Below, in the CO Guide, you will find the strengths and weaknesses of each CO. Those percentages are relative to Andy's units at 100%, which are the average.
All Units Firepower: 100%
All Units Defense: 100%
AW1 CO Power (Hyper Repair, 3 bars): Andy's units restore 2 HP and gain the standard AW1 CO Power combat bonus, raising all units to 110% Firepower and 110% Defense for the turn.
AW2 CO Power (Hyper Repair, 3 bars): Andy's units restore 2 HP and gain +10 to Defense.
AW2 Super CO Power (Hyper Upgrade, 6 bars): Restores 5 HP to all Andy's units, raises their Firepower to 120%, gives them +10 to Defense, and adds +1 movement.
Andy Strategy: Andy is a low-tier CO because he lacks any notable strengths, and his CO power is only passable on base deployment maps. Andy gets a bit stronger in AW2 because of the new Super CO Power that restores +5 HP to all of Andy's units. That combined with Andy's overall balance makes him a versatile CO in AW2. Still, Andy is useful on predeployed missions, which AW1's campaign modes offer plenty of. That's because Andy can heal his units without having to bring his units back to cities. Andy also has the best indirect units among Andy, Max, and Sami, which can be useful in a pinch.
AW1 Direct Firepower (non-foot soldiers): 150% (!)
AW2 Direct Firepower (non-foot soldiers): 120%
AW1 Indirect Units: 90% Firepower, 90% Defense, -1 Attack Range
AW2 Indirect Units: 90% Firepower, 100% Defense, -1 Attack Range
Foot Soldiers and Transport Units: 100% Firepower and Defense
AW1 CO Power (Max Force, 3 bars): Max's non-foot soldier direct-combat units reach 187% effective Firepower, and his non-foot soldier direct-combat and transport units gain +1 movement. The standard AW1 CO Power combat modifier also applies to all his units; indirect units retain their -1 range penalty.
AW2 CO Power (Max Force, 3 bars): Max's non-foot soldier direct-combat units gain +20 to Firepower and +1 movement. All his units gain +10 to Defense.
AW2 Super CO Power (Max Blast, 6 bars): Max's non-foot soldier direct-combat units gain +40 to Firepower and +2 movement. All his units gain +10 to Defense.
Max Strategy: Max may be the strongest CO in AW1. Most deployed units are direct units, and Max has +50 Firepower and a strong AW1 CO Power. Max is good for aggressive players that love using tanks, anti-airs, and battle copters. Max was significantly nerfed in AW2, but remains a mid-tier CO that can make use of solid direct units, particularly when Max uses his Super CO Power. Max's strength, in both AW1 and AW2, is on flat maps without many choke points where you need to make up a lot of ground. Use his CO Powers when you've opened a hole in the enemy line and have the chance to storm tanks into the enemy base area.
AW1 Foot Soldiers: 120% Firepower, 110% Defense, 150% Capture Speed
AW2 Foot Soldiers: 130% Firepower, 100% Defense, 150% Capture Speed
Other Direct Units Firepower: 90%
Indirect Units Firepower: 100%
Transport Units: +1 Movement
AW1 CO Power (Double Time, 3 bars): Sami's foot soldiers gain +1 movement, improved Firepower and Defense, and movement costs of 1 across passable terrain regardless of weather. Her other units also receive the normal AW1 CO Power combat bonus.
AW2 CO Power (Double Time, 3 bars): Sami's foot soldiers gain +1 movement and rise to 150% Firepower. All her units gain +10 to Defense.
AW2 Super CO Power (Victory March, 8 bars): Sami's foot soldiers gain +2 movement and rise to 180% Firepower. They can also capture a property in one turn regardless of their current HP. All her units gain +10 to Defense.
Sami Strategy: After Max, Sami is likely the second best AW1 CO. Sami is a good choice for any AW1 predeployed campaign mission where you're reliant on an HQ capture for victory due to her 1.5x capture rate. Sami's strengths come from smaller maps in which there are few funds but a lot of bases, and on maps with a lot of mountains. Sami's strength comes from her infantry and mechs, which she can build cheaply and quickly to take down most vehicles, except for much more expensive medium tanks, aircraft, and naval units. Mechs have the lowest movement in the game, but that disadvantage diminishes with Sami's faster transports and with APCs to reload the mechs' bazookas.
