In this article I’m going to be looking at Battle Forces and how they are performing in the meta. When AMG announced Battle Forces, they said they were not being built to be competitive: Some would be good and others would be just pure theme based. With the help from Krzysztof Trojanowski aka Derrkater on Discord. I’m going to look into win rates of each faction and the breakdown of why their Battle Forces might be under, or over, achieving.

We last discussed the previous meta here on 5th Trooper by Lucas Ustick. This was over a year ago now and we have so much more data available to us from over 3600+ games! I want to say a big thank you to Derrkater for gathering all this data and the depth he records at to give us the opportunity to start discussing the game at this level.

For reference, this snapshot is looking at the games played between 8th June 2023 and 28th November 2023.

Is the meta healthy?

The game itself is very much alive. It has new releases coming and from what has been discussed we have years of new releases to come from what has currently been developed. I think this can also be seen with the number of tournaments that are on GameUplink. Which currently sits at 237 events with an attendance of more than 20 players! This is just going to continue to grow!

The game is continuing to grow at a fast rate. One of the reasons might be due to the balance of the meta. Faction win rates are sitting close to 50% with all factions within +-5%. which is perfect for a game state and meta. Nothing is worse than having to buy the latest releases to stay competitive due to huge power creep.

FactionWin RateTotal gamesWin Rate (previous season)
Shadow Collective0.547410.53
Empire0.5226540.56
Republic0.5221200.48
Separatists0.4815910.49
Rebel0.4520720.43

When we split into pure factions vs battleforces, we firstly see that pure factions occupy all four bottom spots of the table and three out of four have a negative win rate. Then all battleforces have positive win rate and five of them pass that 55% threshold

When we split lists into Battle Forces and pure factions. The main factions form the bottom four and Shadow Collective sits five spots above the original factions. Naturally, this is raw data and thus should be considered with caveats. An obvious one is that when this data was collected there wasn’t yet much data on the two new Battle Forces (Wookiees and Experimental Droids) that were revealed/released in the fall.

FactionWinRateWinsgames
Wookiee Defenders0.6666672436
Experimental Droids0.635
Imperial Remnant0.596899154258
501st Legion0.574675177308
Blizzard Force0.570825270473
Shadow Collective0.547231336614
Tempest Force0.542125148273
Echo Base Defenders0.524229119227
Bright Tree Village0.521951107205
Separatist Invasion0.5079373263
Republic0.5057697891560
Separatist0.4848716411322
Imperial0.4737468031695
Rebel0.4587368061757

Empire Battle Forces

Blizzard Force

UnitWinrateWinsGamesWinrate WithoutWins WithoutGames Without
Stormtroopers Heavy Response Unit0.583332594440.39391333
Darth Vader Dark Lord of the Sith0.570571903330.565786152
General Veers Master Tactician0.56349711260.5710205359
Stormtroopers0.562518320.5711253443
AT-ST0.5611781390.5722198346
74-Z Speeder Bikes0.56862614590.6428914
E-Web Heavy Blaster Team0.486418370.5772254440
Imperial Officer Ruthless Commander0.4545501100.6021227377
Snowtroopers0.5680267470133

Let’s get the most obvious controversial discussion out of the way first. Blizzard force is high in that list of breakdowns. A lot of this might just be because a lot of the best players were using it for worlds and the lead up to. It could also be that the Battle Force itself is really strong no matter who plays it.

A few brave players have tried not taking HRU’s at all but with the small sample set they only managed to win 13 out of 33 games. There is also interestingly an 11% increase in wins if you take Veers rather than a generic officer.

The win rates of Vader in Blizzard are 57% while in normal empire is 52% so not a big difference between the two lists. Bikes sit at 56% win chance in Blizzard while outside they have a 46% win chance. Now this could be because you can take four bikes in Blizzard force but does one extra unit really give you an extra 10% win chance? Quite possibly, that extra bike increases the chance of drawing one by 33% after all, which is huge in the early game.

