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The Star Wars Legion: Shadow Collective Starter Set caught my attention for one big reason: it’s not from the movies. I’ve been wondering for a long time what Atomic Mass Games was going to do about expanding Star Wars Legion, because they seemed like they had already covered almost all of the bases. They had pretty much everything from the original trilogy, the prequels, and Rogue One. (I find it interesting that they haven’t done much with the sequels.)

So I’ve been wondering when they were going to venture into the expanded universe. Now, I’ll admit right up front that I am NOT an expanded universe expert. I know the movies like the backside of my hand, but I don’t know the expanded universe hardly at all. I’ve watched the shows: The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Kenobi. And I’ve played Knights of the Old Republic. But that’s about where my knowledge of the Star Wars Expanded Universe ends. I haven’t read the books and I haven’t even watched Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

ALL OF THAT SAID. I’m really excited to see that Star Wars Legion is expanding into more places than just the Star Wars universe of the movies. What I’m basically saying is that I had to ask my son who in the world the Pyke Syndicate and the Black Sun were. I had to ask him who the Mandalorian Super Commandos were and why they had spikes on their heads that made them look like Darth Maul. But now I know.

Star Wars Legion: Expanding the Canon

The cool thing about the Star Wars Legion: Shadow Collective Starter Set is that it introduces an entirely new faction inot Star Wars Legion: the mercenaries. The three groups, the Black Suns and Pykes and Super Commandos, are all crime families who are brought together by Maul (I admit another hole in my knowledge–I didn’t know he was just “Maul” here and not “Darth Maul”). The three criminal organizations work together, as long as they’re under Maul, fighting against the Empire or the Rebels or whoever else.

X-Wing tried to do something similar when they introduced Scum and Villainy and brought in characters like Boba Fett. I think this is a danger of games like this where there is only a limited number of canonical things–and you have to stay in canon. Games like Warhammer can do whatever they want because Games Workshop manages both the Warhammer 40 IP and the Warhammer 40k game. In Star Wars Legion, Atomic Mass Games controls only the game; they don’t get to invent new canon. 

Star Wars Legion Shadow Collective Starter Set: Is It Good?

So the big question is: is this starter set any good? Well, from a gameplay point of view I would definitely say it is. I love the new forces, and the cards are good. It comes with new Command cards for Maul (as well as reprints of Darth Maul’s previous cards if you don’t already have them). It has upgrades for the Black Sun Enforcers, Pyke Syndicate Foot Soldiers, with a Vigo and Capo for each of them, respectively. There’s a model for Rook Kast (if you know who that is, which I didn’t.)

But what about the models? Honestly, I have always had a problem with Star Wars Legion models. One of the maddening things about this set (I can’t recall if this is the case in previous sets) is that the instructions for the models aren’t in the box: you’re supposed to look them up with a QR code. That seems like an obtuse waste of time. 

And the models themselves–all Star Wars Legion models–are hit-and-miss. The Black Sun went together with ease, the Pyke Syndicate were a little harder, and I 100% tossed all the Mandalorians back in the box and put it on the floor for a couple days after a terrible time trying to assemble the first one. (I figured it all out eventually, but they’re needlessly fiddly.)

Star Wars Legion: Shadow Collective Starter Set: The Verdict

I really think this is a strong entry into the franchise. And, if you’re interested in any of these crime organizations, then buying the Starter Set is a better idea than buying them separately. (You can buy The Black Suns, The Pyke Syndicate, and The Mandalorian Super Commandos separately on Amazon, but you can save a lot of money by buying them together here.)

On the scale of Empire Strikes Back to Solo: A Star Wars Story? I’d say the land somewhere along the lines of The Force Awakens. And, you can take that incredibly subjective scale and guess for yourself what it means.