Finally here we are! Star Wars: Unlimited is ready to release! The brand new collectible card game by Fantasy Flight Games and dedicated to the most famous sci-fi universe in the cinematic world (and beyond) will be released on the market starting today, Friday 8 March.
Are you ready to side with the Rebellion or the Galactic Empire ? Are you looking forward to joining forces with Luke Skywalker or taking orders from Darth Vader ? Lead a squadron of X-Wing fighters or maneuver agile Tie Fighters from the comfort of your home desktop?
But let's go in order and present the game.
Star Wars: Unlimited - The Game
As mentioned, it is a collectible card game. The first set, "Spark of Rebellion" , offers more than 200 cards divided into Leaders, Bases (or Tokens), Units, Upgrades and Events . Each player must compose a deck with a Leader, a Base and at least 50 cards to draw. The decks follow six different "archetypes": Vigilance, Authority, Offensive, Cunning, Heroism and Evil , each of which is based on different game strategies (and it doesn't seem like a coincidence that the relative colors closely resemble the Magic domains : The Gathering).
Once the deck has been assembled, or one of the two decks from the introductory kit has been chosen, you start by placing your base on the table and your Leader underneath it, then you draw six cards and establish who will have the first turn of the game (the initiative). From that moment the actual game begins, with players taking turns performing an action each, such as playing a card, attacking with a unit, using an action ability, taking the initiative or passing. Once the cards, actions and resources available have been exhausted, we move on to the next round. The objective of the game is to be able to demolish the enemy base, i.e. reduce the 30 life tokens with which the game begins to zero.
Once you have become familiar with the types of cards, their characteristics and the different possible actions, the game becomes quick and simple and after a couple of games the different phases will seem absolutely natural. Fantasy Flight Games seems to have wanted to seek ease of execution, also taking inspiration from other even digital titles (some aspects, for example, are reminiscent of Blizzard's Hearthstone).
While on the one hand the game dynamics seem rather simple and linear, what makes the title potentially very interesting and varied are the possible combinations. Already with this first debut set there are many characters, events and iconic vehicles that can be combined with each other taken directly from the universe born from the mind of George Lucas . Possibilities that will increase dramatically with the next expansions (of which, it is rumored, at least seven have already been built).
So this, in brief, as far as the matches are concerned. But since Star Wars: Unlimited is a collectible card game, let's also take a look at the other aspect of the title: collecting!
The collection
Each box contains 24 packs, each pack contains 16 cards. Among these, one is a leader, one is a base and the other 14 are drawn from the overall basket of the set. As regards rarity, each pack always includes a rare or a legendary, 3 uncommons and 9 commons. Added to these is a foil which can be common, uncommon, rare or legendary depending on the c... luck factor.
In addition to the foils, there are two other types for collectors. The first is the Hyperspace version of each card. Basically it changes the frame to give the "hyperspace travel" effect.
For Leader cards, however, the most coveted variant of the entire collection is also available: the Showcase . Change the frame (like in Hyperspace), change the illustration and a particular foil effect is added throughout the card. These are the rarest cards of all and should have a frequency of one Showcase every 12 boxes, or, in other words, one every 288 packs. Frequency, yes, decidedly stellar. So, if you get one, bag it immediately and keep it safe, because the value will only increase.
In conclusion
Finally, to conclude and say goodbye, we also point out the starter set for two players which contains 2 decks of 52 cards (one led by Luke Skywalker and one by Darth Vader), a guide, tokens and markers, 2 deck holders and 2 poster-playmats to illustrate the playing field.
In short, this is Star Wars: Unlimited . We hope that the success will confirm the hype that accompanied it from presentation to release. But in the end it will be only you players who will decide his luck. And in any case, may the Force be with you!
