Buyers Guide

The COMPLETE 2024 Legion Buyers Guide (Updated for Legion 2.6)

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Evan Paul

Evan "Doc Velo" Paul is the deputy editor of the blog as well as Fifth Trooper's leading fluttercraft "tactician," media "analyst," and Star Wars canon "expert."

August 2024 UPDATE:

Well, they did it. They changed dozens of aspects of this game all at once, and all within a single day. Significant parts of this guide were made obsolete. But we, The Fifth Trooper, have your back. The announcement of “New Legion” or “Legion 2.6” or “we were too skittish to call it Second Edition”…whatever you want to call it, it’s going to bring a lot of new players in and it’ll make old players question how to expand their collection. I’m going to stick with “2.6” because it’s what I’m seeing most commonly as a shortcut and Jay doesn’t pay me by the character count anymore. So, I’ve now updated the whole damn thing just like we said we would when we first released it.

I’m going to do my best to balance theme, fun, and efficiency. If a unit or box features all three in droves, I’m going to highlight it as best I can. I’m going to divide it out by faction as well, since I strongly advise new players to buy one faction and stick with that until they’re comfortable with the game. We won’t cover terrain packs or third party accessories which have no inherent gameplay value (which you typically only see in the hands of players who know they want to keep investing in the game anyway) because there is a LOT of product out there and we have to keep things from getting TOTALLY out of control.

Something to keep in mind: the “standard” game of legion is 1000 points (with 10-13ish units) which should generally be your goal. I’d also like to kindly remind new players they shouldn’t be overwhelmed at all the purchases I’m suggesting, collections are often built over very long periods of time and nothing about this guide is sacred. You also don’t have to go “all-in” to know what the full game is like: you CAN field a nearly complete army at a game night or even a tournament with nothing more than a Battle Force box, one other expansion set, and an Essentials Kit. You wouldn’t have many options in doing so, but it would at least give you an actual taste of the game if you’re not convinced yet to really “take the plunge.”

Finally, all the links I’m posting are to Asmodee’s store or Google shopping if Asmodee doesn’t have it listed, this is not an endorsement of buying from them but rather for the purpose of standardized product ID, the SKU numbers are there on the page so you can help your LGS find them if needed. Ideally you can buy or order these from your brick and mortar local game store, of it that’s not an option then you should find whatever the best deal is of course.

Enough talk, let’s get to the guide!

Choose Your Faction and Starter Set

Even if you haven’t bought a thing, I’d be willing to bet you know what faction you want to play, but just in case I’ll give a brief summary of each at the top of the sections.

All brand new players will need to get EITHER a core set OR the usually-more economical choice of a “Battle Force” box plus an “Essentials Kit” since the battle force boxes don’t have the basic stuff you need like range rulers, dice, and movement templates. “Core sets” have that stuff but the units in them are half one faction and half another, meaning many players won’t ever build half of the models. Battle Force boxes have also jumped even higher in value for the new edition. We’ll get into each faction’s description and their best bet for a “starter” below.

Confederacy of Independent Systems aka “CIS” aka “Separatists”

Lots and lots of droids. The “strength in numbers” faction. It often allows you total control of “who goes when” (which is usually partially random), and also features Geonosians and a smattering of Dark Jedi.

Machine heads are in luck because this faction really only has one choice that makes sense:

Separatist Invasion Force + Essentials Kit

This was already an ironclad recommendation before Legion 2.6 and now it’s even more so since it’s the most economical way to get a whole bunch of B1 Battle Droids at once, the newly improved General Grievous, a tank, and some other stuff that can easily slot into a winning army.

Grand Army of the Republic aka “Republic” aka “Clones”

Clones! The high-five teamwork faction. They are the best individual “troops” and help each other out but have fewer numbers. They’re paired with Jedi Masters, and also Anakin!

Wookiees are technically in this faction and can be used with any Republic list but they can also be used on their own in a Battle Force which we’ll make recommendations for later, you’ll still need to start with something though.

