Best Arena Empire Lead?

Yerff_Caasi

I'm planning to transition my Arena team and start using Empire, once I get them modded well. The team would comprise of (at the beginning) 7* Palp, 6* Vader, 7* Thrawn, 7* Tarkin, RG, all G8. (I should be unlocking GK soon, so I could swap him in for one of the last two.)
But I can't decide who to use as the lead. I have four potential leads there, and I'm torn between Palp lead or Thrawn lead. Palp gives me the health and potency, which is better for himself, Vader, and Tarkin landing their debuffs. But Thrawn gives me a lot of TM gain, which might give me an edge going up against the other teams.
And then there's Tarkin, who gives straight speed, and though I don't get the protection that Thrawn affords, if I max his lead, he'll start exposing everyone.
I don't really know what I should do. Which of the four do you think I should use?

Trystan_Spyder

I know it's fashionable to run EP, and with his zeta it's probably a pretty safe bet. But it was suggested to me to run Thrawn lead instead, and man has it paid dividends. The self-cleanse his leader skill provides makes Sion's taunt disappear, and also makes it much harder for Vader to crush you with saber throw. It also gets rid of pesky shock. The only argument I've heard against it is that the AI doesn't use it efficiently, possibly costing you on defense.

Yerff_Caasi

I've also read that Thrawn isn't great on defense, so perhaps I'd end up using him on offense and someone else as the lead on defense?

Yerff_Caasi

Trystan_Spyder wrote: »

I know it's fashionable to run EP, and with his zeta it's probably a pretty safe bet. But it was suggested to me to run Thrawn lead instead, and man has it paid dividends.

How do you do on defense? And do you have any zetas on him?

Trystan_Spyder

Yerff_Caasi wrote: »

Trystan_Spyder wrote: »

I know it's fashionable to run EP, and with his zeta it's probably a pretty safe bet. But it was suggested to me to run Thrawn lead instead, and man has it paid dividends.

How do you do on defense? And do you have any zetas on him?

No zetas, and it's hard to say. I haven't run EP lead, so I can't compare the two on defense.

I was, on a good day, hitting 65 with my Phoenix team. Since switching over (despite being 3-4k gp lower), I've gotten all the way to 25. I do slide on defense, but I haven't dropped out of the top 50. Phoenix could see me drop as far as 150.

Yerff_Caasi

That's some good improvement. Of course, I'm hovering at about 200 with Phoenix right now...

CCyrilS

I use Thrawn in a sea of palp and JTR and I'm sitting at 26 arena rank at the moment. Is it the best? Hard to say, but it's the most fun team imo. It is true AI doesn't play him well, but that's pretty irrelevant now, as everyone tends to lose on defense.

YaeVizsla

Generally, Thrawn is the better lead until either Palpatine gets his zeta or you have some Sith you want to throw in the mix.

Tarkin's leadership ability isn't great, and Empire is flush with much better leaders. Also, his expose is a zeta ability, and by zeta standards, it's really bad. Like, when folks start talking about worst zeta in the game, Tarkin's leadership ability is a contender. Palpatine's health leach can trigger that defense down while it's still useful, but if you have Palpatine on a team with Tarkin, then Tarkin should not be the leader. He actually might be the worst Empire leadership ability, which is less a mark against Tarkin's lead, and more a sign of how good a lot of Empire leadership abilities are.

Vader lead, meanwhile, is very good, but not really meant for arena. It's made for much more drawn out fights, and Arena is fast-paced. Use Vader's leadership ability and especially his zeta in raids.

Now, as to your lineup? The main one I question is Royal Guard. Honestly not a great tank, and has a bad habit of not taunting until someone's one or two AoEs away from dead, or debuffed into ineptitude, or someone important is fractured. I'd much sooner advice Stormtrooper, who while not amazing, is pretty good on almost any Empire team. Shoretrooper is the best Empire tank, but you can't get them yet. Alternately, you can run Empire with no tank. TIE Fighter Pilot and their AoE buff block are much better than you might think, and you'd be improving a character for your fleet. Mod for crit chance and Snowtrooper can spam AoEs and help you gain a lot of momentum once enemies start going down.

Or slot in General Kenobi. He's a great tank on any team.

Or, if you run Palpatine lead, Sion is a perfectly viable tank, even at three stars.

Sith Trooper's another tank that can be fantastic for this team, but you won't be able to farm them any time soon. I'm guessing you got yours from a pack or something?

Naraic

Thrawn is a counter palpatine lead. Palpatine especially with his zeta is the meta team in general in lower shards.

Kai_Mulai

Naraic wrote: »

Thrawn is a counter palpatine lead. Palpatine especially with his zeta is the meta team in general in lower shards.

Exactly. I’ve been using a Thrawn lead mainly because I don’t have a zeta on Palpatine yet and nearly everyone else in my arena top 50 does. But when Palpatine gets the zeta, his lead shines.

CHFC22

I had zzThrawn lead with EP, Shore, Storm & Tarkin. Top 100.

I then accidentally zeta'd EPs lead rather than his unique (thinking being he was too squishy), and after my rage had passed, I gave ZEP a go as lead. Needed to bring in Vader for Storm, GK for Tarkin but now top 40. Best mistake I've made.

Omnixent

I ran wedge and Biggs early on but once the meta hit for what it is now I never got under the 40s. That may have been due to everyone having great mods and better gear. Now I just put my first zeta on EP and I use that exact team. RG is a beast. His stun can really come in handy. I focused making my Vader the fastest. Next is thrawn. My best finish now is 18th. I can't beat the all G12 empire and JTR teams just yet. If my Vader goes first I never lose. If I can't it usually goes awry anyways.

So that team can be solid until shore or sion opens up. My sion is only G8 and I might make the shift once he hits G9. My RG is G8 for reference but like I said the stuns between him and EP are so necessary

Yerff_Caasi

Thanks for the advice! I don't know how long-term I'll be using RG, but I definitely will need to use him for a while. I might eventually replace him with GK though.

Omnixent

Not the best but he is feasible.

ShannonP35

Ep I am ranked number 1 in Arena. I run Epzz, Zaderzz,Thrawnz,GMTz,and Shore. Got 100+ speed on 3 of them.No problems getting 1st place. Its good to be Empire. I was Empire from day 1.

CCyrilS

I use Thrawn lead with visas and rex, and palp lead squads are no problem

DedrickRogue

I have Thrawn, Vader and EP all leader zetas. Thrawn is best until you get a leader zeta, then zeta EP’s lead and run him as leader.