The Best Commanders in Star Wars

Who joins Thrawn as the best commanders of each faction (or at least, the Empire, Rebels/New Republic/Galactic Alliance, Republic, CIS, and Yuuzhan Vong?
Grand Admirals: • Complete History of th...
Edited by MarMarBunBun
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[@nomar5spaulding]

This is the type of content I sub here for. I had a great laugh at the line "Constant jerk Borsk Fey'lya."

[@heavyarms55]

Still a better leader of the NR then all of the NR's leadership in canon: "We just got out of a two major galactic wars in 40 years, let's disarm most of our military less than a few years later. What could possibly go wrong?" I'd take good old Borsk over that any day! Sorry Ackbar.

[@phdgamingftwontwitch3485]

I just wish he talked about the new republic era commanders as well

[@nomar5spaulding]

@heavyarms55 That whole "We just got out of 2 major wars, let's demilitarize" thing is more common IRL than you might expect.

[@johnlowe6035]

I’d argue grievous outclasses trench by a huge margin. Trench won and lost a few battles, but that was the limit of it. In legends, Grievous was stated by multiple sources (Labyrinth of Evil, RoTS novelisation, Etc.) to be the military mastermind behind the CIS side of the war. While Palpetine was a master politician and manipulator and Dooku the same but to a lesser degree, neither are stated by any source to have had any influence over strategy or tactics. The most influence was telling Grievous what battles to win and lose so that Palpatine could manipulate the Republic into giving him more political power. For showings of his tactical ability, look no further than Hypori; often overshadowed by his victory over 5 Jedi, his tactical display at this battle was far more impressive, destroying all their forces and even having Shaak Ti praise him - “His strategy is without flaw”. On a larger scale look to Operation Durges Lance where Grievous orchestrated an offensive that broke into the galactic core as far as Duro (and further scared the Republic into giving Palpatine even more emergency powers as well as further militarising the Republic). The only difference with Grievous and other separatist tacticians was that Grievous was privy to Sidious’ existence and therefore had a better grasp of how his master wanted the war to go. I would even go as far to apply this to canon (as speculation); at the battle of Kamino grievous was certain victory could be achieved as he said to Kenobi “kamino has fallen, your clone army is doomed”, yet out of nowhere the republic pulled a decisive victory. Why would Palpatine want kamino and their production of clones (his ultimate plan to destroy the Jedi) to stop? Why would he send Grievous to do this with the very strong possibility he could do this and interrupt his master plan? He wouldn’t. It’s only logical that Grievous was meant to lose that battle and he did so on purpose. After an attack on Kamino, this would give cause to further militarise the Republic and expand its cloning centres to other worlds. Grievous knew how to win battles and convincingly lose them. In a direct comparison, trench may seem more tactically apt, but none of his feats close in on grievous’, as well as the fact that he only commanded smaller scale engagements whilst grievous did this and fought a galactic scale war at the same time.

[@larsO204]

TCW Grievous is of course really different from most of Legends Grievous. Certainly Operation Durge's Lance shows his more tactical side.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

I will forever distrust Lucas and Filoni for preferring the obsolescence of Flash Gordon-level villainy.

[@kR-qj7rw]

lucas after telling tartakovsky how he now wanted a mustached twirling guy who always loses and runs away and aftr the ball was set in motion for him being a great naval comander tbh filoni just picked it up from there years later in TCW, and well filoni and the production crew of tcw really have influenced most of the new canon so unless someone goes back to pre 2008 grievous our cyborg is stuck as a jobber

[@JJJBunney001]

Grievous was a never consistent yhough. He was portrayed as a ruthless savage, a strategic genius, good on the ground and terrible in space and vice versa . Thats the authors and writers not specifically Dave or George telling people what to write

[@kR-qj7rw]

@@JJJBunney001 on one hand you are right with how many ways he's been portrayed But Lucas was the one with the final word and he made him well the movie version and when tcw happened the show with the most viewers over the years and that shaped a generation that honestly and this is no jab at them don't really care or know about other sources, Lucas just gave Dave the go ahead. And really it is a multiple person problem I'm not trying to paint them as some evildoers or something but that's the pop culture fan perception of grievous The part that always makes me a bit sad is they made so many non movie and often completely new villains for the show they could have kept grievous as a more competent character and have someone else be the running around villain the heroes clash every other week with

[@kadenstimpson3167]

​@@kR-qj7rw Part of the reason Grievous sucked as a character in TCW 2008 is because they had to be consistent with the movies, which meant not allowing him to meet Anakin, and giving Obi Wan some experience fighting him while not really allowing him to win. The Lair of Grievous arc stands out as a good depiction within that show, because they were unshackled from that requirement. Outside of that, they leaned heavily on Grievous' reputation as an escape artist.