With the release of Legion 2.6, there’s now basically one option that makes sense

The recent changes made the 501st box one of the best values in the game. You’ll get a variety of units that are nearly all useful and the best part is that you can now use the superior Phase 2 Clone Trooper models this comes with as any Clone Trooper since…well, they’re all the same unit now. It’s true that the Clone Wars Core Set is the only way to get Obi-Wan now (sort of) but “501st Legion” is more for the money (8 units, can nearly be a whole army vs the 4 units in the Core set). If you’re a real Obi fan and can’t wait for his re-release which should be in less than a year then I’d sooner suggest buying one on ebay (not too hard to find, usually from people who bought multiple cores or bought them for droids) than buying the original core set which comes with the older, much worse clone trooper models.

Galactic Empire

The “efficiency” faction. I don’t think I need to explain what the Empire is made up of, if you’ve seen it in a movie or the Mandalorian it’s probably in this game already. The faction is primarily made up of shooters who can be commanded either by a “normal dude/lady” such as Veers or Krennic or by a big bad Sith like Vader or the Emperor.

This time we have two possible recommendations but one is MUCH stronger than the other:

“I just want to start crunching rebels:” Blizzard Force + Essentials Kit

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“Snowtroopers and AT-ST? Yuck, gimme stormtroopers!” Original Core Set

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Basically, the upside for Blizzard Force is that you get an extra corps unit, an extra speeder bike unit, and an AT-ST (which isn’t in the core set at all). The only “downside” is that your corps are snowtroopers, which usually only used to show up as a part of the “Blizzard Force” battle force but which may see more play in Legion 2.6 since they can carry the more-important-than-ever flamethrower. Stormtroopers are found in those lists more often and come in the core set, but you can also just buy stormtrooper units separately over time. Basically, unless you absolutely never think you’re going to want to run a full set of speeder bikes OR an AT-ST, then Blizzard (7 units, nearly a whole army) is a waaaaaaaay better buy than the Core (4 units, not even half an army).

Rebel Alliance

The “win by cunning” faction. Similar to the Empire, if the unit or character you can think of was in the original films it’s almost certainly in the game, as well as a couple from the Rebels cartoon like Ahsoka, Sabine, and Mandalorian resistance fighters. This faction by far as the most “trick plays” that can enable you to win games even when most of your army is dead.

Ewoks can be played in Rebel lists or as their own unique force that is basically made up of all the characters and units that showed up in the Endor scene of Return of the Jedi but just like the Wookiees you have to start with a faction starter to have key ingredients anyway.

Like everyone except maybe the Empire, Rebels really only have one option that makes sense.

Echo Base Defenders + Essentials Kit

This battle force box is an extremely good deal because you get three hero units, EIGHT CORPS UNITS (!), two hard-charging tauntaun units AND a big-ol’-turret. It’s true that there is one unit, “Commander” Luke Skywalker that only comes in the original Core Set but: If you want to run the “Empire Strikes Back” version of Luke you can always buy the “Limited Edition” Commander Luke (wearing a flight suit) off ebay for about $50, since they actually made a lot of these back in the day and it never really outpaced demand. It’s a nicer model and has all the same cards as the Core Set one. You may also be able to find hand-me-downs from Empire players who bought the original core set. If you can’t find either when you’re reading this, you can just wait for a re-release of him that’s coming in the next year.

Shadow Collective

The “dirty pirate” faction. This is a specific reference to the group that Maul (after his bisection) led in a few episodes of Clone Wars, consisting of evil Mandalorians, Pykes, Swoop Riders, and Black Sun dudes. It can also play a couple bounty hunters: Cad Bane and Bossk.

I do want people to note here that this “faction” (it’s technically a battle force but I promise you shouldn’t worry too much about that right now) can’t take EVERY bounty hunter in the game. I’m making that point because I’ve seen new players make assumptions along these lines only to be disappointed later. You can’t take Boba Fett, IG-88, or IG-11 in this faction, those three will only work for the Empire (IG-11 can work for Rebels too). I also want to add that there’s maybe only one theoretical unit (Savage Oppress, who will probably be released some day) on the horizon for this faction on the horizon for future releases. That said, there are now and will presumably always be a lot of fun options so it’s by no means a bad choice, I just don’t want people to think it has the same opportunity for growth as the “standard” factions.

This may seem weird compared to the other recommendations but bear with me…THREE Shadow Collective Starter Sets and an Essentials Kit.

