As the war continues in Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare, each faction races to gain the edge with the latest weapons and tactics. Today, the SSU and the Allies can each add two new units to their arsenals; the P-48 Pelican, Allied Heavy Support Walker, BR 47 Self-Propelled Weapon Platform, and SSU Heavy Weapons Teams are all on sale at your local retailer and through our webstore!

The Allied P-48 Pelican

The Allies have been hard at work developing a means to meet Axis air threats: the P-48. The P-48 Pelican is capable of taking off with a very short runway, making this light and versatile fighter quick to deploy on any new battlefield. Additionally, the Pelican is equipped with Triple Dual .50 cal machine guns that give it a serious edge against enemies in the air and quickly eats through infantry.

The Pelican was first put to work as a dive bomber in its P-48C configuration, affectionately known to the Allies as “Diving Dotty.” The P-48C is capable of providing great ground support against infantry while fending off enemy fliers with its heavy machine guns alone. Diving Dotty really shines when it leverages its powerful 500 kg bombs, which can wipe out tanks and troops alike in a fiery explosion. Daredevil pilots dive as low as possible for extra accuracy in using these devastating explosives. In contrast to the P-48C, the P-48X, or “Bellowing Bertie,” prefers to deal death from a distance. Bellowing Bertie makes use of the same heavy machine guns as its predecessor, but is equipped with powerful Ground Rockets that let it strike from a longer range than Diving Dotty. These devastating rockets are a reliable and powerful way to clear a path for any Allied ground forces needing to cut through enemy tanks and troops. Either of these Pelican configurations are sure to add a great deal of firepower to your airborne Allied forces.

The Allied Heavy Support Walker

For those who prefer to keep the battle on the ground, the Heavy Support Walker is the Allies’ latest piece of VK-powered hardware. This versatile killing machine has three configurations, the Long Tom II, the Mobile HQ, and the Skysweeper. Each configuration supplies the Allies with a different advantage, giving the Allies the edge in any confrontation.

Leveraging long-range fire can make or break an engagement, and the Long Tom II is a potent engine of destruction from a distance. Equipped with the Long Tom M2 artillery weapon, this walker can turn the countryside to craters in no time. The efficient design of the Long Tom M2 and the huge supply of ammo on board this walker allows this main gun to be fired without the need to reload, meaning a constant rain of explosive power.

Meanwhile, the Mobile HQ is a command vehicle with a carry capacity of six, allowing Allied command squad units to hop on board and use the Mobile HQ’s equipment in order to more effectively use their abilities. The Mobile HQ is more than a transport vehicle, however, and it’s equipped with three .50 cal MGs for holding off incoming infantry and any lighter walkers.

Finally, the Allies are well aware of how quickly the tide can turn when superior air power is in play. Enter the Skysweeper configuration of the Allies Heavy Support Walker. This vehicle aims to keep the airspace above the Allies free of enemies. With its Triple 60 mm AA Gun, enemies will need a miracle if they’re trying fly by the Skysweeper. Once the air is clear, this trio of guns can set its sights on tanks and infantry for an equally deadly effect. Clear the air above the Allies with the Skysweeper!

The SSU BR 47 Self-Propelled Weapon Platform

For the SSU, the BR 47 Self-Propelled Weapon Platform has proven an inexpensive and potent method for bringing some anti-tank weapons to the battlefield. This light vehicle evolved from little more than a farm machine into a staple of the SSU forces.

The BR 47-100 Self-Propelled Weapon Platform configuration, known as the "Red Fury," wields a massive 100 mm M1946. This gun is capable of dealing damage to even the heaviest tanks and hardiest infantry. A few BR 47-100s can hold the line against much more powerful targets, dealing effective damage while the enemy attempts to close the distance.

If your SSU forces have another method of holding the line and a team of Observers in the field, then the BR 47-200 Self-Propelled Weapon Platform brings a cheap and effective artillery weapon to the field. Known as the "Red Rain," this vehicle carries a 200 mm Heavy Mortar. The cost-effective Red Rain can sit comfortably behind enemy lines and strike a spotter’s targets with deadly effect without ever getting in the line of fire.

The SSU Heavy Weapons Teams

The SSU Heavy Weapons Teams are focused on bringing some seriously big guns to the Sino-Soviet infantry. The Hailstorm and the Red Lightning units each come equipped with the newest in infantry adapted destructive power. Either of the two units in the SSU Heavy Weapons Teams box will lend an incredible amount of destructive force to the battlefield.

