In a matter of days Atomic Mass Games will be releasing the newly compiled Core Rulebook for Star Wars: Legion. It is likely that some players are feeling trepidation about what this means for the rules they know and love. One does not have to look far to see a grim, dark future where whole sections of the rulebook are thrown out and re-written, entire factions are nerfed or catapulted into the god-tier, and the inevitable parade of new rules editions begins. However, I do not see it this way.
But why is this necessary in the first place? The rules have been hosted in multiple places, free to download, since 2018. While this is true, it is not quite that simple. There is a Learn to Play booklet that teaches game mechanics, then there is the Rules Reference Guide (RRG) which contains all of the special rules and stuff not covered in the Learn to Play booklet. The RRG has bloated, Jaba-like, over the years as new units and entire new factions have been introduced and more and more special rules have been added to the game.
The RRG currently sits at an imposing 90 pages, and very little of that is gameplay mechanics. What’s the rest of it, you ask? Well…
“But that’s how I learned the game,” I can hear a voice saying. “There is an enormous, enthusiastic community of people that learned it that way.” Very true, voice in my head. But how many people in the community have been here since early on and have been introduced to new rules slowly, over years of incremental updates? “Not all of them.” True again! You and I learned in 2020, after the release of the Galactic Republic and Separatist factions and it was not easy. Is it possible that the Star Wars IP pulled us through a less than ideal experience? “Yes, good point. You are as insightful as you are handsome.” Thank you.
But don’t take my word for it, here is what AMG has to say about their motivations:
“…as the game has grown the initial benefits that once existed for new players of splitting information up has largely disappeared. Instead, with the significant growth of the game and alongside it the RRG, the current rules documents for Legion present far more of a hinderance, especially to new players, as they have to navigate a reference document in lieu of a linear and logical presentation of game and rules concepts that leads players through all the information they need in order to confidently learn and understand the game.”
So what is their solution? Smash these two resources together at light speed and see what happens? Not quite. Here is AMG again:
“…we have worked exceptionally hard to create a single document that teaches players the game in an intuitive fashion that ensures they will have all of the core rules of Legion by the time they reach the final page.”
Outstanding, but what does this mean for the rules? Are we looking at a new edition? A complete re-imagining? Will I still know how to play this game once this book drops? Again, AMG (last time, I promise):
Phew. What AMG is doing is clarifying and codifying rulings on certain things and updating wording on mechanics to make the game behave as intended. Think of this as including Errata in your rulebook. To further put people at ease, AMG explained several of these clarifications over December in four separate blog posts. You can read them in their entirety on the AMG website, but here is a quick breakdown of them in no particular order:
Suppression: Panicked units do not flee; they huddle where they are. They cannot perform any actions when activated, they drop any objective they are carrying, and cannot score objectives. There, see? That’s not so bad! You do not get to count your lone surviving squad member towards your unit count if he is huddled in a corner, crying. And he is definitely not holding any objective while he is doing this, but he also does not magically disappear from the board!
Silhouettes and line of sight: Antennae, riders and weapons no longer count as part of a vehicle’s silhouette for purposes of spotting. Infantry now have a standard silhouette that is about the size of a standard infantry model standing upright. Also, no more measuring from the head of one model and seeing if 50% or more of the target is in cover. Models are now determined to be in cover if half or more of the squad is in cover. Like a stone wall in a firefight, this is a change I can get behind! As an Infinity player I have been familiar with this concept for a long time and I wholeheartedly endorse it. Players should not be penalized or rewarded for having crouching or kneeling models. And for the sake of pacing and fun, it should be as easy as possible to agree on LOS questions.
Shooting and LOS: Units can only kill as many models in a squad as they can see, and hits can no longer be spread out over different miniatures in the squad. No more loading up one hit on each of your wookies, or, as I saw in a game just a couple days ago, letting your officer take one hit to keep a trooper alive. This cuts down on board clutter (fewer wounded models) and better represents the effects of a unit sustaining damage.
Passing: Once per round players may choose to pass, rather than activating a unit. This is meant to level the playing field between forces of different sizes. I am personally a little ambivalent on this change, but it is not a huge one. Having played Bolt Action and Infinity, both games that give you activations based on the number of units you bring to the table, this hurts my strategic sensibilities somewhat. But you only get to do it once per round, so I am not too worried about it.
Infantry movement: This one is best explained in AMG’s own words. “By the letter of the current rules, when a miniature moves, it is required to move down the movement tool with its base centered on the tool.” I have never once played a game where I have seen this rule enforced to the letter, and guess what, neither has AMG. “In our observations both internally and externally, no one applied this rule correctly, and instead moved their miniatures based on a common sense approach.” Score one point for common sense! The actual change is that models no longer move down the length of the tool. You place the tool, pick them up, and put them down on the end. You know, the way everyone already plays the game.
Lastly, climbing: “A climb is a speed 1 move that allows the unit to also move a vertical distance up to height 1.” The high ground is no longer restricted to units with Jump. I am very excited to see how this plays!
And there you have it! Certainly there will be more clarifications and such in the book, this is just a summary of what AMG has previewed so far. I am encouraged by the common sense nature of the changes, the way the developers are leaning towards playability and pacing, and their minimally invasive approach. I hope most players feel the same way and that this rulebook helps grow this great community!
by The Hungry Halberdier