Third Annual Shatterpoint Check-In (Community Tier List 2025)

Every year, the tier list article is something I look forward to writing. This year I get to investigate the aftermath of the game’s first major balance pass and how the rankings of those units were affected. As always, I would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who took the time to rank each unit in my survey. That’s no small task since there a whopping 133 units released!

Now, before you start scrolling past all the text to look at the pictures, let’s take a moment to set expectations. These rankings are by no means a definitive list of “these are the best and worst units,” but merely an aggregation of many opinions to give insight into the general perception. With this data, I am hoping to dive into some of the following questions:

• Where is there agreement?
• Where is there disagreement?
• What rankings have changed since last year?
• How effective was the May balance pass?
• What types of units are highly valued?
• What are the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the various “factions” in Shatterpoint?

It is also important to remember that this is merely a slice of all Shatterpoint players. However, it is a relatively large sample with diversity in both experience and competitiveness, so I hope it will be a fairly representative sample.

Methodology

The quick summary is that respondents were asked to rank each unit in the game on a scale of S (the best) to D (the worst). The criteria for each tier were intentionally left up to the individual respondents. Each letter was assigned a number value (5 for S down to 1 for D) and the average ranking was calculated for each unit. Units were then sorted by average ranking and a final tier was assigned. Within a tier, units displayed on the left had a higher average ranking than units on the right. If the tier stretches to two lines, the top line had a higher average ranking than the bottom line.

The overall distribution of votes is about what I would expect – a peak in B-tier with a gradual decrease as you go higher or lower than that. There is a slight positive skew with more A votes than C, though there are also slightly more D votes than S.

If you want even more details on methodology, check Appendix A from last year’s article. It’s the same this year so no use copy and pasting. With all of that out of the way, let’s dive into the rankings!

Supports

There aren’t many surprises at the top of the support heap. Baze & Chirrut and Sev & Scorch are both widely regarded as fantastic supports that are a bit too good (or more than a bit). On one hand I happy to see 5pc units actually being worth the cost, but I do agree things have overcorrected a bit. I am a bit surprised to see Rebel Commandos jump to S after being a solid A-tier unit one year ago. Cynically, I think they are getting undue credit for Cassian being a beast. However, one could also say Infiltration continues to increase in value (and the other Infiltration unit got nerfed) and the major commando weakness, being incredibly flimsy, is offset by the rebellion’s strong revenge game. Regardless, Rebel Commandos are certainly a big part of the meta right now. 

On the flip side, I don’t think anyone will be surprised to see Del and Snowtroopers in the D-tier. Neither do much on the table or much have reason to be taken. In a world without Stormtrooper Sergeant then maybe Snowtroopers would be used for a 3pc stormtrooper tag, but that would mainly just make stromtrooper lists feel worse.

The support category also features quite a bit of disagreement. Both Weequay Pirates and Aqua Droids received multiple votes in S and D. MagnaGuards and Ewok Hunters also received 10+ votes in each of the B-, C-, and D-tiers. Other than the top 2 units, the most agreement was around Clan Kryze being B-tier. 

On a personal note, I am happy to see ISB in the B-tier. They seem to have some vocal naysayers but overall I think they’re a very solid 3pc unit and B reflects that well. I also noticed 501st in A and Fil’s Clones in C. While not surprising, I do think that points to a general preference for damage and wounding stuff (the release of Ki-Adi-Mundi also helps this playstyle, and 501st fit well with him and Shaak Ti).

Secondaries

Oh wow, no S-tier? Well, a small peek behind the curtain here: Fixer was a close call. Just over half his votes were for S, but some B and C votes brought his average down enough that A seemed like the right call. His average was closer to A than S and almost identical to Rex, who was clearly A. Ultimately, I think it’s fitting that those two sit next to each other at the top of A. I’d say Fixer has higher highs, but Rex is more generally useful/versatile and thus the two deserve to be ranked similarly. 

Of the units ranked in 2024, Paploo had the unfortunate designation of being the “worst” unit that did not get buffed in the May update. Unsurprisingly he ends up in the D-tier. He’s joined by Firebrand and the Snowtrooper Lieutenant, two units that certainly rival Paploo for uselessness. I don’t have much to say here, other than there is a trend of D-tier Empire units that will be discussed later.

When it comes to disagreement, Kalani is king of the secondaries. He received four S votes and three D, and everything in between! It makes sense, too: extra dice are great, being a slow 5pc is not great. Depending what meta one is playing in, both in terms of units and missions, Kalani could feel quite different. C-3PO & R2-D2 also earn a mention here for garnering multiple votes in both the S- and D-tiers. On the other side, Sabine is the epitome of a B-tier unit for the second year in a row! I find this interesting because, while being a very solid unit, she is also a bit of a special case. The tag synergies for her ability suite restrict her list building, but when in the right environment she brings a lot of punch and some movement abilities that rebels love. 

