Announcing the Upcoming Release of STAR WARS (TM): The Card Game

From FFG here:

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=3529

The Imperial fleet sifts through the galaxy for signs of the Rebel Alliance’s hidden base, hoping to obliterate it with one powerful blast from their newly constructed Death Star. As the Empire’s imposing Star Destroyers draw near, the Rebellion’s greatest heroes realize there is no time to spare, so they mobilize for a desperate attack…

Star Wars: The Card Game is coming! Scheduled to release in the fourth quarter of 2012, Star Wars: The Card Game is a head-to-head Living Card Game® of tactical combat and strategic planning that allows two players to wage cinematic battles between the most memorable characters and starships from both the light and dark sides of the Force.

In February, we explained why we chose to take our initial prototype back to the drawing board. Now we are proud to announce that the redesign by Eric M. Lang is complete, and we intend to make Star Wars: The Card Game available to retailers everywhere later this year!

Luminous Beings

For decades, the Star Wars universe has entertained millions of fans with its daring heroes and imposing villains. Now, Star Wars: The Card Game grants players command of some of the galaxy’s most memorable characters. Wage epic duels between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, send Han Solo and Rebel troopers to engage Imperial forces on Endor’s forest moon, or launch a fleet of Star Destroyers from the Kuat ship yards. Of course, stormtroopers, smugglers, starfighters, and bounty hunters all make appearances, along with other Jedi and Sith.

Star Wars: The Card Game allows you to recreate the drama and excitement of many of the movies’ greatest scenes, and it allows you to invent your own moments of magic, as well. Obi-Wan can sneak through the Death Star while Luke, Leia, and Han fight off stormtroopers, or you can unleash Darth Vader on an unsuspecting Rebel base. Lure the Imperial navy into the trap planned by Admiral Ackbar. Or capture Admiral Ackbar with the infamous bounty hunter, Boba Fett. When you command the game’s famous characters and starfighters, the possibilities for cinematic drama are as limitless as your imagination.

A Great Disturbance in the Force

In Star Wars: The Card Game, light side and dark side players duel for the fate of the galaxy. While the light side player races to make tactical strikes against dark side objectives, the dark side player works to reinforce his position of command.

Throughout the game, the dark side works to snuff out the last remnants of its opposition and secure total control of the galaxy. This is represented by advancing the game’s Death Star dial. The dark side advances the dial at the beginning of each of its turns and can accelerate its advancement by launching successful attacks against the light side. If the dial advances to “12,” the dark side wins. Given enough time, the dark side player will discover the last remnants of the light side’s resistance, and wipe them out of the galaxy with one final, commanding gesture.

Thus, just like in the movies, time is always running out for the light side, who must find the means to strike quickly and for maximum damage. The light side player wins by destroying three dark side objectives, cards that represent its missions and strategies, but doing so requires mustering sufficient firepower to get past Imperial defenses.

Each battle in Star Wars: The Card Game allows attackers and defenders to coordinate units, including characters, creatures, starfighters, and vehicles like Imperial walkers, to disrupt their opponent’s strategies by launching surgical strikes or beginning massive battles. First, the attacker targets an enemy objective and commits units to the assault. Then, the defending player assigns and commits units to the defense. As the two strike teams collide, players vie for the upper hand in the game’s dramatic new “edge battle.”

In an edge battle, players vie for initiative by secretly bidding cards from their hand facedown, one at a time, beginning with the active player. Once both players have passed or run out of cards to bid, they compare the number of Force icons on the cards they’ve bid, the cards they bid are discarded, and the winner gains the edge, earning the right to strike first.

The edge battles of Star Wars: The Card Game are high-stakes gambles that ensure that no cards in a player’s hand are ever without value. However, they can also be filled with dramatic twists and turns. Fate cards can trigger abilities when bid during edge battles that can wound units or damage objectives, and skillful players can even draw out their opponents’ most valuable cards in cunning feints. Each edge battle allows players to decide their own destinies, and each gives players a meaningful reason to consider whether to play a card or save it for a future edge battle.

One of the light side’s most powerful and versatile warriors, Luke Skywalker’s strength with the Force is represented by his three Force icons.

With its layered resourcing, tactical combat, and exciting edge battles, Star Wars: The Card Game immerses players in fast-paced confrontations set during the timeline of the original trilogy. You can read more about the game’s mechanics on its description page.

The Future You See

Star Wars: The Card Game pursues an innovative new style of set-focused deck-building. Each player chooses an affiliation card and a group of ten or more objective sets, each of which includes six cards: one objective and five corresponding cards that go into a player’s command deck. The compositions of players’ command decks are automatically determined by the objectives they choose. Just separate your objectives from your command deck, shuffle both, and you’re ready to play! This brand new approach makes deck-building more accessible to new players, as they have only to select ten objective sets and combine them rather than assemble an entire deck, individual card by individual card.

This model also presents a compelling new deck-building challenge for veteran card players. Traditionally, veteran players approach customizable card games by evaluating the worth of every individual card in a deck. Star Wars: The Card Game, however, explores exciting new design territory; players are faced with the task of evaluating groups of cards and building a deck by selecting among those groups. This new approach allows for intense strategic customization, while still maintaining core thematic elements from the Star Wars saga.

Faster deck-building and truly awesome legends – that’s the idea behind the new way to construct your decks in Star Wars: The Card Game!

Ally with the Force

The Force is a powerful ally, and both light side and dark side players will seek to draw from its strength as they engage in the battles of Star Wars: The Card Game, coming in the fourth quarter of 2012!