Iden Versio – Unit Guide

This unit guide will cover Iden Versio Inferno Squad Leader.

While Vader is currently in the limelight, the Imperial faction still has many competitive commanders and units. Iden Versio is still an amazing commander. She is one of the most versatile and flexible units in the entire game. In this article, we will give an overview of Iden Versio, we will cover upgrade options, we will talk about playstyle and command cards, and wrap up with some example armies you can run.

Strengths

• Tanky
• Jack of all trades
• Courage 3
• Strong damage at all ranges
• Powerful command cards

Weaknesses

• Poor order control (all but 1 command cards only give Iden an order)
• Expensive (100 base, 15 points for armament, 15 points for Iden’s ID10 Seeker Droid)
• No command upgrade slot

Overview

Points 100:

Iden Versio is expensive, being the highest cost non-force user commander in Empire. That being said, she justifies her cost. Iden brings a lot to the table for her points cost and can be upgraded to fill a variety of roles. If you are wanting a powerful center piece commander, but do not want to pay the premium for Vader or Palpatine, Iden is an excellent choice.

Offense:

Iden Versio is one of the only units that is deadly at any range. She can fire at infinite range with her DLT-20A (1.25 hits avg, Pierce 1, High Velocity), attack at range 3 with her native E-11 blaster (1.125 hits avg, Pierce 1) or the TL-50 Repeater (3.125 hits avg, Critical 1, Impact 1). At range 1, you can combine the Seeker Droid’s Electro-Shock with any of the previously mentioned ranged guns (TL-50 + Electro-Shock 4.25 hits avg, Critical 1, Impact 1, Suppressive), and in melee Electro-Shock can be used with Advanced Combat Training (2.875 hits avg, Suppressive). She also has Marksman, meaning that each aim adds +1 hits to any of the previous weapon profiles, or can turn a hit into a critical hit (don’t forget you can also use Marksman in melee). All this combined makes Iden one of the only ranged units in Empire that can go toe to toe with virtually anything in the game. In the current meta where droid gunlines and melee units are very popular, this balanced offensive profile is extremely valuable.

Defense:

Iden is one of the hardest to kill non-force user commanders in Empire. She has 6 health with red saves (12 effective wounds). This can be further augmented by the Seeker Droid which brings her to 7 health total (14 effective wounds) and provides a shield token. This already impressive defensive profile is further augmented by Nimble and Quick Thinking. These features make Iden one of the hardest units to kill in the entire game.

Utility/Support:

Iden gets most of her utility and support abilities from her command cards. Incapacitate is excellent for stopping core units from scoring objectives by rooting them in place. She also has one of the most powerful command cards in the game, Tactical Strike. Tactical Strike has entire list strategies built around it. Besides her command cards, Iden has the Loadout ability meaning you can swap your upgrades once you deploy and have already seen your opponent’s army. This makes it so you can kit out Iden and pick the best tools to beat your opponent game to game.

Mobility:

Iden is quite average in mobility with only speed 2 and no mobility keywords. Covert Ops however, does give Iden the potential to use Infiltrate and start in an advantageous position.

Upgrades

Training:

The training slots are very competitive for Iden, but because of her keyword Loadout there are various options you can bring.

Seize the Initiative

Seize the Initiative is great for getting an extra order on Iden. If you are in a list that is very order hungry, Seize is a good way to keep order control of Iden.

Situational Awareness

Situational Awareness combined with Nimble makes Iden extremely difficult to wound at range. When in heavy cover guns like the B1’s E-5S and Shoretroopers T-21B are going to fish for a single critical hit to push through cover. Situational Awareness provides Iden with the ability to negate this chip damage for the low cost of 2 points.

Offensive Push

Iden makes great use of aims because of Marksman. You may be wondering why I didn’t include Hunter as an option as well? This is because Iden’s two pip Concussive Blast gives her a free recover, which makes it so you can use Offensive Push twice for free. Because of this, Offensive Push is an auto include in all my builds.