If we look at Veers in a normal Empire list, we have a 43% chance of winning vs 56% in Blizzard so by taking the same commander with the same archetype but in a Battle Force gives us an extra 13% chance. Maybe the extra bike does give you 10%? Perhaps the battle cards or HRUs still give most of the swing? Then, if we compare the AT-ST in Blizzard we have a 56% win chance the same as Veers which would make sense since he pairs well with double AT-ST. While in a normal empire list AT-ST’s have a 29% win chance!

Imperial Remnant

UnitWinrateWinsGamesWinrate WithoutWins WithoutGames Without
Shoretroopers0.5992154257001
E-Web Heavy Blaster Team0.666642630.5743112195
Moff Gideon Long Live the Empire0.6302751190.568379139
Scout Troopers0.59761502510.571447
Imperial Dark Troopers0.59901332220.58332136
Imperial Officer Ruthless Commander0.5850861470.612668111
74-Z Speeder Bikes0.5555601080.62595152
Stormtroopers0.59601522550.666623
Imperial Deathtroopers0.59531532570.666623

If we look at the top performing Battle Force, we can see that even units that are performing sub-optimally in the normal Empire lists are over-performing in this Battle Force. Let’s look at the E-Web that normally has a 42% win rate while in Imperial Remnant we have Independent Aim or Dodge and this gives the E-Web a 66% win rate. Now the number of lists that have taken the E-Web in this Battle Force is nearly the same amount of games that have won with an E-Web in normal Empire so is a small sample size.


Let’s look at a slightly bigger sample size in the Battle Force of speeder bikes, which saw a 10% performance increase in Blizzard Force and gets a sizeable increase here as well, despite only being able to carry two of them.

Imperial Remnant can only have a choice of 9 different units when list building but not a single one of them has a lower win percentage then if you took that unit in a normal Empire list. The interesting thing to note is the smallest gain in win percentage is 11% while the greatest is 24%!

Tempest Force

UnitWinrateWinsGamesWinrate WithoutWins WithoutGames Without
Imperial Officer Ruthless Commander0.604129480.5288119225
74-Z Speeder Bikes0.5504601090.536588164
Stormtroopers0.5421148273000
Scout Troopers0.5421148273000
AT-ST0.5281322500.69561623
Major Marquand Tempest Scout 20.52411302480.721825

This is the newest Empire Battle Force and has only two games less than Remnant but still carries a 54% win rate. With even fewer unit options available to them it’s not a surprise to see most units having a similar win rate as the faction. The only exception to this is the Generic Officer who has a 60% win rate vs Major Marquands 52% but he does have five times the amount of games over the Generic Officer.

Republic Battle Forces

501st

UnitWinrateWinsGamesWinrate WithoutWins WithoutGames Without
Anakin Skywalker The Chosen One0.59471602690.43581739
BARC Speeder0.59561372300.51254180
ARC Troopers0.57511763060.512
Phase II Clone Troopers.05746177308000
ARC Troopers Strike Team0.57141362380.58574170
Clone Captain Rex Honorable Soldier0.530335660.5867142242
Clone Commander Trained For Leadership0.5436811490.602497161
AT-RT0.505149970.6046130215
LAAT Patrol Transport0.3333260.5794175302

As with the previous two Battle Forces, if the unit selection options are quite limited then the win rate of units tends to be quite close to the Battle Force as a whole win rate which makes sense. So how can we look at this data to help us with list building or what to expect when we face these forces. It will be the small differences that matter. For instance, If I take Rex as my commander then I only have a 53% win rate vs someone who takes Anakin who has a 59%. While if we look at Rex outside of the Battle Force, he has the lowest win rate overall with 27%!

As far as this Battle Force goes it does not get any extra tokens for free but can take fewer corps and spend more points on the ARC troopers. When we compare the win rates of the full ARC squads in a normal republic list of 51% vs the win rate in the Battle Force of 57% it’s not as big of an increase as one might expect. The same applies to the strike team as well with only a 6% difference in favour of the Battle Force.

