So I read a pretty neat idea that had me thinking 'hmm! that'd be neat' (Here's the link to what I read, for any interested: https://www.reddit.com/r/SWlegion/comments/6v11kn/can_a_tabletop_war_game_really_be_okay_with_just/ )

Anyways, the general idea would be that, in every few waves (small waves that only add like 1 unit per side), FFG could release a small self-contained Army In A Box faction, which would be a small faction that could be played by themselves. Naturally, they'd have WAY less options than Rebels and Empire, however, I think a good way of combating that would be to give the Army In A Box factions each a unified theme / playstyle (with variations, of course.) I know, alot of you guys will dislike this idea, and that's all fine, this is just fun theorycrafting afterall, and I highly doubt they'd actually go this route!

The boxes would contain anywhere from 300 - 500 Points of models / upgrades, and would be priced at around $75 - $125, meaning you'd need 2 - 3 for a Tournament sized list (comfortably) And they could add 'Army In A Box 2.0's for some of the bigger small-factions, such as Droid Gotra and Hutt Cartels, who would be able to have 2 different Army In A Box kits, while smaller factions (Such as a Tusken Raider faction) could just fit into 1 Army In A Box

A few ideas I had were these -

DROID GOTRA
The idea with this 'Army In A Box' faction would be to overwhelm your opponent with many Battle Droids, supported by Destroyer Droids and Dwarf Spider Droids, or to try doing an elite list, which could focus more on Super Battle Droids. You could make Super Battle Droids a Corps Unit instead of a Special Unit, although I liked the idea of giving them 1 of each Unit Type in their 'Army In A Box'.
Commander: Tactical Droid, Super Tactical Droid
Corps: Battle Droids
Special Forces: Super Battle Droids
Support: Destroyer Droids
Heavy: Dwarf Spider Droid

TUSKEN RAIDERS
A small 'Army In A Box' faction, the Tusken Raiders would have 2 Corps unit, which would be a melee unit (Tusken Raiders with Graffi Sticks) and a ranged unit (Tusken Riflemen with Cycler Rifles). I would give the Bantha Riders long ranged 3-shot weapons, and would give them an 'Anti-Tank Ammunition' option, despite it not being very realistic(I think?), simply because they would need some Anti-Tank. Ideally, these guys would be all about having tons of Tuskens in play, and I'd have their Tusken Chieftan give some sort of passive buff to all Tuskens in an area around him.
Commander: Tusken Chieftain
Corps: Tusken Raiders, Tusken Riflemen
Special Forces: N/A
Support: Bantha Riders
Heavy: N/A

HUTT CARTEL
The Hutt Cartel's commander would be Jabba or a nameless Hutt, and they'd be really weak in combat and have low health. Ideally, these guys would hide behind cover all the time, and would merely be able to issue out orders and give buffs and what-not to your units. The Gangsters would be alright in both Melee and Ranged combat, and could be kitted out to be good at both. Their Gammorean Guards would also be really beefy and good at melee. The Skiff would be able to transport a squad, and would be a bit big, albeit not incredibly armored, and would also have a gunner that could be outfitted with a powerful weapon. The Rancor would be extremely good at combat, however, if the Rancor Handler were to die, than the Rancor would just begin attacking the nearest unit on your turn, regardless of if it were friend or foe, so you'd need to be careful there.
Commander: Jabba The Hutt, Hutt Crime Lord
Corps: Gangsters
Special Forces: Gammorean Guards
Support: Skiff
Heavy: Rancor & Rancor Handler

MANDALORIANS
The Mandalorians would be an interesting 'Army In A Box' Faction. In my mind, while keeping with Canon, I think it'd be interesting for them to have Mandalorian Soldiers, who would be super elite. 60 Points for 3 or such, and that'd just be base. I'd give them a ton of Upgrade Slots & Upgrade Cards, such as the entire unit being able to take Mandalorian Speeders and being upgraded to a Support Unit for only 20 points, which would make them even faster, and would give them an additional hit point and such. They'd have Jetpacks base, and would be able to kit-themselves out to be good at a variety of roles, and would definitely be one of the harder factions to master, if not the hardest.
Commander : Fenn Rau, Ursa Wren, Mandalorian Commander
Corps: Mandalorian Soldiers
Special Forces: N/A
Support: N/A
Heavy: N/A

Now, once again, please keep in mind that these are all simply fun little ideas that I enjoyed coming up with, and I know that this may not be the best way of doing things, although I personally think it'd be neat because it'd help show off all the smaller factions within the GCW era.

