When SW Legion came out I barely took notice. I believe my actual response to hearing the news from a friend was, "meh".

In the interest of full disclosure I have all of X-Wing, most of Armada and about half of IA. I have never wargamed in my life and have never tried painting my own minis for any game.

After watching the Legion walk-throughs and demos I was sold. From what I saw it seemed to me that FFG took all the best mechanics from their other games and incorporated them into one game. Legion felt so sleek and straightforward. I was impressed with the innovative initiative system. I saw a player friendly movement structure which affords choice and efficiency. The minis looked great. The combat was intuitive. All of these factors along with the SW IP represented strong pros for me. So strong that I decided to divest myself of Armada and stop collecting new X-Wing ships.

So what were the cons? Ive never played a wargame? I enjoy new things and challenges so maybe that wasn't a con after all. The minis come unpainted. This is a big con for me (not that I would prefer bad looking and more expensive preprinted minis). Luckily this objection was quickly overcome as I have had many Blood Bowl teams painted and I had just traded $800 worth of old MTG cards to a talented local mini painter. Btw watching Sorastros painting guides actually made me feel like I'm willing to give painting stormtroopers a try. Terrain and table were another con. As a non-hobbyist (or minimal hobbyist) I began to conceive of ways to tailor this aspect to what I wanted. I'm still working on a modular table concept with double sided terrain (perhaps too ambitious?) with various living, 3D printed and stock terrain which can be added and removed from basic template tiles. This way I'm never committed to one static board which takes up a lot of space (which I don't have). The price is more than fine, especially given my decision with the other primary games I spend my gaming budget on.

Some other scattered thoughts:

The little bits of genius appeal greatly to me. Vaders movement score and Saber Throw ability. Perfectly fluffy. The speeder bike requisite move, guides for moving and arc for firing. Equally as brilliant, the troopers aren't limited by arcs.

This game is strategic and less visual spacial than X-Wing. I was only ever a decent X-Wing player because my peak visual spacial skills require constant honing. This won't be an issue (or not as much of one) with Legion. I feel I'll have an opportunity to outthink my opponents rather than simply out-luck or out-see them as with X-Wing.

Bring on the prequels. I don't care how bad the movies flopped. If I'm honest I don't care that you hate them. They have some great content for this game. Bring on Greivous, Maul and Droideikas.

Finally, I implore FFG to not let this game go the way of X-Wing and fall prey to the Dark Side of power creep. I get that design is hard. I get that variance is needed to maintain interest (and profit). The major difference that I feel is a great asset for Legions is that aesthetics can function as variance. I'll buy the Stormtrooper pack and the Snowtrooper pack, even if all the abilities are exactly the same simply because someone's going to have a Hoth table and it'll be cool to have them. Same goes for different genders, species and gear for Rebel troops. You don't have to push the envelope and risk a Jumpmaster repeat. Temper your upgrades and rely on all the variety that the SW universe can provide. Concentrate on the objective, setup and scenario cards to provide fresh gameplay, they are more forgiving.

if you made it this far thanks for reading.

5 hours ago, charlesanakin said:

Finally, I implore FFG to not let this game go the way of X-Wing and fall prey to the Dark Side of power creep. I get that design is hard. I get that variance is needed to maintain interest (and profit). The major difference that I feel is a great asset for Legions is that aesthetics can function as variance. I'll buy the Stormtrooper pack and the Snowtrooper pack, even if all the abilities are exactly the same simply because someone's going to have a Hoth table and it'll be cool to have them. Same goes for different genders, species and gear for Rebel troops. You don't have to push the envelope and risk a Jumpmaster repeat. Temper your upgrades and rely on all the variety that the SW universe can provide. Concentrate on the objective, setup and scenario cards to provide fresh gameplay, they are more forgiving.

I love the way you said this. I would rather have it be visually interesting than having to cycle out my collection every update. It is after all that aspect that first got me interested before seeing what we know so far of the rules got me hooked.

Biggest thing you'll notice over the systems you're into is the cost inflation because of the number of unit's you'll need, and the need for some glue (at least ), paint and terrain to make as immersive as the vids.

Expect a list with swap outs to cost more than an amarda force (based on the info we have) and upgrades to be glad + price points. Looks like 2 core sets will be the smart buy for accessories as well (dice templates etc)

Even without paint these wargaming minis will require more assembly than you're used to.

The tabletop community is always here to help and make recommendations. We are all looking forward to our favourite theme with mass combat

3 hours ago, Ralgon said:

... Looks like 2 core sets will be the smart buy for accessories as well (dice templates etc)...

As far as actual units, I think* that 2 Cores will severely limit your army and make for boring play. This type of game is all about customization, why limit yourself to only the basic units? I'm really looking forward to having a variety of units on the field, not 6 units of 5 Troopers and a couple speeders. Each unit can be tailored for a specific job, why have them all be the same?

*Bolded for emphasis on my opinion

2 minutes ago, Cheek said:

As far as actual units, I think* that 2 Cores will severely limit your army and make for boring play. This type of game is all about customization, why limit yourself to only the basic units? I'm really looking forward to having a variety of units on the field, not 6 units of 5 Troopers and a couple speeders. Each unit can be tailored for a specific job, why have them all be the same?

