“You shall ride with me, and Shagga and Conn for the Stone Crows, Ulf for the Moon Brothers, and Timett son of Timett for the Burned Men.”
   –George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

The game of thrones is played in shadowy alleys and on bloody battlefields. It stretches from the deserts of Dorne to the court at King’s Landing and the icy wastes beyond the Wall. No one escapes its reach, from the poorest peasants to the greatest lords and ladies in the Red Keep. Whoever plays the game must quickly realize one thing – the game of thrones is deadly, and only ruthlessness can keep you alive.

Now, you have new cards to harness as you plunge headfirst into the struggle for power that is the game of thrones. A Deadly Game is now available for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game at your local retailer!

A Deadly Game continues to explore the major themes of the Wardens cycle. You’ll find powerful and iconic unique characters to lead and inspire your forces. You can also draw upon new “limited responses” and trait-based decks, even as more Castle plots offer increased rewards for players who choose to fortify their position before making a decisive attack. No matter which path you pursue to victory, the cards in this Chapter Pack offer new options for your path to the Iron Throne.

Call the Clans

Some of the most unlikely players in the game of thrones are the clansmen of the Vale. For years, they were content to raid travelers and passerby without involving themselves in larger affairs. But the arrival of Tyrion Lannister changed that forever, and Clansman characters can form a crucial part of the Lannister forces in A Game of Thrones: The Card Game. With the arrival of A Deadly Game, you’ll find more Clansman to lead across Westeros.

A new unique Clansman character arrives in this Chapter Pack: Ulf Son of Umar (A Deadly Game, 26). Ulf Son of Umar bears an ability that can prove crucial in many Clansman-focused decks. His ability reads, “Any Phase: Discard a card from your hand to give Ulf Son of Umar any keyword or crest printed on another character in play until the end of the phase.” Obviously, gaining keywords and crests can quickly make Ulf Son of Umar a force to be reckoned with – especially since you can copy keywords and crests from your own characters or your opponent’s characters. But the cost of this ability can also prove beneficial. Many Clansman cards offer additional benefits when you have less cards in hand than your opponent, and Ulf Son of Umar offers a reliable, unlimited way to ensure that these abilities are always active.

Your Clansman characters gain another boon in the Moon Brother Harriers (A Deadly Game, 27), warriors belonging to Ulf’s clan. This character bears a War crest, making it a useful for using cards like Die by the Sword (Lords of Winter, 47), and what’s more, the Moon Brother Harriers have the opportunity to enhance your other Clansman characters. By paying one gold during a challenge, you can give your participating Clansman characters one additional STR until the end of the challenge. What’s more, you can activate this ability once per challenge, and the Moon Brother Harriers don’t even need to participate in the challenge to trigger their ability. When enough of the Valemen unite, the Moon Brother Harriers and the Lannisters’ coin can sway any challenge in your favor.

The final House Lannister card in A Deadly Game – the Vale Encampment (A Deadly Game, 28) – helps you bring your Clansman characters into play even quicker. You can discard the Vale Encampment in the marshaling phase to reduce the cost of the next Clansman card you play, and when you do play that card, you draw an additional card, giving you more options for coming challenges. With these cards, A Deadly Game provides you with the tools you need to lead the clansmen out of the Mountains of the Moon and sweep across Westeros.

Player or Pawn?

From the clansmen of the Vale to the Dothraki across the Narrow Sea, no one is exempt from the game of thrones. You must only choose whether you will decide your own fate as a player or be swept along as a pawn. Join iconic characters like Brienne of Tarth and Khal Drogo in A Deadly Game for the future of the Seven Kingdoms.

Pick up your copy of A Deadly Game at your local retailer today!

“None fall faster than they that flee.”
   –Lord Hawthorne

The city of Deephall lies defenseless before the dark forces of the overlord. Only you and your fellow heroes stand between the city and the oncoming tide of evil, but can you truly hope to defeat the forces arrayed against you? Find out with the Guardians of Deephall Hero and Monster Collection for Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, now available at your local retailer and online through our webstore!

Like other Hero and Monster Collections, Guardians of Deephall includes thirteen detailed plastic figures previously only available through the first edition of Descent. Now you can fight to hold the walls of Deephall with Sahla, Silhouette, Lord Hawthorne, and Mordrog, or command hordes of dark priests, wendigos, and crypt dragons as the overlord. In addition, Guardians of Deephall offers two brand-new quests, challenging you to defend Deephall and uncover the artifact that is the source of its troubles. Whether you fight for Deephall’s salvation or its destruction, you’ll find the heroes, monsters, and quests you need in this Hero and Monster Collection!

A Savage Fighter

One of the most unlikely heroes to come to the defense of Deephall is Mordrog, the orc. Mordrog has long fought to defend Terrinoth, but no matter how many monsters he slays, he remains unable to teach humans the true superiority of orcish nature. From his hunts in the Mountains of Despair to battles before Nerekhall’s gates, his accomplishments are ignored in favor of inferior human heroes. Such prejudice does not trouble Mordrog, however. He simply pities the humans for their weakness and lack of warrior spirit. Now he sees the defense of Deephall as one more opportunity to prove the prowess of an orc.

During your quests, the overlord may do well to avoid enraging Mordrog. Mordrog’s hero ability allows him to recover one fatigue every time he suffers one or more damage. With no limit on the amount of times this ability can be triggered, Mordrog can easily recover enough fatigue to trigger his Class cards on multiple consecutive turns. Of course, Mordrog has to take damage to trigger his hero ability, but with fourteen health, he can absorb even the most punishing attacks and respond with lethal force.

When Mordrog picks his target, he pursues it with dogged tenacity and unrelenting force. After he performs an attack that does not defeat its target, he may trigger his heroic feat to perform an additional attack against the same target. What’s more, the second attack receives a bonus surge, enhancing the power of Mordrog’s chosen weapon. With this heroic feat, you can quickly finish off any monster that survives your initial onslaught.

Protect the City

The fate of the city of Deephall lies in your hands. Can you defend the city and recover the pendant that causes its woes, or will the overlord triumph and bring darkness sweeping over the realm? The choice is yours in the Guardians of Deephall Hero and Monster Collection.

Pick up your copy of Guardians of Deephall at your local retailer today!

“And in other news, we’ve learned that yesterday’s traffic accident in the SanSan High Lane has claimed the lives of three individuals, including twenty-nine year-old Leon Hargrove. An alleged hacker and self-avowed human rights activist, Mr. Hargrove was scheduled to go to trial for the recent data breach in J2 Construction, a Weyland Consortium subsidiary…”
    –NBN Live at 5

Where is humanity headed?

Order and Chaos, the third deluxe expansion for Android: Netrunner, is now available at your local retailer and online through our webstore!

The world of Android is constantly changing. Megacorporations such as Haas-Bioroid and Jinteki continually introduce new work efficiencies with their bioroids and clones. Other corporations, like the Weyland Consortium, remake the world itself, changing its face with the destruction of old buildings and the construction of new ones. Even invisibly, the world changes, as the network that binds its people together extends further outward into the solar system, to the colonies on the Moon and Mars, and channels ever more data. Amid all these changes, humanity, too, must change, but how will it change? Where does its future lie?

With 165 new cards (three copies each of fifty-five different cards), Order and Chaos pours new fuel upon the heated struggles between two wildly different visions for the future of humanity.

Bigger and Broader Horizons

First, you have the Weyland Consortium, which is constantly looking for new ways to expand humanity’s horizons and, accordingly, the company’s business opportunities. Even though the company’s founder, Jack Weyland, has stepped down from the board of directors to pursue his own endeavors, the Weyland Consortium continues to test new possibilities in energy sources, lunar colonization, and other development. Its successes could change the very course of human history, so it always safeguards its most far-sighted and futuristic ambitions with bleeding-edge ice and operations.

Meanwhile, the Weyland Consortium has always been willing to play hardball to get what it wants, and Order and Chaos adds to the Corp’s history of Aggressive Negotiations (Core Set, 97) and Hostile Takeovers (Core Set, 94) by adding such hardline new cards as Argus Security (Order and Chaos, 1) and Government Takeover (Order and Chaos, 6).

Though there’s never been any evidence to substantiate the rumors that the Weyland Consortium has used Punitive Counterstrikes (True Colors, 79) and Scorched Earth (Core Set, 99) policies to defend its propriety data from would-be Runners, rumors of such activities continue unabated. In fact, Order and Chaos offers even more grist to the rumor mill in the form of such operations as Housekeeping (Order and Chaos, 20) and Traffic Accident (Order and Chaos, 22).

Altogether, these new cards, along with the expansion’s advanceable ice, suggest that even as the Weyland Consortium is pursuing new business opportunities, it is sticking to its core strengths, and that may be cause for concern among those who don’t appreciate the Corp’s mercenary use of the planet’s resources or share its particular vision for humanity.

Exploding Society’s Hierarchical Structures

This brings us to the expansion’s three outraged new Anarchs, who seek to undermine everything that the Weyland Consortium and other corporations have built upon the backs of humanity’s downtrodden. While just a handful of megacorps control nearly all the world’s wealth, these angry Runners work against the injustices they perceive by lashing out against the Corps, flooding their servers with viruses, rooting through their headquarters for secrets to expose to the media, and using hammers to smash in the metallic skulls of their biotic workforces.

However, while much has been made of these Anarchs, their brazen personalities, and their strongly individualistic tendencies, comparatively little attention has been given to their digital fingerprints on the net. Still, it’s here, on the net, that we may truly find the Anarchs’ greatest legacy. Though Anarchs are known far more for burning down servers than for any constructive activities, their widespread use of virus programs has littered the back alleys, corner rooms, and other niche spaces of the network. And in those spaces, it appears, all these various virus programs and AI programs have been breeding.

In Order and Chaos, the Anarchs get their first five-influence card, and it’s a powerful virus that’s likely to define the faction for a long time to come. Hivemind (Order and Chaos, 42) represents a possible evolution of the network, liberating it from such hierarchical structures as those imposed on Corporate servers, and transforming it into a fully level playing field in which all data communicates with all other data. Each virus counter on Hivemind is considered to be on each other virus program in play; that means this one card can fuel your Parasites (Core Set, 12), Datasuckers (Core Set, 8), Mediums (Core Set, 10), and other viruses.

Though Hivemind can’t gain virus counters on its own, clever Anarchs will find plenty of ways to boost this universal link, including the new Virus Breeding Ground (Order and Chaos, 52). And once you get virus counters on your Hivemind, you won’t want to see them eliminated by a Corp player who chooses to use three clicks to wipe virus counters. Accordingly, you’ll want to consider hosting your Hivemind on the daemon, Progenitor (Order and Chaos, 43).

What’s Your Vision of Humanity?

In the Order and Chaos deluxe expansion for Android: Netrunner, you’ll find two wildly different visions of humanity pitted against each other in a struggle for survival. Which vision will you support? Where will you lead humanity?

Head to your local retailer today to pick up your copy of Order and Chaos, or order it online from our webstore!

All attempts to contact the invaders thus far have failed. Their only purpose seems to be destruction and chaos. One fact is quite clear: the militaries of the world are severely outgunned. In the absence of a miracle, this could very well be the end of civilization as we know it…

Calibrate your laboratory instruments, prep your Interceptors, and get your soldiers into battle armor. Reports of UFO sightings have now been confirmed. XCOM: The Board Game is now available!

You Are Humanity’s Last Hope

In XCOM: The Board Game, you and up to three friends assume the roles of the leaders of the elite, international organization known as XCOM. It is your job to defend humanity, quell the rising panic, and turn back the alien invasion.

