Matt’s 2024 Michigan GT BReakdown
This past Sunday marked the end of a spectacular weekend with great friends and five action-packed games of Star Wars Legion. I went into Lansing with some fellow MSU alums (Go Spartans!) as part of our newly-formed legion group, Overly Critical. I have been playing Star Wars Legion since it launched over six years ago - although this year’s Michigan GT marks the first time I have played Star Wars Legion outside of my own circle of friends. The recent announcement of edition 2.6 brought a fresh set of changes to the game, and to my chagrin I have less than a dozen games of the new edition under my belt, but the five games in the tournament gave me a ton of perspective from players of all different factions and playstyles – and I can say with certainty that I walk away as a better player from my time there. The experience was extremely rewarding and nearly everyone I encountered welcomed me into the community with open arms and smiles – being gracious about both my inexperience in the tournament setting, my own evolving understanding of the new rules changes, and my own social anxiety and sensory overload. But once I had the chance to settle in and focus up on the game in front of me and the opponent I was facing, I found that I was feeling much more relaxed and comfortable. Being there with two fantastic, encouraging friends doesn’t hurt either. Below is a breakdown of the list that I brought:
Papi V and the Dewbs 999/1000 – 11 Activations
Director Orson Krennic 65 + 18 = 83 --Esteemed Leader (5), Improvised Orders (5), Electrobinoculars
Darth Vader (Dark Lord of the Sith) 170 + 20 = 190 --Force Reflexes (5), Burst of Speed (10), Saber Throw (5)
3x Stormtroopers 42 + 19 = 61 x 3 = 183 --FX-9 Medical Droid (19)
Imperial Death Troopers 72 + 20 = 92 --DT-F16 (15), Comms Relay (5), E-11D (0)
2x Imperial Death Troopers 72 + 30 = 102 x 2 = 204 --DLT-19D Trooper (30), E-11D (0)
Dewback Rider 70 + 9 = 79 --Into the Fray (4), RT-97C Blaster Rifle (5)
2x Dewback Rider 70 + 14 = 84 x 2 = 168 --Into the Fray (4), CR-24 Flame Rifle (10)
Implacable•, Vader's Might•, Deploy the Garrison••, Fear and Dead Men••, Annihilation Looms•••, Darkness Descends•••, Standing Orders••••
Close the Pocket, Breakthrough, Recover the Research Surface Scan, Bring Them to Heel, Sweep and Clear Advanced Intel, Cunning Deployment, Strafing Run
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Four of the five factions were represented in the GT – Empire, Rebels, GAR, and CIS. While Shadow Collective did not make an appearance as a faction, by some coincidence it happened to be the prize I won for placing 10th overall. I ended up playing all the factions except for Rebels. For the sake of brevity, I won’t go in detail regarding individual game recaps. The long and short of the list is to get Darth Vader and the Dewbacks into the heart of the opponent’s army with a turn-one Darkness Descends, infiltrating Vader and then using Burst of Speed to get him into immediate threat range and being the rampaging murderer that we know and love. The Dewbacks brought their aprons, tongs, and spatulas for the grillout and cooked some squads rather nicely. Krennic’s Exemplar allows him to pass out tokens, especially to the DT’s that bring up the rear line with the serious firepower and hardiness they bring. The Comms Relay on the DT-F16 squad allowed me to have an order on Krennic every turn using Entourage. Improvised Orders helped tremendously with order control, especially on turn one if I drew a Dewback out of the bag too early on.
My first game was a loss to an Empire list that featured Emperor Palpatine, both Inquisitors, and Range Troopers. Game two marked my first victory – one against a CIS list with General Grievous, Count Dooku and buttload of B2s. I managed to cap off the last game of the first day with a second win against a GAR list with Bad Batch at the helm. The second day marked my second time losing to Empire, this time to the likes of Op Vader and Iden with an AT-ST and a pair of E-Webbs raining down from above. But in the fifth and final game of the tournament, I managed to get my third win against another Republic list, this time with Commander Cody, an ISP, and three zippy BARCs. The tournament organizers were super-friendly and went above and beyond in hosting a fun event. I cannot wait to come back next year and see what new ideas the community will come up with. With Crab Droids not that far around the corner, perhaps there will be a new era on the horizon – the Era of the Crustacean.
Signing off, Matt Crabtree
