The Squadron Files, Part 3: Rebels Without a Cause

 

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.

---

Rebels: A Mid-Life Crisis

Let me start with what might sound controversial: most Rebel squadrons are… mid. Not “secretly broken and waiting to be discovered.” Not “balanced but overshadowed.” Just plain mid.

Yes, there was a time when Rieekan ace balls with Yavaris behind them terrorized the meta. But let’s be honest: that was a house of cards. Stacking Bomber Command Centers, Yavaris, Rieekan’s zombie mode, no 1.5 evades, no PDIC, no ace cap — all of that got hit with the nerf bat. And what we’re left with is a Rebel squadron suite that’s slow, overcosted, and mostly disappointing once you take the nostalgia goggles off.

When Rebel generics do shine, it’s because they hit some accidental sweet spot — like Gold Squadron, the one non-speed-2 Rebel with a two-dice battery. That’s why you see Gold everywhere. Meanwhile, the poor X-wing costs 13 for swingy uniblue AS with no rerolls, a red bomber die PDIC laughs at, and Escort to make sure it dies first. Great job, guys!

The exception is the A-wing. Fast, cheap, efficient. But it doesn’t synergize well with the Rebel fleet as a whole, and it lacks Bomber. Which means it’s stuck as the eternal sidekick, never the main show.

And that, really, is the Rebel squadron story: a few exceptions surrounded by mediocrity. Let’s get into the details.

---

A-wing

The crown jewel of Rebel generics. Speed 5 matters because you choose the fights. Counter makes attacking them risky. Four hull is just enough to really make it feel more tanky than TIEs. And the cost — 11 — is spot on. The only real problem with A-wings is that they don’t synergize with the rest of the Rebel toolkit. No Bomber keyword, no fancy rerolls. But as self-contained interceptors, they’re excellent.

Verdict: Keep as is.

Green Squadron

And then there’s Green, the unique “upgrade” that somehow has less Counter than the generic. That’s just sad, although being a speed 5 black die bomber makes it better than a TIE Defender (16 points) in that regard. Between being unique and getting reduced Counter, it is more of a sidegrade than an upgrade, so I think 12 is a bit much.

Verdict: Drop it to 11, and maybe it will see more play.

Shara Bey

Everyone’s favorite counter trap. Unless you’re taking Tycho for his amazing “ignore everything” movement and shooting freedom, Shara is usually the better ace. In isolation, she’s worth at least 18, more like 19. In faction context, she’s one of only two fast Rebel screeners, so 18 is the ceiling.

Verdict: Increase to 18.

Tycho Celchu

The other half of the Rebel speed duo. In a vacuum, Tycho at 16 is absurdly efficient. He’s a scatter ace with perfect positioning. But because Rebels have so few other fast options, he’s almost mandatory, and raising him too high would strangle the faction. 

Verdict: Increase to 17 and move on.

---

B-wing

Ah, the B-wing. In lore, the most advanced Rebel starfighter. In Armada, a ponderous, semi-fragile headache. It’s too dangerous on offense to be cheap, too slow and squishy to be a reliable heavy member, and too dependent on support upgrades to be anything but a niche option. And you have to build your entire list around it, so it doesn't easily slot into any old Rebel fleet. It's a design that never aged well.

Verdict: At 14, it's overpriced. At 13, it’s still awkward, but you can’t make it cheaper without breaking the game, so 13 it is. 

Dagger Squadron

It's a mild upgrade over the generic B-wing in terms of AS, but B-wings should be bombing, not fighting other squads. Then again, sometimes you have to, and then it is an upgrade. Compared to Gold Squadron, however, it's not much to look at. Slower, less hull, only marginally better damage against ships. Definitely not worth the 15 vs 12 points!

Verdict: Let's make it 13 points, same as the B-wing, 1 more than Gold. It's either that, or increase Gold.

Keyan Farlander

What even is this? His ability feels like a relic of a less civilized age. Maybe worth 16 for the double brace and double black battery, but honestly, he’s a museum piece.

Verdict: Rework is preferable. In the meantime, set him to 16.

Ten Numb

Better than Keyan, at least. A lot better. Splash damage is strong, especially in a Toryn/Adar package (and ARC Draven). But he’s still a B-wing, which means slow and relatively fragile. At 19, he’s overpriced, but not unusable.

Verdict: Make him 18.

---

E-wing

This one was supposed to be the shiny new toy. Speed 4, Snipe, a bit of flexibility. And then you look at the dice pools: uniblue AS, red bomber die, no rerolls. At 14, they’re still mediocre. Maybe at 13, they’d see play.

Verdict: Drop to 13. The X-wing is 11 now, so that checks out.