Four brave SSU soldiers make up the SSU Heavy Mortar Team known as Hailstorm. This team looks to pelt their enemies with a 120 mm Mortar capable of loading two different types of ammo. The 120 mm Mortar is capable of a vicious Artillery strike on tanks, or loading a type of heavy round that will easily and utterly destroy any enemy infantry at mid-range. Hailstorm is more than capable of flattening foes at any range. The Red Lightning unit leverages new Tesla Weapon technology with extremely deadly effect. The SSU has long been working to create weapons that make direct, effective use of electricity itself on the battlefield. Inspired by the research of the brilliant Nikola Tesla, the SSU began the creation of their Tesla Weapons.

Remember: Premium Pre-Painted Versions Are Available

If you want to bring your units to the field pre-painted and battle ready, then pick up our professionally painted versions of these units from our line of Dust Premium Edition Miniatures. Each Dust Premium unit is professionally painted according to the art schemes of Vincent Fontaine, the art director of Dust Studio.

Whether you pick up the detailed, pre-painted models on our webstore or give the standard versions your own paint-job, the P-48 Pelican, Allied Heavy Support Walker, BR 47 Self-Propelled Weapon Platform, and SSU Heavy Weapons Teams are all now available at your local retailer!

“The Great Cataclysm shook the firmament with such force its echoes still pervade, and always will. All semblance of tranquility was blasted away in an instant.”
    –Warhammer, “War Unending”

The world of Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game is a world of blood and war. The Great Cataclysm reshaped the Old World in a howling tempest of raw magic. It altered lands and beasts; they were twisted from their former beauty into terrible and maddening shapes. The game’s six races must constantly prove themselves in battle. Monsters, Orcs, and minions of Chaos prowl the wilds, and barbaric hordes thunder down from the north. Even among the forces of Order, ancient enmities can erupt into open hostility. No place is safe, and just when you think you may have formed an unbeatable battle plan, along come the multiplayer battles of Cataclysm…

When you participate in the fast-paced, back-and-forth battles of two-player Warhammer: Invasion, you may not always know when the next attack is coming, but you always know who’s going to launch it. In the multiplayer battles of Cataclysm, however, your opponents’ attacks can be much harder to predict. There are more of them, and they can come from any side. That makes defending yourself a much more difficult prospect in Cataclysm than in the two-player game, so it might be to your benefit to encourage your opponents to direct their attacks at each other, instead.

Today, guest writer Torsten Krämer looks at the fleeting alliances and opportunistic backstabbing made possible by the multiplayer format in Cataclysm.

Fleeting Alliances and Opportunistic Attacks

Among the things that excite me most about Cataclysm are the interactions you only get in a multiplayer game. The discussions. Convincing the Dark Elf player he should attack the Dwarfs instead of my cute, harmless little Goblins. Trying to get everyone to gang up on the High Elves because, really, who wants all that indirect damage? The deals. Forming an alliance – and then stabbing your ally in the back when the time is right. Surely some games will be so fast and vicious, there will be little time for such deal-making, but the manipulation of other players will have its place, and it’ll add a whole new dimension to the game.

While all this come naturally with the format, Cataclysm also brings us cards which support these interactions. One such card is Chosen of the Gods (Cataclysm, 39). I both love and hate this card. I hate it out of fear; it’s effect is so profound, and I don’t want to be the one who sees his undamaged, perfectly defended zone go up in flames. But I love it because it often leads to negotiations, to promises – and ultimately to treachery. Sure, if you’re the Chaos player who wants to play this tactic, you might want to wait until one of your zones is burning; otherwise, you can suffer the effect yourself. But, ideally, you’ll find a way to play it early, likely encouraging an opponent to play your ally and target another foe, like some pesky Empire player, who benefits from all his unburned zones. Then you’ll just have to trust your new ally will pick that other person and not turn the effect back on you.

Sometimes, it's in your best interest if one opponent can’t win a battle against another. Maybe you don’t want the strongest opponent to pull further ahead; maybe you’re just not yet ready for the game to end. Many effects already in the game can allow you to interfere, but Cataclysm will provide Order players an additional, immediate way to come to another player's aid. The Ostland Bowmen (Cataclysm, 18) can defend any unburned zone, not just their controller’s. Too weak to stop an assault force by themselves, they can nevertheless tip the scales in favor of the defender – and you! Of course, it should come as no surprise that you can find a similarly opportunistic attacker on the side of Destruction, always ready to join your opponents’ assaults.