Shadow Collective is a little different/convenient because if you KNOW you want to get into it, this one box actually contains one copy each of what is by far the bread and butter of EVERY shadow collective list. Unlike the other boxes, you are never going to see a Shadow Collective list that doesn’t feature at least three (and usually many more) units that come in these boxes. Adding to that, they’re around half the price of the “traditional faction” battle force boxes. Once you have three of each you’ll be able to run a full army with some good wiggle room. After that, it may worth it in my opinion to finish your collection using individual unit boxes, but the bargain is so good that it’s hard to recommend just doing one starter set and then doing unit boxes after that.

Rounding Out Your Army (“High Value Buys”)

Once you’ve considered the core set, you’re going to want to consider how you’ll get yourself to a “playable list” (in the standard 1000 point format). I can’t necessarily predict what all of you will value in the units that you buy but I’m going to take multiple things into consideration at once here:

  • Is it good?
  • Is it fun?
  • Does it look good?
  • Does having this unit provide you options when you need to get to a “complete” 1000 point list?

The lists below contain the units that I consider the highest “value” for the combination of items above. I’d encourage all players to look at Tabletop Admiral while considering the lists below a little to get a feel for what they really want at the end of the day and BEFORE making any purchases. Also, it’s good to keep in mind that the “Personnel/Specialist” boxes for the main 4 factions each contain three unique command cards for those factions, some of which are very good and some of which are…kinda meh.

A Fair Warning About Upcoming Re-Releases

An important heads-up that I’ll write here because otherwise I’d have to repeat it over and over again. Atomic Mass Games have stated that they are going to re-release EVERY mini that was released prior to 2020 with a new, hard plastic model. The announced units for 2025 are as follows:

  • Rebel Troopers Q2
  • Stormtroopers Q2
  • Scout Troopers Q2
  • Rebel Commandos Q2
  • Grievous/Obi Wan (this will probably be a new core set) Q3
  • Commander Vader/Veers (this will also probably be a new core set) Q3
  • Han/Leia/Both Lukes/Chewie (all in one box) Q3
  • Krennic (in one box, along with new units Tarkin, Tagge and Thrawn!) Q4

So, IF you feel like waiting on any of the above please do, other re-releases will follow but they have no date in sight so just take the above as you will. In any case, let’s get started with what I consider the best overall picks to round out an army in any list.

Separatists

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Separatists are the only faction where I’m essentially saying “just get the full possible complement of the basic corps unit” because the B1 really has been that important to the faction historically, and it’s even more helpful to have a bunch of them around with the double-sized “mega-units” allowed in the 2.6 ruleset.

Republic

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  • Anakin SkywalkerI’m only typing this in here if you’re some crazy Obi fan and got the Clone Wars core set…but honestly, even if you did, you should still get the 501st box anyway because it still has insane value, you shouldn’t ever need the single-Anakin expansion. As of 2.6 he has gone from being “cool” to “godly”.
  • The Bad Batch – Bad batch, good dice. VERY good dice.
  • Phase 2 Clone Troopers x2– Now that all of the old Phase 1/Phase 2 models are just “clone infantry” in the rules you may as well get the squads that have high quality hard plastic and helmets that don’t look…sort of silly.
  • Phase 1 Clone Trooper Upgrade Expansion x2 – This surprisingly went up in value because there were two minis within it (the captain and the shotgun) that you will want a couple copies of. These will potentially (likely?) be released in next year’s clone trooper pack however so if you want to hold off for better quality minis you could do that too. Don’t worry about the “Phase 1” part of this, as of 2.6 the phases don’t matter anymore as above.
  • Republic Specialists Personnel Expansion x2 – You’ll want at least 2 commander minis at least, some lists maybe even more but 2 is a good starting point. The medic and comms officer are legit as well.
  • Republic Commandos x2 – A recent release that has great models, is fun, can now go into the best battle force in the game (501st) and is just REALLY strong, if you played the video game and liked it just get a third
  • Saber Tank: Legion 2.6 has created a Renaissance for this unit, which has a great model and a beam weapon that was turned from “meme” to “mean” overnight

Wookiees

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It’s worth noting that the Wookiee Warriors box gives you a total of six minis which you can mix and match to make what you want, I recommend just dumping all the blisters onto the table and planning ahead to figure out how you want to built them, because there are actually three different types of units you can make from the models. The eight “A1” models you get can be used to make one generic commander, two bowcaster heavies, and five unit leaders (I would do three Warriors and two Defenders) which actually gets you SIX units for the price of 4. If you want a list with a bunch of heavies you may need one more box but this will be a great foundation.