Where the world’s militaries have failed to stand against the alien invaders, you must succeed. To do so, you must make strategic use of the resources available to you. You must launch Interceptors to shoot down alien UFOs, assign soldiers to key missions, research alien technology, and use that technology to defend your base, all while you try to keep the world from collapsing just long enough that you can coordinate one final mission to repel the invaders for good.

All the while, the game’s innovative and free digital companion app coordinates the alien invaders, randomly selecting from one of five different invasion plans. Each invasion plan represents a general outline that the alien commanders will use to coordinate the arrival of new UFOs, plan strikes against your base, and respond to your successes or failures as it seeks to conquer Earth. Moreover, the app manages all of these tasks and heighten’s the game’s tension as it forces you to respond in real-time.

Read the Early Reviews

Based on the critically acclaimed and much-beloved XCOM computer game series, XCOM: The Board Game has exploded into the media since we first announced the game ahead of Gen Con Indy 2014. Coverage has run across sites dedicated to board games, as well as those that traditionally focus more on computer games, and even such traditional news media outlets as The Guardian have remarked upon the game’s use of a digital companion app.

In fact, the game’s app and its integration into gameplay have been the most commonly discussed topics. However, many reviewers have also remarked upon the game’s novel and compelling interpretation of the XCOM experience. What’s common to nearly all reviews, though, are the claims that XCOM: The Board Game offers a unique take on XCOM, cooperative board gaming, and the hybridization of board and digital gaming.

It is that hybridization that interests The Guardian:

“The forthcoming XCOM board game gets the balance right, letting four players co-operate in saving the world from an alien invasion while a companion app tosses an element of randomisation into the mix – and lets one player pretend they’re hooked into the global defence network for real.”

The review from Polygon carries this idea even further and states it a bit more strongly:

“It's not a regular board game. It's a board game with a companion app, one that can be run inside a web browser or on a tablet. And the app isn't a gimmick. It's an integral part of how the board game works. It creates a tension that is wholly unique, bringing it closer to something like the Artemis Bridge Simulator or the indie iOS hit Spaceteam.”

Of course, it’s not just the use of the app that matters, but the end result, and the early review from PC Gamer offers an excellent summary of what XCOM: The Board Game brings to the XCOM experience:

“Most of the time, the theme of the videogame seems like a weird bolt-on to the cardboard version, both watering down what might be good gameplay mechanics and failing to create a meaningful connection to original game. XCOM: The Board Game avoids both of these traps, both delivering a new, fun coop experience and conjuring up the XCOM world in interesting ways.”

Can You Find a Way to Defeat the Unknown Foe?

Hello, Commander. In response to the alien threat, this council of nations has chosen to activate the XCOM project.

You are humanity’s last hope. Against an overwhelming alien invasion force, you and your friends must find a way to destroy UFOs, research alien technology, defend your base, and uncover the alien invasion plan. To do so, you’ll need better knowledge of the enemy, much of which you gain from our series of previews.

• In “Alien Intelligence,” we take a closer look at the game’s companion app and the role of Central Officer.
• In “The Desperate Defense,” we look at the alien invasion’s key threats: UFOs, enemies, and global crises.
• The push-your-luck dice rolling mechanics of the game’s resolution phase and the role of Squad Leader are the two focal elements in “Pushing Deeper into Danger.”
• How is XCOM: The Board Game different from other cooperative board games? We explore this question, as well as the role of Commander, in “Something Has to Give.”
• Finally, in “Salvaging Hope from the Wreckage,” we review the critical importance of XCOM’s ongoing research and high-tech weapons, as well as the role of Chief Scientist.

It’s time to save the world. XCOM: The Board Game is now available at your local retailer and online through our webstore!

“What roads would any dare to tread, what safety would there be in quiet lands, or in the homes of simple men at night, if the Dúnedain were asleep, or were all gone into the grave?”
    –Aragorn, The Fellowship of the Ring

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of The Wastes of Eriador, the first Adventure Pack in the Angmar Awakened cycle for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game!

For nearly seven-hundred years, the Witch-king of Angmar terrorized the North from his home in Carn Dûm. Though his forces were eventually defeated, the shadows of the Witch-king’s evil have lain across the lands through all the centuries that followed his departure from the region.

Now, in The Wastes of Eriador, several of Middle-earth’s heroes must join forces with the noble Dúnedain who have long guarded the region’s simpler folk from the untold evils that still reside within Carn Dûm and its environs. Following immediately upon the heels of the epic events that unfold in The Lost Realm deluxe expansion, the scenario from The Wastes of Eriador tasks you to rescue a captive Ranger. However, as you pursue the enemies who have captured him, your trail leads you ever northward, ever deeper into the hills of Angmar. There, as day fades into night, the howling of wolves suggest that your party of hunters may soon become the hunted…

In addition to its new scenario, The Wastes of Eriador also contains a new hero and three copies each of nine different player cards. In the lands traveled so often by the Rangers of the North, you’ll find new Dúnedain, Hobbits, Scouts, and side quests. You’ll also find new ways to protect your heroes from damage, as well as the new Valour trigger, which continues to gain strength throughout the Angmar Awakened cycle.

For more about The Wastes of Eriador, the Valour trigger, and the Angmar Awakened cycle, we turn to lead developer Matthew Newman.

Lead Developer Matthew Newman on Angmar Awakened

Greetings,

I am very excited for the Angmar Awakened cycle!

Like The Ring-maker and Against the Shadow cycles before it, Angmar Awakened continues a tale that begins with the events of the deluxe expansion that precedes it – The Lost Realm. Altogether, this epic, nine-scenario adventure takes place within a new region, with new challenges. Throughout their journeys, your heroes will have to trek across snowy wastes, escape from the clutches of wicked goblins, investigate the ruins of an ancient kingdom, and uncover a terrible secret that threatens all of the North!

Meanwhile, the cycle’s new player cards take The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game in several different, all-new directions. For example, in previous cycles we’ve seen various Secrecy cards that reward players for keeping their threat low, hiding from enemies, and sneaking their way through locations and around obstacles. But what about those heroes of Middle-earth who choose to face Sauron’s forces head on, confronting them face-to-face upon the field of battle? For those who do not shy away from risk and danger, we introduce a new ability trigger – Valour.

Valour cards are inspired by a quote from Boromir that I think highlights the difference between his philosophy and perhaps the rest of the Company of the Ring:

“But always I have let my horn cry at setting forth, and though thereafter we may walk in the shadows, I will not go forth as a thief in the night.”

If you like to take risks and tend to play aggressive decks, Valour cards are for you. Still, being brave doesn’t mean being foolish and taking unnecessary risks, and these cards can see play in any deck. They will simply be most powerful when your threat is high and your situation is dire.

Unlike Secrecy cards, which benefit you when your threat is twenty or less, Valour cards benefit you when your threat is forty or higher. This is typically later in the game, when you have already built up your strength and resources aren’t quite as much of an issue. So instead of offering effects at a discounted cost, these cards offer powerful effects that can only be triggered when your threat is forty or higher.

Valour cards are designed to save you when you face overwhelming odds, and they can help you secure victory when victory might otherwise be out of your grasp. However, Valour cards are only prevalent in those spheres with little to no threat reduction – Leadership and Tactics. This means that a Valour-heavy deck will often straddle the line between victory and defeat, as the encounter deck is typically most dangerous when players’ threats are at their highest.

Valour cards aren’t the cycle’s only new focus, though, and all four of the game’s spheres gain cards in Angmar Awakened that strengthen existing themes and explore new ones. In addition to their new Valour cards, Leadership and Tactics players can look forward to several Gondor and Dúnedain cards. Meanwhile, Lore players can look forward to manipulating the encounter deck and victory display, as well as cards that reward them greatly for their forethought and wisdom. Finally, Spirit players will be able to explore what it really means to be a Noldor Elf, with cards that introduce a new strategy for the High Elves of Middle-earth.

Will You Aid the Rangers of the North?

The Rangers of the North have long guarded the region’s simpler folk from the dangers that roam the wilds. Now, one of their number has been captured, and his captors are dragging him deep into the hills of Angmar. Will you aid the noble Dúnedain? Will you brave the The Wastes of Eriador?

Look for The Wastes of Eriador to arrive at retailers everywhere in the second quarter of 2015. Until then, keep your eye on our website for more words from the developers and other The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game news!

Note: As the first Adventure Pack in the Angmar Awakened cycle, The Wastes of Eriador introduces our new LCG® packaging to The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game Adventure Packs. While the packaging is now molded plastic, every Adventure Pack still contains the full complement of sixty cards.

Just where the supreme horror lay, I could not for my life tell.
   –H.P. Lovecraft, The Thing on the Doorstep

Arkham has always been home to witches and cultists, and filled with uncanny places where most people fear to walk, let alone dwell. Yet in the Gates of Arkham expansion for Elder Sign, the city has fallen deeper into chaos. Gates are destabilizing time and space so that formerly safe locations are now the entrances to treacherous Other Worlds. Terrifying abominations such as Night Gaunts and Leng Spiders are pouring through these open gates and rampaging in the streets. Two secretive, underground organizations, the Sheldon Gang and the Order of the Silver Twilight, control the streets more than the Arkham police.

Today we will preview Event cards, which bring to life the constant uncertainty that reigns in Arkham. Some events are welcome and help you with the adventure ahead. Others are harmful and hinder your progress, if they don't make the situation in Arkham worse. Fortunately, Gates of Arkham also introduces skills, which grant investigators enduring abilities to help them navigate the this legendarily cursed city.

To guide you through the chaos and uncertainty, we have also uploaded the rules of Gates of Arkham. Download them (pdf, 7.2 MB) from the Elder Sign support page, or by clicking the thumbnail on the right.

Unpredictable Events

When you enter locations in Arkham you are often venturing into the unknown. Even when you know the adventure that lies ahead of you, however, an Event can introduce unforeseeable complications. If you’re at an adventure with an Event icon (pictured on the right), you must draw an Event card at the beginning of your resolution phase. Some Events only affect the adventure in play and the investigators engaged in it; others can affect the entire game.

Perhaps you choose to attend a play at Independence Square. Even before the curtain is lifted, you must draw an event: perhaps Unexpected Difficulties occur, lock one of the green dice and making it more difficult for you to succeed in this adventure. But those difficulties only last for the present resolution phase. You might decide to remain at the performance and try again to mitigate the madness this play unleashed in the audience. So, on your next resolution phase you draw another event and now strike a Devil’s Bargain – if you successfully resolve the adventure, you must add two doom tokens to the doom track, bringing the Ancient One closer to coming awake.

Not all Events are bad. If you find yourself trapped in the Forbidden Library of the Witch House, a Narrow Escape will allow you to avoid losing your sanity or advancing the doom track if you try and fail to retrieve the Elder Sign hidden among the dusty volumes. Since you cannot leave the Forbidden Library until you resolve the adventure, this Event card can also make it possible for you to survive multiple turns locked inside.

Survival Skills

If you do make it out of the Forbidden Library alive, you’ll be rewarded with a new skill. Unlike Spells and Common Items, which are usually discarded after a single use, skills can be kept. Any Medical Training gained from your research, for example, will benefit your team of investigators for the length of the game, or, in an emergency, you can exhaust it to save another investigator’s life. You may even stumble upon some good Luck that will enable you to avoid particularly bad Events.

But you’ll need more than skills to survive in the Streets of Arkham game mode. Gates of Arkham also introduces new Spells, such as the powerful Reach of the Mind. You’ll also come across Items that couldn’t have been found inside the museum walls. You might find a Roadster with a full tank of gas ready to speed you across the city to another location. Or a mysterious stranger may give you a Suitcase of Cash that you can use to purchase a useful Item, some sanity, or even membership in the Sheldon Gang.

