Who are your favorite units for open groups? (When I say Imperial, I mean it in the campaign sense of Imperial and Mercenary factions.)

Mine are Regular Stormtroopers, Elite Nexu, and Regular Trandoshans.

I like the Stormies because they are cheep (3 for 6), and between the surge for +1 damage, blue green, and reroll, they can still be dangerous even in the finale!

The elite nexu is just fun! With the potential for 9 mobile movement points and an attack, this guy can move. Plus auto-cleave and bleed is really fun!

The Trandoshans shotgun ability is great! But the best part is the auto-strain ability.

Trandos and HKs. The Trandoshans are a hard unit and I love the ability to drop HK-47 quotes

Definitely Trandoshans, I generally only bring them as an insurance policy. If the Rebels are starting to run away with a mission I drop them, the regulars are great value for their attacks up until I would say a mission or two into threat level 4.. then you need the elites. I've won missions by using the agenda card to reduce cost in half for an optional deployment at the start with elite Trandoshans, just absolutely destroys them with the initial troops as fodder.

Second favourite being Elite Stormies, pound for pound the best unit in the game IMO, especially if you are running attachments in your build.

Elite Nexu are also quite OP against multi figures, but I find Elite Probe Droids to be just as good against single figures, if you can drop him down in a situation where only 1 or 2 heroes are near by (say a mission they need to split like A New Threat) then the droid is a HUGE pain in the but.

I honestly never use officers, like ever. Maybe I just don't understand their utility right but for me they tend to just die a lot. On my next play through I am going to give them a better shot.

Oh. Just remembered the one time I brought an AT-ST to a gun fight. I actually got to drop it... ONCE. But the look on the players faces as I pulled it out of the cabinet. Worth the wasted slot, (of course it died in short order, something about it being big and scary, so it became a priority for the my heroes)

Definitely Trandoshans, I generally only bring them as an insurance policy. If the Rebels are starting to run away with a mission I drop them, the regulars are great value for their attacks up until I would say a mission or two into threat level 4.. then you need the elites. I've won missions by using the agenda card to reduce cost in half for an optional deployment at the start with elite Trandoshans, just absolutely destroys them with the initial troops as fodder.

Second favourite being Elite Stormies, pound for pound the best unit in the game IMO, especially if you are running attachments in your build.

Elite Nexu are also quite OP against multi figures, but I find Elite Probe Droids to be just as good against single figures, if you can drop him down in a situation where only 1 or 2 heroes are near by (say a mission they need to split like A New Threat) then the droid is a HUGE pain in the but.

I honestly never use officers, like ever. Maybe I just don't understand their utility right but for me they tend to just die a lot. On my next play through I am going to give them a better shot.

(Spoilers)

Yeah, I honestly can't remember the last time I put an officer in my hand. Although, it was really fun to double order my AT-ST and then double move it in The Last Line. Unfortunately, by that time the barricade, wall, gate... whatever was nearly down so it didn't get to fire.

As the threat lvl changes in the game my favorites adjust:

Early Campaign (Threat 2 and 3): Hired Guns, Probe Droid, Heavy Stormy's

Mid Campaign (Threat 4): Elite Heavy Stormy's, Trando's, HK's

Late Campaign (Threat 5 and 6): Elite Royal Guards, Elite Stormtroopers

Favorite Villians: Kayn Somos (This guy is just wicked fun to play), and Dengar

I have loved Hired Guns since I picked them up. They eliminate that tiresome "dead before activation" problem that so many of my units have, and they are the perfect unit to get all up in Jyn's grill and make her take strain and waste her Quick Shot for the round. Also, with Military Might's focus giving ability, their Parting Shot can still hit hard enough to be a concern.

I also like a Probe Droid and, surprisingly, the E-Web has been a decent unit for me recently. I am usually loathe to put one in my open group, but if you can keep them alive long enough to have a shot at the Rebels, they do an incredible amount of damage.

Officers are a cheap way to gain more activations, thus letting you save more important unit's activations for later, and they make E-Webs more of a threat; even regular officers.

Actually, yeah. I have to add probe droids. Not as effective as other units any more, but, my players had issues with them early on, so, it messes with their heads, (which is always fun).

Trandoshans and Royal Guards. RGs mixed with any Trando/eStormie gives them +1 block, which is critical when they only have 5-6 health. That pretty much turns almost any figure, into a 2-3 attacks needed to kill. And the RGs are usually good enough to dish out dmg as well. So if they focus fire on the RGs, even better, while the others are putting out mad damage on the heroes.

~D

I have yet to play a campaign that didn't have Fenn with a beefed up havoc shot for blast 2, so for me RG's have been useless. Put them beside anyone and it just welcomes 2 or 4 free damage. If that isn't a concern though they are definitely a bad ass unit.

I will agree about the Hired Guns early on, I picked up that pack after my first campaign and noticed a big difference in the first 2 or 3 missions of my second campaign.

I decided to start using some more obscure units late into my last campaign as I was having trouble keeping it balanced for the Rebels, one of those were the E-Webs. I found that they could actually be quite effective, but a bit tricky to use. If you get the right map though where the Rebels need to get past you (which is often times the case) then they can be a huge obstacle. If nothing else it makes them think for a few seconds about their positioning and turn order, like you always have to, to avoid being blasted to all hell.

Indeed. If you consider that the IP often wants to make the Rebels "waste actions and activations" on taking out Imperial figures, nothing seems to quite grab the attention of the Rebels like an E-Web. They are definitely very situational because of their astonishing lack of mobility, but in the right situation they are something the Rebels can't afford to ignore.

Hired Guns.

Hired Guns.

They're fun for sheer squishiness

Hired Guns.

They're fun for sheer squishiness

Well, I get tired of my guys dying before they can fire off a shot.

Heavy Stormtroopers.

Trandoshan Hunters are just too OP.

Depending on what you start with of course, but regular Officer. Regular troopers. Regular Hired Guns. Regular Probe Droids. Regular Trandoshans. Everything else tends to be a bit too expensive to get out, and later in the campaign with better weapons better units just get 1 shot even with their better health so they're just a waste.