Welcome to The Squadron Files!
If you’ve been following along, you’ll know we just wrapped up The Upgrade Files. That series was about card slots, costs, and the odd bit of rebalancing theory. This one is about the little plastic guys themselves — the squadrons that clog our tables, win our games, and sometimes rot forever in storage because AMG (and FFG before them) gave them a points cost that makes no sense in this universe or the next.
It’s important to set expectations right away. This is not Special Modifications. We’re not doing a ground-up redesign here. We’re not pretending the ace cap doesn’t exist (it does, and that means “best four aces” is always the reality). We’re not rewriting Sloane out of the faction (believe me, I’ve fantasized about it). This series is about the game as it is, with ARC-realistic tweaks that could actually happen.
So: point changes (can fix many things but not all), keyword swaps (ARC has already done this), and commentary on what already works and what doesn’t. That’s the scope.
And we’ll start with the Empire, because let’s face it — that’s where the weirdest squadron design lives. Right from the start, the Imperial squadron suite was built around extremes and specializations, not the kind of generalist flexibility the Rebels enjoyed.
They had the best anti-squadron dice in the game with Fighters and Interceptors, but only if you brought them in numbers. They had an Escort (the Advanced) that was nothing but meat on the table — hull without teeth. Their bomber was a one-trick pony, good at poking ships but with literally zero anti-squadron capability. The original idea was obvious: throw masses of TIEs into the grinder, boosted by Howlrunner, shred the slower Rebel opposition, then pick apart ships from long range with Rhymer-led bombers.
That’s not solid, future-proof design. It left the faction pigeonholed, and it only got worse as the game expanded. Rhymer became busted once later squadrons interacted with him, so he was nerfed. Sloane had to be invented just to give all those flimsy anti-squad specialists some way to contribute against ships. And here we are, years later, still living with that legacy.
TIE Advanced
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| Heading straight to the trash compactor |
The TIE Advanced has always felt like a design dead end. Escort with no offensive punch, in a faction already drowning in blue anti-squad dice and rerolls? Who thought that was a good idea? At 12 points, it’s a tax you’ll never want to pay.
Verdict: It belongs at 10. Or else it needs a rework into something more like ARC Advanced Vader with 4 AS dice, 3 blue + 1 black, and Screen to make it interesting (then 12 points might be acceptable).
Tempest Squadron
A bit more anti-ship punch for one more point. Pretty dull, but serviceable.
Verdict: Decent at 11, one point LESS than Saber, if the generic comes down to 10. I'd rather it be redesigned with the base chassis, but I suppose that's unrealistic.
Darth Vader (ARC)
Escort swapped for Screen, a point cheaper, and suddenly he’s a squadron you could actually field. Still overshadowed by Defender Vader, but serviceable. Decent work by ARC, if their goal was to avoid a major redesign with Adept, a different game effect, etc.
Verdict: He's fine now. Defender Vader is not.
Zertik Strom
Fifteen points for a meat shield. Not bad, not good, just Strom. Tempest is 11. If we wanted to price against that, Zertik is at least 15, but since we're talking ace cap here, I'd say he's worth less than 15. You're paying a premium opportunity cost to bring him along, and he's not doing anything more than staying on the table for longer.
Verdict: Zertik should be 14, maybe even 13 (basically, the same cost as you make Valen Rudor).
TIE Bomber
Bombing like it was still 2016... the TIE Bomber ball meta is dead and buried. Speed and hull are fine, but if your anti-ship damage is mediocre and your anti-squad dice are abysmal, you’re just asking to get outpaced by TIE Defenders or outclassed by Firesprays. Nine points for this is laughably high.
Why not give it 1 red + 1 black AS instead? No squadron should have ONE AS die. It still wouldn't fit too well in a Sloane list, but you know, with Flight Controllers, you might be tempted, lol. But seriously, 1 red + 1 lack isn't great, but a lot better than 1 black only. Hint: Bring Woldar and see if this turns him from mid to pretty decent.
Verdict: At 8, it might actually see some play again, but probably not a lot. The extra AS red dice, however, might make it more worthwhile.
Gamma Squadron
Wants to be Gold Squadron, but isn’t even close. Grit is cute and it's not Heavy, so that's something, I suppose. At most worth 9, and only in specific lists.
Verdict: Make it 9 (and give it the 1 red + 1 black AS treatment if the generic gets it).
Captain Jonus
The shining star of the bomber lineup IMO. A rare bomber that doesn't need tons of support. He IS the support. A guaranteed accuracy generator in the right fleet, and at a price that makes him interesting (he can even fit into a medium squad ball). He’s technically undercosted, but the ace cap means that he's actually fine as is.
Verdict: Don’t touch him (except to give him +1 red AS if the generic gets it).
Major Rhymer
Still good with Close, just not the broken monster he was with Medium. IMO, he works best with Sloane to boost the range of battery shots, but he can do work in other fleets. The existence of PDIC (how deeply I despise that card) neuters him, however, and turns his effect from niche to get right back into the binder.