Overwatch

On the surface this might seem like a strange upgrade choice. However, because of Loadout, you can bring Offensive Push and Overwatch as an alternative option. This card gets more value than people realize. You get a free standby token from Iden’s 1 pip Pulse Scan, and you also measure range from ID10. While ID10 is small and cannot be shot at, you can forward cohere with ID10 to extend your standby range. So, with Overwatch, your standby range is range 3 plus a speed 1 move. You can also trigger standbys from behind cover, since you can leave ID10 in the open while Iden is hidden safely behind a line of sight (LOS) blocking cover. This combo is great on Recover the Supplies. You infiltrate and start in base contact of the center box. You then play Pulse Scan and grab the box move back and standby. If your opponent isn’t careful you will trigger the standby and move back again.

Gear:

Depending on how many points you have left, gear can be a good option to provide Iden with more mobility. That being said, it is okay to leave this slot open.

Ascension Cabels

Ascension Cabels is a decent option since Iden gets a free recover. This makes her more mobile and terrain agnostic.

Environmental Gear

I believe Recon Intel is the best choice for Iden. Recon Intel only costs 2 points so the only option for Loadout is Environmental Gear. If you pull up to a table with a bunch of difficult terrain it is nice to have Environmental Gear as an alternate option.

Recon Intel

Recon Intel is the best option in my opinion since Iden has Infiltrate. Sometimes you just need a speed 1 move to get into the perfect deployment location with Infiltrate. It also makes it so you can start much closer to the enemy if you plan on playing a Tactical Strike alpha strike on turn 1.

Armament:

Although Iden already has a solid ranged weapon the E-11 Blaster Rifle, I typically bring the Armament options since they add flexibility and allow Iden to tailor her ranged profile to the enemy army.

Iden’s DLT-20A Rifle

The DLT-20A is best against Republic armies and Empire gunlines. High Velocity plus Pierce 1 plus Marksman 1 makes this gun devastating against dodge sharing GAR armies. The DLT is virtually a guaranteed 2 wounds to the Saber Tank each turn, despite the dodge castle. Similarly, against other long range gunlines the sniper can help you get ahead early. High Velocity makes the DLT’s consistent two damage quite strong against force users since they cannot dodge.

Iden’s TL-50 Repeater

If you find yourself across the table from a horde of white saves, the TL-50 is a great choice. The TL-50 shreds white save units and armor alike. In a meta where droid gunlines are popular the TL-50 is able to punch through the armor of spider droids and has enough dice to chunk B1 units. In most cases, I prefer the TL-50, unless you are playing against a red save heavy gunline or dodge sharing list.

Counterpart:

Iden’s ID10 Seeker Droid

While ID10 is expensive, it brings amazing value to Iden. Electro-Shock makes Iden solid at close range and the extra health and Shielded 1 makes her much more difficult to kill. On top of all that value ID10 also provides Iden with Incapacitate which can be devastating on the right objective.

Comms:

ID10 gives Iden a comms upgrade slot. This slot can be left empty but if you have the points there are some powerful options.

Comms Jammer

Comms Jammer makes it much more difficult for your opponent to ignore Iden. Comms Jammer can also double as an anti-melee upgrade, preventing your opponent from giving orders to their melee units that have engaged your lines. Comms Jammer also enables some spicy plays with Incapacitate. Incapacitate is a two-pip, meaning your opponent can play a 1 pip to get an important unit to activate before you can use your ability. Comms Jammer makes it so you can block orders and then give them a face down order.

HQ Uplink

HQ Uplink is a good option if you are running an army with multiple focus pieces. Because Iden gets a free recover, HQ Uplink gives her two extra orders over the course of the game.

How to Play

General Role:

Iden is a jack of all trades, but she plays best as a skirmishing commander, supporting her army with her powerful command card abilities. Because of the many gun and upgrade options, Iden can be played in a variety of ways. While her loadout may change what range band is most effective, Iden almost always wants to be in the middle of combat since she is both hard to kill and deadly. Since she is so hard to kill, some opponents may choose to just ignore her for the most part. To prevent this from happening, I typically play Iden aggressively making sure she can attack every turn. Because of Infiltrate, I will often deploy her aggressively to force the issue and make sure she is able to attack all 6 turns. That being said, Iden is vulnerable to pierce melee units like force users, so you still need to be careful. If you are able to keep Iden in heavy cover with a dodge, she will be a thorn in your opponent’s side.

