I could see them being able to move farther then normal troops with their jetpacks. Plus, they could throw in a Commander such as Bo-Katan who could wield the darksaber. Just imagine an entire army of Mandos. If that isn't frightening I don't know what is!

They could have the speeder 1 ability!

I suppose they could, but the mando's are just as much associated with the imps. I mean heck, stormtrooper armor is evolved from mando armor

Just now, Ralgon said:

I suppose they could, but the mando's are just as much associated with the imps. I mean heck, stormtrooper armor is evolved from mando armor

@Ralgon Maybe they could be used interchangeably for both factions?

I would prefer neutral. A squad that either side could use. Squad, Leader, etc etc.

If you watch Star wars rebels there are imperial mandalorian super commandos and anti imperial mandalorian clan warriors as well as protectors. They look distinct from each other and have different weaponry. Releasing an imperial Mando unit and a rebel Mando unit would definitely be doable.

Imperials:

Rebels:

Also there are the protectors:

I can not see FFG putting out two (let alone three) different Mando units. In all fairness, I'm just speculating and putting forth my opinion but, the most sensible course would be for FFG to make a third army (scum) that allows us the freedom to focus it on Bounty Hunters, Hutts, Mandalorians, Raiders, etc. Some of these units can have cross-overs to other armies where appropriate.

I honestly can not see enough depth in any one of those sub groups that would allow for building a whole army (certainly not with any options). Nor do I see any one of those options to be popular enough to turn a profit.

20 minutes ago, Jouster said:

I can not see FFG putting out two (let alone three) different Mando units. In all fairness, I'm just speculating and putting forth my opinion but, the most sensible course would be for FFG to make a third army (scum) that allows us the freedom to focus it on Bounty Hunters, Hutts, Mandalorians, Raiders, etc. Some of these units can have cross-overs to other armies where appropriate.

I honestly can not see enough depth in any one of those sub groups that would allow for building a whole army (certainly not with any options). Nor do I see any one of those options to be popular enough to turn a profit.

Sure there is, step into the clone wars s5 and maul's army.

I dont think they would do well as factions at all. They could, however, provide both factions with an aerial unit. the difference between stormtroopers and rebel troopers is not vast. They could do the imperial mandos armed with rifles and maybe precise while the rebel ones would have pistols and exhaustible missiles.

7 hours ago, Ralgon said:

Sure there is, step into the clone wars s5 and maul's army.

Yeah, but that still brings us back to the profitability of introducing a faction that is somewhat obscure to the masses. I'm not saying it can't be done. Just that I do not believe it would be a smart business move and I would be really REALLY surprised if it does.

20 minutes ago, Jouster said:

Yeah, but that still brings us back to the profitability of introducing a faction that is somewhat obscure to the masses. I'm not saying it can't be done. Just that I do not believe it would be a smart business move and I would be really REALLY surprised if it does.

Worked fine for xwing. I think you underestimate the target playerbase and how much they know of the eu,games and tv series.

If you want to play the obscure card, why do we have the at rt? If you only reference them from the movies they are in the wrong era on the wrong side and make no sense........ same as anything rebellion thats not trooper based or an enplacement (maybe that blink and you'll miss it speeder with mounted gun on hoth). It's just as risky.........

the way that they should do it is to have an alignment system similar to X-wing, and allow armies to have one non commander unit from another faction in either your alignment or the neutral alignment. This would allow smaller factions to be added as support units for the larger factions until their own faction can be fleshed out. It would also allow both the rebels and the Empire to use Mandalorians.

Unlike x wing, where you can run a list with maybe 3-5 ships.

To introduce a new faction into this game, needing 800 points worth of models to play competitively, you’re gonna need to have a HUGE roll out of models, massive investment and development from FFG on a faction that could, very easily fall by the way side, not be balanced, backfire.

Not saying it can’t happen, but really doubt it, not until the game has been out for a solid few years at least. And even then, it would be a weird move for FFG. Trying to keep the game alive.

The way I was thinking it could work, they wouldn't need to release 800 points at the same time. With the Mandalorians for example they could release a Crops of Mandalorians under the Neutral alignment. Any side could chose to include 1 of any Corps, Support, Heavy, or Spec Forces from another faction of the Neutral or same Alignment. That would allow that Corps to be fielded by any army. If it is successful in the sales department then they would come out with other unit types that could also be used in any army. They could do this one at a time or all at once. The last part would be to release a commander. That being said this probably wouldn't happen right away but it would be a way to build up the smaller factions in a less risky way as you would only be dealing with one unit at a time and then seeing how popular it is.

I think they are better left in the reserve for a possible future faction. Alternatively I would prefer to see them as bounty hunters hired by the empire or in last place neutral to be hired by both sides as someone has pointed out already.