*Bolded for emphasis on my opinion

Because nothing in the world says you are never allowed to buy and paint more units as they are released? You cannot field a full "standard" sized army from a single box, and getting two cores (or trading another player if you only plan to play one faction) helps bulk out your forces substantially for a decently good return on investment.

Looking at Runewars as an example, 2 cores (or trading) or 2 army boxes in the case of Elves/Uthuk is the economical way to put together the core of the army, to be supplemented later by additional expansions.

I mean, to each their own, but I will likely never play imperials (although if Battlefront 2 convinces me that it's possible to be sympathetic to the bad guys, that may change), and a friend of mine (full blown member of the 501st with three costumes and counting) will never play rebels. It's a no brainer for us to swap the minis we will never use and then supplement with other expansions.

Its like in X-Wing. Through various core sets and expansions I have 4 T-65s and 4 T-70s. The odds of me ever running all of them together in a non-epic game are slim to none, but I have options. Having 4 squads of rebel troopers and 2 walkers (or 5 and 3 after individual expansions) will give me options that I may not always use as more units are released, but I will always have them.

I could be wrong, but doesn't the core set come with:

• 2 commanders (Luke and Vader)
• 1 AT-RT
• 2 Speeder bikes
• 2 Rebel squads (4 main troops, 1 additional normal trooper, 2 specialist troops)
• 2 Stormtrooper squads (4 main troops, 1 additional normal trooper, 2 specialist troops)

If you must have a minimum of 3 squads of regular troops, then you would need 2 core sets, or a core and at least one trooper expansion. Looking at the value of the core set with just the 4 trooper squads, AT-RT, and speeder bikes, those come to $15 each, then you get the extra dice for free basically along with extra movement templates and barricades. I already ordered 2 cores just for the value on the troops, worst case, I have extras in case my son accidentally breaks something when we play.

I feel that 2 cores aren't the right way to go. We have heard the devs imply that they will have expansions when the game comes out, if I'm not mistaken. So with that in mind, and an eye towards getting the most for your money, I would say that a core set + dice pack + expansions of your faction of choice might make more sense unless you are planning on providing armies for both players when you get a chance to play.

IF you can find someone to trade core figs of your faction with you, then I think there's a lot of value there.

That's fair. That's why I stated it was only my opinion. I don't think the extra Core would provide as much value to me as spending that same money on expansions I think are interesting. But I won't dictate how others spend their money.

painting white armor:

you can possibly skip the second step (clear gloss) by using GW's "Nuln oil GLOSS" and clean it as he does with the wash.

Hey guys, I couldn't help but notice the discussion regarding buying two core sets.

I see nothing wrong with that if you have ample funds to spend on this game. Another user's suggestion of two friends each buying one and sharing is also a great idea(that's what me and a buddy did with Armada).

That being said, for those who may have less money to spend on the game, buying reinforcement packs may be a better way to go. There are a few reasons for that.

1. FFG always puts special cards or tokens in the reinforcement packs that aren't in the core set, even for units that are already part of the core set.

2. FFG may also include alternate sculpt options in some of the reinforcement packs as well. I know they did that for the Storm Troopers with IA. With the Rebels for instance, maybe they could throw in alternate head options for different aliens like Rodians or Twi'leks, or maybe even some female human options.

3. If you are mainly going to be focusing on playing and painting one army, and aren't planning on trading with a friend, then you'll have that many more figures that you won't be using.

Of course none of that matters if you have the funds to buy two core sets and all the reinforcement packs you want, but for others who don't have as much cash, it doesn't hurt to consider all the options.

Of course, we should have a better idea of what the reinforcement packs will look like prior to release next year, so there will be plenty of time for us to change our preorders as need be.

Also, nice thread OP. I was somewhat irked that they were releasing a new miniatures game to compete with IA at first, but watching Sorastro's first Legion painting video started to change my mind. I had already gotten into the hobby side of miniatures through painting my IA miniatures. This game looks like it will be even more fun to paint thanks to having bigger minis and also being able to paint them prior to assembly.

What really convinced me was looking at all the table builds that users here and on YouTube have been doing though. It looks really fun to build your own table and terrain. Combine that with the painting and a game that looks fun to play, and I'm sold.

8 hours ago, Force Majeure said:

I feel that 2 cores aren't the right way to go. We have heard the devs imply that they will have expansions when the game comes out, if I'm not mistaken. So with that in mind, and an eye towards getting the most for your money, I would say that a core set + dice pack + expansions of your faction of choice might make more sense unless you are planning on providing armies for both players when you get a chance to play.

IF you can find someone to trade core figs of your faction with you, then I think there's a lot of value there.

If the first wave of expansions are available on initial release, or even within 2 weeks of release, then a single core will likely be the way to go. They will likely have upgrades for units that are only available in the expansions and not the core set.

Plus, those first couple of weeks, you can always play half sized games for learning. Armada ran 180 point games until wave one was released and then it increased to 300.

Of course, price points mat make things and the way the expansions are packaged may change things.