Welcome back to Special Modifications!
Han Solo once said he’d made a few “special modifications” to the Falcon. Some good, some bad, all of them interesting. That’s the spirit behind this series: exploring non-standard Armada. Not just fleet lists or tournament meta, but the underlying strings that hold the game together. What if the designers had pulled them differently? What might have worked better? What happens when you tinker with the system in ways it was never quite built for?
⚠️ Important note: don’t confuse this series with the Squadron Files. We recently covered squadrons there as well — but the scope is different. Special Modifications is design-theory territory: tweaking fundamentals, exploring alternatives, and asking “what if.”
“Back in My Day…”
The Ace Cap isn’t an official term, but everyone knows what it means: the rule that limits you to four squadrons with defense tokens in a 400-point fleet. It arrived with Armada 1.5; before that, you could field as many aces as you could afford.
And oh, what glorious chaos that was.
Maarek (21)
Jendon (20)
Dengar (20)
Ciena (17)
Howl (16)
Mauler (15)
Valen (13)
Saber (12)
— 134 points of perfection.
That was my old Sloane ball. Eight aces, five scatter aces, two double braces, and a grin on my face. Intel worked, squadrons danced, and it all came together perfectly.
Okay, half a joke — but only half. Those wild lists felt fun, flexible, and full of personality. Now every faction runs the same safe handful of four to six top-tier aces. The cap fixed some problems but flattened the variety.
The Problem with Aces
You can also see why the cap happened. Aces were, and still are, priced too moderately for what they bring. Why fly generics when the aces hit harder, live longer, and bring tricks? Scatter aces especially — laughably potent for their cost.
So here’s the real question: could we remove the Ace Cap and still make generics viable?
I think we could.
The Clone Wars factions already show it’s possible. CIS in particular has fantastic generics — Vultures, Tri-fighters, Hyenas — that people actually take. When generics are cheap and effective, players will bring them. That said, CIS also doesn’t have anything close to Maarek + Jendon + Dad Vader + Mauler nonsense. If GAR had three Deltakin-tier aces, we’d be right back where we started.
So to get rid of the cap, we need to hit several design marks:
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Generics must be cost-effective, not merely cheap.
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Command load must matter — lots of generics means lots of squadron activations, physical space, and coordination.
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Upgrades should reward non-uniques — imagine if Howlrunner only buffed generic TIEs. Suddenly my old Sloane list would need a rethink.
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Aces must be fairly priced — no more 16-point Tychos if a generic A-wing costs 11.
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Aces must not be so overloaded with value that they’re automatic picks (looking at you, Deltakin).
The goal isn’t to ban aces or punish them. Ideally, players could field all aces, all generics, or a mix, and have each option be roughly equal in strength. A tall order, yes — but worth chasing.
Testing the Idea — A-Wings as a Case Study
Let’s use the humble Rebel A-wing as a test case.
Our Special Modifications generic A-wing costs 10 points (–1 from standard) and swaps one blue die for a black in its anti-squad pool. Same fast, independent interceptor, just a touch meaner.
Now bring in Shara Bey. She gets the same dice tweak — but no price cut.
Is she still worth it?
Let’s compare:
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Durability. Shara’s 4 hull with brace + scatter can outlast eight hull of generics in some fights and evaporate faster in others. Against flak or light chip damage, scatter wins; against dedicated anti-ace fire, the generics survive longer.
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Control. Two generics mean two deployments, more area coverage, and twice the command cost. Shara is one unit, easier to manage but less flexible.
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Firepower. Two generics roll twice as many dice, though Shara’s Counter 3 + special can out-trade them in anti-squad duels. Against ships, the generics win hands down.
So overall? Shara is roughly as potent as two generics. Maybe a hair less. That would put her around 19 points, up from 17. A two-point swing isn’t huge but changes incentives. Suddenly, the choice between one Shara or two A-wings isn’t a no-brainer.
Tycho Celchu follows the same logic. He keeps his mobility trick, gains the black die, and lands around 18 points.
Together, Shara + Tycho + two generics = 57 points instead of 55 — a small nudge toward parity.