Confront the Unknown

Nothing is certain in Arkham. A respected doctor might actually be a mad scientist seeking to resurrect the dead. Where the altar once stood in the South Church, there might now be a gateway to a mysterious ancient civilization. A stop at Velma’s Diner for coffee and pie might turn into a battle for your life against a rapacious monster, or a room in Ma’s Boarding House that has been haunted for decades may suddenly seem welcoming and free from horrors. But amid the chaos and uncertainty caused by the Ancient One’s awakening, you must fight for order. You must confront the unknown in Arkham to keep its horrors from taking over the world.

Gates of Arkham will be available soon.

“I just said you were a fair pilot. I didn’t know they were lookin’ for somebody to lead this crazy attack.”
    –Han Solo

Our last preview of Star Wars™: Armada focused on the Victory-class Star Destroyer and the Gladiator-class Star Destroyer, the two Imperial starships coming out in the game’s first wave of expansions. Today, we continue our exploration of the game, its ships, and its expansions with a look at the three different capital ships with which the Rebellion will soon be able to confront these Star Destroyers.

CR90 Corellian Corvette Expansion Pack

The miniature CR90 Corellian corvette found in the CR90 Corellian Corvette Expansion Pack is identical to that found in the game’s Core Set. Still, the expansion is well worth the consideration of anyone looking to field more than one corvette in battle.

First of all, most ambitious Rebel commanders are likely to want their fleets to count a good number of corvettes. Certainly, it’s possible to bring more than one to battle. The CR90 Corvette A weighs in at just forty-four of your three-hundred fleet points, and the CR90 Corvette B costs you a mere thirty-nine fleet points. For those points, though, both ships offer you three-dice attacks from your primary, forward-facing weapons; four hull; and a total of seven shields.

The ship cards for the CR90 Corvette A (left) and CR90 Corvette B (right).

However, the expansion’s benefits extend far beyond the additional miniature you’ll find within it. As with the Imperial starship expansions, each Rebel starship expansion pack introduces a number of upgrade cards, several of which are unique to the expansion.

For example, the CR90 Corellian Corvette Expansion Pack allows you to recruit Mon Mothma as your commander should you prefer her to the Core Set’s General Dodonna. It also comes with the valiant Raymus Antilles and two different titles, meaning that you can fly the iconic Tantive IV or daring Jaina’s Light alongside the Core Set’s Dodonna’s Pride.

As the lightest and most agile ship within the Rebel fleet, the CR90 corvette offers a great deal of tactical flexibility not available to your other ships, and the expansion capitalizes upon this flexibility. Not only does the expansion’s Raymus Antilles allow your corvette to double up on the effects of any command it chooses, gaining a token even as it executes the command from the dial, but a number of other cards allow you to exploit the different upgrades available to the CR90 Corvette A and CR90 Corvette B.

Where the CR90 Corvette B features an ion cannons upgrade, the CR90 Corvette A instead features the turbolaser upgrade. Accordingly, you might add the Leading Shots upgrade card to a CR90 Corvette B equipped with the Dodonna’s Pride in order to deal faceup damage cards directly to the hulls of enemy ships, especially in a fleet with General Dodonna as commander. Or you might equip your CR90 Corvette A with the H9 Turbolasers upgrade, and if your opponent’s Victory-class Star Destroyer has spent one of its redirect tokens, you can convert one of your damage results to an accuracy result in order to force your opponent to soak the damage you deal on the hull zone you’ve targeted.

The way Armada allows you to upgrade and customize your ships ensures that you’ll have tremendous control over the way they fit into your overall strategy, and the CR90 Corellian Corvette Expansion Pack greatly increases the number of roles your corvettes can play within your Rebel fleet.

Nebulon-B Frigate Expansion Pack

The second Rebel ship found in the Core Set is the Nebulon-B frigate, and the Nebulon-B Frigate Expansion Pack enhances its utility and versatility within your fleet by adding a pre-painted Nebulon-B miniature along with eight upgrade cards.

The Nebulon-B is a ship that is truly designed to play one of two different roles within your fleet, and the Nebulon-B Frigate Expansion Pack further highlights the distinctions between the roles, allowing you to use it as a powerful support ship or as a potent fighter escort. Of course, once you have both the Core Set and the Nebulon-B Frigate Expansion Pack, you can field two Nebulon-B frigates in battle, potentially utilizing both the Nebulon-B Escort Frigate and the Nebulon-B Support Refit in the same fleet.

The ship cards for the Nebulon-B Escort Frigate (left) and Nebulon-B Support Refit (right).

Both these types of Nebulon-B frigate feature the same attack dice, shields, hull, and upgrade slots. There are two key differences that merit the six extra fleet points. First of all, the Nebulon-B Escort Frigate gains an extra blue die to its anti-squadron armament, making it far more effective at eliminating enemy squadrons, either to protect itself or free up your fighters to attack enemy ships. Additionally, it gains an extra squadron value, meaning it can activate an extra squadron whenever it reveals the squadron command. This is particularly meaningful if you equip your Nebulon-B frigate with the expansion’s Yavaris title, which allows your squadrons to attack twice when you activate them with the squadron command, so long as they don’t move. Add Luke Skywalker to the mix, and the differences between the two types of Nebulon-B designs becomes profoundly noticeable.

Of course, there’s plenty to say in favor of the Nebulon-B Support Refit. For starters, it comes with all the same attack dice, but at a discount of six fleet points. This is a great option for fleet admirals who plan to use their Nebulon-B frigates to attack directly. For starters, the Salvation title adds extra damage with each  result it scores from its front hull zone. Then, the addition of an Intel Officer or XI7 Turbolasers (or both) can minimize your opponent’s ability to defend against your attacks, ensuring that they hit for maximum, targeted impact.

The Support Refit is also, arguably, the better ship to outfit with the Core Set’s Redemption title, which is the title you’d likely select if you wanted your Nebulon-B to play a more defensive role than offensive one. It grants an extra point of engineering to friendly ships within Range 1–5 whenever they resolve the repair command, either from the dial or from a token. Either way, that extra point may make the difference between merely moving a shield and recovering one, or between recovering a shield and discarding some harmful faceup damage card. Additionally, that extra point of engineering piles up quickly; the more you resolve the repair command, the more value you get from the Redemption.

Assault Frigate Mark II Expansion Pack

The third of the Rebel starship expansion packs in the first wave of Armada releases is the Assault Frigate Mark II Expansion Pack.

Featuring one pre-painted Assault Frigate Mark II miniature and fourteen upgrades, this is the big Rebel expansion for admirals who want to battle the Empire’s Star Destroyers on more even terms. While neither the CR90 corvette or Nebulon-B frigate wield firepower that measures up to a Star Destroyer’s, and both demand that you fly them carefully about the battlefield in order to limit their exposure to your opponent’s main weapons, the Assault Frigate Mark II can fire attacks of four dice from either its left or right hull zone.

Those are attack values that match the Gladiator-class Star Destroyer’s best attacks for total dice, but at a greater distance, and while they don’t quite measure up to the Victory-class Star Destroyer’s forward attack, they give the advantage to any Rebel commander who can maneuver an Assault Frigate Mark II alongside a Victory-class Star Destroyer, whose left and right hull zones attack for only three dice each.

As to be expected, as with each of the other ships, there are multiple ways to outfit your Assault Frigate Mark II, and you will find notable differences between the eighty-one fleet point Assault Frigate Mark II A and the seventy-two fleet point Assault Frigate Mark II B.

The ship cards for the Assault Frigate Mark II A (left) and the Assault Frigate Mark II B (right).

For the extra fleet points it costs you, the Assault Frigate Mark II A gains an extra blue attack die from its forward and rear hull zones. It also features a more impressive anti-squadron armament of two blue dice, instead of just one. On the other hand, the Assault Frigate Mark II B features a squadron value of “3” instead of “2.” It may not be as well-equipped at dealing with enemy fighters directly, but it can better coordinate any fighter wing sent to escort it.

However, both versions of the Assault Frigate Mark II feature a command value of “3,” meaning that it’s noticeably less responsive than the Rebellion’s other ships. As is true of all the starships in Armada, the more powerful ships demand that you plan further ahead.

Still, the ship’s larger command value also means that it can hold more command tokens for later use, and that pairs well with the ability of the expansion’s commander, Garm Bel Iblis, who in both the game’s first and penultimate rounds allows you to add a number of command tokens to each of your ships equal to their command ratings.

Garm Bel Iblis is accompanied within the expansion’s upgrades by another unique Rebel, Adar Tallon, who serves equally well aboard the Assault Frigate Mark II B and the Yavaris. For ten fleet points, Adar Tallon basically allows you to get double the value out of your best squadron pilot every round, and if you choose to go all-in on the investment in your squadrons, you may also wish to consider equipping your Assault Frigate Mark II B with the Gallant Haven title, which reduces by one the total damage dealt to any of your squadrons at distance “1.”

Like the Nebulon-B frigate, the Assault Frigate Mark II also seems to be meant for one of two roles, and if you opt not to outfit it as a fighter escort, then you can add the Paragon title to add one black die to any attack your ship makes as a second attack against the same target. With the Paragon title, your Assault Frigate Mark II A can concentrate its fire upon a single foe for as many as eight attack dice, or nine if you also outfit it with the Enhanced Armament upgrade.

Even Star Destroyers have a hard time concentrating nine dice at the same foe, and if you start launching those sorts of explosive attacks against your enemies, it’s worth taking a look at adding the Sensor Team upgrade to your ship. At the cost of two dice, the Sensor Team allows you to gain an accuracy result when you need it to prevent your opponent from halving the damage his ship would otherwise take.

The Fleet Will Be Ready Soon

The Rebel fleet is gathering outside of Sullust and will soon be ready for action. How will you meet the Imperials? Will you swarm them with your corvettes? Will you use the Yavaris, Gallant Haven, and Adar Tallon to get the most out of your ace fighter pilots? Or will you bring out the big guns of your Assault Frigate Mark II A?

In our next preview, we’ll take a look at the fighters and pilots in the Rebel and Imperial Fighter Squadron Expansion Packs. Until then, head to our community forums to share your favorite Rebel fleet designs with the other members of the Armada community!

He stood in front of the massive, ancient, marble doors of the Sanctum Imperialis, feeling the pitiless gaze of the Adeptus Custodes penetrating him as he waited. He hoped that the rusted dents on his armor, the long scars across his face, and the token of the Inquisition’s support would attest to his piety and loyalty. He knew that what he was asking for – an audience with the God-Emperor – was a privilege unknown to any but the most dedicated and uncorrupted servants of the Imperium. He could only pray to be deemed worthy of it. At long last one of the guards approached and tonelessly spoke. “Your wish has been granted. You may enter the Eternity Gate and approach the Golden Throne.”

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of Halls of Terra, a side board expansion for the Warhammer 40,000 board game, Relic.

The Antian Sector is on the brink of succumbing to heresy and Chaos. In Halls of Terra, your quest to save the Antian Sector takes you to mankind’s homeworld, where you must persuade the ruling powers of the Imperium to endorse you as an Imperial Champion. Not only the fate of the Antian Sector, but also your life and honor are at stake in your negotiations with the devout Adepta Sororitas, the ruthless Inquisition, the cold-blooded Adeptus Arbites, and even the God-Emperor himself. You’ll soon find that politics and diplomacy can prove as deadly as any battles inside the Warp Rift, and that corruption haunts even the Imperium’s capital.

