If upgrades are the spice of Armada, then titles are the seasoning. They give ships character, turn weak hulls into workhorses, and sometimes patch over glaring flaws in the chassis. For the Empire especially, titles are a defining part of listbuilding: a Gladiator without Demolisher? A Victory without Harrow? An SSD without Ravager? Not likely.
The catch is that Imperial titles are all over the place. Some are so strong that they’re basically stapled to the hull, others are clever fixes that reveal just how bad the base design really is, and others… well, they’re trash compactor tier.
Let’s head into the depths of the Second Death Star!
Arquitens
Centicore
Centicore is potentially very powerful, and has actually been used to great effect at the highest levels of competitive play. But it’s a niche card for a niche ship. It works best in lists that want to push non-Rogue Imperial squadrons in small packets, giving you what is effectively unlimited Relay. That’s where the design becomes a little problematic: unlimited Relay encourages disengagement and standoff play, which is against the spirit of Armada’s “line up and clash” design.
That said, the Arquitens is already awkward to fit, so Centicore isn’t breaking anything. If I were to “proof” the design, I’d add a restriction like “at distance 1–5” — just to prevent extreme abuse — but it’s not strictly necessary.
Verdict: As it stands, it’s a clever, high-skill, forever niche tool.
Hand of Justice
The timing (spend a token when a nearby ship defends) forces you to plan ahead, but it’s only 2 points now, and the Arquitens itself is cheaper than it used to be. That combination makes HoJ a solid pickup.
Verdict: The Arq remains clunky as a chassis, but if you’re flying one anyway, this title is well worth taking.
All Star Destroyers
7th Fleet Star Destroyer
Damage mitigation in Armada always needs careful handling. But 7th Fleet avoids being oppressive simply because you can’t spam Star Destroyers in 400 point fleets. To get real value you need at least three hulls, which means 15 points in titles and no other titles allowed. That’s a fair tradeoff.
My only gripe is that it feels more “Rebel” than “Imperial.” The Empire should be pushing offense, not shaving damage.
Verdict: Fine where it is.
Gladiator Star Destroyer
Demolisher
Ah, Demo. The title that defined Armada from wave 1 and still lingers as one of the most famous upgrades in the game. Back then it was oppressive — shoot after moving was essentially cheating within Armada’s core ruleset. Today, after layers of nerfs and wider systemic changes, Demo is actually balanced.
The oddity is that without Demo, the Gladiator is pretty bad; with Demo, it’s damn good. That means you bring a Gladiator 95% of the time for this title. The only exceptions are weird niche builds, like Projection Experts + 7th Fleet combos. So while Demo itself is no longer a problem, the ship/title dependency isn’t ideal design.
Verdict: Title is fine, hull is not.
Insidious
Nope. Just no. For 3 points you get the ability to shoot black dice at medium range — but
only into rear arcs. That’s way too narrow. Even at 2 points it wouldn’t see play, because if you’re running a Glad, you’re running Demo.
Verdict: Insidious is just dead weight.
Gozanti
Suppressor
At 4 points this is expensive for a flotilla title, but it’s still a beast. Pressuring tokens is always powerful, and Suppressor does it cleanly. Sloane fleets love it, but it’s valuable in almost any Imperial list. The downside is cost: 23 for the Goz, 4 for this, plus upgrades, and suddenly your “cheap activation” is less cheap.
Verdict: Well worth it.
Vector
More niche, but decent. At 2 points it helps squadrons do what squadrons want: go fast. The problem is that Suppressor exists, and the comparison makes Vector look weak. Still, if you’re leaning on speed-based squadron play, it does the job.
Verdict: Fine but it would not be wrong if it was 1 point, same as Quantum Storm.
Imperial Star Destroyer
Avenger
Once the terror of the meta, Avenger was nerfed into the ground because of the Sloane + Boarding Troopers combo. The nerf killed the card entirely, while leaving its cost unchanged. That’s the worst of both worlds.
I’d like to see it reworked. Something to the effect of: “If the defender spends an exhausted token, it can only spend that one token.” That preserves the spirit of Avenger, keeps it strong, but prevents the old abuse case. At 5 points it would then be worth taking again.
Verdict: Rework or trash compactor.
Chimaera
The default ISD title because it opens a Fleet Command slot. Very powerful, very thematic, and fairly balanced because you also have to buy the Fleet Command. This is a well-designed title, and not exactly an auto-include.
Verdict: Borderline slot-defining, but with sufficient exceptions to say: OK, fine.
Devastator
Potentially devastating, but the cost is steep: both in points (10!) and in defense tokens. Yes, it can wreck things, but it’s high-risk/high-reward and rarely worth it.
Verdict: Drop it to 7-8 and it becomes viable.
Relentless
At 3 points this feels overpriced, especially when compared to Sovereign at 4 or Chimaera at 4.
Verdict: Should be 2.
Sovereign
A great card at 4 points. The ability to move tokens around is incredibly useful. Ahsoka wishes she was this good.