Sami isn't as dominant compared to her new rivals in AW2 as compared to AW1, and thus falls to mid-tier, but Victory March still allows Sami to threaten sudden property and HQ captures. Just don't rely on Sami's weak non-foot direct units, and remember that she is less effective on larger maps that force her to transport many units against heavy machinery.
All Units Firepower: 100%, may randomly strike with up to +20 to Firepower
All Units Defense: 100%
AW1 CO Power (Lucky Star, 3 bars): Nell's luck damage rises to as much as +60%, and all her units gain the standard AW1 CO Power combat bonus.
AW2 CO Power (Lucky Star, 3 bars): Nell's luck damage rises to as much as +60%, and all her units gain +10 to Defense.
AW2 Super CO Power (Lady Luck, 6 bars): Nell's luck damage rises to as much as +100%, and all her units gain +10 to Defense.
Nell Strategy: Nell is a top-tier CO. Nell has no weaknesses, and can at random do an incredible amount of additional damage, particularly when Nell has her CO powers activated. As with Andy, Nell has no strengths, so Nell would do well to avoid taking COs with more specialized skills head on at their strength.
All Units Firepower: 100%, units cost 90% of normal
All Units Defense: 100%
CO Power (Barter, 3 bars): Hachi's unit costs drop to 50% of normal with no Firepower penalty. All his units gain +10 to Defense.
Super CO Power (Merchant Union, 5 bars): Hachi's unit costs drop to 50% of normal, and he can deploy ground units from any unoccupied city under his command. His units gain +10 to Defense.
Hachi Strategy: Hachi is only playable on AW2, and is a top-tier CO at that because he has no weaknesses while having a deployment strength. Hachi's units are cheaper than anyone else's units other than Colin's, without Colin's Firepower or Defense penalties. Hachi's CO powers are quick to build up and effectively allow Hachi to build whatever he wants, and he can even deploy units on predeployed maps using his Super CO Power.
All Units Firepower: 100%
All Units Defense: 100%
Olaf's units ignore snow movement penalties, but rain affects them the way snow does other units.
AW1 CO Power (Blizzard, 3 bars): Calls down snow for one day. Olaf's units gain the standard AW1 CO Power combat bonus.
AW2 CO Power (Blizzard, 3 bars): Calls down snow for one day, while Olaf's units gain +10 to Defense.
AW2 Super CO Power (Winter Fury, 7 bars): Deals 2 HP of damage to all enemy units, calls down snow for one day, and gives Olaf's units +10 to Defense.
Olaf Strategy: Olaf is a low-tier CO. Olaf is usually the worst choice out of the Blue Moon choices in AW2 campaign mode because his CO powers can hurt his allies who are slowed down by weather. Olaf's Snow abilities work best on a map without many roads or cities, and where an enemy may need the movement to reach your other units on a particular turn. Small maps also really nerf this CO power. However, his Super CO power does deal +2HP damage as well, making Olaf slightly better suited to AW2 play than AW1.
AW1 Indirect Units: 100% Firepower, +1 Attack Range
AW1 Other Units: 80% Firepower
AW2 Indirect Units: 120% Firepower, +1 Attack Range
AW2 Non-Foot-Soldier Direct Units: 80% Firepower
AW2 Foot Soldiers: 100% Firepower
All Units Defense: 100%
AW1 CO Power (Snipe Attack, 3 bars): Grit's indirect-combat units gain another +2 attack range and reach 165% effective Firepower. The standard AW1 CO Power combat modifier applies to his other units as well.
AW2 CO Power (Snipe Attack, 3 bars): Grit's indirect-combat units gain another +1 attack range and rise to 150% Firepower. All his units gain +10 to Defense.
AW2 Super CO Power (Super Snipe, 6 bars): Grit's indirect-combat units gain another +2 attack range and rise to 150% Firepower. All his units gain +10 to Defense.
Grit Strategy: Grit is a top-tier CO. Grit has the best attack range and firepower on his artillery, rockets, missiles, and battleships out of all the COs. This means that Grit can set up very strong ranged positions. Have Grit lots of artillery and a few rockets on maps with lots of choke points. Instead of relying on tanks as your direct units, primarily use infantry to defend your artillery on the front line. Grit also doesn't do so well on open maps where direct units will have the time of day.
