Tarkin is dominating my shard. Thrawn works ok with Biggs and ties, but everyone seems to be moving to tankier lineups where capital ship speed (first to reinforce) plays too big of a role. The only reason I can still do OK with thrawn is because the ai ALWAYS opens with aoe, meaning you can reliably get a TM boost if you kick off with TFP’s special. Which limits your starting lineup, making you a bit of a target on defense. So yeah, don’t waste your time on thrawn unless you already have him maxed.
But back to OP’s message, I think a buffed Reaper would be a way to make Thrawn viable again, and it seems like devs are really pushing for Tarkin dominance (there’s a reason why all the marquees force him as an ally).