by Antoine Granet, better known as “Tza” on the French Discord server, is undoubtedly the best French player of Star Wars Legion. He has claimed the French Championship title three years in a row since his first participation. This is an extraordinary achievement, especially considering that the French Championship is the largest Legion tournament in Europe, with 122 participants in 2022 and an impressive 152 players in 2023! Back in 2022, I had the opportunity to sit down with Antoine to discuss his journey as a wargamer, his experiences at the tournament, and his strategic approach to the game. Let’s discover this remarkable French champion, whose unique and meticulously crafted strategies have taken the French Legion community by storm…
The Player and His List
Congratulations on your results at the French Championship, Antoine! For those who don’t know you, could you tell us a bit about yourself and, most importantly, your history with miniature wargames?
I’m 35 years old and have been living in Nantes for two years. I started playing miniature wargames as a teenager. Like many others my age at the time, I started with Warhammer 40,000. Those were my first miniatures, but they weren’t intended for competitive play. It was actually Warhammer Fantasy Battles (7th edition) that got me into tournaments. I was pretty good, to the point where I could participate in team world championships. My journey with Warhammer Fantasy Battles lasted about ten years. After that, I tried other games, starting with Eden (editor’s note: a skirmish game that no longer exists), then Warmachine. For the latter, I participated in four team world championships. Finally, around March 2022, I discovered Star Wars Legion, just eight months before the French Championship.
That’s incredible! Less than a year of experience in Star Wars Legion, and you’re already the French Champion! Were you surprised by this?
Yes and no. Honestly, I’ve always been good at miniature wargames. In every game I’ve mentioned, I consistently ranked among the top French players. I can’t quite explain it, as I have a pretty instinctive approach to games. My 20 years of experience obviously help a lot. I gained that experience by participating in numerous tournaments (editor’s note: in games other than SWL). Where I used to live, players were scarce. Friendly games weren’t an option, so I had to join tournaments in neighboring regions to play. On top of that, I also have experience from the video game world. I’ve spent a lot of time on strategy games and RPGs. I even had a stint with Hearthstone and Legends of Runeterra. Still, I didn’t expect to win the championship this year!
Eight months—this is still blowing my mind! Tell me, those eight months must have been filled with intense training with your Republic army, right?
Not at all. I bought my Republic army a month and a half before starting the French Championship. With the winning list, I played about 15 games: 7 at the Championship, 5 at the Toulouse tournament, and 3 or 4 as practice. It’s worth noting that I enjoy switching factions. I’m fortunate enough to be able to fully dedicate myself to this passion financially, which allows me to build army lists for all factions in the game and test a lot of different things. I believe it’s better to understand a game as a whole rather than endlessly playing the same army list (and therefore limiting yourself to a single faction).
But why did you choose the Republic faction? In 2022, it was considered the weakest of all factions after the latest RRG update.
One thing was certain: I didn’t want to play the Empire because it was the most popular faction. So, I had to choose one of the remaining factions. There wasn’t any particular reason for picking the Republic—it just happened. However, the choice of the list came quite naturally. The idea for the list emerged after a few trials. I initially started with Yoda and Anakin, but the results weren’t convincing. When I field a hero, I quickly get a sense of what they can do, but more importantly, what they can’t. It’s a matter of instinct for me. I quickly sensed the limitations of the list, so I adapted it. For instance, the first time I played Yoda, I immediately felt that this character offered flexibility in my list and enabled me to achieve many things. Since I enjoy playing units that offer multiple possibilities during a game, my choice naturally fell on Yoda.
Did you consider the meta when building your list? If so, can you elaborate on what you focused on?
Not at all. I don’t care for this meta talk. If you’re good, you’ll win. You can’t predict your path or your opponents. Nothing is known in advance; it’s all random. Plus, you might win a tournament without facing a single top-tier list. To me, it would be a shame to avoid playing certain lists simply because they perform poorly against so-called “meta” lists.
By choosing the Republic, were you trying to send a message to your opponents?
Yes, a little bit. I wanted to show players that the meta isn’t as rigid as people think. Less popular army lists can work just as well. When I start a new game, I avoid looking at the top-performing lists. I prefer forming my own opinion about the game and creating my own lists without outside influence.
Oh really? But your list is surprising, to say the least! How did you come up with it?
Haha, I’ve heard that a lot! I find it amusing to hear players say they don’t understand my list or how you can win with that combination of units. But I knew it had potential since a month before the French Championship, I won a tournament in Toulouse with it. It was obvious I’d use it again for the Championship. I made a couple of small adjustments, and it was ready!
Alright, but had you previously identified a list that could give you trouble?