Galactic Empire

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  • General Veers: For some reason the designers decided Veers needed to become the all time warrior god of cheap commanders so here we are.
  • Darth Vader Operative – Gives you three NECESSARY command cards to succeed with Vader and a pretty good unit too
  • Boba FettFun to play and still strong even though his value dropped a little with 2.6, note that if you love him you’ll eventually want to get the Rebel/Daimyo (old man) Boba Fett box as well since it has three command cards as well as an upgrade you’ll only find there
  • Imperial Shoretroopers – You get two units that are both very solid corps choices (troopers and two mortars, both very good) so great value here for building an army
  • Imperial Personnel Expansion x1 – The medic droid and generic commander are both worthy to consider in pretty much any list
  • Stormtroopers x2 – The “standard-fare” corps that is flexible and can be strong enough for the cost to be useful
  • Stormtrooper Upgrade Expansion x2 – It gives them a very good weapon option and a useful “specialist” mini.
  • 74-Z Speeder Bikes x1 – When you run speeders you’ll usually want to run three at once and you get two in the Blizzard Force box
  • Scout Troopers x 2 – The imperial sniper rifle got better with the update and is an even more solid pick than it was before
  • Range Troopers – They move slow but shoot a long ways and pile on suppression as well

Empire has the biggest pool of available minis in the game so if the above seems overwhelming I apologize, remember that you can do this as quick or as slow as you want and I’d recommend something like starting with Vader Operative, the Stormtroopers and Upgrades, Personnel, the Shores, the Bikes, and the Range Troopers and then expanding out from there.

Rebel Alliance

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  • Cassian Andor and K-2SO – Arguably the best value for a “hero” pack in the game because you get two great units in one box
  • Han Solo – One of the most fun heroes just in all respects and can be very decent on the field
  • IG-Series Assassin Droids (Merc): Only IG-11 is playable for Rebels but he’s really really good now, good enough to warrant a near-universal buy in my opinion
  • Rebel Troopers/Rebel Troopers Upgrade x1 each: Rebel troopers got a significant boost with the new rules but I hesitate to say you should buy a ton of these because as above the new models will release in a year. Get one of each of these to see if you want to dive in early or just hoof it with the veterans that come in the Echo Base box for now.
  • Rebel Personnel Expansion – This may be the lowest value out of all the personnel expansions but it’s still worth having one to give your corps units some extra options
  • Rebel Commandos x2 – Both the full unit and the strike team are great value with flexible points
  • 1.4D FD Laser Cannon x1 – Since you’re getting one in the Echo Base box it makes sense to have at least one more, a solid unit that is cheap points-wise
  • A-A5 Speeder Truck x1 – A great model that can do a good job holding “home objective points” while making your opponent work hard to kill them. You also can use it to slingshot a unit up at the beginning of the game,

Bright Tree Village (Ewoks)

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  • Logray and Wicket – Two of the “hero” units that are specific to the Ewok faction, the other is a card for C-3PO which you’ll already have the model for since you’ll have started with the Echo Base box
  • Han Solo – Fun commands, works well with Chewie
  • Rebel CommandosWith the army size increase it will be good to have one to help fill out the list
  • AT-ST Expansion [2023] (be sure it has Chewie on the back side of the box) – Yes you can in fact run an AT-ST in this faction, piloted by the one and only Chewbacca, and it’s great
  • Ewok Warriors x6 – Just like Wookiees, the bread and butter. You can make two different types of units from these boxes (but not both, you’ll have to choose), and you may even want more down the road, but this will definitely allow you to run the list.

You’ll get Leia, Chewbacca, and R2/Threepio in the Echo Base set so no worries about that part if you started with that like we recommend.

Shadow Collective

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  • Gar Saxon: He exists to be the commander of a list with 3 or 4 Mandalorian Super Commandos which is a list that is now better in Legion 2.6
  • Bossk – A nasty lizard man who shoots people from very far away, everyone hates playing against him, but Bossk cares not for their sorrow
  • Additional box of “Shadow Collective” or individual Black Sun/Pyke Syndicate boxes if you KNOW you’ll play one vs the other – See below
  • Swoop Bikes x3 – Trust me, it’s just so fun to play the biker gang. Also a list with three of these is the most recent World Champion in case you had doubts. In many ways they’re even better under Legion 2.6 as well.
  • A-A5 Speeder Truck x1 – Running one will allow you to use the useful “field commander” as well as catapaulting a Black Sun unit into enemy lines.

