Sometimes, an army list appears on the competitive scene for a wargame that makes you sit up and take notice. A brutal Separatist Alliance force is doing the rounds of Star Wars Legion’s competitive circuit right now, and once you’ve seen it, there’s a good chance you’ll be asking: “how the heck am I supposed to deal with that?!”
In this case, we’re looking at a list that’s being used by two of the best Star Wars Legion players in the world – Lyla Clare and Chris Rees, who at time of writing are #8 and #11 respectively on Longshanks’ global leaderboard.
Clare piloted this list at the World Team Championship at the end of May and emerged as the top ranked player, and then used it to take second place at the recent UK Games Expo AMG GT. Chris Rees joined her in the top eight with a near identical list. You’ll find both lists on Longshanks.
This list may not become as ubiquitous as net lists are in some other miniature wargames, however. Publisher Atomic Mass Games has allowed stocks of models in first edition packaging to run down so retailers can clear them prior to reissues of the kits with updated rules cards and packaging.
The Star Wars Legion roadmap lists when units will be put back into regular production – and this Separatist force relies on some units that aren’t getting reissued until Q3 2026.
The list uses the Experimental Droid Battleforce rules, which restricts the player to a narrow range of Droid units from the Separatist Alliance army list. In exchange, the player accumulates three Surge tokens per turn onto their Commander.
These tokens can be spent by nearby allied AI Corps, Special Forces, or Support units for a range of powerful effects: to gain a white and a black die on an attack; gain an Aim or Dodge token; remove two Suppression tokens; or increase movement speed by one.
Clare’s and Rees’ lists are both light on Corps units, bringing two basic units of B1 Battle Droids upgraded with portable scanners for survivability, and a unit of tough B2 Super Battle Droids. It’s a minimal package that meets the requirements, but forgoes offensive upgrades like the popular B-5s sniper Droid.
Since the Experimental Droid Battleforce isn’t allowed to take any more Droid units, massed infantry spam isn’t an option. The list nevertheless asks a very tough question of the opponent – can you delete my two prototype variant Persuader-Class Tank Droids, before they delete you?
These are a strictly better version of the regular Persuader, with Arsenal 3 allowing them to fire three guns each turn on a single target or spread across multiple units – something which more than compensates for their weaker Prototype Ion Cannons and lack of an Attack surge. A Linked Targeting Array gives them free Aim tokens, while High Explosive Shells and High Velocity Shells provide them extra firepower.
With five armor and a stack of health, Persuaders are tough to shift without a lot of dedicated Impact or Ion weaponry. This is further enhanced by the Defensive Protocols upgrade, which grants them Nimble (letting them gain a Dodge token after they spend one) and Outmaneuver (letting them Dodge critical hits).
Force Commander Kalani, Super-Tactical Droid can get that first Dodge token onto them easily. With Strategise 2, he can provide both snail tanks with a Dodge and an Aim token before they even activate – and if he’s not in range, his order card Preservation Protocols does the same thing.
Kalani is the nexus of the army and makes it extremely reliable. With Exemplar 2, allied units within range two of Kalani can spend the Surge tokens he accumulates as if they were their own, letting them use surge results on die rolls as successes – further mitigating the weaknesses of the prototype Persuader compared to the regular variant – as well as the four ways to spend Surge tokens that the Battleforce provides.
If any units ever get enough Suppression tokens to become Panicked, Kalani has the Lead By Example upgrade which gives him Inspire 2, so he can remove suppression tokens. That, plus the ability to use Surge tokens to remove suppression tokens, means your units are always going to be able to contest objectives until they’re totally deleted.
Kalani is also upgraded with an HQ uplink to guarantee he gets an order each turn, so you have full control over when he activates. The Improvised Orders upgrade gives you yet more control over what Order tokens you pull.
This list also throws out Order tokens everywhere. Kalani can Direct any AI unit, and Prototype Persuaders can Direct AI troopers, handing out Order tokens to the relevant unit types at the end of their activation. And while Mechanized Incursion may look like a Command 1 card, it allows you to issue yet more Order tokens to Droid troopers whenever a vehicle is issued an Order.
Speaking of vehicles, three units of unaugmented Droidekas provide a great package of survivability, maneuverability, and offensive output, and make great use of all of the Battleforce’s Surge token advantages.
Then two units of BX-Series Droid Commandos provide yet more maneuverability and punch. Upgraded with a BX-Series Droid Sniper for a greater ranged threat, Offensive Push for that handy Aim token from Tactical 1, Vibroswords for a deadly melee Charge, and Impact Grenades to mess up enemy armor that somehow survives the Persuaders, they’re a glass cannon that just needs to be pointed at a target.
The BX-Series are an amazing place to spend Surge tokens. With Scout 3 to deploy them well up the board, spending a Surge token to increase their speed means they can Charge into just about anything, or easily throw their grenades. If you need to use them at a distance, spending a Surge token to give them an Aim marker sets up Lethal on their Sniper Rifle attack.
It’s not an invulnerable list – Claire lost in the finals of the recent UK Games Expo GT to Andrew Terrell fielding a different Separatist force. But it’s packed with threats that are either extremely mobile or have great range, many of them are extremely durable, and as long as Kalani is alive it has an incredible ability to hand out Orders. It’s something you need to be ready to face!
Have you faced this list before? Do you think you can crack it? Come and share your thoughts in the official Wargamer Discord community!
If you’re a massive fan of Star Wars on the tabletop, check out our guide to the best Star Wars board games, and our Star Wars: Battle of Hoth preview.
Source: Wargamer
