"These aren't the droids you're looking for"

    As this year winds down, we were happy to see that there was nothing that needed our immediate attention in the ARC-01 release. However, we did see a few areas in the game where there was little variety, and aimed our scrutiny there instead. We kept two criteria in mind, one being ease of implementation (so no complex reworks), and the other being not to harm existing archetypes as we get into the competitive season (so no nerfs). We started by looking across all four factions, but eventually limited our focus to GAR and CIS.

Kraken ARC02

    Starting with CIS, we identified one admiral, one ship, and one squadron that could use some help. Starting with the admirals, Mar Tuuk has been a consistently popular staple, with Trench, TF-1726, and Grievous making regular appearances. That leaves Dooku, who has not seen much use despite a recent buff by AMG, and Kraken. Kraken's ability is consistent and useful, but comes with some restrictions that tend to make him feel a little underwhelming, especially as the second most expensive admiral on the CIS roster. Reducing his cost to 24 will make him compare more favorably in the spread of available admirals, and give his lists a little extra room.

Muni Comms ARC02

Note: This Munificent-class Comms Frigate is not unique; this is a graphical error.

    For ships, the Munificent-class Comms Frigate has not seen much use, even before the arrival of the Command Frigate in ARC-01. Most of this comes down to its durability, as the Star Frigate can reliably handle a lot more punishment for a mere 3 point increase on the base chassis. This difference matters as the Munificent-class can be a rather expensive medium base ship that has neither speed nor a redundant defense token suite to keep it alive. As we did not want to modify any base stats on the Comms Frigate, we instead dropped its base cost to 65 to define its role as a more budget conscious, and disposable medium base.

Belbullab ARC02

    The CIS squadron we decided to take a look at is the generic Belbullab-22 Starfighter. While it has a good anti-squad armament, utility from Relay, and a useful (if inconsistent) defensive ability, it is almost never seen on the table. Reducing its cost to 14 will make it easier to fit into a list, but it may require more help down the road.

Plo Koon Squad ARC02

Luminara Squad ARC02

Delta 7 ARC02

    As for GAR, a variety of fleet options have opened up after they received some price reductions to Chargers and Acclamators in the final AMG update. The same cannot be said for their squadron compositions which have not varied much over the years. The only lasting shake up has come from Rapid Reinforcements, making Deltakin a staple of almost every GAR squadron wing, a title briefly shared by Matchstick before his adjustment. Aside from Anakin (Aethersprite Squadron), you sometimes see Kit Fisto or Ahsoka Tano in a Delta-7 Aethersprite, but the generic variant, along with Plo Koon (Squadron) and Luminara (Squadron), are a very rare sight. Dropping Plo (Squadron) to 21 points, and Luminara (Squadron) to 20 points means they will not be directly competing with Anakin (Aethersprite Squadron) in the same price bracket. Reducing generic Delta-7s to 15 points will also make it easier to fit in these specialized squadrons, and may open up some new squadron setups.