Kampala Ascendent, the final Data Pack in the Kitara Cycle for Android: Netrunner is available now from your local retailer or our website.

As the effects of a possible second Beanstalk ripple across Sub-Saharan Africa, corps and runners alike use this chaos to tear each other apart. War is on the horizon, and as corporations like Weyland look to waylay the construction of the Beanstalk, runners revel in the chaos, looking for a challenge, thrills, or profit. 

Kampala Ascendent brings the themes of the Kitara Cycle full circle, inviting you to look for cards that expand on the themes from the Revised Core Set for every faction. Furthermore, you can find a new Jinteki identity, a new Sunny LeBeau event, and a way to rob the runner of three of their clicks… unless they pay a terrible price.

Line Your Pockets

Criminals run for one reason: profit. While bringing down a corp for other factions is seen as a challenge or a thrill, Criminals see their actions as a means to an end: cold hard credits. If running doesn’t make you rich, what’s the point? Diversion of Funds (Kampala Ascendent, 105) is one of the easiest ways for Criminals to be compensated for all their hard work. Taking two clicks and requiring a successful run on HQ, Diversion of Funds can be difficult to pull off, but that makes the reward all the sweeter. Instead of accessing cards for your successful HQ run, you may force the corp to lose up to five credits, while you gain a credit for every credit they lose. This drains the corp, lowering their defenses while lining your own pockets. The corp will have to spend precious time recovering these funds, while you are free to play more powerful events, purchase new hardware, and invest in icebreakers with your latest influx of income.

To recoup this loss, the Corp may resort to using their Hedge Fund (Revised Core Set, 132) or other transactions to boost their credits. But of course, Criminals also have a contingency plan in place.

PAD Tap (Kampala Ascendent, 106) is a free resource that allows you to gain a credit the first time the corp gains credits with a card ability every turn. This PAD Tap is not infallible—the corp can spend three credits and a click to trash the resource. But at what point is the tap annoying enough to spend three credits and a click? The runner gaining a credit does not directly hurt the corp; criminals are just taking a little bit of profit on the side. But letting the PAD Tap sit for too long can finance a runner's operations and take down the corp one credit at a time, unless they are willing to sacrifice their own tempo.

Permanent Side Effects

Of course, the corps have their own investments to make. NEXT ice work together to absolutely destroy any runner who dares to invade Haas-Bioroid’s servers. NEXT Diamond (Kampala Ascendent, 112) is the ultimate in this NEXT defensive technology. Though it has a heavy rez cost, this cost is lowered by one for every other piece of rezzed NEXT Ice. As a six-strength sentry, NEXT Diamond will not end the run, but it will ensure the runner does not leave the server unharmed. Two subroutines give the runner brain damage and a third trashes an installed runner card. The runner is either going to have to spend an absurd amount of credits to get through NEXT Diamond, or face terrible, permanent consequences.

And in fact, should the runner choose to spend their resources on passing NEXT Diamond, Kampala Ascendent gives HB a brand new way to suffocate the runner of what little resources they have remaining.

Riot Suppression (Kampala Ascendent, 113) is a powerful gray ops operation that can only be played if the runner trashed a corp card during their previous turn. In retaliation for trashing one of your valuable assets, you may force the runner to have three fewer clicks on their next turn, unless they choose to receive one brain damage. This is an awful choice for the runner, either completely destroying their momentum or forcing them to take a brain damage, which only gives them fewer options and ushers them one step closer to an untimely death.

Kampala Ascendent

Though the Kitara Cycle draws to a close, the war between the corps and runners rages on. With new tools being developed on both sides of the corp/runner struggle, who will come out on top in the Sub-Saharan League?

Complete your journey into Lake Victoria with Kampala Ascendent (ADN55), the final Data Pack in the Kitara Cycle for Android: Netrunner, available now from your local retailer or our website. 

"I was a little girl when the Clone War came to Ryloth. My mother hid us below-ground, but I'd peek out when the Republic ships flew over, as they fought to liberate my world. I dreamt of nothing more than to be up there with them."
     –Hera Syndulla, Star Wars: Rebels

As a little girl, Hera Syndulla dreamt of piloting a ship and fighting to liberate her world. As a grown woman, Hera Syndulla realized her dreams, becoming not only one of the greatest pilots in the fledgling Rebel Alliance, but one of its greatest leaders as well.

Similarly, fans of Star Wars™: Armada tend to be dreamers—dreaming of epic fleet battles among the stars. We take our inspiration from the massive size and firepower of our largest ships and from the speed and mobility of the smaller ones. We fly to battle with dreams of executing just the right series of plans to trap and defeat our foes. And if we plot the right commands during the Organized Play events we attend, we find our successes rewarded by custom prizes.

With the second season of Star Wars: Armada in-store play just around the corner, we are happy to reveal the 2018 Star Wars: Armada Season Two prizes!

From Ensign to Admiral

More than it's about prizes, Star Wars: Armada Organized Play is about bringing players together. It's about helping you find more places to play, introducing you to more players, and getting you more chances to play the game you love. In short, it's about the love of the game.

Accordingly, each 2018 Star Wars: Armada Season Two Kit comes with prizes for everyone—from Ensign to Admiral. Each kit contains two Elite Prize Cards and two Elite Prize Items to award to the Top 4 players at the Fleet Patrol Tournament it supports. However, the 2018 Star Wars: Armada Season Two Kit also includes participation prizes for all sixteen of the players it supports.

Participation

The 2018 Star Wars: Armada Season Two Kit contains seventeen copies of an alternate art version of the External Racks upgrade.

Sixteen of these alternate art cards are to be distributed as participation prizes while the seventeeth is intended for the event organizer to keep or distribute at his or her discretion.

Elite Prize Card

Make the Top 4 at a Fleet Patrol Event, and you'll put yourself in the running for one of the Elite Prizes—either one of the Elite Prize Cards or one of the Elite Prize Items. That means you might have a chance to walk away from your games with an alternate art copy of Hera Syndulla.

To a Rebel Admiral, Hera Syndulla's presence means that you can redouble your focus on your capital ships—while trusting Hera and the Ghost to help coordinate your squadrons.

To an Imperial Admiral, capturing this alternate art version of Hera Syndulla means dealing a major blow to the young Rebellion and will assuredly earn you a well-deserved promotion!

There are three copies of this alternate art squadron card in the 2018 Star Wars: Armada Season Two Kit. The third is intended for the event organizer.

Elite Prize Item

Star Wars: Armada is all about capital ships. Squadrons play a significant role, but you don't lose if your squadrons are destroyed. You do lose, however, if all your ships are destroyed, and knowing when to assign an engineering command to your ship may prove the difference between victory and defeat.

You'll have plenty of opportunities to prove you understand the best time for your engineering commands as you fight your way into the Top 4 players at your local Fleet Patrol Event, and doing so may allow you to claim a set of five custom engineering tokens, painted red on frosted white acrylic.

You Need to Plan Ahead

Star Wars: Armada is a game of massive ships that requires you to assign your commands well before the first exchanges of fire. Fail to unite your ships behind a comprehensive strategy or anticipate your opponent's tactics and you may see your fleet destroyed in a barrage of missiles, lasers, and proton torpedoes. But if you can plan everything just right? You'll relish the thrills of epic combat, strike a decisive blow in the Galactic Civil War, and walk away with some of the coolest Armada prizes you can find anywhere!

Start planning your engagements today. Talk to your local retailer about participating in the 2018 Season Two events for Star Wars: Armada!

"Beware of the dark side. Anger… fear… aggression… The dark side of the Force are they."
     –Yoda, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Darth Vader is everywhere in Imperial Assault right now— Driven by Hatred to hunt down and destroy all who would oppose him in the skirmish game. That means as we approach the year's second season of Organized Play, you can expect to be tempted by the dark side… but will you succumb to the temptation?

As Yoda counseled Luke, the dark side isn't necessarily stronger than the light side, but it can be quicker, easier, and more seductive. The Rebels have their heroes, too. Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight is still capable of astonishing feats, and Han Solo has lately proven himself far more than just a Rogue Smuggler . Even so, it is Darth Vader who has most clearly and directly made his mark in the Organized Play community, rampaging from table to table and cutting down foes with his lightsaber and his Force Choke ability.

Accordingly, the 2018 Star Wars™: Imperial Assault Season Two Kit acknowledges the Sith Lord's uncontrollable fury with custom prizes that include an alternate art version of Driven by Hatred.

Finding the Rebel Base

Each 2018 Star Wars: Imperial Assault Season Two Kit comes with prizes to support up to sixteen players, as well as an event outline that provides your event organizer with everything that he or she needs to know in order to run an Entanglement tournament.

By incentivizing your victories with extra rewards, an Entanglement tournament elevates your Imperial Assault skirmishes, coloring them with more of the themes and tensions of the Galactic Civil War. You have more reason to defeat your opponent's Stormtroopers and avoid the Hunters looking to collect the bounty on Han's head. There's a touch more pressure to score as many objective points as you can and to battle for every terminal and Command card.

Still, each Entanglement tournament is meant to be welcoming to a wide range of players, and you don't have to reach the top tables to walk away with prizes. Prizes are awarded to everyone in the Top 16, with additional Elite Prize Cards and Elite Prize Items available to the Top 4.

Top 16

Your search for victory begins with the alternate-art, double-sided Probe Droid deployment card.

Standard on one side, elite on the other. There are seventeen copies of this alternate-art Probe Droid in the 2018 Season Two Kit, sixteen of which are to be awarded to the Top 16 participants. The seventeenth copy is reserved for the event organizer, who can keep it or distribute it at his or her discretion.

Elite Prize Card

Fight your way into the Top 4 at a 2018 Season Two Entanglement tournament, and you may earn a fearsome reputation to rival even that of the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. For your efforts, you might choose to claim as your prize the kit's alternate art Driven by Hatred skirmish upgrade.

The card that has seen Vader leave his meditation chamber and wade into battle on the front lines, Driven by Hatred is a meta-defining skirmish upgrade, and this version puts any onlooker straight into the center of Vader's gaze as he closes his fingers and uses the Force to choke the life out of his target.

Elite Prize Item

Ultimately, to win a skirmish in Imperial Assault, you'll need to deal your opponent some damage. But even better than seeing your attack deal damage is hitting your target with a bleeding wound.

Conditions play a significant role in Imperial Assault. Beneficial conditions like Focus can make the difference between dealing a flesh wound and a mortal wound, and negative conditions like Bleed can cripple your opponent's units and trash their plans. A Bleeding wound forces your opponent's figure to squander an action to tend to the wound, or the figure will continue to suffer a point of strain for each action it takes that doesn't tend to the wound.

Tend to the wound, and you lose a valuable action. Ignore the wound, and you might see the best parts of your Command deck discarded to no effect.

There's no doubt that such wounds put players in difficult situations, and the custom Bleed tokens in the 2018 Season Two Kit can help keep the matter firmly in your mind.

You'll want to understand the impact of the game's conditions if you hope to make the Top 4 at an Entanglement tournament and claim a set of five of these white acrylic tokens, painted with purple. And then your understanding of the condition will prove helpful whenever you assign the token to your opponent's figure or have to deal with it on your own.

Rule the Galaxy

Give into temptation. Give into your hatred, and let it make you strong. Play for fun, and compete for double-sided Probe Droids, custom Bleed tokens, and an alternate-art copy of the meta-defining skirmish upgrade, Driven by Hatred!