501st must take a support option and has a choice between a BARC or AT-RT. In a normal Republic context it’s very rare you would see these across the table in a competitive list. Rightly so with the AT-RT only having a 37% win rate and the BARC having a slightly higher win rate of 46% but this is probably higher due to the Yoda triple BARC that was being used quite successfully earlier in the year.

Both of these units have an increase in win rates in the Battle Force but if I’m list building the stats state that the BARC gives me an extra 19% win rate over taking a AT-RT in my list.

Wookie Defenders

We don’t have much data available for this Battle Force but from the small sample set we can already see that they are very formidable, time will tell if they end up above the curve

Rebel Battle Forces

Echo Base Defenders

UnitWinrateWinsGamesWinrate WithoutWins WithoutGames Without
R2-D2 Hero of a Thousand Devices0.730719260.4975101203
Rebel Officer Resolute Commander0.679236530.477786180
Chewbacca Walking Carpet0.611122360.507798193
1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team0.5465941720.45902861
 T-47 Airspeeder0.5244751430.52174892
Rebel Veterans0.5242119227000
Mark II Medium Blaster Trooper0.5242119227000
Han Solo Unorthodox General0.523811210.5240109208
Leia Organa Fearless and Inventive0.5034741470.55814886
Tauntaun Riders0.4629501080.573674129
Luke Skywalker Hero of the Rebellion0.4221500.553099179

As we move away from the red save armies towards the softer white save Battle Forces maybe we shall see a decline in the performance of the Battle Forces?

Let’s have a look if it’s worth taking Luke in Echo Base since this is a common question asked since most people think that the command cards giving him a refresh ability make it worthwhile. Well with him taken in 50 games for Echo base and 40 games in normal Rebel armies he has a solid 42% win rate in both. Bottom line he is bad no matter what compared to his Jedi knight version with a whopping 45%…oh wait not a much better win rate.


So what commander should you be taking? Rebel Officer in Echo Base has an increase of 22% but does have about 10% of the games played. If we take Leia in Echo Base we have a 50% but Han gives us 52% win rate. The biggest hero of the rebellion is Chewie with 61% win rate in Echo base.
If we look at these characters in just any normal Rebel army Leia has a 40%, Han and Chewie have 36%.

If we look at the corps units and support that you can take in Echo Base you have an increase of 12% for taking veterans and turrets while the T-47 has 9% increase.

Bright Tree Village

UnitWinrateWinsGamesWinrate WithoutWins WithoutGames Without
Ewok Slingers0.54831021860.2631519
Han Solo Unorthodox General0.666634510.474374156
Chewbacca Walking Carpet0.6526400.490971165
Logray Superstitious Shaman0.52601011920.4615613
 C-3P0 Golden God0.5401741370.48523368
Ewok Skirmishers0.5219107205000
Wicket Hero of Bright Tree0.521042000.635
Leia Organa Fearless and Inventive0.4873581190.56974986
Chewbacca Let the Wookiee Win0.4936781580.61702947
Rebel Commandos0.445737830.573770122
Rebel Troopers0.4461581300.64935077

Bright Tree village is one of the newer Battle Forces and is unique in the sense you can’t take many of the units outside of the Battle Force. So, it is hard to compare the win rates between the units taken in the Battle Force and those taken normally. What we can look at though is over the 82 games of data the faction as a whole has a 51% win rate which is nice and balanced right? Well, mostly right (probably) but the rebel faction itself only has a 46% win rate.

Separatists

Invasion Force

UnitWinrateWinsGamesWinrate WithoutWins WithoutGames Without
STAP Riders1220.49183061
Maul Impatient Apprentice0.6666460.49122857
Droidekas0.5714470.52856
T-Series Tactical Droid Programmed For Strategy0.508729570.536
AAT Trade Federation Battle Tank0.50793263000
B1 Battle Droids0.50793263000
Count Dooku Darth Tyranus0.5360.50872957
IG-100 MagnaGuard0.448213290.55881934
B2 Super Battle Droids0.3333130.51663160

This is the first Battle Force where some units being taken in the Battle Force are worse than if you take them in the normal Separatists army. Magnaguards sit with a 44% win rate while normally they have a 49% win rate. Does this mean Invasion Force is bad?