1 Pip: Pulse Scan

Iden’s 1 pip Pulse Scan is solid for a variety of reasons. First it gives Iden a bunch of free tokens and Sharpshooter 2 making it so Iden can shoot a unit regardless of cover. This on its own is an amazing value. The second powerful effect, is the fact it gives Iden a standby token at the end of her activation. Free standby tokens are amazing. On recover the supplies, you can Infiltrate onto the center box, grab it, move back, and have a dodge and standby to help you escape. This card also makes it so Iden can hold her own in melee for a turn. If you are engaged with a melee unit, you can play this card to try and get priority. Activate then Quick Thinking to get a second aim and dodge. Iden averages about 4.875 hits in melee with Electro-Shock and two aims. Standby tokens can only be lost by gaining suppression or an action. This means opposing melee units, unless suppressive (or if they have force push) cannot remove the standby without triggering it. This means Iden will have 2 dodges to survive a melee attack and then can trigger standby to attack a second time that turn. If they try to withdraw, even better, now you can shoot at range 1 with your gun and Electro-Shock, or re-engage in melee.

2 Pip: Concussive Blast

Concussive Blast is devastating. First, it gives Iden great value with the free recover, recharging her shield if she has ID10 and refreshing Offensive Push. Second, the weapon she gains is quite powerful, with Blast and 5 red dice, the gun averages 4.37 hits unaimed. Meaning that with an Aim it is almost always 5 hits. If that was not already strong enough, the gun has Scatter and Suppressive as the cherry on top. Also, don’t forget you can still add ID10’s Electro-Shock to the attack if you are at range 1.

2 Pip: Incapacitate

While Incapacitate is situational, when played correctly, it can turn the tide of a game. On objective scoring turns, it can prevent a corps unit from activating to score. This card can also be used during firefights to prevent a strong corps unit from activating and attacking. When combined with Comms Jammer, this card is excellent for stranding enemy units in a bad position.

3 Pip: Tactical Strike

Last, but certainly not least, is Tactical Strike. Tactical Strike at its base gives out 4 orders which is already better than most, but it doesn’t stop there. This card gives Iden and any Special Forces with a faceup: speed 1, Steady, and Tactical 1. Many armies are built around this ability alone. At its best, you are attacking with Iden and 3 Imperial Special Forces units (ISF) dealing ~20 crits in a single turn. At its worst, you are giving Iden and 3 snipers two aims as well as the ability to move twice and attack. In a sniper war, this means your snipers can move out, shoot, then duck safe behind LOS blocking cover.

List Building

Iden 333backs

My favorite Iden list in the current meta is 333backs. This army takes full advantage of Tactical Strike, bringing 3 ISF. While your opponent is dealing with the deadly alpha strike from Tactical Strike, your Dewbacks can approach uncontested to finish off whatever remains. This army can also switch to playing more defensively if you are up against a melee skew. You can use Tactical Strike to weaken the rushing melee units, then eat them up with your own Dewbacks. This list just takes what is really strong at the moment and throws it all together and it works surprisingly well.

Iden 333

This army is the more classic 333 army, but is still deadly as ever. Similar to the previous army, you have a strong alpha strike with Tactical Strike, but you also follow up with Coordinated Fire. This results in tons of aims between all your units for a second devastating attack. The reason I prefer the Dewback version is because it gives you more play against melee units and force users which, historically, gives this army a hard time.

Iden Krennic

While I believe Iden is best run alongside 3 ISF, there are other options you can use that take advantage of Tactical Strike. This army combines Krennic with Iden to create a more balanced gunline that is suppression resistant. This army also has the ability to lean into suppression between the Death Troopers, DF-90 Mortars, Iden’s 2 pips and Annihilation Looms.

Conclusions

While Iden had no changes in the most recent points update, she is still an excellent choice for the Empire. Iden enables some gross combos and is surprisingly strong in just about every situation. If you are looking for a competitive Empire army that doesn’t have Vader in it, look no further. Iden is the commander for you!