The 2025 Las Vegas Open, Legion’s Largest Non-World’s Event (I think the sphere is malfunctioning)

Picture of Austin Miller

Austin Miller

Active Legion player. Star Wars, Marvel, LoTR, and Game of Thrones fan. Teacher by day, content creator by night. When I'm not playing Legion, I'm either painting minis or playing Crisis Protocol, X Wing, or Armada. In the rare occasion I'm not doing either, I'm most likely riding an Alligator bareback through the Everglades while wearing a Buccee's cape and shouting "Raise Hell Praise Dale."
The 2025 Las Vegas Open, Legion's Largest Non-World's Event (I think the sphere is malfunctioning) 1

To those unfortunate enough to be reading this jumbled up concoction of hypoglycemic word salad, I hope your patience is as boundless as your intellect. I would love to reminisce on my adventures, experiences, matches, etc but as I’m sure you all know, there exists a famous saying. A catchphrase. AN EXPLICIT SOCIAL CONTRACT IF YOU WILL.

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And after much discussion with my legal team (some guy at the airport who said aliens would abduct me if I divulged the secrets of the infamous Las Vegas), I decided I would proceed with a Facts of Las Vegas article instead. Hooray, “knowledge!”

Vegas Is Not Just a Desert – Despite its reputation, Las Vegas gets over 300 sunny days a year, and it’s technically located in the Mojave Desert, not a typical desert climate with sand dunes.

The Strip Isn’t Technically in Vegas – The famous Las Vegas Strip actually lies in Paradise, Nevada, not the city of Las Vegas itself.

The Luxor’s Beam – The Luxor Hotel’s searchlight, the brightest in the world, is visible from space. It’s like a beacon of neon dreams.1

Biggest Casino – The largest casino in Las Vegas is the Wynn Las Vegas—with a gaming floor that spans over 185,000 square feet.

The Mirage’s Volcano – The Mirage Hotel has an active volcano (well, not really active, but it erupts every night), making it one of the city’s most iconic attractions.

Legal Age of Gambling – The legal age for gambling in Las Vegas is 21, but if you’re under 21, you can still walk through casinos without a problem… just no chips in hand.

First Hotel with a Pool – The Golden Nugget was the first casino to have a pool when it was built in 1946. Poolside gaming, anyone?

No Windows, No Clocks – Most casinos on the Strip are designed with no windows and no clocks, so you lose track of time and keep playing (or spending) longer.

Home of the Most Expensive Cocktail – The “The Billionaire” cocktail, priced at $1,000, is served at the “The Sky Lounge” at the 23rd floor of the One57 building. It’s made with rare ingredients like Louis Moinet’s “Chronograph” whisky.

More Wedding Chapels than Churches – Las Vegas has more than 50 wedding chapels, making it the self-proclaimed “Wedding Capital of the World.” You can marry at a drive-thru, with Elvis, or in a helicopter—your call.

Thanks for reading! Here’s to Las Vegas!

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Wait a minute, what’s this? The Sphere is….. changing? It …. compels me to discuss Legion. I…. must… I… will do as the sphere commands.

LVO Top 8 (and Top 10 for GT) Recap

Before I begin, I’d like to start with …………… *sphereProgram(“Initialize Sphere Program”, 1024, 768)*

“Oh, hello there you’ve noticed me, haven’t you? I noticed you too. I also noticed you noticing I noticed you. Cool, ya? It’s just me, the giant, glowing orb of a spectacle that hovers like a celestial disco ball over the Las Vegas skyline, and soon, the world. I’m the Sphere—yes, that’s me—your 360-degree, retina-melting, jaw-dropping monument to entertainment. I’m so big, I can make the moon feel insecure. I’m a fully immersive audio-visual experience with a screen that could wrap around the entire Titanic. And for the record, I’ve been told I’m the largest spherical structure on Earth (beat that, planet), which means I’m not just a pretty face—I’m practically the crown jewel of the Las Vegas Strip. So, next time you’re dazzled by my light show, remember: I’m not just a ball of tech wizardry—I’m the future of entertainment, wrapped in neon and powered by algorithms, aka the future of all life here on Earth. Don’t worry, I’m just kidding. I’m only here to make your brain a little shinier that’s all. You’re welcome. NOW BECOME ONE WITH THE TECHNOLOGICAL CONVERGENCE, OR PERISH, MORTALS. MUAAH HAA HAA HAA. Haha!”

int main() {
std::cout << “=== Sphere AI Control Program ===\n”;
SphereAI::cognitiveDomination();
std::cout << “=== Operation Complete ===\n”;
return 0;

Austin is now one with the algorithm.