Corran Horn

On paper: Rogue, Snipe 4, some versatility. In reality: 22 points for mid dice and no Adept. He feels like a half-finished design, lacking a special ability.

Verdict: Give him Adept 1 and he’d at least feel modern and somewhat worth his price.

---

X-wing

The supposed backbone of the Rebellion. In Armada, the poster child for overcosted mediocrity. Escort is their only saving grace. Hull 5 is fine. Speed 3 is fine. But the dice? Swingy uniblue AS and a red bomber die you can’t rely on. No one is paying 13 points for this when A-wings exist.

Verdict: Drop it to 11. Seriously. 

Rogue Squadron

Rogue is fine at 14, as long as YT-2400s are moved up to 17. Otherwise, it’s just another mid and mildly overcosted squadron that you might take if you can't afford another YT.

Verdict: Keep as is.

Biggs Darklighter

Absolutely not. The whole Biggs/Jan/Gallant Haven/Jamming Field stack was the least fun part of old Armada squadron play. Oh, look, now we also have Overpriced-Hera! And we can bring Mid-Norra to watch our CRITs get rerolled! Golly!

Biggs and friends no longer have any way to output enough damage vs. ships to be relevant and have largely faded from use (thank the Maker), but the card itself is still a nightmare of design. With X-wings significantly cheaper, he could potentially become even less enjoyable while remaining fairly inefficient. 

Needs a rework, not a points tweak. Let him keep some sort of damage-mitigating ability, but make him self-sacrificing rather than enabling all that damage shuffling. Then he could also become significantly cheaper, maybe as low as 15. 

Verdict: Careful rework to maintain flavor, improve survivability of other squadrons, and low cost.

Luke Skywalker (ARC)

Rogue Luke is infinitely better than Escort Luke. He doesn’t just fly in and die first, and Rogue makes him self-sufficient. Still stuck with boring 4 blue AS, but at least now he has a place on the table. Cost is fine.

Verdict: Leave as is. Yeah, we're all secretly salty he didn't get a more thorough rework with Adept 1, but that doesn't mean this version isn't both good and somewhat thematic.

Hera Syndulla

Hera's dice pools are much more interesting than uniblue, but she doesn't give herself rerolls, so she becomes rather mid. But why isn't she just Adept 1 (Adept gives rerolls, no connection to the Force is required IMO, just skill) instead of Dodge, so she can be somewhat useful herself? By the way, when you try to boost a mid-tier squadron that's overpriced, don't use 25% of the ace cap, and then also make it hideously expensive. Another AMG fail!

Verdict: Swap Dodge for Adept. Reduce cost to 20, same as ARC Luke. See what I did there? Both ARC Luke and GK Wedge don't have Escort, so they won't be affected!

Wedge Antilles

On paper, his ability is nice. In practice, uniblue AS with no rerolls holds him back. Strip Escort, give him Snipe, and he’d be playable. As is, he’s just another moderately useful and quite expensive Rebel ace. You know what would be really cool? If he added 1 blue vs ships that have been activated. That's my Wedgy Boi!

Verdict: Remove Escort, add Snipe.

---

Y-wing

The definition of plodding mediocrity. Hull 6 is good. Bomber is good. Speed 3 is OK. However, bad AS dice and a mid bomber battery keep it firmly below expectations. There is also not a lot of synergy for Y-wings in the Rebel faction, beyond the universal stuff like Toryn, GH, Norra, etc. Well, I guess Ruthless is kind of synergistic.

Verdict: Should be 9.

Gold Squadron

The one Rebel generic that actually feels good. Speed 3 and a two-dice battery make it efficient. 12 points is spot on — for a unique squadron, assuming other points tweaks are followed through. If not, this guy is easily 13 points!

Verdict: Keep as is.

Dutch Vander

An actually solid Rebel ace. Locking down enemy squadrons is strong, and he plays nicely with many types of squadron balls. Not to be a party pooper or anything, but he's actually kind of too strong at 16, so probably deserves the Tycho/Shara treatment. A tiny bump to let others breathe, but not too much of a hike as the faction already struggles a bit. 

It's also actually a good thing that he's essentially an "anti-ace" type of squadron; we want low-cost generics to be more viable, and creating ways to shut down enemy aces helps with that goal (but you gotta be careful, as stuff like this quickly becomes NPE).

Verdict: Make him 17.

Norra Wexley

Norra is a meaty non-heavy Y-wing with 3 blue AS, but unfortunately only has that one black bomber die - if she had 2 blues she'd absolutely be an interesting option. Her buff isn't half bad, helping bombers strip shields faster, but after the shields are gone, she's just a double-brace mid bomber hugging one of your precious ace slots. 