No, the overall win rate for this Battle Force is still 50% which is still higher than the normal faction win rate of 48%. Now the Battle Force only has a total of 46 games recorded compared to 605 so it is worth taking that into consideration that maybe with more data this would be lower than the faction itself.
Overall, Invasion Force is the worst of all the Battle Forces to date but still sits higher than all of the pure faction win rates.

Experimental Droids

In the current Data set we again don’t have much data available for this Battle Force to be able to discuss them in depth but just like the Wookies it will be worth keeping an eye on the Battle Force to see how it performs at the next couple of up coming events to see if it follows the current tradition of being strong on release.

Shadow Collective

UnitWinrateWinsGamesWinrate WithoutWins WithoutGames Without
Maul A Rival0.57201312290.5311213401
Pyke Syndicate Capo1.56341823230.5271165313
Black Sun Enforcers0.55502274090.5283121229
Bossk Trandoshan Terror0.5606971730.5401249461
A-A5 Speeder Truck0.53051653110.5589185331
Pyke Syndicate Foot Soldiers0.53602534720.573194164
Black Sun Vigo0.492734690.5535305551
Swoop Bike Riders0.5801600.5622262466
Cad Bane Needs No Introduction0.4918601220.5592283506
Gar Saxon Militant Commando0.48531162390.5814232399
Mandalorian Super Commandos0.47571473090.6123199325

The shadow collective are the odd ones out here in the data set since it is not a proper faction, but rather a pure Battle Force. If we compare our win rates as a pure faction vs the other pure factions, Shadow Collective are the top dog with 52% win rate. Compared to other Battle Forces, however, it sits right in the middle.

What does this all mean?

Do I think the game is balanced?? Before I looked at this data I would have said yes without a doubt, everyone can put any unit on the table and has a chance of doing well if you have the experience. Do some units give you a stronger chance? Yes of course but there are definitely some units that were not on my radar before looking at this data.

I love the fact that some units that have low win rates in the pure faction and have a high win rate in the Battle Forces. It’s a very clever design space for bringing units that are normally seen back to the table without having to change the unit’s profile.

The most important thing to take from this article is that Battle Forces are here to stay, and AMG is going to continue releasing them. I have no issue with this I love how thematic they are but the fact remains: they stated some of them are just going to be following a theme and don’t expect them to be competitive….but every single Battle Force has over a 50% win rate and have a higher win rate then the pure faction it is related to.

Naturally, multiple factors such as player experience level with certain units as well as a variety of other items play a part in which lists are successful repeatedly. If you want help in optimizing your lists, then consider looking at this data and drop them low percentage win rate units and start using and spamming the high rate units to help.

Faction Stat Dump

Separatist

UnitWinrateWinsGamesWinrate WithoutWins WithoutGames Without
Pyke Syndicate Capo0.625580.48256101264
Black Sun Enforcers0.8557821400.47155471160
T-Series Tactical Droid Programmed For Strategy0.52973296210.4442315709
Cad Bane Needs No Introduction0.52362554870.4623399863
Super Tactical Droid0.5359971810.47545321119
IG-100 MagnaGuard0.49354198490.4677225481
Bossk Trandoshan Terror0.48231232550.48455181069
NR-N99 Persuader-class Tank Droid0.478233690.48385851209
BX-Series Droid Commandos Strike Team0.4693921960.48655441118
Asajj Ventress Separatist Assassin0.47161753710.4892478977
DRK-1 Sith Probe Droids0.4672571220.48545681170
General Grievous Sinister Cyborg0.46731292760.48875191062
STAP Riders0.45631400.48785611150
Pyke Syndicate Foot Soldiers0.428512280.48476041246
Super Tactical Droid Kalani0.43561323030.49855031009
Super Tactical Droid Kraken0.402729720.48845901208
B2 Super Battle Droids0.41521202890.50335311055
Maul Impatient Apprentice0.4067721770.49595551119
Count Dooku Darth Tyranus0.3896601540.49655701148
BX-Series Droid Commandos0.373634910.49205881195
DSD1 Dwarf Spider Droid0.3766872310.50695461077
Droidekas0.3609481330.49785751155
Battle Droids0.475958312250.63933961
AAT Trade Federation Battle Tank0.3410742170.51235601093

