In 2018, my son, who was eleven, roped me into buying the brand-new Star Wars miniature game that was being released. Having not painted since my teenage years, I told him in no uncertain terms that we could buy it but I wouldn’t be painting it. That lasted all of two days. The models were fresh, the game new and we were excited. However, it soon became apparent that this wasn’t a speedy game, and it was most definitely a game still in its infancy. There weren’t enough different units to really make things interesting, and it was very much, you needed the latest release to win. The game overstayed its welcome in terms of game time (mainly due to a lack of game flow) and was a little too complicated for my son at the time. It was a game we let go of and never looked back.
However, this year sees a restart for the game. New rules, new starter sets and new miniatures. It’s the perfect time for new players to jump onboard and see what changes Legion has brought. Having both become big fans of Marvel: Crisis Protocol and Star Wars: Shatterpoint, my son and I were very excited to revisit this game, with the changes being implemented by the same designer as those two games: Will Shick. Having spoken to him at the UK Games Expo this year, I was feeling that the changes he had mentioned would really improve the game, making it closer to what my son and I had first thought the game would be like.
Atomic Mass Games (AMG) were very kind to send us a copy of the Empire and Rebel starter sets to try out and see how these changes affected the game. This review will look at what you get in the Empire starter, then there will be one on the Rebel starter and finally a review of the gameplay itself. These two sets are the first of the new starter sets coming out. These are out this Friday (September 19, 2025) but don’t worry, if you prefer the Clone Wars era, the starter sets for this era are being released the month after.
Now a typical game of Legion uses a team of 1000 points, but AMG have also created a recon game mode that is quicker and uses only 600 points. Each of these starters come with enough models and units to make a 600-point army to use in recon mode. With a couple of expansions, you will be able to field a full army. That seems impressive in and of itself, and if I’m honest, I imagine recon will be my preferred way to play the game. But what really impressed me was the price of these starter sets. They retail for £84.99. With the price of just about everything going up, I was gob smacked at how cheap these sets are. With some shopping around you can find the sets for less than £70, a fully workable force, with everything you need. Compared to other games that is an absolute steal. As a painter, I’d be happy to pay that just for the models themselves! I must commend AMG for this price point.
So, with the basics over and done with, lets focus on the Galactic Empire set and see what one of these starter sets will provide you with. The first instant answer is a lot! The box is packed full of almost everything you could need. There are game specific dice, range rulers, measurement tools, bases, tokens, board cards, leaflets and sprue upon sprue of models. There are 37 models in this box altogether. Even with a cursory glance, I can already see that there is a lot here that is different from when my son and I tried to play. Having spoken to Will Shick, I also knew that the sculpts for a lot of these sets were being updated, to match the painting style that has emerged in the last few years, particularly with contrast and speed paints. I was a bit dazzled by all the cards that were included. Thankfully, there are four packs of cards here, one for each language that AMG supports. Now while that means you will be throwing three sets of cards away, in terms of shipping and packaging, it actually reduces this by a fair amount. The box itself is no longer wrapped in plastic, like Shatterpoint and Legion used to be. Instead, sticky tape holds it in place to reduce the amount of plastic. I’m all for this and I think it shows an active push by the company to reduce their usage of materials. Now we get to the leaflets. The first, which if you are a fan of AMG, you will be used to, is a QR code to take you to the build instructions. The second tells you the makeup of your squads in order to be able to play a recon game. Very useful and I’ll be building the models in the set following this guideline.
However, one thing I am very surprised by are the rules. There are no rules in the box. Instead, they too can be found on the AMG website. This took me back a little, I like to have a physical rulebook to hand when I’m learning a game and not rely on a technical device. However, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. When I was learning Shatterpoint for the first couple of games, the rulebook was right by me, constantly being checked. But now? I haven’t looked at the rulebook for two years! So, it makes sense to save the paper cost. And there is the second reason, cost. This starter set, as mentioned, is incredible value for money. To be able to sell the set for the price it requires cuts somewhere. If getting rid of a physical rulebook means players can get this set at a very reasonable price, then I think that is worth the compromise.
Before I move onto the models, my son and I both noticed something strange. All the cards were the same standard size. When we first played Legion there were the standard cards and then upgrades were the smaller sized cards that, well, would just run amok on the table and be a pain to store. Thankfully, AMG have removed that issue and just made everything standard. I’m rather pleased with that change!
So, onto the models. In the Empire set you get Darth Vader, twenty-two stormtroopers and fourteen scout troopers. There isn’t a huge amount of variety in this starter set, particularly compared to the Rebels, who have three different units. As someone who wants to field hordes of the troopers I know and love, this doesn’t bother me. I also think for the price, you just can’t argue. Each stormtrooper and scout unit costs at retail £49.99. For just those models in the box, you are paying £200, plus Vader, plus dice, plus movement tools, range tools, I mean, you get the idea! I also think that these units are the real core of the Empire and when building a full 1000-point force, that’s when you buy the more interesting units that are available for the game (I’m looking at you AT-ST!).