In a sense, Rhymer is the Howlrunner of TIE Bombers. Except, unlike Howl, he works on everything, not bombers. Which in turn made his game test incredibly problematic, and he got nerfed. But that nerf didn't just kill TIE Bombers, it made that sad blue battery die of TIEs suck even more rancor balls, which of course could not be allowed to fire at Medium range under Sloane. It's kind of a chicken-and-egg situation, really. It's not important what came first, only that eggs are better with bacon, and chicken can be strangely bland and delicious, depending on how you cook it.
What I'm trying to say... the whole guy is kind of busted and could probably do with a rework. But damn if I know exactly what kind of rework. Bomber only, but back to Medium range? Black dice only? Make it medium, but Rhymer only (and give him like a blue-black battery)? None of those are instantly appealing. Ideally, something that boosts bombers, especially generic bombers, would be both thematic and might revitalize a bombing meta completely absent from the faction. You just have to make sure it doesnæt just end up boosting Sloane and/or Firesprays, lol.
Verdict: Keep as is, but get rid of PDIC in its current form, and there would be some niche uses for Rhymer. Beyond that, I honestly don't know.
TIE Defender
Defenders are iconic, dangerous, and priced like we're always playing Sector Fleet games. Speed 5 AND six hulls for a bomber? That's awesome, right? No, it is actually pretty mid and terribly shoehorned. Speed 5 and bomber IS good. But the cost-efficiency of 6 hull for 16 points is... not optimal. And a blue bomber die? That's only ever going to be good under Sloane. Sloane, Sloane, Sloane. Why does everything in this faction need to be about Sloane!???
Verdict: Keep as is at 16 points — the design space in this faction is just too limited to touch it.
Darth Vader (RR)
Where do we even begin? AMG, what were you thinking!??? Was the Rogue supposed to soft ban him, Sloane lists? Was that the plan here? Did you even have a plan? Did you playtest this version? Did you playtest the original, even more busted version? Who knows, who cares.
Anyway. Whatever the "reasoning" behind this card, Rogue Vader IS a design disaster. He’s already worth 25 without Rogue. Add Rogue and combine Adept rerolls with a 2-dice bomber, and you’ve got something truly ridiculous. This is "somehow Palpatine returned" level cringe. Ah, AMG, now you've made me think about the "Sequels" — I hate you, to quote a certain fallen Jedi.
Verdict: He should be Adept 1, and no Rogue, period. This will make him kind of more appealing to Sloane, I guess, but I suppose we just have to live with it. Another idea is to pretend the card doesn't exist!
Maarek Stele
The crutch of the faction. Hull six, speed five, double-dice bomber who fixes his own rolls. For 21 points. He’s underpriced, but if you raise him, the entire faction collapses. He’s both too cheap and too necessary — which says a lot about Empire design.
I never thought I'd say this, but he's fine for 21 in a non-Sloane list. Underpriced, yes, but necessarily so. In a Sloane list, he's worth way more than that, but that's a faction limitation I can't fix with cost alone.
One idea, if escorts become cheaper, is to swap a brace from an Evade (inspired by Vader). This is a mild nerf and might make the low cost more balanced. A nerf you get around by properly escorting the guy.
Verdict: Keep as is. Maybe swap a Brace for an Evade.
TIE Fighter
Weak without Howlrunner, decent with, but Howl eats an ace slot, so yeah, the ace cap strikes again. If you compare it to the Vulture, you realize it's horribly overpriced at 8, so let's make it 7. It can now be both a filler in Sloane lists (without or without Howl) or a pure deployment tool/meat shield in other lists. That's about as good as it gets, really.
Verdict: Drop to 7 — or turn it into the Empire's escort (that's probably not ever going to happen, so we'll discuss it further in the Special Modifications series).
Black Squadron
Nothing fancy, just a very cheap meat shield. Either eats two attacks or one high-quality attack. Both are wins for you.
Verdict: Comes down to 8 points.
Howlrunner
Classic Karen cut, classic bad game design: make a weak squadron (the TIE Fighter), then give them an aura to make them good (Howl). Since we're bringing the TIE Fighter down to 7 (but the Int stays at 11), we need to tweak her cost to 20.
Verdict: 20 points.
Mauler Mithel
Another design misstep. Splash damage you can’t avoid is just toxic. The fix? Flip it: make him deal damage to enemies that engage him, not those he dives into. I realize this is very much like a certain Tri-fighter, but worse, but toss on Escort as well, and it'll be different enough to be its own thing.
This IS a bigger tweak, an actual errata, but it should have been done years ago. ARC, grow a pair and make this guy what he always was: Vader's wingman. Just think of how thematic ARC Adv Vader + Black Squadron + this Mauler would be — it's literally the Trench Run!
Cost will need to be set for this new Mauler. By comparison, Phlac is 18 and distance 1 with counter and better dice pools, but no Escort, so less than that. On the other hand, Phlac is quite reasonably priced, so don't read too much into that.