4 hours ago, Ralgon said:

Worked fine for xwing. I think you underestimate the target playerbase and how much they know of the eu,games and tv series.

If you want to play the obscure card, why do we have the at rt? If you only reference them from the movies they are in the wrong era on the wrong side and make no sense........ same as anything rebellion thats not trooper based or an enplacement (maybe that blink and you'll miss it speeder with mounted gun on hoth). It's just as risky.........

Perhaps I do, time will tell.

I think for FFG to have counters to the Empire they are going to have to go with the obscure. Yes that is also risky, but risk management is key. As others have pointed out, X-Wing is not the best justification here. It has a general third faction and not individual sub factions. Also, buying (and FFG making) a handful of ships is very different from multiple squads, specialists, supports, and Heavy units. Don't get me wrong, it would be cool if they did and there would be some great armies out there, I just don't believe it will happen based on their previous track record and my opinion of smart business practices.

Sub factions are a bad idea. It splits the player base into tiny little purchasing pools. If they release the ewok said faction only ewok players will buy it. They also would have to come up with an ewok Commander, corps, special forces, support and heavy unit. It's really not doable.

I agree that there should only be a faction if there is enough material to support it. I also think this game will need to have more than just 2 factions. I don't think they have to come out right away, but there is clearly a demand for more than just Empire vs Rebel. This scale of game is perfect to add them as the larger crime syndicates and resistance groups could put together forces that are large enough for this game. I personally hope they don't go with just scum like they did in X-wing as there are groups like the Free Ryloth movement and Wookiee resistances that were not part of the rebels but don't fit in the theme of scum.

6 hours ago, Jouster said:

Perhaps I do, time will tell.

I think for FFG to have counters to the Empire they are going to have to go with the obscure. Yes that is also risky, but risk management is key. As others have pointed out, X-Wing is not the best justification here. It has a general third faction and not individual sub factions. Also, buying (and FFG making) a handful of ships is very different from multiple squads, specialists, supports, and Heavy units. Don't get me wrong, it would be cool if they did and there would be some great armies out there, I just don't believe it will happen based on their previous track record and my opinion of smart business practices.

General third faction? Apart from the bounty hunter signature ships pretty much all of the faction is based around Mandalorians or Black sun.......

And Mercs, and Slavers, and Cartel...point being no one faction could carry the weight so the combined them to one army that you can build out how you want. That is what I believe Legion will do if they expand beyond Rebels VS Empire.

4 hours ago, Jouster said:

And Mercs, and Slavers, and Cartel...point being no one faction could carry the weight so the combined them to one army that you can build out how you want. That is what I believe Legion will do if they expand beyond Rebels VS Empire.

I honestly dont care. You just dont want to listen.

My last words on it, go watch the clone wars maul/opress arc yourself and tell me it wouldn't work. It even gives you force sensitive commanders to use......

Edit: oh and if you didn't want to go that way hondo's pirate crew (clone wars era) was big enough and had the goods to do what we see as an 800 point force so far.......

I think it'd be crazy to not expand and do other factions. Between the comics, books, videogames, movies etc there is definitely enough content out there to do at least a few more. I'm more than happy with the empire v rebels we have now but if they want longevity and to compete with 40k etc, two factions won't cut it.

Back when Lord of Rings SBG was released it too had only two factions - Good vs Evil, and the miniatures came from all over the LotR-universe. As the years went by (and iirc not for the first 3-5 years) they had produced enough miniatures to actually begin playing pure subfactions.

I think Star Wars Legion will follow the same Path - down the line we we'll see units from all over the Star Wars Universe going in to one big Rebels vs Empire armylist, but sooner or later there will be enough miniatures to start making a real new playable faction.

The Good vs Evil/Rebels vs Empire also allows people to collect what they like and play with whatever they got in their collection - it won't always be Star Wars canon -but it will certainly improve accessability and attract new players whose primary reason for getting into the game is a love for allthings Star Wars - which I think is the most important for the time being.

15 hours ago, devin.pike.1989 said:

They also would have to come up with an ewok Commander, corps, special forces, support and heavy unit. It's really not doable.

Not every army needs every unit type. The ewoks lack heavies and the gungans lack special forces. Both of them were able to field effective armies and defeat the "real" factions.

15 hours ago, Jouster said:

Don't get me wrong, it would be cool if they did and there would be some great armies out there, I just don't believe it will happen based on their previous track record and my opinion of smart business practices.

FFG's previous track record? There only other infantry mini's game is Runewars and it has 4 faction's at 1 year old. X-wing and Armada aren't in the same boat. When it comes to space combat the tactics of the different movie factions don't really seem all that different. On the ground however you have the diversity needed to break the groups up into the proper factions for the game.