You’ll eventually likely want at least 4 of EITHER Pykes or Black Suns (or both of course but they typically work best in different kinds of lists) but the above will put you in a place where you can really see all that this Battle Force has to offer.

Generic Card Packs and Other Miscellany

There are a few “generic” products that every new player should consider, and the upgrade packs are nearly essential (luckily they’re cheap). I’ll give a brief description of each as well as a relative priority.

These are cheap (less than $15) and contain ALL of the “generic” upgrades in the game right now. There are other upgrades that are more specific to certain units, which will come with those units in their own boxes, but if you buy one of each of the above you’ll be set for the generic stuff until they ever release another one (which isn’t on the horizon as of now).

You do get extra dice in the essentials kit, along with an extra set of templates which can be QUITE handy believe me. The amount of dice you get in a single core set or essentials kit (3 each) isn’t enough for MOST games of legion but you’ll usually do fine with a total of 6 of each dice, and will almost always be fine with 9 of each dice. So, to the average player, I’d say that you’ll want to get an extra essentials kit right off the bat and consider augmenting that with another one or the slightly cheaper option of a dice pack. Again, any of the “starter” choices above will give you three of each die, but aim for six and eventually nine to be comfortable.

A note of warning: unless you really want some decent-looking scatter terrain do NOT buy the sets titled “Vital Assets” or “Priority Supplies.” These primarily existed to give you access to cards that are no longer usable in the game and if anybody from AMG is reading this I literally think that the right thing to do is to ask Asmodee to either heavily discount it or at least change the product description.

Legion 2.6 Essentials

We are in a transitional zone of this new version of Legion where a big part of the game will have to be “print and play” until roughly August 2025. This means there is going to be a little up-front craftiness that is asked of the players…but it isn’t much. For the various updated cards and battle deck (found HERE) having a printer at home is the best solution but otherwise it may mean getting help from other players, taking a trip to FedExOffice, or (cough) using your work printer for…extracurriculars.

There are however two physical components that are both extremely crucial and not-currently-released as an official game piece. Luckily, there are cheap workarounds to get you there, both around $7 USD

Both of the above can almost certainly be achieved by visiting your local hardware store. Is it convenient? No. but it’s way better than measuring with a printed piece of paper.

Everything Else (and I mean everything, with value grades)

I wanted to be comprehensive because I hate for new players to feel like they have to take completely wild guesses or spend time scrolling through Reddit or Discord to find their answers.

As you read the list below please keep the following in mind:

  1. I’m not going to repeat heroes that come in the recommended starters OR expansions that I’ve already listed above as being “high-value,” I listed them there BECAUSE I think they’re a better value than any of the expansions below
  2. You shouldn’t think twice about buying a character, unit, or vehicle that you love in the fiction, you’re rarely going to actually be disappointed if that’s the case. I wrote these grades from the perspective of someone who is just sort of “generally” a Star Wars fan.
  3. Readers who are already into the game may have very different opinions, feel free to leave them but please remember there is a certain amount of subjectivity here. That said, I have played with or against all of these units many times over the years, so if nothing else these opinions are definitely based on experience.
  4. I will highlight mercenaries by putting (Merc) after the name, this mainly matters for the non-unique units since you can only ever run two of those in a given list (three for corps with a certain upgrade but no one ever does this).
  5. I’ll rank from A down to F, if it was “S” it already would have been listed above

Separatists

Commanders

Poggle the Lesser: C – A slow old man with a couple tricks with B2’s but not much pizzazz, buy if you want a full Geonosian army though






Operatives

Asajj Ventress: B – A glass cannon in every sense, has a cool command with Dooku
Bossk (Merc): B – A decent choice in any list, the suppressive weapon is also more meaningful now
Cad Bane (Merc): B Pretty fun but became a bit worse because the 2.6 rules changes shift away from objectives that favor “sneakiness” with a couple exceptions.
Sun Fac: D – Just OK, is worth it if you want to run lots of Geonosians but no other synergies
Corps

Pykes/Black Suns (Merc): C – Can fill out the very end of a list sometimes but not very often



