Last week, I posted an article that provided some tips for newer Rebel players that were looking to up their game. I thought I would write a companion article for the Imperial side. I’d like to make it clear from the beginning that I don’t play Imperial in the physical game. I want to share my experience from my side of the table – what I find weak in Imperial lists I face, what mistakes enemy commanders make, and what I dread seeing across the table from me. While these insights will not cover the nuances of an Imperial mirror match, they are tips that will work on a broad scale.

If you’re a very experienced player, this article may not be for you! But if you are a newer Imperial player, or someone who wants to become more competitive with list building and tactics, read on:



1. Hold Speeder Bikes Back

One of the most common complaints I hear from Imperial commanders across the table from me is this: “Whenever I take Speeder Bikes, they just die. They don’t do anything.” These commanders have usually made an error – they sent their bikes in piecemeal and early in the round, when their enemy’s ability to counter attack is strongest.

It is true that Speeder Bikes have a white defense die, and their offense suffers greatly when they are reduced to half strength. There are a couple of ways to make your bikes more dangerous: delaying their attack for a turn or two, and making a massed attack from the flank to deny your opponent cover. Try to deploy your speeder bikes in a central position facing perpendicular to the direction of your advance, and then stall by taking a compulsory move, then some combination of dodge, aim and pivot. Only turn in when you are setting up for your attack run. Another way to hold bikes back is to use a command card and give the bike squads orders, then activate them last. (In general, fast, fragile or short ranged units want to go last in the round to avoid getting hit, and then activate first the following round, this is called a last-first attack). Wait until the enemy has pushed up towards their objectives, or advanced into the middle, to make the your attack. Take compulsory movement, aim, shoot and repeat until whatever you are attacking dies.

2. Don’t Skip the DLTs (But one HH-12 might be good!)

The DLT-19 is a very consistent weapon (2 red dice backed by Surge: Hit) that will be a staple of Imperial armies for a long time to come. Taking one buffs the damage of your average Stormtrooper squad significantly. Just like the Rebel Z-6 Trooper, you currently want four of these to mount a decent offense. Massed DLT fire from range 4 keeps Rebel troops at bay with suppression and can quickly overwhelm advancing AT-RTs with Impact 1. The most competitive Imperial armies at the moment run four to six of these units, but if you can spare the points, swapping your fifth DLT for an HH-12 Rocket Launcher might be prudent if you need a little more Impact in your list. The HH-12 has the interesting distinction of being the most Impact-per-point upgrade in the game right now and is a very credible threat to enemy armor. Be mindful of its minimum range, Cumbersome keyword, and make sure to shoot things that don’t have cover so you can get the full benefit of Impact 3.

Some of my compatriots in the Legion community have done great in-depth analysis on Stormtrooper heavy weapons. A couple of great resources are the deep dive at Never Tell Me the Odds and an analysis of the HH-12 specifically at Alpha Squadron.

3. Avoid Doubling up on Centerpiece Units

The Empire has access some very powerful and very expensive units like Darth Vader and the AT-ST. These are sometimes called “centerpiece units,” since they are unique, expensive, and tie a list together. It’s not hard to understand that taking two very expensive centerpiece units crowds out taking more front-line infantry and support units. This puts you at a disadvantage, since having more units to activate at the end of the round allows you to make moves your opponent cannot immediately respond to. Legion is currently in a state where you want to maintain activation parity as much as possible, and right now the equilibrium point between quality and quantity is leaning heavily towards quantity. The more successful Imperial lists I’ve seen avoid going below seven activations. So, if you are going to take a centerpiece unit, take one and max it out, or take none at all. (A list that has no centerpiece unit but is very successful is General Veers, Six DLTs and three bike squads). One notable exception to this “one or none” rule is Veers and two AT-ST, which is still seeing play. And, speaking of the AT-ST:

4. Make your AT-ST a threat

Another common mistake newer Imperial commanders make is bringing an AT-ST, and sitting it in the corner, shooting the mortar and not doing much to affect the course of the battle. This is an obvious waste of two hundred points – the AT-ST has 11 wounds and excellent shorter range guns that should be brought to bear on the battle proper. So, in conjunction with my previous advice, bring your AT-ST loaded for bear and show your opponent the might of the Empire!



Many Rebel generals would say they can “just ignore an AT-ST,” so your priority is to show them that this is not the case. (The upcoming battle report from the Sacramento League will show you exactly why getting in your opponent’s face can be the right thing to do.) The synergy between Weiss and Veers cannot be understated – using them in tandem will make your AT-ST a force that must be reckoned with. Keep in mind that in Legion, you can spend multiple aim tokens on an attack. Giving an aim with Veers’ Spotter keyword, then having Weiss aim and fire will help you get the most out of your large dice pool. Then, play Imperial Discipline to recover Weiss and do it all over again. (And, if you took two AT-ST, you could do the Spotter/Aim combination twice! Of course, the double AT-STs are lighter on weapons individually, but they do not suffer for it thanks to Arsenal 2). A fully loaded AT-ST is a big investment, and a juicy target, so be aware of any units that have high Impact weapons and plan accordingly.

5. Turn Zero with Vader

(For those new to war gaming: “turn zero” refers to everything that occurs before the game starts that affects the ultimate outcome. This includes list building, objective selection, terrain layout, unit deployment and more.)

Darth Vader is a divisive unit – his stats and abilities are excellent, troopers near him never flee, but he is undeniably slow, short ranged, expensive, and his command cards can feel somewhat lackluster. But, before all that, players deploy Vader in a place where he is sure to be ineffective. Usually he’ll be too far away from the main battle, or in a place where he can’t control an objective. He’s a quarter of your list (the “standard” Vader floating around these days is 235 points) so, he has to be doing something to justify his presence. Help Vader out and put him in a place where he will be in combat by Round 2, or so. Saber Throw might as well be stapled to the guy, given how slow he is, but it’s especially synergistic with Pierce 3, which means any hits you get past cover and dodge are going to cause wounds, period.

Aim for objectives that he is strong at, namely Key Positions and Intercept the Transmissions. Your enemy has to be in a certain place to win, so if they run from Vader, they will lose. He can work on Breakthrough by playing “goalie” – if your enemy wants to get into your deployment zone, they’ll have to get through him.

The kind of Vader play I dread is the in-your-face kind; it feels like he is strongest when I am being forced to deal with him. Just make sure that while Vader is mixing it up, he can get a dodge token (or two) on him by any methods necessary. Nobody wants to shoot at Vader with a Dodge token unless they can do it with their entire list. Shooting at Vader only to have him take no damage and Deflect 1-2 wounds back at you is so awful – “I spent my activation doing damage to myself.” There is really nothing the Rebels have to offer (maybe Luke, if Vader is wounded and the setup is just right for Son of Skywalker) that can reliably cope with him, outside of that whole “fire everything” approach. Take Force Push to yank things closer to you before slicing them to bits with a Relentless attack (in that order). Move, Push, Move, Relentless.



Heed Vader’s words, apply some of what I’ve talked about here, and share your results! I’m sure I’ve missed a thing or two, and I’d like to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment below to continue the discussion, and if you enjoy this content, please leave a like or a follow. Until next time!