Verdict: Rework and set a fair cost.
Valen Rudor
Scatter ace with black AS dice for 13 is absurd. But — and here’s the irony — his too-low cost is what makes him interesting. Sometimes slips into ace lineups. If the ace cap was lifted, he'd easily be 15 points, no question.
Verdict: Make him 14, same as my suggestion for Strom. That should wipe the smug smile off his face. Or keep him at 13 (and make Strom 13) if you feel his grin is a feature, not a bug.
TIE Interceptor
Again, if we compare to the Tri-fighter, this dude falls very flat indeed. A mild redesign would be preferable, and we can't realistically push down the cost due to FC, Howlrunner, Sloane, RHD, etc. So let it just sit there, sad and forlorn at 11 points.
Verdict: Leave as is, sadly.
Saber Squadron
Great value at 12, well worth it at 13, but it leans heavily on synergy with supporting pieces to truly shine.
Verdict: Leave as is.
Ciena Ree
A standout ace for screeing that doesn't rely on any other tech to be good. Always obstructed is very strong defensively, and at 17, she’s underpriced.
Verdict: She should be 18 (you'll agree once we get to the Rebel scum).
Soontir Fel
Without escorts, his ability rarely matters. With escorts, you're bringing sub-par squadrons to the fight. So it is damned if you do, damned if you don't. Very mid ace. Not terrible, not great, usually not worth taking. We're bringing the TIE Adv down quite a bit, though, so that might make him a bit more interesting.
But even then, he's worse than Ciena and worse than Phlac, so his cost could come down a bit. Don't forget you can get around his ability by shooting AT him... Swarm Counter 2 isn't THAT bad. Maybe Counter 3 if they brought Howl (unlikely) or Dengar (I bet you forgot he existed), or 4 if both, but then they've used 75% of their ace cap to boost Soontir...
His dice pools are pretty stale too: 1 red + 2 blue + 1 black for AS and 1 black for battery would make Soontir and his escorts an interesting screening option for non-Sloane.
Verdict: Keep at 18 or bring it down to 17; either way is acceptable. Ideally, also rework his dice pools (probably not going to happen).
Vult Skerris
Remember when he had Scatter-Evade? Like AMG thought that was good or something. Lol, but also: squadron Evades need tweaking. Make it always cancel a die or something, regardless of range.
Back on topic. He's not my cup of tea, but many players like him. With FC (and Howl), he hits like an absolute truck. And swarmy counter 4 is nothing to sneer at. That's Shara level counter. Unfortunately, he only has 3 health, so while he's good when commanded and good at countering, he'll die faster than an A-wing ace.
I don't usually applaud AMG, but this one (after they swapped the defense tokens) was kind of cool and original. But I wish he had a red or even a black battery die. Then we could make him 17 while also increasing his overall appeal. Hear me out: since it just slots so easily into a Sloane fleet, you can't make him cheaper with a blue battery. But if he chugged a red (or a black), you could make an argument for him to be cheaper since Sloane wouldn't benefit as much. A red would still be semi-Sloane, but the black would make him A-wing useful vs ships. You pick.
Verdict: Fine as is. Could be 17 if his battery armament was a red (or even a black), but that's neither here nor there.
TIE Phantom
The Phantom is one of those designs that feels like it came out two years too early. No Dodge keyword, awkward dice pools, and confused role. Not great at AS, just mid. Only effective vs ships in a Sloane list.
My classic 1 red + 2 blue +1 black AS pool would be a lot more interesting, as would a blue + black battery armament (or red + black idk). It could still do Solane things, but actually fit into other fleets.
Verdict: Make it 13 points, I guess. Ideally, give it Dodge too. And rework the dice pools. Or just leave it in the trash compactor and accept this huge missed opportunity.
Whisper
Better than the generic, and 18 points is fair since it's a 4 hull scatter ace. But she’s still niche — only showing up in Sloane lists, and even then, often overshadowed by stronger choices.
Verdict: Keep as is, I guess. Or, preferably, give her the Phantom treatment suggested above. Might even consider giving her Dodge, even though she's a scatter ace. Seems thematic. But we can't have nice things, so it's probably unrealistic.
Wrap-Up: Always Sloane, Always the Ace Cap
What stands out most is how much of the Empire squadron identity is chained to Sloane. Without her, their generics are weak. With her, they’re tolerable, sometimes even scary. And with the ace cap, your “real” Empire squad list is almost always the same four names: Maarek, Jendon, Defender Vader, and either Mauler or some of the other top-tier aces. Alternatively, just Valen/Ciena, or a medium ball with Jonus and some meat shields.
That’s not a points tweak problem — it’s structural. But points tweaks can make the rest of the toolbox more appealing, and that’s what ARC can and should do.
The sad reality is this: the Empire has some of the most iconic squadrons in the game, and yet the competitive scene reduces them to the same tiny lineup, over and over. That doesn’t mean the faction is bad — far from it. But it does mean there is a limit to what we can easily fix.
Next Up: Irregular Empire squadrons.
