publisher

Fantasy Flight Games

mechanics

Dice Rolling , Variable Player Powers,

ages

14+

players

2 Players

playtime

60 – 120 minutes

Star Wars: Legion - B1 Battle Droids Upgrade Expansion -Board Game Shop swl54 spread

Augmented AI

B1 Battle Droids are unlike any other soldiers in the galaxy. Despite being no match for the Republic’s Jedi Knights and Clone Troopers, these dim-witted and often glitchy droids nevertheless pose a threat through their superior numbers and blind willingness to press forward no matter the opposition.

Central to this strategy is the B1 Battle Droids’ ability to coordinate with each other, ensuring the Separatist’s droid army operates as a unified whole. It should be no surprise, then, that the new personnel included in the B1 Battle Droids Upgrade Expansion work to enhance this fact, beginning with OOM-Series Battle Droids. One of these droids extends the B1 Battle Droids’ Coordinate range, helping them maintain the chain even when there may be larger gaps in the Separatist battle line. This can be further improved if your battle droids are outfitted with Integrated Comms Antennas so that they can be issued orders by a commander or operative from even farther away.

No matter how large their numerical advantage, the ranks of your B1 Battle Droids will inevitably thin, making it more difficult for them to coordinate with each other. In those cases, the battle droids’ natural AI will kick in, forcing them to immediately attack after activating. With a B1 Security Droid among their ranks, however, your droids can ignore this directive, instead taking the time to move or aim before firing.

To fully capitalize on the advantages provided by these new personnel, B1 Battle Droids need to look past their standard E-5 blaster rifles. The Clone Wars Core Set and B1 Battle Droids Unit Expansion both give you the opportunity to put more powerful weapons in your droids’ hands. The E-5C blaster rifle, for instance, is a marked improvement over the E-5, greatly enhancing a unit’s firepower. On the other hand, an E-60R B1 Trooper can easily punch through an enemy’s armor plating, even at long range.

The B1 Battle Droids Upgrade Expansion adds two more heavy weapons to your arsenal, letting you use these droids in even more creative ways. While droids themselves have very little to fear from poison, it can be devastating to their organic enemies and outfitting a battle droid with a Radiation Cannon can be an effective way to slowly whittle away at an enemy with solid defense like the Republic’s clone troopers. Meanwhile, an E-5s B1 Trooper can take up position from a distance, targeting opponents who have hunkered down behind cover.