with Boba Fett and Cad Bane. IG-88 also plays nicely with Iden Versio and Inferno Squad. Iden and Inferno Squad are currently already quite powerful on their own, but IG-88 pairs especially well with them since he can be repaired by Del Meeko and has no 3 pip to crowd out Tactical Strike.

Iden Boba IG-88

This army is potentially one of the strongest in the game in the current meta. The army brings tons of High Velocity to deal with Pykes, Boba Fett and Whipcord Launcher to deal with force users, and also has a deadly range 3 gunline. IG-88 adds pure attrition efficiency to this list. He is difficult to kill and hits extremely hard. I often open with Tactical Strike with this army to get some long range attrition, then start playing IG-88’s command cards to start getting his Permanent abilities on the table. If there are not great targets to use Tactical Strike on turn 1, Independent Programming is a fine choice to just start getting IG-88’s Permanent abilities out. The one thing you need to be careful of is speeder lists. The objective deck of these armies can be quite difficult to deal with, so you need to be extremely careful with how you play the matchup. Between Boba’s mobility and IG-88’s 2 pip A Machine Made for Killing, this army puts tons of pressure on any enemy units with a bounty token. Each bounty hunter can apply 3+ wounds quite reliably in a single turn which is a scary thing for a unit with a bounty token. While it is sad you cannot bring some of Iden’s excellent command cards like Pulse Scan, the pure efficiency that IG-88 brings is well worth the cost.

Boba IG-88 Pykes

This army essentially just leans into gunline efficiency and brings some Pykes alongside Boba and IG-88. Boba is the Playmaker for the army, and you follow him up with IG-88 and 4 core troopers who are ready to fight. The army is simple, just kill everything and let Boba play the objective.

Conclusions

Overall IG-88 is an exciting new addition to the Imperial roster. His unique command cards and points efficiency makes him a compelling choice to add to an Empire army. I am excited to get IG-88 on the table and hope that you found this guide helpful!