Republic

UnitWinrateWinsGamesWinrate WithoutWins WithoutGames Without
Wookiee Warriors Noble Fighters0.8450.50487881561
Pyke Syndicate Foot Soldiers0.67791201770.48457071459
Pyke Syndicate Capo0.67331011500.48847211476
Phase I Clone Troopers0.517576714820.373150134
Padme Amidala Spirited Senator0.60412644370.47075881249
Yoda Grand Master of the Jedi Order0.59212414070.47776131283
Raddaugh Gnasp Fluttercraft
Editor’s Note: I have been trying to tell you people OMG – Doc
0.6034701160.49797411488
Anakin Skywalker The Chosen One0.54224438170.4725439929
Chewbacca Hero of Kashyyyk0.56151051870.49827161437
ARC Troopers Strike Team0.526754210290.4736333703
Wookiee Warriors Kashyyyk Defenders0.524343820.50467641514
R2-D2 Independent Astromech0.5223701340.50417361460
ARC Troopers0.51792164170.50126241245
Clone Commander Trained For Leadership0.50643957800.5042480952
Obi-Wan Kenobi Civilized Warrior0.4825691430.50787471471
Phase II Clone Troopers0.48714539300.5269410778
BARC Speeder0.46923597650.5338513961
Clone Commander Cody Leader of the 212th0.41992155120.54346261152
Infantry Support Platform0.385772000.52267381412
AT-RT0.37271042790.53257291369
Wookiee Warriors Noble Defenders0.33335150.50747871551
LAAT Patrol Transport0.315712380.51047831534
TX-130 Saber-Class Fighter Tank0.3243361110.51917721487
Wookiee Chieftain Clan Leader0.31039290.50947851541
Wookiee Warriors0.312525800.51597761504
Clone Captain Rex Honorable Soldier0.2739401460.52887711458

Rebel

UnitWinrateWinsGamesWinrate WithoutWins WithoutGames Without
Swoop Bike Riders0.812513160.44146601495
Ewok Slingers0.6379741160.43186241445
Wookiee Warriors Kashyyyk Resistance0.62515240.44256591489
Boba Fett Daimyo of Mos Espa0.55871953490.41775231252
Lando Calrissian Smooth Operator0.5416911680.43516011381
Pyke Syndicate Capo0.545436660.44146451461
Pyke Syndicate Foot Soldiers0.5267591120.44056331437
Rebel Pathfinders0.51132260.43825861337
Wicket Hero of Bright Tree0.516320.44446601485
1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team0.48233146510.4278421984
R2-D2 Hero of a Thousand Devices0.483544910.44426451452
Mandalorian Resistance0.47861012110.44276031362
Jyn Erso Stardust0.4656611310.44426221400
Mark II Medium Blaster Trooper0.457949610910.4402243552
Rebel Officer Resolute Commander0.45802234870.440535051134
Luke Skywalker Jedi Knight0.45711550.44576241400
Ewok Skirmishers0.450918400.44556591479
Rebel Veterans0.450652011530.4471220492
Sabine Wren Explosive Artist0.45021463240.44695601253
Rebel Commandos Strike Team0.44303086840.4486424945
Fleet Troopers0.44471052370.44815961330
Cassian Andor Capable Intelligence Agent0.44373507870.4533379836
Ahsoka Tano Fulcrum0.43532686040.45304681033
 A-A5 Speeder Truck0.4356641470.44776251396
Din Djarin The Mandalorian0.43091052410.44975991332
T-47 Airspeeder0.42851032390.44975911314
X-34 Landspeeder0.425631470.44906341412
Luke Skywalker Hero of the Rebellion0.435817400.44636621483
K-2SO Sardonic Security Droid0.42852726240.45754581001
Mandalorian Resistance Clan Wren0.41791052450.45065941318
Rebel Commandos0.4283561340.44946361415
Rebel Troopers0.40463177400.4670418895
Leia Organa Fearless and Inventive0.68081212990.45785861280
Chewbacca Walking Carpet0.3680531440.45536481423
Tauntaun Riders0.3657641750.45746341386
Han Solo Unorthodox General0.3646661810.45816351386
IG-11 Nurse and Protect0.322520620.45136631469
Wookiee Warriors0.301519630.45246661472
AT-RT0.3421400.46136501409

