Republic Tactics 101

"Because of your selfless display of bravery on the battlefield, we hereby promote you to your new position.

From this moment forward, Commander, you will lead squads of the most elite soldiers the Grand Army of the Republic has to offer into battle. Make no mistake! These devious Separatists will stop at nothing to bring our glorious Republic to its knees. But they underestimate us. These mindless clankers are no match for our superior strategy, discipline, and precision. In my boom experience outranks everything. And we have it in abundance.

So be alert, Commander. Join us. Your academy training in battle tactics and strategy will commence shortly, beginning with your first introductory course. Prepare yourself to be a master tactician. The Republic is counting on you".

                   "Welcome to battlefield tactics 101"

Clone Trooper Synergy (Token sharing networks)

In Star Wars Legion, a clone unit can spend one Aim, Dodge, or Surge token from a nearby (range 2, line of sight) friendly clone unit during an attack or defense, as if it were its own. This is by far the most important principle to master as a commander of the Republic. It’s your bread and Butter. 

Why is token sharing so strong?

- It mitigates your dependence on luck. You don’t want to rely on the Will of the force when shooting an enemy unit. Sometimes you just need one more hit to wipe out this pesky B1 squad but you’re short on one hit. Then it's time to borrow one aim Token from your nearby brothers in Arms! 

- It gives you more flexibilty being loaded up with Green tokens (aim, dodge, surge). On the battlefield you sometimes find yourself being locked between a Rock and a hard place without many options. It’s no rare occurance in other armies to be forced into "dead" activations. Meaning you have no good options due to supression or bad positioning. Having access to a bunch of tokens mitigates these occurances. Dodge tokens keeps your squad longer in the game and harder to remove from a point of interest. Having access to aim makes an attack you are forced to make impactful after all. 

To master token sharing, you have to keep in mind that clone troopers don’t want to wander off. They work best in unison, supporting each other within range 1 and line of sight as much as possible. Practice maintaining tight formations, even while advancing.

This method of positioning was once called the “Clone Ball,” because you could group a bunch of clones together to make them highly effective. In Legion 2.0, however, it works a bit differently. Lumping too many clones together makes them too immobile to reach points of interest. So, networks it is! That said, you can still see a kind of Clone Ball–esque setup from time to time.

Another important concept is using units as token batteries. These units’ main objective is to generate as many tokens as possible for other units to use. Token batteries are best placed in the center, between other units, so they can distribute tokens efficiently. Bonus points if the unit has long range and prefers to stay in one place while generating tokens.

Don’t forget: token batteries don’t need to be fixed units. You might start out with your Marksmen as your battery and switch later to your clone trooper infantry as your new battery.

keywords like tactical, bolster, reliable maximize your access to tokens. Still, use them wisely and don’t waste them!

Elite Tactics

You will command some of the finest soldiers in the galaxy. They are tough as nails and hit like a truck! So you might think you can just go out into the open field and run and gun! After all xour troops are tanky and precise enough. Well... not quiet. Your troopers are costly and losing even a single one of them hurts a lot (They are clones but they should matter to you!). So if run and gun is not the answer how can you use the elite nature of your troops to your advantage?

   

Red defense and Black attack dice = tough!

- Master your positioning. Most of your units are sturdy, with red dice and token sharing. This might lead new generals into a false sense of security. Yes, your units are tougher to kill than most other factions, but that’s usually not how you want to play them.

Don’t rush out into the open. Instead, remain in heavy cover as much as the layout of the battlefield allows. Use terrain that blocks line of sight. Threaten the enemy with counterattacks and hinder their advance with standby.

Don’t overextend single units. Otherwise, they will be picked apart despite having red saves, and they might lose access to the token-sharing mechanic. Once you keep that in mind and get a feel for it, you’ll see how difficult it is for your opponent to fight against your troops. Well-positioned Republic units sometimes don’t lose a single model after being attacked, which essentially forces your opponent into a dead activation or at least a suboptimal one.

- Remove enemies surgically. The same principle we’ve just discussed also applies to attacking. Instead of blindly trying to destroy any enemy unit that gets too close, you should only attack if you are sure the target is worth your activation. Is the unit I am planning to attack tactically important for my opponent, or just cannon fodder? Do I have access to enough aims and surge to finish the unit off? You don’t want half-intact units to tie you up for longer than necessary. Weakening your opponent might feel right, but you want to remove activations to even out the playing field. After all, your activation is more valuable than your opponent’s, so make it count! Once you’ve mastered maximizing your chances, it feels oh so good to totally annihilate an opponent’s unit with one well-planned attack.

Some general Tipps for the Republic 

- Do not forget objectives! Objectives win games. Don’t lose sight of them while hunting for enemies.

- In list building, avoid over-investing in one unit. I get it. we want to make our favorite units even stronger. But our units are already expensive, and lists that rely on one costly unit are bound to stumble once that unit is removed.

- Think activations ahead. Basically, every other faction has more activations than the Republic. You have to manage this asymmetry by thinking about the next possible moves and how your opponent might react.

- Order control is key. Similar to the prior point, you have to think about which units you want to activate first and which later. Obviously, it depends on the situation, but the Republic especially likes to keep its most important units safe to react in the later stages. Regular units can be used earlier.

- Do or do not… there’s still a lot to try! Stick with your army build for a while and test it in this particular setup. Maybe switch up a few units here and there. Experimenting with your build is a lot of fun, and it helps you gain experience.

“So that’s your first lesson, Commander. With a million more well on the way. Of course, this is not a comprehensive list of tactics. There is still a lot to learn, but this should make the start of your journey a little easier.

Oh, what’s that?! An incoming transmission? Great news, Commander! The next lessons will have to wait. The Galactic Senate has voted to send you out to fight the clankers on Umbara. A great opportunity to show what you’ve just learned. For the Republic!”

                       "Democracy is coming for you!"