Darth Vader, the commander, is the first model to build. Because we had our copy in advance, the build instructions were not there for Vader. Thankfully, Vader is an easy build, just having to remember to put the helmet on last. Coming from Shatterpoint the scale is a lot smaller, the details not quite as refined and the poses much more standard. Vader here is standing with his fist clenched and there isn’t any real movement in him, bar his cape. The bases supplied are standard, with no preexisting detail on them. With all that said, I looked at Vader and couldn’t help but think that I actually preferred the pose to the one that has been most recently released in Shatterpoint! This is a very different game. There are a lot more troops and far more chances to knock models and basically, it becomes a bit chaotic. This Vader serves the purposes of the game well. I can’t even lie; it’s a joy not to be handling such a delicate lightsaber blade like in Shatterpoint! I really like this model, and I can see the improvements over the original version of the game. This one feels more commanding, more standing at the back while the soldiers rush in.
Next up were the two squads of stormtroopers, a total of twenty-two. These troopers come over six sprues. Four of the ‘normal’ troopers and two sprues that have the leader and the two different attachments that you can have for the game: a rocket launcher or a repeating blaster. Unlike some games, you don’t need to decide which one to equip, you get enough models so you can build all the options and then when you play, you get the correct model for your list. The first is the stormtrooper leader, who on the instructions is marked as assembly A. Why is it marked as A? Because every part with a number starting with A is what you need. Throughout this entire build I found myself barely needing the instructions thanks to this. When doing Shatterpoint, I’m constantly looking at the build instructions as there can be quite a few fiddly bits. But then again, to field a team I need between six and ten characters. It’s not mainly. I have four times that amount here. I don’t want to be taking ages assembling, I want to be playing! Having the sprues so clearly labeled makes life so much easier. The leaders took no time at all. The detail on them is fantastic. I always remember the original Legion stormtroopers seemed a bit off, the proportions not quite right. This has clearly been fixed with this new sculpting. The pose is also very welcome as it means that spotting the leader is going to be a lot easier as he is different from the other troopers.
The rest of the squad is a dream to put together. They all follow the same pattern and can be quickly assembled. I will say, always put the non-holding blaster arm on first and then the other, and this should make bringing the arms together even easier. Not that anything really presented any real problem. Now some might say it would be nice to have some variation. I know the Rebel set comes with different heads to customize your squads. However, with the Empire, it should be uniform, they should look like a united force, so this does not bother me at all. The special weapons pose no real trouble either. I would say for the rocket launcher, make sure you put the right arm before the left. I tried doing it the other way and really struggled getting the slot on the rocket launcher to match with the left hand. Other than that, after you’ve finished putting twenty-two stormtroopers together, you probably don’t want to see another one for a while!
Onto the scout troopers, these are spread over four sprues that are a bit smaller than the stormtrooper counterparts. The first scout trooper (A) is a bit different from the others, you can see from the instructions that unlike the rest, his instructions do need to be carefully followed. I won’t lie and say the macro binoculars are easy to place, they can be a bit of a nightmare. However, the pose you get from the scout trooper is fantastic. This is definitely my favourite sculpt out of this squad. It is dynamic, it tells a story but the model is also secure to the base. What I will say about the instructions, they seem a lot more precise than those from Shatterpoint. I often wonder why they have been placed in the order they have, here, I have absolutely no complaints about them!
Moving onto the rest of the squad, and just like the stormtroopers, you follow the letter on the sprue that corresponds to the model and the parts just fit together easily. It makes assembling them a breeze. There is perhaps one exception, scout D. I’m not going to pretend that attaching hands isn’t fiddly. They are such small pieces I thought I had lost one at one point! Once the two squads are complete you can’t help but admire the beauty and variety. The specialist troopers with the bag and mines, or the sniper, the crouching scouts, they all look fantastic.
When you add everything together and just gaze at what your money has brought you, you can’t help but be impressed. Vader surrounded by rushing troops, eager to carry out their lord’s command. It is quite a sight. It is very different from Shatterpoint, where your focus is drawn to individual characters, this is gazing upon an army, something to tear apart those pesky Rebels.
I haven’t even got to the gameplay yet and I can say I’m amazed. As a painter, this set provides a huge number of models for the price. For the smaller scale compared to Shatterpoint, the detail is fantastic, the poses very much in keeping with the theme of the game. With them assembled I am eager to try them out, to see just how different the game is now. Before I can do that though, I need to build the opposition: the Rebels. My next review, out in the next day or so, will look at the Rebel Starter Set before I take a look at the gameplay itself. What I can say is that the price for this set is insane, particularly considering the entry point for most miniature games like this and with the rising cost of just about everything. If you want to try this game, this set is an absolute bargain. When you look at the completed army, it does seem grand, it lets you know that this isn’t some small skirmish but a narrative battle that is really what fans of Star Wars want in a game like this.
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