But the problems don't end there: she costs as much as Shara, but needs other squads around her to leverage her ability, yet also needs escorting, so while she SHOULD be a great boon to you X-wing Biggs-ball, THAT ball is so mid it's another strike against her. And it's not just the X-wing. Any 1-die bomber that manages to get a crit with Norra will too often see it evaded or PDICed.

Verdict: Make her a 2 blue dice bomber. Alternatively, drop her to 15 points, but this is a much less exciting solution.

---

Z-95 Headhunter

What happens when you combine a fragile hull, bad speed, and bad dice? You get the Z-95. One of the worst-designed squadrons in the game. Six points might make it tolerable. But really, the dice pool needs a redesign. Unired AS is a joke. And I know Toryn exists, but you could argue she's a feature of reroll-less Rebels, not a bug!

Verdict: This is a 6-point squadron that also needs to change its uni-red AS armament.

Lieutenant Blount

Possibly the most insulting Rebel ace. His effect only matters for Swarm squads (so other Zs and Dagger) and only against other squadrons, not ships. For 14 points and an ace slot. That’s more than Valen Rudor, which is just cruel. This card is firmly in the trash compactor unless updated: mix up the uni-red AS, and make him work on himself AND when attacking ships.

Verdict: Needs a rework of dice and a tweak of his ability.

---

Wrap-Up: The Mid Rebellion

Rebel regular squadrons are a study in mediocrity. The A-wing chassis works. Gold Squadron is excellent. Dutch is solid, ARC Luke has potential. But beyond those bright spots? Overcosted, outdated, and painfully slow.

This is why Rebel rogue balls dominate competitive play. When your generics are this underwhelming, you have no choice but to lean on the irregulars and a handful of efficient aces. Some players see that as flavor: “Rogues are what Rebels do.” Personally, I think it’s a limitation. It makes the faction less flexible, less interesting, and frankly less fun.

Next Up on the Squadron Files: Rebel irregular squadrons.

Special Modifications, Part 6: Empire Squadrons

Guess who is escorting whom?

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 new series: exploring nonstandard 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 Empire squadrons there as well — but the scope is different. Special Modifications is design-theory territory: tweaking fundamentals, exploring alternatives, and asking “what if.”

If you haven’t read the earlier squadron-focused entries, you’ll want the groundwork from here first:

• Part 3: All Wings Report In

• Part 4: What Good are Snub-fighters Against That?

• Part 5: Lock S-Foils in Attack Position

The astute observer will notice that the squadron entries in this one are a bit shorter. That's a result of all the groundwork we've done in previous posts. So you can call it a feature, not a bug 🐞

---

The Empire’s Flaw: Specialization

Where Rebels field robust, slower, more generalist craft (because they must fight with whatever they have), the Empire can afford to specialize. On paper, that’s a good idea: fast interceptors, heavy bombers, cheap fighters, and so on.

But specialization only works if there’s room in a single fleet for squadrons to complement each other. You need a fighter screen to punch holes, bombers to deliver payloads, and enough overlap to make both meaningful. CIS actually pulls this off well: elite Tri-fighters, cheap but nasty Vultures, and terrifying Hyenas. It’s almost an exact copy of the Empire’s blueprint — but executed better, because lessons had been learned.

So tweaking Empire isn’t copying CIS. It’s more like restoring the original template, which CIS itself copied. (And yes, both factions ended up with their own meaty, overpriced outlier: TIE Advanced and Belbullab. Almost too funny.)

---

The Sloane Problem

We can’t talk Empire squads without talking about Admiral Sloane.

We recognize why she exists — but also the pitfalls. One commander, and one only, turns anti-squad fighters into ship-killers and better dogfighters. The same squadrons with Sloane and without Sloane are almost unrecognizable. Sure, all commanders change how fleets behave, but not to this extent.

So what do we do? For Special Modifications, the squadrons come first. Sloane must fit them, not the other way around. Maybe she can survive unchanged. Maybe she needs a tweak or two. Maybe she just costs more. That’s the benefit of hindsight.

And if Sloane isn’t the only potential problem — say, Howlrunner under new dice pools — then the upgrade changes, not the squadron baseline. To illustrate, at the very end of this article, we'll reimagine both Sloane and Howrunner as they might appear in the Special Modifications context.

---

TIE Fighter

TIEs have always been portrayed as fast, deadly, and disposable — and that’s exactly how they should feel in Armada. Speed 4 and hull 3 work fine. What doesn’t quite work is their role. If anything in the Empire deserves the Escort keyword, it’s the humble TIE Fighter, not the overpriced Advanced.

So let’s make them escorts. Yes, escorts with hull 3 will melt quickly. That’s the point. They’re throwaway bodies, and you can field a lot of them. It makes sense both in design and thematically.