Talk to your favorite local game store today about their participation in 2018 Season Two Organized Play for Imperial Assault!

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."
     –Han Solo, Star Wars: A New Hope

In Star Wars™: Destiny, a good blaster can save the day. But so can a lightsaber, an AT-ST, a Bubble Shield, or a Resistance Bomber. Even a clever tactic or shrewd use of the Force can turn the tide of battle in your favor. Games are so fast, after all, that you want to take full advantage of every action—and ensure that each action you take works into your larger plan.

Now that the 2018 Star Wars: Destiny World Championships have concluded and we've seen Edwin Chen claim the title of World Champion, we have a good idea of what the best decks are in the current metagame. However, that metagame is always changing, and no deck is without its weaknesses. As Edwin's strategy and his pairing of Kylo Ren and Anakin Skywalker gains traction among the larger community, we're bound to see decks that are specifically designed to stop it.

Where will we find those decks? We'll see them surface first during the Organized Play events of 2018 Season Two.

2018 Season Two is nearly here, and it's your chance to test new strategies, try new character combinations, and experience the shifting metagame first-hand. It may be your chance to make use of the new cards with the upcoming release of Way of the Force Booster Packs. And it's certainly your chance to win new prizes.

Modified Blaster

In addition to helping you find more places to play, more players to meet, and more opportunities to play, Star Wars: Destiny Organized Play offers you the chance to win prizes you can use to upgrade your deck. Stunning full-bleed cards, cards featuring alternate pieces of art, and custom acrylic tokens that lend new visual and tactile elements to your game experience.

More than this, these prizes aren't reserved only for the top winners at Organized Play events. They're rewarded generously enough that even newer players may walk away with them after their first Organized Play events. Each 2018 Season Two Kit contains prize support for up to sixteen players, including an alternate art card for the Top 16 players at any Clash of Fates tournament, plus additional Elite Prize Cards and Elite Prize Items for the Top 4 participants.

Top 16

The coolest prizes aren't always reserved for the winners, and the alternate art version of Quick Draw made available to the Top 16 players at each Clash of Fates event serves credence to this idea.

The action-packed artwork by Caroline Gariba will immerse you in the game's fast-paced battles—and put you in the mindset to use the card's ability to "cheat" an action by playing a weapon on your character and activating the character on the same turn.

This puts you one step closer to resolving your dice for damage, defeating your opponent's characters, and winning the game. And in Star Wars: Destiny, every step counts!

The 2018 Star Wars: Destiny Season Two Kit contains seventeen copies of the alternate art Quick Draw. While sixteen are intended for players, the seventeenth is intended for the event organizer to keep or distribute at his or her discretion.

Elite Prize Card

Make the Top 4 at a Clash of Fates event, and you'll earn either an Elite Prize Card or an Elite Prize Item. These are handed out according to player choice, awarded in order from first to fourth.

If you choose to claim one of the 2018 Season Two Elite Prize Cards, you'll walk out the door with a start toward an overwhelming army of Battle Droids.

Although your Battle Droids pose relatively insignificant threats on their own, they combine together well—piling damage on top of damage… on top of more damage. And because they take damage rather quickly, too, these alternate art Battle Droids feature card backs that show the droids defeated—reduced to grayscale versions of their active selves.

Each 2018 Season Two Kit contains three copies of this alternate art Battle Droid—two for players and one for the event organizer.

Elite Prize Item

Few things from the Star Wars galaxy carry an implication of strength and resilience so much as a suit of Mandalorian armor. Traditionally made from the durable metal known as beskar, suits of Mandalorian armor could survive even blaster fire, and some suits of Mandalorian armor might function for hundreds of years.

Accordingly, the acrylic shield tokens you'll find in the 2018 Season Two Kit have been designed to look like a Mandalorian helmet—and while these shield tokens might not protect your characters for hundreds of years, they may still inspire awe and dread in your opponents.

Each 2018 Season Two Kit contains two of these Elite Prize Item sets. Each set contains six shield tokens.

Raise Your Defenses

It's never wise to lower your defenses in the middle of combat, so look for new ways to arm your characters or shield them with the prizes from the 2018 Season Two Kit.

The second season of Star Wars: Destiny Organized Play is coming soon, so talk to your local game store today about getting involved!

01100110 01100101 01100101 01100100

We're nearly to the second season of Android: Netrunner Organized Play for 2018, and that means we'll soon be able to plan more runs, delve into more servers, and access more prizes!

After all, as Runners, we aren't just breaking walls and braving lethal sentries to prove a point. That may be a part of why we run, but we also want to see what's in those servers! We can't even call it a successful run until the data's been ripped.

To that end, we're bound to make use of all the new toys from the Kitara Cycle—especially since the last pack has just released. And we'll be looking forward to the release of Reign and Reverie, as well as the chance to meet—or evade—the various kingpins of ChiLo. All the new cards from this deluxe expansion and the Kitara Cycle Data Packs are certain to shape our future runs.

In the end, though, the reasons for running and the rewards for running are two different things. And the 2018 Season Two Kit for Android: Netrunner Organized Play has enough prizes to reward up to sixteen runners at each Critical Run event, plus Elite Prize Cards and Elite Prize Items for the Top 4!

Top 16

Feel a little like making sure the corp knows you've been mucking about in their servers? Or if not you, specifically, do you want to make sure the corp knows that someone has been shredding their ice?

It's a common impulse and one well-served by the alternate art copy of Imp made available to the Top 16 participants in each Critical Run event.

The artwork by Liiga Smilshkalne personifies this destructive virus as a playful, fanged little demon happily tearing apart the corp's data.

Perhaps he's an Anarch after all, motivated by a desire to burn the corp to the ground. Maybe he's a Criminal, digging for something worth selling. Or maybe this cheerful little Imp's secretly a Shaper—an artist masquerading as an Anarch. After all, they say every work of art is first of all an act of destruction…

There are seventeen copies of this card in the 2018 Season Two Kit. Sixteen are for players. The seventeenth is for the event organizer to keep or distribute at his or her discretion.

Elite Prize Card

Speaking of acts of destruction—very little is known about the online predator known as Apex, only that it seems to destroy and consume all it touches… So could Apex be an artist?

It doesn't seem a likely theory, but if the predatory behavior is really just a precursor to some visionary reworking of the Network, it would make sense to begin with the alternate art version of Apex envisioned by Andreas Zafiratos.

Shown ensnaring—and likely devouring—an unfortunate bioroid's avatar, this Apex is bold, bright, and unpredictable. It's also a prize option made available to the Top 4 players at each 2018 Season Two Critical Run event. In the order of their placement—from first through fourth—the Top 4 players each choose one Elite Prize Card or Elite Prize Item, and if you can make the Top 4, this stunning alt-art Apex offers you a new way to envision the inscrutable runner's hidden purpose.

The 2018 Season Two Kit includes three copies of this alternate art version of Apex. Two are for players. The third is for the event organizer.

Elite Prize Item

You could argue that the very best traps aren't triggered until your prey feels smugly secure in its victory—and then you rip that victory away. Unequivocally.

What's more, if that's how you like to play Haas-Bioroid, with ambushes that gobble away unspent clicks, trash the runner's rig, and swing the momentum back toward your ultra-efficient bioroid strategies, then you'll be thrilled by the Elite Prize Item in the 2018 Season Two Kit—an acrylic Haas-Bioroid click tracker.

If you look at the alternate art on the Apex card and see a sucker taking the bait on one of Haas-Bioroid's best-laid traps, then you'll want to make the Top 4 at a Critical Run event in order to get your hands on this Elite Prize Item. In fact, you'll probably want to make the Top 2 because there are two of these in the 2018 Season Two Kit, and you never want to aim for corporate data on your last click—or even on your third click when you're assaulting one of Haas-Bioroid's servers!

Plan Your Run

Want to take your shot at the cool new prizes in the Android: Netrunner 2018 Season Two Kit? Then start planning your run today. Talk to your favorite local game store to find out when they'll be hosting their 2018 Season Two Organized Play!

"We stand here amidst my achievement. Not yours!"
     –Director Krennic, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

X-Wing™ is fun.

It's fun to fly your starships across the table and make laser noises as your they attack your friend's ships. It's fun to experiment with new squad builds and see what each ship is capable of doing. You can test your skills as a pilot, seeing how close you can fly to the rocks without hitting them. And you can line up the perfect shot, catching your opponent squarely in your firing arc at point-blank range.

It's fun to play the game because it reminds us of Star Wars and all our favorite pilots, and it's fun because it challenges our spatial awareness and our tactical aptitude. It's fun if you win, or if you lose. Although, admittedly, it's probably more fun when we win.

It's also more fun when your games can win you prizes. This is part of the reason X-Wing Organized Play is thriving. You take a great game, make it easy to find new players, and reward people for participating. And as we approach the beginning of 2018 Season Two, we're happy to reveal the prizes you can win!

It Is the Future You See

One of the more remarkable truths about 2018 Season Two Organized Play for X-Wing is that it finds the game in a transitional phase. The game's second edition has recently been announced but won't be available for some time. Even so, some first edition players have been giving thought toward the coming edition and what it will mean for their favorite ships and pilots.

In keeping with the spirit of the Conversion Kits that were announced in May, the 2018 Season Two prizes for X-Wing will offer you a glimpse of the second edition future… Each of the cards we're including with the 2018 Season Two Kit is dual-sided—first edition text on one side and second edition text on the other.

Altogether, the 2018 Season Two Kit comes with prizes to support an event of up to sixteen players—including participation cards for the Top 16 players, two Elite Prize Cards, and two Elite Prize Items.

Top 16

The X-Wing 2018 Season Two Kit comes with seventeen copies of an extended-art Scarif Base Pilot.

This double-sided ship card features the TIE reaper pilot with the lowest squad-point cost, leaving you the most room for other ships and impactful upgrades like Emperor Palpatine, Death Troopers, and Director Krennic.

Sixteen copies of the card are for players. The seventeeth copy is intended for the event organizer, who can either hold onto the card or distribute it according to his or her discretion.

Elite Prize Card

Win some games, destroy some Imperials, and you may earn yourself a reputation—maybe even a mixed one like that belonging to the Rebel extremist Saw Gerrera.

We hope you won't resort to the same sort of ruthless tactics for which Saw was infamous, but if you manage to battle your way into your event's top four participants, you may have a shot at one of the 2018 Season Two Kit's double-sided, extended-art Saw Gerrera cards.

This future-proofed ship card features one of the U-wing's top pilots to use right now—and to keep flying in vibrant, extended-art even after second edition releases.

The kit's third copy of this card is intended for the event organizer.

Elite Prize Item

To come out of your battles a victor, rather than a casualty, you need to stay focused at all times, and the 2018 Season Two Kit offers you a way to stay focused in style—with a set of six focus tokens!

Commemorate Your Achievements

The Star Wars films aren't just full of dramatic events. They're also full of reminders that those events deserve notice. Characters like Director Krennic boast of their accomplishments and demand recognition. Other characters are given medals or promoted for their deeds.

These acknowledgements aren't just for show, either. They resonate throughout the galaxy. For example, it matters when Vader recognizes that Luke has built his own lightsaber. "Your skills are complete," he says. "Indeed, you are powerful, as the Emperor has foreseen."

So talk to your favorite local game store about getting involved in X-Wing Organized Play. Have some fun. Fly some ships. Enjoy your X-Wing dogfights. And take your best shot at the cool, future-proofed prizes coming in Season Two!