[@heavyarms55]

I would say Garm Bel Iblis should have had an honorable mention. Though he should be faulted for leaving the Rebels instead of talking it out with Mothma (seriously they were both former senators, they ought to have been able to do that!), he was widely regarded in universe by friend and foe alike as one of the best if not the best commanders around. Even the Vong thought of him as that. On a side note, I will always regret that we didn't get to see more of him in the Vong war. We know he teamed up with Luke for at least a few weeks around the time of Ebaq 9 but it was all off screen.... off page, whatever.

[@snugglecity3500]

Gotta keep in mind when bel idblis showed up to coruscant thrawn ran away.

[@foust117]

I got the impression Garm Bel Iblis could have gotten much more screen time than he did. Would like to have seen him come back for New Canon.

[@delb2192]

I'm so glad Wedge made it up here, he's so underrated, especially in his role as a naval commander. I would argue that his action at Borleias is what allowed Ackbar to rebuild the New Republic at all, and if it wasn't for Borleias the Vong War could have gone very differently

[@heavyarms55]

I completely agree! The Borleias campaign is my favorite battle in all of Star Wars to this day! I love the multi layered strategies, the psychologial warfare stuff, the fact that even though the Jedi were there it was still very total war and the Jedi never have reason to doubt him. He wasn't just a great tactical commander, he was a superior leader. He earned trust and loyalty of the best people around. Ironically in universe the GA does recognize how dangerous he could be in deciding to lock him up. Then they learned what a stupid idea that was.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Not even Poe Dameron (still my favorite Sequel character, regardless of that storyline's unfixable inanity) can match him.

[@CommissarWallace]

I think you underrate Yularen here to a degree. He benefitted from his partnership with Anakin, yes, but at the same time he also displayed considerable capabilities in restraining both his and Ahsoka's overenthusiasm (working around the Jedi being key to being a Republic commander of any note at the time), built the basis of many of the tactical plans they then springboarded operations off of, and was pivotal in defeating some of the CIS' most important commanders, including Grievous and Trench. If you wanted a wildcard, Mace is arguably a highly capable commander not only on the ground and in space, but on a strategic level. Throughout TCW he has a far better grasp of the nuances of command and leadership than virtually any of the other Jedi and is often the one developing Republic strategy to an extent in the key meetings.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

...I don't think the TCW novels can fit on any continuity anymore.

[@MrOddlyCynical]

Darth marr - dude got his hands on a superfuel and instead of making weapons he just bolstered the sith empires strategic reserves

[@CoreysDatapad]

Special thanks for this video to MarMar for the editing, and Nolan for some consulting on the Republic in particular!

[@MarMarBunbun]

It was a pleasure to work on this video with you, although I was kinda disappointed my boy Meebur Gascon didn't make it

[@DarkVaati13]

Interesting placement of Czulkang Lah and honestly I don't think I'd disagree. Tsavong Lah, while skilled at offenses and sieges, was much more of a political pick since he was a ride or die Shimrra supporter. My one argument in favor of Nas Choka was that he had managed to take over Hutt Space and he had coordinated the shutdown of the HoloNet which did manage to slow down the New Republic considerably. Adar Tallon is a great pick for the Old Republic's best.

[@justinhess2747]

I would like to give honorable mention to Tallon Karrde for walking a tightrope, waiting until the perfect moment, and needing only one strike to fully collapse an otherwise victory. Really, once you reread the books and stop obsessing over Thrawn you can see how the other characters also shine. Read the original Zahn trilogy about Thrawn. Twice

[@heavyarms55]

I'd bet you a month's wage Corey has read the original Thrawn books more than twice already. lol

[@justinhess2747]

@@heavyarms55 I guess that was more for any other reader of this comment. I could see how I might have left that ambiguous. Thanks 👍

[@julianbecker4351]

For the new republik i would mention General Bel Iblis

[@seekerofnothingness]

8:30 "constant jerk" is an understatement

[@jef_3006]

I think Padme, if she had any desire to be an military commander, could easily have been one of the best. We basically only see her act in that fashion during the Battle of Naboo, but in the lead up to that battle she correctly identifies how she can defeat the Trade Federation with only a small force of peer troops and a distraction, and the plan even includes redundancy; she can capture the Viceroy, or destroy the droid control ship, and both will result in her planet being freed (at least in the short term). She then very effectively implements that plan. AND, she does all this when she's only 14 years old. If adult Padme had been an admiral in the Clone Wars, she would've mopped the floor with the Separatists.

