ASH leaders ranked: which Ashes of the Empire leader should you build around?
Patrick - 7/15/2026
Hello everyone!
Ashes of the Empire is almost upon us (July 18th) and we are getting 18 new leaders to choose from. I thought it would be fun to rank them and see if I can predict which leader will stand out from the crowd and which ones will disappear into the void where no card will return from.
One note: this is my personal opinion and a day-one power ranking. There is, at the time of writing, no tournament data for ASH yet. The ratings are therefore based on how I think the units will perform along with the set's key mechanics: Advantage tokens, Support, and Mandalorian tokens. Expect this list to shift once we see what actually wins Planetary Qualifiers.
S-tier
Grand Admiral Thrawn, Victory Is Mine Cost 8, 5/8, Vigilance + Villainy
Restore 2. On Attack: If you control more units than the defending player, you may defeat a non-leader unit they control.
Thrawn's unit side has Restore 2 on a 5/8 body. The 8 health is quite nice to have and the Restore is also nice, but what really makes him a standout leader is his ability. When he attacks on the board, he has the ability to outright defeat an unit. The additional condition is that you need to have more units, but I think in the right builds, that shouldn't be that difficult to do.
Luke Skywalker, I Can Save Him Cost 7, 6/7, Vigilance + Heroism
When a friendly unit's attack ends: Heal 2 damage from that unit or from your base.
This leader is a great support leader, able to keep all of your units nice and healthy. I feel like the healing damage from your unit is more important than your base, but it's nice that the option is there. Luke's unit side is a 6/7, which is among the better stat lines for deployed leaders. He fits cleanly into midrange and I think he can get some very nice value with high health units.
Aspects: Vigilance, Heroism
A-tier: strong, slightly more conditional
Emperor Palpatine, According to My Design Cost 7, 4/8, Cunning + Villainy
On Attack: You may choose another exhausted friendly unit. If you do, give an Advantage token to it for each other friendly unit you control.
This is the Advantage token leader. On a board with four other friendly units, Palpatine gives four tokens to one exhausted unit in a single attack. That unit is then able to get an additional 4 damage. On a 4-power unit, that's an 8-damage attack off the back of one Palpatine swing. However, keep in mind that you have to put this on an exhausted unit, so it does need to wait a turn before it can do that.
He loads tokens onto something every time he swings. Add Moff Jerjerrod for double token creation and the ceiling rises further. The 4/8 body means he survives long enough to fire this off repeatedly, which is the whole game plan. Though nobody is quite sure how strong the Advantage tokens will be in the game, it's something worth keeping an eye on.
Aspects: Cunning, Villainy
Greef Karga, Gracious Magistrate Cost 6, 4/7, Cunning + Heroism
When you play or create a unit: Give an Advantage token to that unit.
Every unit you play or create enters with a free Advantage token. In a token-generating deck (Mandalorian tokens, Moff Jerjerrod, Children of the Watch), every new unit arrives with a free swing boost. Across a game where you're creating eight or more units, that's eight free tokens. The 4/7 unit side is above average for his deploy cost, so he should be able to stick around for a bit.
Aspects: Cunning, Heroism
The Mandalorian, We Can't Keep Running Cost 6, 4/6, Aggression + Heroism
Support. On Attack: If you have the initiative, you may draw a card.
Support gives a free extra attack every turn he's on the board. The second ability draws a card whenever he attacks while you have initiative. Initiative changes hands regularly, so over several turns this keeps your hand from running empty at the point in the game where you want to keep playing new cards. And the nice feature is that you don't need a specific board state to generate value, just that you have the initiative.
Aspects: Aggression, Heroism
Ahsoka Tano, Trust in the Force Cost 6, 5/6, Command + Heroism
Support. On Attack: You may give a unit with less power than this unit +2/+0 for this phase.
Ahsoka has Support and an On Attack pump. Every time she swings, she can give a weaker friendly unit +2/+0 for that phase, which sets up trades that unit couldn't win otherwise, or pushes extra damage to a base. On a 5/6 body, any unit with 4 or less power qualifies as the target, which covers most of your board through the mid-game.
That separates her from the Mandalorian. He draws cards on initiative attacks; she buffs a unit every attack. If you're trying to control the board and win combats, Ahsoka is the pick. If you'd rather maintain hand size through the late game, the Mandalorian fits better.
Aspects: Command, Heroism
Cad Bane, Still Faster Than You Cost 6, 4/7, Aggression + Villainy
Overwhelm. On Attack: You may deal 1 damage to a unit with 2 or more remaining HP.
The statline here is not bad and it has Overwhelm. The additional ping is also very helpful as it could help with trades or just removing shields. It's not a flashy leader, but it's nice and reliable.
Aspects: Aggression, Villainy
B-tier: viable with the right build
Grand Admiral Sloane, Holding the Empire Together Cost 5, 4/5, Command + Villainy
Overwhelm. Each other friendly unit gains Overwhelm and Sentinel.
Sloane's passive hands every non-leader unit you control two keywords. Sentinel forces opponents to engage your units rather than swing at your base directly. Overwhelm means excess damage from your attacks bleeds through to their base. Both together mean every combat is doing two jobs at once, whether you're attacking or defending.
Though there is also a downside to all of this: a 4/5 for 5-cost deploy is below-rate, and while the two keywords are certainly good, in what sort of deck does this leader belong? Aggressive or Control?
Aspects: Command, Villainy
Fennec Shand, Ready for War Cost 4, 3/4, Aggression + Cunning
Saboteur. Action [1, exhaust a friendly unit]: Play a unit from your hand. It enters play ready.