I think an "Army in a Box" should be a viable, tournament-legal 800 point army. There should be a mechanism that allows you to pick up one product and play the full game.

1 hour ago, Hawkstrike said:

I think an "Army in a Box" should be a viable, tournament-legal 800 point army. There should be a mechanism that allows you to pick up one product and play the full game.

That'd be nice, and it'd be nice that, if they did do them as small-factions, they also made themed 'Army In A Box' sets for certain Rebels & Empire themes

I think that is a good idea. Although it doesn't have to be limited to just new factions. They could have special armies for existing factions as well. Such as the rebel defenders on Hoth, imperial sandtroopers on scariff ,etc.

While I am a firm supporter of the 2 or 3 factions model, I think this is the best idea for smaller factions that I have heard so far!

1 hour ago, Y-Wing said:

I think that is a good idea. Although it doesn't have to be limited to just new factions. They could have special armies for existing factions as well. Such as the rebel defenders on Hoth, imperial sandtroopers on scariff ,etc.

Yeah, I think having 'Army In A Box' sub-factions for Rebels and Empire could be neat, where they implement a Sub-Faction system (You may run 1 Sub-Faction with your Rebel or Empire force) and they're be in cheap (30 bucks or so) boxes that come with some unique cards for that Sub-Faction, plus a new unit or 2 unique to that sub-faction.

For example -

VADER'S FIST - Empire Sub-Faction
Vader's Fist Sub-Faction may only be taken if Darth Vader is your commander. It'd come with a new upgrade or 2 for Vader, plus the 501st Troopers, which would be better, more expensive versions of the regular Stormtroopers.
Vader's Fist Unit - CORPS UNIT - 501st Troopers

ENDOR REBELS - Rebel Sub-Faction
Basically a funny little Sub-Faction that would bring in some new upgrade cards for your units, and plus would allow you to take C3PO on his little wooden chair. Probably have him be able to issue orders or such to Ewok squads and what not. Also, have Ewoks be incredibly weak and swarmy, like 10 for 50 points.
Endor Rebels Unit - COMMANDER - C3PO
Endor Rebels Unit - CORPS UNIT - Ewoks

53 minutes ago, devin.pike.1989 said:

While I am a firm supporter of the 2 or 3 factions model, I think this is the best idea for smaller factions that I have heard so far!

Thanks! I think having 2 main factions (Rebels And Empire) as the focus of the game should remain, unless they go into new Eras of course. I know some people want a 3rd Scum faction, but I find the idea of having say this army list -

Commander: Jabba
Corps: 2 Squads of Tusken Raiders, 1 Squad of Gangsters
Special Forces: 1 Squad of Mandalorian Troopers

Seems sorta stupid, ya know? How am I supposed to believe that Jabba would somehow be able to lead a group of Tusken Raiders, Gangsters, and some random squad of Mandalorian Troopers?

ANYWAYS

I think having quite a few 'Army In A Box' factions would be great because it'd help show off all the smaller factions while still showing that the bulk of the conflict was between Rebels and Empire (hence why they have a much larger model-range). Also, I think the bulk of players would still main Rebels or Empire, simply due to the larger variety, which I honestly think is good because, well, it's Star Wars, so the bulk of people playing one of those 2 factions makes sense.

Also, I had an idea for Bounty Hunters

BOUNTY HUNTERS
Bounty Hunters would be a 'faction' that would include the likes of Boba Fett, IG-88, Bossk, Dengar, and all those good guys, and there'd be no generic units in this 'faction.' Each Bounty Hunter would have unique upgrades only they can take, and you'd be allowed to include 1 Bounty Hunter in your list, and they wouldn't take up a Force Organization area. They'd have access to any upgrades in your faction that they could use (and that aren't unique to other characters/units obviously), and I think it'd be a neat way of adding some of the popular Bounty Hunters, simply because I don't like the idea of Boba Fett leading my squad of Storm Troopers and AT-STs

15 minutes ago, Alino said:

It'd come with a new upgrade or 2 for Vader

You lost me right there. I don't want to have to buy a pack like this full of stuff I already have just for new upgrade cards. I was with you until then.