Relic: Halls of Terra features a side board depicting locations in Holy Terra and nearby Mars. A new orange Threat deck brings these worlds to life and challenges players as they strive to gain affiliations and prove themselves worthy to appear before the God- Emperor. Three new characters and another terrifying Nemesis enter the game, while additional scenarios reshape the struggle against the forces of Chaos.

The Ancient Home of Humanity

The most sacred place in the entire Imperium is Holy Terra, the teeming birthplace of humanity and home of the immortal God-Emperor. An endless stream of pilgrims travels to Terra seeking merely to touch its sanctified soil, but you have much greater ambitions: to win the support of one of the Imperium’s governing organizations and with that support, enter the Sanctum Imperialis and seek the Emperor’s endorsement.

On your journey towards the Palace Gates, you’ll likely visit one of the satellites Titan or Luna. The former is home to the fortress-monastery of the secretive and uncorruptable Grey Knights, the latter is a Civilised World and major crossroads where you may use Cunning to win the favor of the Imperial Nobilty. You may also choose to visit the Forge World Mars, headquarters of the Adeptus Mechanicus whose arcane knowledge produces the technology that fuels the Imperium’s eternal war effort. Once on Terra you may face trial at the Halls of Judgement or discover the secrets of the Scholastia Psykana, the training center for the mysterious Adeptus Astra Telepathica. Then you may approach the fearsome Titanoliths that surround the Palace and the Adeptus Custodes who guard it. They only permit characters with the utmost Cunning, Willpower, or Strength to stand before the Senate and the God-Emperor, and therefore will challenge you in your best attribute.

War by Other Means

For every organization whose favor you earn in the Sol System, you’ll collect an affiliation token, but these are hard to win and easily lost. At least one affiliation is necessary merely to pass through the Palace Gates. The more affiliations you possess, the more likely you are to earn a Relic from the High Lords of Terra or the Emperor.

You may arrive on Terra thinking that political battles cannot possibly be as lethal as the bloody fights you have endured in the Antian Sector, but some Imperial powers will take your life if you fail to conquer them in a battle of Cunning, Willpower, or sheer brute Strength. Political battles may also yield military rewards. If you manage to enter the Sanctum Imperialis and lay eyes upon the immortal God-Emperor, he will name you a Champion of one of the Imperial powers, such as the Adepta Sororitas, and grant you a lasting advantage in the ongoing war against Chaos.

Corruption Is Everywhere

Even in the Sol system, the holiest part of the Imperium, you can encounter corruption and heresy. A False Pilgrim may be attempting to hide among the hordes of religious devotees, or you may meet a Fugitive Witch on the crowded streets. The Inquisition itself could even question your innocence, forcing you to use Cunning to convince them of your piety. Indeed, some citizens of the Imperium thrive on corruption, manipulating it in order to achieve their own ends. The darkly pragmatic House Belisarius Navigator, a member of the Imperial Nobility, accumulates Corruption easily and even has some immunity against it. Her character abilities allow her to both exchange Corruption cards for movement points and decide when certain Corruption cards activate. So, although constantly welcoming Corruption, she nevertheless may keep her mind and body pious and pristine.

Any taint of corruption is so unwelcome in Terra that you may be given a mission to root out corruption and combat it. The Cleanse Holy Terra mission charges its bearer to eradicate any unclean souls who have violated the sanctity of the Sol System. The rewards is not only a completed mission, but also affiliation with the Inquisition. You might even please the Emperor and gain the Adeptus Arbites affiliation by revealing another character’s apostasy or corruption. If you are already affiliated with the Adeptus Arbites, you can force the corrupt character to lose an affiliation – or two lives.

A Deadly Game

A visit to Terra is no secure undertaking. You may lose your life attempting to win over the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, or become a victim in the Inquisition’s merciless war on heresy. But with the support of the High Lords of Terra or the God-Emperor, you will be far better equipped to conquer the horrors of the Antian Sector and triumph in the ultimate confrontation with Chaos.

The voyage to the Sol System begins in the second quarter of 2015. Stay tuned for upcoming previews of the dangers and rewards that await you on Holy Terra. 

“They’ve just made the jump into hyperspace.”
   –Darth Vader, Star Wars: A New Hope

Upgrade your hyperdrive and prepare for the jump to lightspeed! The Star Wars™ Dice app for Android and iOS has been updated to support both Imperial Assault and Star Wars: Armada!

With this latest update, the Star Wars Dice app has been expanded to cover even more of Fantasy Flight Games’ Star Wars RPGs and miniatures games. Now, you can easily roll digital dice for Imperial Assault and Star Wars: Armada, as well as X-Wing™ and all iterations of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Edge of the Empire, Age of Rebellion, and Force and Destiny.

Ready for Adventure

Imperial Assault presents six unique dice types for every combat. Attack dice determine how accurate your blaster fire is, how much damage you deal, and how many surges you can use to trigger unique abilities. Defense dice, on the other hand, allow figures to block damage, evade surges, or dodge entire attacks. With newly updated Star Wars Dice app, you can even preset commonly rolled dice combinations, putting every attack or defense at your fingertips.

You command fleets of capital ships and fighter squadrons in Star Wars: Armada, and with the Star Wars Dice app, even the largest turbolasers can be easily calibrated, aimed, and fired. Whether you’re firing at long-range or unleashing a devastating barrage at close quarters, you can quickly roll as many Armada attack dice as you need.

In addition to dice for both Imperial Assault and Star Wars: Armada, the Star Wars Dice app supports both X-Wing™ and every iteration of the Star Wars roleplaying game. Whether you’re engaged in a breakneck dogfight or tense negotiations, the Star Wars Dice app will ensure that you can quickly and easily learn the results of your choices, keeping the action tense and the battles cinematic.

With its convenient radial menu, the Star Wars Dice app allows you to roll up to twenty of these dice in any combination, and even includes standard polyhedral dice in seven types! This means that even when you’re not playing a Star Wars game, the Star Wars Dice app is the only dice roller you’ll ever need.

Into Hyperspace

With top-notch equipment, you can take on the whole Empire yourself. If you haven’t already, pick up your copy of the Star Wars Dice app from the App Store or the Google Play Store, and enter the Star Wars galaxy!

“You should have paid him when you had the chance. Jabba’s put a price on your head so large, every bounty hunter in the galaxy will be looking for you.”
   –Greedo, Star Wars: A New Hope

The galaxy is a dangerous place. Smugglers risk their lives moving valuable and illegal cargo past Imperial patrols, and anyone can become the target of a trained bounty hunter. These low-lifes make up the seedy underworld of Star Wars™, and you can bring that underworld to your games of Imperial Assault with the Han Solo Ally Pack and the IG-88 Villain Pack!

In October, we announced seven new Ally Packs and Villain Packs for Imperial Assault, inviting you to embark on new missions and expand the campaign and skirmish games. Like the Luke Skywalker Ally Pack and the Darth Vader Villain Pack included in the Core Set, these figure packs offer detailed plastic figures to bring these iconic heroes and villains to life alongside a new side mission for any campaign and two new skirmish missions that share the same map. In addition, Ally Packs offer new Reward cards for the heroes, Villain Packs give the Imperial player new Agenda cards to draw on, and all figure packs contain new Command cards for enhancing your Command decks in skirmish missions.

Today, we’ll preview two of the seven new Ally Packs and Villain Packs: the Han Solo Ally Pack and the IG-88 Villain Pack!

Never Tell Me the Odds

In your games of Imperial Assault, Han Solo’s smuggling wiles can prove extremely helpful. With his Ally Pack, you don’t just gain a sculpted plastic figure – you gain new missions to highlight Han Solo and new cards to make him even more dangerous to the servants of the Empire.

The Han Solo Ally Pack introduces new content for the Imperial Assault campaign game, beginning with the Imperial Entanglements side mission, which invites you to repel Imperial boarders from the Millennium Falcon with Han Solo. Successful completion of this mission grants you a new Reward card: the Quickdraw Holster. While equipped with the Quickdraw Holster, you may suffer a strain and deplete the card when an attack is declared against you. Then, you may interrupt your opponent’s turn to attack your would-be attacker! With the Quickdraw Holster, you’ll always shoot first when it matters.

You’ll also find two new missions for the skirmish game in this expansion. Local Trouble challenges you to fight for control of a cantina, but the local thugs will attack anyone who comes close. Alternatively, you can gamble for victory in Sabacc Standoff by battling to control a sabacc table and increasing the victory points at stake with the Command cards in your hand. Whether you dive into the underworld with these missions or other skirmish missions, six new Command cards give you plenty of ways to enhance your Smugglers.

You may use Slippery Target to stay a few steps ahead of your opponent’s figures. By playing this card when a hostile figure moves adjacent to one of your figures, you can immediately move your figure away. Alternatively, you could sabotage your opponent by playing Disable to keep an adjacent figure from using surge and action abilities. You may even use I Make My Own Luck to seize initiative at the start of the round, ensuring that Han Solo makes his activation before any other figure has the chance to act. With these Command cards and the others included in this figure pack, Han Solo and your other Smugglers will leave their mark on any skirmish mission.

A Mechanical Hunter

Of course, for every being like Han Solo with a bounty on his head, there’s someone willing to hunt them down and collect the profit. IG-88 is one such bounty hunter, but he’s far more than just a killer. To some, IG-88 is a revolutionary, fighting to reject the inferiority imposed on Droids by the biologicals.

In your games of Imperial Assault, the Empire can take advantage of IG-88’s revolution with the Droid Uprising agenda set. This set begins with the Binary Revolution side mission, challenging the Rebels to survive a deadly Droid revolt and rewarding the Imperial player for victory by allowing him to use IG-88 as a villain in later missions. The agenda set continues with Sabotaged Plans. By playing this card and spending an influence, you may discard one Side Mission card, allowing you to keep the Rebel heroes from even starting the most profitable missions. Finally, by purchasing Firepower Upgrade, you can spend an influence to allow your Droids to trigger surge abilities up to twice per attack, granting them unparalleled combat prowess.

You’ll also find two new missions for the Imperial Assault skirmish game: Mind of its Own and Most Dangerous Game. The first of these missions challenges you to control terminals as an automated laser sweeps through the Ord Mantell junkyard. The second invites both players to hunt down their opponents’ figures with designated bounty hunters. Both missions promise new encounters and fast-paced combat in the Star Wars universe.

Whether you play one of the included missions or another skirmish mission, the new Command cards in the IG-88 Villain Pack bring new powers to the Droids and Hunters in your strike team. Merciless allows you to place your opponent in an unenviable position: he must discard the top two cards of his Command deck or you gain three victory points. Dirty Trick can be used whenever a hostile figure enters an adjacent space, forcing the figure to suffer three strain or become Stunned. Finally, you can use Blaze of Glory on IG-88 to ready his Deployment card, granting him an additional activation in a round! IG-88 suffers three damage at the end of the round, but an extra activation can result in far more damage to your opponent.

Hunter or Hunted

Whether you smuggle goods and fight for the Rebel Alliance alongside Han Solo, or hunt down your prey with IG-88, you’ll find cards and missions to enhance your games of Imperial Assault in these figure packs. Join us next time for a preview of the Chewbacca Ally Pack and the General Weiss Villain Pack.

Pre-order your Imperial Assault Ally Packs and Villain Packs at your local retailer today!

“The Underway is a funky, chaotic, and eclectic mix of architecture and ethnicities. What unifies it is a general counterculture vibe – the sense that they are pioneers and iconoclasts. But this independent spirit paved the way for the rise of Los Muertos.”
    –Exposé on The Underway: Part IV – Days of the Muertos

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of The Underway, the fourth Data Pack in the SanSan Cycle for Android: Netrunner!

