If you've seen the recent performance of Droid armies in Star Wars Legion tournaments - or you just love the Clone Wars - you might be considering picking up the Separatist Alliance starter set when it releases later this year. We spoke to Will Shick and Will Pagani, two of the senior creatives at design studio Atomic Mass Games (AMG), to get their insights into the upcoming starter set and what it offers to players.
The new Star Wars Legion starter sets will all retail for $95 in the US, and will be out in the fall according to AMG's Star Wars Legion roadmap. The Separatist Alliance starter set is led by General Grievous, commanding a force of 30 B1 Battle Droids, nine B2 Battle Droids, two Droidekas - it's enough to build a 600 point 'Recon' army, and comes with all the tokens, dice, cards, and measuring tools needed to play.
Wargamer: What does the Separatist Alliance starter set specialise in?
AMG: The Separatist Alliance is all about droid goodness and this starter set is no different. Droids are very easy to control and to give orders thanks to their coordinate keyword. This allows precision in order of activation and planning: it's a strong theme through the faction as a whole.
By swarming your opponent with B1 Battle Droids you can make room for your highly durable B2 Super Battle Droids to get where they need to go and apply their impressive but short range firepower to the weakest spots in your opponent's army.
What does General Grievous bring as the leader of the force?
General Grevious is a ruthless commander - he pushes his troops farther than any of the other starter set commanders. Couple that with his significant melee prowess and you get a solid midfield commander that has a well oiled machine of an army, who also isn't afraid to mix it up in close combat with the Jedi.
How do the basic Corps infantry in this box stand out from the other sets?
The sheer number of B1s in the box is what really sets them apart - sure, they are destroyed rather easily, but there's always more coming to fill the hole left by their predecessors!
Which units are heavy hitters?
The B2 Super Battle Droids are an absolute workhorse of a unit, especially so with their squad upgrade. They may be slow and short ranged but they are incredibly durable, and will be very hard for your opponent to dislodge if they can make it into position.
What's this starter set's big weakness?
If this army runs into units capable of destroying large numbers of B1 Battle Droids, things can go south pretty quickly! Make sure you're using your Droidekas to suppress units that can handle the B1 hordes!
And although Grievous has similar melee capabilities to the force users, he's lacking in actual force powers, hampering his versatility overall.
What's a good way to expand from this set to make a more rounded list?
More droids! Additional B1s to slowly march up the field while blasting away is always a great call. Some of the more maneuverable items can be bolstered with this style as well; additional Droidekas and even a Persuader tank or two will give some punch and durability to the army.
If you want to double down on the start set's strengths, what do you need?
Two additional full squad-upgraded units of B2 Super Battle Droids will give the player a huge durability skew that opponents will have a hard time destroying. The game will become about avoidance and objectives, so get ready to push your opponents off the objectives with brute force!
Thanks guys!
If you're more interested in the Age of Rebellion than the Clone Wars, check out the two Wills' insights into the Rebel Alliance starter set and the Galactic Empire starter set. And if you want an aspirational (and utterly lethal) Droid army to build up towards, check out this article on the very nasty Experimental Droid Battleforce.
If you're already the proud owner of a Separatist Alliance army for Star Wars Legion, we'd love to see your models - why not share them in the official Wargamer Discord community?
If you want a different kind of all-in-one-box Star Wars tabletop experience, check out our guide to the best Star Wars board games.