[@Bobrob1597]

I think Bel Iblis should have been made an honorable mention. While he’s not Thrawn level, he’s one of the few commanders that can at least go against him without a crushing defeat.

[@gamercore5216]

I do wish you looked into old republic factions i think Revan and Marr should get mentioned

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Thought this was about *commandoes.* I would have non-hesitantly picked Kyle Katarn, with his apprentices Mara Jade and Jaden Korr (yes, even their Dark Sided take) as honorable mentions. Either way, Legends Ackbar is a true, well, legend out of all of them. Not only do we know a fair share of his delicious backstory, he also got the lucky fate of having a well recorded natural, peaceful death (even if it did rob him the chance to witness the final fruits of his long-earned labor via the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar).

[@bart2873]

No Old Republic factions causes this to miss out on Revan and Cassus Fett. And if you separate warlords from the Empire, then Zsinj could rank highly.

[@wedgeantillies66]

Honourable mention for Garn Bel Ibis for the New Republic, given he generally did a very good job when up against thrawn during the latter days of the Thrawn campaign, when the new republic was getting hammered on all fronts sim,ultaneously.

[@heliosdik1931]

I would consider Sev'rance Tann for the CIS place, or at least as an honorable mention - as she was more of a Erwin Rommel type of commander - risky, and aggressive, not much of a organizer type - maybe thats one of the reasons she was replaced by grievous as the Supreme Commander of CIS forces [Other reason than being dead of course]. As for the republic side - Anakin Skywalker of course [not an officer, but commander nonetheless. Also Rommel type.] and Oppo Rancisis as he was considered one of the greatest strategist minds of the jedi order if i remember corectly.

[@billyholland5156]

I agree with your assessment of Trench as the above new canon grievous. Grievous as he was in Legends was portrayed as a FAAAAR better commander than in TCW. Not to mention his TCW incarnation does not at all match how good he was against the Yamrii/Huk when his planet was one world of undeveloped relative primitives versus a ruthless and militaristic interstellar colonial empire that matched galactic standard tech...and proceeded to almost exterminate the Huk if not for republic intervention.

[@davidalan528]

I think Wedge should get the top spot for the NR/GA faction, based specifically on his ability not just to shift tactics and strategies, but to shift entire strategic and tactical schools of thought. He didn't just now how to run the various playbooks he was trained in and helped write over the years; he knew his opponents' books well enough to run them flawlessly. There are several perfect examples from the Borleias campaign of the Vong War, in which he beat the Vong by shiftnig tactical schools among factions - first they fought the Vong as the New Republic, then as the Rebellion, then as the *Empire* with a Rebellious flourish - luring the Vong into a trap the way Ackbar might, but then hammering them with orbital bombardment like Tarkin would - and for some reason (seriously, where does he *get* these ideas) using a Super Star Destroyer as the galaxy's largest space harpoon, which (in an almost Thrrawn-like gambit) he had tricked the Vong into thinking was going to be some dramatic superweapon like the Empire would surely have used. Wedge was also instrumental in the aspect of that campaign that used the Vong's highly superstitious religious fanaticism against them, wielding their fear of Jaina Solo against them in ways big and small that kept them off-guard. And since the Republic had just lost Coruscant before this campaign, the fact that he just kept flowing from strength to strength, overflowing with brilliant ideas, was also instrumental in keeping up the hope of the rank and file.

[@RevanX77]

No mention of Revan? Has to be one of the most prominent commanders in the entire EU continuity, right up there with Thrawn and Ackbar.

[@CoreysDatapad]

He's not part of any of the factions I was covering.

[@aethertech]

Gram Bel Ibis

[@totalwar1793]

From Corey's EaWX and XPGamers' playthroughs, I'd argue that Corey and Cpt. Shack are the two best strategists in Star Wars history :P

[@kR-qj7rw]

Ehhhhh Corey if they die they die to heroes and shack's missing objects right in front of him kinda disagree with that :P Still love em both

[@allnamesaretakenful]

I just realized that Thrawn is Moriarty in Space.