SanSan is the cradle of high-end tech, home to beautiful beaches, and the host of the World Expo. It is also still recovering from “The Big One,” the cataclysmic earthquake that opened up the San Andreas fault and redefined America’s western coast. However, this event that was disastrous for many was an opportunity for others, some of whom quickly moved their homes and businesses into the new space that was created.

Fast-forward, and this new space, now dubbed “The Underway,” is a motley assembly of many different architectural styles, ethnicities, and cultural influences. It’s a hotbed of holographic artists, indie studios, and the birthplace of Jank-Juke-Jazz. It has also become synonymous with gang activity, particularly that of Los Muertos, a street gang whose members are identified by their bioluminescent tattoos and that deals in illegal tech as much as it deals in flesh and drugs.

Accordingly, the sixty new cards in The Underway (three copies each of twenty different cards) dabble in an eclectic mix of upgrades, assets, and resources, as well as a handful of illicit hardware and programs. Meanwhile, everything seems to run through Los Muertos, and even as the gang’s criminal influence bolsters the Criminal faction, it pervades everything in this Data Pack. It starts with a new Criminal Runner identity, it reaches outward as other Runner factions are supplied with the sort of tech you don’t normally find in America, and it ripples into every aspect of every card as Corps are forced to deal with the gang’s members in one way or another.

A Dangerous Game

The Corps of Android: Netrunner may more or less rule the world, but Los Muertos rules the Underway. Still, it’s difficult to know who is or isn’t part of the gang unless they activate their bioluminescent tattoos. Then, it’s easy, as their faces are marked by bright, skull-like lines and decorative swoops or swirls.

Their relative anonymity makes them brazen, and it makes them difficult for Corporate problem-solvers. Any given Street Peddler (The Underway, 62) could be part of Los Muertos, ready to participate in the gang’s next Drive By (The Underway, 64).

But Corps can’t operate blindly. Were a Corp to miss its mark with a shipment of Defective Brainchips (The Underway, 72) or the services of a Contract Killer (The Underway, 78), it could gain international notoriety and suffer irreparable damage to its reputation.

Accordingly, some Corps may seek to expose the gang’s influence, slowly but surely winning the public to their side with Exposé (The Underway, 75) pieces. Others may simply accept the Underway Grid (The Underway, 80) for what it is, a region of SanSan, hidden from the light, where the rules are different, everyone’s life is riddled by secrets, and violence is expected.

Viva Los Muertos

“Is your neighbor secretly a violent criminal? The answer to this chilling question and more, right after the break.”
    –Shannon Claire, SSN 5

Since The Big One, the Underway has emerged as a hive of criminal activity. Within its shadows, many Runners have learned their trade and honed their skills. The members of its largest gang, Los Muertos, rule the streets, profiting off their deals in flesh and drugs and tech. For the right price, you can find anything, but you have to be careful about how you get it.

Can the Corps clean up the Underway’s streets? Can they burrow in and change its local culture? As Corps and criminals vie for control of the regional business, The Underway Data Pack is certain to lead to all-new forms of subterranean aggression.

Look for The Underway to arrive at retailers everywhere in the second quarter of 2015!

“A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi knights. He betrayed and murdered your father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct.”
   –Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars™: A New Hope

Darth Vader is one of the greatest villains of all-time, and he can easily be one of the most terrifying threats in Imperial Assault. With massive striking power, a mastery of the Force, and powerful defenses, Darth Vader forces you to carefully consider any plan of attack if you wish to achieve victory.

Today, Zach Bunn explores the threat of Darth Vader and methods to form an attack plan in every game of Imperial Assault.

Zach Bunn on Darth Vader in Imperial Assault

I was recently teaching the skirmish game of Imperial Assault to a new player when I had one of those moments that all of us experience as we progress through the learning stages of most games. The epiphany reverberated through my brain, like Obi-Wan’s voice in Star Wars: A New Hope as Luke turns off his targeting computer.

It happened right as I finished explaining the win condition of skirmish missions. I said, “So, you have to get to forty points, usually through a combination of accomplishing objectives and destroying your opponent’s units.”

A critical part of that victory condition is destroying your opponent’s units. As my epiphany revealed, the harder a unit is to destroy, the harder it is for you to gain points by killing it. The more points your opponent has invested in hard-to-destroy units, the harder it is for you to gain those points. I looked down at Darth Vader and all the pieces came together. It seems so obvious now, but at the time I had to pause the demo and ponder a concept that I now refer to as the “Darth Dilemma.”

There are many reasons why Darth Vader is extremely powerful in Imperial Assault, but because I was too busy fielding Darth Vader, I never really looked at it from my opponent’s side. A unit like Darth Vader creates a terrifying dilemma for your opponent because he ties up nearly half of your army points in a unit that’s extremely difficult to kill. If you attempt to destroy Darth Vader and fail, you’ve wasted your actions and figures for nothing. If you attempt to avoid him, you have to make your way to victory by destroying lesser units or by scoring an absurd amount of objectives. You have to choose how you want to try to confront Vader, and neither option is very appealing.

Back to the demo. We set up the “Leave No Evidence” skirmish mission, which challenges both players to recover important artifacts from the Massassi Ruins on Yavin 4. I noted the six excavation tokens on the board, each worth six points. Math says that thirty-six objective points are on the line. For my opponent to win this scenario and not have to destroy Darth Vader (who’s worth eighteen points), he must capture at least three objectives and destroy every other figure in my army. If I can score four objectives, my opponent is now forced kill Darth Vader to win. If I protect one of my lesser figures and score three objectives, my opponent is forced to kill Darth Vader. By taking advantage of this dilemma, I can create some bad exchanges for my opponent.

I’ve found that to deal with Darth Vader consistently, you must immediately decide whether you’re going to confront him or avoid him. There is no middle ground. Because he rolls two black defense dice and has the option to re-roll one per attack, his average defense is around four blocks! If you just try to whittle Vader’s health down after you’ve lost a good chunk of your army, you won’t have the firepower to finish the job. If you start your assault early and back off, you’ve wasted too much time and offense on a zero-point payoff. You’ve got to commit to a plan early, and you’ve got to follow through.

Though it’s Darth Vader who specifically creates this dilemma out of the Imperial Assault Core Set, there’s a fundamental lesson to be learned and applied regardless of his presence. I’ve adopted a methodology ever since that moment, and it’s helped me determine good lines of attack for any given scenario and army combination. It’s a simple and universal line of questioning that should be considered before every first turn in Imperial Assault.

Solving the Dilemma

At the start of each game, I have several important decisions to make. These decisions affect my deployment, the early movement of my figures, and where I direct my offense throughout the game.

When you first start playing skirmish missions, it may seem like you can simply move toward your opponent at the beginning of the game and start shooting the closest units, but this has proven to be a losing strategy. I’ve seen too many games where, by using this kind of strategy, my opponent gets to thirty points before realizing he has no reasonable path to victory. This is a depressing realization, and I try to avoid it by asking the following questions before the game begins:

1. How many points does this scenario’s special objectives offer?

2. How many of those points can I reasonably expect to capture?

3. Given the answers to points 1 and 2, which of my opponent’s models do I need to destroy to get to forty points?

4. If my point calculation in 2 starts to look too ambitious in the middle of the game, which additional models will be easiest to destroy in order to make up the difference?

5. Go through steps 1 through 4 again as if I were my opponent. What objectives might he reasonably expect to capture? What units of mine will he be trying to destroy?

The games of Imperial Assault that I’ve lost are typically the result of being too eager and not fully considering the questions above. By spending a few minutes considering your path to victory, each decision you make throughout the game is put into context. When evaluated with this context in mind, you’ll find yourself carefully considering your plan, rather than just dashing around a corner and shooting down a pesky unit with your Stormtroopers!

As you embark on your first skirmish games, remember that sometimes the best decision isn’t the obvious or emotional one. You win by getting to forty points before your opponent. While considering the win condition of a game isn’t a new tactic by any stretch of the imagination, asking the important questions and constructing a plan of action is often the difference between victory and defeat. Stay focused, and make sure that every move you make contributes to an end game that gives you the best chance of winning.

Until next time, may the Force be with you!

Zach

Ready Your Troops

Thanks, Zach!

Darth Vader poses a deadly threat to any strike team, and the Rebel Alliance needs a plan to deal with him. Will you dispatch Rebel Troopers and Saboteurs to complete your objectives as quickly as possible? Will Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca confront Darth Vader directly? Gather your strike team and prepare for Star Wars battles in the Imperial Assault skirmish game!

Zach Bunn is a Star Wars fanatic, a lead member of Team Covenant, and a fan of Imperial Assault. In coming weeks, stay tuned for more Imperial Assault guest articles from Zach and other writers!

Venture into one of the most dangerous parts of the galaxy! Lords of Nal Hutta, a sourcebook for the Star Wars®: Edge of the Empire™ roleplaying game, is now available at your local retailer and in our online store.

Lords of Nal Hutta contains all the information that you need to experience Hutt Space. It provides countless details about Hutt civilization, including their ruthless crime syndicates and violent history. It describes each of the major locations in Hutt Space, from the dimly lit cantinas and black markets of Nar Shaddaa to the jungles of Saki, providing GMs with numerous and detailed settings for adventures. Lords of Nal Hutta also features new playable species and a wide variety of gear to help you survive in this notoriously lawless region.

Crime Families

The heart of Hutt culture is the kajidic, a clan-based syndicate governed by a single Hutt and often specialized in illegal activities. It is within his kajidic that a Hutt is given his first job, cultivates his career, and perhaps even attains political power. In our first preview, contributing writer Sterling Hershey introduced the four most prominent kajidics, from Jabba’s own Desilijic to the militaristic Qunaalac Hutts.

For Hutts, power and money are inextricably linked, and the end almost always justifies the means. Many kajidics, specialize in the lucrative spice trade – “spice” euphemistically including a wide variety of legal and illegal substances. Hutts have put thousands of slaves to work in spice production, and employed a vast number of smugglers and pilots who, like the famous Han Solo, are willing to risk their lives (and Imperial entanglements) for the sake of profit. A risky spice smuggling run, such as the infamous Kessel Run, could be the centerpiece of an Edge of the Empire campaign. A failed run might be the source of your obligation to a vindictive Hutt overlord.

Worlds of Beauty, Cruelty, and Wealth

A total of twelve planets are detailed in Lords of Nal Hutta: densely populated trade outposts where anything can be found for a price, desolate worlds with enslaved populations, vast game reserves where assassins hone their skills, radioactive wastelands. Our second preview explored three different planets within Hutt Space: the so-called Smuggler’s Moon, Nar Shaddaa, the capital and home of the Hutts, Nal Hutta, and the pastoral world of Toydaria. It also looked at three modular encounters: ready-made, detailed set pieces that GMs can use as the launching point of a campaign or a single-session adventure.

One location essential for any voyage into Hutt Space is the Kwenn Space Station, the neutral gateway between the Empire-controlled Mid Rim and the lawless regions ruled by the Hutts. Over 325,000 humans, Hutts, and other species permanently reside in the space station, with at least another 20,000 passing through daily, many of them being spice smugglers, weapons dealers, and mercenaries. But Kwenn is also an elite resort catering to the galaxy’s ultra-wealthy. Its towers are filled with expensive entertainments, from casinos and cantinas to spas – and even an opera house. It’s an ideal place for a smuggler to have a business meeting with his Hutt employers, for a bounty hunter to begin the search for her quarry, or for a quiet young entertainer to become involved in a Rebel conspiracy.