Primaries

It was almost unanimous; Cassian is S-tier! There is a lot of discussion around Cassian and everyone has their own idea of how to “fix” him. Personally, I think strong revenge is important for the health of the game, so I don’t mind that part of his kit. However, revenge lists that strongly punish aggro while being incredibly aggro themselves is not a good thing. Thanks to mass damage at the end of struggles and extra Shatterpoint dice for the two best rebel supports, Cassian lists put out a lot of damage. I do think part of the problem is Baze & Chirrut comboing perfectly with Cassian and, when combined, both are elevated to crazy levels. Apart they are still both very strong units, though. Boss also appears in the S-tier and, in my opinion, is boosted a bit by a very strong box. Not to say he isn’t deserving, but more discussion on that in a future section. 

Bringing up the rear, we’ve got Crosshair and Veers in the D-tier. Two more empire units, but I don’t think this is necessarily an empire problem. I think this is more of a “two boxes were really bad” problem. Every single unit from the Maximum Firepower box was voted as D-tier, while 2/3 units from Good Soldiers Follow Orders ended up there. November 2024 was a rough time for imperial releases.

Two primaries received multiple votes for both S and D: Luminara and Dooku. However, it was Kit Fisto that had the highest variation in responses. Kit and Asajj both had 10+ votes in B, C, and D, plus six A votes each (and even an S for Kit). Apart from Cassian, The Mandalorian was the primary with the most consensus. Since his release I’d say he’s always been a very solid, but not overpowered unit, fitting of the the A ranking. 

Comparison with 2024

As mentioned already, May 2025 brought the game’s first big balance pass. As such, I will split my comparisons into two different categories: units that were touched in the change and units that were not. I think starting with the changed units is more fun, so let’s do that!

Units from the balance pass

In case splitting things up once wasn’t enough, I have good news for you: we’ll do it again. In my recap article, I split the units into “buffed” and “nerfed” and we’ll examine each separately.

Buffed

A bunch of units were buffed in May 2025, which I love. With balance passes I am a big fan of lots of buffs paired with a few targeted nerfs, which the balance pass largely achieved. In the graphic above, the units are arranged from left to right (and top to bottom) in order of the biggest to smallest changes in the voting average. 

The big risers are the 501st and Third Sister, jumping to A all the way from D. It is worth noting that their respective averages only increased by about two tiers on average; they both went from the top of D to the bottom of A, but of course that’s still impressive! All of the buffed D-tier units were able to climb into at least C, which is definitely a win. Units that earned a B ranking before the buffs did not rise any higher, and no units were buffed into the S-tier. All in all, it seems like the buffs were generally effective without being overcorrections. 

One standout in the negative sense is Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight. Despite getting a clear buff (his identity becoming a bubble instead of just for him) he dropped down from B in 2024 to C in 2025. Sometimes units rise or fall because of the units around them, but I’m not sure that accounts much for Luke’s drop; the situation around him got better. Rebels got a useful new 3pc he can take (Bodhi), more units that love his pin immunity (Jyn especially), and he plays fine with Cassian. Ultimately, I think Luke was simply overrated in 2024 and the buffs were not enough to stop people from eventually realizing how mid he is. 

Nerfed

Similar to the buffs, the nerfs appear to mostly have been effective without going overboard. Most nerfed units dropped at least one tier, and the former S-tier units did not go below a B. I think the new ratings for Hask, Jango, and Dark Troopers are all appropriate. Despite not being the monsters they were before, each is still a perfectly solid unit in their own right.

One case that may have gone too far is MagnaGuards. They dropped two tiers, all the way to C from A. In 2024 they had double-digit S-tier votes whereas in 2025 it was double-digit D-tier votes. I do think the expertise nerf was a bit too far (crit + hit on two expertise instead of 3 seems more reasonable) but going down to 9 health was probably justified compared with other supports. However, I do recognize that many people play with very little ingress. With boards featuring a lot of verticality and not much ingress, Magnas have always had issues. For players used to those situations, Magnas may have gone from “high risk, high reward” to “not worth it” after the nerfs. I also think the introduction of Riff hurt Magnas since ranged units trigger his follow-up attack more reliably.

One final unit to mention is a fun case: Vader’s average did not change at all. Well, at least to two decimal places, because that’s what I track. He did get a couple more C votes in 2025 (in 2024 I was all alone) but he also still received a number of S votes. Once again, people love stuff that wounds! Before the nerf I think he was already mainly being used mainly in empire or republic lists anyway, so the changes to his identity didn’t actually change much in practice.

