It looks like we're having an escalation tournament for those who doesn't make the cut at a regionals I'm attending this weekend.

Of course my goal is to make the cut. But IF?

I have never played escalation before. I know the rules but have no idea what to bring.

My main faction is Imperial (bringing commonwealth defenders for Swiss rounds) but I could also consider Scum. Never those filthy rebel terrorists though.

So, anyone has some nice ideas?

Passive abilities are worse at lower points and better at higher points. At 60 points, Decimators are godly because they're not wasting any points on passive defense (i.e. green dice). At 150 points, they're kinda trash because they're much easier to focus down. Likewise, something like Glitterstim isn't as good at 60 (you're only taking a couple shots), but at 150, it pays dividends.

Ideally, you want ships that have a good balance of passive and active. For that reason, I'd tend to say Defenders are really solid at any points level. They're too defensive for one or two enemy ships to burn down, and have enough hull and shields to survive at higher points levels.