All Units Firepower: 90%, units cost 80% of normal
All Units Defense: 100%
CO Power (Gold Rush, 2 bars): Increases Colin's current funds by 50%. All Colin's units also gain +10 to Defense.
Super CO Power (Power of Money, 6 bars): Colin's units gain +1 to Firepower for every 300G he has when the power is activated. They also gain +10 to Defense.
Colin Strategy: Colin is one of the top-tier AW2 COs. Colin can build stronger units earlier than his opponents because he can build units at the cheapest rate out of any CO. To best utilize Colin's CO powers, save funds for a turn before you use them. Colin's CO power costs only two bars and will give you more funds, while Colin's six bars will be how you want to deal firepower damage quickly with the units you have on the field.
Air Units Firepower: 115%
Air Units Defense: 110%, consume 2 less fuel per day
AW1 Naval Units Firepower: 80%
AW2 Naval Units Firepower: 70%
All Other Units Firepower: 100%
All Other Units Defense: 100%
AW1 CO Power (Lightning Drive, 5 bars): This power was named Lightning Strike in the original GBA game. Eagle's non-foot soldier units that have already carried out orders can move again. While the power is active, his units' Firepower is reduced to 80% of its normal value and they take 130% of normal damage; his AW1 air and naval day-to-day modifiers still apply.
AW2 CO Power (Lightning Drive, 3 bars): Eagle's air units gain +15 to Firepower and +20 to Defense. His other units gain +10 to Defense.
AW2 Super CO Power (Lightning Strike, 9 bars): Eagle's non-foot soldier units that have already acted can move and fire again. His air units gain +15 to Firepower and +20 to Defense, while his other units gain +10 to Defense.
Eagle Strategy: Eagle is a mid-tier CO in AW1. He's a fun CO to use, particularly in AW1, because his strength is unusual and breaks many enemy strategies. Eagle is best used on maps with sea, which allows him to seek air supremacy over COs who either have to match him in the air or try to build more expensive naval units. Eagle has a weakness on sea-only maps, but he's easy enough to avoid using on those maps. In AW1, Lightning Drive powers up relatively quickly, but Eagle can be vulnerable after the second action because of the combat-stat penalty.
In AW2, Eagle falls to being a low-tier CO because his normal CO Power only affects air units and no longer gives him two actions. His Super CO Power is strong, but at nine bars, it takes a long time to charge.
AW1 Air Units Firepower: 80%
AW1 Naval Units: +1 Movement, +2 Terrain Stars
AW2 Air Units Firepower: 70%
AW2 Naval Units: 110% Defense, +1 Movement
All Other Units Firepower: 100%
All Other Units Defense: 100%
Rain does not affect Drake's units' movement.
AW1 CO Power (Squall, 4 bars): This power was named Tsunami in the original GBA game. It deals 1 HP of damage to every enemy unit and gives Drake's units the normal AW1 CO Power combat bonus.
AW2 CO Power (Squall, 4 bars): Deals 1 HP of damage to every enemy unit, cuts enemy fuel in half, and gives Drake's units +10 to Defense.
AW2 Super CO Power (Typhoon, 7 bars): Deals 2 HP of damage to every enemy unit, cuts enemy fuel in half, creates rain for a day, and gives Drake's units +10 to Defense.
Drake Strategy: Drake is a low-tier CO that's really only playable on large maps and on sea maps. Naval units are expensive and less versatile than land and air units. Drake is primarily useful on naval maps where the armies aren't connected to each other and the COs need to build ships to advance. His global-damage powers become more useful in AW2 because cutting fuel can strand air and naval units without ready access to resupply.
Ground Vehicle Units Firepower: 110%
All Other Units Firepower: 90%
All Units Defense: 100%
AW2 CO Power (Turbo Charge, 3 bars): Jess's ground-vehicle units gain +1 to movement range and +20 to Firepower. All her units gain +10 to Defense, and all fuel and ammo are replenished.
AW2 Super CO Power (Overdrive, 6 bars): Jess's ground-vehicle units gain +2 to movement range and +40 to Firepower. Also restores fuel and ammo supplies and grants +10 to Defense to all her units.
Jess Strategy: Only available in AW2, Jess is a low-tier CO that should only be used on maps that only have bases, and where you can't deploy any air or naval units. Her infantry are weak, which makes it harder for her to contest properties in the early game, but the longer she goes, she's able to use her CO powers to make use of her decent land units.
