Rebel Sleeper Cell Unit Guide (English Version)

Hi everyone! I’m William, and today I’m diving into an analysis of the current unit making waves: the Rebel Sleeper Cell.

(for the true, original article, check out William’s Spanish version!)

To counter and undermine Imperial activities across countless worlds, the Rebel Alliance trains insurgents to blend in as civilians until the time is right—when they strike key targets or officers using stolen, smuggled, or black market weapons. (And then they dare talk about peace… 😒)

In Legion, they don’t act alone. Behind them comes a wave of activations, overwhelming the opponent. They might look like cute Loth-cats, but don’t be fooled. That’s just a trick to seem less lethal. The Rebel Sleeper Cell is a serious close-range threat.

🧩 Overview

Let’s start with the unit profile and characteristics.

Classified as Elite, the Sleeper Cell is a solid and affordable choice for the Rebel Alliance.

✅ Strengths

• Devastating attack output
• Cheap
• Highly mobile
• Numerous minis

❌ Weaknesses

• Ineffective Heavy Weapon
• White defense dice
• Limited range

💲 Cost

Their base cost is their best feature—almost ridiculous for what they offer.
At 70 points, you can already field one unit, and the best part is that they hardly need any upgrades to work well—just the Astromech Droid upgrade (details below) brings them to only 75 points.

🧍‍♂️ Miniatures

Each Sleeper Cell consists of 6 miniatures with 1 wound each. Sound familiar? That’s because it’s the same setup as B1s or the cannibal teddy bears—ahem, Ewoks. And we all know how annoying they are to finish off.

💪 Courage

With a Courage value of 2, it’s standard for their category and will help keep them moving while they flank enemies.

🎯 Attack

This is their strongest feature—right after their cost.
Let’s dive into their offensive profile, one of the best in the game.

Right off the bat, note that their surge chart improves both offense and defense. On attack, they surge to Impact, which means all their weapons benefit from it.

They also have Tactical 1, rounding out their potent offensive output.

🥊 Melee:

• “Mines,” which grant a Red die with Impact 1 (yes, they’re so busted they come with anti-armor grenades by default);
• Or their “Pistols,” usable in melee with the Suppressive keyword, though at the cost of degrading one Black die to White.

Generally, they’re not meant to brawl — other units do it better.

🔫 Ranged:

Each mini rolls 2 black dice at Range 1–2.

Here’s the average impact table for the full unit (excluding Heavy Weapon & Droid):

Their best-case scenario is a Turn 1 shot. But even in a more typical move + shoot scenario, at full strength, they average 7.3 hits after light cover and 5.84 after heavy cover—that’s enough to wipe a unit of B1s or leave just the leader alive.

In plain terms, a single Sleeper Cell can ruin many unit types.

🛡️ Defense

Their most obvious drawback is their defense—the typical Rebel standard (a.k.a. tissue paper), meaning white die with crit surge to block.

However, they have Nimble, which helps mitigate this, and they can also access their own Dodge tokens.

Still, ideally, they should be near a character who can give them extra Dodges, especially before they activate and can trigger their Droid—speaking of which…

🚶 Mobility

The Sleeper Cell has standard Speed 2, but two abilities (plus the Droid’s) give them strong mobility incentives:

• Scout 2 gives them a “free” Turn 1 move, which also synergizes with Tactical 1 (remember, Tactical X and NX now activate with Scout X moves). This makes Turn 1 “Alpha Strikes” possible—catching careless enemies off guard.
• Tactical 1 lets them gain an Aim with every move, which is great since their low durability discourages static play.

Combo this with Scout to Alpha Strike on Turn 1—devastating against overexposed enemies.

They’re meant to move constantly, not hold ground.

🔧 Upgrades

🔥 Heavy Weapon

Heavy Weapon – Rebel Sharpshooter

Their only Heavy Weapon option. He’s expensive—28 points—and based on a similar effect as the Mandalorian Amban Rifle, allowing direct wounds bypassing defenses. But here’s the issue: it only works 25% of the time (vs. 75% on the Amban). That’s wasting an action on low odds.

Unless you have leftover points and just want an extra wound and more dice, skip it.

