Star Wars Legion: Grand Army of the Republic (aka Clones)
I recently played my first 800-point game with the Clone Army. It was a hard-fought battle that ultimately ended in a draw. I made a few mistakes that could have easily changed the game in my favor. Regardless of the outcome, it was an enjoyable game and the Clone Army was fun to play. I thought that rather than talk about the game itself, I would talk about the Clones specifically.
I will start with the list I played.
796/800 – 8 Activations
Clone Captain Rex (90 + 14 = 104)
–Aggressive Tactics (10), Offensive Push (4)
Phase I Clone Troopers (52 + 25 = 77)
–Z-6 Phase I Trooper (25)
Phase I Clone Troopers (52 + 25 = 77)
–Z-6 Phase I Trooper (25)
Phase I Clone Troopers (52 + 25 = 77)
–Z-6 Phase I Trooper (25)
Phase II Clone Troopers (60 + 25 = 85)
–Phase II Mortar Trooper (25)
Phase II Clone Troopers (60 + 25 = 85)
–Phase II Mortar Trooper (25)
Phase II Clone Troopers (60 + 25 = 85)
–Phase II Mortar Trooper (25)
TX-130 Saber-Class Fighter Tank (170 + 36 = 206)
–Plo Kloon (9), TX-130 Twin Laser Turret (14), High-Energy Shells (8), Linked Targeting Array (5)
I went with a standard clone list with one change. I replaced Obi-Wan with the TX-130. First, I wanted to use my new toy at the first opportunity. Second, there has been a lot of hype surrounding this unit. More on the TX-130 later. The rest of list was standard for an army that only has 7-unit options. It is almost mandatory to max out the corps slot due to the lack of options available. I took an even split between Phase I and Phase II clones. I did this because I wanted to try the new Phase II Clones and taking only 1 unit would not give me the data I was looking for.
How did the list play? Overall, I liked them. The army was resilient (until I allowed Dooku to run wild) and provided a good amount of firepower. This is not an Imperial gunline in any way. The ability to share green tokens (Aim, Dodge, Surge and Standby) cannot be understated. It is core to their effectiveness and mismanagement of the mechanic will lead to disaster. I can confirm based on my experience.
The Phase I Clones with the Z-6 were the units I threw forward to grab the supplies and try to run back into the safety net of Phase IIs and the TX-130. They also slowed down the droid advance and basically did everything you would expect from the most core of the corps units. You must love red dice saves (enough said). Phase Is pumping out 4 black and 6 white attack dice were effective if not unspectacular. They held the line until late in the game and a few questionable orders late probably hurt them more then I originally thought. Overall a good unit. Grade C+
The Phase IIs with the mortar were my backfield defenders. They grabbed the rear supply crates and dug in to repel the impending droid offensive. They were also able to share green tokens with the Phase I clones as they retreated with the supplies. The mortar adding suppressive to the dice pool was a nice bonus. Unfortunately, with the mortar being cumbersome, moving the Phase IIs around made them less impactful. Maybe next time I will only take 2 squads of Phase IIs with mortars. Overall, they were worth their points. Grade B
Clone Captain Rex was my commander of choice. He is the cheapest commander the clones have currently. Rex was very good. Gunslinger was very effective, and I enjoyed playing Rex quite a bit. I did not play him as aggressively as I should have but when I got him in the fight, he was very effective. His command cards were very good, and I think he will be my GAR commander of choice going forward. I need to remove offensive push as it is redundant and probably a waste of 4 points. Grade B+
Finally, the unit we have all been waiting for: the TX-130 Saber Class Fighter Tank. As I mentioned previously, I did not do a very good job of playing the Saber. My deployment was all wrong and I took 2 turns to get it into the fight. When I finally got it into the fight it did some damage. The High-Energy Shells were a nice addition, but I am unsure if I would take them again. I will be trying all the ordinances to get a feel for how they play. It was big and intimidating. The Droids ignored it because by the time I finally got it warmed up it really did not do much to affect the outcome of the game. I like the feel of it, and I think it gives the Clones a nice heavy hitter. I have a plan to bring two of these to a fight just to see what they do in pairs. Overall, I was happy with it and its small impact on the game was more tactical error than the unit not pulling its weight. Grade B (for now).
Finally, what would I change in my list? Below is a list I have been toying with quite a bit and will probably be the next version I put on the table.
800/800 – 9 Activations
Clone Captain Rex (90 + 10 = 100)
–Aggressive Tactics (10)
R2-D2 (35 + 15 = 50)
–C-3PO (15)
Phase I Clone Troopers (52 + 13 = 65)
–Phase I Clone Trooper (13)
Phase I Clone Troopers (52 + 13 = 65)
–Phase I Clone Trooper (13)
Phase I Clone
Troopers (52 + 25 = 77)
–Z-6 Phase I Trooper (25)
Phase I Clone Troopers (52 + 25 = 77)
–Z-6 Phase I Trooper (25)
Phase II Clone Troopers
(60 + 25 = 85)
–Phase II Mortar Trooper (25)
Phase II Clone Troopers (60 + 25 = 85)
–Phase II Mortar Trooper (25)
TX-130 Saber-Class Fighter Tank (170 + 26 = 196)
–Veteran Clone Pilot (7), TX-130 Twin Laser Turret (14), Linked
Targeting Array (5)
This list gives me 9 activations which is probably the most Clones will get until the ARC troopers are released (SNIPERS!). R2D2 is not only a low-cost activation and a potential extra Victory Point in your list, he is also able to repair the TX-130. While I never felt behind on activations during my last game I also never felt very far ahead, even after removing a few droid units. R2 and that 9th activation will be very nice in this list. I would remove Offensive Push from Rex as it is redundant and needs to be removed from the 8-activation list regardless. I removed one Phase II unit and went with the 4 Phase I units. The units without Mortars and Z-6s will be the green token generators for the list and offer Fire Support when needed.
I am right at 800 points, so I am surrendering “blue player” almost every game. Obviously, I can tweak it later if I like the play of the list enough to pursue optimizing it a little. It is always nice to have even a small bid for blue player. I could simply remove linked targeting array and try to keep the Saber close to the token generators to grab its aim token when needed.
A little off topic but Droids were very strong. I can see why a lot of the community is watching them very closely. They can be very difficult to play against. Dooku is an absolute beast and the list I played against was not optimized at all.
Let me know what you think of the lists included. Are you interested in playing Clones? Let me know your ideas.
Facebook Comments