AW1 All Units Firepower: 120%, +20% Cost
AW1 All Units Defense: 120%
AW2 All Units Firepower: 130%, +20% Cost
AW2 All Units Defense: 130%
AW1 CO Power (Morale Boost, 5 bars): Kanbei's units gain +20 to Firepower and +10 to Defense.
AW2 CO Power (Morale Boost, 4 bars): Kanbei's units gain +20 to Firepower and +10 to Defense.
AW2 Super CO Power (Samurai Spirit, 7 bars): Kanbei's units gain +20 to Firepower and +30 to Defense. Their counterattacks deal 150% damage.
Kanbei Strategy: Kanbei is a top-tier CO. Despite the +20% deployment cost, most of Kanbei's combat units are worth the extra funds because of their stronger Firepower and Defense, particularly in AW2. When coupled with defensive terrain and Samurai Spirit, Kanbei's units are difficult to take down. His funds are less efficiently spent on transport units, which gain no additional transport functionality for the higher price. For that reason, Kanbei is best used on smaller maps with less need to move armies long distances.
AW1 All Units Firepower: 100%
AW1 All Units Defense: 100%
AW1 Luck Range: 0% to +10%; Bad Luck Range: 0% to -15%
AW2 All Units Firepower: 100%
AW2 All Units Defense: 100%
AW2 Luck Range: 0% to +10%; Bad Luck Range: 0% to -10%
AW2 Counterattack Firepower: 150%
Sonja's units gain +1 vision in Fog of War, and their HP is hidden from opponents.
AW1 CO Power (Enhanced Vision, 3 bars): Sonja's units gain +2 vision and can see into woods and reefs in Fog of War. They also gain +10 to Firepower and Defense.
AW2 CO Power (Enhanced Vision, 3 bars): Sonja's units gain +1 vision and can see into woods and reefs in Fog of War. They also gain +10 to Defense.
AW2 Super CO Power (Counter Break, 5 bars): Sonja's units gain +1 vision, can see into woods and reefs in Fog of War, and gain +10 to Defense. When one of her units is attacked, Sonja's unit strikes first instead of receiving the normal 150% counterattack bonus for that turn.
Sonja Strategy: Sonja is a low-tier CO that is most useful on Fog of War maps. She is the reverse of Nell and may deal less damage than expected because of bad luck. In AW2, her stronger counterattacks and Counter Break give her more defensive bite, while hidden HP and extra vision can also make her awkward for a human opponent to read. Her overall combat weaknesses still make her harder to use than stronger general-purpose COs.
Foot Soldiers Firepower: 140%
Battle Copters Firepower: 150%
Ground Vehicle and Naval Units Firepower: 90%
Plane Units Firepower: 100%
All Units Defense: 100%
Transport Units Movement: +1
CO Power (Copter Command, 2 bars): New 9-HP infantry units appear on each unoccupied city under Sensei's command, up to the unit cap, and are ready to act. His battle copters gain +25 to Firepower. All his units gain +10 to Defense.
Super CO Power (Airborne Assault, 6 bars): New 9-HP mech units appear on each unoccupied city under Sensei's command, up to the unit cap, and are ready to act. His battle copters gain +25 to Firepower. All his units gain +10 to Defense.
Sensei Strategy: Sensei is a top-tier CO. He's the best CO to use if you can deploy air units and otherwise want to play a Sami-like strategy. Battle copters are cheap and highly versatile, while his foot soldiers are excellent in battle and his CO Powers create even more of them. His ground vehicles and naval combat units are weaker, but the cost effectiveness of Sensei's infantry, mechs, and battle copters is usually more than enough to compensate.
AW1 War Room/Versus Firepower: 80%
AW1 War Room/Versus Defense: 120%
AW1 Campaign Firepower: 130%
AW1 Campaign Defense: 80%
AW2 Firepower: 120%
AW2 Defense: 120%
Sturm's units have movement costs of 1 across passable terrain in clear and rainy weather. Snow uses the normal movement costs.
AW1 CO Power (Meteor Strike, 5 bars): The playable War Room/Versus version deals 4 HP of damage to every unit in the strike zone and raises Sturm's units to 90% Firepower / 130% Defense for the turn. Campaign Sturm's stronger Meteor Strike deals 8 HP and raises his units to 150% Firepower / 90% Defense.
