Scene to Stats: Aqua Droids

“Send out the aqua droids to assemble the assault craft.”
-Asajj Ventress

The Haor Chall Engineering Corporation was responsible for creating many fearsome weapons of war during the Clone Wars. From the IG-227 Hailfire-class droid tank to the C-9979 Landing Craft, their designs were a common sight in the Confederacy of Independent Systems’ fight against the Galactic Republic. Conflict on a galaxy-spanning scale required numerous specialty patterns and Haor Chall responded with the creation of the AQ-series battle droid. Used to attack aquatic planets, these bulky constructs were fitted with propellers to help them expertly navigate the depths of any seascape. Prepare to repel boarders as we take a closer look at aqua droids for Star Wars™: Legion!

A unique invention with one purpose in mind, a team of aqua droids is a Heavy unit composed of 3 miniatures. Closer to a walking tank than a trooper, these fearsome creations have the Ground Vehicle subtype. With 3 Health per miniature and Armor 2, expect aqua droids to provide a dependable presence on the battlefield as they wade their way into any fight. Aqua droids also surge to defense and don’t have a Resiliency value, therefore not suffering extra negative effects as the unit receives wounds. Representing their rapid deployment capabilities, Infiltrate ensures aqua droids under your command start any game in a tactically advantageous position, and helps mitigate their slower speed-1 movement. They can therefore be used to aggressively zone out other enemy infiltrators, creating a protective screen for your army as it advances toward the foe. Finally, AI: Attack, Move means that any unit without an issued order token will continue the assault, advancing inexorably towards their objectives!

Reminiscent of the iconic B2 battle droid, aqua droids bring the same level of combat prowess to your forces. At range, this unit attacks with a single black and white attack die per miniature. In melee, they deliver a Crushing Punch, which is bolstered by Impact 1, showing an increased efficiency against targets with Armor. If vehicles and other hard targets are an issue, then the addition of a Heavy aqua droid will surely help add more lethality to the unit. For 28 points, the unit gains an additional aqua droid miniature armed with a deadly Heavy Blaster. This miniature adds two red and one white attack die to the unit’s ranged attacks, as well as Impact 2. Aqua droids can also equip a Comms upgrade, which can be used to increase the flexibility of the unit in several ways. Simply adding an “Emergency Transponder” gives them either a Dodge for protection or an Aim to keep their damage output high. An aggressive commander may instead want to add a Comms Jammer to make this unit a nuisance to other frontline adversaries, or Hacked Comms to give you great flexibility for when to strike into the heart of the enemy’s lines with your aqua droids. The possibilities of how to equip your aqua droids dive deep, but read on to discover more tactical options to get the most out of this upcoming expansion.

With straightforward usage, aqua droids provide CIS generals with a solid anvil to lay down fire while the rest of their army moves up into an advantageous position. Commanders like Kalani, the cunning Super Tactical Droid, will pair well with a unit or two of aqua droids, providing them continued aim support through Strategize 2, while also keeping your investment safe with dodge tokens. This gives aqua droids the choice of continuing the advance or using one of their own actions to sight in and deliver a potent range-3 strike, reinforced by two aim tokens. They can also fill the role of a dedicated anti-armor unit, freeing up other elements of your forces to focus on capturing objectives or contributing more effectively to other aspects of the battle. While they have a serviceable melee attack, armies that include aqua droids should consider bringing other decided close-combat units to help safeguard their firepower from aggressive assaults and Jedi warriors. Supporting aqua droids with a PK-series Worker Droid is also an excellent way to ensure the unit stays in the fight for as long as possible, returning valuable firepower to the unit as it takes casualties. While a unit or two of aqua droids is a competent enough addition to a CIS list on their own, sustaining them with tokens and additional sources of protection goes a long way to ensure they survive long enough to win your games of Star Wars: Legion.

When you’re ready to disembark from a Trident-class assault ship and join the fray,  pre-order your copy of the Aqua Droids Unit Expansion at your local game store or through the webstore today. Be sure to check back later for yet another installment of From Scene to Stats, the series where we give you your first look at how your favorite characters transition to the tabletop in Star Wars: Legion.

Until next time, Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off!