Let the Bidding Begin

Another card sure to create heated interactions is Fickle Sellswords (Cataclysm, 49). With two power and two hit points for just one cost, these mercenaries offer a deal too good to pass up. Unfortunately, they also offer it to everyone, all the time, always threatening to abandon you, because they will gladly join anyone’s assault. Of course, for the right price, Fickle Sellswords are always willing to rejoin you. Smart players will prepare for bidding wars with greedy Dwarfs and the newly rich leaders of Raider squads, or they’ll wait until their opponents have squandered their riches on other cards before hiring these Sellswords. Sometimes, though, it’s worth just taking the risk. Sometimes, there’s a lot to be gained by attacking a poor target…so long as you can convince the other players that they shouldn’t lure away your Fickle Sellswords until you can declare them as an attacker.

Thanks, Torsten!

Cataclysm is coming, and the world of Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game is bound to be changed forever! Boundaries will fall, cities will burn, nations will turn against each, and no one is safe.

When the battles come, will you try to create a wall of defenses too high to overcome? Or will you try to play your foes against each other? Can you survive unending warfare without forging alliances? Can you trust the allies you make? In the multiplayer battles of Cataclysm, you must balance diplomacy, treachery, and brute strength to win dominion over the Old World.

Look for your chance to test your skill in the multiplayer battles of Cataclysm. This deluxe expansion for Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game arrives soon!

“Bilbo made no mistake in choosing his heir, though he little thought how important it would prove. I am afraid you are right. The Ring will not be able to stay hidden in the Shire much longer; and for your own sake, as well as for others, you will have to go, and leave the name of Baggins behind you.”
    –Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of The Black Riders Saga Expansion for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game!

A fantastic adventure awaits you! With The Black Riders, you and your friends will accompany Frodo Baggins as he begins his epic journey to destroy the One Ring. Three new scenarios carry you out of the Shire and along the road to Rivendell, but you must be wary. The Nine are abroad, the lure of the Ring is difficult to resist, and your every action has a meaningful consequence…

The Black Riders recreates a selection of dramatic event as told in the first half of J.R.R Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring. It is the first of a series of Saga expansions that eventually will allow players to replay Frodo's epic journey from the Shire to Mount Doom, as well the dramatic events experienced by other members of the Fellowship.

The Nine Are Abroad

“I warn you that peril is now both before you and behind you, and upon either side.”
    –Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring

As in the game’s other Saga Expansions, The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill and The Hobbit: On the Doorstep, each scenario in The Black Riders follows the events of the classic story by J.R.R. Tolkien as faithfully as possible. You’ll have the chance to travel through the Shire, meet Elves, find allies in The Prancing Pony, and enjoy a good puff of pipeweed after second breakfast. Of course, your path will also hold its share of perils, including the threat posed by the Nine Riders and their hunt for the Ring.

In each of the expansion’s three scenarios, Frodo and his companions must elude or confront the fearsome Nazgûl. Few can ride openly against the Nine, and your best option may be to hide from them. Still, that may prove to be a difficult task. From Bag End, your heroes must help Frodo reach Buckland and cross at the ferry. Then, when spies cause trouble in Bree, your flight through the wilderness leads to a desperate confrontation at Weathertop. Should your heroes survive, they’ll have to race for the Ford of Bruinen and the safety of Rivendell.

The Lure of the Ring

“A sudden unreasoning fear of discovery laid hold of Frodo, and he thought of his Ring. He hardly dared to breathe, and yet the desire to get it out of his pocket became so strong that he began slowly to move his hand.”
    –J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

The thematic weight of The Black Riders and its scenarios carries far beyond the degree to which it follows the events of The Fellowship of the Ring. It brings you face to face with some of the difficult decisions Frodo was forced to make; the new Ring-bearer version of Frodo Baggins (The Black Riders, 1) comes with the powerful ability to trigger the redraw of an encounter card. Frodo’s ability allows you to ignore any “When Revealed” text as well as all keywords such as Surge and Doomed. You simply shuffle the card back into the deck and draw again.