"Thirty different gods stood along the walls, surrounded by their little lights. The Weeping Woman was the favorite of old women, Arya saw; rich men preferred the Lion of Night, poor men the Hooded Wayfarer. Soldiers lit candles to Bakkalon, the Pale Child, sailors to the Moon-Pale Maiden and the Merling King. The Stranger had his shrine as well, though hardly anyone ever came to him."
     –George R.R. Martin, A Feast for Crows

The second season of 2018 Organized Play for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game is nearly here, and that means it's nearly time for more fighting, lying, stealing, bitter politics, and backstabbing. It's also time to see what rewards you can claim as you step over your foes and climb the stairs to the Iron Throne!

You can practice by meeting your opponents one at a time for honorable jousts—or, perhaps, while riding a mare that will send your opponents' stallions wild. Or you can use the chaos of a melee to your advantage, holding to the edges as your foes bludgeon each other… only to swoop in at the last moment to land the final blow.

Either way, you'll find ample reward among the prizes of the 2018 Season Two Kit for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, even if your schemes fall apart more rapidly than your rivals' armies. It may be that in the game of thrones, you win or you die, but in A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Organized Play, you can win, die, or play and go home happy with the prizes you gain simply for participating!

Top 16

Death awaits us all—especially in a place as tumultuous, violent, and unpredictable as the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Nonetheless, most of us spend our time trying to avoid death. Most of us seek ways to prolong our lives, and if someone should die, we hope that it is someone other than ourselves.

Yet there are those to whom death appears as a sweet mercy. As the kindly man instructed Arya, there are many who view the Many-Faced God's gift as an end to their want and pain. Those people would go to the House of Black and White to pray and drink from the pool of sweet, dark water. They would lie down beneath one of the statues of the gods—the Merling King, the Pale Child, the Lion of Night, or the Weeping Woman. They would fall asleep, and they wouldn't wake up.

Each of the Top 16 players at a 2018 Season Two March to Battle tournament receive an alternate art copy of Tears of Lys that reminds of both death's finality and its gift.

Featuring artwork by Joshua Cairos, this version of Tears of Lys moves us away from King's Landing and the poison that was used against Jon Arryn, and it carries us to Braavos where the poison is just one of the many tools employed by the Faceless Men in their service of the Many-Faced God. The card's blue tones suggest death's cold embrace, and the warm oranges and yellows on the lit candles remind us of the sweet release that death offers… as well as the answers that carefully orchestrated assassinations can provide to those praying for greater power back in the Seven Kingdoms.

The 2018 A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Season Two Kit contains seventeen copies of this alternate art Tears of Lys. Sixteen are to be distributed among the players, and the seventeenth is intended for the event organizer to keep or distribute at his or her discretion.

Elite Prize Card

Avoid the deaths that others would deal you, avoid the temptation that death might present you—and you might just find yourself vying for a Top 4 spot among the participants at your local March to Battle tournament.

It's not easy to avoid the myriad pitfalls that await the lords, ladies, and knights of Westeros, but attaining a Top 4 spot at your 2018 Season Two March to Battle event allows you to claim an extra prize—either an Elite Prize Card or an Elite Prize Item. These prizes are distributed among the Top 4 in the order of your placement at the event, so the better you fare, the more likely you are to claim the prize you seek. You might even lay claim to the largest castle in the Seven Kingdoms…

The Elite Prize Card in the 2018 A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Season Two Kit is the Lannister version of Harrenhal. Originally appearing in For Family Honor, the card is given a new look in the 2018 Season Two Kit with alternate art by Tomasz Jedruszek.

Trading the original card's imagery of the castle's scarred and tattered towers for a front-row seat overlooking Ser Jaime Lannister's battle with a bear, this version of Harrenhal reminds us that every notable castle is better known for its owners and their stories than for its architecture… and that this particular castle is haunted by death.

Fortunately, the Lannisters are known for their ability to use their allies to their own benefit—and this card's ability is perfect for bringing more of these allies into play, as fodder for Lannister ambitions.

The 2018 Season Two Kit includes three copies of this card. Two are to be distributed among the Top 4 players, and the third is for the event organizer to keep or distribute.

Elite Prize Item

If you like the alternate art verison of Harrenhal and are also House Lannister fan, you will find a particularly difficult choice awaiting you should you make the Top 4. On the one hand, you can claim a stunning new version of the largest castle in the Seven Kingdoms. On the other hand, you can claim a set of tokens fashioned in the shape of a lion's head and featuring the Lannister's signature red and gold.

Use these tokens to track your power. Use them as poison tokens for your Tears of Lys. Use them as Valar Morghulis tokens on Jaqen H'ghar. Or use them ironically, treating them as betrayal tokens on Ser Jorah Mormont. However you make use of them, these tokens are bound to remind your opponents of one thing—a Lannister always pays his dues!

March to Battle in the Seven Kingdoms

Arguably the greatest thing about the prizes from the 2018 A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Season Two Kit is that they're worth winning in multiples. You'll want multiple copies of Tears of Lys, multiple copies of Harrenhal, and multiple sets of of tokens. That means you'll have plenty of reasons to keep playing—jousts, melees, and everything!

So talk to your local retailer to find out how many events they'll be running for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game and when. Then start forming your schemes; you'll want them fully matured when they're all that stands between you and poisoned blades or dragon fire!

Suddenly compelled, Waiqar began to chant in a voice that was not his own. Though he did not know the words, he knew their meaning. They spoke of dust and the grave, of dirt and worms, of rotten sinew and cold earth.

In the realms of Terrinoth, each new season carries with it a threat of war. The undying hordes of Waiqar the betrayer rattle their bones within the Realm of Mist. Ynfernael powers roar for blood, seeking new strength through dark pacts with demonic forces. And while the Daqan Lords and Latari Elves brace themselves for battle, other sinister things awaken in the deep places, and the feral beasts of the nameless wild grow ever more daring and numerous.

These are threats that must be answered. An army that fails to ready itself for war is an army that will fail its people. And each new season of Organized Play events for the Runewars Miniatures Game offers you a chance to answer these threats. You will find new challenges, and you will have a chance to prove yourself—by rising to meet those challenges.

Thus, as we draw near to the second season of 2018 Runewars Miniatures Game Organized Play, the time has come to ready your troops for battle. Array your infantry. Line up your archers and cavalry. And steel yourself for the coming charges. There's blood awaiting you on the field of battle, but there's glory, too… and prizes!

2018 Season Two Challenge Kit

The 2018 Season Two Challenge Kit for Runewars Miniatures Game introduces prizes to support your local playgroup for as many as three separate events, and while it's always encouraging to rout your foes and ride away victorious after each of your battles, you don't need to win to earn your share of prizes. You gain prizes simply for participating, demonstrating your fighting spirit, painting your army, and, yes, for laying your enemies to waste.

At each Strategic Encounter event, you can complete as many as five achievements:

• Enroll in the tournament.
• Use a painted army.
• Inspire your army (by cheering the name of your faction).
• Win in the tournament's first round.
• Win in the tournament's second round.

For each achievement you complete, the event organizer checks a box to the right of your name on the sign-up sheet. This is noteworthy because—in a place as prone to chaos as Terrinoth's battlefields—after you claim the Core prizes for participating, you can win one or more Elite prizes if the number next to one of your check boxes is pulled in a random drawing.

• Event One: Alternate art objective card, Supply Raid, and alternate art deployment card, Long Canyon.
• Event Two: Alternate art objective card, Ancient Wards, and alternate art deployment card, Vanguard Clash.
• Event Three: Alternate art objective card, Fortified Position, and alternate art deployment card, Defended Pass.

You can also earn Elite prizes by winning both rounds of the tournament or by winning the day's painting contest.

• Extended art Death Knights.
• Set of five acrylic Immobilize condition tokens.

Send in the Cavalry

An almost palpable tension lies heavy across the fields of Terrinoth. From their towers, the Daqan Lords look with worry toward the approaching mists. The Latari Elves quiet themselves, concerned that they may hear a demonic howling rise above the familiar forest noises. Surrounded by his undead warriors, Waiqar the Undying burns with desire for the runebound magic that he has so long been denied.

Will you command Waiqar and his forces, commanding your Death Knights to deliver a punishing first strike? Will you stand with the noble Daqan Lords against the rise of evil? Or will you race out from beyond the Ru Plains, leaping at your foes to pounce on them with a demonic growl lodged deep in your throat?

The coming conflicts are inevitable. The only question is what you'll take away from them, so head to your local retailer today to find out when you'll be able to participate in the upcoming season of Runewars Miniatures Game Organized Play!

A new version of the Arkham Horror: The Card Game FAQ (pdf, 7.3 MB) is now available for download!

Arkham Horror: The Card Gametransports one to four players to Arkham, Massachusetts, at the height of the roaring twenties. There, they will become an unlikely team of heroic investigators attempting to solve eldritch mysteries as they are ceaselessly confronted by the monsters of H.P. Lovecraft’s maddening Cthulhu Mythos. As the game progresses into The Forgotten Age cycle, the investigators are now thrown into the rainforests of southern Mexico where they seek to uncover the ruins of a lost Aztec city-state. But some of the secrets they dig up may better be left buried. As your expedition team prepares to set out on the adventure of a lifetime, we're here to provide you with every tool you need to ensure that your campaigns run smoothly.

Today, designer Matt Newman sheds some light on what you can expect to excavate in the newest FAQ for Arkham Horror: The Card Game.

Designer Matt Newman on the Latest FAQ

Greetings, investigators!

It is an exciting time for Arkham Horror: The Card Game. The Forgotten Age deluxe expansion has just been released, kicking off a brand-new campaign that has investigators all over exclaiming, “Why did it have to be snakes?” Additionally, we have several other new releases and special events on the way, such as Return to the Night of the Zealot. With all of these new products on the way, it's important to remember that Arkham Horror: The Card Game is truly a living game, and it is sometimes necessary to clarify aspects of the rules and issue errata for unclear or problematic cards in order to ensure that the game environment is healthy, and the scenarios are intuitive. To that end, we have updated the game’s FAQ in order to answer some commonly asked questions, clarify several rules, and issue a few errata.

The errata in this edition of the FAQ serve to fix minor errors or clarify card interactions so that the cards function in line with players’ expectations. Two of the errata in this edition of the FAQ—the Candlelit Tunnels (The Pallid Mask, 252) and Catacombs Docent (The Pallid Mask, 258)—may actually already be represented in your collection, because the error was spotted early in the production process. Madness Dies (Dim Carcosa, 319), the final agenda from Dim Carcosa, has also received an erratum in order to line up with a clarification made in this FAQ about “Remember” effects which use the word “you.” Finally, Dr. Henry Armitage (The Dunwich Legacy, 40) has received an erratum which limits his ability to non-weakness cards, meaning you cannot use his ability to discard a weakness that has entered play, like Rex's Curse (The Dunwich Legacy, 9).

We have also added a couple new rulings and clarifications to the FAQ. One of these is a section regarding weaknesses, that clarifies when a weakness counts as a player card and when it counts as an encounter card. Weaknesses are a unique aspect to Arkham Horror: The Card Game—player cards which sometimes act as encounter cards—so it can often be important to note exactly when the transition from player card to encounter card occurs, as well as the transition back from encounter card to player card. This has ramifications regarding certain player cards as well, such as "Let me handle this!" (The Path to Carcosa, 22) and "You handle this one!" (The Forgotten Age, 28).