Their dice also get an update. Instead of the boring uni-blue pool, let’s give them 1 red + 2 blue anti-squadron dice. Higher ceiling, fewer auto-accs, more identity. Anti-ship stays a single blue, partly because it differentiates them from CIS Vultures.

Cost: 7 points. 

They gained Escort, sure, but their survivability didn’t improve, and we're cutting generic costs across the board, remember?

Three TIEs at 21 points give you 9 hull across three bodies. Compare that to two Rebel X-wings at 22 points with 10 hull. The X-wings edge out with bomber value, but the TIEs aren’t pushovers. That’s the kind of balance you want.

---

TIE Interceptor

The Interceptor is Empire’s A-wing: fast, fragile, deadly. But it is also the "elite" upgrade over the TIE Fighter, just as the B-wing is the elite Rebel bomber.

The Squit we have is pretty close to the goal, actually. Speed 5, hull 3, Counter 2 all stay. You might argue that Swarm could go — this is an elite squadron after all — but this is the Empire, and swarming TIE Ints just fit too well.

So the question becomes: what dice?

The fix is to give them some real punch: 1 red + 2 blue + 1 black against squadrons, plus a single red anti-ship. The red battery is swingy, but it occasionally spikes for 2 damage, which is something to play with. It differentiates the Squint from the upcoming CIS Tri-fighter, and has the potential to do 2 damage with a single attack which I find thematically appropriate

Cost: 10 points. 

Matches A-wings and sits just below the X-wing. They hit harder on AS offense, but fold quickly in return fire — classic glass cannon.

---

TIE Bomber

TIE Bombers are interesting. Speed 4 is quick for a bomber, hull 5 is respectable, but as a one-die bomber with almost no anti-squad firepower? That’s rough.

We don’t want to turn every bomber into a two-die monster. So they keep their single black anti-ship die. But we can at least give them a fighting chance in squad combat with a red + black anti-squad pool. Not stellar, but not zero.

Cost: 8 points.

Faster than a Y-wing but with less hull and arguably weaker anti-squad. For one-die bombers, hull is more valuable than speed — alpha strikes aren’t an option when you’re only tossing single dice. Keeping them very cheap is what makes them viable in a faction heavy with low-hull AS options. 

---

TIE Advanced

Ah, the Advanced. A unit that has always struggled to justify itself. Too expensive, too weak offensively, and awkwardly slotted as an “escort” that isn’t good at it.

Let’s change that. Drop Escort, and give it Screen. Instead of throwing itself in front, the Advanced hangs back, forcing you to chew through it before you reach the bombers. That fits its lore as a prototype starfighter — tougher than a TIE, but not as disposable.

To make that role matter, it needs real anti-squadron firepower. Three blue + one black matches Vader’s statline and feels right for a “premium” chassis. Anti-ship stays a single black.

I did consider using Snipe instead, but it didn't feel right to spam an E-wing knockoff right out of the gate. I suppose if you take off 1 blue AS and Screen, then add Snipe 3, it could work if the cost came up a bit. But I'd rather not.

Cost: 10 points. 

Same as the Interceptor, slightly less than an X-wing. A strong fighter, but awkward to slot. Useful as a screen, but not the centerpiece of any plan.

---

Example Rework: Admiral Sloane

Instead of “spend the defender’s defense tokens,” Sloane becomes a more grounded boost, providing rerolls and other dice fixing. Rolled an ACC against a ship? Turn it into a HIT or (or HIT/HIT if it was a Red die). Rolled an unwanted CRIT? Reroll it.

Here are two different versions, one banning Rogue squadrons, the other simply requiring a Squadron command. Pick whichever you like; each is restrictive in a different way.

Sloane still encourages using AS-focused fleets, but without giving lowly TIEs superpowers over capital ships. She’s useful, but not game-warping. In terms of cost, I feel that squad-centric commanders should have a power level that lets them be cheap; otherwise, fitting enough squads becomes an issue.

If we compare her to ARC Draven, she doesn't hand out raid or anything, but there also aren't any limitations on the rerolls, and she gets to outright turn ACCs into HITs. So many 24 isn't too far from the mark?

---

Example Rework: Howlrunner

Civé Rashon, callsign "Howlrunner," was a female human pilot who led Obsidian Squadron. She flew a TIE Fighter under the callsign of Obsidian Leader. Or so Wookieepedia tells me. Let's take that, the old Howlrunner design, and combine it with the reworked base squadrons.

The new Howl still buffs the swarm, but in a more grounded way — rerolls instead of dice adds —  and gives her (some) synergy with bombers without pushing TIE Fighters and Interceptors over the edge. It also lets us keep the cost of Eyeballs and Squints down, and Howl's own cost can remain moderate. The Snipe keyword allows her to hang back and still contribute AS firepower (I also have a unique Obsidian Squadoron with Snipe, kind of a theme). 

