Capable of traversing over and through difficult battlefield terrain, what the Dwarf Spider Droid lacks in size, it makes up for in armaments. Recently reprinted for the latest edition of Star Wars: Legion, the DSD1 Dwarf Spider Droid returns to combat to aid the Separatists in their fight against the Galactic Republic.
Asmodee North America
Atomic Mass Games recently sent us the expansion to review, so where does the Dwarf Spider stand on the battlefield? Let’s find out!
Unboxing the DSD1 Dwarf Spider Droid
In the box, you get one sprue, the base, unit card, upgrade cards, and order tokens. Like with all AMG products, there are multiple cards with different languages as well.
Here are the instructions for the expansion
If you need help assembling your models, check out this fantastic guide we've put together for you!
Alec Kozak
Cards for DSD1 Dwarf Spider Droid
The expansion comes with a healthy amount of upgrades for the Dwarf Spider Droid, including three different Hardpoint and three different Programming upgrades.
The unit itself comes in at a solid 50 points. However, Programmed requires one Programming upgrade to be brought: Attack Protocols, Defense Protocols, or Engagement Protocols. Each of them offers a different playstyle, so it gives you some flexibility for how you want them to support your units. Both Climbing Vehicle and Expert Climber help it move around the battlefield easily and effectively, circumventing obstacles other vehicles would be impeded by. Armor 3 is always nice, cancelling up to three hit results.
One of my new favorite keywords is Self-Destruct. 6 health gives you some flexibility for taking hits. However, if you feel like it’s not going to survive for much longer, you can opt to blow it up. It rolls 3 black attack dice, dealing one wound for each surge and crit, and 1 suppression for each hit. Keep in mind this is not an attack, so the defending unit doesn’t roll defense dice. That could seriously render a unit of troopers ineffective at a critical moment. Of course, it’s a one-time use, but used at the right time, it could be very effective.
The three different Hardpoints, Ion Blaster, Flamethrower, and Laser Cannon, are akin to the AT-RT loadouts, which give you options for combat effectiveness. Ion and Laser Cannons offer some lethality against vehicles and armor, whereas the Flamethrower is going to ruin troopers’ days. It really all boils down to what you feel can bring some balance to your army, especially if you’re playing in a tournament and are uncertain what armies you’ll be up against.
Expanding Your Army
Initially, I wasn’t really sold on yet another Separatist droid. However, looking at the simplicity of the options and what the Dwarf Spider Droid brings, it seems like it can be pretty versatile on the field. In a Standard game, you can bring up to three of them, which gives you the option of bringing one of each of the Hardpoints. Overall, on paper, this looks pretty awesome, including the fact that its melee is called ‘Wicked Kick.’
Painting-wise, I could see a really easy conversion being done where it is coming out of the water (like on Kashyyyk in Episode 3), so I am excited to paint this up and do some customizing with it!
To the Battlefield!
I think I’ll need to pick up at least one more for my Separatist Alliance Droid Army. I haven’t had a chance to see these played in person (just on stream), and I think they could add some nice variation to the Droid Army. Plus, who doesn’t love chucking a bunch of dice while using a flamethrower?
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