Native Species and Survival Gear

Lords of Nal Hutta introduces four new playable species native to Hutt Space: Ganks, Niktos, Sakiyans, and of course, the Hutts. In our third preview, contributing writer Gregory Koteles discussed the Ganks’ predilection for cybernetics, the Sakiyans’ stealth and intelligence, and the Niktos’ diversity. We also looked at a few of the cybernetic implants that your Gank or other character might purchase in Hutt Space.

Of course, survival in Hutt Space isn’t just a matter of shooting first. In this realm of deadly intrigue, you may want tools more subtle than a blaster. Poison, for example, may be a more effective weapon, and Lords of Nal Hutta introduces three kinds of it. If you intend on gambling at the Kwenn Space Station, you might want a marked sabaac deck or some loaded chance cubes to ensure to ensure that the odds are always in your favor. A portable credit cleaner can make sure that any money you earn in Hutt Space cannot be traced by even the most skilled accountant droids.

Follow Your Ambitions

Hutt Space is a realm of extremes. Its inhabitants are largely free from Imperial laws, but slavery is rampant. Unfathomable wealth lives side by side with desperate poverty. There’s as many opportunities for profit and political gain in Hutt Space as there are backroom deals, and as many opportunities for doing good as there are examples of cruelty. Whatever lures your Edge of the Empire roleplaying group into Hutt Space, you’re sure to encounter there danger, intrigue, and plentiful adventures.

Pick up your copy of Lords of Nal Hutta today!

“Set your course for the Hoth system.”
    –Darth Vader

The Star Destroyers are on their way, Star Wars™: Armada is coming, and Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce that the Star Wars™: Armada Maneuver Tool will be made available to players as an Armada accessory pack!

The massive capital starships of Armada feature designs that balance their scale and complexity with ease of use, and the Armada maneuver tool is at the heart of this design. As these ships batter their foes ion cannons, proton torpedoes, and turbolasers, their momentum constantly carries them forward across the battlefield, and the maneuver tool allows you to adjust their courses, even as it accounts for their tremendous inertia.

The Armada maneuver tool.

The Armada Maneuver Tool accessory pack provides you an easy way to add a second maneuver tool to your games. You can also use the Armada Maneuver Tool accessory pack to build a shorter maneuver tool to accompany your full-size maneuver tool and to use with slower fleets or in tighter spaces. With a second maneuver tool built for shorter maneuvers, you can more easily navigate tight squeezes in the heat of battle.

Capital Ship Movement Made Easy

The Armada maneuver tool is one of the game’s most innovative features and makes it easy for you to set a ship’s course.

Capital ships can’t easily vary their speeds or execute hairpin turns like the starfighters that buzz around them. Accordingly, the maneuver tool lends an element of realism to your ships’ pitch and yaw, working in conjunction with your ships‘ available maneuvers to account for their inertia as they fly through the stars.

To set a ship’s course, you begin by resetting the maneuver tool so that all of its joints are straight. Then your ship’s speed indicates how far it will travel along the maneuver tool. At each joint, you can click the tool left or right a number of times away from the center position as indicated by your ship’s speed chart.

The speed charts for the CR90 corvette (left) and the Victory II-class Star Destroyer (right).

Each column on the speed chart corresponds to the speed number at the bottom of the column and shows the number of times that each joint can be clicked while your ship travels at that speed.

The rows on your ship’s speed chart correspond to the joints on the maneuver tool. The row directly above the speed number relates to the first joint, the second row relates to the second joint, and so forth. An “I” indicates that the joint can be clicked once in either direction, while an “II” means it can be clicked twice. Meanwhile, a “–” means the maneuver tool must remain straight at that joint.

Using the game’s unique maneuver tool, a Rebel player plots a “3” speed maneuver for his Nebulon-B escort frigate.

Additionally, you are allowed to use the maneuver tool to measure your ship’s possible positions before you commit to the move.

An Innovative and Integral Game Component

In many ways, the design of the Armada maneuver tool is responsible for enabling the game’s fluid, forward-looking approach to ship movement. It is an innovative and integral part of the game. Whether you use it to add a second, full-size maneuver tool to your games or to build a shorter maneuver tool for use in tight spaces, the Armada Maneuver Tool accessory pack ensures that you’ll be able to keep things calm in engineering as you focus all your firepower on enemy ships.

Look for the Star Wars: Armada Maneuver Tool accessory pack to arrive at retailers in the second quarter of 2015.

“Any attack made by the Rebels against this station would be a useless gesture, no matter what technical data they have obtained. This station is now the ultimate power in the universe! I suggest we use it!”
   –Admiral Motti, Star Wars: A New Hope

The Death Star Assault Playmat and the Starfield Playmat are now available online through our webstore!

With these new X-Wing Playmats, available via Fantasy Flight’s In-House Manufacturing, you can set your interstellar dogfights firmly in the Star Wars universe, bringing even more thematic gameplay to your X-Wing games. Two different playmat designs allow you to evoke the vastness of space in your X-Wing matches as fly your ships above the Death Star orbiting Yavin 4 or take your battles to an open starfield.

Enter the Star System

Each X-Wing Playmat takes the form of an easily portable, 3’ by 3’ natural rubber playmat, complete with a slip-resistant bottom that helps to ensure your valuable miniatures stay safe during your space battles. Whether you field a squadron for the Rebel Alliance, the Imperial Navy, or the Scum and Villainy of the galaxy, you’ll find a cinematic setting for your ship-to-ship battles in the X-Wing Playmats. If you want to play with the GR-75 medium transport or the Corellian CR90 corvette, you can even combine two playmats to form the massive, six-foot-by-three-foot play surface required for Epic Play or Star Wars: Armada.

Two separate designs await your space battles. You can take your space battles to Yavin 4 by playing on the Death Star Assault Playmat. This playmat displays the Death Star as it orbits above Yavin 4, allowing you to set your dogfights in the climatic ending of Star Wars: A New Hope. Whether you seek to break the Empire’s power, or establish dominion over the galaxy, this playmat will serve you well.

As another option, the Starfield Playmat displays a dramatic view of the galaxy’s stars, placing your dogfight anywhere in the Star Wars universe. This playmat’s minimalist design makes this playmat especially suitable for tournament play, offering a stylish background for your tournament dogfights.

What’s more, both playmats are legal in casual level events, while the Starfield Playmat is legal in all X-Wing Organized Play events, bringing the Star Wars setting to your tournament matches. Each playmat measures three feet by three feet, marking out the dimensions of a tournament game of X-Wing. These playmats provide a professional and thematic play surface for any faction as you battle your way to victory.

Bring the Universe to You

With these X-Wing Playmats at your fingertips, you can play each of your X-Wing dogfights in an easily portable piece of the Star Wars universe. Prepare to upgrade your X-Wing play surfaces, and pick up your X-Wing Playmats today!

“The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.”
   –Princess Leia Organa

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce Desperate Allies, a new career supplement for the Star Wars®: Age of Rebellion™ Roleplaying Game!

Desperate Allies is a sourcebook for Diplomats of all kinds, inviting you to join in tense negotiations, make last-second deals, and spread hope in a galaxy consumed by fear of the Empire. Within this supplement, you’ll find plenty of new opportunities and tools for Diplomats, including three new playable species and three new specializations, along with new items and vehicles well suited for diplomatic missions. You’ll also find rules for establishing Rebel bases, allowing you to enrich your campaign with diplomatic embassies, covert intel outposts, secure safehouses, or any other bases you can imagine.

Feeding the Fire

The Alliance to Restore the Republic is committed to fighting the Empire, but not all battles are fought with blasters. Diplomats use their words to fight for a better future. They convince new systems and factions to declare their support for the Rebel Alliance. They supply troops on the front lines with much-needed weapons, tools, and provisions. They spread hope for a brighter future in a galaxy choking on fear of the Empire.

Diplomats can come from all walks of life and serve many functions within the Rebel Alliance. They may have been politicians or Senators before the rise of Emperor Palpatine, or they may have come from much more lowly origins. A Diplomat might have extensive schooling, or may just have a knack for getting the right equipment to the right people. No matter what background or specialization your Diplomat may have, you’ll find plenty to learn and take advantage of in Desperate Allies.

For more on the new additions included in Desperate Allies, we turn to lead developer Max Brooke.

Developer Max Brooke on Desperate Allies

Desperate Allies is a sourcebook for Diplomats and all other representatives of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, giving Age of Rebellion players and GMs new tools to tell stories of politics, intrigue, and dramatic twists. This book offers three new species with long histories as diplomats: the cunning Neimoidians, the wise Caamasi, and the calculating Gossams. Additionally, Desperate Allies features three new Diplomat specializations. The Advocate, Analyst, and Propagandist provide your Diplomats with unique new avenues for development, and give other characters access to potent social abilities that their careers might otherwise lack. This supplement also includes new backgrounds, motivations, and two powerful signature abilities to give Diplomats an edge.

From left to right: Caamasi, Neimoidian, Gossam.

Tools of the trade are as important in negotiations as they are in the cockpit or on the battlefield, and Desperate Allies has numerous iconic and novel examples of weapons, armor, gear, and equipment that emissaries of the Rebel Alliance use to complete their important tasks. You may find a lightweight and elegant blaster pistol to rely on, or use your resplendent robes to command the attention of a room. Diplomats need transport as well, so this book has a selection of vessels ideal for diplomatic missions – and for evading or outflying the Empire when a job turns dangerous! The life of a Diplomat is rarely a peaceful one in the Rebel Alliance, and the tools and equipment in Desperate Allies give Diplomats the best chance of surviving their adventures.

In addition to the wealth of new character options it includes, Desperate Allies provides GMs with guidance and rules to enhance their social encounters and create moments for Diplomat characters to shine. Players will be able join in the negotiation and deals required to bring new soldiers and star systems into the Rebellion. Desperate Allies also features a number of modular encounters and adventure outlines that focus on diplomacy – without depriving players of the fast-paced action and adventure they expect from Star Wars roleplaying! These resources can be used to underscore the theme of intrigue in ongoing Age of Rebellion campaigns or to create stories with a focus on politics and power.

Finally, this volume contains the rules for creating Rebel bases, which GMs and players can use to construct and develop their own fortresses and hideouts. Your Diplomats can use these rules to establish embassies, but every character in Age of Rebellion can take advantage of the chance for a secure safehouse.

Desperate Allies invites you to partake in the galactic politics of Age of Rebellion, assisting players and GMs alike in bringing this vibrant part of the Star Wars universe to life!

The Stylus Is Mightier than the Sword

War is a central theme of Age of Rebellion, but without the Diplomats who envision a better life, warfare is just meaningless bloodshed. Diplomats ensure that soldiers have the support they need to wage war, but more importantly, they give the troops reasons to fight – to liberate the galaxy and to see something better built on the ashes of the Galactic Empire.

Look for Desperate Allies at your local retailer in the second quarter of 2015!

“My ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.”
   –Master Yoda

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of the Star Wars®: Force and Destiny™ Core Rulebook and Game Master’s Kit.

The power of the Force flows through you. All your life you have felt it and used it, perhaps even unconsciously. Now, at last, you have found others like you who can sense and manipulate the Force, others willing to risk their lives for the sake of justice, for the sake of bettering the galaxy. Together, you are searching for the secrets of the outlawed Jedi Order and fighting against any evil that you encounter, including the Empire. Guiding you on your journey is the Force and Destiny Core Rulebook, which contains everything necessary for you to experience the Force’s immense power and take part in action-filled, epic adventures set in the Star Wars universe.

Outcasts in a War-Torn Galaxy

“For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire.”
   –Obi-Wan Kenobi

With a single, brutal, masterful stroke, Chancellor Palpatine took over the galactic government and abolished the Jedi Order. The Clone Wars ended and the Empire was born. Over the following decades, resistance against the Empire slowly strengthened until at last an organized Rebellion formed and destroyed the first Death Star, beginning a great civil war. Force and Destiny takes place in this war-torn galaxy, where Force-sensitives and anyone with ties to the Jedi must keep secret their power at risk of imprisonment and death.