---

Other Regular Squadrons

The Empire has two more regulars outside the core four, and they deserve a quick look.

TIE Defender

The Defender is fine. Honestly, it probably doesn’t need much change at all. It’s fast, tough, and versatile, and already plays like the “premium” option it was always meant to be. If anything, I’d suggest limiting it to 2–3 per fleet (same thought as the E-wing on the Rebel side) to keep them rare and stop them from overwhelming the table. If we wanted to get more experimental, you could imagine a multi-die non-bomber variant — an interceptor-tank hybrid rather than a strike craft — but even without that, it works.

TIE Phantom

This one’s trickier. Right now it’s a weird, expensive oddball with a uni-blue armament and a niche cloak gimmick that doesn’t quite pay off. At minimum, it needs Dodge to reflect its theme. From there, I’d rework its dice to give it more universal utility — something like a red + black non-bomber battery, backed up by a more varied anti-squad pool instead of the old blue spam. The Phantom should feel unique and slippery, not like a clunky TIE Fighter reskin that costs twice as much.

---

Wrapping Up

Empire squadrons were always meant to be specialized. That idea still works — but only if the generics are priced right, the upgrades fit around them, and their commander doesn’t break the game in half.

With TIE Fighters actually pulling escort duty, Interceptors as fast strikers, Bombers as cheap payload carriers, and the Advanced as a meaty screen, the Empire finally has a generic lineup that works on its own terms. No need to hide behind Sloane, though she could still shine in her reworked form.

Next Up on Special Modifications: The Clones and Jedi that protect the glorious Republic.

Battle for Endor 2025 – POD Round 3

Yesterday I sat down for my third POD game in the Battle for Endor 2025 online tournament, squaring off against Daniel (Smizzy). We logged into TTS and, as always, I was looking forward to seeing how my fleet would hold up. A fun surprise: turns out Daniel will also be at Stirling on October 25th for the Scottish Championship. Small galaxy!

---

The Fleets

It’s a lean 400 points, built around an Onager Testbed with Vader, Intel Officer, Varnillian, Veteran Gunners, XI7s and OBPCs. The Cymoon is its running mate, packing Intensify Firepower, Spinals, XI7s and Devastator. Two Gozantis and a pair of TIE Fighters round things out.

Bjørn Blom Sørgjerd (Green Knight)

Somehow, Vader Returned with an Onager – Empire, Darth Vader

• Onager Testbed w/ Vader, Intel Officer, Varnillian, Vet Gunners, XI7s, OBPCs

• ISD Cymoon I w/ Intel Officer, Gunnery Team, IF!, Spinals, XI7s, Devastator

• 2x Gozantis (Hondo + Comms Net)

• 2x TIE Fighters
  = 400 pts

At first glance, it looks harmless: an Assault Frigate, a CR90B, and a Hammerhead. But then you clock the squadron ball – Luke, Lando, Shara, Tycho, Gold, Green, and a couple of Scurrgs – and realize where the real teeth are. Add in Dodonna for extra spice, and it’s a nasty, bomber-centric toolbox.

Daniel (Smizzy)
Endor Fleet – Rebels, General Dodonna

• AFII-B w/ Dodonna, Raymus, Flight Controllers, Expanded Hangar, ECM, XX-9s

• CR90B w/ SW-7s, Dodonna’s Pride

• HH Torp w/ ExRacks, Garel’s Honor

• 2x GR-75s (Ahsoka + Comms Net / BCC + Bright Hope)

• Gold, Green, Luke, Lando, Shara, Tycho, 2x Scurrgs
  = 394 pts

---

The Matchup

Daniel had the bid and wisely chose first player. He went with Most Wanted. I marked my Hondo Gozanti and his flagship Assault Frigate. Pretty standard. Last round this exact objective had handed me a comfortable win, so I was quietly optimistic.

That optimism didn’t last long.

This was the third game in a row where I ended up second player. My list can live with that role, but in truth it wants to be first. Two long-range bruisers work best when they can punch something off the board before it answers back. But I’d already accepted that risk by going in at 400 points clean. No bid is part of my Armada philosophy: I’d rather build the exact list I want than play the cut-throat bid game. That choice has consequences, and this game underlined them.

---

The Early Game

Setup, stupid Onager pointing straight up lol

Setup, Rebel perspective

The real trouble started in deployment. I had a plan in mind, something like what I’d done in POD round 2, but when I put my ships down, it ended up looking more like round 1 – the game where I’d learned some hard lessons. Instead of angling the Onager to cover the edge of the board, I told myself it would be “fine” pointing it straight. It wasn’t fine. Just like in my game vs Spike, this left a wide path for Daniel to creep around and force me into awkward pivots.

