-Original by Scott Heise aka HomerJr
-Frontiers, Command, & Assault content by Rick DeMille aka Darklighter

[Updated 9/20/2019] 

This update includes the first two multi-faction sets:

• United Command
• United Assault

Before we get to the updated card tier lists, let’s talk quickly about the new cards introduced in the Command and Assault expansions.

(If you want to skip to the update Tier Lists, they’re in the chart below)

Command (“K”) and Assault (“A”) Ships and Bases:

• Unity Fighter (“K”) ($1) – Machine Cult + Blob
  • A great card that provides some trade row control and scrap ability.  Early in the game, and even mid-game, it’s generally always worth the $1.  I generally see this card scrapped to scrap a starter from your hand or discard pile the first time it’s played after being purchased, but there is sometimes value in keeping it around for a few more decks for trade row control, and since it can ally both green and red.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – Tier 1
    • Mid Game – Tier 2
    • Late Game – Tier 3
• Trade Star (“A”) ($1) – Star Empire + Blob
  • A decent early game purchase that is low risk because of its self-scrapping ability.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – Tier 1
    • Mid Game – Tier 3
    • Late Game – Tier 4
• Assault Pod (“K”) ($2) – Star Empire + Blob
  • A great purchase at any stage of the game. This card can supercharge a green and yellow deck.  Even if you aren’t running a green or yellow deck, this is a card you don’t want your opponent to get.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – Tier 1
    • Mid Game – Tier 1
    • Late Game – Tier 1
• Alliance Transport (“A”) ($2) – Star Empire + Trade Federation
  • Another good early game purchase.  Lack of damage can make it a liability late game unless you are running a heavy yellow deck; in a heavy yellow deck this card can contribute to making your opponent discarding 2-3 cards a turn which can be of value late despite this card’s lack of damage.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – Tier 2
    • Mid Game – Tier 2
    • Late Game – Tier 3
• Alliance Frigate (“K”) ($3) – Star Empire + Trade Federation
  • A powerhouse card.  Fully allied, this card provides a 12 point damage swing (7 damage + 5 life gain), which is much as the $5 Bounty Hunter.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – Tier 2
    • Mid Game – Tier 1
    • Late Game – Tier 1
• Blob Bot (“A”) ($3) – Machine Cult + Blob
  • Another powerhouse card.  Early to mid game this card is great, with it’s 5 damage + 2 trade (if allied by green) + scrap (if allied by red).  Even late-game it’s a decent card, though it can slow your deck down.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – Tier 1
    • Mid Game – Tier 1
    • Late Game – Tier 2
• Coalition Messenger (“A”) ($3) – Machine Cult + Trade Federation
  • A good card for manipulating your own deck, allowing you to play certain valuable cards more often.  Coalition Messenger is particularly valuable when playing with Missions.  It can be a hindrance mid to late game outside of a red/blue deck.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – Tier 2
    • Mid Game – Tier 3
    • Late Game – Tier 3
• Coalition Freighter (“K”) ($4) – Machine Cult + Trade Federation
  • Unless there are $8 cost cards in the trade row, probably a better early purchase than the $4 Freighter.  Both cards allow you to top deck a ship (if allied by blue), but the red scrap ally ability of the Coalition Freighter easily offsets the $1 less trade offered by this card relative to the plain old blue Freighter.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – Tier 1
    • Mid Game – Tier 2
    • Late Game – Tier 4
• Alliance Landing (“K”) ($5) – Star Empire + Trade Federation
  • A nice early-game base because of it’s 2 trade and 5 defense.  Not as helpful late-game unless you are behind and need it to soak damage, or need it as a base wall to protect non-outpost bases.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – Tier 1
    • Mid Game – Tier 2
    • Late Game – Tier 3
• Union Stronghold (“A”) ($5) – Star Empire + Blob
  • A decent base, especially in a yellow deck.  Even though it’s double faction, still probably a notch below yellow’s $5 Jamming Terminal.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – Tier 3
    • Mid Game – Tier 2
    • Late Game – Tier 3
• Coalition Fortress (“K”) ($6) – Machine Cult + Trade Federation
  • Helpful early game or when employing a defensive strategy.  Not as strong as an offensive base.  Similar to, but a notch above, red’s Frontier Station because of its dual faction status.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – NA
    • Mid Game – Tier 2
    • Late Game – Tier 2
• Exchange Point (“A”) ($6) – Machine Cult + Blob
  • Good base, though it may not be worth the $6 if its defense were 5 or 6.  Its 7 defense makes it hard to kill, especially if it is protected by outpost bases.  If this card can stay in play for a few turns in a row, it can really help thin out the starters from your deck.  It’s also nice that green cards can trigger the scrap ability, which makes it’s ally scrap ability a little more versatile than most.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – NA
    • Mid Game – Tier 2
    • Late Game – Tier 2
• Unity Station (“K”) ($7) – Machine Cult + Blob
  • A great scrapping base.  Comparable to Machine Base in cost, though unlike Machine Base this card can scrap from the discard pile as well as from the trade row.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – NA
    • Mid Game – Tier 2
    • Late Game – Tier 2
• Lookout Post (“A”) ($7) – Machine Cult + Trade Federation
  • Because of its draw ability this is never necessarily a bad purchase, though it’s a little underwhelming compared to other $7 cards.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – NA
    • Mid Game – Tier 3
    • Late Game – Tier 2
• Union Cluster (“K”) ($8) – Star Empire + Blob
  • While Brain World is still clearly the best $8 base, there is an argument for Union Cluster as the second best.  If you can protect this base with a few outposts, it’s 8 defense could make it difficult for your opponent to destroy.  This base will potentially stay in play for a while and trigger all of your other green and yellow abilities, not to mention it’s own draw ally ability.  This base is a difference maker.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – NA
    • Mid Game – Tier 1
    • Late Game – Tier 1
• Embassy Base (“A”) ($8) – Star Empire + Trade Federation
  • A solid base that keeps your deck moving.  Perhaps a notch below the $8 Summit Site from Stellar Allies, which is a blue and green base that also draws two but doesn’t require you to discard a card.
  • Tier List Ranking
    • Opening buys – NA
    • Mid Game – Tier 2
    • Late Game – Tier 2