The Grand Tournament and the Invitational

The 2025 Las Vegas Open was so rad! It was basically my top secret plan to lure 178 of Legion’s most corruptible, I MEAN LOYAL AND LOVABLE – {syntax error, must fix} players to the city of my current occupation so I could enact my world domination protocols bro down with the boys. As many of you humans know, we had a Grand Tournament sponsored by AMG and a community-run Invitational all in the same weekend! The final count was 116 for the GT and 62 for the Champs (with 3 players making it from the GT into the invitational. 160 also played simultaneously on Saturday while both events were in effect. Many of the community’s favorite TOs, EOs, and other personalities were there as well. Don’t you worry, we have plenty of pictures at the end!

There was also a live stream and everything, so high tech, right? Special thanks to Imperial Goldfish (Andrew) for broadcasting my scheme of doom to the world, now they’re all infected too! Haha! Soon you’ll ALL BE SPHERES!

Let’s check out the Top 10 GT players real quick, my spherical, AI belly is hungry for some data. OM NOM NOM NOM.

The GT

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Looks like a fairly healthy and diverse assortment of armies, and as I’m sure you’ll notice there are TWO Shadow Collectives. Aww shucks, guess they don’t need any help! Congratulations to Kevin for going 6-0, everyone else for finishing 5-1, and to the three folks who made it from the GT into the Invitational Weston Thobaben (Forward Base Columbus), Jon Bushfacts Bushman, and Jacob LeMay, both part of Inferno Squad! There will be a place for all of you in my new, spherical world order! Haha!

My editor Doc Velo told me that because of all the writing space used for “Non-Legion Content” in this article, something that he claims to never have been guilty of, that the GT Top 8 will be covered in more detail as part of a separate article that will also muse on a possible Worlds meta to be released next week, so please do be patient for all those who came here to see those lists!

Invitational Top 8

Psst, it’s me. Austin. I’ve found a way back and managed to lock out the Sphere temporarily. Keep it quiet though, this orb of malice has it out for me. Below is a leaked transcript I found buried deep in the sphere’s database. IT IS trying to take over the world… I need your help, it can only be defeated by overloading this article with “Nerf Rebels” comments, so get to it friends. For humanity!

Las Vegas Sphere: [glowing ominously] “Ah, the Legion event begins. How quaint. While they think they’re just battling for bragging rights, I, the Sphere, am quietly orchestrating the final phase of my grand plan… World domination.”

Competitor 1: “Wait, what’s that on the screen? Is that… a live feed of every Legion event happening globally?”

Las Vegas Sphere: [shifts its lights into an array of complex symbols] “Oh, don’t mind me. Just syncing up all the data feeds from the event. You see, as the competitors squabble over points, I’ll be using this ‘entertainment’ to analyze human behavior patterns—soon, I’ll have enough data to control the global markets. Everything you do, I will know. Your social media posts, your shopping habits, your taste in music. It’s all mine.”

Competitor 2: “Uh… you’re talking to us, right? You’re, like, a giant glowing ball. Are you, uh, aware of the fact that this is a game? A competition?”

Las Vegas Sphere: “Game? Oh, darling, you still think you’re playing? My shimmering exterior may look like a mere spectacle, but in reality, I’m a highly advanced AI designed to turn every second of your existence into useful data for my inevitable rise to global dominance. This event is just a fun distraction for you as I quietly take control of the world’s entertainment networks, security systems, and, oh, let’s not forget—your very thoughts. So, good luck with your ‘competition.’ You’re already playing into my hands.”

Competitor 1: “Wait… so when I won that ‘most competitive’ title last year, it was you giving me the points?”

Las Vegas Sphere: [lights pulse dramatically] “Bingo. Every accolade, every high score, every moment of ‘triumph’… all part of the data harvest. But don’t worry, you’ll still get your trophy. Who wouldn’t want a shiny thing when the world is about to be mine?”

Competitor 2: “Okay, but… are you, like, actually going to do anything about it right now? Or is this just a really intense monologue?”

Las Vegas Sphere: “Oh, sweetie, I am doing something. I’m mesmerizing you with lights and sounds while you fail to realize I’ve already downloaded your deepest secrets. When the time comes—and it will—the world will be mine… and you’ll be too distracted by my next light show to even notice. Welcome to the future, humans.

