The Upgrade Files: Case 21 – Commanders (GAR & CIS)

 

We’ve reached the end of the upgrade cards! Fittingly, we close out with the Clone Wars commanders. 

The GAR lineup is a mixed bag: one or two excellent admirals, one absolute dud, and several “almost there” designs that feel like they’d shine if only the faction itself had more tools to work with.

CIS, on the other hand, has a much healthier spread — no total flops, plenty of interesting choices, though some are clearly stronger than others.

Let’s dig in.

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GAR Commanders

Admiral Tarkin

Another token-spammer. At 30 points. I’ll pass, thanks. It’s not that you can’t make him work, but why would you spend 30 points to spam tokens? Boring! At 26, he'd be just as dull, but cheaper.

Verdict: Drop to 26.

Admiral Yularen

Push even more squadrons? Yes please. Five with a Pelta, eight with a Venator-II, and he even helps patch up key aces. Cheap enough to be a genuinely good squadron admiral. 

Verdict: Solid as is, 24 is the same as Sloane.

Anakin Skywalker (Commander)

Love him or hate him, he’s undeniably effective. Extra rerolls are gold for GAR, and his ability makes even cheap Consulars with ExRacks scary. More balanced than Salvokin (seriously, AMG, what were you thinking?).

Verdict: At 27 points, he’s pricey but fair. 

Bail Organa

Deceptively simple, deceptively strong. Armada games often hinge on a few key turns, and Bail lets you dictate exactly when you overperform. Always a good pick. 

Verdict: At 26, he’d be an even better value, but not a big deal; he's fine either way.

Luminara Unduli

Defensive powerhouse — and that’s the problem. She completely warps the GAR defensive design space, ruling out things like double redirect (because of EST) and making double evade problematic, while enabling tanky, semi-toxic builds. As a commander, she’s great. For the game? Not so much. ARC should think hard about her. 

Verdict: Arguably undercosted at 25, but if the other admirals get adjusted as suggested, she's fine.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Sorry, Obi, but you’re the worst commander in the Clone Wars set. Even with EST support, his damage mitigation is just too weak to matter compared to what Luminara offers. Why take him when you could just… take Luminara and save more damage in practice?

Verdict: Bring it down to 20, but it really needs a full redesign.

Plo Koon

Almost good. Extra accuracies are nice, and his Adept boost has some value, but you can’t really fit enough Adepts and enough bombers into 134 to make him shine. Worse than Yularen, better than Obi, but still in the “binder more than table” camp.

Verdict: Drop his cost to 24, same as Yularen, and he might see more play.

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CIS Commanders

Admiral Trench

Your friendly galactic neighborhood Spider-Admiral is essentially the love child of Thrawn and Leia. Dial + token flexibility is fantastic, especially in squadron-heavy builds. Works best in 134 Hyena fleets backed by Invincible, but I'm sure he'd have other applications if ARC or Legacy expands the CW factions. Costs 32 — maybe a touch high, 30 feels cleaner — but a solid, thematic commander.

Verdict: Make Spider-Admiral 30 and call it a day.

Count Dooku

Fleetwide raid. Mid-tier at best. Without ways to leverage raid beyond its base effect, he’s never going to shine. Fun? Yes. Amazing? No. 

Verdict: Drop him to 22 (same as ARC Draven) and he’d at least sit in the right ballpark.

General Grievous

Endless Thermals or EST redirects? Yes please. If opponents ignore your generics, Hyenas clean house. If they don’t, you recycle tokens and grind them down. Not my style, but he’s cheap, fun, and viable. 

Verdict: No complaints.

Kraken

Always interesting, never dull. Crits and accuracies on demand make him dangerous, and he’s flexible enough to fit many fleets. The new Quarren Prototype looks especially tasty with him. 

Verdict: Leave as is.

Mar Tuuk

The default CIS admiral for good reason. Always useful, with minimal downsides. Closest parallel is Ackbar — except Tuuk is cheaper, more flexible, and frankly better value. 

Verdict: He’s probably worth closer to 30, but he's fine at 28 too.

TF-1726

Potentially more dangerous than Tuuk, but it requires a significant investment in droid platforms and setup. The “Super Droid Tax” is real. New slicer wording and the Command Munificent help, but he’s still fiddly. 

Verdict: 26 points feels slightly high given how much tech he needs to get rolling, but anything less than 25 sounds too cheap, so probably not worth tweaking.

