Closed Lanes: Legion is Beginning to Feel Like a One-Way Street
November 18, 2024
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Today we’re going to run through a Tier List for all the units in the Republic faction.
I will rank all the units from S to F and try and defend my choices. All this is personal perspective, so don’t let me yuck your yum if you have a unit you love to play that I diss on.
Also, everyone should probably know how tierlists work… but…
S is amazing, able to build lists around and often if you’re not taking these units it’s for a specific reason.
A – great units that aren’t quite as universally taken but show up in a lot of lists.
B – solid units that fill out lists. Often are a bit more situational or harder to extract value from.
C – very situational units that have their place but when taking these units you really need a good reason why you’re not taking something higher up the list.
D – units that really aren’t great that probably don’t see competitive play, and if they do is in a very limited capacity.
F – units that just aren’t taken.
For our purposes today, a C is a ‘passing grade’. If it isn’t C or greater, then the units probably aren’t good for competitive play at the moment.
Let’s just go worst to best
There’s only one unit that falls into the F category for GAR, and that is the swoop bikes. Swoops generally haven’t seen play anywhere, and in GAR where there’s a better speeder option why would you take swoops?
We have a few more units in the D tier then F, and already there will probably be some controversy.
Though Obi has a special place in the heart of many, his in-game performance has been lacking. He largely suffers from the problem that everything he does, someone (can you think who) does better, usually for cheaper. Obi also got hurt by the clone token sharing nerf which really hampers his 3-pip from being as good a card as it could be.
The only GAR faction vehicle that doesn’t pass right now is the AT-RT. I love my AT-RTs but they are just in a rough spot right now. The unit itself actually shows some promise but is extremely hampered by the massive levels of Impact floating around right now. As the meta shifts, hopefully the RTs will come back into play as they do have some good abilities. If/when ewoks are the meta staple maybe GAR republic flamers will be the counter, scouting flamers is really fun.
This one hurts, I took Wookiees to LVO 2022, did well and had a blast. But since then wookiees have had their place chipped away. The biggest change that has hurt them was the changes to scale which limits their mobility considerably as compared to how they were. They also have been caught by some minor point increases, which as we are playing GAR hurts even more with our very expensive corps.
A lot of the problems with the melee wookiees are repeated in the shooty wookiees. The big boon for them is that they are good fire support starters, having access to Sharpshooter, Pierce, and Surge:Hit. However as it stands right now there are better fire support starters kicking around. Some minor points cuts to this unit could easily see them rocket up the charts.
It goes to show how good a place GAR is in that only 5 units out of 25 are considered ‘fails’. This gives us tons of choices and opportunities for combos. However there are still units that don’t quite meet the moment, those that are in C.
While it may seem odd to place the Chieftain above his wookiee brethren, it’s really that the Wookiee units are at the high end of D and the Chieftain is at the low end of C. Placing him in C could also just be some personal bias as I’ve had some great times with the Chieftain. The Chieftain is an effective linebacker unit at a decent price point of 100 points. Generally his biggest drawback is having only 7 wounds. You have to ensure that you are managing those well.
The days of the secret mission menace are largely over, remember when R2 was 35 points? R2 is highly situational and therefore in C. In lists with vehicles that want to be duking it out (particularly a saber tank) R2 is almost an auto-include for his total repair potential of 4. But unlike in the past R2 isn’t a piece you’re just throwing into any list.
The LAAT is a tough piece to place on a tier list. Most of the time it is really bad, but then someone will go deep with it at a tourney and we all have to look at it again. The key is that the LAAT can act as a great transport for units that want to be in the opponent’s face, but that’s really all it can do. If you want a gunship LAAT, now just isn’t your time.
Rex paid harshly for the sins of the past. At one point he was the best commander in the game, now he’s just meh. There are some who are saying that his time is nigh again and that he has a place, which is why he climbs back up to C at least. Rex in 501st is certainly interesting. Overall if Rex and 501st command cards could have a quick balance pass then this combo could be quite excellent.
The ISP just got a massive Buff with a practical 15 point cut. This change elevated it out of D or F tier, and time will tell if it can climb any higher. The ISP struggles with two things right now. A problem it’s always had is that it is very short which makes navigating the battlefield rather difficult sometimes. The other current problem is how common Darktroopers are. If opponents have enough tech to deal with Darktroopers they can easily knock off an ISP or two.