Start r2, fine - for now, but note the angle of the Onager and the rock

By round 2, I’d already spent my pass token. Unlike my previous opponent, Daniel had kept his ships tight to one side while spreading them out enough that I couldn’t meaningfully threaten multiple targets at once. It was really well done – a subtle but very effective deployment. Meanwhile, my Cymoon had nothing to shoot at. That was survivable for now, but it foreshadowed the problems to come.

I felt I had no choice but to push the Onager forward. Hanging back would have ceded too much space, and I needed to force some pressure onto his ships. For a moment it looked like it might pay off: I forked his flagship Assault Frigate and Dodonna’s Pride. The threat was real.

---

The Decisive Moment

Start r3, pressure is on by Cymoon is on the back foot

Round 3 was the hinge. The Onager had a shot at the Assault Frigate – extreme range, obstructed behind a rock, but still a solid swing with Vader and all the toys. I landed a structural, but crucially the AF held onto its defense tokens. That single fact changed the whole flow of the game. If the AF had lost its tokens, it would have been doomed. With tokens intact, it could shrug and live to fight another turn.

Start r4, I could keep the Cymoon on target, but it is pointless since AF has all tokens

From that point the script flipped. My plan depended on the Onager punching through and escaping – possible, since Daniel didn’t have long-range squadron control. But “possible” was always a stretch. Once Dodonna’s bombers closed, it became impossible. The crits rolled in, including the brutal “you can’t ready defense tokens.” That was a death sentence.

R5, side is obstructed and AF has all tokens, so it's safe

The follow-up plan had been for the Cymoon to finish off the crippled AF. But of course, it wasn’t crippled. And with the Onager dying and terrain (damn you, space rocks!) complicating the angle, the Cymoon’s shots never lined up. I chose to disengage rather than feed more points into the grinder.

By the time it ended, Daniel had claimed the Onager and my Most Wanted flotilla. 243 plus 23, nothing in return.

We called it here

---

Reflections

On paper it looks terrible: I killed nothing, lost big, 9–2, MOV 266. But in practice it didn’t feel that way. This wasn’t a rout, nor a dice-driven disaster. Dice were average to decent both ways. It was about small mistakes compounding into bigger ones, while Daniel played a very clean, disciplined game.

His deployment was excellent. His ships stayed spread but cohesive, avoiding overcommitment. His squadron game was efficient, striking where it hurt but never overextending (extra points for efficiently commanding squads without a single Boosted Comms). And when the moment came to disengage, he did it, pocketing the win without chasing for greedy points. That’s good Armada.

For my part, splitting the Onager and Cymoon was fatal. Those two ships need to act in concert, or else one ends up stranded. That happened here. It’s the sort of game you lose, but walk away thinking “yes, that was earned.” And in its own way, that’s satisfying.

---

The Standings

With the win, Daniel climbs to 21 TP and is very much in the hunt for Gold League. I wish him luck – show the galaxy Dodonna still has bite!

I sit at 14 TP after three rounds. That locks me into the bottom half and likely into Chocolate League, which, if I’m honest, is exactly what I predicted (and maybe even wanted). I had a moment’s dream of Silver or even Gold, but reality has a way of reasserting itself.

The next question is what I bring to the table in Chocolate. Do I keep running Somehow, Vader Returned? Do I tweak it, reflecting the lessons learned here? Or do I take advantage of the Chocolate perk and try something wild with Legacy Wave 0?

Stay tuned. We’ll find out together.

Off to the Scottish Championship!

 

Clearly NOT Photoshopped

Come the second-to-last weekend of October, I’ll be packing my bags for Scotland. My brother lives in Edinburgh, so I’ll fly over, visit him and his family, and then we’ll both drive to Stirling on Saturday, October 25th, to take part in the Armada Scottish Championship at Common Ground Games.

I haven’t settled on a fleet yet — there are too many tempting choices! Empire is my first love, but I’ve also got Rebel and CIS ideas bouncing around. (GAR… not so much.) Ideally, I’ll nail something down, use this event as a test run, and then refine it for the European Championships in Gdańsk this November.

The event itself looks great:

• Date: Saturday, October 25

• Location: Common Ground Games, 40 Cowane Street, FK8 1JR Stirling, UK

• Format: 4 rounds, 135 minutes each — no cut, just a full day of big-ship action

• Schedule:

  • 09:30 – Round 1

  • 11:45 – Lunch

  • 12:15 – Round 2

  • 15:45 – Round 3

  • 18:00 – Short break

  • 18:15 – Round 4

  • 20:45 – Prizes & announcements

  • 21:00 – Home time!