Fennec is one of the cheapest leaders this set and that usually comes with a lot of flexibility in when you can deploy her. The reward of her ability is also something that you can be quite happy with. A ready unit, ready to attack. The downside however is the cost of doing this. You need to exhaust a unit, pay the 1 and pay the unit. She might be worth building a cheaper deck around, but I'll wait and see what people can come up with.
Aspects: Aggression, Cunning
The Armorer, Steel Shapes Us Cost 5, 4/6, Vigilance + Command
When Attack Ends: You may play an upgrade from your resources on a friendly unit. If you do, resource the top card of your deck.
This is the way! The Armorer is an interesting leader as she boosts upgrade heavy shells. However, the question becomes if there is enough out there to warrant a heavy upgrade deck. I don't think there currently is, but maybe if better upgrades are released later on, it might also have impact on this leader.
Aspects: Vigilance, Command
Moff Gideon, Indomitable Warlord Cost 7, 5/8, Command + Villainy
Gains Ambush, Grit, Overwhelm, Raid, Restore, and Sentinel for each matching Imperial unit in your discard pile.
A 5/8 with six keywords would be one of the strongest units ever printed. Without any Imperial units in the discard pile, it's a 5/8 with no keywords, which is fine but unremarkable at 7 cost. It really depends on what's in your discard pile.
In a dedicated Imperial deck, Gideon can have four or five keywords by the time he's deployed, which makes him a very nice body to put into the arena. In a more generic build, he's just a large unit. He's a build-around that rewards commitment to the Imperial trait, not a leader you drop into any deck.
Aspects: Command, Villainy
Sabine Wren, Bargaining On Belief Cost 5, 3/5, Vigilance + Heroism
On Attack: The next unit you play this phase gains Shielded for this phase.
Sabine's ability needs you to do two things in the same round: she attacks, and you spend resources to play a unit that same phase. When it succeeds, it's nice and you get to protect one of your next units.
The problem is cost. A 3/5 for 5-cost deploy is below average, and the ability eats additional resources on top of the deploy. You're paying with quite some tempo to conditionally protect a unit for one phase.
Aspects: Vigilance, Heroism
Bo-Katan Kryze, Reclaiming Mandalore Cost 10, 4/7, Command + Heroism
Other friendly Mandalorian units get +1/+0. On Attack: If you control a unit in each arena, create a Mandalorian token.
10-cost to deploy is the highest in the set. Though you get to decrease this by playing Mandalorian cards. So her viability really depends on how good the Mandalorian tribe will be in this set. Other than that, the effect is good. The additional power can be good, but it doesn't give your cards any survivability. This one really depends on the Mandalorian cards currently released and released in the future.
Aspects: Command, Heroism
C-tier: hard to recommend
Ezra Bridger, It's Now or Never Cost 5, 3/6, Aggression + Heroism
Saboteur. When a friendly unit's attack ends: If it dealt 3 or more combat damage to a base, you may give an Advantage token to a different unit.
Saboteur on a leader is useful. The ability can be a bit difficult to trigger at times: a friendly unit has to deal 3+ combat damage directly to a base, and only then do you get to put an Advantage token somewhere else. If you are playing an aggro deck that is hitting decks a lot, this might fire a lot of times. If you are playing anything slower, it's dead most turns.
The 3/6 stat line is low for a 5-cost deploy. If you're building aggressive enough for the ability to matter, there are probably better leaders for it.
Aspects: Aggression, Heroism
Shin Hati, Eager Adversary Cost 6, 4/6, Cunning + Villainy
When a friendly unit's attack ends: You may exhaust a unit that costs less than the amount of combat damage dealt to a base this attack. Use this ability only once each round.
The condition for this ability might sound a bit confusing reading it for the first time: combat damage has to reach a base, and the exhausted unit has to cost less than that damage. A 4-power unit hitting the base lets you exhaust anything costing 3 or less. That's mostly cheap units in the mid-to-late game, when the cards you actually want to neutralise cost 4-6. Once per round limits it further. Shin Hati needs a dedicated base-damage strategy to make this fire on the units you actually care about, and a 4/6 for 6 cost doesn't carry her if the ability isn't working.
Aspects: Cunning, Villainy
Baylan Skoll, Power Beyond Dream Cost 5, 4/6, Vigilance + Villainy
On Attack: You may give a friendly unit +2/+2 and Sentinel for this phase if it's the only non-leader unit you control in its arena.
Baylan's ability fires when the buffed unit is the only non-leader in its arena. Running one large unit in the ground arena is a bit of a commitment. Removals will always be played and putting all your buffs on a single unit could leave you very vulnerable for a single removal on that unit.
Aspects: Vigilance, Villainy
Vane, Quarrelsome Pirate Cost 5, 3/6, Aggression + Villainy
On Attack: You may defeat a friendly upgrade. If you do, deal 2 damage to the defending unit or a base.
Sacrificing your own upgrades for 2 damage is probably not worth it. Maybe when your unit is about to die, but then it still doesn't feel nice. There's no obvious loop in ASH that makes this worthwhile repeatedly, and the stat line is low for 5 cost.
Aspects: Aggression, Villainy
Grogu, Charming Companion Cost 4, 0/3, Cunning + Heroism
While another friendly unit is defending, it gets +1/+0. While another friendly unit is attacking, the defending unit gets -1/-0.
A 0/3 for 4 mana is unplayable as a unit. The stat buffs (+1 on defence, -1 on opponents' defenders) shift damage by one across the whole board, which is not worth building around. While you are able to deploy Grogu multiple times in a game, which is very unique from the other leaders, I think it'll be difficult to really get the value from this in a game.
Aspects: Cunning, Heroism