Expanding the Roster
Now that we’ve rebalanced the core duo, let’s add some new names to the hangar.
Green Squadron and Arvel Crynyd
Arvel has always been that madman who rammed the Executor at Endor — clearly inspired by Green Squadron and their suicidal bravery.
In this system, Green Squadron gets the same treatment as the generics: one blue replaced by a black die and a price drop to 11. It’s quick, aggressive, and suddenly a legitimate speed-5 bomber in a world without PDICs everywhere. Whether that’s “worth it” depends on context — but in this tuned-down environment, maybe it finally is.
Arvel Crynyd, then, becomes the elite reflection of Green. He’s 17 points — a scatter/brace ace with a slightly less flashy ability than Shara or Tycho, but a very clear identity: a speed-5 bomber with a death-wish. His ability synergizes beautifully with Dodonna, naturally, but even outside that niche, he’s thematic and useful.
In this balance pass, he’s not meant to outshine the other A-wing aces — just to give Rebel players a different flavor of fast bomber that feels right on the table.
Shepherd Squadron and Gemmer Sojan
Next up, Gemmer Sojan — the ace version of a concept I call Shepherd Squadron.
Shepherd Squadron is simple: a generic A-wing with Grit added. That’s it. A minor change that has huge implications. At speed 5, being able to break engagement with only a single enemy means you can reposition, chase, or protect your ships much more flexibly. At 11 points, it’s an elegant solution to static squadron fights — fast, fragile, but annoyingly mobile.
Gemmer inherits that idea and runs with it. His ability is a nerfed version of Ciena Ree’s — when near friendly ships he’s effectively obstructed, making him a nightmare to kill. Combine that with scatter, brace, and Grit, and you’ve got a four-hull ace who’s every bit as slippery as Tycho but in a different way.
He’s priced at 18 points, and while he’s not the hammer that Shara is, he’s a beautiful defensive piece.
Together, Shara (19) + Tycho (18) + Gemmer (18) + Arvel (17) form a cohesive quartet: 72 points of high-speed, high-resilience interceptors. Or, for roughly the same cost, you could bring seven generics — or five generics, plus Green and Shepherd for 72.
And suddenly, that’s a real choice again.
Would You Go Generic?
That’s the ultimate question.
With these changes, you could still lean into the ace wing — four beautifully efficient A-wings that hold space, win dogfights, and make your opponent swear at Counter 2. Or you could field eight generics, spreading out, trading cheaper, and forcing your opponent to fight a war of attrition.
Neither is automatically correct, and that’s the goal.
The aces remain easier to command and individually more reliable; the generics offer deployments, board presence, and raw numbers. If we could then sprinkle in a few upgrades that specifically reward non-uniques — say, a variant of Toryn Farr or Adar Tallon that only buffs generics — the scales might even tilt further in their favor.
Would It Break the Game?
Some worry that removing the cap would flood the table with squadrons. In practice, not much changes. Right now you can field twelve A-wings for 132 points; this system gives you thirteen for 130. Hardly catastrophic.
Generics in bulk actually play faster: no tokens, no conditional triggers, no constant cross-checking of who’s in range of whom. Just move, shoot, and die gloriously.
The broader takeaway remains: trim generics by a point or so, nudge aces upward a bit, and the math starts to work again. You could still build an elite wing if you wanted, but it wouldn’t automatically be the best option.
So… Can It Be Done?
Maybe.
Balancing a cap-less system isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible. It demands disciplined pricing, meaningful trade-offs, and a willingness to separate “fun broken” from “actually broken.”
Even if we never get there officially, exploring how it could work is exactly what Special Modifications is all about.
And honestly? After years of flying the same four aces, wouldn’t it be nice to see a full squadron bay again?
Up Next
Not entirely sure yet. Perhaps we'll stay in the fighter hangar and look at how to (and how NOT to) design new squadrons. Or maybe we'll finish looking at CIS/GAR generics. Or maybe we'll segway into something else. We'll see. But stay tuned, whatever it is!