Units not in the balance pass

Despite not receiving any direct buff or nerf, many units changed a tier or two compared to last year (mostly down). I won’t show all forty, but here below is a sample of some I found interesting.

Starting with the risers, I would say there are pretty clear environmental factors for both: Snips works very well with Ki-Adi, a republic favourite, and Rebel Commandos are awesome with Cassian, a meta staple. Both of these units have always been good and some new dance partners have allowed them to show off their moves better than ever. 

On the flip side, someone like Paz may have dropped as people learn to play around his powerful reactive attacks, or just play with him enough to get burned (I always say he’s a unit that wins games and loses games). Echo & Tech have less reason to be taken after a bunch of republic supports received buffs, while Lando isn’t as useful as the rebel and imperial factions get even more fleshed out (and he lost his favourite trick: Coordinated Fire: Expose on Elite Squad). Despite only dropping one tier, Mother Talzin’s average dropped the most of any non-nerfed unit. She was an exquisite revenge trigger when she released, but now there are other powerful options that are much more flexible when it comes to list building.

Funnily enough, Crosshair, Snowtroopers, Firebrand, and Veers were all empire units that released late in 2024, debuted in B-tier, and dropped to D tier in 2025. While there may be many factors, I think the main one here is just that these units were always pretty bad and it just took some time to appreciate that. I am not trying to get too preachy here, but I do notice a general trend when new stuff is announced/released where the vibes are all “this is the new best thing ever!” To be clear: excite is great and I don’t want to be a downer. However, generally things get overrated early on because we tend to see the positives more easily than the negatives. Mainly this is a reminder that we should also be patient before declaring “X unit is busted!” or anything of that sort. Remember when Anakin/Ki-Adi was supposed to be the new meta monster? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

Finally, I have to slip in a small “I told you so” for Iden. A lot of the talk pre-update was about Iden being too powerful. I was of the opinion that the issue was more about Hask and the whole package, so I tried to catch myself and say “Inferno Squad” instead. Well, her friends got nerfed (especially Hask) and what do ya know? Iden is no longer S-tier. Now, some of that is certainly also the emergence of even stronger revenge, but I don’t think that explains the whole issue, especially since other wound-focused characters didn’t suffer much. Why do I bring this up? Well, there is a character out there right now that has some strong similarities to Iden, and many people are saying he is overpowered. Yes, I am talking about Boss. Like Iden, I think there are some parts of his kit that could be toned down, but he might not be the most at fault compared to the rest of his box. Now, in some sense this doesn’t matter because we aren’t the ones deciding who gets nerfed, but I think it’s handy for the discourse to be precise about things, and maybe we can learn from history with Iden and Inferno Squad. 

Faction Analysis

Finally, let’s quickly take a look at things on a faction basis. Technically there are no factions in Shatterpoint, but you know what I mean so we’ll roll with it. The chart below shows how votes are distributed within each faction.

Clearly republic and rebels have a disproportionate number of S-tier votes, but that’s not really news at this point. One thing that catches my eye is the distribution of empire votes. Sure, they have a lot of D-tier votes thanks to two bad boxes, but in A and B they hold their own quite well. I have generally felt empire’s issue, if you want to call it that, is they have a lot of good stuff but not enough truly great stuff to hang with the cream of the crop. I think if/when the big dogs are reined in a bit then empire will be in a solid spot without needing much for buffs (other than the really bad stuff, of course). Separatists kind of have a similar trend, but I think the issue there is a bit more specific. To discuss that, take a look at the faction breakdown below.

Here we see what I think the main problem with separatists is: the supports are bad. This is not a revolutionary thought, I think that’s the prevailing wisdom, but it is nice when the data so clearly agrees. Supports are the backbone of any Shatterpoint lists, but separatists especially rely on theirs. As such, it isn’t ideal when their supports are mainly getting votes for C and D.

As noted above, empire is quite strong in both the A and B tiers, but lacking in S. I think ideally most factions would look like the Empire distribution, but with more C and less D. Other than a few overperformers, I don’t think the rebel or republic distributions look too bad. If the top is brought down a bit then each faction should be in an OK place (though rebels would appreciate some buffs to a number of their supports). 

Wrap-Up

Well, there you have it! Another year, another community tier list. I always look forward to these and it’s a handy tool to reference when we get things like balance changes. Once again I’d like to extend a big thank you to everyone who took part in the survey, it literally couldn’t have happened without you! At that point it would just be me doing my own tier list, and who would care about that? Well, now that I mention it, I did do some videos this year recording myself putting together my own entry. If you’d like to watch that and see my personal rankings and thoughts, the links are included below. See you next year!

Matt’s tier lists – supports

Matt’s tier lists – secondaries

Matt’s tier lists – primaries