Star Wars: Legion Starter Sets Review — Unboxing & First Steps

Atomic Mass Games has made entry into Star Wars: Legion better and easier than ever with these four new starter sets.

Introduction to Star Wars: Legion

Announced earlier this year, with full box reveals back in July, Star Wars: Legion’s four new starter sets are now available for purchase! We have taken this opportunity to give you our honest, gut-reaction to each of the new starters, and provide you an overview of what is included and how we intend to paint them. These starters provide you with enough units to play a 600 point game, which is perfect for new players. Also, with new sculpts, there’s a ton of variety with the models and opportunity to craft them into your own vision.

Rules & Army Building

Like other Atomic Mass products, the Core Rulebook, Cards, and Assembly Instructions are available for free, online. These elements are considered ‘print-and-play,’ meaning that these cards are able to be printed at a print shop, and are legal for tournament play. Atomic Mass Games has been very adamant and supportive of the fact that they don’t want players having to buy a bunch of expansion packs just to get a few cards for their force, so the cards are available for free. Additionally, this allows veteran players (Like Alec, who has been playing since release day of FFG), to refit their army with the updated cards.

Legion: Rules & Organized Play - atomicmassgames

Atomic Mass Games

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For new players, this is different from most miniature games out in the market these days. Some folks may not like this because they like having the rulebook in hand, but the Core book is roughly 60+ pages, and gets updated every 6 months or so, so having to reprint it constantly isn't really feasible or efficient. The rules are free, so you got that going for you. 

Each box comes with a QR code to link you to the assembly pages for the starters. Unlike other miniature games, you’ll need to have a phone, tablet, or computer nearby in order to assemble everything. Both of us have dedicated hobby spaces with screens at the ready, but not everyone has that kind of setup, so it adds an extra layer for the opening/building.

Assembly - atomicmassgames

Atomic Mass Games

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If you are new to the game, or miniature games in general, AMG does a points adjustment every six months or so, increasing or decreasing unit or upgrade costs to keep the game fresh and balanced. Usually this is due to some units being staples at tournaments, i.e. armies have to bring the units in order to win or be competitive, or because certain units are getting no tabletime whatsoever. You can see all of the current point values in their official document here. If there are any text or card updates, those are found here as well. 

All of these text and points updates are also reflected in online builders, like TableTop Admiral, which many players use to build their armies.

Tabletop Admiral - Star Wars: Legion and Shatterpoint Army Builder

Army building tool for Star Wars: Legion and Star Wars: Shatterpoint

Star Wars: Legion and Shatterpoint Army Builder

Lastly, are the keywords. Some units have lots of keywords, and, rather than having a block of text on the card, players can refer to the list in the back of the book. If you’re looking for an easily accessible reference, here’s a handy online guide for the keyword list.

Legion Quick Guide

Quickly look up Star Wars Legion rules while playing.

Legion Quick Guide LogoJoe Lutovky

And now… on to the Starter Sets!

Randy: Rebel Alliance Starter Set

Starter Set Contents & Unboxing

The Rebel Alliance  Starter Set has an MSRP of $99.99. When you break down the actual contents of the box, that’s a lot for a starter, making it an absolutely indisputable deal. 

Box Contents:

• 36 Miniatures
  • Commander Luke Skywalker
  • Rebel Trooper Unit X2 (11 troopers per unit)
  • Rebel Commandos Unit X1 (7 troopers per unit)
  • Wookie Warrior Unit X1 (6 troopers per unit)
• 36 27mm Bases
• 7 Unit Cards
• 4 Red Attack Dice
• 4 Black Attack Dice
• 4 White Attack Dice
• 4 Red Defense Dice
• 4 White Defense Dice
• 15 Upgrade Cards
• 10 Command Cards
• 24 Battle Cards
• Movement & Range Tools
• 3 Punch Sheets

First Impressions

Yes, yes, yes!I love that the theme of this set is based in the post BOY before Empire universe (look at Luke’s coat! Yellow!). Also, there’s something really cool about the Rebel Alliance in terms of models and variability of the pieces. Lots of alien heads means a ton of diversity. A Mon Calamari with grenades? I can now yell “it’s a trap!” when I use that character. Twilek snipers? Yes. And of course, a big pile of Wookies, because who doesn’t love walking carpets smashing Stormtroopers!I do really wish I had paper instructions for models and rules. I understand that rule changes make a book moot, but I love the physical act of flipping through instructions and reading rules vs melting my eyes even more on a device.

Paint Plans for the Army

This is going to be a hard army to paint. While I love the diversity of the models, I recognize that there are lots of skin tones to work with, camouflage options, clothing colors. I think I’m going to study paint schemes for the Rebels and historical paint jobs, though I will already say that with such a large army to paint, it might be fun to lean into unique/different paint schemes.Obviously, Luke is going to have that Yellow coat, because it’s an iconic outfit, and looks great. The Wookies will be your classic browns, ranging from dark to light. The rest of it is still undecided, but these models provide an excellent canvas.

