XWA Update August 2026 - The Barry Review
31st August 2026
Barry
12 mins
Having literally just completed a store championship I must admit I wasn’t really tracking new points – which is either damning of my attention span (ordaining me as a scrub) or, conversely proof of how laser focused I have been on other things. Still, we’d completed the tournament in just enough time to see off the old points in a last hurrah and so now we look to what the new meta might be.
Generic Upgrades
I actually feel this is where the real changes influencing meta are – changes to upgrade point values can really influence whether the ship is worth taking, and logically following, if a list is viable.
Flight Assist Astromech – going up to 4 points and I’m not going to lie, I still haven’t seen anyone use it – not even to exploit pairing Backwards Tailslide – and for that Poe seems to be the only candidate as he’s the only X-Wing with the extra talent slot to spare.
Synced Laser Cannons – going up to 9 points, which I think is actually significant as it eats into the loadout values of some platforms disproportionately (e.g. B-Wings) and will have players looking at other options.
Seeker Missiles – going up to 12 points, which is fair. Seeker Missiles are good, they’re prolific even at 10 points, and this adjustment makes them far less prevalent and prevents them from ending up on the restricted list like other munitions have. To my mind that is where it will end up anyway and then will find its way back down.
Target Computer – going up to 2 points, which undoubtedly represents emotional damage to some Imperial players. This may be related to constraining the Grand Moff Tarkin/Mandalorian Optics interactions, or, triggers for Disciplined? Or is this to make putting it on TIE/ph Phantom’s less obvious?
Targeting Matrix – going up to 6 points, which is a fair adjustment since initial release. Having just used this in the tournament on Dengar, I can kind of understand why this change occurs especially when compounded with Notorious.
Blindspot Targeter – going down to 7 points, which is a slight change to possibly drive some use and putting it in competition with Collision Detector.
Fire-Control System – going up to 3 points. Imperial players will undoubtedly need to pour one out for Echo and Whisper. Objectively though, FCS has been a staple for a long time which is probably why it any change feels egregious.
Burst Laser Turret – going up to 5 points and again – a minor correction since it was first released and I suspect associated with the economies of scale for Y-Wings across multiple factions.
Rebel Alliance
First change is Lowhhrick in the Auzituck Gunship, which has decreased in Squad points but similarly has lost 6 loadout points! When combined with the aforementioned increase to Targeting Computer hurts a bit.
Dutch Vander has a slight increase in loadout points now getting up to 20 to play with, comfortably making him a Proton Torpedo carrier. Though the good news for the Y-Wings ends there, with the generic Gray Squadron Bomber losing loadout and restricting its use of the Burst Laser Turret.
The big news realistically is Han Solo increasing in cost again to reach 21 points! Although for that commitment you will now have an impressive 26 loadout for toys to keep him in the fight. The other change I’m happy to see is some reductions for Wedge and Keo in the A-Wings, and whilst they’ve lost loadout value I’m still tempted.
The Big Winner: Slim pickings though I would hazard that the reductions to those A-Wings is important to getting them back on the board.
The Big Loser: Captain Rex goes down in squad points to a cheeky 6 points, but the loss of 5 loadout points means Snap-Shot to trigger his ability is no longer happening. Boo!
What To Look At: Rebels have a lot of options for Alphabet-Squadrons of various flavours and efficencies.
Watch Out For: Chonky Boi Han will have room for all the cool toys and crew, and so will still be a powerhouse.
Galactic Empire
There isn’t a huge shift in points for Empire players, so we’ll start off with easy win as Standard Loadout (SL) Major Vynder dropping down to 13 squad points and Darth Vader in the TIE Advanced x1 getting an extra loadout point to offset the increase to FCS. When we get to the TIE/D Defenders though it starts to get tricky, a decrease to Ryad is offset by a loss of loadout, and Vult Skerris has become more expensive but found some desperately needed loadout – though generally some good increases to loadout felt for the Defender pilots.
Carnor Jax has been adjusted, and whilst he’s more expensive the increased loadout and modification slot makes him far more tempting compared to what was on offer last points. Turr Phennir similarly has found some loadout and an extra talent slot.
The Big Winner: Carnor has some options available with the extra loadout, allowing players to build to meet a need whereas the previous points was extremely constrained.
The Big Loser: Hard to say though I’d maintain that TIE Swarms – in their truest form – remain a bad choice given the offerings of other factions.
What To Look At: I’m thinking TIE Bombers and Alpha-class to try and find some combined arms efficiency with tools like Feedback Ping and Automated Loaders.
Watch Out For: Players abandoning the bulk turret Y-Wing lists may shift their gaze to TIE Aggressors that escaped any changes.
Scum & Villainy
The IG’s have found extra loadout across the board for literally no increase in their squad points, which is perhaps an indictment of how little they see play. The increase in points however only offsets the increases to Synced Laser Cannons and Fire Control System. Similarly, Xizor has found even more loadout points which accommodates those upgrades and more.
There’s broadly some increased cost to some well performing pieces like Kanan, KetsuOnyo and TheMandalorian in the N1. SL Dengar has also increased in cost, though this just further entrenches me in my use of the custom variant now that the cost is comparable.
Like Rebels the cheapest generic Y-Wings have had loadout clipped to take Burst Laser Turrets out of the mix. Another cheap unit suffering from a loss of loadout is Kaa’to Leeachos – who I suspect has lost it to rule out Seeker Missiles.
The Big Winner: The IG’s in their Aggressors’ clearly are the winners here in what is some trim wins – with people now looking at triple IG’s with interest.
The Big Loser: Of the ships going up, I’ll say N1 Mando is a bit of a kick in the guts but Kaa’to losing just enough loadout for Seekers takes the cake.
