Star Wars Unlimited Releases Quickstart Rules, Reveals New Cards

 

Fantasy Flight Games has officially released the Quickstart ruleset for Star Wars Unlimited, their upcoming trading card game slated for release next year. Today, the ruleset for Star Wars Unlimited was made available, offering players a comprehensive overview of the game mechanics, including deckbuilding rules, victory conditions, card deployment, and combat mechanics. This release marks the first in-depth look at the rule system for a new Star Wars trading card game since 2020. Additionally, over the past few weeks, Fantasy Flight Games has unveiled three new cards: the Cloud City Wing Guard and Viper Probe Droid unit cards, as well as the appropriately themed "I Am Your Father" action card, which made its debut on Father's Day.

“Search your feelings. You know it to be true.” – Darth Vader, STAR WARS: The Empire
Strikes Back

With a galaxy full of fathers out there to celebrate, here's a brand new card reveal for STAR WARS: Unlimited! pic.twitter.com/TZG4EKQ4TP

— Star Wars: Unlimited by FFG (@UnlimitedFFG) June 18, 2023

In Star Wars Unlimited, players construct a 50-card deck comprising units, actions, and event cards. Each deck includes a Leader card and a Base card, which are placed on the playing field at the start of the game. Every card in the game possesses an "aspect," akin to colors in Magic: The Gathering or types in the Pokemon Trading Card Game. While players have the freedom to build their deck with cards from any combination of aspects, playing cards that don't share an aspect with either their Leader or Base card incurs an "aspect penalty." Leader cards feature two Aspects, while Base cards have a single aspect, resulting in most Star Wars Unlimited decks comprising cards from three aspects.

Interestingly, Star Wars Unlimited shares a resource mechanic similar to Disney Lorcana, another highly anticipated trading card game scheduled for release in the near future. At the beginning of the game, players choose two cards from their initial hand to designate as resources. These cards are set aside on the playing field and can be exhausted each turn to pay for other cards. Once designated as resources, these cards cannot enter the field as regular cards. Notably, it seems that any card can be used as a resource. Players have the option to add one card to their resource pool at the end of each turn, prompting strategic choices between stockpiling cards in hand or utilizing them as fuel to bring other cards into play.

As previously mentioned, every deck in Star Wars Unlimited includes a Leader card that serves two functions. Players can utilize a Leader card's default ability each turn, and they can eventually deploy the Leader as a regular unit by activating their "Epic Action" ability once sufficient resources are available. If a Leader card is defeated as a unit, it returns to its base and cannot be redeployed. However, the Leader can still utilize its standard action every turn.

To achieve victory in the game, players must reduce their opponent's Base to zero HP. Players have the option to attack with Unit cards deployed in either the ground or space arenas of play. It is possible to attack an opponent's base with a unit even if the opponent has units in the same arena, unless the opposing Unit possesses the Sentinel trait. Saboteur units have the ability to bypass Sentinel cards and directly damage a base, preventing players from relying solely on sturdy Sentinel units to fortify their arenas. Certain cards also have the capability to restore health to a base upon attacking. When a player attacks an opposing unit, both units simultaneously take damage, with the inflicted damage remaining on a card until it is defeated.

In general, Star Wars Unlimited bears resemblance to a game of Magic: The Gathering Commander, but with distinctive twists and complexities. The three-aspect system introduces additional possibilities for deck construction, and it will be intriguing to witness how players navigate the dual avenues of attacking their opponents and defending against attacks on every turn.

The card game will be released in 2024.