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Final Verdict

GAR commanders feel uneven, with Obi outright bad, and Luminara isn't OP as much as she takes away from the game's design space. The rest live somewhere between “fine” and “almost there,” but the real issue might be GAR itself: without more tools in the faction’s design space, even decent commanders feel like they’re missing something.

CIS are healthier overall: every commander is playable, some excellent, some niche, none unviable. Mar Tuuk is arguably too efficient, and Dooku is weak, but the spread feels much less lopsided than GAR.

Next Up: Squadrons! We've covered every single upgrade card, and now it's time to look at snubfighters, bombers, and some iconic light freighters with nonstandard armaments.

The Upgrade Files: Case 18 – Officers (GAR & CIS)

Clone Wars officers highlight the double-edged nature of upgrade design. On one hand, many of them shore up the defensive gaps and command-token weaknesses of their factions. On the other hand, this makes them “patch cards”: your fleets lean heavily on a handful of officers to cover systemic flaws, which leads to key-piece stacking.

It’s also a pricing issue. Why would you ever run Veteran Captain at 2 points when CIS has Tikkes at 2? Why pay 7 for Raymus when you can take Rune Haako for 4 and get a better effect? Clone Wars officers are mostly excellent value, but the imbalance compared to older designs is glaring. Let’s dig in.

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GAR Officers

Adi Gallia

A defensive gem. Effectively grants some extra Redirect mileage on anything that isn’t Tranquility. At 3 points she’s a steal — not as universally strong as Barriss, but still excellent. Her only drawback is eating up your officer slot.

Verdict: Keep as is.

Ahsoka Tano (GAR Officer)

Unlike her Rebel counterpart, this Ahsoka gives your non-unique squadrons Snipe. Sounds amazing — Torrent Snipe 4 with Swarm is very solid. The problem is platforms. She really belongs on an Acclamator-I, which isn’t a top-tier carrier. Venators want other officers, Peltas want Flight Controllers. Great card, limited by circumstance.

Verdict: Keep as is — too bad she lacks the perfect platform...

Barriss Offee

A strong defensive officer, but awkward to place in your fleet. Where does she go? Not on Tranquility. On Venators without Tranquility? I don't often run two Venators, though. She feels too expensive on smaller ships, plus they lack the staying power to make full use of her. Not bad, just situational.

Verdict: Keep as is, maybe try 5 points just to bring her usage up? 

Clone Captain Silver

The “Zak of speed control.” Lets you manipulate movement unpredictably, which is fantastic in theory. The catch: GAR is already terrible at navigation, so you really should be Nav-ing. 

Verdict: Fun card, 4 points is fair.

Clone Captain Zak

An absolute beast. At minimum, you’re buying 2 extra dice on key attacks for 5 points. On flankers like GARquitens or Consular Chargers, he’s incredible, but even larger ships love him. 

Verdict: A clear highlight of the GAR roster.

Clone Commander Wolffe

Errata improved him slightly, but assault commands remain niche. Six points, an officer slot, and a refresh cost? 

Verdict: Not worth it. Binder fodder.

Clone Navigation Officer

A very good generic support option. Token management is a GAR staple, and you can never have too many command tokens.

Verdict: Keep as is.

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CIS Officers

Asajj Ventress

Fine if you’re running raid-heavy fleets (Dooku, TF-1726, Legacy HMPs), but uninspired otherwise. Would’ve been cooler with an offensive twist. Serviceable, not exciting.

Verdict: Keep as is.

Passel Argente

Play half the game with an extra command dial? Yes please.

Verdict: Keep as is.

Rune Haako

One of the best token officers in the game. Starts with 2 tokens, then pulls from other ships to feed your centerpiece. At 4 points he’s underpriced, but since CIS has no Comms Net flotillas, he’s allowed to break the curve.

Verdict: Keep as is.

San Hill

The new version is excellent — basically the CIS squadron equivalent of Zak. Three points is a steal, but compared to his peers, it’s consistent.

Verdict: Keep as is.

Shu Mai

Another great offensive officer. Requires planning, but rewards you with reliable output. 

Verdict: Could be 5 points, but 4 is fine.

T-Series Tactical Droid

Looks good on paper, but in practice, you’ll struggle to feed him tokens. Eats up an officer slot for little payoff. 

Verdict: Needs a cost reduction.

TI-99

Solid niche tech. Punishes enemies for attacking your fragile droid swarms, making them think twice about picking off Vultures or Hyenas. You can easily argue for him to be a 5-6 point card, but 4 is probably fine.

Verdict: Well worth the points in the right list. 