Finally, we expanded the Frequently Asked Questions section with a number of questions which we have collected over the past few months. We hope that these updates will improve everybody’s understanding of the rules and make Arkham Horror: The Card Game a more enjoyable experience. As always, thank you for being a part of this amazing community. I look forward to the game’s exciting future!

–Matt Newman

Arcane Insight

Thanks, Matt!

With this invaluable knowledge at your disposal, you're more prepared than ever to take on the horrors that await you in Arkham’s shadowed alleys and beyond. Download your copy of the Arkham Horror: The Card Game FAQ today and prepare to uncover the impossible truths of what lies beyond our realm!

Have you ever wondered what the designers of your favorite games might think about game design, the state of a game, or games in general? We have the perfect place for you to find out. Today, we’re happy to (re)introduce a series of articles from Fantasy Flight Games: Designer Journals!

Designer Journals offer a place for you to hear directly from the FFG designers about some of the topics that are nearest and dearest to them. We’ll be starting by featuring articles from the FFG card game team—so to learn more about what you can expect from Designer Journals and to meet the members of the team, just read on!

Nate French Introduces the Card Game Team

For the first two years (or so) of my career at Fantasy Flight Games—back in 2006 and 2007—I wrote a weekly column known as the “Designer Journal,” which primarily covered the A Game of Thrones collectible card game. For our audience, this column presented a regular behind-the-scenes glimpse of what the designer was thinking and feeling about a variety of topics surrounding the game. For me, as that designer, the writing was an opportunity to critically reflect on how the game was evolving. By forcing myself to collect and share those thoughts, I was able to grow more self-aware in my own role.

We can fast-forward through this next part. FFG grew, by leaps and bounds. An ever-increasing catalog of card games placed ever-increasing demands on my bandwidth, and at some point the decision was made to phase out the column. The games kept coming, but gone were the direct line of communication between designer and audience, the regular behind-the-scenes insight, and the ongoing opportunity for public self-reflection.

As the years raced by, I continued to carry fond memories of the Designer Journal. I knew that it would be impossible to return to the old practice of maintaining a weekly column for each of our games, but I couldn’t help wondering if there might be a way to re-imagine the column and capture its spirit in a way that meshed with the current demands and workflow of our department. Thus, the pitch for “Designer Journal 2.0” was born.

You can expect to see a lot of different things from this segment in coming weeks! Just a few of the examples are:

• A State of the Game article, in which the designer shares their thoughts on the current state of the metagame, and what they’ll be focusing on in upcoming development.
• A Round Table article that invites a number of different designers to each provide a short answer to a single question.
• A discussion or examination of a broader topic that relates to gaming or game design, investigated through the lens of the designer’s particular game.
• An interesting story or anecdote that took place during the development of a product.
• A retrospective article that looks back at past expansions and discusses how their impact compares to our expectations while we were developing it. What worked? What surprised us—for better or worse?
• A Designer’s Feud article, in which two designers each present a different side of a debate regarding gaming or game design.

The ultimate goal of the Designer Journal is to bring you, the reader and fan of these games, just a little closer to the FFG studio and give you an opportunity to get to know the people who craft the experience.

So, who will be contributing to this column? We’ll be starting with the FFG card game team, introduced below!

Caleb Grace is a designer for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game and has been with the company since 2011. In his spare time, he enjoys comic books, spending time with his kids, and Mountain Dew.

Brad Andres is a designer for Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, and he has also contributed to Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game, Warhammer: Invasion, and Warhammer 40,000: Conquest. In his spare time, he enjoys video games, terrible puns, and geological “adventures.”

Law school graduate Matthew Newman is a designer for Arkham Horror: The Card Game, and he’s also contributed to The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. For fun, he loves video games, massive multiplayer games, books, and movies—particularly if they deal with horror or high fantasy. He believes he would like free chicken wings, but has never actually received any.

Danny Schaefer is a designer forA Game of Thrones: The Card Game, and first started with FFG as an intern. In his free time, he enjoys Magic: The Gathering, basketball (Go Timberwolves!), and spiking volleyballs on members of the board game department.

Former five-time LCG® World Champion Jeremy Zwirn began his work in the gaming industry as a playtester, and he has since worked his way into a design position for Star Wars: Destiny. In his spare time, he enjoys cheering on the Minnesota sports teams, biking, and “scooping” people—which roughly translates to winning.

The enigmatic Michael Boggs is a designer for Android: Netrunner, a contributor to Star Wars: Destiny, and a man of many nicknames. Boggsy, Boggle-Woggle, the Bogginator, Michael Buggs—call him what you will, he’s heard it all. Before joining FFG, he worked as an English teacher in South Korea. For fun, he enjoys… well, no one knows. Maybe Olive Garden?

Tyler Parrott (who is secretly a parrot) is a designer for Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, and also contributes to Star Wars: Destiny. After playtesting LCGs for many years, he took an FFG internship, transitioned to a freelance designer, and finally landed a full-time design position. For fun, he enjoys medieval/renaissance music, singing, and sandwiches—so long as they don’t have pickles on them.

Our newest team member, “The Wild Thing” Aaron Haltom, designs for Star Wars: Destiny by day and rocks out on the drums by night. Before joining the FFG card game team, he worked as a most triumphant freelance game designer (and as a copywriter) for two and a half years. A Bill and Ted enthusiast, Aaron regularly walks the walk of “party on” and “be excellent to each other.”

Last but not least, card game team manager Mercedes “Cardeesi” Opheim started with FFG as an LCG graphic designer, and transitioned to management in January 2017. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, painting, kickboxing, and coming up with new names for her fists. She is also the proud parent of two of the most adorable kitties in the western hemisphere.

We hope you’re as excited to hear from us as we are to write about these games! Until next time, good luck and happy shuffling!

Nate French is the longest-tenured member in the card game department, and he serves as a mentor and coach for the team. More often than not, he’s working on a project he can’t say anything about… yet! In his spare time, he is an avid poker player and enjoys reading, writing, sports, (older) heavy metal, and talking about LeBron.

"As she readied the specially forged katana, its sharp edge was shadowed for a moment, revealing the choji pattern, the dragon teeth that gave the katana its name."
     –Lisa Farrell, Wildcats and Dragon Teeth

Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game is more than a game—it's an experience.

With its strategic and tactical gameplay, its evocative art, and its subtle ebb and flow, Legend of the Five Rings transports you to the mystical realm of Rokugan. Here, samurai battle with steel blades, courtiers master the subtle intricacies of courtly dealings, and shugenja wield the power of elemental magic.

Rokugan comes to life through your games, and it comes to life in the accompanying fiction. It also comes to life through the game’s Organized Play—a series of events that direct you to new battlefields, connect you with other samurai, and even allow you to shape the Great Clans and their fates.

There are many ways to take part in Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game Organized Play, but the most basic of them—the foundation—are the leagues, game nights, tournaments, and other events that take place at your Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS). These events help connect you with other local samurai and allow you to train newcomers to your ranks. They provide opportunities for you to clash with the samurai from rival clans, and they're supported by the prizes from the seasonal Stronghold Kits and Reinforcement Kits.

Keep reading to learn more about the prizes included in the 2018 Season Two Stronghold Kit. Then you'll be able to get a better view of some of these cards when the developers reveal them during their discussion of the Elemental Cycle on Twitch (www.Twitch.tv/FFGLive), Wednesday, June 13th at 12 PM CT!

The 2018 Season Two Stronghold Kit

Each Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game Stronghold Kit supports three months of in-store play for as many as thirty-two players. If your local Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game community is larger than thirty-two players, you can talk to your FLGS about supplementing the Stronghold Kit's prizes with the additional prizes in the Season Two Reinforcement Kit. Each Reinforcement Kit supports eight additional players.

Once your local group is ready to face the battles and courtly intrigues of Season Two, you can use the Stronghold Kit's contents as prize support for three months of weekly Dynasty League play, three monthly Conflict Tournaments, or a combination of Conflict Tournaments and Dynasty League play. However your Event Organizer structures your seasonal play, you'll find beautiful, full-bleed cards avaialable as participation prizes, and you'll find other extended art cards and arcade tokens awarded to the top finishers and the top representitives from each of the seven Great Clans.

To see a complete list of the prizes available—and the recommended prize distribution—you can download the 2018 Season Two Stronghold Kit Event Outline.

Event Outlines

As you read through the 2018 Season Two Stronghold Kit Event Outline, you'll likely note that the kit supports not only three months of Conflict Tournaments or Dynasty Leagues—or a combination of the two—it also supports an additional special tournament: the Shogun Challenge.

• To honor the Lion Clan's victory at the 2017 Winter Court World Championships, the Season Two Stronghold Challenge features an array of Lion-themed prizes.
• Each participant in the Stronghold Challenge receives an extended art copy of Ready for Battle.
• The Top 4 participants in the Stronghold Challenge receive a set of fifteen Lion-themed honor tokens.
• The winner of the Stronghold Challenge claims a custom playmat featuring the art of Lion commander Ikoma Tsanuri.

Ready Yourself for the Battles to Come

There are many ways to take part in Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game Organized Play—and there are more still to come!

The in-store events at your FLGS offer you a chance to sharpen your blade and hone your skills. You can benefit from the wisdom of other bushi. You can study the subtleties of courtly manners. You can listen to the kami and experiment with new magic. And you can prepare yourself for the struggles to come.

We'll have more information about new Organized Play opportunities in coming weeks. In the meantime, we'll have an article next week from guest writer Tobin Lopes as he looks at growing your local Legend of the Five Rings community, and then on Wednesday, June 13th at 12:00 PM CT, the game's developers will participate in a livestreamed discussion of the Elemental Cycle and Season Two Stronghold Kit.

Join us, samurai. The battles and mysteries of Rokugan await you in Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game Organized Play!

Hero. Warmonger. Maverick. Warlock.

Few agree on whether Baron Zachareth of Carthridge is a hero or a villain, but those under his rule laud his strong leadership, particularly in battle against the enemies of the Daqan, whose numbers seem to increase each day. As the battle for Terrinoth continues to rage in Runewars Miniatures Game, his martial mastery and knowledge of the arcane runes may prove invaluable, even if his methods are questionable.

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the Baron Zachareth Hero Expansion—you can pre-order your copy today at your local retailer or online through our website!

Baron of Carthridge

Although he assumed power under suspicious circumstances, Baron Zachareth brought forth streams of silver from long-abandoned mines and resolved to return peace to the borders, earning him the love of his people and acclaim throughout the land. The silver barony of Carthridge shares an ancient border with the cursed thirteenth barony. As such, Baron Zachareth is one of the few Daqan leaders to speak regularly of the threat posed by the Mistlands. He continually pushes for a preemptive invasion of the Mistlands, which he volunteers to lead himself. The other barons refuse to support such an endeavor, but as reports of unnatural creatures and the walking dead continue to pour in, their resistance may ultimately prove foolish.

Should the moment ever arise, Baron Zachareth is more than up to the task of leading an attack on the Mistlands. Possessing both the Brutal 1 and Precise 1 keywords, the hero is practically a host unto himself, able to outfight the strongest knights and outride the fastest scouts astride his Rune-steed, Backbreaker. Similar to his heroic peer Lord Hawthorne, Baron Zachareth has a defense value of three and a wound count of four, and he rolls a red and a white die when engaging in a melee. However, unlike Hawthorne, Baron Zachareth can use his mastery over the element of fire to execute ranged attacks with a red die.