Alec: Galactic Empire Starter Set

Starter Set Contents & Unboxing

The Galactic Empire Starter Set has an MSRP of $99.99. When you break down the actual contents of the box, that’s a lot for a starter, making it an absolutely indisputable deal. 

Box Contents:

• 37 miniatures: Include 1 Darth Vader, 22 Stormtroopers, and 14 Scout Troopers
• 7 Unit Cards, 15 Upgrade Cards, 10 Command Cards, and 24 Battle Cards
  • NOTE: Each starter set comes with cards for four different languages. 
• 12 Attack Dice (red, black, and white) and 8 defense dice (red and white) - NOTE: this is one more of each die than was included in the original FFG Dice expansion pack and Core sets. 
• A set of 3 movement tools (Long, Medium and Short)
• Range Tools - 5 segments and a ½ segment. 
• Tokens, including unit order tokens, damage, suppression, green tokens, ion, commander, objective markers, and more.
• 1 mission dashboard cardboard token, including player and score tokens.
• 2 line of sight measurement tools for small base troopers and notched base troopers. 

First Impressions

Unlike some of the other army boxes, the Empire just gets Stormtroopers and Scout Troopers in addition to Darth Vader. With the cards, that gives you 2 Corp Units, 4 Special Forces Units, and Darth Vader as the Commander. If I was just starting out, I would consider getting a second box to give myself more flexibility for the Corp units; either have more activations, or add more minis to the Corp units I have. I would definitely want to add a vehicle and even some operatives to this, although I am excited to see what the Imperial High Command box will add with Thrawn and Tarkin, and then maybe make decisions based on which leader I would want to play as. Unlike the FFG starter, this one does not include the Speeder Bikes, which is fine because, frankly, I rarely used them. Stormtroopers are definitely not the aimless bucketheads they’ve been made out to be and I feel like I have a solid starter force with this box. 

Paint Plans for the Army

Well, it’s all white armor (except for Vader, of course). Fortunately, Mark Sorastro put out a fantastic painting tutorial that makes painting Clone Troopers (and Stormtroopers) very simple and easy. Painting white is one of the most difficult colors to paint because the trick is you really don’t (and shouldn’t) paint whatever it is white. You can paint the armor or cloth a medium grey, or a light blue, or even a soft tan, and then highlight up to white, because there isn’t anything brighter.

So, the Stormtroopers and Scout Troopers are going to get primed gray and get a white zenithal, and then I will follow the tutorial from there, likely using a black speedpaint for the cloth. Darth is going to be primed black and then I will be following Sorastro’s latest Darth Vader tutorial as a guide. I usually use blues to highlight cloth and grays to highlight armor, but however I go about it, I will be using some red OSL (object source lighting) on the blade and cloak to help further accent the lightsaber and make it and Vader stand out on the table. Since he is my leader, I really want to spend quality time on him since he should (in theory) spend more time on the table.

Batch painting these guys should make it go quick. I am undecided on how I want to do the basing, but since I have Scout Troopers, it might be fun to do the Tempest Force route and do some foliage/Endor basing. 

Randy: Galactic Republic Starter Set

Starter Set Contents & Unboxing

The Galactic Republic Starter Set has an MSRP of $99.99. When you break down the actual contents of the box that’s a lot for a starter, making it an absolutely indisputable deal. 

Box Contents:

• 36 miniatures: Include 1 General Obi Wan, 1 Jedi General, 7 ARC Troopers, 7 ARF Troopers, and 22 Clone Troopers
• 5 Unit Cards, 15 Upgrade Cards, 10 Command Cards, and 24 Battle Cards
  • NOTE: Each starter set comes with cards for four different languages. 
• 12 Attack Dice (red, black, and white) and 8 defense dice (red and white)
• A set of 3 movement tools (Long, Medium and Short)
• Range Tools - 5 segments and a ½ segment. 
• Tokens, including unit order tokens, damage, suppression, green tokens, ion, commander, objective markers, and more.
• 1 mission dashboard cardboard token, including player and score tokens.
• 2 line of sight measurement tools for small base troopers and notched base troopers. 

First Impressions

As this is my first Legion army, I’m overwhelmed. There’re so many options for heads, the sculpts are really cool, but there’s so many models. I feel like I’ve just gotten a whole game in a box, which is a great deal. I chose the Republic because I’d love to battle the Separatists, as I really do love the variety of units in the Republic. I’ve also been given some extra boxes of Wookies, Jedi, and Clone Marksmen, so I think there will be a lot of gameplay variety. I love Obi-Wan from this era, so he will definitely get a more special paint job. As mentioned above, the only downside to this whole set is the reliance on digital assets for rules and assembly. I don’t own a tablet, and I’d rather not read a 60+ page book on my computer, so it looks like I’ll be using the work printer and binding it myself.Assembly ruled. I love how easy the models fit together and with a little bit of Sprue Glue, I’m able to ensure good bonds and solid poses. Overall, it took me a few hours spread over a week to get everything put together. 

