by Looking for an effective Rebel Alliance army list? Does the competitive scene appeal to you and would you like to shine in major tournaments? In this article, I share with you the best Rebel army lists of 2023. They all finished in the top 8 of the biggest Star Wars Legion tournaments held in Europe and the US.
Foreword
For the command cards and battle deck associated with the lists, see the LegionHQ link provided below the screenshots.
| Beginner’s alert: Beware of unit cost updates |
|---|
| Some lists may be worth more than 800 points at the time you view them, making them illegal for tournament play. This may happen after the units cost update, which generally takes place once or twice a year. Please note that this is not done systematically for all Star Wars Legion units. Only the ones Atomic Mass Games deems to be over-performing (or under-performing) in tournaments. To find out the current value of the lists presented in this post, please check them on LegionHQ. The corresponding link is provided below each screenshot. |
Open lists
Cassian and Ahsoka
See the list in detail on LegionHQ
Performance:
List played by Michael Smiley, runner-up out of 62 players in the US Lone Star Open tournament in July 2023.
Explanation:
The list relies on the synergies between Cassian and Ahsoka. To fully exploit the potential of Cassian’s command cards, you need to target Operatives or Special Forces. In this list, Ahsoka will obviously be the focus of attention.
- Cassian’s Pip 3 “Volunteer Mission” gives the Jedi the opportunity to make a free Recovery. This is much appreciated given she lacks Master of the Force.
- Cassian’s Pip 2 “Last Stand” can potentially provide her 3 Dodge tokens, which she can use offensively thanks to her Jar’ Kai Mastery ability. Meanwhile, Ahsoka can supply Cassian with green tokens (preferably Aim tokens) with her command cards to support his sniper skills. And since K-2S0 is in the game, he’ll also benefit from these tokens through his Teamwork keyword.
Ahsoka Dodge Tribal
Performance:
This list was played by Aaron Smith at the US Lone Star Open tournament in July 2023. He finished 3rd in this 62-player competition.
Explanation:
This list is a mix between the Gunline and ‘Dodge’ tribal archetypes. This list generates indeed a lot of Dodge tokens and use them to trigger additional effects such as Situational Awareness, Ahsoka’s Jar’ Kai Mastery, Nimble and Defend 1. The list makes also clever use of the Covering Fire command card. This card can fuel Ahsoka with a Dodge token whenever a friendly basic Rebel troop performs a range attack. Given that this list contains 6 of them, she can potentially receive a whole bunch!
Finally, of the 11 activations on the list, 7 units can fire at a range of 4+. Rebels in this list can therefore threat the ennemy early on in the game.
Ahsoka and Sabine
Performance:
List played by Matt Evans, ranked 3rd out of 57 players in the US Rocky Top tournament in May 2023.
Explanation:
Apart from the synergy effects between Ahsoka and Sabine (see their command cards), the list also stands out from the rest with its low dispersion regarding unit ranks. Only 3 different types of unit make up the list: Commander, Operative and Basic Troops. This is excellent to increase control of your army, especially for Rebel list.
Run & Gun Cassian and Commander Luke (!)
Performance:
List played by Liam Kelly, placed 4th out of 64 players in the US Florida Crucible tournament in October 2023.
Explanation:
What?! Commander Luke is in one of the best army lists of 2023? Accompanied by Cassian and K-2SO, Luke heads up a list following the gunline archetype. But be warned, it’s not Cassian’s Sniper version that’s favoured here, but rather his Run & Gun version. He is deployed close to the enemy with K-2SO to wreak havoc while Luke rushes to join them.
Just the four of us: teamwork
Performance:
List played by Kyle Dornbos, placed 4th out of 59 entrants in the US PAX Unplugged tournament in December 2023.
Explanation:
The list follows the hammer archetype, using 4 heroes who have the distinction of working in pairs. In fact, both Chewbacca and K-2SO have the Teamwork keyword meaning that for every Aim or Dodge token they receive, their partner will get one too (and vice versa). Obviously, K-2SO plays a crucial role in this list. By targeting Chewbacca or Han with his Calculate Odds ability, he can distribute 4 green tokens in a single action for some tremendous action advantage !
If you’re wondering about the Recon Intel upgrade on the Rebel Veterans, it’s a trick for deploying Mark-II’s unit within 2 x 1 movement of the deployment zone. A tip I’ve already mentioned in this article.
Battle Forces
Echo Base Defenders
Performance:
This list was played by Ryan Sliwoski at the US PAX Unplugged tournament in December 2023. He finished 2nd in this 59-player competition.
Explanations:
11 activations, only three unit types and three Tauntauns Riders… Do we need to expand? This list gives you good control over your activations, especially if you extract Leia from the activation token pool. The Tauntauns are one of the best rebel units. They strike heavily thanks to their Ram keyword and move quickly. The army can harass the opponent very early in the game thanks to Leia (via her Coordinated Bombardment command card), the laser cannon and the Rebel Veterans units equipped with the range 4 CM-0/93 trooper.
Bright Tree Village
See the list in detail on LegionHQ
Performance:
List played by Tza, grand winner of the French Championship (152 players) in September 2023.
Explanation:
Aside from its astronomical number of activations (14!), this list draws its advantage from various well-thought-out tricks. For example, the Esteemed Leader upgrade found on Han Solo combines very well with C3-PO’s Divine Influence ability. This droid ability allows Ewoks to cancel critical hits when using C3-PO’s Guardian at Range 1 ability. If Han Solo finds himself within range 1 of these Ewoks, he’ll be able to use the little bears to cancel critical hits that target him. If you want to know more about this list, you might as well listen to Tza himself: He’s made a video about Ewoks.
The final word
My favourite list in the bunch is the Ahsoka Dodge Tribal list. I think this army list must have pleased the game’s developers because it respects the spirit in which the Rebel Alliance was conceived for Star Wars Legion: dodge management along with a threat from afar to compensate for their white dice defence (without neglecting hand-to-hand combat thanks to Ahsoka).
The good news for the Rebel Alliance from a competitive point of view is that, unlike the Republic, the lists are varied. Cassian and Ahsoka are certainly over-represented in these lists though. The time of Lando, Jyn, Mando and Boba ‘Fat’ has not yet come. Perhaps 2024 may smile on them, who knows?