What To Look At: If you don’t have 3 Aggressor’s handy consider IG-88D crew on something like Cad as the double-tap means you could almost certainly trigger his ability.
Watch Out For: A double tap from Cad with Dead to Rights triggering is quite frankly obnoxious to deal with, so be prepared.
Resistance
Like the other factions there’s points adjustments for the cheaper Y-Wing pilots, reducing the amount of Burst Laser Turrets that can be fielded. Whether players stick with the list archetype and shift to Dorsal Turret is to be seen.
Aside from that though, there’s very little influencing Resistance – for the A-Wings there’s some minor changes to Greer Sonnel’s loadout (who also gains another pilot talent slot) and SL Ronith Blario is discounted.
For the X-Wings there’s a discount of 2 squadpoints to C’ai Threnalli that comes with a massive drop in loadout of 12 points, whilst Commander Poe Dameron has become slightly more expensive but finds some extra loadout.
The Big Winner:Slim pickings for Resistance with these adjustments unfortunately. C’ai Threnalli becoming a cheap i4 T-70 might be the best you can take from it.
The Big Loser: The cheaper Y-Wings have lost potency by the cost increases of upgrades, but the cost of those platforms is realistically the problem here.
What To Look At: The Wartime variant of the Y-Wings are more expensive still, but come with enough loadout value to gear up for a decent fight.
Watch Out For: There are a lot of cheap ships still in the faction, so anyone willing to take on a list that emphasises objectives and jank over pure damage output could have some fun.
First Order
Similar to Resistance, there’s not a huge amount of movement with First Order which makes me think the thing that impacts them most will be the generic upgrade changes.
“Ember” in the TIE/ba Interceptor has gained 2 loadout points, which is not particularly exciting though is probably to entice players at 10 squad points. The shift in points for the TIE/fo’s isn’t particularly interesting with noted the exception of “Midnight” coming down in squad points that also takes more than half the loadout with it.
The changes leave just enough to put Swarm Tactics on her and then I guess Fire Control System?
“Recoil” gained and extra 2 loadout which isn’t particularly inspiring when it comes to the Silencers, but that’s just me. The more perplexing change is the First order Courier in the Xi-class losing loadout though cost-wise it is competing with Gideon Hask who still has less to play with.
The Big Winner: The FO’s unique upgrades have not been touched which is a big win for the faction when considering some of the generic changes.
The Big Loser: The changes to Seekers means TIE/sf and Whispers will need to look elsewhere to get the most out of Heavy Weapon Turret.
What To Look At: Similar to Empire, I’m tinkering with Feedback Ping – especially noting the number of ships with a gunner slot to leverage FO Ordnance Tech – which is surprisingly fun.
Watch Out For: The changes to offensive upgrades means FO Aces are less likely to fall to overlapping fields of fire, so 3-4 ship lists seem completely viable.
Galactic Republic
Republic don’t have any big sweeping points adjustments either, but the changes are significant. Notably, Delta-7B Anakin Skywalker has increased in cost now hitting 17 squad points which I’m sure will agitate some Republic players noting Anakin is the only initiative 6 pilot available to them.
Likewise “Slider” has gone up in cost but found a significant chunk of loadout to play with.
Ursa Wren has increased in cost from initial release which isn’t unexpected, and there’s some slight shifts in loadout for some of the LAAT’s which is notable since Seventh Fleet Gunner has increased in cost.
The other noted changes are “Tucker” in the Torrent being discounted in loadout but losing the second missile upgrade slot, and the increase in cost to R2-A6 to 7 loadout points which isn’t accounted for in loadout values for any pilots other than Anakin.
The Big Winner: I think the argument might be that it moves squad builds to other Jedi pilots, however that is a dizzying amount of spin.
The Big Loser: There’s definitely a strong argument to be made about Anakin, though I suspect a more experienced Republic player could be upset about the changes to the faction more broadly.
What To Look At: I’m interested in getting Quinlan Vos and Ursa Wren on the table as I haven’t yet found the time.
Watch Out For: With the limited pilot changes, the ARC’s remain a force to be reckoned with.
Separatist Alliance
I can only ask what did Belbullab’s do wrong? Grievous has found himself another points increase with an increase in loadout, but all the others have been hit for a loss of 4 loadout points. This is somewhat countered by the fact that Impervium Plating now finds itself at zero cost and (assumedly) an auto-include.
There’s a couple of points shifted around for Tri-Fighters, HMP’s, and Hyena’s which …I don’t really expect will harm list building broadly, however the increase in cost to Sun Fac specifically I find interesting and likely to try and push use of the other pilots and the use of Gravitic Well from the last release. The generic MagnaGuard Executioner obtained an extra loadout point to accommodate Synced Laser Cannon whilst the other pilots haven’t been touched fortunately.
The Big Winner: I think the Belbullab’s - with the exception of Greiveous - are the big winners gaining Impervium Plating for free.
The Big Loser: Sun Fac? I guess?
What To Look At: HMP’s generally have the loadout to use either Synced Laser Cannons or Seeker Missiles, and
Watch Out For: Five ship Rogue-class which - as I’ve discovered playing Phil previously - has legs.
Conclusion
Not the most ground-breaking changes but it does represent enough of a shift in the meta to force players to reconsider some lists viability. The damage output for a lot of lists will has just been curtailed - which makes smaller ships a lot less likely to just be removed from the table first engagement.
That makes room for more variety in list building which I view as only a good thing. An opportunity to put some really stupid things out there and see what clicks which I suspect is XWA’s intent.
Stay salty you Anakin players!
- Barry