Special Forces

MagnaGuards: A – Great models and very efficient units, the only reason I didn’t suggest getting more above is because you get one unit in the Separatist Invasion box which will give you a feel for wanting more. Most Separatist players will have at least two units of these lying around
Support

Droidekas: C – You get two units with the Invasion Force box so you could get third eventually if you ever want to really “roll out”
Dwarf Spider Droid: A – The “AI” keyword is much less of a liability now which makes the ion spider droid a reliable long-range threat for half the cost of a tank.
STAP Riders: B – Great speed and control with a good attack but quite fragile, also you really need 3 units to get the actual value.
Heavy

AAT: B- You’ll already have one from the Battle Force box, running two is easier now that the points limit is 1000 and may actually be quite good in Legion 2.6
Persuader-Class Tank aka “Snail Tank”: B – This is a funky unit but a GREAT model and having one opens up quite a few lists including more options in the powerful “Experimental Droids” Battle Force that Separatists can run

Republic

Commanders

Captain Rex: A – He got somewhat stronger now that the 501st battle force is kinda busted. Ask veteran players about how “fun” he used to be some time.
Commander Cody: A – The unit is better than his commands but Direct: Vehicle has gotten way better now that GAR has a couple really good options for heavies
Yoda: A – He isn’t the insane trickster he used to be but he’s now the engine behind a newly-invigorated Wookiee battle force
Operatives
Padme Amidala: D – She used to be a central part of any Republic list, now she’s a low impact finesse piece. Requiescat in Padme, as they say.
Crashed Escape Pod: C – This gives you R2 and 3PO who unfortunately don’t fit well into the faction right now BUT it also gives you some cool terrain which is about worth the price anyway.




Corps

Phase 1 Clone Troopers: F – These will be the old, soft plastic models that no longer have any relevance to game state in any way at all as of 2.6. If you REALLY love the shark fin helmets there will be a release early next year with new models to sate your appetite.
Pykes (Merc): D – Without getting into too much detail, these guys used to synergize much better with the faction and the newly amalgamized “Clone Trooper Infantry” is just-plain a better buy at this point. So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Special Forces

ARC Troopers: S if you only got the core set but if you got the 501st box more like a B, you don’t NEED an extra in that case but you can still get use out of maxxing out these insanely good units.

Wookiee Warriors: B – One box is worth it if you’re at least curious about running the full Wookiee Force, especially because it gives you the generic Wookiee commander AND an option to build one of two different units. As far as charging melee threats go generally though, ARC troopers with a Commander mini are weirdly just better for the points at that now.
Support

Republic AT-RT: C– These are a little better now that they have red dice saves…but not much
BARC Speeder: C – These are better in 2.6 because mobility matters more but they’re still slow if you take a weapon on them. Honestly, if you were planning to run them weaponless, I guarantee you’re better off using a fluttercraft if you’re brave enough to build it and magnetize it.
Raddaugh Gnasp Fluttercraft: A – As of the time I’m writing this the community hasn’t fully awakened to how useful this already-great unit is now that its gun doesn’t have to contend with losing two hits to cover automatically every time, plus it can chase down weak-side POI’s. It’s incredible in the Wookiee battleforce (because it’s faster) but it’s worth considering in any army.
Swoop Bike Riders (Merc): D – Since you can only ever run two in a list you’ll just end up annoyed that you can’t execute an actual strategy the way Shadow Collective does BUT if you’re a madman you could run two with a “bomber” Fluttercraft and impress your friends
Heavy

Infantry Support Platform: A – The changes to vehicles and cover for 2.6 changed this vehicle into a “can-ignore” into a “should try”
LAAT/LE Patrol Transport: C – This is arguably even less useful than it used to be but the model is superb if that’s enough for you.















Galactic Empire

Commanders

Director Krennic: A – He got a major upgrade in Legion 2.6 and will now see play in way more lists than he used to but is likely still slightly worse than Veers as a “standard cheap Empire commander”
Agent Kallus: B – Kallus’ value went down a little as those of the Veers and Krennic rose but is still solid
Emperor Palpatine: A – I was really close to just putting him on the high-value list but you really should buy Royal Guards with him and it was just a little too much to suggest, he’s sooo fun and scary to your opponents though!
Iden Versio and ID10: A – Fun to play and effective either on her own or with her beloved “Inferno Squad.” Buy at least one unit of “Imperial Special Forces” if you’re gonna pick her up
Moff Gideon: C – He sort of exists purely to super-charge Dark Troopers at the moment but he sure does that, he has some other cool tricks too
Operatives

Bossk (Merc): B – He still meshes well with Imperial gunlines but now that the game is more about mobility than just sitting there he suffers a bit
Cad Bane (Merc): B – Less useful in 2.6 but still has potential and is fun to play.