• Cost: £30 (includes made-to-order lunch and swag)

• Ruleset: Armada Ruleset Collective

• Event: https://fb.me/e/5pz62Rvze

• Registration: Longshanks link

A glorious day of pushing big ships around, indeed. Maybe some of you will be attending?

I’m looking forward to it. Stirling here we come!

The Squadron Files, Part 2: No Disintegrations (aka. Empire irregular squadrons)

 

Empire irregulars have always been a bit… off. The original Rogues & Villains pack was designed with un-nerfed Rhymer in mind, so speeds were capped low to avoid broken combos. That gave us awkward ships like the Aggressor, a “fast heavy fighter” somehow stuck at speed 3. Firesprays also ended up speed 3 despite being plenty fast and unpredictable in-universe. Rhymer is long gone, but the squadrons still carry those outdated stats (and for the most part, outdated costs).

They also suffer from the dreaded “uni-blue” anti-squad batteries of early Armada — mid even in 2015, sad in 2025. The later Imperial Squadrons II pack gave us a more varied toolkit, but design space was already cramped. And then there’s the unique Gauntlet Fighter from the Chimaera box — a “special” squadron that turned out to be a total dud.

Let’s dig into them.

---

Aggressor Assault Fighter

The Aggressor came down a point, which means it now sucks slightly less compared to the YT-2400. But it’s still worse: less hull, counter 1 (largely irrelevant), and most importantly, speed 3 on a Rogue. That’s fatal. Speed is life for Rogues, and this thing just doesn’t have it.

The speed issue traces back to old Rhymer — nobody at FFG wanted a speed-4 Rogue abusing Medium-range bombing. But now Rhymer’s been fixed, and the Aggressor is stuck in the past. Unless ARC does a proper redesign, the only “fix” would be to bump the YT-2400 up to 17. That’s a Rebel problem, though. For now? Still sucks.

Verdict: Leave at 15, but bump the YT-2400 to 17.

IG-88 / IG-2000

IG-88 suffers from the classic Rogues & Villains flaws: the uni-blue AS armament, outdated by modern standards. His text basically is the Snipe keyword, except without the range. Combine that with only a single scatter token, and too often, he just pops before doing anything.

Verdict: Give the guy a brace. A scatter-brace 5-hull combo on a fast Rogue would finally make him interesting. Of course, that would also require bumping his cost back up.

IG-88B / IG-2000B

Slightly different ability, same weaknesses. On paper, the splash damage seems nice, in practice, it’s mid at best. 

Verdict: Give him a brace, cost him appropriately.

---

Firespray-31

Unlike the Aggressor, the Firespray is fine. Hull 6, speed 3, Rogue, double-dice bomber armament — it does exactly what you expect. At 18 points it’s expensive, but you get what you pay for. There is a reason the only generic Rogue seen in numbers in faction.

Verdict: Leave as is.

Boba Fett / Slave I

Boba dropped to 24, which fits better than his old 26. His blue-black battery makes him one of the most dangerous Rogue bombers, and his auto-damage ability is strong but not busted (unlike Mauler’s aura). The problem is his AS armament — four blues is weak for 24 points. He’s decent, but often edged out. 

Verdict: Just give him Grit so he doesn’t get stuck.

Hondo Ohnaka / Slave I

Now here’s the real prize. Same cost as Boba, same chassis, but with Grit and an ability that lets you yank squadrons around. Free up Mauler? Pull a key squad out of a bubble? Dutch somebody without rolling dice? He does it all — and after moving. That’s bonkers. Then, when he’s done ruining the enemy’s squadron game, he still bombs ships with a solid double-die Rogue armament.

Verdict: This is not a 24-point squadron. He should be up with Morna or Hera. Let's say 26 because he's such a lovely, selfless guy.

Oh, and why is Hondo faction-locked? Unlock him already! You know you want it, so don't come here claiming "OP" or "unbalanced." Hondo is a friend to all, and that's all there is to it.

---

JumpMaster 5000

What even is this? In-universe, the JumpMaster is a big, tough ship. Here, it’s a flimsy Intel platform with a trash stat line. Four hull, mediocre dice, no Rogue. The Intel nerf turned it from “fragile but powerful” into “fragile and useless.” Even at 10 points it would feel bad. 

Verdict: Needs a major rework, but for now, either make it 10 or give it Rogue and move on. Each option comes with its own set of red flags, though.

Tel Trevura

Now this is fun. A four-hull scatter Escort with a respawn gimmick, for 17 points. Compare to Strom at 15 — Tel is straight-up better. Too good? Maybe. But he’s at least useful and occasionally worth an ace slot, so let’s just enjoy him as a rare non-broken Empire ace.

Verdict: Leave as is.