Paint Plans for the Army

So running in the opposite direction of Alec, I’ll cheat and prime all of the troopers with White Scar, hit them with some Quick Gen White Shadow, and then go in with enamels for panel lining and some dark paints to build up Blacks, much like how I’ve done for Stormtroopers in the past. Also, because I love all things grimy and filthy, I’ll weather up the army with dirt, grime, and vegetative growth. Naturally the special units will get some extra details, and I’ll even bust out the Goblin Stamper to do some numbering and special details on units. 

Special units will definitely get some colors, and I want the whole army to feel worn. I’m watching The Clone Wars for the first time, and it truly feels like the war was an absolute hell, and I want that ruggedness to come out in the pieces.

Alec: Separatist Alliance Starter Set

Starter Set Contents & Unboxing

The Separatist Alliance Starter Set has an MSRP of $99.99. When you break down the actual contents of the box that’s a lot for a starter, making it an absolutely indisputable deal. 

Box Contents:

• 42 miniatures: Include 1 General Grievous, 30 B1 Battle Droids, 9 B2 Battle Droids, and 2 Droidekas
• 5 Unit Cards, 12 Upgrade Cards, 10 Command Cards, and 24 Battle Cards
  • NOTE: Each starter set comes with cards for four different languages. 
• 12 Attack Dice (red, black, and white) and 8 defense dice (red and white) - NOTE: this is one more of each die than was included in the original FFG Dice expansion pack and Core sets. 
• A set of 3 movement tools (Long, Medium and Short)
• Range Tools - 5 segments and a ½ segment. 
• Tokens, including unit order tokens, damage, suppression, green tokens, ion, commander, objective markers, and more.
• 1 mission dashboard cardboard token, including player and score tokens.
• 2 line of sight measurement tools for small base troopers and notched base troopers. 

First Impressions

I had always been tempted to get the CIS/Separatist/Droids army before, but felt like I needed to get a lot of expansions to make it worthwhile. On top of that, many expansions always seemed out of stock so they had inflated prices on the secondary market (looking at you, B2s). I have painted some AATs and B1s for commissions previously, but just never pull the blaster trigger to get the army myself. As a player who started Day 1 with FFG’s Star Wars: Legion, this new Separatist Alliance Starter Box got me excited to get back in with a new army. I am also very happy with the diversity of droids in this set. Like with the Galactic Empire set, I think it would be worth it to get a second one, and then, of course, get an AAT. Because tanks. 

Paint Plans for the Army

I am not ashamed to admit I like Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. With the edited, longer cut, I feel like it is a fun ride. Sure, it’s got some atrocious dialogue and some dull, adult-level plot points (trade embargoes, ineffective politicians, etc.), but for all of its flaws, it did set off a quite-expansive prequel era that gave us some amazing story arcs, series, and The 2003 Cartoon Network Clone Wars. So, to honor the movie, I feel like I would want to paint them in the Trade Federation theme. For the B1s, that’s either going to be a black-and-tan zenithal prime, or a black-and-white- zenithal with tan/bone contrast paint. For the B2s, I have a nice blue-metal zenithal paint scheme I used for the Star: Wars Shatterpoint Super Battle Droids that I would apply to these ones. For Grievous, I am on the fence of whether to paint him like the movies or closer to the 2003 cartoon. I guess if I get that second box… why not both?

CONCLUSION

Randy: It’s kind of wild how Legion, which first appeared in 2018, is still going strong today. The dedicated fanbase combined with Atomic Mass Game’s gumption, retooling of the models, and consistent support really shows its value in these boxes.  What could feel like a big investment fades away at a cost of $100 for an army, which is a great value compared to other games.

I am excited to see where this all goes, naturally there are other factions to explore and the sequel trilogy.

Alec: An unpopular, but true, statement is that the players who have bought all of the expansions for the games are not the target audience for any game company. AMG is not making money off players who own everything and aren't buying new product. So, they have to release new expansions (which they did), constantly adding new rules, effects, and competitive meta, which means adjusting points, giving facelifts to old units, and adding new content to prevent the game from going flat. All of this can lead to a state of the game where a “second edition” has to be made in order to have a nice reset. To be honest, by 2020/2021, the original starter two-player starter sets (both the Galactic Civil War and Clones Wars) from FFG were pretty unusable out of the box, which could create some disappointment and frustration for a player getting into legion in 2022 or 2023. So, new starters means new players means building the community means keeping the game alive and well.

These new starter sets are truly amazing for old players, new players, AMG, and the state of the game overall and I couldn’t be more thrilled. $100 is a drop in the bucket for a miniatures game. For $300, you could easily get two starters and a bunch of paints, brushes, and rattle cans from your local FLGS and have armies ready to go. That’s a pretty solid deal, especially when you compare that to other miniature games or CCGs. 

If you love Star Wars, miniatures, rolling dice, and big epic battles, then get your Star Wars: Legion Starter Box today and lead your forces to victory! 

Have you played Star Wars: Legion yet? What’s your favorite army? Let us know! Follow Gaming Trend for more Star Wars: Legion articles, including reviews, gameplay, and Learn to Paints!