Din Djarin aka “The Mandalorian” (Merc): A – He’s recently gotten cheaper and we may have been underrating him as a community before that anyway.
Fifth Brother/Seventh Sister: C – There will be fewer jedi running around with force push now which used to be a big selling point for them.
IG-Series Assassin Droids (Merc): A – You get both IG-11 and IG-88 in one box and IG-11 is WAY better now with new cover rules


Corps

Snowtroopers: F – Because if you bought Blizzard Force you’ll already have all the snowtroopers you need, if you bought the core set it’s more like a B to get one or maybe two for flamethrower access
Black Suns (Merc): C – Rush-down units are more useful now generally and I could see this performing well as filler for certain lists but not often.
Pykes (Merc): C – Some shoot-y lists will opt for these because they’re more efficient at range 3 than most other corps units but Shores are usually just better

Special Forces

Imperial Special Forces: A – Buy one box with Iden, then if you like the feel you can get two more in order to give the you option for a BIG turn one play with Iden
Imperial Royal Guards: A – You’ll probably only ever need one box but since Palpatine is so great it’s definitely worth it to have one of these, it has some utility in non-Palp lists as well to shield your shooters
Imperial Death Troopers: A – Strong guns, good if you have about a hundred points left and want more ranged “punch,” they got better mainly because Krennic got better because they synergize
Support

Dewback Rider: B – They ostensibly improved with Legion 2.6 for a couple reasons (including flamethrower access) but I’ve heard the term “dewbacks are good now” about a half dozen times now and it hasn’t yet come true. EDIT: Well, three of ’em were in an undefeated list in a 100 person tourney in the UK so…maybe?
E-Web Heavy Blaster Team: B– They finally have the range 4 band they always should have had but their poor mobility can be a liability in the new rules.








Heavy

AT-ST: A- You’ll get a version of the old model in the Blizzard Force box but the newer 2023 model (with Chewie on the back) is nicer. Most Imperial players try double AT-ST list at least a couple times, and there is even an option to run THREE in the “Tempest Force” Battle Force. These things are even better with the new rules as well.
LAAT/LE: C – Still a bad un platform, now a less fun transport, but a great model so that’s cool
Tx-225 GAVw Occupier Tank: C – A significantly worse shooter than the AT-ST but only 20 points cheaper…it IS more mobile now and can deliver a melee/range 2 unit closer to an enemy but it’s still a clunky fit in most lists.
Dark Troopers: C – This was a high tier unit that got somewhat gutted by a few different changes in 2.6, but they’re still decent when they’re run with Gideon.

Rebel Alliance

Commanders

Commander Luke: A – This one is weird because you can only get this mini on his own in the Limited Edition “Hoth Flight Suit” version or as a Core Set hand-me-down but as of this writing there are plenty on ebay. There is going to be a new hard plastic version coming out within a year of this writing so you may want to wait, if you want to use “Operative/Jedi” Luke to his full potential though you’ll at least want Commander Luke’s command cards. In a way it’s a little frustrating that he became significantly better in Legion 2.6
Lando Calrissian: B – A sweet model with fun rules that hasn’t yet found its place but everything else is in its favor
Jyn Erso: C – Her guns got better with the rules update but her best command is now much less good than it used to be, I’m prepared to ger more hate mail but I still think she’s not great