Verdict: Leave as is.
Interdictor
Interdictor
Appropriately named, appropriately costed, and appropriately useful. A great title that supports the Interdictor’s gimmick without being oppressive.
Verdict: Perfect as is.
Onager Star Destroyer
Cataclysm
Fine at 5 points… sort of. The problem isn’t Cataclysm itself, it’s Cataclysm + Red Beam (+ Ozzel + Grav tech). That combo has flirted with NPE status more than once. Most players know how to play around it now, but it’s still too strong a package.
Verdict: If Red Beam goes up in cost (as it should), Cataclysm should follow — maybe 6–8 points depending on the final math.
Rakehell
One of the most fun and thematic titles in the game. Turning at speed 0 is
chef’s kiss. Great for skilled play, doesn’t break the game.
Verdict: Leave as is.
Sunder
10 points is steep, but deleting Thermals or ECM from extreme range is absolutely worth it.
Verdict: Balanced as is.
Quasar
Pursuant
Cheap insurance for 2 points. It smooths out command issues and makes the Quasar less brittle.
Verdict: Great design.
Squall
Still one of the strongest squadron titles in the game. It allows game-warping plays. At 7 points it’s at least more fairly priced than the old 3-point absurdity.
Verdict: It's fine.
Stronghold
Still very niche. At 3 points it’s not terrible, but most players will take Pursuant instead. If Quasars could be made slightly more tanky, then maybe Stronghold could be thing. At least it’s an option now, which is more than could be said before.
Verdict: Niche, but fine.
Raider
Corvus
I dislike this one. Deployment tricks are fine, but lifeboating commanders is not. The fix is simple: add “cannot be a flagship.” Otherwise, 2 points is cheap and it remains useful without being abusive.
Verdict: Make non-flagship only.
Impetuous
Cool effect, but Raiders are already too expensive, and this adds 4 more points. On a Raider-II it’s just not worth it.
Verdict: Drop it to 3 and it might see play.
Instigator
Locks down enemy squadrons, which is great. At 4 points it’s fair… if the Raider itself ever comes down a little in cost.
Verdict: Fine as is, but bring down Raiders a few points.
Super Star Destroyer
Ravager
Let’s start here, because it’s the yardstick for all other SSD titles. Ravager is fantastic: spend a CF token, add a die. Simple, effective, and well-priced at 4. If you take one title on an SSD, it’s this.
Verdict: Leave as is.
Annihilator
Rerolls on every squadron attack is strong, but it pushes you into a flak build with Gunnery Teams. Not bad, just niche. In theory it could be cheaper for standard 400, but in Sector Fleet it’s balanced.
Verdict: Leave as is.
Eclipse
An SSD title that makes ramming
slightly more painful for the enemy? That’s it? It doesn’t even trigger on your own rams. Lame. Even at 0 points it would be trash.
Verdict: Needs a total redesign.
Executor
Not bad, just niche. Works best in builds that want to bank multiple tokens for multiple Fleet Commands. Better in Sector Fleet than 400.
Verdict: Honestly, this title should probably be free.
Victory Star Destroyer
Harrow
The Ravager/Demolisher of the Vic. Fixes the yaw chart, adds a Support slot (hello Engine Techs), and costs only 3. That’s both brilliant design and an admission that the base Vic is broken. In practice, it means 95% of VSDs you’ll ever see are Harrow.
Verdict: The real fix would be to improve the base nav chart so Harrow is strong without being mandatory.
Corrupter
+1 speed for TIE Bombers. The problem: what bombers? Where? Not competitive. Firesprays could work, but then why are you commanding them with a Vic? The new 3-point cost helps, but Harrow overshadows it completely.
Verdict: Borderline trash tier; the Vic simply isn't good enough to take one to push bombers.
Dominator
Unique and powerful effect, but limited to close-medium range and saddled with the Vic chassis. At 7 points it’s fair, but why bother when Harrow exists?
Verdict: Harmed by the existence of Harrow. Fine in isolation.
Warlord
Unlimited use means it has to be costly, but the effect leans toward flak spam rather than interesting ship-to-ship play. If it were ship-only or exhaust, it could be cheaper and more viable.
Verdict: As it is, not exactly binder fodder, but only seen in ultra niche builds. I'd like to see a rework.
Final Verdict – Empire Titles
Imperial titles are a study in extremes. Some are classics that still define fleets (Demolisher, Ravager, Cataclysm). Some are clever fixes that highlight underlying problems with the chassis (Harrow and Demolisher again). And some are so bad they should be erased or reworked (Eclipse, Avenger).
The overall design lesson is clear: FFG often used titles to patch ships instead of fixing the ships themselves. That created a handful of auto-includes and a whole pile of binder dust. With some targeted reworks the Empire’s title suite could be one of the richest in the game. Oh, and I hope Legacy will make a title for the Imperial Venator!
Next Up: Rebel titles.
