Scene to Stats: B2 Super Battle Droids

“You stupid, little astro droid…” – B2 Super Battle Droid, Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith

The foundries and coffers of the star systems and galactic corporations that make up the Confederacy of Independent Systems have produced war machines beyond counting, but few have risen to the ubiquity and ruthless efficiency of the B2 Super Battle Droids. As old as the Clone Wars itself, the B2-series droids were first deployed to the brutal landscape of Geonosis and fought the Jedi to a standstill, bested only by the timely intervention of the new clone army. Though seasoned players of Star Wars™: Legion are likely familiar with these infamous battle droids, new and experienced generals alike are invited to read along in today’s Scene to Stats for how to best deploy and combat the B2 Super Battle Droids!

The B2 Super Battle Droids carry the Corps unit rank. Corps form the backbone of any Star Wars: Legion unit, the only mandatory unit rank required outside of the Commander. Players must include at least 3 Corps units in a standard army, but rest assured, the B2 Super Battle Droids are not here to simply fill a quota in your army! The B2 series have been improved to red defense dice, all the better to shrug off even the heaviest incoming firepower in tandem with their wound threshold of 2. Thanks to the Droid Trooper unit type, the B2 droids cannot become Suppressed and are markedly more challenging to pin down than their flesh-and-blood adversaries—a clever opponent might equip their units with weapons with the Ion X keyword to counter this. Their AI: Attack unit keyword encourages players to issue the B2 Super Battle Droids an Order or keep them near a Commander unit. If this cannot be done, they may only perform an Attack as their first action on their Activation, likely from a less-advantageous position than if they had been able to perform a Move action prior.

The B2 Super Battle Droids carry some of the best weaponry the Separatist Alliance can provide. Their Arm Cannons are a more modern breed of ranged weapon, carrying a mixed range that can be used in Melee as well, making it a challenge to escape their onslaught. Opponents should watch their Wrist Rockets, which can neatly counter Armor X thanks to the Impact 1 for each such instance of the weapon added to an Attack Pool.

Many units in Star Wars: Legion can see their weapons customized using Upgrade Cards, and most Trooper units do so using the Heavy Weapon icon on their upgrade bar. This can further tune a unit for a particular role on the tabletop or to meet a particular points total. The B2 Super Battle Droids have available to them two very different options. On a budget, they may include the B2-ACM Trooper, with an improved arm cannon that throws more reliable dice than their traditional Arm Cannon. The B2-HA Trooper broadens the B2 droids’ threat range to 3 and carries the Blast keyword to make a mockery of enemy defenses. This weapon must be exhausted to be added to an Attack Pool, but the Cycle keyword ensures it will not take long to reload.

The Personnel upgrade icon may be used to equip a number of options unique to Separatist Alliance units, but perhaps the most fearsome is the B2 Super Battle Droid Squad, which swells the unit’s ranks with an additional 4 miniatures as well as adds the Indomitable keyword, which ensures nothing will slow these terrifying battle droids except their complete destruction. The Comms upgrade icon is equally flexible, and the HQ Uplink Upgrade Card is an enticing option to guarantee the B2 droids are not burdened by their AI: Attack keyword even when ranging the battlefield far beyond the influence of a friendly Commander.

The droid foundries are fired up for the next wave of the Separatist Alliance’s premier shock troops. Pre-order your very own copy of the B2 Super Battle Droids Unit Expansion at your local game store or on the webstore today!

Roger, roger! Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off!