Operatives

Ahsoka Tano: C – She’s in a weird place where she’s more expensive than commander Luke for now-similar output but doesn’t have Master of the Force meaning putting the now-very-expensive force push on her doesn’t make sense. She’s fallen into a Legion 2.6 donut hole.
Operative/”Jedi” Luke: B – Like most jedi his value took a bit of a hit but is still useful to get good commands for the Commander version, who is probably weirdly a better unit now.
The Bad Batch: C – I mainly just don’t think the Rebel version is worth the cost with its non-pierce dice roll and limited uses of Omega
Boba Fett Daimyo (Merc): C – He lost his best trick with the change to how Fire Support works but is still ok. If you want all the command cards you’ll also need the Imperial Boba Fett expansion.
Din Djarin aka “The Mandalorian” (Merc): A – Now he is cheaper and Rebel version of Grogu can be attached to IG-11 which is fun, especially since Grogu is less of a liability under the new rules.
Sabine Wren: A – A fairly unique unit who has a lot of sweet tricks and also synergizes with “Clan Wren” which comes in the Mandalorian Special Forces box as well as Ahsoka
Corps

Fleet Troopers: C – This is what you actually have when your mom says “we have Legion 2.6 ARC troopers at home.” They are better than before, but I think a lot of players jumped on overvaluing them out of a desire for them to finally be “good.” They’re worth trying out at least.
Pykes (Merc): F – A REALLY rare choice for a “pure shooting” rebel list which is barely something that exists
Ewok Skirmishers (Merc): D – The corps really doesn’t work outside of the Battle Force since it does not fulfill your minimum requirements







Special Forces

Ewok Slingers (Merc): C – This comes in the same box as the “corps” option but is more versatile and is also very cheap so it’s decent for a “filler” activation
Mandalorian Resistance: C – This (still waiting) will get buffed in the future but for now I’d only consider one because you can make “Clan Wren” out of that, a unique unit that is still solid especially with Sabine
Rebel Pathfinders: B – Buy one for the new and improved Bistan (a monkey with a machine gun who now no longer needs breaks between salvos!) and then avoid getting more unless they make the rest of the unit a bit better in the future.
Wookiee Warriors/Kashyyk Defenders: C for the newer box just because they aren’t in a great place right now for Rebels but FFFFF if you’re considering buying an old one that JUST has the Rebel symbol on the front. If you’re going to buy them then the newer 2021 box with both Rebel and Republic symbols on the front (this one) is the only choice that makes any sense outside of a MAJOR fire sale, it was a strict upgrade in terms of value when it was released.
Support

AT-RT: D- Easier to drive and do damage with but also easier to die now…it’s probably a wash and usually not worth it.
Tauntaun Riders: B – Rated a little lower because you already get two with the Echo Base box and you can run one more in any Rebel list or TWO more in an Echo Base Battle Force. It mainly does shine in that Battle Force, luckily that box will obviously set you up well for trying exactly that!
Swoop Bikes (Merc): C – It’s the only cheap speeder option at all for Rebels but there haven’t been a ton of lists that really take advantage of that so far
Heavy

T-47 Airspeeder aka “Snowspeeder”: B – Fast units got a utility boost now that the game is more “spread out” but they also can die much more quickly now so it probably evens out to be the same value as before.
X-34 Landspeeder: F – It used to be a neat finesse unit because it could carry someone around but now it’s just a garbage gun platform that’s even better at dying than it used to be with the cover changes.


Other Battle Forces

Relatively little hasn’t already been mentioned for these Battle Forces which have fewer eligible units than the main factions but this will complete our journey through what’s out there.

Shadow CollectiveWookieesBright Tree Village (Ewoks)
Cad Bane: B -He’s weaker in Legion 2.6 than he used to be for a bunch of reasons but is very fun and good in the right hands.
Mandalorian Super Commandos: C – The unit is quite good but this is a reflection of the value of ever buying the box that JUST has these instead of just buying another Shadow Collective box…which has these and also two other splash-able units. I would only recommend it to someone who knows they want to Mando it up and literally cares nothing for having other options in Shadow Collective lists
You can consider buying Phase 2 Clone Troopers or ARC Troopers IF AND ONLY IF you bought the Core set and not the 501st box (which I would have advised against if you wanted to go in the Wook direction as your main squeeze). I’d also consider trying out the Infantry Support Platform which as mentioned earlier got a fair bit of a boost with 2.6.







More reason why the Rebel faction is the lucky one when it comes to value: all the unique units available to you were already covered in the guide above! Rebel Troopers are a decent consideration (Limit: 2)












Wrap-Up

We will continue to keep this updated when big changes come to the game. Please do leave a comment here or Facebook or Reddit to let us know what you think and ESPECIALLY if you have questions for us, which we’ll answer as much as possible. Thanks for reading!

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