In the right hands, the Fluttercraft can be a precise damage piece, this is a skill that takes generations to master. (Or read this article). Long story short, the Fluttercraft is a precise damage place that has a limited niche with limited players, so it goes in C.
We’re finally reaching the Tier that I would consider good consistent choices for competitive play. We still have 14 units to look at, maybe this GAR faction is quite decent after all 😉
When you take Chewie he will reliably perform. Though he has a specific role he is very good at filling it. You are able to pull some shenanigans with commanders when Chewie is around. This is not even to mention the huge shenanigans you can pull when you combine Chewie and Yoda. Chewie has his place and he’s good at it.
The BARC was a tough decision between B or A tier. the BARC is a consistent piece with a variety of roles. Overall, clone/trooper centric lists just seem to be doing better so the vehicle rankings suffered. BARCs are really useful additions to lists however and have won many games. With the release of Cody I have consistently been running one BARC with Cody and really enjoying it.
Phase 1s are great, high end of B tier at minimum. This is a great sign for a faction when is lowest corp option is B. P1s still suffer from being courage 1 and not inherently generating their own surge tokens, both things that P2s do. Right now the biggest advantage of P1s over P2s is that P1s can take an RPS-6 which is almost a ‘have-to-take’ in GAR lists right now.
Full units of ARCs are seeing a resurgence right now, coming off a six point cut which is aiding their climb. Though still not the powerhouse they once were they certainly can make excellent pieces. Again, if 501st gave slightly better bonuses the ARCs would be in an excellent, not just good, position.
Ah the Saber. My first true competitive success came at the hands of a Saber list so it holds a dear place forevermore. The Saber had been hit pretty hard by not being able to access shareable standbys. This was offset somewhat in the last points change with some points cuts. The Saber is a piece that has limited but good use, and is great at what it does. I’m sure we will see some Cody and Saber lists pop-up from time to time.
We’re starting to reach the real ‘goodies’ here.
The most recent addition to the GAR arsenal shockingly reaches A tier. Cody is a consistent Commander who ends up acting akin to Bossk. However, this ‘Bossk’ can have massive fire supports which knock units off the table in an instant. Cody seems to be in a great position overall, not overpowered but very good and very consistent.
Yoda might be the character in the game that takes the most practice but can yield the best results. Yoda can easily shoulder the burden of entire games and keep on trucking. The reason that Yoda isn’t in S tier is that there is a force user that provides more consistent value. Yoda also has the disadvantage that he can just die on a string of bad saves. Only having five health is really scary.
There is only one reason that ARC strikes are in A, and that is Echo. Without Echo the strikes would be in D or F tier. But Echo is so good that he saves the whole unit. With Echo the strikes provide consistent long-range damage which can never be underestimated. Plus, Echo can be a great fire support starter or end game brawler as his range two dice pool is very respectable.
While it hurts not to put Padmé in S tier she just isn’t quite there anymore. Padmé is an amazing token battery, but without being able to share standbys anymore she isn’t quite as much of a lynchpin. Padmé will still find herself in many lists I make but she doesn’t quite have lists built around her in the same way.
Phase IIs have advantages that just bump them over Phase Is. Two courage is huge, plus the Reliable. Most armies will take a mix of the two, but Phase IIs are just the stronger option so you’ll want to take a couple. A disadvantage for Phase IIs is weapon selection. Both of their weapons are good, but a couple more options would help give more flexibility, plus help 501st.
Pykes are still good. Not quite the meta stomping menaces they were not that long ago, but still good nonetheless. Pykes with extra dodge support from Exemplar are really difficult to remove, and they can throw excellent fire back.
The Pyke Capo is the enabler of the foot soldier. By handing tokens out you’re raising their efficiency considerably. The other huge benefit of the Capo is that ability to take Ploy and basically completely ignore Anakin’s Flaw card.
Speaking of Anakin…
We’ve reached it, the cream of the crop.
Anakin is the best force user in the game right now. That might be a slightly hot take, but it’s hard to argue. Anakin brings a great package as a force user himself plus the ability to support his army and raise their efficiency considerable. Plus, an Anakin saber throw plus fire support is the best anti-darktrooper thing you can do in the game.
A mainstay of the Republic faction is the lowly Clone Commander. Helping to enable the clones (often with the help of Fives) to have order control and Fire Supports available the clone commander is an excellent support commander.
Overall GAR is in an excellent place right now and I’m sure will continue to be seeing excellent competitive success. This is exemplified by how many of their units are suited to competitive play.
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