Imperial

UnitWinrateWinsGamesWinrate WithoutWins WithoutGames Without
Pyke Syndicate Capo0.666616240.47127951687
Agent Kallus Hunter of Spectres0.52972584870.45735331384
Boba Fett Infamous Bounty Hunter0.51804027760.44805051127
Pyke Syndicate Foot Soldiers0.54933610.47167831660
Scout Troopers Strike Team0.51534208150.44794911096
Imperial Officer Ruthless Commander0.51912574950.46076341376
Darth Vader Dark Lord of the Sith0.52431292460.46737221545
IG-88 Notorious Assassin Droid0.51792454730.46176391384
Bossk Trandoshan Terror0.52181432740.46697131527
DF-90 Mortar Trooper0.49944849690.4537432952
IG-11 Nurse and Protect0.511616310.47317921674
Emperor Palpatine Ruler of the Galactic Empire0.5029841670.47187531596
Imperial Royal Guards0.49821402810.47067061500
Black Sun Enforcers0.523460.47347921673
Stormtroopers0.483564813400.4591253551
Shoretroopers0.484151810700.4683407869
Imperial Special Forces Inferno Squad0.48192274710.47426621396
Iden Versio Inferno Squad Leader0.47582465170.47646471358
74-Z Speeder Bikes0.46201523290.47837061476
Occupier Combat Assault Tank0.4563471030.47567821644
Snowtroopers0.46022435280.48266541355
Cad Bane Needs No Introduction0.447334760.47547861653
LAAT Patrol Transport0.442323520.47517951673
Dewback Rider0.44551393120.48147151485
Scout Troopers0.4341561290.47767681608
Imperial Dark Troopers0.43701323020.48317291509
Darth Vader The Emperor’s Apprentice0.4320892060.48057531567
 General Veers Master Tactician0.43401483410.48497091462
E-Web Heavy Blaster Team0.4236611440.47907651597
Director Orson Krennic Architect of Terror0.42041032450.48397551560
Moff Gideon Long Live the Empire0.4162771850.48187701598
Din Djarin The Mandalorian0.4077421030.47877901650
Imperial Death Troopers0.40411754330.49787061418
Imperial Special Forces0.3757591570.48317721594
Black Sun Vigo0.36364110.47548011688
AT-ST0.2919471610.49307861594

3 thoughts on “Win-rate Stat Dump: The Battle Force Meta?

  1. Seth Murphy says:

    Question: Is this data collected only from the 237 games with over 20 players at them, or does it include every tournament from Gameuplink?

  2. subbotin.vi02 says:

    Question about 501st: I can understand 0% win rate without Phase 2 clones, but how the hell full ARC-troopers has not-zero without win rate, if you MUST TAKE 1 FULL ARCs unit during army building?! Where did you get these numbers from?!

    • ajst says:

      All the lists come Gameuplink events. It is possible from looking at parts of the data that people have been playing with illegal lists since the tournament software does not validate the lists. We have also seen in the past top 8 articles written about illegal lists as well

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