We’re just a few months away from the release of the first new vehicles since Legion’s launch, which means now is as good a time as ever to talk about a rule that trips a lot of people up: displacement, or the act of a vehicle running over some poor, poor troopers.

So what exactly happens when some menial troopers are in the way of your towering AT-ST or, for whatever reason you decided to fly it, your Airspeeder? Can they be in the way of your Airspeeder in the first place?

Let’s take a look.

Who is Involved in Displacement?

Only three types of units will be involved in displacement, and only in two specific cases:

Ground Vehicles moving through or into Trooper Units

or

Repulsor Vehicles ending a compulsory move on Trooper Units

In case you aren’t intimately aware with Legion’s vehicle reference language, here are those vehicles disambiguated:

Ground Vehicles AT-ST (Imperial) AT-RT (Rebel) Occupier Combat Assault Tank* (Imperial)

Repulsor Vehicles 74-Z Speeder Bikes (Imperial) T-47 Airspeeder (Rebel) X-34 Landspeeder* (Rebel)



*forthcoming releases

Which Units Are Displaced?

To determine which units are going to be displaced, we have two things to consider.

If it’s a Ground Vehicle, any trooper mini that would be overlapped by any portion of the vehicle’s base along the entirety of the chosen movement tool’s path will be displaced. If the ground vehicle stops short of its full movement speed, minis at the far end of the movement tool may be unaffected.

Update: Per a question by /u/Archistopheles on reddit, a reminder that the recent Rules Reference update clarified that vehicles with a non-round base can displaced via pivoting! This, at present, only applied to the forthcoming Occupier Tank.

If it’s a Repulsor Vehicle, any trooper mini that would be overlapped by any portion of the vehicle’s base in its final position after a compulsory move only will be displaced.

Notably, if a repulsor vehicle is making a standard move and would pass completely over the trooper unit, nothing happens. However, if a repulsor vehicle were to end its move while overlapping a trooper unit, it must be placed as far forward on the movement template as possible without overlapping any of the trooper minis. There is no “overlapping” or displacement for a repulsor vehicle during a standard move.

Finally, any engaged trooper units cannot be displaced. So if you’re trying to move into or through them with a ground vehicle, you’ll have to stop short instead. Same goes for a repulsor’s final position.

The Act of Displacing Units

Fortunately, the Rules Reference is fairly clear on what happens once you’ve identified that a move will displace any number of trooper minis. I’ve spelled them out here, with a bit more detail in the headers.

1) Pick Up and Set Aside Affected Minis

Straightforward enough. Once you’ve identified the affected minis, set them off to the side so they’re not in the way.

However, if your trooper’s unit leader is in the way, mark its location with any old token – we’ll need that spot as a reference point for later.

2) Move the Vehicle to its Final Position

3) Replace the Affected Units

Once the vehicle is set, the player who did not move the vehicle places the units back on the map.

First, was a unit leader displaced? If so, it must be returned within Range 1 of its original position.

Next, any displaced minis should be placed within cohesion of the unit leader. If the unit leader was moved, any unaffected minis should also be placed within cohesion if they are no longer so. Returned minis should be placed on the original elevation unless it’s otherwise impossible to put them in cohesion, and they cannot be placed in base contact with any enemy minis.

As a reminder, cohesion means that the trooper mini is within a viable speed-1 maneuver of its unit leader. The Rules Reference spells it out with a nice image, so I won’t reinvent the wheel.

4) Add Exactly One Suppression to Each Affected Unit

And that’s it! In four easy steps, you’ve successfully displaced your minis.

As you can probably guess, displacement is more than just a rule: it can also be an effective tactical maneuver. Forcing your opponent to reposition their minis and take a suppression can be a powerful tool when used effectively.

Of course, it can also be a huge detriment if you do it to yourself: suddenly, your opponent has freedom to re-cohere your units in a disadvantageous way.

In short: be careful when planning your moves out!

As always, happy driving and flying, Commanders. I hope this was helpful. Leave your thoughts, comments, and questions below.