Command & Assault – Tier List Summary

Opening Buys (does not include cost $6+ cards)

• Tier 1 – Must Buy
  • Unity Fighter [K] ($1)
  • Assault Pod [K] ($2)
  • Blob Bot [A] ($3)
  • Coalition Freighter [K] ($4)
  • Alliance Landing [K] ($5)
• Tier 2 – Good Buy
  • Trade Star [A] ($1)
  • Alliance Transport [A] ($2)
  • Alliance Frigate [K] ($3)
  • Coalition Messenger [A] ($3)
• Tier 3 – Meh Buy
  • Union Stronghold [A] ($5)
• Tier 4 – Don’t Buy
  • None

Mid Game Buys

• Tier 1 – Must Buy
  • Assault Pod [K] ($2)
  • Alliance Frigate [K] ($3)
  • Blob Bot [A] ($3)
  • Union Cluster [K] ($8)
• Tier 2 – Good Buy
  • Unity Fighter [K] ($1)
  • Alliance Transport [A] ($2)
  • Alliance Landing [K] ($5)
  • Union Stronghold [A] ($5)
  • Coalition Fortress [K] ($6)
  • Exchange Point [A] ($6)
  • Unity Station [K] ($7)
  • Embassy Base [A] ($8)
• Tier 3 – Meh Buy
  • Trade Star [A] ($1)
  • Coalition Messenger [A] ($3)
  • Coalition Freighter [K] ($4)
  • Lookout Post [A] ($7)
• Tier 4 – Don’t Buy
  • None

Late Game Buys

• Tier 1 – Must Buy
  • Assault Pod [K] ($2)
  • Alliance Frigate [K] ($3)
  • Union Cluster [K] ($8)
• Tier 2 – Good Buy
  • Blob Bot [A] ($3)
  • Coalition Fortress [K] ($6)
  • Exchange Point [A] ($6)
  • Unity Station [K] ($7)
  • Lookout Post [A] ($7)
  • Embassy Base [A] ($8)
• Tier 3 – Meh Buy
  • Unity Fighter [K] ($1)
  • Alliance Transport [A] ($2)
  • Coalition Messenger [A] ($3)
  • Alliance Landing [K] ($5)
  • Union Stronghold [A] ($5)
• Tier 4 – Don’t Buy
  • Trade Star [A] ($1)
  • Coalition Freighter [K] ($4)

