How to Teach Legion

By Jeff Van Laethem (@Painting_For_The_Emperor)

If you've entrenched yourself in a hobby for long enough you'll hear the question: "Can someone teach me how to play?" Of course, there's a rulebook, but a fellow nerd willing to guide someone into a new game can be infinitely more helpful. While it might seem easy to run a teaching game (and in many ways it is) it's not your usual game of Star Wars: Legion. Here's what I've picked up along the way.

Why Run Teaching Games?

I've run a load of teaching games myself, and have found a number of reasons to run them.

1.It helps get new players into the game

Even if your local community runneth over with Legion players as it does here in Colorado, turnover will happen. Players will move away, switch game systems, have to sell their armies, etc. Helping get new players into the game helps keep communities, and the game, survive. 

2. It helps build a sense of community

Speaking of community - the sense of Legion community here in Colorado is something special. Legion is great, but the people involved here elevate it to another level. Having people who are willing and excited to teach new people the game is a great way to help newcomers feel like part of the community right out of the gate.

3. Teaching can be rewarding!

There's a reason people teach in public schools, and it's not the pay. Watching someone discover something new and being part of the process can be fun and rewarding in its own way. 

Managing YOUR Expectations

A teaching game is NOT a normal game of Legion. When preparing to teach, you must understand:

• This game is not about winning or losing

• The learner's fun is paramount

• Pinpoint accuracy of rules is less important than the game system mechanics

At all times, you need to remember that the teaching game has a purpose: to teach Legion to a newcomer. It's not to show the newcomer how good at Legion you are.

Knowledge is Power

As with many things, preparation is very helpful when teaching Legion. Here are the key things to understand before a teaching game:

Probably play a skirmish game.

To me, as a Legion player, nothing beats a standard 800-point game. But for learning purposes, skirmish takes the cake. Besides the obvious perk of there being less information overload for the new player, the game length will be manageable - probably the same length as a typical standard game, considering you're teaching as you play.

Know your learner's experience.

Has the newcomer played a couple games of Legion already? Have they played other wargames? Is Monopoly the extent of their gaming experience? I've run teaching games for many skill levels, from non-gamer to wargaming regular. The way you explain concepts will differ greatly depending on what they've experienced before. The words "Deployment Zone" instantly mean something to a Warhammer player, where a non-gamer will have little or  no idea what they mean, for example. 

Know whether the learner has a Legion army.

I'm still shocked that I originally didn't realize how important this is. When I first started teaching Legion I didn't think to ask my learners if they had an army. We'd both show up at the agreed-upon time, myself with an 500-point army, and the learner empty-handed. Or with a half-glued starter box. Or a single squad of Stormtroopers and a Clone Commander.

If they DO have enough models to make an army, you have a choice - have them bring an army, or bring two armies yourself. If the learner is brand new, I absolutely recommend bringing both armies yourself (more on this later on).

If you'll be bringing both armies, ask the learner if they have an interest in a specific faction, unit, or character. 

Preparation

Armed with knowledge of your padawan's experience level, you now have to prepare for the teaching game. Creating two skirmish lists to play against each other isn't hard, and as a bonus, the lists don't have to be particularly balanced in a teaching game. Here are the teaching game list-building guidelines I use:

Let your learner pick a faction/character to play, if possible.

Lots of people are drawn to Legion because it's Star Wars. And lots of Star Wars fans have a favorite character. If Little Learner Timmy loves Captain Rex, give Little Learner Timmy a Rex list.

Work with the new player to help build their list, or build one for them.

List building can be daunting for some players, and exciting for others. Ask the new player if they want to make their list or have you suggest a few for them. If the new player has already bought into the game and is excited about their units, they might want to try out specific units. If the player hasn’t bought into the game yet, you should look to make a streamlined list for them.

Keep it simple.

The fewer unit types, upgrades, and keywords, the better. There are enough basic mechanics and concepts to digest during your first game without having every upgrade slot on a unit filled. Instead of giving them 3 different corp units with unique upgrades, abilities, etc, stick with core set troopers with a heavy weapon upgrade at most.

Stick to gunline armies at first.

Sticking to mostly ranged units gets the action started right away, especially in skirmish, and action = fun. It also avoids lots of small, intricate rules interactions that come with melee-centric units.