Strength Beyond Measure

Perhaps due to this rare control over the arcane, it is whispered among the people of Terrinoth that Baron Zachareth has fallen to the lure of sorcerous power. His enemies claim that now he is little more than a self-serving warlock, almost reminiscent of a young Waiqar. As a young man, Zachareth studied magic at the Colleges of Greyhaven. There, he passed the Trials of the Elements in rapid succession and developed theories regarding the runebound shards, claiming that the magic used to animate Rune Golems could be used not only to offer vitality to stone sentries, but to increase the strength of living soldiers.

While the scholars dismissed his request to experiment with this idea, claiming it was too rash and dangerous for anyone involved, Zachareth decided to attempt the rituals using himself as a test subject. Despite the experiment’s success, this act of disobedience would have been cause for his expulsion from the college, had it not been for his father's timely death forcing Zachareth to return to Carthridge to assume the mantle of power.

Now, these experiments in Runic Augmentation equip Baron Zachareth with a unique ability to offer his allies an edge before the battle. After setup, Baron Zachareth may choose up to three of his allies to receive vitality tokens. When a unit in possession of a vitality token would suffer one or more wounds, this new type of boon token can be spent to reduce the number of wounds suffered by one!

Savior or Betrayer

The Baron Zachareth Hero Expansion comes with two easily assembled and unpainted figures, one for infantry and one for cavalry, that you can customize in the colors of your coat of arms. Additionally, this expansion provides you with six upgrades and two condition cards to show why Zachareth’s soldiers have a reputation for being the best-equipped and best-trained in the twelve baronies.

The controversy surrounding Baron Zachareth’s true nature is reflected in two new conditions: Savior of Carthridge and Betrayer of Carthridge . Savior of Carthridge shows Baron Zachareth’s nobility, allowing each ally between range one and three of Zachareth to rally. Then, as a skill action, the baron may choose an ally at range one to five to receive a vitality token while he suffers a stun token himself. Contrariwise, Betrayer of Carthridge benefits Baron Zachareth directly by stealing the strength of his allies. As part of either a melee or ranged attack, the baron may inflict a stun token on an ally at range one to three to gain a red or blue die during an attack. Then, as a skill action, you may choose another ally at range one to five to receive a stun token so that you may give Baron Zachareth a vitality token. With the ability to either offer or steal power, you can adjust your battle plans on the fly, ready to defend the Daqan wherever threats emerge.

Even if the other barons of Terrinoth refuse to see the threat on their doorstep, Zachareth will maintain a state of constant readiness. Perhaps he knows more about the terrors in the Mists than he lets on, but in these times of strife, can you afford to turn away the help of a potential ally?

Seize Power

Take charge of Carthridge and defend the barony’s borders from the grotesque monsters lurking in the mists. Add Baron Zachareth to your ranks and show Terrinoth the strength of true leadership!

Pre-order your copy of the Baron Zachareth Hero Expansion (RWM32) at your local retailer or on the Fantasy Flight Games website here!

“She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts, kid. I’ve made a lot of special modifications myself.”
   –Han Solo, Star Wars: A New Hope

With X-Wing™ Second Edition, you can play out a new era of space battles in the Star Wars galaxy right on your tabletop. You might join up with the Rebel Alliance, locking the s-foils of your T-65 X-wing into attack position as you begin your assault. Or you could send a swarm of Imperial TIE fighters screaming into battle. Finally, if the squabbles of the Galactic Civil War mean little to you, you can always throw in your lot with the galaxy’s most notorious Scum and Villainy.

These factions bring their own ships and strategies to each battle, giving you the chance to take control of some of the most iconic starfighters in the galaxy. But X-Wing Second Edition is about more than just individual ships and pilots. The game also invites you to forge an entire squadron, outfitting your ships with anything from torpedoes to astromech droids.

Thus far, we’ve taken a look at the refined movement of the second edition, explored the changes to actions, and gotten a glimpse at combat. These are all integral aspects of gameplay, but they also vary greatly depending on the ships you choose to fly and the upgrade cards you choose to equip.

For veteran players, you can expand your squad building possibilities at launch with the wealth of upgrade cards included in each of the three Conversion Kits for the game! On the other hand, if you're new to the game, the six X-Wing Second Edition ship expansions releasing with the Core Set also contain upgrade cards that can be used to enhance your ships. Today, we begin discussing bringing your squadron together with a closer look at upgrade cards and Quick Build cards! 

Outfitting Your Ships

Every X-Wing Second Edition ship is unique, with its own combination of attack power, maneuverability, hull strength, and shields. On top of these core characteristics, ships also distinguish themselves by the unique combination of upgrade cards they can equip. These cards represent the different ways you can customize your ships, granting them special abilities or alternative ways to attack.

From Force abilities to ship modifications, X-Wing Second Edition features many different types of upgrades that you can use to customize your ships and build your own unique squadron!

There are many different types of upgrades, distinguished by the icon found on the left side of the card. In addition to their special abilities, ace pilots can be given Elite talents such as Outmaneuver to augment their existing skills. On top of their Elite upgrades, Force-sensitive pilots can also use Force upgrade cards to unlock new ways to use their Force charges. For example, with the aid of the Force, these pilots can exhibit Supernatural Reflexes to perform actions at just the right moment.

The vast majority of upgrade cards, however, come in the form of changes that can be made to your ships. For example, you could add a modification like Afterburners to your ship to give yourself an extra burst of speed. Or, you could load your ship with Cluster Missiles and give yourself the chance to launch two attacks in a row.

The Lone Wolf upgrade includes an arrow next to its charges, meaning that it recovers its charge at the end of every round!

In X-Wing Second Edition, many upgrades have a number of charges that limit the number of times they can be used throughout a game. But some, like Lone Wolf, have a small arrow printed on their upgrade card. These cards recover a single charge at the end of each round, letting you continue to use them throughout a the game. Still, you must use your charges strategically during a round, picking the moments you’ll need them most.

Putting a Team Together

From the very beginning, X-Wing Second Edition gives you vast array of options for assembling your squadron of starfighters and soaring into battle. On top of the pilots and upgrades you'll get to choose from, the game also gives you two options for putting these pieces together. If you’re using the X-Wing squad builder on the web or on your mobile device, the squad builder tracks the upgrade slots available to your ships, as well as the point cost of both ship and upgrade cards. All you have to do is select the faction you wish to play and begin building your squadron!

But if you’d like to jump right into the action without worrying about squad points, X-Wing Second Edition offers you another option. The Quick Build cards included in the Core Set and every ship expansion give you a way to quickly assemble a squadron and get flying right away. Each of these cards provide pre-defined selections of pilots and upgrades, combined with a threat level that represents the approximate strength of that ship. For a normal game, players choose cards with a total of eight threat—though these Quick Build cards also make it easy for you to play a simple escalation variant, choosing ships with greater threat as your ships on the battlefield are destroyed!

When building a squadron using the Quick Build cards, this configuration of the Black Squadron Ace is worth two threat.

Constructing our first X-Wing Second Edition squadron with Quick Build cards, we’ll use Luke Skywalker as the cornerstone of our squadron, supporting this powerful, Force-sensitive pilot  with some wingmen from Red Squadron. Of course, this squadron could be made even more diverse by including a Y-wing—Quick Build cards for each ship come in that ship's corresponding expansion in X-Wing Second Edition!

With a total of six threat between them, Luke Skywalker and Jek Porkins account for three-quarters of this squadron’s total threat, but for good reason. Luke can easily modify his dice using the Force, and his high initiative value gives him a good chance of shooting first when ships begin to engage. He could even use a Force charge to exhibit Instinctive Aim and launch his Proton Torpedoes without a target lock. Even if he does use his Force charges during an attack, his ability ensures he’ll have at least one at the ready when enemy ships return fire. If any of these shots do land, Luke’s faithful astromech droid R2-D2 is ready to help him recover lost shields.

Despite lacking Force abilities, Jek Porkins can still hold his own in the midst of an intense battle. He tends to be a bit riskier, with his ability allowing him to remove stress tokens by simply rolling an attack die. This could lead to taking some damage, of course, but adding a Hull Upgrade and R5-D8 should keep him in the fight for a while. Porkins's ability to remove stress gives him the freedom to execute red maneuvers and use his Afterburners to Outmaneuver enemy ships, giving him an even better chance of landing attacks.

Finally, a Red Squadron Veteran fills the final two threat of our squadron. Although this pilot might not have the initiative or abilities of the other two pilots, they still have some tricks up their sleeve. This Red Squadron Veteran likes to go on the offensive, becoming a Predator and lining up precise shots. And even if they wade into the thick of the battle, the Red Squadron Veteran also has a measure of protection with their R5 Astromech repairing damage for them.

Enter the Fight

The Quick Build cards let you jump into the action of X-Wing Second Edition right away, giving you the opportunity to explore new pilots and upgrade cards, or easily play an escalation variant. Still, they only represent the beginning of the squad building possibilities that lie before you. You can take full control and create the squad that matches your strategy using the X-Wing squad builder app. Look for more details on the squad builder in a later preview, and join us next time for a preview of the T-65 X-Wing Expansion Pack!

Find the X-Wing Second Edition Core Set (SWZ01) and thirteen other expansions at your local retailer on September 13th! Pre-order your copies at your local retailer or online through our webstore today.

“I am Cersei of House Lannister, a lion of the Rock, the rightful queen of these Seven Kingdoms, trueborn daughter of Tywin Lannister. And hair grows back.”
   –Cersei Lannister, A Dance with Dragons

Summer fades in Westeros and the shadows extend their reach in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. In the capital city of King’s Landing, Cersei Lannister contends with the zeal of the Faith of the Seven and their newly restored army, the Faith Militant. Across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys Targaryen struggles to maintain her hold on Meereen as the Sons of the Harpy plot her destruction. Finally, at the Wall, Jon Snow attempts to forge a peace between the wildlings and the brothers of Night’s Watch while met with resistance on all sides.

In order to survive the games of cloak and dagger that fill the pages of A Dance with Dragons, the leaders of each House must embrace the darkness, lest they risk their downfall. But how far can they go before they become lost in the game of thrones? 

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce Streets of King’s Landing, the third Chapter Pack in the Dance of Shadows cycle for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, now available for pre-order at your local retailer or online through or website!

Cunning Ambition

Your struggle for the Iron Throne becomes tinted by corruption and underhanded plots with the reintroduction of the player-favorite shadow mechanic. This keyword, originally used in the game's first edition, creates a new space to hold some of your most secretive cards, separate from your hand and play area. Cards with the shadow keyword, also marked by the distinctive dark banner in the upper left corner, can be played normally… or you can pay two gold to marshal them into shadows where they remain hidden from your enemy until the perfect moment. When the time to strike arrives, you can take an Action at any point to pay their shadow cost and play the card.

However, with this new keyword come certain cards that can't be played normally. For example, Growing Ambition (Streets of King’s Landing, 44), is a new event that does not have a gold cost, meaning you must marshal it into shadows. Yet this event also does not have a set shadow cost, instead allowing you to pay any amount of gold at your disposal to play it. But the more gold you're willing to invest, the easier it will be to assemble your plans. If, for example, you pay four gold to play Growing Ambition, you may then search your deck for four cards of your choice and place them into your discard pile, shuffling your deck afterward. Then, your opponent will choose four cards from your discard pile to return to your hand.

If you can play this at a time when there are no other cards in your discard pile—or fewer than four cards—you can ensure that you have at least some of the cards you want in your hand when you need them. With this powerful ability waiting in the wings, your ambition is only limited by your ability to fund it.

