Title pretty much says it all.

I’m an avid gamer (x-wing, armada, euro games, strategy games, etc), and lately I’ve been debating on whether I’m not to make the jump into playing Legion, especially with all this Coronavirus stuff. I figure if my work gets shut down I’ll have plenty of time for painting models.

So tell me, in your own opinion, why should (or shouldn’t) I buy into it?

Also, how long does a typical game take to play, including set up and clean up?

Thanks in advance!

Set up can take 20min or so, clean up about the same. A typical game lasts me 90 min to 2 hours. The game system is functionally complex enough to have good variance, but simple enough that you don't bog down in the rules. A lot of games get super rules heavy for "realism" but I think they did a really good job of giving an abstract flavor of squad based ground fighting.

Every army is also functionally playable and rarely has any trap units where you buy a unit only to find out later it sucks. (Rebels might be closest to having trap units but are still a good faction)

The painting and putting most units together (CIS are the hardest) are a breeze. Model quality is pretty good for painting purposes but you will notice units like a lot of vehicles are pretty simple fit and glue situations as opposed to complex builds.

Do you have friends to play with or a local scene to play at, because before I would buy this game I would check on that? A great way to buy in is to buy two starter boxes with a friend where you each take a faction, and then fill in with a couple units you want to have.

It is rare even in a loss where I didn't think I had a good time.

Go get two starter sets (same era) and a second commander and two operatives per faction. When the smoke clears you’ll have enough painted minis to play for good.

Since you play X-Wing, the mechanics are similar enough that you will pick it up quickly but I Legion is better done than in X-Wing. Legion is less reliant on upgrades than X-Wing. The upgrades I find myself using the most actually add models, so it doesn't even feel like an upgrade.

X-Wing was my primary game, but it has been supplanted by Legion; I haven't played X-Wing in a year since I've been playing Legion more. I've always felt that Legion learned from X-Wing's mistakes. Units seem much more balanced overall. Even when you have a unit that isn't as good as other units, games don't feel as unbalanced because you have more units that can make-up for poor units. I play at a small FLGS so it is rather casual and don't generally play against the standard meta, but I've found that tactics typically matter more than squad construction (although there are some exceptions). Win conditions are based on objectives rather than destroying your opponent, which further creates a balancing element. Games don't play as quickly as X-Wing, at least not at the standard 800 points, although the 500 point skirmish mode is close.

15-20 minutes is probably about right for set-up/clean-up, however we've lessened that at my FLGS by having the tables set-up before tournaments start. The terrain set-up is what takes most of the set-up time.

9 minutes ago, TauntaunScout said:

Go get two starter sets (same era) and a second commander and two operatives per faction. When the smoke clears you’ll have enough painted minis to play for good.

@Herowannabe I second this, and highly recommend Separatists. Very satisfying to play, great models, fun to paint. All around good times.

pics below

Also if you are new to painting here ya' go.

In the words of then Chancellor Palpatine: "Dew it!"

I got into wargaming via X-Wing and bought into Legion as soon as it came out. It is a really great game! The basic rules are fast and simple with everything else handled by keywords on cards (much like X-Wing) so most games do not require looking up any rules at all.

The models are improving with every wave of releases and the unit design is very focused on thematics.

The balance issues that exist are relatively minor and they do points adjustments periodically to keep things in check.

Words of advice if you are going to get into Legion:

1. Buy two core sets and either split them with a friend or get started with two armies. They are by far the best bang for your buck for quickly filling the force org chart. Also its an FFG game so they of course never give you enough dice

2. Terrain. One of the joys of this game is building a cool looking table for your Star Wars. The game rules kind of assume that you have a good mix of cover, line of sight blocking and scatter terrain. If you just play out in the open with nothing but barricades (like the learn to play game) it will distort your experience. You don't need to spend a bunch of money on it, but play with enough terrain. Check out the terrain subforum for inspiration.

3. Painting. Youtube has a ton of great painting tutorials for Legion. @TauntaunScout posted the Terri Litorco series which is great for speed painting. I swear by the @Sorastro guides which range from beginner to advanced techniques. I had no experience going into this game and now after about 2 years of being self taught or watching YouTube videos I am a pretty confident model painter.

36 minutes ago, KommanderKeldoth said:

2. Terrain. One of the joys of this game is building a cool looking table for your Star Wars. The game rules kind of assume that you have a good mix of cover, line of sight blocking and scatter terrain. If you just play out in the open with nothing but barricades (like the learn to play game) it will distort your experience. You don't need to spend a bunch of money on it, but play with enough terrain. Check out the terrain subforum for inspiration.