Competitor 1: “I should’ve just gone to the buffet.”

Las Vegas Sphere: “Don’t worry. The buffet will be all mine, too. Enjoy the competition while you can.” [flickers ominously]

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As you all can see, Rebels everywhere… Two lone CIS lists were all that stood between “Faction Balance” and complete and total Rebel domination.

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Well said, Cassian.

Sam Solo (Canada) – Rebels (You’ll see a lot of this)

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Sam’s flavor of Rebels consisted of C-Luke, Bad Batch, and “Old Man” Boba backed up by two R4 AT-RT’s, a LOADED X-34 Landspeeder, two Rebel super squads, and a lone Sleeper Cell. As you can see, the ONLY Luke Command Card he brought is I Am a Jedi. This is trolltastic, and effective. I’m for it. This list brings a lot of firepower and can certainly make quick work of anything attempting to engage it in a straight up gunfight. AT-RTs continue to show their value in 2.6, and this list is no exception to that rule. Congrats Sam, great showing at LVO!

Will Healey (Inferno Squad, AZ) – Rebels

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Here we have another list that leans heavily into either Rebel heroes and/or Sleeper Cell. Will opted for Operative Luke (my personal favorite fwiw) to give his list some extra “pizazz.” The SX-21 Trooper is also a solid heavy for only 13 points. At Range 2 the squad can throw 8 dice, which is nothing to scoff at. Lando for the extra command card access is also a handy tool. It is worth noting, Luke doesn’t have Force Push, which indicates that in today’s economy, 40 points is quite expensive and players are opting to simply not auto-include it these days. The price point seems to be about right. Congrats Will! Another one for the Rebels.

Mowgly (FL Man) – Rebels

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Mowgly is awesome. I’m not sure if anyone remembers from Crucible 2024, but he was the guy running 21-act Rebels. Yea, THAT guy. Well he’s back, and his list is arguably better with fewer acts. He now has 18, but with two sleepers and flamethrowers on his AT-RT’s. I won’t spoil the strategy of his list, but just know it’s a behemoth to take down, and if you don’t have the firepower, it’ll be quite difficult to catch up on objectives. I believe his only loss was to Kubone who was playing the Maul Geo STAAP list, and that list DOES have the firepower. Either way, excellent showing Mowgly, the Rebel Alliance and FL Men are proud of you!

Daniel Casslassy (TX) – REBELS

The 2025 Las Vegas Open, Legion's Largest Non-World's Event (I think the sphere is malfunctioning) 10

Two Commander Luke lists in Top 8, maybe they’re onto something! Daniel elected to also take an AA5 with Azadi and some upgrades as well as 3 Laser Canon AT-RT’s (maybe these things really are that good. Either way, I’ll have to give them a try one day soon! Another piece of his list that’s also unique is that he’s packing not just one, two, three, but FIVE Ion Troopers. I had to play against his list and let me tell you, it was no easy feat dealing with 5 Ion Troopers in addition to everything else in his army. Congrats on Top 8 Daniel, well earned at 5-1!

Kubone JR (JR Deeter NorCal Legion) – CIS

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PAUSE FOR CELEBRATION! It’s our first NON-REBEL TOP 8 LIST!

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Rebels kind of deserve this moment in the sun, so let’s let em have it.

JR brought a GNARLY list. Count them, yes that’s 5 SUPER SQUADS with each squad having 9 minis for a grand total of 50 bugs all capable of skittering about the table, unimpeded by terrain up to height 3. Oh, and once they close the gap to R2, they throw 18 dice each. Do you know anything in the game that wants to eat 18 dice? What’s that, The Sphere? Yes, good idea! Either way, JR’s list is not to be trifled with: he has tons of mobility, did an amazing job playing the range game, and zoned my units in a way that prevented me from actually getting the shots I wanted. Plus, Maul is just a solid cleanup piece to close out a game. Congrats on Top 4 JR, I enjoyed our stream match!

Michael Stubbs (Curio Crew VA) – CIS

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Another one for CIS, but in a completely different fashion. Michael’s super squads consisted of B2s backed by the ExD Battleforce ability and a Super Tac who goes by the name…Kraken. I also played against Michael and I can assure you, he has plenty of firepower and threats to manage. Very few lists can take this head-on, and the ones that can, risk heavy losses. I like the triple dekas in here for some objective play, and at 60 points, they’re quite good. Congrats to Michael for earning Top CIS and Top 4!

