Star Wars: Unlimited - A New TCG

Fantasy Flight Games and Asmodee invite you to choose a side and defend the Galaxy in their new trading card game, Star Wars: Unlimited. They have taken iconic characters, locations and ships from all aspects of the franchise including films, games, TV shows and comic books to put together a card game full of action and possibilities. 

How does it work?

The first Star Wars: Unlimited set features over 200 cards and is titled Spark of Rebellion. This game sees you come face-to-face with 2-4 opponents where you battle it out for victory. If your base is destroyed then it is game over and you must surrender to your opponent (let's hope they show you mercy). This game is fast-paced and requires strategic thinking to outwit your opponent. Do you have what it takes to conquer their base? Do. Or do not. There is no try.

With Star Wars: Unlimited you will never play the same game twice, even if you start with the same base and leader each time. With so many cards to choose from you can easily customise your deck to choose whether you want to be vigilant, commanding, aggressive, cunning, heroic or the villain. Each of these aspects bodes a unique game plan and can be easily chopped and changed to mix up the gameplay.

Random booster packs are available to ensure you have the chance to add heroes, villains, bounty hunters, droids, weapons, and ships to your deck, with the added excitement that you may come into possession of a rare card (such as the Mace Windu – Party Crasher card).

The possibilities are endless! And when we say endless we really mean it, you can play with Luke Skywalker as your leader and call in Emperor Palpatine to help aid your ground unit forces. Now that is something we’d like to see. 

Getting started

The game objective is to destroy your opponent's base before they destroy yours and as the ‘unlimited’ title suggests, there are many ways to do so. But for now, we will cover the basics to ensure you have enough understanding to wield the force to your advantage. 

1. To start you will need a deck. This consists of your leader, your base and 50 other cards which consist of unit, event and upgrade cards. 
2. To set up you must place your base card (face-up) on the table facing your opponent's base card. This is the base you are trying to protect whilst also trying to destroy your opponent's base card.
3. You must then place your leader card below your base.
4. The starting player is determined randomly. This could be determined by the toss of a coin or a round of rock, paper, scissors to begin the competitiveness early on. Once the starting player is determined pass them the initiative counter. 
5. Shuffle the remaining cards in your deck and draw 6 to your hand. If you are not happy with your starting cards then you may shuffle your hand into your deck and draw 6 again. This is known as a Mulligan and can only be done once per game by each player, make sure you think strategically and use this wisely! 
6. Next, place two of the cards from your hand (face-down) in front of you. This is known as the resource area and these cards then become your resource cards.
7. You are then set up and ready to start. This is a turn-based game where once the starting player has taken an action it is then the next player's turn. This continues until a base is destroyed. 

Card Types

Other than your leader and base cards the rest of your hand will consist of:

Units - There are ground and space unit cards, once played they must be placed in their respective zones (either side of your base card). Your ground units can only attack your opponent's ground units and your space units can only attack your opponent’s space units. However, they can both attack your opponent’s base and vice versa.

Events - These cards are triggered when played. Each card will detail a different effect. Once this effect has been played and resolved this card is added to the discard pile. 

Upgrades - Upgrades can be equipped with unit cards (each will specify which type they can be equipped to). Once the unit has been played the upgrade card is then discarded with it. 

Different ways to play

To keep the game versatile there have been different formats developed that can alter the experience of the game. This is dependent on how many players you have, the deck size and how long you would like the game to last. These include:

Constructed Format 

In this format, you will build your deck ahead of time and bring it to the game. There are two ways you can play the game with a constructed format, Premier and Twin Suns. Premier is the most common game type with 2 players, 50+ cards and around 20 minutes of game time. Twin Suns consists of 3-4 players, 50+ cards and extends the game to around 45-80 minutes.

Limited Format 

If you play with a limited format you will construct your deck at the start of the game with a limited pool of cards. Draft Play and Sealed Play are both types of limited format. Draft Play has 3-4 players, with a deck of 30+ cards and is played typically for 120-180 minutes. Sealed Play has the same format but can be played with 2+ players, this game type sees you open 6 random booster packs and use the cards inside to build a deck.

Play Star Wars: Unlimited at Athena Games

Just like at a Star Wars: Unlimited event, anyone is welcome at our Norwich game shop to compete at becoming a Galactic Champion in Star Wars: Unlimited. If you are new to the game and want to learn more from our Jedi Masters then why not come to our Star Wars Unlimited Draft Event? This is a great way to get into the game, understand more of the deck-building mechanics and also meet the community. Or if you are a master at the game then come and challenge the Sith to a battle for the Galaxy. May the force be with you.