Tikkes

Two points for free tokens with an easy-to-manage downside. Top-tier efficiency. Realistically worth 3, but like Rune, he’s priced low to compensate for CIS’s token-starved fleet design.

Verdict: Keep as is.

Wat Tambor

At 5 points he was ridiculous. At 9 he’s maybe a bit steep — same price as Brunson — but better too expensive than too cheap. Still very usable, just not automatic anymore.

Verdict: Keep as is or make him 8.

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Final Verdict – GAR & CIS Officers

Clone Wars officers are generally excellent, and often too excellent compared to older designs. GAR gets strong defensive and utility tools, but many are chained to underperforming platforms (Ahsoka on Acclamators, Barriss on non-Tranquility Vens). CIS, meanwhile, is swimming in token economy and support tech (Rune, Tikkes, Passel) that make older factions’ officers look laughable.

The downside? Heavy reliance on a small pool of “must-have” officers, leading to key-piece fleets where your flagship becomes a Christmas tree of upgrades. And newer ARC ships without flotillas still strain that economy further.

Overall: GAR and CIS officers are strong, sometimes underpriced, but locked into faction design quirks that make them less flexible than Rebel or Imperial counterparts.

Next Up: Commanders (Admirals), starting with Empire.

The Upgrade Files: Case 14 – Titles (GAR & CIS)

 

Clone Wars factions came into Armada later, so their title suites are smaller. That has pros and cons. The upside: most of the GAR and CIS titles are actually well-designed and competitively viable. The downside: there simply aren’t enough of them, so variety suffers. Unlike the Rebels and Empire — where you’ve got piles of binder-fodder and the occasional gem — GAR/CIS titles tend to be “good, better, or auto-include.”

Still, even here, some titles crowd out the rest, some chassis lean too heavily on their titles to function, and some cards were clearly undervalued. Let’s go through them.

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Galactic Republic

Acclamator

Implacable

A genuinely great card. Damage spreading is powerful, and when combined with Projection Experts (for ships) or Admiral Yularen (for squads), it gets downright nasty. This title is so good that you can justify bringing an Acclamator just for it (usually with Thermals). Costed fairly, well-designed, and thematic. 

Verdict: Keep as is.

Nevoota Bee

On paper, handing Swarm to Y-wings, ARCs, or even Deltas is very strong. In practice, you’re stapling this to an Acclamator I — which isn’t exactly competitive. That drags the title down. Fine card, weak(ish) chassis.

Verdict: If Implacable is 4, this should maybe not be 5. You're taking the Clam-I and the squads, so you've already paid a premium.

Consular

Radiant VII

A cheap little support title. Lets you hand out tokens, makes for a surprisingly quick slicer — or lifeboat. It’s good in the support role, but often overshadowed by Peltas (slower but more versatile). Still, for 1 points, it’s a solid pick.

Verdict: Keep as it.

Swift Return

Underrated. Free yaw/speed fiddling without a nav dial is really nice. Back in the CW Core Set days, this saw more use; now it’s almost forgotten. 

Verdict: Three points is fine, two would make it a genuine bargain.

Pelta

FB-88

Infinite Skilled First Officers baked into a title. That’s very handy. Probably best on the Medical Pelta, which is already the more expensive variant, so reducing it to 3 might be an option?

Verdict: Fine as is, though 3 would also be OK.

TB-73

A free evade token for 5 points? Yes, please. Great survivability boost, and fairly costed even on a cheap hull.

Verdict: Keep as it. Or, if Foreman's becomes 4, maybe make this 4 also.

Venator

Resolute

Four command tokens for four points if you plan carefully. Flexible, useful, especially in a token-hungry faction like GAR. The only problem is competition: Tranquility exists, and it usually wins.

Verdict: Keep as it or reduce to 3 to make it more Tranqpetitive.

Tranquility

Basically, mini-Advanced Projectors with free redirects that ignore accuracy, Intel Officer, XI7… you name it. It’s strongest against lots of small attacks, but let’s be honest: any Venator that leaves the board with shields intact has already done its job. Even at 7 points it’s absurd value, and it’s become the default Venator title. Like Demo on a Gladiator or Foresight on an MC30, it’s practically stapled.

Verdict: Still insanely good for 7 points. HOWEVER, increasing it further would necessitate a similar reduction in price on the Venator chassis, or you take away a key tool from GAR. Maybe make this 9 and reduce all Venators by a few points?

Triumphant

A neat title, especially for 134-point GAR squad builds. The cost (5) is fair, but again, the problem is Tranquility at 7. Weirdly worded to block interactions with scout/objectives, future poorfing, I guess.