While Force and Destiny is a complete and independent roleplaying system, it is also fully cross-compatible with our other two Star Wars roleplaying games, Age of Rebellion™ and Edge of the Empire™, set in the same time period. You could send Force-sensitives from Force and Destiny to the lawless locations featured in Edge of the Empire, or create a Rebel cell composed of outcast Force-users and idealistic Colonists who take on the Empire in an adventure from Age of the Rebellion.

The Balance Between Light and Dark

“Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.”
   – Master Yoda

As Force-sensitive characters, you and the others in your group must learn to use the Force without the guidance of the Jedi Order. You also live with the constant threat of Imperial discovery, and will likely have to fight for your survival. You may choose to spend your life in the shadows, defending the downtrodden and carefully walking the line between good and evil. Or, you may join the Rebellion and battle the Empire from the pilot’s seat of a straighter. No matter what your character’s background, career, or ultimate aims, you will no doubt take on incredible missions and perform legendary deeds.

Your character will inevitably be forced to make difficult choices, and there will be countless opportunities to demonstrate your honor or surrender to violence, self-interest, and evil. Would you commit murder to free an enslaved friend? Would you use torture to elicit information that might save thousands of lives? In Force and Destiny, Morality is a defining aspect of character. Torture, failing to prevent another’s cruelty, even theft can pull you towards the dark side. Once fallen, you will have to relentlessly prove your commitment to the light side before you can leave the dark side behind.

The Stuff of Legends

“Yes, Artoo, I was just coming to that.”
   –Threepio

The heart of every Force and Destiny campaign is the 448-page Core Rulebook, beautifully illustrated with original art to immerse you fully in the Star Wars universe. In the Core Rulebook’s thirteen chapters you’ll find everything you need to play the game, from instructions on creating complex Force-sensitive characters to a thorough guide to the game’s narrative dice system. Entire chapters are dedicated to skills, talents, gear and weapons (including lightsabers), vehicles and starships, and of course, the Force itself.

For game masters, the Core Rulebook includes a chapter with helpful suggestions about running game sessions, developing a campaign, and handling your PCs’ ever-shifting Morality. You’ll also find detailed information about galactic geography, a history of the Jedi and Sith Orders from their ancient past until the Galactic Civil War, a catalogue of NPC adversaries, and a complete, stand-alone adventure, Lessons of the Past, to begin your Force and Destiny campaign.

Mastering the Force

“You’ll find I’m full of surprises.”
   –Luke Skywalker

The Force and Destiny Game Master’s Kit places right before your eyes all the information that you need to lead session of Force and Destiny. A GM screen not only helps you conceal your plots and machinations from the PCs, but features convenient reference charts that cover topics from vehicle critical hits to spending advantage and triumph results in combat.

The GM Kit also features detailed guidelines for knight-level play, in which PCs start an adventure with advanced capabilities, and for crafting custom lightsabers from materials that characters may encounter in their adventures. Above all, it contains a complete two-to-three session adventure, Hidden Depths, which can either stand on its own or tie in with the adventure in the Core Rulebook.

Meet Your Destiny

The Force and Destiny Core Rulebook and GM kit will be available in the third quarter of 2015. In the meantime, visit the Force and Destiny minisite for additional details and, soon, in-depth previews of the game.

Your destiny awaits. May the Force be with you!

For the Greater Good is coming soon to Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game! With nearly two-thirds of its 165 cards focused on the Agency and its operatives, For the Greater Good gives the faction a major boost. However, it also offers plenty to fans of the game’s other factions.

Each of the game’s seven other factions gains at least one new character and at least one new support; they also gain more potential options from the expansion’s three different neutral cards, which include the new Ancient One Iod, The Hunter of Souls (For the Greater Good, 36).

Thus, even as the Agency’s Government agents pursue new leads in their defense of humanity, these other new characters allow the other factions to accelerate their plans for saving, dominating, or devouring the world. Like the Bedlam Boys (For the Greater Good, 41) and Restless Mi-Go (For the Greater Good, 45), most of them are also two-cost and one skill. However, the similarities between them tend to end there. After all, the monstrous scientists of Yog-Sothoth don’t function like the Syndicate’s criminals. Nor do Cthulhu’s cultists work toward the same intents as Miskatonic University’s bravest explorers and investigators.

Today, we turn our attention more closely toward one of these characters, as two-time World Champion Jeremy Zwirn offers a look at the character card he designed for Miskatonic University and that will soon see release with For the Greater Good.

Jeremy Zwirn on Jeremiah Kirby

Today, I'm very excited to show you my World Champion card and share a few of the thoughts I had while designing it. Having the opportunity to design your own Champion card is truly amazing, and I'm extremely grateful to be forever linked in this way to Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game. 
 
I'm a big fan of the literature of H.P. Lovecraft and have read all of his stories. The Cthulhu Mythos is brimming with interesting characters, items, and locations. As I thought about basing a card on one of these, I was a bit overwhelmed by the possibilities; where was I to begin? I thought about designing a card around one of the notable, named characters yet to appear in the LCG®: Professor William Dyer, Captain Obed Marsh, Abdul Alhazred (author of the Necronomicon), Joseph Curwen, or Herbert West, the infamous reanimator. The idea of designing a card around a powerful artifact, like the Shining Trapozehedron, also intrigued me.

In the end, I decided to make a card that pictured what I would like to be in the Cthulhu Mythos. That decision gave me the freedom to explore my card’s design without the pressure to match its mechanics to a known character. The result is the Explorer and Investigator, Jeremiah Kirby (For the Greater Good, 43).
 
Exploring New Ground
 
I wanted my Champion Card to stand apart from those designed by my predecessors. The four previous World Champion character cards in Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game all share a cost of three, three or more icons, and three skill. Three of them are neutral. They’re all good at combat and have Willpower. Instead of following suit, I thought it would be more interesting to give my character just one point of skill, one icon, and focus more attention on the ability.

I learned to play Call of Cthulhu with a Miskatonic University rush deck and am a hardcore gamer, so the faction of “nerds” felt right. The faction is known for its abundance of card draw, so I wanted to create a twist on this mechanic. For a while, I thought about designing a character that always revealed the top card of your deck and allowed you to play it as though it were in your hand. The idea was fun and interesting, but I wanted something more interactive. I'm a fan of mini-games that involve direct interaction with your opponent, and I love highly tactical cards that require you to weigh multiple factors each time you use them. Accordingly, when Jeremiah Kirby enters play, his response triggers a “card draw” ability, but your opponent influences which cards you get.

Meanwhile, since Jeremiah Kirby is an Explorer, I wanted his name to sound like an arctic explorer. Many of the Explorer characters in Call of Cthulhu are named after real explorers. Roald Ellsworth (Seekers of Knowledge, 4), for example, is named after Roald Amundsen and Lincoln Ellsworth. Taking the cue, I chose to name my card after Jeremiah Reynolds and Sydney Kirkby, slightly modifying Kirkby’s last name because my Golden Retriever’s name is “Kirby.”

Playing with Jeremiah Kirby

In card games, I like nothing more than finding synergy between cards and creating decks where the whole is greater than its individual parts. Jeremiah Kirby is full of potential synergies, and many of those synergies involve other Miskatonic cards. Since he has the Explorer subtype, he can take advantage of all the synergies it grants.

• If Jeremiah Kirby leaves play, Roald Ellsworth lets you draw two cards or retrieve any one card from your discard pile.
• If you have James “Cookie” Fredericks (Seekers of Knowledge, 8) in play and fewer cards in hand than your opponent, you can order your responses to first trigger Cookie’s response, then trigger Kirby’s response to take a total of three of the top eight cards from your deck into your hand.
• Moreover, Jeremiah Kirby is a prime target to drop into play with the lynchpin of Explorer decks, Ultima Thule (Seekers of Knowledge, 26). As long as your opponent doesn't disrupt this combo, you'll net two cards each turn, and if you have Roald Ellsworth in play, that turns into four cards each turn.

Synergy is such a beautiful thing!
 
Explorer isn't Jeremiah Kirby's only subtype; he's also an Investigator. Thus, two Anthropology Advisors (Core Set, 25) will let you play him at no cost and give him two additional Investigation icons. Since he boasts such a powerful enters play ability, if you’re reducing his cost to nothing, you may sometimes want him to be destroyed just so that you can play a second (or third) copy of him. He’s a great target to commit to a story where you’ll need to take a wound after losing a combat struggle, or you can equip him with a Khopesh of the Abyss (Touched by the Abyss, 16) and wound away. Having Infirmary (Words of Power, 28) in play makes these viable options to keep the cards flowing.
 
The cards from Miskatonic University aren’t the only cards with which Jeremiah combines nicely. One of the best examples is Tom Capor’s Champion Card, Hall of Champions (Written and Bound, 20). I’ve always enjoyed the design of that card and wanted to make a card that synergized with it. Finding Jeremiah Kirby with the Hall of Champions will give you two cards and, potentially, three success tokens at a story. That’s not bad, especially since this could happen every turn, especially if you use cards like Archaeology Interns (Into Tartarus, 97) or Surprising Find (Touched by the Abyss, 109) to manipulate Jeremiah Kirby back to the top of your deck.

Playing Against Jeremiah Kirby
 
Every player of Call of Cthulhu has cards they love to use. Who doesn’t like cards that destroy your opponent’s characters or make them go crazy?

Everyone has their favorite cards to play, but who has favorites to play against? For me, Jeremiah Kirby is one of those cards; I actually enjoy playing against it more than with it! The way he creates interactions between known and hidden information can lead to intriguing scenarios.

For example, imagine your opponent starts the game and plays Jeremiah Kirby on his first turn, revealing Lucas Tetlow (Seekers of Knowledge, 9), Jeremiah Kirby, Matthew Alexander (Seekers of Knowledge, 7), Dwellers Below (The Sleeper Below, 11), and Flooded Vault (Terror in Venice, 10).

Which card do you choose first to put on the bottom of his deck? There are many factors to consider: what cards do you have in hand, and what might your opponent have in hand? If you have some non-Location support cards in hand, that Lucas Tetlow might be problematic. What cards have been resourced? If your opponent resourced a Matthew Alexander, does that mean he already has one in hand and doesn’t need another copy? What support cards is your opponent running? Flooded Vault could unearth anything from a Khopesh of the Abyss to Ultima Thule, and you have to consider all the possibilities. Does your second choice influence your first choice? If your opponent chooses to keep Flooded Vault, should you send that second copy of Jeremiah Kirby to the bottom of his deck so he can’t trigger card draw off it after a Khopesh bursts out of that Vault to attach to the first copy.
 
I thoroughly enjoy thought processes like these, even if the outcome isn't in my favor. I love trying to deduce what my opponent is thinking and using that to my advantage. I can't wait for a scenario like this to happen in a tournament.
 
Acknowledgements
 
I want to thank FFG for the opportunity to design this Champion Card, and I want to thank Brad Andres and Damon Stone for working with me to design a card I'm proud of. I'm really looking forward to playing with (and against) Jeremiah Kirby, and I hope you are as well!

Thanks, Jeremy!

For the Greater Good is now just a couple weeks away. In the meantime, keep your eyes open for our final preview, when we meet some of the Hunters who make their debut in this eighth deluxe expansion for Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game.