The Glass Candles Are Burning

In King’s Landing, the loyalties of the common folk are not only divided between the noble houses, but also by the religions that have begun to take a stronger hold in Westeros. As the nobles fight amongst themselves, it is the poor who die in their wars. This disconnect has led to a resurgence of the vengeful gods of old, and those who speak the words of their god have been given unprecedented power.  The High Sparrow (The Faith Miliant, 97) is now protected by his ragged army of Poor Fellows (Streets of King’s Landing, 57) who have grown restless and will have their voices heard. Once the Poor Fellows win a challenge, your opponent must choose to allow the Poor Fellows to gain a power or allow you to draw a card. Little by little, they will reclaim the power that the royals have been hording for far too long.

But religion is not the only force gathering strength in the Dance of Shadows cycle. As magic returns to the realm, things once thought of as impossible have become the everyday; dragons darken the skies, the dead march against the living, and long inanimate artifacts find renewed life. The Glass Candle (Streets of King’s Landing, 59) burns for the first time in a hundred years, allowing its possessor to see across mountains, seas, deserts, and even your opponent’s deck. As a challenges action, you may kneel Glass Candle to look at the top card of any player’s deck and discard it if you so choose. Furthermore, if the character bearing this attachment is a trained Maester, such as Maester Wendamyr (Core Set, 70), who can use the candle’s full potential, they gain the insight keyword, increasing your ability to draw cards from your own deck. But despite this power, you must look on this miraculous attachment with a sense of foreboding—if the glass candles are burning, what other fabled feats are possible? What terrors lurk just over the horizon?

Light the Darkness

The age of strife is coming to a close. With the strengths of so many great houses diminished by the War of the Five Kings, the common folk are ready for an end to the bloodshed, and Westeros is ripe for the taking. Prove that you have the strength to restore the realm to its former glory and take your place on the Iron Throne!

Pre-order your copy of Streets of King’s Landing (GT33) at your local retailer today or on the Fantasy Flight Games website here!

The latest version of the A Game of Thrones: The Card Game FAQ is now online! This update contains the usual streamlined language, clarifications, and other minor changes that come with refining the rules, as well as new additions to the Joust and Melee restricted lists. Learn why these changes were made directly from the developer in the paragraphs below, and then download the new FAQ to see all the changes for yourself.

Download the new FAQ by clicking on the image above.
This update goes into effect 06/11/2018.

A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Lead Developer, Daniel Schaefer

Hello A Game of Thrones: The Card Game players!

In addition to the standard rules updates and clarifications, this FAQ update makes some changes that will have significant ramifications for the competitive game. This includes updates to the restricted lists for both Joust and Melee, as well as errata that slightly alters the functionality of two cards. This article summarizes each of these changes to provide an understanding of the rationale behind the decisions.

Melee Restricted List

The Melee restricted list was first introduced late last year, with the goal of extending games and reducing the ability for decks to win on the first one or two turns. The list has largely been successful in this goal, but as the card pool grows and the metagame evolves, the list required an update to address some of the powerful strategies in the format. Corpse Lake (House of Thorns, 28), Khal Drogo (Core Set, 162), Doran’s Game (Core Set, 119), and “The Song of the Seven” (The Faith Militant, 98) all fit naturally into strategies looking to accumulate power quickly and easily, with “The Song of the Seven” being particularly problematic in the Melee format because it can severely punish the player who wins dominance.

Taena Merryweather (Lions of Casterly Rock, 10) fits into another kind of fast strategy, one that can filter through a huge chunk of its deck by playing a large number of events and finish the game with an overwhelming combo turn. While these combo decks can be somewhat kept in check via politics in Melee, Taena is simply too powerful. Finally, Flea Bottom (Oberyn’s Revenge, 98) is problematic because it’s an incredibly efficient source of card and tempo advantage that slots easily into almost any deck, homogenizing deck builds. Restricting it should open up some more diversity in the format.

Joust Restricted List

The Joust restricted list was introduced a few months ago with the goal of weakening event-based combo decks. While that version of the list did break up some of the most prominent combo deck builds of the time, recent results suggest that it did not go far enough, as new versions of the combo decks have put up strong tournament results. Fast, consistent combo decks present significant problems to the metagame, as I outlined in the article accompanying the original Joust restricted list. For that reason, this update takes a more aggressive approach against combo, adding nine cards to the list that are all aimed at weakening combo decks. They are: “The Dornishman’s Wife” (Guarding the Realm, 39), Littlefinger’s Meddling (Lions of Casterly Rock, 49), The Dragon’s Tail (Across the Seven Kingdoms, 1), Hear Me Roar! (Core Set, 100), The Red Viper (Core Set, 109), Tower of the Sun (Across the Seven Kingdoms, 17), All Men Are Fools (All Men Are Fools, 4), “Six Maids in a Pool” (House of Thorns, 23), To the Rose Banner! (Wolves of the North, 38)

These cards fall into three broad categories: event-based card draw, event-based or burst economy, and easy or unlimited power gain. Where possible, we aimed to restrict cards that we felt would have the least impact for non-combo decks, creating minimal disruption for the rest of the metagame.

We’re also removing one card from the restricted list: The Hand’s Judgment (Core Set, 45). This card was placed on the original list to limit the ability for combo decks to protect themselves, but there are enough other protective options that having The Hand’s Judgment on the list felt unnecessary. While we could have added other “protection” cards—such as Nightmares (Calm Over Westeros, 99)—to the list, that would have likely caused more reciprocal harm to other decks. Instead, The Hand’s Judgment is being removed in favor of cards that contribute directly to the combo decks’ speed and consistency.

Errata

Finally, we are introducing errata that slightly alters the functionality of two cards.

The first is for To Go Forward You Must Go Back (Someone Always Tells, 114). We considered a clarification as we had done in our new rules clarification forum, but felt errata would be more effective in communicating the card's intent. The printed wording on the card makes the shuffle part of the event’s cost. This has some unintended rules consequences that did not match the way the card was tested or the way that most players would expect it to work. Rather than stick with the printed wording, the card is receiving errata to make the shuffle part of the card’s effect, ensuring the intended functionality.

The second change is to Driftwood Cudgel (Someone Always Tells, 112). In situations where multiple characters are killed simultaneously—due to the effect of Valar Morghulis (There is My Claim, 80), for instance—the Cudgel’s interrupt ability could be used multiple times before any characters left play. This could allow a player to gain one power on each of their

Drowned God characters and win the game before those characters were killed. This interaction is outside the intuitive scope of what the card should do, and it has a potentially dramatic effect on the card’s power level and how it is played. For that reason, the card is receiving errata limiting the interrupt ability to once per phase. This eliminates the problematic interaction while mostly preserving the card’s functionality when used in other circumstances.

We hope this gives you a helpful window into the thought process behind this update. There are some large changes here, but we believe they will greatly improve the competitive game. We’ll continue to make periodic updates as we work to make this game the best it can be!

Download the new A Game of Thrones: The Card Game FAQ now to read the entire update. Players attending an event before June 11th can still find the previous FAQ on the A Game of Thrones: The Card Game page.

As always, other rules documents and support materials for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game can be found on our A Game of Thrones: The Card Game page as well.

"They have podracing on Malastare. Very fast, very dangerous."
   –Qui-Gon Jinn, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

On the remote planet of Tatooine, danger lurks around every corner. Rogue sandstorms, Tusken Raiders, and more make living on this Outer Rim planet a threatening challenge. Some take this to an extreme degree, risking their lives in one of the most dangerous activities in the galaxy: podracing.

The Boonta Eve Classic is an annual race that sees some of the best podracers from across the Star Wars galaxy come together for one of the most thrilling races Tatooine has to offer. These racers are cheered as heroes to the common folk who turn out to see the destruction and thrills that the race brings. And a long time ago, one of the most feared tyrants in the galaxy was crowned as a champion…

Join us today as we preview the impact of podracers in Way of the Force, a new set of boosters for Star Wars: Destiny. Way of the Force introduces 160 brand-new cards that enhance existing strategies while introducing powerful new sub-themes like podracing.

The Boonta Eve Classic

Way of the Force provides players with new ways to think about deckbuilding in Star Wars: Destiny. One of the main ways to accomplish this is through expanding on plots.

First introduced in the Legacies booster packs, plot cards traditionally had their effect at the start of the game, having no further impact on gameplay after that point. Way of the Force changes this, introducing plot cards that can help define your entire game plan. Perhaps the greatest representation of this is the Boonta Eve Classic (Way of the Force, 155) itself.

The Boonta Eve Classic takes up two points for your team, and allows you to place a resource on a podracer after you resolve its die. Then, if there are four or more resources on that podracer, you may set each copy of Boonta Eve Classic aside, out of play, and gain four resources! In other words, winning the Boonta Eve Classic offers a windfall of resources that can be used to help defeat your opponent. Cards like Pilfered Goods (Empire at War, 83) are much easier to play when you’re a Boonta Eve Classic champion.

But you’re not winning the big race without a podracer, and heroes and villains alike have options for both racers and pilots to field.

Sebulba always wins. It’s just a fact: not only is he one of the most skilled racers in the galaxy, he’s not afraid to fight dirty to ensure a victory. At nine points for a normal version or twelve for an elite Sebulba, Cutthroat Racer (Way of the Force, 38) is your best bet to win any race. With two sides of his die showing damage, Sebulba can hit your opponent where it hurts, but he truly shines when paired with the Boonta Eve Classic. His special die symbol lets you place a resource on a support, getting you even closer to the four-resource windfall of the Boonta Eve Classic if you choose to place the resource on a podracer. Conversely, he can also remove a resource from a support, sabotaging any opponent who may be trying to win the big race.

A pilot is only as good as his racer though, and Sebulba's Podracer (Way of the Force, 50) is a top-of-the-line model. As a two cost vehicle with ambush, this podracer is easy to field, and it can help you win the Boonta Eve Classic while damaging your opponent’s characters. Every time you resolve Sebulba’s Podracer’s die, you deal one indirect damage to an opponent. Or, if you can spot Sebulba himself among your team, you choose a character to deal one damage to, narrowing your target. With two sides already showing indirect damage, Sebulba’s Podracer is surprisingly damaging, and it can help defeat characters even if you aren’t running the Boonta Eve Classic plot.

Trust Your Instincts

Before he was Darth Vader—before he was even an ambitious Jedi—Anakin Skywalker was a podracing prodigy. In Star Wars: Destiny, young Anakin Skywalker (Way of the Force, 88) is a perfect support character if you're trying to win the race. With three sides of his die giving you a resource, Anakin Skywalker can help you build to something greater, especially if you put him in the driver's seat of a podracer. After you activate Anakin, you may turn one of your droid or podracer dice to any side, manipulating the very dice on the field to help you win the big race.

Just of the cards that Anakin can manipulate after is his own Podracer (Way of the Force, 102). Not only can Anakin ensure that his Podracer’s die is showing the result you want, but you also get to discard a random card from an opponent’s hand if you can spot Anakin Skywalker. Or, if Anakin isn't piloting or if you’d prefer this effect, you may choose to turn the Podracer into a mill machine and discard the top card of a deck. Either way, Anakin Skywalker and his Podracer are a great support team that builds your advantage.

A Friendly Wager

While racers and their pods are the focus of the race, there's plenty that goes into preparing for the Boonta Eve Classic.

