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 Empire 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.
Rebel Rogues: A Mixed Bunch
Rebel irregulars are a strange collection — some forgettable, some fantastic, and more than a few that feel like they were designed in a hurry after too much... of something. There are gems here, yes, but there are also clunkers, and then a handful of “what were they thinking?” oddballs (the YT-1300, a non-rogue escort, still takes the cake for me).
HWK-290
How did this become a 4-hull, double-brace squadron with low speed? It’s physically smaller than most other irregulars, so 4 hull is fine, but why didn’t it get a scatter instead? And meanwhile, the JumpMaster — a much larger ship — was saddled with 4 hull, but did get the scatter AND higher speed. It should have had high hull and a double brace.
So what can you do with it now? Not much. Intel was once broken, now it’s been nerfed to mediocrity, and the HWK went from essential to forgotten. Drop it to 10 points to tempt people into bringing Intel again, or leave it at 12 and just give it Rogue so it actually does something on its own.
Verdict: Drop to 10 or add Rogue and keep at 12.
Kanan Jarrus
First question: why is Kanan not on the Ghost? Seriously. Instead he’s here, awkwardly bolted onto a HWK. And the result is… mid. He does have a niche now with ARC Draven (since he’s cheap-ish and hard enough to shift to matter), but it feels weird to see a Jedi Knight flying a glorified space taxi. He is also a bit overpriced when you look at his stats, even in a Draven list.
Verdict: I think 17 is enough for Kanan.
Jan Ors
Jan is the definition of “good but problematic.” Brace-passing is amazing, but she’s frail, and her presence always risks pushing squadron combat into degenerate “stack the bubbles and never die” territory. Is she a feature? A bug? A stopgap? I honestly can’t tell anymore. She’s useful, but she’s also a walking balance problem.
Verdict: Keep as is, or increase cost if the X-wing comes down as I suggested.
Lancer-class Pursuit Craft
The generic Lancer feels like a casualty of Ketsu’s design. It was clearly built to host her scatter-ace chassis, which meant locking the generic into a fragile 4-hull Rogue with unimpressive anti-squad fire. And this is supposed to be a big ship! It should have had 6 hull, minimum.
As it stands, the generic is poor value. At least ARC dropped it to 14, which is just enough to justify taking one. It’s fragile, but it’s fast and does okay damage, so leave it be for now.
Verdict: Leave as is.
Ketsu Onyo
Now here’s the good stuff. Speed 4, scatter, double-blue bomber dice, and an ability that lets her lock squads in place? For 22 points, that’s a steal. Ketsu is arguably the best Rogue bomber in the entire Rebel lineup. She's maybe not Lando good, but she's at least 23 or even 24 points good.
Verdict: Make her 23 or 24 points.
Fenn Rau / Mandalorian Gauntlet
A special case: no generic counterpart, just Fenn himself. He’s a paradox — both good and bad, depending entirely on context.
If you can leverage Assault (with ARC Draven specifically), Fenn is strong. He pushes extra squadrons, which is always impactful (4 squads from a Liberty token, anyone?). But he’s also very expensive and carries only a single defense token, so he dies faster than you’d like. His personal firepower is mid at best. Use him right and he’s a force multiplier. Use him wrong, and he’s just an expensive ace that evaporates. High ceiling, low floor.
I kind of feel he's a tad bit too expensive, as I struggle to fit him into a Biggs/Hera X-wing combo, but maybe it's those squads that are a bit too expensive? What if he came down a hair? Would that incentivize Rebels to lean more into commanded squadrons instead of rogues? On the other hand, Gar Saxon is 20, and he's objectively much worse.
Verdict: Leave as is or shave off a point or two.
Scurrg H-6 Bomber
What the B-wing wishes it was: a heavy bomber with 6 hull, speed 3, and grit. Yes, it’s a worse dogfighter — but if your heavy bombers are dogfighting, you’ve already lost. The Scurrg is built to bomb ships, and it does that job far better than its Rebel stablemates.
Verdict: Leave as is.
Malee Hurra
At 21 points, she’s actually not bad. Two blue battery dice, double brace 6-hull, Grit, Bomber — that’s a solid package. Her ability is situational, but the cost is low enough that she can see real play. She's not a rogue, though, so when you compare her to Ketsu, the cost suddenly feels pretty high.
Verdict: I'd try her at 20 and love her at 19.
Nym
The opposite story. Nym looks amazing on paper, but in practice he demands Adar, Toryn, BCC, and ideally Draven just to make his gimmick sing. That’s a lot of investment for what’s basically a reroll bomb. And when it does work, it veers into NPE territory. Not a great design.
Verdict: Definitely don't bring down the cost. The guy is a MENACE.
VCX-100
The quintessential Strategic squadron. Eight hull is incredible. Pair it with Toryn and it hits reasonably hard, too. Relay 1 is mid — you probably want two if you’re serious about Relay, but points rarely allow it.
The real tragedy? This should be a Rogue squadron. Everything about the VCX screams “independent operator.” But since it’s the Rebel Lambda, it had to be "nerfed" with no Rogue. At least it’s still worth taking.
Verdict: Leave as is.
Hera Syndulla / Ghost
The most expensive squadron in the game, but she earns it. Rogue-granting is huge. The ace cap limits her, and the single defense token makes her fragile for her cost, but the flexibility she brings is unmatched. Definitely a good option, and definitely worth her slot.
Verdict: Leave as is.
YT-1300
If I could wave a magic wand, I’d give it speed 3 and Rogue (and bump the Falcon to speed 4). Failing that, at least drop Escort and give it Rogue. Right now, it’s a relic that only made sense in 2015.
Verdict: Swap Escort for Rogue.
Han Solo
Han is… okay. He hits reasonably hard for 24 points, but without dice mods and without Bomber, he doesn’t shine. He’s fine, but never exciting. And when Lando exists at the same cost, Han just looks worse.
Verdict: Make him 23 points and leave Lando at 24, or leave Han at 24 and make Lando 25. Or both. I dunno. But even if I ran Sato, I would almost prefer Lando.
Lando Calrissian
Mr. Dice Fixer himself. He went up to 24, but he’s still a bargain for what he brings. Outright better than Han in most contexts.
Verdict: He's still a bargain at 24, but look at the guy... you don't want to make him more expensive, do you?
YT-2400
The gold standard of Rebel Rogues. Fast, tough, hits hard, and consistent. At 16 points it’s too good — hence why everyone spams them. Push them up to 17 and you might at least make people think twice.
Verdict: Increase to 17.
Dash Rendar
Double brace, some dice fixing, solid all around. But he’s no Lando, and that makes him feel lackluster.
Verdict: He's 22 points, not 24.
Mart Mattin
Cheaper than Dash, lacks Bomber, but has the hilarious mine gimmick. And honestly? That’s enough. The mine ability more than compensates, making him a fun (if not top-tier) pick.
Verdict: Leave as is.
Wrap-Up: A Rebel Grab Bag
The Rebel irregulars are all over the place. Ketsu, Lando, Hera, and the YT-2400 are standouts. The Scurrg chassis is quietly excellent. But then you’ve got clunkers like the generic Lancer, relics like the YT-1300, and awkward designs like Nym that demand half your upgrade bar to function.
Compared to the Empire’s rogues, the Rebels have more bright spots and more competitive options — but also more weirdness. Some of that weirdness is charming. Some of it is frustrating. And a lot of it shows just how scattershot squadron design was in Armada’s early years.
Next up on the Squadron Files: GAR squadrons.
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