As with the last points change, I have a lot more to say about the points adjustment. In this series of articles I will break down a faction and its associated upgrades to dissect what was accomplished by the June 2019 points update. Should FFG see these articles, I hope that they appreciate them as honest constructive feedback and not some random Internet person nay-saying them. But as a starter blanket opinion, this update feels like we have received a much more balanced game, which is great. In this article, we will look into the antagonists of the Galactic Civil War, the Empire. For reference, our points change evaluation for the January 2019 update can be found here.

The Ships

Like the last article, I will dissect each and every ship chassis and their pilots. I may make some comments about upgrade prices as some of them drastically effect a ship’s usefulness. Each ship will have a verdict applied to it grading the changes or lack of changes.

The Lambda again saw no points change, and it doesn’t need one. I imagine that Jendon is going to go up in price, however, due to how well it can enable some lists, and for that I am sorry. Kagi should probably drop down as his ability isn’t as strong as Sai or Jendon, and his blocking power and likelihood of coordinating goes down at I4. In any case, it’s nice to have a large base ship with most of the pilots viable! Verdict: Doing fine!

The TIE Advanced Prototype saw another point drop on all pilots, which I noted in the last points update was kinda scary for generic Inquisitors. I hope my point has been proven. Force backing up a white evade is just far too good. Bring the generic Inquisitors back up 2 points, as they still aren’t fantastic ships without several upgrades, but force users need a tax. Verdict: Good

The Dark Lord went back up a few points to to 67 points, but no other changes were made to these pilots, and honestly, he’d still be good at his original price of 70 points. Maarek is probably fine, but Ved and Zertik should go down 1 point each as we almost never see them, and the generics could probably go down 1, as well, since we don’t see them either. Verdict: Decent

Only one pilot went up on the TIE: Soontir, as he is the only pilot ever taken. Turr should drop to 41, and the Sabers should drop down to 38ish a piece. I hesitate to recommend cheaper Alphas since it would allow 6 TIE Soontirs on the board, which might be too much. I recommend adding a talent slot to the Alpha instead to give it more potential. Verdict: Poor

The TIE Reaper is still not great. A Lambda shuttle is almost always a better choice than this ship, so no price drops seems like a poor choice. Major Vermeil is the only truly good pilot, and both he and Feroph are significantly weaker with droids and their relays putting greens tokens all over the board. The speed of the ailerons plus the dial makes it too fast, and the red turns almost give it worse time on target than the Lambda. It should get a price drop. Verdict: Meh, give it a one point drop on all of the named pilots to see if it helps.

The TIE Aggressor saw price drops across the board, and… it’s still lackluster, but it is at least in the usable territory. Perhaps, a sensor slot would help? Fire Control System on top of a Veteran Turret Gunner Dorsal Turret for 41 points sounds strong but not overpowered. Verdict: Better, but still needs something

The TIE Punisher came out of the gates too strong at launch, and while the points increases were justified in the last update, they could probably drop by 1 point each. In fact with the increase to Proton Torpedoes, they should drop by 2 points. Verdict: Decent

Point drops again across the board for Defenders is good, and I think we are getting closer and closer to good price points. The Delta Squadron Pilots are solid I1 ships from my personal experience. Perhaps with the 1 point increase to Juke, they could drop the named pilots down another point and see where that lands the ship. Maybe with that, Passive Sensors and Targeting Computer, Vessery will have more synergies to work with. Verdict: Good

Still good. Still decent. I suggest dropping Night Beast, Valen Rudor, and the generics by one, but increasing the price of Howlrunner by 2 points. Verdict: Good.



Thank friggin’ goodness the Phantom went up. With many, many Quad Phantom lists making top cuts at system opens (winning at least 3 to my recollection), it was a clear problem. I credit most of the current diverse meta to this change, because Quad Phantoms (and Rebel Beef) are no longer around, and they were the natural predators of so many decent lists. I honestly think Quad Phantoms with Predator or Crack Shot would still be a solid list to fly, in any case. Echo probably didn’t need to go up, but the 1 point increase wasn’t too harsh, and Whisper is still strong even with the 3 point uptick. Verdict: Good. Great even.

I still have the opinion that the TIE Bombers were increased too much in that last update, and all of the named pilots should drop by 1, particularly Tomax and Deathfire. The increase of Barrage Rockets by 1 would almost justify the 1 point drop, and we have come a long way from Barrage Rocket Bombers. Verdict: Decent but needs re-evaluation

Unlike the TIE Soontir, we do see multiple pilots run for this ship, but much like the TIE Soontir, the generics aren’t great. Drop the Black Squadron Scout by 1 point. As with the Interceptor, dropping the I1 any further seems like it might be a bad idea. People may disagree with me on this, but I think Duchess is at a decent price point and should not change. I think the only reason Duchess is even taken is that he is cheap at I5. Verdict: Poor

The Alpha Class Starwing only saw an increase on on Vynder, likely because of the Hatchetman variants. The rest are at a decent price point, but take skill to play well. Verdict: Decent

Another drop for the Decimator, 4 points this time, has actually put the ship into contention. The addition of another crew is odd, but not unwelcome. Rear Admiral Chiraneau could probably go back up 1 point as he is fairly strong. Verdict: Good

The Upgrades

For this section, I will address each upgrade that made a point change and the upgrades that didn’t see a change that probably should have for this faction.

Imperial crew only got drops in this update. Ciena Ree and Moff Jerjerrod dropping from 10 to 6 and 8 points respectively are helpful moves. Admiral Sloane likely didn’t need to go down the 1 point, but the minor change shouldn’t be too harmful. Krennic went down to 4 and probably can’t go any lower as Targeting Computer is three points anyway. Agent Kallus might be worth taking at 5 points now as well. ISB Slicer might be worth dropping down as Jam is such a rare action. Vader still seems too good at 14 points, so pop him up to 16, probably 17.

No changes needed.

Fifth Brother is fine at his price but could go up a point as force tax, but BT-1 could probably drop a point and no one would notice.

ST-321 and Dauntless both being 4 points are decent. ST-321 is great. Dauntless isn’t a super great title, but making a large base ship unblockable can be worth it.

Well, there is my diagnosis on the Imperial points change. What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree? What do you think still needs addressed to be usable? What do you think needs addressed because it is too strong?

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