It would be embarrassing to show up to such a historic race without a proper racer, luckily, Start Your Engines! (Way of the Force, 137 ) ensures you’ll have a podracer on the field as quickly as possible. Start Your Engines! joins Lightsaber Pull (Empire at War, 130) as one of the few cards that lets you search your deck for the tools you need, and it lets you start racing (and winning) the Boonta Eve Classic as quickly as possible. 

You don't just want to win the race—you'll want to make a little profit on the side.  Podracer Betting (Way of the Force, 134) lets you gain resources… if you’re feeling lucky. This event lets you choose a number and roll a vehicle die, if you roll a value equal to the number that you chose, you'll gain two resources, or three if the vehicle you chose was a podracer. Because Podracer Betting costs a resource to play, you're taking a risk and making an investment. Still, if you're betting on Anakin Skywalker or Sebulba’s Podracer, the odds are in your favor, with four of each die showing a value of one.

Finally, there is the course itself. The Mos Espa Arena (Way of the Force, 159) is the epicenter of excitement on Tatooine. The roar of the podracers fills the entire arena and makes it the perfect battlefield for your high-speed deck. When claimed, Mos Espa Arena allows you to either gain one resource, or force your opponent to lose one resource. And, if you spot a podracer, you may resolve both effects, giving you a massive swing in resources! If your deck is focused on podracers, this battlefield can keep your resources stocked while ensuring your opponent doesn’t have the tools to take you down in the big race.

Start Your Engines

Star Wars: Destiny is focused on the epic battles between Star Wars characters, but not all battles are fought with weapons. High-speed podracing can be just as dangerous as a lightsaber duel, and even more rewarding if you manage to survive. Do you have what it takes to survive one of the most dangerous races in the galaxy?

Get to the finish line first with Way of the Force (SWD12), available now for pre-order from your local retailer or our website! 

The Midwest Metropolis of ChiLo is as dangerous as it is alluring. With rumors of a clone haven circulating, the city is the perfect place for escaped Nisei-model Akiko to disappear. But her pursuers are never far behind. Jinteki already has a foothold in the city, and no one can stay hidden forever. 

Join us today as we preview the Shaper and Jinteki cards found in Reign and Reverie, the new deluxe expansion for Android Netrunner: The Card Game. Reign and Reverie focuses on the city of ChiLo, and includes new tools for every faction in the game.

In Your Head

We have already revealed Akiko Nisei (Reign and Reverie, 15), the Shaper identity included in Reign and Reverie. Today, we get a good look at the cards that will support her endeavors in ChiLo.

The most important tool in any runner’s tool kit is a console, and Akiko has one of the best in  Mind's Eye (Reign and Reverie, 17). Whenever you make a successful run on R&D, you can place a power counter on Mind’s Eye. During your turn, you may spend a click and remove three hosted power counters to access the top card of R&D. The best cards in Android: Netrunner reward you for taking actions that you want to do anyways, and making runs on R&D is one of those essential goals. A free access is a fantastic bonus, and can potentially become even better with Akiko Nisei, as it activates her ability. Should you successfully play the psi-game, Mind’s Eye can net you two cards off the top of R&D without Akiko ever having to make a run. No matter how well R&D is defended, with three power counters on Mind’s Eye, no agenda is safe.

Though how can you know the optimal time to fire Mind’s Eye? Luckily, Reign and Reverie gives you a powerful new tool to know exactly what the corp is developing. Insight is a double event that lets the corp rearrange the top four cards of R&D… before they reveal those same cards to you. While letting the corp rearrange the top of their deck can seem dangerous, they can’t hide their agendas forever and getting a view of their R&D can let you snipe an agenda with Mind’s Eye.

Runners need more than just hardware to be successful. They need connections, to help finance their runs. This is where Psych Mike (Reign and Reverie, 21) comes in handy. With Mike on the field, the first time a successful run on R&D ends each turn, you can gain one credit for each card that you accessed. While this can offer an economic boost for any runner, it can also help finance Akiko Nisei’s ability, giving at least one credit back from the psi-game she plays with the corporation. With Pysch Mike watching your back, your credits will never run dry.

Endless Exploration

No matter where you are in the world of Android, there's no running away from the corporations that span the world. Akiko Nisei seeks salvation, but her pursuers have a foothold in ChiLo, and Jinteki will do whatever it takes to retrieve their lost clone...

Saraswati Mnemonics (Reign and Reverie, 34) is a terrifying identity that allows you to tap into the cat-and-mouse mind games of Jinteki. During your turn, this identity lets you spend a click and a credit to install a card from HQ in a remote server and place an advancement token on it. While this is amazing click compression, you are limited in the fact that you cannot score or rez that card until your next turn begins.

With cards like Mushin No Shin (Honor and Profit, 15), Jinteki is no stranger to letting their advanced cards sit, ready for the runner to steal. Of course, if the card you choose is something like Project Junebug (Revised Core Set, 80), the runner is in for a nasty surprise. This is the inherent mind game of Jinteki, and something Saraswati Mnemonics excels at. With this division’s ability, you can install a card and have three advancement tokens placed on it in a single turn.

Reign and Reverie also introduces the perfect high-cost agenda to try and score with Saraswati Mnemonics. If you dedicate two turns to advancing and scoring Jumon (Reign and Reverie, 35), you will receive a massive advantage. When your turn ends, you may place two advancement tokens on any card installed in a server. This can greatly accelerate your research into other agendas or set up massive ambushes for the runner. As a passive ability, there's very little risk in advancing a card, as you either try to bait the runner or advance your own hidden agendas.

And even if an ambush fizzles, Jinteki still has plenty of uses for advancement tokens. API-S Keeper Isobel (Reign and Reverie, 36) is an asset that can easily be used to keep your credit pool inflated: when your turn begins, you may remove an advancement token from an installed card to gain three credits. API-S Keeper Isobel is a great way to get some use out of an ambush that may not be firing or to make the runner think a card in a server is of no importance to you. API-S Keeper Isobel also synergizes well with the Tennin Institute (Honor and Profit, 3), giving you a use for the advancement tokens you place on installed cards that might not need them. 

It's All a Game

Akiko Nisei tries to find sanctuary in the city of crime, but Jinteki has an established foothold, waiting to ensnare hasty runners in their myriad traps. Who will come out on top?

Find out when you pre-order Reign and Reverie (ADN56) from your local retailer or our website today.

Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game and its Organized Play have enjoyed a fantastic first year.

The game sold out at Gen Con Indy, and the Kiku Matsuri event drew hundreds of enthusiastic samurai whose battle cries rose well above the din of the crowd and reverberated throughout the Event Hall. We saw Launch Parties held around the globe. The excitement surged forward as champions from each of the Great Clans converged on the Fantasy Flight Games Center for the Winter Court World Championship.

In turn, the Winter Court World Championship saw Lion Clan hero Samuel Benies appointed Shogun, and he resolved the dilemma set forth in the story The Fate of Flames by convincing Matsu Tsuko to pursue the path of justice, releasing her Crane prisoner to pursue the death of Crane champion Doji Satsume. The Winter Court World Championship also saw the determination of the clans' elemental roles, setting up the Toshi Ranbo Kotei series, which has proven a tremendous success, drawing countless players to high-energy events hosted throughout the United States and Europe.

Players in action at the 2018 Paris Grand Kotei.

Recently, we've seen fans carry the excitement from these events back to their friendly local game stores to participate in the Battle for the Stronghold, as well as the tournaments and leagues they've run with the Season One Stronghold Kit.

Now, as we look forward to the Season Two Stronghold Kit—and the next season of Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game in-store play—we want to turn our gaze for a moment toward the next generation of samurai. After all, Legend of the Five Rings Organized Play plays many roles, and while it provides veterans with a chance to clash on any of Rokugan's numerous battlefields, it also serves as a training ground for Rokugani looking to learn the ways of the bushi, shugenja, and courtier.

And while the game's growth—and the growth of its community—may benefit from its Organized Play, they rely heavily on one of the game's most important and oft-unsung players—the Event Organizer.

Today, guest writer Tobin Lopes looks at how you can help grow the Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game community, as well as the ways you might be able to incorporate the contents of the Season Two Stronghold Kit into your efforts!

Guest Writer Tobin Lopes on Building Your Stronghold

Tobin Lopes lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife Brenda and their kids, Ezri and Zachary. He is co-creator of The Art of WarCast– a podcast about Legend of the Five Rings. He would like to thank Jason Wallace, who also contributed to this article.

Legend of the Five Rings is an amazing game. It’s strategic, diverse, engaging, and most of all, fun! It’s even more fun when you can share those elements (pun intended) and your experience with others in your Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS). This seems obvious. What might not be obvious is how you can use the Organized Play program to grow your own local community of players. I’ve built three communities around LCGs®, including Legend of the Five Rings, and through trial and error I’ve come up with some winning strategies.

Your Cornerstone: Commit to It and Be Ready

Growing your local community starts with you. If you don't show to your FLGS, then no one can join you.

I’ve found success begins simply by showing up. Talk to your FLGS, and determine a day and time when they have space available (maybe there’s an LCG night). You should commit to attending for at least a month—if not longer. Then show up each week and be available to play the game and teach it to anyone who asks. Ideally, the store can put up a poster from the Stronghold Kit, add the day to their online calendar, and share through their social media efforts. Don’t be shy either! You should use social media and gaming sites to make yourself easy to find. The most important thing, though, is that you are at the store each and every time until a stable group exists. I played Android: Netrunner with one other friend for about two months until more people started showing up regularly. Soon we had eight to ten regulars. Success!

In addition to being present, you need to be ready. Build a couple of decks that play together well and show off the various themes of the game. I personally think Crab, Crane, Dragon, and Lion are best for this, as they offer fairly straightforward lines of play and don’t have complex timing windows.

Make an Inviting Meetup

You’ve committed to a place and time. You have some decks. You’re ready to go. You’ve been strategic with your decisions. Now you need to engage with diverse and unpredictable forces—other people!

In this day and age, many different people come into your FLGS. The two types of people you’ll most likely encounter are those who already know the game and want to play, and those who might be interested simply because you’re there.

When you encounter an interested person, remember that the easiest and simplest gestures are still the most powerful. Introduce yourself, and offer a handshake. Say, "Hi," and smile. If the person is a current player looking to play, then sit on down and play… yay! If that isn’t the case, and they ask about the game, then tell them about it—but don’t assume anything. The best way to start is to find out what they know—especially it they are familiar with customizable card games.

Depending on what they want to do, I recommend going through a quick turn or two of the game. During those turns, you should keep one goal in mind: communicating how fun and diverse the game is. But beware of specialized terms like Lion Swarm or Crane Control! These insider terms can confuse things. Instead, keep things simple, and be sure to give the person something if you can—a full-bleed card from the Stronghold Kit or Reinforcement Pack is ideal, but anything you have is good. Your priority is making things clear and fun!

How to Develop Your Stronghold

Flash forward to a month or two later. You’ve got a stable group of at least four or five players. You have all played regularly and developed a greater rapport and love for Legend of the Five Rings. At this point, if you haven’t already done so, it’s time to take the next step and schedule a tournament. Nothing huge, though. You’re just looking to introduce your group to organized competition. Consider this event the Grand Opening of your FLGS "Stronghold."

Now, card tournaments can sometimes be intense, and the last thing you want to do is burn out your group. I suggest a casual tournament of three-to-four rounds of Swiss-style pairings and then call it a day.