Just now, Basylle said:

You lost me right there. I don't want to have to buy a pack like this full of stuff I already have just for new upgrade cards. I was with you until then.

Ah, I'm sorry, although I'm not quite sure how they'd introduce new upgrades (and plus, the upgrades would only be takeable if you played with the Vader's Fist Sub-faction, so I don't see much point in wanting them separate)

i found this image of the Tuskin raider faction! It’s a bit dark but look at that fight they put up!

1 minute ago, TylerTT said:

i found this image of the Tuskin raider faction! It’s a bit dark but look at that fight they put up!

This made me laugh more than it should've. XD

I like the army in a box idea, but not the 800 points. 800 points might cost a lot of money. If they would put 300-500 points with a Commander/Corps box and then Special Forces, Support and Heavy have their own box. This would help keep the cost down and maybe allow for more divers factions.

I also like the idea of 2 major factions getting attention at every expansion/wave but also with one smaller factions being introduced with each wave.

Example;

Wave 2

The Empire gets new troopers, leader, and heavy.

Rebels get new leader, troopers and special forces.

New factions gets everything.

Wave 3

The Empire gets new leader, special forces, and support.

Rebels get new leader, troopers, and support.

Wave 2 new faction gets maybe 1 new something.

New wave 3 faction gets everything.

6 minutes ago, Portage said:

I like the army in a box idea, but not the 800 points. 800 points might cost a lot of money. If they would put 300-500 points with a Commander/Corps box and then Special Forces, Support and Heavy have their own box. This would help keep the cost down and maybe allow for more divers factions.

I also like the idea of 2 major factions getting attention at every expansion/wave but also with one smaller factions being introduced with each wave.

Example;

Wave 2

The Empire gets new troopers, leader, and heavy.

Rebels get new leader, troopers and special forces.

New factions gets everything.

Wave 3

The Empire gets new leader, special forces, and support.

Rebels get new leader, troopers, and support.

Wave 2 new faction gets maybe 1 new something.

New wave 3 faction gets everything.

This is a nice idea, although those are some pretty big waves. My idea would be to simply introduce new Army In A Box factions that would be in the smaller waves (Like, waves where the only thing getting added for Empire and Rebels is like, 1 or 2 units)

15 minutes ago, Alino said:

This is a nice idea, although those are some pretty big waves. My idea would be to simply introduce new Army In A Box factions that would be in the smaller waves (Like, waves where the only thing getting added for Empire and Rebels is like, 1 or 2 units)

I like the idea of the Empire and Rebels getting new leaders every wave. I would also like to see the Empire get new heavy units before the rebels. FFG could always add a card for a new rebel leader to capture an Empire AT-ST.

1 hour ago, Portage said:

I like the idea of the Empire and Rebels getting new leaders every wave. I would also like to see the Empire get new heavy units before the rebels. FFG could always add a card for a new rebel leader to capture an Empire AT-ST.

I'd like to see Empire having more Heavy Units and Supports (vehicles) than the Rebels, and maybe give the Rebels a larger emphasis on Special Units and Corps.

Also, I REALLY hope we get just a general 'Stormtrooper Commander' and 'Rebel Commando' unit as two cheap (like, 50 point) leaders that can be kitted out in multiple ways.

9 hours ago, Portage said:

... for a new rebel leader to capture an Empire AT-ST.

Oh no! Sabine's AT-ST!!

1 minute ago, ABXY said:

Oh no! Sabine's AT-ST!!

I was thinking more along the lines of Chewbacca's AT-ST, although I suppose running two AT-STs as your commanders while playing Rebels would be hilarious.

7 hours ago, Alino said:

I'd like to see Empire having more Heavy Units and Supports (vehicles) than the Rebels, and maybe give the Rebels a larger emphasis on Special Units and Corps.

Also, I REALLY hope we get just a general 'Stormtrooper Commander' and 'Rebel Commando' unit as two cheap (like, 50 point) leaders that can be kitted out in multiple ways.

