It would be impossible for the Star Wars Legion game to exist without the existence of the humble Imperial Stormtrooper. An essential part of the Star Wars universe (and an ever-present sight at pretty much any geek convention ever), the Stormtrooper is as much a well-known figure as Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker.
Of course, for those who play the bad guys in Fantasy Flight Games’ Star Wars Legion wargame, these guys are pretty much your basic cannon fodder. The Stormtroopers Unit Expansion set adds seven Stormtrooper models to your collection. The models are in a fixed pose but you have enough options to make them interesting. They aren’t made of the usual sort of miniatures plastic (this stuff is more durable), and they will (mostly) clip together for priming and prep if you plan on painting them, but glue will be needed eventually.
Painting them is pretty easy; these things are white and black. Even if you’re utterly hamfisted they drybrush easily, are detailed enough to look pretty but not so detailed that they take ages to paint. Of course, your mileage may vary depending on your skill, but they are certainly unchallenging to do.
Though the models are familiar to anyone who’s picked up the Star Wars Legion Starter set, the set does come with some changes. The box has cards that allow you to equip your guys with Grappling Hooks, which means they don’t suffer movement penalties for clambering. The card art is accidentally hilarious; we think it’s meant to depict Stormtroopers in some sort of SWAT team style assault, but it looks more like they’re in a very deadly circus. Still, the ability to move around complex 3D terrain is well worth the three points, especially if you have an ‘Ewok Villae’ style set-up. The box also has cards for Impact Grenades, which are a game changer in terms of dealing with armour. Pricey at five points, but handy if you’re fielding an army made of mostly ground troops.
If you’re getting into the game, it’s likely you’ll end up with a lot of these guys. We are hoping for some more poses in the future, and if you’ve got the core set these pieces hold no surprises, but for short little Stormtroopers, they’re a lot of fun and are certainly the best wargaming Stormtroopers we’ve ever seen, far surpassing the attempts of previous games companies.