These are all great suggestions, but I wanted to highlight this one and build on it. When I first started, a lot of my games didn't use enough terrain. This really distorts your play experience. Rebels, for example, really need terrain to be successful. Without enough terrain, certain units seem underpowered because their strengths and abilities rely on terrain. I've never played with too much terrain. (Ok, once when my son set up terrain for a home game and there wasn't enough space between terrain for vehicles to move.) More terrain is generally better than not enough.

Also, note that the 500 point skirmish mode plays very differently than the standard 800 points. Different units get a lot better at 500 points and a smaller play space. I would try both in order to get a better feel for the game.

Thanks for the responses everyone! I've been researching and researching some more (I literally have watched more than a half dozen "How to make trees" videos in the past 24 hours alone) and I've decided to take the plunge. After much debating I've settled on the classic Rebels vs Empire Core set, and I'll be building up both armies (it really was a tough call between Classic and Clone Wars, but in the end it was the Rogue One stuff that tipped the scales. Plus my wife is more interested in the OT era- I don't know if I'll be able to get her hooked on the game, but I figure I should go with the armies that give me the best chance at it).

So now my question is, are there any expansions or anything that you would consider "essential"? For example, I've noticed the neutral expansions like the Upgrade Card Pack and Priority Supplies and Vital Assets- are any of those must-have expansions because they fix things that were broken or add things that were missing? Basically, this is a "What should I buy next?" sort of thing. I'm already planning on 2 core sets, but what comes next?

I'm not necessarily looking for the top meta builds or anything like that, I'm getting in it for fun first and competition may or may not come later, but that's farther down the road.

11 minutes ago, Herowannabe said:

So now my question is, are there any expansions or anything that you would consider "essential"? For example, I've noticed the neutral expansions like the Upgrade Card Pack and Priority Supplies and Vital Assets- are any of those must-have expansions because they fix things that were broken or add things that were missing? Basically, this is a "What should I buy next?" sort of thing. I'm already planning on 2 core sets, but what comes next?

The upgrade card pack is just a collection of all of the generic upgrade cards that had been released up to that point. Nice to have if you don't want to proxy, but definitely not required for casual games. Priority Supplies and Vital Assets come with new objective, deployment, and condition cards. They are definitely nice to have, but definitely not required for a new player.

As for what you should buy next, that depends on what you want to run. The number one thing I would suggest, though, is additional commanders. They're cheap to pick up, and make a huge impact on your list building options.

Thanks @Lochlan !

Follow up question (for anyone, not just Lochlan), do the unit expansions for the same units that come in the coreset (ie: Stormtroopers, rebel troopers, speeder bikes, etc) add anything that the core set models doesn't have? Upgrade cards or alternate sculpts or the like? What about the Unit Upgrade packs- obviously they have alternate sculpts, but do they add anything else that would cause a new player to want to pick them up, or are they just there for visual variety?

EDIT: Also, are there any expansions that you would suggest I avoid, at least for the time being? TIA

personal choice is just taking a unit that sounds or looks cool (like taun tauns or scout troopers) and try them out!

just suggestions: (i don't play either rebels or empire but i've seen people use them!)

leia (commander)

sabine (operative)

taun tauns (support)

pathfinders/rebel commandos (special forces)

general veers (commander)

palpatine/krennic (commander)

boba fett (operative)

stormtrooper upgrade expansion (?corp i guess)

royal guards/death troopers (special forces) (royal guards if you got palp, death troopers if you got krennic)

most unit expansions (the seperate ones) have another upgrade or two not in the core set but the upgrade card pack has most of the cards you would find in them (except for cards that need tokens like smoke tokens)

the trooper unit upgrade packs are there to have "better" weapon choices for your units. They come pretty handy from time to time and you can make another unit out of it as well

If you are mostly playing casually at home, variety is king. I would start by getting some special forces expansions since there are not any in the starter. Rebel Commandos and Imperial Scout Troopers are probably the best as you build your armies simply because they provide two units in each expansion rather than one (the regular squad and the strike squad).

While there are a few units that are considered better than other units, for casual play the game is pretty balanced. The suggestion to get additional commanders is also really good just because the different command cards and commander abilities add greater variety to your game than just about anything else. Your entire army can play differently based on your commander. Overall, though, just get what appeals to you. If you start playing more competitively, what you get matters more, however at my local venue it has never really mattered.

What would you be talking bare minimum to provide both sides for 800pt Clones vs. Clankers? Starting of course with 2x Clone Wars Core set.

7 minutes ago, Frimmel said:

What would you be talking bare minimum to provide both sides for 800pt Clones vs. Clankers? Starting of course with 2x Clone Wars Core set.

Honestly if you're just looking to fill out both armies, a third starter isn't a bad way to go. For Droids, Grievous 6xB1s 2xDroidekas is very solid, and you will want to have 6 Corps units for Clones as well. On their own those extra 4 Corps units would cost $100, so you might as well get a bunch of extra stuff with it. I would also recommend picking up Rex for the Clones as well.