Dewback trooper / Legends Dewback troopers , or dewback riders , were Imperial sandtroopers who rode dewbacks and was used as a light cavalry unit by the Galactic Empire . Characteristics . Dewback troopers were stormtroopers mounted on dewbacks . Well - suited for destroying lightly defended buildings , such as Prefab shelter s and power core s . However , their primary role was in attacking hostile combat vehicles such as Rebel combat speeder s and Rebel attack tank s . They accomplished this task by utilizing a flamethrower as their primary weapon . Dewback troopers were vulnerable to unmounted troopers and ground vehicles . Sandtroopers commonly used the creatures for patrols . The stormtroopers which became dewback troopers were 1 . 3 to 2 . 1 meters tall unmounted . The dewbacks themselves were typically 1 . 8 meters tall . Dewback troopers were similar to the clone blurrg troopers of the Galactic Republic which preceded them or the Tauntaun Trooper s used by their opposition , the Rebel Alliance . Dewback troopers were also capable of being upgraded to Heavy dewback troopers or Advanced dewback troopers . For the Empire to deploy dewback troopers they first needed an animal nursery . History . On the planet Sathiemon , a stormtrooper contingent led by a commander used dewbacks on patrol , and they did not take care of the beasts . The commander joined in a multi - being search for the professional hunter Boba Fett . They apparently killed him and transmitted the image across the galaxy . Shortly after , Fett , who had survived the ambush by switching his clothes with those of the criminal Bendak , went to Sathiemon and captured the commander to interrogate him . The commander told him he did not know who had authorized it , and Fett left him to confront his dewback . Desert Sands , a sandtrooper unit that destroyed a Jawa sandcrawler on Tatooine in its pursuit of stolen Death Star plans , incorporated dewback troopers as part of its contingent . Dewback troopers were among the forces deployed to destroy the Rebel Alliance presence on Yavin 4 after the destruction of the Death Star in 0 ABY . Six months after the Battle of Yavin , two dewback troopers were on patrol near the Great Pit of Carkoon on Tatooine when the Empire ambushed the Rebel ' s Rogue Squadron . They were eliminated by the pilot Luke Skywalker . During the time of the Galactic Civil War , Darth Vader ordered Imperial troop center s to recruit additional dewback troopers . Dewback troopers also joined in the Battle of Hoth . Behind the scenes . Stormtroopers were seen on dewbacks as early as . In the video game " , " released in 1998 , dewback troopers were encountered by the player . They had to be destroyed to earn the mission ' s gold medal , and this article assumes the player did so . In the 2001 video game " " and its 2002 , dewback troopers are the Imperial mounted trooper unit , created at troop centers for a cost of 55 food units and 20 nova crystals . Dewback troopers were also re - imagined in LEGO form in 2006 for " " and its 2007 . In " " , a short LEGO film , dewback troopers serve as police forces . They arrest an Imperial Navy crewman piloting an " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer in the Boonta Eve Classic .