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 Rhymer is long gone, but the squadrons still carry those outdated stats (and for the most part, outdated costs).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.

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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IG-88 suffers from the classic Rogues & Villains flaws: the uni-blue AS armament, outdated by modern standards.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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

The Squadron Files, Part 1: The Empire Strikes… Weak?

 

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.

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TIE Advanced

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).

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

The Upgrade Files: Case 19 – Commanders (Empire)

If there’s one thing the Empire has in spades, it’s competent commanders. The faction boasts one of the deepest benches in Armada, with plenty of competitive, reasonably priced options. Thanks to ARC’s brush-ups, only one commander (sorry, Tagge) sits firmly in the “dud” category, while the rest range from solid to outright excellent.

Let’s take a tour through the Imperial leadership roster.

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Admiral Konstantine

I’ve always had a soft spot for King K, even back in his clunky original form. The new version works — his ability is niche by nature, but that’s a feature, not a bug. If movement control were stronger, it would be oppressive; if weaker, he’d be useless. As is, he’s a fun alternative who doesn’t ruin anyone’s day. Works best with raid tech (meaning Slicers), and could get better if the Empire receives more raid support in the future. 

Verdict: Leave him alone.

Admiral Motti (ARC)

The ARC price drop was absolutely warranted. Motti has always been the “training wheels” admiral, handing you extra hull to keep ships alive. But he’s still relevant beyond new players: durability is always valuable, and Motti is as simple and effective as they come.

Verdict: Perfect now.

Admiral Ozzel (Commander)

The ultimate bargain-bin commander. Free speed changes are gold, not just for pouncing on enemies but for dodging return fire. With skillful play, Ozzel often prevents more damage than Motti’s hull padding. Especially potent with speed-3+ ships that thrive on positional tricks.

Verdict: Leave him alone.

Admiral Piett

I get how he works. I get that you can build around him. But that’s not niche — that’s restrictive. If Piett were designed today, I’d give him a pool of dials during setup that you can spend instead of command tokens. The current implementation “works,” but it is too clunky to be worthwhile. 

Verdict: Deserves an ARC makeover.

Admiral Screed (ARC)

ARC Screed is back in business. The cost of spending a die is steep, but the guarantee of a crit effect (unless cancelled by evades) is still solid. The one-use-per-activation cap keeps him in check. Too bad ACM and APT were nerfed — Screed’s toolkit shrank accordingly. 

Verdict: At 26 points he’s fair, but 24 might make him more attractive.

Admiral Sloane

Still strong, still cheap at 24. But her oppressive heyday is over — counters and limitations abound now. She’s no longer warping the meta, just another solid option. 

Verdict: Leave her be.

Darth Vader (ARC, Commander)

The OG reroll engine. Always thematic, always strong. His new ARC price point feels just right. Expensive, but he makes every die count.

Verdict: Vader is in a better place now.

Emperor Palpatine (ARC, Commander)

Not much has changed — except the “not much” actually matters a lot. Now he interacts better with commander rerolls, TRCs, Thermal Shields, and more. The end result: he’s no longer too situational, but a legitimate competitive choice. 

Verdict: Expect to see more of him.

General Romodi

One of the most straightforward and effective admirals around. His ability rewards good positioning and doesn’t require an über-complex setup. Still excellent, still fairly priced at 25.

Verdict: Leave him alone.

General Tagge

The runt of the litter. The “two non-consecutive rounds” clause is clunky and restrictive. Remove it, and he’d be too powerful. Leave it, and he’s binder fodder. Tagge needs a total rework — maybe something Palpatine-like, or maybe an entirely new mechanic. As is, he ain’t it.

Verdict: Rework or send him to work in the spice mines of Kessel.

Grand Admiral Thrawn

Still good. Still expensive. He’s fallen out of favor not because he’s weak, but because the Empire is spoiled for choice. Extra dials are immensely valuable, and his ability rewards players who can control the tempo of their fleet and build around Thrawn's ability to "double your efforts".

Verdict: Could test him at 30 points to see if he resurfaces more often, but he doesn’t feel broken at 32.

Grand Moff Tarkin

At 28 he’s… fine. The problem is that command tokens are easier to come by now, which makes him feel underwhelming. And in 400-point games you rarely have enough combat ships to fully exploit his effect. 

Verdict: Could drop a couple of points to encourage experimentation.

Moff Jerjerrod

The best bargain in the Imperial lineup. For 23 points you can bend your ships into firing position or safety, at the cost of a single shield. The value is insane. 

Verdict: Making him 25 wouldn’t be unreasonable, but he’s fine where he is too.

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Final Verdict – Imperial Commanders

Imperial commanders are consistently strong and diverse. You’ve got cheap utility (Ozzel, Jerjerrod), reliable durability (Motti), positional mastery (Romodi), dice control (Screed, Vader), and even meta disruptors (Sloane, Palpatine). The only real failure is Tagge.

If anything, the Empire is spoiled. Their commanders set the gold standard for Armada — not because they’re overtuned, but because nearly all of them are viable. Compare that to Rebel, GAR, or CIS lineups, and you see how healthy the Imperial roster looks overall.

Next Up: Rebel Commanders.