Only 5 Attempts at Aphra 1/Hondo

For Tier 1, I do wonder if there is a speed/turn order sweet spot

This would be interesting to know, though I think in that case it would be useful if one of the enemies was Light Side so you had a strategic choice to make about gaining TM on your basic or not.

The point being what you said about Tier 3:

in that fight, I found I was able to influence the outcome much more with my mod strategy than I was in Tier 1.

The point is to return more control over the outcome to the player.

in the hypothetical above where they could introduce an event buff for stacking Evasion (in this event) or Crit Avoid (in an event where the enemy offence is much more modest, but they have +150% or +200% Crit Damage) you would still have to pile on relic levels to influence the battle's RNG -- but you would know you're making a conscious choice about balancing spending your in-game resources or spending your time.

Literally the same would be true if Hondo had evasion in his mastery ... but he does not.

The reason I quit after so few attempts wasn't because I'm unwilling to grind, but because I loathe on principle an event which gives so little influence to the player.

It feels like you get it (unlike some people here) so thank you for your words.