Yes, of course. I knew which matchups were unfavorable for me. In my case, it was lists containing Darth Vader (the Commander version). The problem is his morale: he’s immune to suppression, and consequently, his nearby troops will never panic. My list revolves around suppressing enemies. I faced a few Vader lists, and the worst matchup was against Blizzard Force lists. That said, I had a significant competitive advantage: almost all my opponents underestimated my list. They thought it was terrible. 🤣
In several tournaments across the Atlantic in 2022, it was common to see players winning competitions with lists that included significant points of bid. Your list follows this trend with 23 points of bid. Can you explain your reasoning?
(Editor’s note: “points of bid” refer to points left unspent in the list.)
I don’t think points of bid guarantee victories. Previously, I played all my army lists at 800 points. I operated on the principle that they should be able to handle any scenario (except for Hostage Exchange, which is a special case). I preferred to maximize my options and adapt to my opponents’ scenarios.
However, over time, I realized that many players dislike certain deployments or struggle to play well on specific scenarios. From this observation, I decided to include all these unpopular cards in my deck—even if they weren’t ideal for my own list. The idea behind this strategy is to put my opponent in unfamiliar territory, forcing them to play configurations they’re not used to.
Thanks to my experience with miniature wargames, such situations throw me off less. I adapt easily and maintain an effective playstyle. That’s often not the case for my opponents, who tend to make mistakes that I can exploit.
The Tournament Progression
(Editor’s note: The French Championship took place over two days. Four rounds were held on Saturday, followed by three additional rounds on the second day for the top players.)
How did your tournament go? Did you face any tough matches?
Only the final was truly challenging. In the earlier games, I was able to secure victories quickly thanks to the scenarios. That’s the advantage of lists with Yoda: even if you lose more units than your opponent, you can quickly outscore them on scenario objectives. If I recall correctly, I faced the Empire (with Commander Vader) in the first round on Saturday. Then, I went up against three Rebel Alliance players in a row, followed by a player with a Separatist Alliance list. My second-to-last match was against a Shadow Collective player. Finally, in the championship match, I faced Nostrus and his particularly tough Separatist Alliance list.
Listening to you, it sounds like smooth sailing until the final. Were there too many beginners in the tournament to make it that easy?
Oh no. At the French Championship, after the second round, all the remaining players have experience. (Editor’s note: Since winners play against winners and losers against losers, the level of competition inevitably increases as the rounds progress.) I think the players I faced had at least a 3-3 or 4-2 record (Editor’s note: wins, losses). I didn’t face any true beginners, the kind you usually encounter in the first rounds.
How did you approach the final?
My last game was by far the tightest. Nostrus was running a list with three MagnaGuard units and Cad Bane. Fun fact: in that tournament in Toulouse I mentioned earlier, I also played the final against Nostrus! So I knew his list and he knew mine. It was actually thanks to that earlier match that I adjusted my playstyle.
Previously, I would send Yoda straight into melee. But that tactic couldn’t work against MagnaGuards. I had to come up with a different game plan: adding lots of suppression tokens to enemy units. It was during the Toulouse final that I discovered how strong my list was at executing this strategy! 🤪 Thanks to that game, I completely changed my approach to my list. The list itself stayed the same, but the way I played it shifted.
That strength became the focus of my strategy at the French Championship.
Inside a Champion’s Mind
What has changed in your life as a player since this victory? How do you feel as a champion?
That’s a tough question. There are both good and bad sides to such a win. At the moment, it made me very happy, of course. It was the biggest individual tournament I’ve ever participated in, and winning it was incredible. My goal for this tournament was primarily to perform well enough to gain some legitimacy within the community. I like playing quirky lists and writing strategy articles about the games I play. Naturally, people listen to you more when you’ve won a major tournament, whereas if you’re an unknown newcomer… In short, this victory opened certain doors for me, and I’ve started writing some articles on my website Dans la tête d’un type (editor’s note: meaning Inside a guy’s head )
The downside is that such a win disrupts my personal objectives. I started the game recently and won the biggest tournament in France. So what’s next? Aiming for a world tournament? I’ve already done many major international tournaments in other games. I’m not as interested in world championships as one might think, especially considering how expensive participation is overall.
The drive to win is less present today than it was a few years ago. I don’t feel the need to prove myself anymore. This mindset does have its positives, though. For example, it allowed me to approach the French Championship calmly, without any pressure to perform.
So, is it over between you and Legion? 🥺
Oh no, I don’t plan to quit Legion anytime soon. I think it’s a great game, and it’s really engaging to play. That said, I jokingly told a friend that if I won the gold medal, I’d buy into Age of Sigmar. So, I’ve started playing that too. 😂
Thank you, Antoine, for this fascinating interview, and I wish you the best in the future!