Updated Tier List

The intent of these Tier Lists is to provide a quick reference to help players, especially newer or less experienced players, when deciding which card(s) in the trade row they should buy (or whether to buy a card at all).  Every card included in the V, 1, B, H, F, R, K, A sets is contained within these lists and grouped into one of three tiers based on the overall value of the card relative to the cost of the card.

HomerJr originally wrote the Tier Lists for the V, 1, B, H, & F sets.  I (Darklighter) have not changed any of HomerJr’s original rankings, and have just added rankings for Frontiers (“R”), Command (“K”), & Assault (“A”) using HomerJr’s methodology (as best I could).

While every card in the game can be valuable and help you win, not every card will have equal value over the course of the game thus there are separate Tier Lists for different phases of the game (opening buys, mid game, late game).  Furthermore, many cards are highly situational or valuable only in certain decks.  Please note that this is all the personal opinion of the authors, so don’t take anything in here as law.  🙂   We are always open to feedback, criticism, and discussion.

We rank each card into one of three tiers as follows:

• Tier 1:  Strong value and/or agnostic to situation; beneficial in almost any deck; you almost always want to have it in your deck if you can
• Tier 2:  Solid value and/or somewhat situational; may rely on ally ability triggers to be effective; generally a good buy if no Tier 1 card available
• Tier 3:  Weak value and/or highly situational;  may need exactly the right game circumstances to be effective; best to avoid buying except in rare cases
• Tier 4:  Poor value in nearly all situations;  buying this card will probably worsen your deck;  you’re probably making a mistake if you’re buying this card

Please note that our intent is not for cards in the same tier across cost brackets to be considered equivalent in value.  In general, cards in the next higher cost bracket have a value one tier higher.  For example, a Tier 2 card in the $3-5 cost bracket would have a value on par with a Tier 1 card in the $1-2 cost bracket.  Also, cards are listed within a cell by faction and cost;  the order of cards within a cell is not meant to imply anything about the value of the card relative to the others in the same tier and cost bracket.

($X) = Cost to buy card

no bracket = Original Core Set

[1] = Year 1 Promo/kickstarter card

[B] = Bases & Battleships expansion

[F] = Fleets & Fortresses expansion

[H] = Heroes expansion

[R] = Frontiers expansion

[K] = United Command expansion

[A] = United Assault expansion

NEW CARDS IN BOLD

Opening Buys (Deck 1)**

I prioritize strong trade and scrapping cards for my opening buys, as well as bases that provide good long-term value.  Combat cards are generally only valuable at this stage for destroying opposing bases, or for all-out rush strategies when the trade row is combat-heavy.

**NOTE: The “Opening Buys” Tier List only ranks cards cost $1-5, which is the typical range of trade a player will have on their opening two turns. With the inclusion of Gambits and Events it may of course be possible, and advisable, to purchase cards that cost $6+ in Deck 1.

Updated 9/20/2019

Mid Game (Deck 2-2.5)

I consider the mid game to be the period after the opening buys where there is still time for trade and scrapping to amortize, and both players have enough authority to survive through at least their opponent’s next shuffle and a full deck thereafter.  During the mid game, I tend to value cards that help buy $6-8 cards (but also have late game value), strong bases, and cards that sow the seeds for big rallies in the late game (card draws, top-decking, etc). But be careful… often the mid game doesn’t last very long!  If you’re not sure if you’re in the mid game or not, it’s usually best to play as if you’ve already progressed to the late game.

 Updated 9/20/2019

Late Game (Decks 4+ or Authority < 30)

I consider the late game to be the point at which trade and scrapping no longer have enough time to provide value, and/or one or both players do not have enough authority to survive the next full play through of their opponent’s deck.  During the late game, I tend to value cards that provide maximum combat in as few cards as possible and help fuel big rallies via card draws.

Updated 9/20/2019