AW2 CO Power: Sturm has no normal CO Power.
AW2 Super CO Power (Meteor Strike, 10 stars): Deals 8 HP of damage to every unit in the strike zone and raises Sturm's units to 140% Firepower / 150% Defense for the turn.
Meteor Strike Pattern:
--X-- -XXX- XXXXX -XXX- --X--
Meteor Strike automatically selects a high-value target area. It can damage Sturm's own units if they are caught in the diamond, and the HP damage cannot destroy a unit; affected units are left with at least a sliver of HP.
Sturm Strategy: Sturm breaks normal terrain movement rules. Recons, tanks, artillery, rockets, and other units can cross normally slow terrain much more freely, while infantry can cross mountains at one movement cost outside snow. The AW1 Campaign version is an enemy-only boss variant with much stronger offense and weaker defense than the unlockable AW1 version. AW2 Sturm is overwhelmingly strong on both offense and defense.
Unlock: Complete The Final Battle! in the AW1 Campaign, then purchase Clone Andy for 900 coins in Hachi's Shop.
All Units Firepower: 100%
All Units Defense: 100%
CO Power: Hyper Repair (3 bars) - Andy's units restore +2 HP and gain +10 to Firepower (offense) and Defense.
Super CO Power: Clone Andy doesn't get a Super CO Power.
Andy Strategy: Clone Andy should only be used in AW1 Style because unlike Andy, he lacks Andy's Super CO Power, the best reason to use one of the Andys. See the description for Andy above otherwise.
All Units Firepower: 100%, randomly strike with a modifier to Firepower between -10 and +15
All Units Defense: 100%
CO Power (Brute Force, 3 bars): Flak's units randomly strike with a modifier to Firepower between +40 and -20. They also gain +10 on defense.
Super CO Power (Barbaric Blow, 6 bars): Flak's units may randomly strike with a modifier to Firepower between +80 and -30. They also gain +10 to Defense.
Flak Strategy: There's not a whole lot to the strategy for Flak. Flak isn't a great CO to use. Flak is essentially a less lucky Nell. His CO powers widen the passive luck range at both ends of the scale.
All Units Firepower: 100%
All Units Defense: 100%
Lash's ground and naval units gain +10 Firepower per terrain star.
CO Power (Terrain Tactics, 4 bars): Lash's units' movement costs become 1 across normally passable terrain in clear and rainy weather. They also gain +10 to Defense.
Super CO Power (Prime Tactics, 7 bars): Lash's units gain +10 to Defense and double the defensive terrain-star benefit. Their movement costs become 1 across normally passable terrain in clear and rainy weather.
Lash Strategy: Lash is a mid-tier CO, and best on any map that has a lot of properties, forest, mountains, and reefs. Her units do extra Firepower damage from those types of defensive terrain. Her Super CO Power makes her nearly unbeatable on the turn on terrain, as her units can dish out a ton of damage without taking much at all. Lash is less effective on maps that are heavy on air units, as her terrain advantages there are neutralized.
All Units Firepower: 100%
All Units Defense: 100%
CO Power (Sideslip, 2 bars): Adder's units gain +1 movement range and +10 to defense.
Super CO Power (Sidewinder, 5 bars): Adder's units gain +2 movement range and +10 to defense.
Adder Strategy: Adder is a low-tier CO. Adder stores up energy for his CO power more rapidly than other COs do. His movement bonuses on CO powers can make it more challenging to position units against him. Sideslip is a decent CO power, but Adder's lack of firepower boost even with CO powers makes him a difficult choice to recommend.
All Units Firepower: 110%
All Units Defense: 100%
CO Power (Black Wave, 5 bars): All enemy units suffer 1 HP of damage. Additionally, Hawke's units recover +1 HP and gain +10 Defense.
Super CO Power (Black Storm, 9 bars): Hawke's units recover +2 HP and gain +10 to Defense. Enemy units suffer -2 HP.
Hawke Strategy: Hawke is a mid-tier CO. His units start with increased Firepower, and his CO powers are particularly helpful on larger maps (e.g. 4P) where more units are impacted. However, his CO powers take a long time to charge, which prevents Hawke from being a top-tier CO.
========================================= ========================================= =========================================