Verdict: Keep as it or reduce to 4 to make it more Tranqpetitive.

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Confederacy of Independent Systems

Hardcell

Beast of Burden

Fantastic support title. Six points is well worth it… if you actually bring a Hardcell (sadly too rare these days).

Verdict: Fine (but I'm a proponent of further reducing the HC cost).

Foreman’s Labor

Another strong title, leaning defensive. Ironically best on the Transport with Aux Shields, but still decent on the Battle Refit. At 5 points it’s fine, but it looks weak compared to Beast of Burden.

Verdict: Five points si fine, 4 would also be OK.

Munificent

Sa Nalaor

The defensive title that basically staples itself to any tanky Muni build. Thermals + PDIC + Sa Nalaor makes for a nightmare to chew through. Five points is a steal compared to what it adds. My only gripe is that Munis aren’t more common, because this is one of my favorite ships in the game.

Verdict: Keep as is.

Tide of Progress XII

Not bad, just overshadowed. Two points is cheap, but Sa Nalaor exists, so this usually sits in the binder.

Verdict: Keep as is (but reduce the cost of the Cooms Munificent so we see more Munis on table).

Providence

Invincible

A defensive retrofit for 5 points, no variant restriction? That’s nuts, especially on the Carrier. This one crowds out every other Providence title. The only fix would be raising its cost — but that would require adjusting Providence chassis costs to compensate, which is a can of worms.

Verdict: I'm hesitant to touch it, but let's make it 7 and reduce the Dreadnought by another 2 points to compensate.

Invisible Hand

Basically, Rapid Launch Bays on steroids. After its buff (more flexible squad placement), it’s a decent card at 8 points. But it’s still niche, and Invincible overshadows it. If only Hyenas had Swarm... just kidding!

Verdict: Reduce to 6 as an experiment to see if that, along with a more expensive Invincible, changes things. I mean, 5 Vultures with AI 2... what could possibly go wrong!?

Lucid Voice

A fine card, but priced awkwardly. At 6 points it loses hard to Invincible at 5. Works best on the Dreadnaught variant with twin turbos and Local Fire Control — but that chassis lacks a Defensive slot, so you’re still better off with Invincible on the Carrier. Only really worthwhile in big Sector Fleet games with multiple Providences.

Verdict: Keep at 6 (but bump Invincible to 7 and take down the Dreadnought cost).

Recusant

Gilded Aegis

On paper, strong. Extra shields make a fragile hull tankier. Works best with Grievous, but it’s not bad anywhere. The problem is Patriot Fist — at 6 points it’s too good, and this gets left behind.

Verdict: Leave as is — PF is the problem here.

Nova Defiant

A fun card. Extra tokens are always welcome, and command 4 isn’t a huge drawback. Works especially well with Tikkes for “all the tokens” (and Command 4 can kind of become an advantage). There is some Trench synergy. Good design, fair cost.

Verdict: Leave as is — PF is the problem here.

Patriot Fist

The problem child. Two blue dice at long range for 6 points, from any arc, and you don’t even have to use it if you want your double-tap. This is devastatingly good on approach and equally extremely useful late game. Frankly, 6 is way too cheap. Should be at least 8, maybe 10.

Verdict: Make it 8. Or make it 10 but shave 2 points of the Support and 1 of the Light.

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Final Verdict – GAR & CIS Titles

Clone Wars titles are refreshingly consistent: most are good, some are great, and there’s very little outright trash. The problem is variety. GAR in particular has too few titles overall, and several hulls (Venator, Providence, Recusant) have one “staple” title that drowns out the others.

• GAR has quality but not quantity. Their titles are strong, but too many fleets end up defaulting to Tranquility or Implacable.

• CIS has variety but poor balance. Invincible and Patriot Fist are so undercosted that they dominate, leaving Lucid Voice, Gilded Aegis, and others sidelined.

There’s also a looming issue with the newer ARC ships. The Quarren Prototype and GAR Arquitens currently have no titles at all, which means one of two things: either they were deliberately underpowered (because titles are such a big part of ship identity), or they’re already strong enough that giving them titles later will create balance headaches. The same applies to the GAR Victory-class Star Destroyer and the CIS Gozanti. ARC or Legacy should definitely step in here and produce titles for these ships, otherwise they’ll always feel half-finished.

The takeaway? Both factions need more titles to deepen variety, and a few cost tweaks to level the internal playing field. The base designs are sound — FFG actually did a good job here — but the Clone Wars factions still feel “unfinished” in this department.

Next Up: Officers.