Star Wars: Legion Command Cards Preview Released

For those looking for a different Star Wars experience that's not centered around DICE's Star Wars Battlefront II, Star Wars Legion offers just the thing in a galaxy that's not so far, far way. In fact, it is coming to a table top near you soon! From the creators of the miniatures game, a new preview has been revealed regarding the Command Cards players will see in-game.

The most recent blog post opens up about two of the most iconic characters from the Star Wars franchise:

"Two iconic characters like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader are born commanders—forged by fate, nature, and experience to lead others into battle or on difficult missions. Yet while both may fill a similar role on the battlefield, they could scarcely be more different. Luke, a selfless hero of the Rebellion, calls upon his Jedi training and knowledge of the living Force to illuminate a path forward. Darth Vader, on the other hand, is consumed by the dark side and its teachings of anger, hatred, fear, and ruthless independence. Both Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader are commanders of your armies in Star Wars: Legion, and each has a unique approach that only they can bring to the table."

In their latest update, the team has paid close attention to the Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance for the core set and wanted to focus on the Commad System and how it was going to function based off of the orders system and command cards. Because of this, they have revealed the Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker unique command cards before the game officiallyl makes its debut next month.

"In Star Wars: Legion, each player will have a hand of seven carefully chosen command cards. These command cards must be selected before the game begins, as part of building your army. (We'll take a closer look at army building in a future preview of Star Wars: Legion!) At the beginning of the round, you'll secretly choose one of your command cards and reveal it at the same time as your opponent." Each pick determines who has priority and how many orders are allocated per player.

As detailed in the blog, four of the command cards in the Core Set will be neutral to be used on any army, no matter the faction: Ambush, Assault, Push, and Standing Orders. How these cards will work in-game is pretty straightforward when utilizing them to make the desired move. Ambush cards would obviously be faster, though restricted to a single unity, whereas Assault is slower but can command up to three units. Each category has its own balance that players will need to be aware of when making their moves. In order to build a solid structure for one's army, they need to understand the mechanics through and through.

Darth Vader

"Darth Vader's power as a warrior cannot be overstated. Between his mastery of the dark side and his skills with a lightsaber, Darth Vader is capable of cutting through dozens of Rebels with uncanny ease—as we've already seen in the final scenes of Rogue One. Still, Darth Vader is also a potent commander, using tactics honed during the chaos of the Clone Wars, and those strategies are reflected in Darth Vader's three personal command cards.

Perhaps Darth Vader's greatest weakness in your games of Star Wars: Legion is his low speed, which can make it difficult for him to come into range to use his lightsaber to devastating effect. Darth Vader's fastest command card, Implacable, offers you a way to counter this. When playing Implacable, you have a very good chance of going first, letting you rush forward with Darth Vader and charge into the fray. In fact, to your opponent, it might seem like Darth Vader is unstoppable—at the end of his activation, Darth Vader can suffer a wound to shuffle his order token into the order pool, gaining a second activation when you draw his order token. Though he can only take one action on his second activation, that's more than enough for Darth Vader to move and attack with his Relentless ability."

Luke Skywalker

"Like Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker comes with his own complement of three command cards, beginning with Son of Skywalker. If you need to send Luke Skywalker leaping into combat to cut down an AT-ST or a squad of Stormtroopers before they can activate, Son of Skywalker is the perfect command card. It gives you a great chance at winning priority, and after Luke Skywalker performs his first attack, he can immediately perform an additional attack. Of course, the downside of this card (as with Implacable) is that you can only issue an order to your commander, leaving the rest of your army without orders at the beginning of the round. Still, the amount of damage that you can pump out with two attacks from Luke Skywalker at the top of the round can certainly outweigh the lack of direction for the rest of your army.

You may use the power of the Force to protect the other units in your army with Luke Skywalker's second command card, My Ally Is the Force. This command card can issue orders to any two trooper units, and when those orders are issued, your units also gain a dodge token. Dodge tokens make your units more difficult to hit, and the Rebel Troopers' Nimble ability makes them a natural target for My Ally Is the Force.

Luke Skywalker's final command card is Return of the Jedi, and in many ways, this card is a reflection of Darth Vader's Master of Evil card. Return of the Jedi is also a slower command card that lets you issue orders to Luke Skywalker and two other units. It immediately grants Luke Skywalker a dodge token, activating the Deflect ability that he shares with Darth Vader. The difference is that whereas Darth Vader inflicts fear by dumping suppression tokens on enemy units, Luke Skywalker's heroic presence lets you inspire your own troops. Whenever Luke Skywalker activates with Return of the Jedi, your nearby troopers can remove a suppression token, keeping morale high and your soldiers ready for action."

Just like any game in this class, strategy is key. You can learn even more about the upcoming game right here. For now, Star Wars: Legion releases on March 22nd.