[@orests.7720]

You didn’t mentioned any of comanders in Old Republic era!!! I hope you will create some new video about top5 comanders in previous eras of Star Wars( for example Valkorion or Revan or Nihilus or Darth Malgus or some of the Hutts…)

[@glenny5081]

Kalani snubbed

[@Iamsnuggles]

Can you please do an update from last years video about Star Wars games coming out? I’ve been reading up a little bit and it’s really sad how outlaws looks like the only thing that will be coming out soon.

[@inquisitorgarza312]

Being a commander in the Star Wars universe will make you into one of the most intelligent people in the Galaxy as you are responsible for entire galactic campaigns.

[@heavyarms55]

Keep in mind that they have staffs of officers working for them. There's no way one person can micro everything. They don't need to know everything either, they need to have people that do. Case in point: Wedge. He was always working with his team and squadrons. A huge part of his success was in having the best people and knowing how to make use of them. Thrawn was like that too, though his was more formal, he inspired loyalty and rewarded competence. This results in a highly capable core group of soldiers that he made great use of.

[@DarkVaati13]

@@heavyarms55 I don't know. I feel like Thrawn was very much a micromanaging commander and I got the impression that he kept a lot of plans to himself. There weren't many battles in the campaign that he wasn't involved in and once he died the entire momentum of the war just dissolved to the point where the NR could focus on taking out the Ciutric Hegemony.

[@andrewperkin7192]

Admiral Ackbar has gotta be the best just the fact he works with others and is tactically brilliant because of his work with those he trusts to make the best decisions in combat. Thrawn just lead everything himself and it backed fired

[@Keeagn]

0:02. Where does this image of thrawn come from? It's from a game right? I just can't figure out which one.

[@josesanchezrodriguez1783]

It's from TIE Fighter

[@Keeagn]

@josesanchezrodriguez1783 thanks.

[@Mithrawnuruodo]

The only one I really disagree is for the Yuuzhan Vong, for me it's clearly Nas Choka. The Empire and NR could have many more names dropped: Zsinj, Teshik, Makati, Nantz, A'baht, Bel Iblis,...

[@wa-bu3ke]

What about bounty hunter Durge

[@dakotalange2858]

Gerivious is more of an Army General that’s good at space warfare Trench is more of a space admiral that’s good at ground engagements

[@eriklinkogel6399]

Wasn't Trenchs Blockade over Christophsis?😅

[@CoreysDatapad]

In the Clone Wars. I was talking about what he did before the Clone Wars.

[@freekashyyyk896]

Why no mention of Revan or The Exile (brainfarting on her name atm)?

[@emzonik8851]

You could argue Trench for Canon, but in Legends I doubt he could repeat the success of opwration Durge's Lance. Grevious is nr 1 imo.

[@kR-qj7rw]

I mean. Thing is tcw is also legends so it muddies grievous stuff there too

[@emzonik8851]

@@kR-qj7rw in Legends ypu've got a mess of CWMP badasss strategist Grievous and TCW meme Grievous. In Canon you got just the latter. So I'd say Legends Grievous is still above Trench, who's pretty much the same in both.

[@threecolourstrilogy]

I’ve been thinking about how interesting it would be to compare Marchion Ro and the Nihil’s campaign to Thrawn

[@SuperWindsage]

we not counting jedi?

[@liphardusmagus5970]

Who is that little guy at 4:56?

[@wojtek561]

Meebur Gascon from clone wars series.

[@liphardusmagus5970]

@@wojtek561 thanks

[@eds1942]

Revan

[@MrNoscopeJones]

No love for Etahn A'baht?

[@brandonbain224]

You got my like at "Ackbar is back"

[@stanisawjarczyk5995]

For me 1) Thrawn 2) Revan 3) Garm Bel-Iblis 5) Ackbar 6) Bwu'a Tu 7) Oppo Rancisis

[@ZoomReverseFlash]

I expected Commander Cody from the Republic side.

[@markmccall3813]

The Sith empire? Revan.

[@DarthVages]

👍

[@sergioruiz733]

So what I am hearing is that Zapp Brannigan is the best Commander in Star Wars.

[@octaviangrant9441]

I would say Mar Tuuk is one of the better confederate commanders

[@marckrieger3277]

Bel Iblisis not even considered best commander? In my opinion he performed the best against thrawn in his campaign.

[@alicesaxon601]

Damn if Disney Thrawn is the best strategist in canon then everyone else must downright moronic by comparison. Beer-belly thrawn in Ahsoka was a joke lol should have just kept Thrawn out of Disney Star Wars.