Avoid using force-users or other more complex units unless the learner specifically asks to use one.

The ONLY reason to make a list with a force-user in a teaching game is if the learner is excited to play that character. NEVER take away what looks fun to a new player. But, force-users are very tricky to play well, have a more complex decision tree, and come with loads of rules overhead - so only include them if leaving them out would be a disappointment to your padawan.

Consider avoiding vehicles as well.

Vehicles can be swingy, and also have an extra layer of rules that are just better to avoid for a first game. AGAIN, if the learner is excited to play because the AT-ST looks cool, that's more important.

Try for some balance between lists, but don't sweat about it.

If you can't make perfectly-balanced lists, that's fine. If you have the stronger list, you can play sub-optimally to even things out. Remember that the teaching game is not about winning.

Playing the Game

All that's left is to actually teach the game! The following points have been massively helpful to me over the many teaching games I've led.

I recommend sharing your token pool, dice, and measurement tools during a teaching game.

Most brand-new players are completely disorganized - if they even have their own Legion accouterments - which will add lots of unnecessary time to the experience. Put everything within reach of both players and share.

Introduce new concepts in general terms, and get more specific as required.

"When you move a unit it's a decent idea to keep your models sort of hidden behind stuff - it keeps them safer" is much more digestible than "The cover rules state that if at least 50% of the miniatures in the target unit are obscured at all when line of sight is checked from the attacking unit leader…" Once you actually get to a ranged attack you can ease into the specifics.

Teach the rule, and don't worry about the exceptions to the rule.

Every rule has exceptions. While your knowledge of every exception might seem impressive, it doesn't help someone learn a new game.  I once had a teaching game where I explained to my padawan that they could use their full activation to withdraw from an engagement. A nearby player chimed in: "Op Luke can do it in one action! I think one of Maul's cards does it too, and then…" That's way too much info for someone who JUST learned what a melee even IS. When exceptions come up, deal with them then.

Explain everything you're doing during your activations.

This is good advice even outside of a teaching game, but hearing someone explain every step of their activation hammers home the general rules quickly. An example  sound like "Okay, I can choose one of my units with a face-up order token or pull a random one. I'll choose these rebel troopers. I'll try to roll off their 1 suppression… [insert die roll here] which doesn't happen, so they only get 1 action since their courage value is 1..." and so on.

Don't care about winning teaching games.

I can't emphasize this point enough. I lose lots of teaching games, and it doesn't matter. What's important is that the learner is learning and having fun. If I have an opportunity to make a sub-optimal play that will illustrate a point or teach something new, I'll make it.

Cinematic moments are fun.

If the game allows for it, try to set up some fun cinematic moments, and try to use the dice rolls to foster this. During a teaching game I played versus an opponent’s Luke, I intentionally ran my General Grievous at his Luke for a duel. While in a competitive game I probably should’ve played differently, this set them up for a huge ‘Son of Skywalker’ play to chop my Grievous down, sealing their victory. Having their centerpiece win a duel versus my grievous was much more cinematic and fun than if I had ran away. New players can focus on strategy and tactics in subsequent games, whereas entertainment and core concepts are the key in a practice game. 

Let the learner make any choices they want (within the rules) but don't be afraid to start offering options if they seem stuck.

Sometimes a new player will immediately know what they want to do on their turn - let them do it, even if it's a terrible play; experience is the best teacher. Other times a padawan will have a blank expression on their face, or scratch their head when it's their turn. In those cases, don't be afraid to briefly point out a couple options, and why you might like those options. "You could activate the stormtroopers and shoot my rebel veterans before I have a chance to activate them. Or you could go with your Officer to inspire and aim them first…" etc.

Try to enforce good habits.

Don't be a jerk about it, but try to impress good Legion etiquette upon new players. Explain that accurate measurement is important, as is keeping accurate track of tokens in play. I've run across a few players who "eyeball" movement and range much more than they should. I get it, no one is measuring to see if a model an inch away is inside range 3. But holding a movement tool 3 feet away from the board and sliding a unit 2 feet along is a little much. Legion can boil down to one mini being a millimeter out of position, so start new players off with good habits.

Go Teach!

I could drone on forever probably, but the main points have been hit. Above all else, be a fun person, and a good ambassador for the game and your community. 

Edited by Stephen Cobb (@ASpaceViking)