You might consider creating some clan versus clan rivalries by keeping track of clan versus clan records. You might also take honor counts at the end of each game in order to name a most honorable (e.g. Lion) and least honorable (e.g. Scorpion) clan. Whatever you choose to do, be sure and entertain all ideas. FFG’s Organized Play kits offer suggestions and expectations, but they also leave you a good deal of control over what you do—so you should do what’s best for you and your group. Remember: your focus should be on fun competition.

After your event, be sure to reflect and evaluate what went well and what can be improved. If you’ve been successful with your meetups and event, then you should have grown a good, fun, and interactive community around this game in your FLGS. You have completed building your Stronghold. Success! Now you move from building your group to energizing it, and hopefully seeing more growth.

Maintain and Strengthen Your Stronghold

There’s one thing that most LCG players love—change!

While the regular release of cards typically provides change enough, sometimes your group will want more. Coming up with some different ways to play the game is a great way to do that.

For instance, try flipping the roles that players use to build their constructed decks—keep each clan's current elemental role, but suggest a deck with a Seeker instead of a Keeper role, (or vice versa) and see what they discover. Another change could be to encourage casual play, where all players are told to bring a deck with any role of their choice. Another option is to run a league, tournament, or series of events where the winner is named your FLGS’s Magistrate. You could even get your FLGS to post the Magistrate's name on their website for honor and glory!

As long as the title (in this case, "Magistrate") works to encourage play and fun between players, you can be as creative as you want. Perhaps each of the players that provided the most victories for their clan at the conclusion of your Battle for the Stronghold event or seasonal league could be named that clan’s Magistrate (i.e. Tobin Lopes, Crab Clan Magistrate… yeah, I like the sound of that). Again: fun is the goal.

Be Sure and Talk to Your Local Dojo

Now, this might be obvious but none of the above can happen without good open dialogue with your FLGS. As Fantasy Flight Games Organized Play offers their kits, you want to be sure and talk to your FLGS about what’s best for you and your Legend of the Five Rings community. Our groups tend to like smaller leagues with the occasional tournament, but your group may be different. You won’t know until you get started, and that means talking to your FLGS. If you don’t know who to talk to, ask, and maybe you can be the one that gets it all going.

Creating, building, and sustaining a community takes time, resilience, a bit of strategy, and being engaged. It may sound daunting, but time passes no matter what we do—so why not have fun and share that fun with others? It’s work, yes, but the reward of having an engaged and fun gaming community is worth it.

Good luck!

Lead Your Clan to Victory

Your clan's path to power starts with the development of a powerful army. Then, after you build your local playgroup, you'll find many twists and turns along the road to the Imperial Palace—with some of them coming your way very soon!

Keep your eyes peeled for more information about the Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game Organized Play program—including some exciting new changes and additions!

“You give way to an enemy this evil with this much power and you condemn the galaxy to an eternity of submission. The time to fight is now!”
   –Jyn Erso, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

When Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was released, we got a glimpse at a side of the Rebel Alliance that we had never seen before. Chiefly, we were introduced to Saw Gerrera and his unique brand of resistance against the Empire. Even though his extreme tactics were condemned by some, Saw and his Partisans played a critical role in the foundation of the Alliance.

Similarly, Saw will also be key in establishing a new era of interstellar combat in the Star Wars galaxy when X-Wing™ Second Edition launches on September 13th, 2018. The Saw’s Renegades Expansion Pack will bridge the gap between the first and second editions by including components compatible with both. On top of the T-65 X-wing and UT-60D U-wing miniatures painted in the striking black-and-white paint scheme of Saw's Partisans, this expansion also contains second edition versions of all ship cards and tokens as well as a plastic medium base to fully bring your U-wing into the second edition.

Rounding out the second edition content are a complement of twelve upgrade cards that will give you a taste of the new edition when the Saw’s Renegades Expansion Pack is released in the second quarter of 2018. These cards expand the already vast pool of upgrades that will be available through the X-Wing Second Edition Core Set and the seven ship expansions releasing alongside it, giving you a wide array of options for customizing your squadrons from the very beginning of X-Wing Second Edition. We’ve already shown you many of the first edition cards included in this expansion. Today, we’re happy to present a preview of the second edition content included in the Saw’s Renegades Expansion Pack!

A New Generation

The T-65 X-wing is a versatile starfighter that forms the cornerstone of many Rebel starfighter squadrons. Saw Gerrera and his followers share the Rebellion’s taste for the T-65 and the Saw’s Renegades Expansion Pack gives you access to even more T-65 X-wing pilots from the start of X-Wing Second Edition.

Our announcement revealed that this classic ship has been given some new capabilities in the second edition and Saw’s Partisans are ready to take full advantage of them. A pilot like Leevan Tenza, for example, syncs perfectly with the T-65’s newfound ability to open and close its S-foils. He can perform a red evade action after executing a barrel roll or a boost, so he’ll always have this option no matter what position his S-foils are in.

Kullbee Sperado, meanwhile, can switch the position of his S-foils with lightning-quick reflexes, flipping his Servomotor S-foils upgrade card after performing a barrel roll or boost. This frees him to focus while his S-foils are closed, perform a red boost action, then open his S-foils and prepare to attack, all in a single activation.

Other pilots, such as Edrio Two Tubes, rely on their squadmates to make the most of their abilities. Edrio can immediately perform an action after being activated, but he must be focused to do so. This makes him a perfect wingman for his eggmate, Benthic, who can transfer a focus token from his U-wing to a nearby friendly ship after performing a focus action. 

Striking Back

In addition to introducing us to Saw and his Partisans, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story also gave us our first on-screen look at the UT-60D U-wing starfighter. The preferred ship of Saw Gerrera himself, the U-wing gets its own updates for X-Wing Second Edition that open up new tactical possibilities for this Rebel troop transport. It now sports a red coordinate action in addition to its focus and target lock, allowing it to act as a mobile command center and dole out actions to friendly ships in the thick of battle.

Beyond this, the second edition pilots you’ll find in the Saw’s Renegades Expansion Pack bring their own flavor to the U-wing. Saw’s followers are known for their fanatical devotion to the cause of freedom and Saw Gerrera himself excels at pushing those fighting alongside him to make the ultimate sacrifice. While Saw is piloting a U-wing, nearby damaged friendly ships gain the ability to reroll an attack die, encouraging them to stay in the fight even when the situation is dire. But this doesn’t mean Saw isn’t willing to put himself in harm’s way. On the contrary, if he is a crewmember on a ship, he can force the ship to suffer one damage to change all of its focus results to critical results while attacking.

Magva Yarro, on the other hand, is fiercely loyal to those she fights alongside. In fact, she puts so much pressure on ships attacking her squadmates that they can only reroll one attack die. Similarly, while Magva Yarro is aboard a ship that gets hit by an attack, her ship can prepare to return fire by acquiring a lock on the attacker.

While the pilots in Saw's cadre of freedom fighters fight alongside their Rebel brethren in X-Wing Second Edition, as a splinter group, they remain notably distinct from other Rebels in X-Wing Second Edition. Their existence on the fringes of the Rebellion gives them an edge not seen by other, more mainstream Rebel pilots. As a result, every pilot included in the Saw’s Renegades Expansion Pack can also equip an Illicit upgrade such as the Deadman's Switch.

The ability to equip Illicit upgrades certainly makes Saw and the rest of his followers unique among T-65 and U-wing pilots, but this expansion also contains a number of other upgrades that can be equipped by other members of the Rebel Alliance and beyond. You might give an already daring pilot the ability to pull off a Trick Shot, for example, rolling an extra attack die while your attack is obstructed by an obstacle.

The Saw’s Renegades Expansion Pack is also the first place to find the second edition version of a powerful System upgrade like Advanced Sensors. Allowing you to perform an action after you reveal your maneuver dial, Advanced Sensors gives you the chance to react to the evolving battle around you before you execute your maneuver.

Rebel Spirit

Although some may label him an extremist, Saw Gerrera is steadfast in his resistance to the Empire. Soon, you will be able to join his fight for freedom as it shifts to the new era of starfighter combat of X-Wing Second Edition. Man your ships and fly for freedom!

Look for the Saw's Renegades Expansion Pack (SWX74) in stores late in the second quarter of 2018. Pre-order your copy at your local retailer or online through our website today!

“Send all troops in Sector 12 to the south slope!”
   –Leia Organa, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team Unit Expansion for Star Wars™: Legion!

No matter where the Rebel Alliance establishes one of its bases, it must always be prepared for an Imperial attack. Rebel ground troops are always willing to put themselves in harm’s way, but troopers are not enough to stem the tide of the Imperial legions and their heavy walkers. Laser cannon emplacements can provide these troops with the fire support they need to fend off any assault they might face during your games of Star Wars: Legion.

Within the 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team Unit Expansion, you’ll find an unpainted, easily assembled 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team miniature that can be fielded as a support unit for your Rebel army. Alongside this team, you’ll find three upgrade cards that invite you to further modify your cannon to make it an even more stalwart line of defense against the forces of the Empire.

Look for the 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team Unit Expansion along with the E-Web Heavy Blaster Team Unit Expansion  at your local retailer in the third quarter of 2018. For a closer look at that expansion, click here, or read on for more info on the 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team!

Begin Your Defense

As the second support unit for the Rebel Alliance, the 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team joins the AT-RT in providing much needed backup to your Rebel troops. Every Star Wars: Legion army can have up to three support units, and now you can mix the mobile versatility of the AT-RT with the strength of the 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team in whatever combination you choose.

Rebel ground forces are constantly faced with the challenge of breaking through the heavy armor worn by most Imperial troopers, while avoiding the intense fire these units can send back at them. To compensate, units like the Rebel Troopers must rely on their elusiveness to dodge enemy attacks and stay in the fight long enough to secure their objectives.

At 70 points, a 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team perfectly complements these troops by providing the cover fire they need to continue their operations, even while under heavy fire. The 1.4 FD laser cannon has a longer range than a standard unit of Rebel Troopers and, with a pool of five black attack dice, it packs quite a punch, making it more than capable of keeping enemy units at bay while your troopers are on the move.

All this firepower does have its drawbacks, however. A 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team is a stationary unit that cannot perform moves except for pivots, so this turret must be deployed to key points on the battlefield in order to be effective. What’s more, the laser cannon can only target units in its front arc. This means that the trooper team manning it must rely on their much less powerful DH-17 blaster pistols if anything manages to slip past them.

Still, even a single 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team can be the cornerstone of a solid defensive perimeter, even when enemy units are out of range. The cannon team always keeps a watchful eye on the horizon and its Sentinel keyword extends its standby range to three, making it even more difficult for enemy units to move within range without a quick response.

The 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team uses its Sentinel keyword to spend a standby token and attack the Snowtroopers when they move into Range 3! 

There's also plenty of ways for you to upgrade your 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team and specialize your unit's attacks. Adding a Barrage Generator can help increase its rate of fire, for example, pinning down any troopers that might be advancing on your position. If an AT-ST is stomping toward you, however, having an Overcharged Generator can give your 1.4 FD laser cannon the power to punch through the walker’s armor. Finally, an HQ Uplink is always useful to keep your team in contact with the rest of your army, especially when your commander is far afield.

Hold the Line

No matter what the Empire throws your way, 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Teams are ready to protect the Rebellion and its troops. Build your defenses and prepare for Imperial attack!

Pre-order the 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Unit Expansion(SWL14) at your local retailer or online through our webstore today, and look for it—along with the E-Web Heavy Blaster Team Unit Expansion (SWL15) to release in the third quarter of 2018!