Wild Legion - The Animals of Star Wars Legion

In this blog post we take a look at the 'Animals' (I use that term loosely) of Star Wars Legion. I'll go through each unit and look at how they compare to their name sake and then take a look at a potentially 'wild list'.

Clone Captain Rex

So to start with let's compare Clone Captain Rex to his fierce but extinct cousin - the T Rex! Rex is known for his ability to support Clone Gunlines and take the early fight to the enemy by scouting up the field unseen and bringing some friendly troopers along with him. The T-Rex was a somewhat cumbersome Dinosaur (from what we can tell) and I doubt was known for being particularly tactical about anything, likely just charging in to melee with limited precision. Clone Captain Rex is also able to fire into melee with his 'Call Me Captain' command card showing his precision and Sharpshooter ability, something the T-Rex is missing in bucket loads!

All in all, apart from packing a bit of a punch with red dice all around and Surge: Crit on offense, Rex and the T-Rex share little in common.

Comparison rating - 1/10

Kraken

This time we compare the Super Tactical Droid, Kraken, with a mythical animal - The Kraken.

The Kraken was a beast of the oceans, famed and feared for bringing down ships in Norse mythology. The Kraken could take on ships much larger than itself by ensnaring the ship in its lethal tentacles. STD Kraken also has a lethal melee attack and can take on units with much larger model counts than himself. He's also able to Charge, giving him that benefit when moving and then attacking. The sea creature probably has no allies in the deep and works alone for its own interest. STD Kraken on the other hand is able to support and buff his allies with Strategize and Override, as well as having a pinpoint ranged attack. So apart from the melee power punch that both Krakens have, there are few similarities.

Comparison rating - 3/10

Bossk

Bossk is a fierce bipedal Trandoshan. A well known bipedal lizard that walks upon the Earth today is the Jesus Christ Lizard (or Common Basilisk), famed for being able to run over water.

The ability for this Lizard to run over difficult terrain matches nicely with Bossk's Unhindered keyword. They are also both Expert Climbers and are both able to Regenerate limbs and tails when wounded. Unfortunately, the Basilisk is not a part of the Bounty Hunter's Guild and so does not move around the desert taking other animals hostage. It is also much more likely to run than stay and fight if it gets enraged as it doesn't have much of a melee or ranged attack, unlike Bossk's double Pierce profile!

Comparison rating - 5/10

Clan Wren

Wrens are very small birds known for flitting and hopping around gardens and woodland. Their namesake - the Mandalorian trio can also jump around the battle field, causing havoc to an enemy unit if they can get close enough.

You could easily describe Wrens as nimble as they hop from branch to branch and if they had to hold a green token, it would definitely be a dodge. Wrens have no real partner to help them get these green tokens though unlike the Legion unit; where pairing them with Sabine gives them the buff they need to remain partially competitive. If you were to pair one keyword with the Wren, it would be Small, something the Mandos do not have! So apart from the ability to hop, skip and jump around they do not have much in common.

Comparison rating - 3/10

Dwarf Spider Droid

The DSD and your standard spider have more in common than you might initially think. Both are expert climbers and when they do climb, they get up the surface with relative ease with no chance of falling and hurting themselves. Whilst I don't know of any spiders that can blow themselves up voluntarily, spiders do have their own type of armour as spiders shed their skin multiple times throughout their lifetime, allowing them to grow and ensuring their protective outer layer is as strong and healthy as possible. We know the DSD can be equipped with multiple weapons and programming, something akin to our Earthly spiders as they are able to hunt prey in multiples ways from pouncing to trapping them in webs to injecting them with venom.

Comparison rating - 7/10

TaunTauns

Tauns are a 'reptomammal' native to the ice-fields of Hoth. I have to admit that I was struggling to find their Earthly cousins, but I've done my best. The Viviparous lizard is the most north dwelling land-based reptile on Earth and as it's name suggests (a bit of Biology for you), it can give birth to live young like a mammal can, rather than laying eggs. It can survive cold temperatures and enters a 'supercooled state' to stay alive when it gets really cold.

Now truth be told, I don't think it's possible to ride one of these things. These lizards have natural agility and are able to avoid being caught by birds and mammals such as stoats and weasels. This pairs nicely with the Taun's agile and reposition abilities as they are able to avoid damage and change direction quickly as well as ignoring effects of difficult terrain. Their attack profile does not follow a similar comparison with the Viviparous lizard preying on insects which doesn't compare much to the Taun's relentless, sharpshooter or ram!

Comparison rating - 6/10

Persuader-Class Tank Droid

Now, although 'snail' is not in the name, it clearly looks like a snail and 'Snail tank' is a common name for the Persuader.

There are some obvious similarities between the profile of the Persuader and a land snail. They both have armour, and not only that, it doesn't take much to crack the armour of a land snail if you give it a go, which compares nicely to the white surging save of the Persuader. As you can see in the diagram above, the land snail is lacking in defences on it's sides at the front, pairing nicely with the weak point on the Persuader. Can the land snail transport anything? Whilst apparently they can transport upto 10 times their own body weight, they aren't known for carrying a bunch of Magnas or B2s around! That's where the similarities end, with a lack of weaponry and ability to change direction easily, the land snail pities into insignificance in comparison to its programmed cousin.

Comparison rating - 3/10

Dewback

The Dewback is a mean lizard capable of munching its way through lots of units. It has a striking resemblance with the Komodo dragon, the largest species of lizard, and an apex predator in their environment.

Dewbacks have armour 1. I'd go as far as saying Komodos have better armour than that. They have tiny nodules of bone implanted in their tough leathery hide, making it impenetrable to any would-be predator (most likely just another Komodo, fighting for a mate!). Komodos frequently ambush live prey with a small charge following a stealthy approach. This bares significant similarities with the Dewback's ability to attack following a move, with relentless. They have surprising agility and are able to push through tough undergrowth, climb trees and can also swim; effectively making them 'unhindered'.

Komodo's have a type of venom which is injected into it's prey when they bite it. The venom can lead to shock and unconsciousness - definitely enough to suppress the enemy!

All in all, I think the Dewback and Komodo win the title of the most similar in our Wild Legion comparision.

Comparison rating - 9/10

A Wild List

So, is it possible to make a list out of these beasts? Well, not officially (of course!) as we are mixing 4 different factions and not following the normal list building rules (but who knows what is going to happen in the future with the upcoming Battle Force release).

But, you can fit all 8 units in an 800 point list, with room for large bid too!

Points - 790

Activations - 8

If you can think of any other comparisons that would fit into our Wild Legion list, put them in the comments below. Thanks for reading this slightly strange take on the Star War Universe.