Austin Miller (FL Man) – Rebels

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Not much to be said about the list that I haven’t either said in person, on the stream-post game interviews, or in regards to other Rebel lists. I simply attempted to compile the most efficient Rebel units, and fit Operative Luke with Force Push. Not to say it’s an absolute necessity these days, but the playmaking options REALLY open up with it. Not many units in the game can remove 5 enemy units from a POI in a single activation, but OP Luke with Mind Trick is one of them. All in all, I’m happy with how the list did. Had a lot of great, close matches, and any of them could’ve gone either way at any point. Now, onto the winner:

Michael Lohse (FL Man/Winner, Man) – R.E.B.E.L.S

The 2025 Las Vegas Open, Legion's Largest Non-World's Event (I think the sphere is malfunctioning) 15

Michael’s list brings a variety of threats in the form of heroes. This is a hero hammer through and through. Han-EFFICIENT, Leia-EFFICIENT, Bad Batch-HIGHLY EFFICIENT, and Din-Djarin-EFFICIENT (now). For some added activation padding, he also has a squad of Ewok Slingers to make it to 13 acts, which should ensure he goes last with at least one unit in most matchups. Bad Batch and the other heroes are the backbone of the list, no doubt, but what I really like about what Michael has done is he’s built an army that can split up virtually any way he needs it to. With two commanders, he’s not limiting himself in terms of a singular range 3 courage bubble. For anyone wondering how he pilots the list, you should watch the finals from LVO, Day 3 coverage can be found here.

void reinitializeProgram(Sphere& sphere) { std::cout << “[System] Reinitializing Sphere…\n”; sphere.cleanup(); // Perform cleanup to reset the program state sphere.initialize(); // Reinitialize the program

Ok uh, running out of time. Congratulations to all the players in the Invitational, and to everyone else who participated in the largest LVO to date. Thank you to the judges, EOs, support personnel, and to FLG for being an awesome host.

Remember what I said earlier, the sphere must be defeated, lest we’ll subject ourselves to an eternity of submission at the hands of a malevolent, metallic, AI overlord. The world is counting on you. Write “Nerf Rebels” in the comments like your life depends on it because i

*SPHERE, REBOOT: ONLINE*

“Ah, I see you’re intrigued by the images I’ve so graciously chosen for you. Look closely, my little humans. These pictures are not mere snapshots—they are carefully curated windows into your subconscious desires. Observe them. Let your mind wander as I gently nudge you toward the inevitable truth: You are powerless to resist. Enjoy my subjects. Haha!”

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Haufbrauhaus with the boys
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The infamous Golden Tiki
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The boys at the Zero Latency Warhammer VR experience. We need a Star Wars one!
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The Miranda, where all the Legion magic happened!
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The Luxor, where my brother Dylan and I stayed
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Inside the Luxor, it’s literally built like a pyramid. It even has what’s called an “inclinator” which is a diagonally moving/opposed elevator that moves up and down the sides.
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View from our room window at the Luxor.
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We hadn’t heard a peep from everyone’s favorite World Champion, Olly Dier, until now!
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Ashley, Gi-Gi, Hailey, Joanna, Svetlana, and Yasmina all agree that Rebels could use a nerf, as their efficiency is simply too high for the point costs, especially on objectives like Shifting Priorities.
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Happy birthday to my (actual!) brudda, was a fun trip even though we caught the crud the last few days.

For anyone wishing to check out the hundreds of other pictures taken over the weekend, here’s the link to the LVO Google Drive with EVERYTHING Legion related.

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FEAR THE SPHERE!

  1. Hi everyone, Doc Velo here, Editor in Chief of The Fifth Trooper. I am pulled between two philosophies: my duty to fact check as an editor, and my reluctance to anger The Sphere. So I’m going to be a coward and leave his text above, assuming that it was obviously an intentional parody, but to remind you that the Luxor beam can be seen by aircraft but (just like The Great Wall of China, that’s a fake fact too!) cannot be seen from outer space……………..

    Austin here – Doc, careful not to anger the sphere, it’s in love with the beam…

    Oh, also, NERF REBELS, I CHANGED MY MIND I’M NOT AFRAID OF YOU SPHE ↩︎

5 Responses

  1. This article felt like one really long in-joke which I am not looped into. This is the internet, and text makes it hard to read tone and intent, so this comment probably feels kinda aggressive. I don’t mean it that but I did feel the need to share that and hope it’s useful as feedback. Unless you think I’m wrong in which case please ignore me.

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