🤖 Personnel

This little guy adds a wound (non-combatant, though).
His value lies in granting access to Dodge tokens—vital for White dice units.
Every time the unit ends a move at Range 1 of an objective, they gain a Dodge token.

Two key implications:

• The unit, not the Droid, needs to end within Range 1.
• It says “objective”—meaning not just primary objectives, but also secondary objective tokens.
  This can give extra Dodges away from hot zones.

Only 5 points. No-brainer. Auto-include.

🥋 Training

I usually leave this blank, but there are a few notable options:

• Up Close and Personal: Great for gaining extra Dodges while attacking (pairs perfectly with their optimal range).
• Offensive Push: Ideal if you can recover actions to generate extra Aims. Nice for clutch damage.
• Situational Awareness: Great synergy with Nimble and frequent Dodges.

🧢 Gear

Best options:

• Recon Intel: Expensive at 8 pts, but terrifying. Adds a Scout 1 move, enabling attacks at over Range 4 on Turn 1 (Scout 2 + Move + Shoot) with two Aims.
• Scopes: For 4 pts, perfect synergy with Tactical 1. Adds about half an extra hit per Aim spent.
• Prepared Supplies: Pre-battle Dodge token. Great for a preemptive defense—pairs well with Nimble.
• Environmental Gear: Grants Unhindered. Helps them move freely through terrain, enabling sneaky flanks.

📡 Communications

Usually empty, but:

• Emergency Transponder: Cheaper than Offensive Push, and more flexible—it can give either an Aim or Dodge, or even remove Suppression. Handy in a pinch.

🕹️ Tactics

Everyone has their own ideas, but I see them as ideal flankers.

If you push them through the center, they’ll likely get wiped quickly—glass cannons. But through a quieter side, one Sleeper Cell can do serious damage. Their numbers make them hard to eliminate without diverting significant resources.

Avoid anything with Spray like flamethrowers—massive threat due to their unit size. Also, remember: they’re basically jogger-clad rebels—not made to take a beating.

Their pathing, timing, and target selection matter a lot—wait for the right window to strike. Don’t be shy about doing a “double move” just to get a Dodge token near an objective, then hiding for a better shot next turn.

But don’t keep them hiding the whole game—they usually carry a big part of your offensive weight.
With 2 or 3 of them working together on a flank, they can become a battlefront of their own, forcing the enemy to respond late or not at all.

They can even body-block Force users in emergencies, especially when loaded with Dodge tokens. Just don’t send them into melee—they’re no ARC Troopers. Their ideal space is Range 2, pistols out, near objectives.
If they get immobilized, they lose their edge—mobility is everything.

🧾 Example Lists

🏆 Invader League Champion List

Like Dooku said: “Double the fall.” I say: “The Wonder Twins strike again!”
This is close to the meta-defining list of the moment, with two Sleeper Cells. The runner-up used almost the same list. It combines long-range threat, strong activation count, and elite characters with strong synergy—totally dominant this season and likely to stay until the April point rework.

🧪 My Personal List

One Sleeper Cell is good—three is better!

Remember those offensive stats? Imagine multiplying them by three. That’s a battlefront in itself.

Pairing them with The Bad Batch creates a high-threat combo that can overwhelm many opponents.

And if needed, you can always use the dirty trick of playing Han’s Pip 2 card targeting BB, revealing only Omega, and watching the enemy despair.

With Han’s Pip 1 and Seize the Initiative, Luke can strike first—a classic combo that is even better with Rebels.

🎯 Conclusion

🔥 More fuel for the Zona Mortalis!¹

The Sleeper Cell joins the growing cast of deadly short-range (2-) units.
With the classic Rebel flavor—White defense dice, insane Dodge usage, Black dice firepower—they’re a great addition to the Alliance’s arsenal and finally a worthy Elite option now that Wookiees and Commandos aren’t what they used to be.

Don’t wait—add their firepower (and criminality) to your rebel forces and share your thoughts!
And if you’re facing them… Admit it—you want to hate them, but then you see that little Lothal kitten… and it all fades away (cats are the true Chosen Ones bringing balance, after all).²

1. The Fifth Trooper does not condone this 40k reference ↩︎
2. The Fifth Trooper also does not condone labeling cats as the Chosen Ones, this is the Chosen One ↩︎