Pretty sure that the commanders will all be named characters. I think they’ve already alluded to this. There will be cheaper commanders than Luke and Vader for sure.

24 minutes ago, ninclouse2000 said:

Pretty sure that the commanders will all be named characters. I think they’ve already alluded to this. There will be cheaper commanders than Luke and Vader for sure.

Yeah, I'm fairly certain you're right, I just really dislike that. I'd like to be able to run a no-name character like in 40k. It helps when trying to give flavor to your force, if you're like me and like to come up with your own lore for your army.

You can still customize your paint job/proxy a different model/swap character cards to create your own commander.

1 hour ago, devin.pike.1989 said:

You can still customize your paint job/proxy a different model/swap character cards to create your own commander.

Yeah, I get that, I just would like an unnamed character. That said, I will be having two different Empire Forces, and one will have Bright Vader and the Pinktroopers

wow....great!
...so you could have a WOOKIE detachment...or maybe rodians.....really like the idea!!

46 minutes ago, wintermoonwolf said:

wow....great!
...so you could have a WOOKIE detachment...or maybe rodians.....really like the idea!!

Making wookies an Army In A Box could work, via making them really beefy / elite. My idea would be slow, high-health, elitish units, and probably have their army in a box include this -

WOOKIES
Probably a weird one, but I wasn't quite sure what to give them. I can see them being fairly elite, with 4 Wookie Bowcasters costing 60 points and having 2 hp each. The Berserkers would be melee specialists, and would be exceptional at close combat, and the Speeder-Bikes would basically just be a way of fleshing out the Army a bit more, and seeing as to how the Wookie Ornithopter is the only canon vehicle for wookies we've seen on the big screen in a small glimpse, I think they'd be a nice Heavy addition.
Commander : Chewbacca( Different From The One the Rebels will likely recieve), Wookie Chieftain
Corps: Wookie Bowcasters
Special Forces: Berserkers
Support: Wookie Speeder-Bikes
Heavy: Wookie Ornithopter ( Raddaugh Gnasp fluttercraft)

This is how I would put together a Droid faction:

Droids:

Commander: Super Tactical Droid Kalani

Corps: B1 Battle Droid, B2 Super Battle Droid(soldier upgrade for B1 Corps similar to the upgrades for Stormtroopers and Rebel troopers)

Special Forces: Buzz Droid, BX Droid Commando

Support: Droideka

Heavy: Vulture Droid (Walking Mode)

These have all been mentioned in some part of the GCW era canon and could have an interesting set of interactions with each other that would make them a unique faction. The Vulture Droid could have a missile upgrade that you spend to deploy a Buzz Droid group within range 1 of an enemy formation. They would be a swarm type army with the corps containing 5 B1 Battle Droids with 2 extra B1 slots and 1 B2 slot. Droidekas could have a shield Mechanic that would be similar to armor but be susceptible to melee weapons and grenades as well.

I like this idea a lot. I also like the idea of having themed expansions like this that can be taken as allies for the main factions. I could totally see rebels activating some old battle droids or the Empire hiring out a clan of mandalorians. They could use a similar allies system to what 40k uses. There's an alignment table that shows how well different armies can work or if they can work together at all. You could have something like that here too. Like mandalorians would be neutral mercs along with maybe some hutt cartel or black sun units. But say wookies would never work for the Empire because they enslaved kashyyk. Maybe hutt cartel and black sun can't be in the same army because gang rivalry etc.

1 hour ago, Omnustechni said:

I like this idea a lot. I also like the idea of having themed expansions like this that can be taken as allies for the main factions. I could totally see rebels activating some old battle droids or the Empire hiring out a clan of mandalorians. They could use a similar allies system to what 40k uses. There's an alignment table that shows how well different armies can work or if they can work together at all. You could have something like that here too. Like mandalorians would be neutral mercs along with maybe some hutt cartel or black sun units. But say wookies would never work for the Empire because they enslaved kashyyk. Maybe hutt cartel and black sun can't be in the same army because gang rivalry etc.

An alignment system could be interesting, with the 'army in a box' factions being Dark, Light, or Neutral, although maybe give a penalty for having factions allied together (Otherwise there wouldn't be much point in taking Army In A Box factions by themselves)