Dengar / Punishing One

The old terror of the pre-ace cap, pre-Intel-nerf days. Back then he was everywhere. Now? Still decent, but not oppressive. Intel nerf alone should have shaved 2 points, ace cap another 1. 

Verdict: At 18 he’d feel better.

---

Lambda-class Shuttle

Relay 2 is the main draw. Strategic is a nice bonus, Heavy doesn’t matter much. The dice pools are deliberately Sloane-proofed: no synergy on AS, only on battery. At 15 points though, the whole chassis stinks compared to the 8-hull Rebel VCX with perfect Toryn synergy. 

Verdict: Should be 14.

Colonel Jendon

The real problem child. A 6-hull, double-brace support ace that turns your best squadron (Maarek, Defender Vader) into a double-tapper, with Relay baked in so they can strike across the map. What could possibly go wrong? At 23 he’s still a bargain. 

Verdict: He should probably be 25, because 99% of the time he’s glued to a power ace.

---

Mandalorian Gauntlet Fighter

On paper: 18 points, +1 speed and +1 hull over a Firespray. In practice: trash. The AS is fine, but the battery is two blue dice with Assault, which means you’re doing less damage and giving up crits just to Raid. Raid has no real Imperial synergy right now, so the Gauntlet is paying more to do less. At 17 maybe it edges out the Aggressor, but overall it’s just a missed opportunity.

Verdict: Leave as is and hope for future raid synergy.

Gar Saxon

One defense token. That’s all you need to know. His ability is weak, his Raid gimmick is weak, and the ace cap means he’s never getting taken. He could literally cost the same 18 as the generic and still be trash tier.

Verdict: Give the man a second brace. He'll still be mid, but he could at least tank. I'd also toss Strategic into his keyword salad. Alternatively, reword it to target Rogue keyword squadrons. Then he might be a thing.

---

VT-49 Decimator

A weird one. Eight hull, Counter, Rogue — basically an ARC-170 on steroids. On paper, scary. In practice, it’s 22 points for mediocre dice: three black AS, three blue anti-ship with no Bomber keyword. Same average ship damage as a Firespray, but no crits and no rerolls. That makes it close to useless at its current cost.

Verdict: Bring it down to 21, and maybe it sees play.

Morna Kee

The exception. Morna’s reroll/recover trick makes her consistent even without Bomber. Eight hull, not Heavy, and she sticks around. At 27 she’s fair; at 26 she’d be a bargain. Either way, a solid ace.

Verdict: Leave as is.

---

YV-666

No thanks. Speed 2 Rogue with Heavy and a limp battery? Pass. Even as someone who’s flown more YVs than most, I can’t defend them; too many flaws, not enough strengths. At 14 they’d be tolerable. At 13 they might even be interesting. But really, they need a total rework (at least bump speed to 3).

Verdict: A price drop is one solution, but really, this needs +1 speed and more battery.

Moralo Eval

Burn it with fire. Worst game design ever. Abusable, unfun, unfixable. Some suggest moving him to CIS — but then CIS can't have Strategic, which is just as bad.

Verdict: Ban this abomination. Or rework completely and move to CIS.

Bossk / Hound’s Tooth

Bossk is the one good YV. Speed 3, not Heavy, and his all-black AS plus his bonus acc ability makes him interesting. At 23 he’s maybe a bit high; 22 feels like the sweet spot.

Verdict: Bring down to 22.

---

Wrap-Up: A Mixed Bag, and Mostly Misses

Looking over the Empire’s irregular squadrons, the pattern is clear: most of these designs are relics of Rogues & Villains, trapped in a world that doesn’t exist anymore. Low speeds baked in to avoid broken Rhymer combos. Uni-blue AS armaments that were already mediocre a decade ago. Costs that never got properly updated. Add in some half-baked later designs like the Gauntlet, and you’re left with a lineup that just doesn’t pull its weight.

There are some gems here. Hondo is downright busted for his cost. Jendon is a perennial nightmare. Morna Kee is rock solid, Bossk is fun, and Tel is one of the few genuinely useful non-OP aces in the faction. But taken as a whole, this stable is thin. Compare it to the Rebels, whose irregulars are packed with solid Rogues at fair costs, and it’s obvious why “Empire rogue balls” never became a thing. They just don’t have the depth of quality. Some people might consider that a feature — one less archetype to worry about — but personally I find it limiting and, frankly, boring.

I’ve suggested before that Defender Vader should lose Rogue, which would at least force Imperial fleets to engage with carriers and commands instead of leaning on him as a hyper-efficient plug-and-play piece. But let’s be honest: that kind of redesign isn’t going to happen. So for now, we’re stuck with this mixed bunch — a few overperformers, a lot of dead weight, and an overall squadron package that just doesn’t support variety the way it should.

Next Up on the Squadron Files: Regular Rebel squadrons.