“We thought he perished during our last encounter, but the ritual markings undoubtedly show the involvement of that damnable heretic Zethor. I don’t know how he escaped the purge on Temperance, but with the Emperor’s guidance, this time we will make sure of his fate.”
   –Witch-Seeker Arbella Syne

The Askellon sector groans beneath the weight of a billion billion souls and their numberless sins. Everywhere, heresy sprouts and blooms, infecting the innocent and spreading madness. For such unquestionable evil, there is only one certain cure: the cleansing fire of the Inquisition and the Ordo Hereticus.

Yet finding the roots of corruption is difficult. An Inquisitor’s Acolytes must develop a plan of investigation and follow the clues before they can confront the source of the heresy. In the Enemies Within sourcebook for Dark Heresy Second Edition, you’ll find new rules to give structure to your Inquests in the Imperium.

Today, Tim Cox shares his perspective on the Inquest rules he developed for Enemies Within!

Tim Cox on Inquests in Enemies Within

Mysteries and investigations lie at the heart of Dark Heresy Second Edition, as Acolytes and Inquisitors strive to uncover the threats to humanity, but mysteries also rank among the most difficult adventures for GMs to run and for players to follow. To assist players and GMs with running investigations and tracking the Acolytes’ progress, Enemies Within includes new rules for Inquests. These rules help players solve mysteries, conduct investigations, and hunt down the heretics, witches, and mutants that threaten the survival of Mankind.

When developing the rules for Inquests, I wanted to provide structure and mechanics to support investigative play without constraining GMs or players. Inquests needed rules that were flexible enough to represent any sort of mystery or heresy a GM might invent, while providing a solid foundation to ensure the plot advances. I also wanted to keep the focus on targeted investigations against known heretics and cults, while maintaining the flexibility to handle other types of mysteries.

Planting the Seeds

At their heart, the final rules for Inquests provide an organised system for conducting investigations, presenting guidelines that GMs can use to build their own mystery adventures. Although GMs can use Inquest rules for any investigation, they are best suited to handling investigations initiated by the Acolytes (or a Player Character Inquisitor). The beginning of an Inquest invites the Acolytes to plan the focus of their investigation, selecting their target and determining the Inquest’s scope – Minoris, Majoris, or Extremis. The scope is a reflection of the mission’s difficulty and length, and it dictates the Influence rewards for success.

The amount of player involvement in an Inquest means that Acolytes have the discretion to choose their target, the scope of their objective, and the resources they will use to accomplish it. This ensures that players and GMs are on the same page at the outset of the adventure and it further represents the discretion that trusted Acolytes and even Inquisitors exercise in deciding which threats to pursue and how best to prosecute their duties.

Chasing the Heresy

During an Inquest, Acolytes accrue Investigation points by finding clues and following leads, resulting in a tangible measurement for their progress. The number of Investigation points needed to complete an Inquest depends on its scope. A higher scope generally means more clues for the Acolytes to find.

In an Inquest, clues have an assigned Investigation point value, which can vary greatly based on the clue’s importance. In order for the Inquest to progress, the Acolytes might need to find a single vital clue or several minor clues. Acolytes gain additional Investigation points for successfully uncovering leads from a clue, but a mistaken interpretation or a false lead can actually cost them points.

Once the Acolytes have obtained a predetermined number of Investigation points, they trigger a Revelation, or an important break in the case. In order to benefit from the Revelation, they must successfully navigate a Confrontation – an important encounter with the potential to change the course of an investigation. Although Confrontations don’t always involve combat, they are often encounters with important heretics and lieutenants of the Acolytes’ target, or even with highly placed members of the organization the Acolytes seek to bring down. Confrontations may also be shocking discoveries, tense social encounters, or other important developments.

When the warband achieves the necessary total Investigation points, the results of their clues lead to the final Confrontation with their target, and the opportunity to successfully complete the Inquest. If the Acolytes are successful, they and their Inquisitor receive Influence based on the scope of the Inquest. Even if the Acolytes fail to defeat their foe, obtaining enough Investigation points nets them a reduced Influence reward. In some cases, such as during an Inquest against a particularly powerful Nemesis, just undoing his horrid schemes may be all that is possible.

Nothing According to Plan

One of my favourite elements of the Inquest rules is complications. At the outset of an Inquest, a GM can choose from a selection of complications or randomly determine one. Complications range from jurisdictional disputes with local forces or a branch of the Adeptus Terra, to local customs or practices that threaten to delay the investigation, to betrayal by a trusted ally. Each complication has mechanical effects and may cost the Acolytes Investigation points or affect their Subtlety.

Although players have a good deal more involvement in the selection, creation, and prosecution of an Inquest than they might in other adventures, complications provide a level of unpredictability and surprise that keeps the Acolytes on their toes. And although they may choose the target and scope of their Inquest, no Acolyte can ever tell for certain where that Inquest may lead them.

Doing the Emperor’s Work

I hope both GMs and players will enjoy incorporating Inquests into their games. Whether hunting down old foes or uncovering nascent threats, Inquests make up the work of the Inquisition. I look forward to hearing about the mysteries your Acolytes uncover and the threats you contend with!

Thanks, Tim!

Prepare to uncover the cults and heresies that fester throughout the Askellon sector with the new rules for Inquests. Check back for our next preview, in which we look at the new options available to your Acolytes as you work alongside the Ordo Hereticus.

Pre-order your copy of Enemies Within today!

“In the wild lands beyond Bree there were mysterious wanderers. The Bree-folk called them Rangers, and knew nothing of their origin. They were taller and darker than the Men of Bree and were believed to have strange powers of sight and hearing.”
    –J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Soon, The Lost Realm deluxe expansion for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game will provide you and your heroes the chance to undertake daring, new adventures in a previously unexplored region of Middle-earth.

Outside the peaceful villages of Bree-land, lies a land tainted by ancient evils. In the darkest, northern reaches of Eriador, the Witch-king of Angmar once ruled. His armies terrorized the region for nearly seven centuries, and though he no longer resides within Carn Dûm, there are other evils that have found their way to Angmar.

In The Lost Realm, you join forces with the Rangers of the North, the Dúnedain who have secretly warded Bree-land and its neighboring villages from the dangers of Angmar and the surrounding lands.

The Orcs Are Massing

Your adventures begin with the expansion’s first scenario, Intruders in Chetwood. When a couple Rangers of the North discover a large group of Orcs making its way toward Bree-land, they realize they need help. The Ranger Iârion (The Lost Realm, 16) asks you to help him intercept the war-party before it can assault the Men of Bree.

Though the Orcs begin with a day’s lead, Iârion proves a skilled tracker, guiding you swiftly through forests and over hills. However, your trials won’t end once you manage to catch the Orc War-party (The Lost Realm, 17); they’ll have only just begun.

At its heart, The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is about adventures rooted in exploration and discovery. You and your friends work together against a randomized encounter deck full of enemies to fight, dangerous locations to explore, and treachery cards that can snatch victory right out of your hands. Meanwhile, each game immerses you in a story that unfolds as you press forward on your quest, moving from stage to stage. In these ways, The Lost Realm and its scenarios offer as pure an experience as The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game as you could hope to find.

From the opening moments of Intruders in Chetwood, as you hunt the Orcs, through the final quest stage of its final scenario, The Lost Realm immerses you in a narrative adventure full of challenges, choices, and intrigues. In an earlier preview, developer Caleb Grace addressed how the expansion’s side quests add narrative depth, even as they force you and your heroes to choose between pursuing the main quest and ridding the realm of other threats.

Along the way, you’ll need to travel from the relative safety of Chetwood Forest (The Lost Realm, 18) to the ruins of Fornost. You’ll learn why Aragorn told the Council of Elrond that the North would have had no peace if not for the Rangers of the North. You’ll learn about the foes he said would freeze lesser men’s hearts, and you’ll face them in battle. Moreover, you’ll have to do all this while trudging onward through foul weather and unmarked wilderness.

The result is that you’ll understand what it’s like to be one of the Dúnedain Rangers. You’ll feel the weight of responsibility sitting squarely upon your back, and yet you’ll continue onward, because there is no good alternative. You will gain no fame nor fortune should you succeed, but if you fail, many innocent men and women will die.

The Tireless Hunt

Of course, The Lost Realm explores the Rangers of the North and their trials in more ways than one. The expansion introduces two new Dúnedain Ranger heroes, a host of new Dúnedain allies, and a handful of related events and attachments.

As we’ve already seen, many of these new cards focus on scouting out enemies and engaging them, and this means that The Lost Realm adds a new dimension to the Tactics sphere of influence, even as it bolsters the Dúnedain trait.

Each sphere of influence has its strengths and weaknesses, and in multi-player games, Tactics players will often protect other members of their fellowship from as many enemies as possible. For starters, then, Tactics players frequently aim to optionally engage enemies as often as possible, and they often play with threat levels that are slightly higher than the rest of the table, so that they will be the first targeted by enemies in the engagement phase.

Often, though, you’ll find yourselves facing situations in which multiple enemies enter the staging area at once, and your Tactics player can’t engage them all. These situations occur frequently enough that many Tactics players feel the need to incorporate Ranged and Sentinel characters, as well as events such as Feint (Core Set, 34), in order to help their friends across the table.

Soon, The Lost Realm will introduce new means of controlling the game’s enemies and engagements, and this means that Tactics players will be able to pursue a wide range of all-new, effective deck-building archetypes.

The new Tactics version of Aragorn (The Lost Realm, 1) is likely to be the lynchpin in many of these builds. Not only does he subtract one from the Defense Strength of every enemy engaged with you, he comes with a Response ability that can pull enemies away from other players:

“Response: After Aragorn participates in an attack that destroys an enemy, choose an enemy not engaged with you and engage that enemy.”

Some of Aragorn’s benefits are obvious. By offering a consistent and immediate means of pulling enemies away from your fellow players, Aragorn’s ability grants you new freedom in the construction of your deck and the selection of your heroes. You face less need than ever to include Ranged characters or cards like The Hammer-stroke (The Blood of Gondor, 111) in order to attack those enemies that engage your fellow players.

Some of Aragorn’s benefits are less obvious, but no less effective. Since Aragorn’s Response isn’t a Combat Action, it works anytime he participates in an attack that destroys an enemy. That means that he can use cards like Quick Strike (Core Set, 35) to attack and destroy enemies before other enemies attack your teammates, and in this way, you can be an effective teammate and combatant, even if you don’t include Sentinel characters in your deck.

To this end, The Lost Realm also introduces Tireless Hunters (The Lost Realm, 8), which for one resource serves both as a Sentinel replacement and as shadow cancellation.

Finally, even as it offers Tactics players a range of new freedoms, The Lost Realm provides them with some limited, thematic means to explore an entirely new role – threat reduction. For a single resource, Secret Vigil (The Lost Realm, 12) can attach to an enemy and reduce its Threat Strength by one, making it easier to quest successfully so long as that enemy remains in the staging area. Then, once that enemy is destroyed, Secret Vigil reduces each player’s threat by an amount equal to the target enemy’s printed Threat Strength. When you consider that The Galadhrim’s Greeting (Core Set, 46) costs three resources for a table-wide threat reduction of two, you’ll be especially thankful for the Dúnedain and their Secret Vigil, especially when they eliminate an enemy as threatening as an Angmar Marauder (The Lost Realm, 44).

Explore the North

Will you experiment with a Dúnedain deck, or will you rely upon other heroes as you face the perils of the North? Either way, The Lost Realm offers an immersive and perilous exploration of one of Middle-earth’s most intriguing realms, the dark and shadowy lands just outside of Bree-land and the Shire.

The Lost Realm is now just a few weeks away. In the meantime, stay tuned for more news, including a look at the expansion’s second hero and a pair of sample Dúnedain decks designed to work together!