But, of course, this ability comes with a catch: to use it, you must exhaust the One Ring. Just as in the novels, you’ll be tempted to use the Ring to avoid danger, and just as in the novels, there is danger in using the Ring. If you cancel a harmful treachery, will you find your way to a relatively low-threat location? Or will you find yourself suddenly face to face with one of the Nazgûl?

Campaign Mode

“I have sometimes thought of going away, but I imagined that as a kind of holiday, a series of adventures like Bilbo’s or better, ending in peace. But this would mean exile, a flight from danger into danger, drawing it after me.”
    –Frodo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring

Each of the three scenarios in The Black Riders can be played independently, but can also be linked together as the first three chapters of a greater, ongoing narrative that will continue into future Saga expansions. New to The Black Riders, Campaign Mode introduces unique rules and special Boons and Burdens that weave independent scenarios into a cohesive narrative. Much like the treasures from the two Hobbit Saga Expansions, these cards serve as physical reminders of all you accomplished, but they allow for deeper storytelling than treasure cards do. By rewarding both positive and negative actions, these new card types ensure that the decisions you make in any given scenario will have consequences in your later adventures.

Boons all lend strength or support to your cause, but Burdens hold you back. They represent the consequences of faltering steps and bad decisions, and unlike most encounter cards that created obstacles, demanding focus and action only in the moment, Burdens carry from scenario to scenario and can weigh down upon your soul. Both of these new types of cards are exclusive to Campaign Mode and do not count against the standard limits for your play deck or a scenario’s encounter deck. Boons and Burdens are used only when playing the Lord of the Rings Saga campaign.

Good Friends

“I don’t think you need go alone. Not if you know of anyone you can trust, and who would be willing to go by your side.”
    –Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring

In addition to its new quests and encounter cards, The Black Riders offers players the opportunity to explore life as a Hobbit!

In addition to the new Frodo Baggins, The Black Riders delivers four other Hobbit heroes and thirty-three new player cards (three copies each of eleven different cards, which may all be used in any game of The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game). These cards lend fantastic new support to Hobbit-focused decks. The iconic race comes to life with its own set of themes built around controlling multiple Hobbit heroes and confronting enemies with engagement costs higher than your threat. Altogether, the new player cards in The Black Riders bring Frodo, his friends, and his relatives to a new position of prominence and playability.

In his prologue to The Fellowship of the Ring, Tolkien wrote that Hobbits “possessed from the first the art of disappearing swiftly and silently,” and several of the player cards from The Black Riders allow Hobbit characters to duck beneath the notice of the enemies that would hunt them. The event, Take No Notice (The Black Riders, 11), can give you a free pass during the engagement phase, allowing you to slip beneath the notice of each enemy lurking there. Alternatively, it can play into the strengths of other cards, like Hobbit Cloak (The Black Riders, 13), that grant bonuses to your Hobbits when they choose to engage enemies they could otherwise avoid.

Combined, such cards from The Black Riders allow you to avoid enemies or summon the courage to face them head on, and this turns your Hobbits into cunning and resilient heroes who have perfected the art of disappearing swiftly and silently.

Play at Your Own Level

“I do not think the Road will prove too hard for your courage.”
    –Gildor, The Fellowship of the Ring

Whether you want to confront your foes or avoid them, The Black Riders presents you a quick and convenient way to ease into the perils of its new scenarios. The recent introduction of Easy Mode allows you to decrease a scenario’s level of difficulty by targeting a number of encounter cards to remove from the encounter deck. Removing these encounter cards won’t change the basic nature or mechanics of a scenario, but they will make it easier. Taken together with Standard Mode and Nightmare Mode (which was first introduced in 2013 Season One Game Night Kits), Easy Mode offers a level of difficulty that’s perfect for casual players, newcomers, or players running thematic decks that are not efficient enough for higher difficulty levels. Read more about the new difficulty level in Play at Your Own Level.

The Epic Saga Begins

“The riding figure sat quite still with its head bowed, as if listening. From inside the hood came a noise as of someone sniffing to catch an elusive scent; the head turned from side to side of the road.”
    –J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Your quests in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game have never mattered so much. Accompany Frodo Baggins and his companions along their first steps of his epic journey. The fate of all Middle-earth hangs in the balance!

Play through all-new scenarios, face deadly Nazgûl, and add the Shire’s greatest heroes to your company. Learn more at our website for The Black Riders; your epic campaign begins soon…The Black Riders is scheduled to arrive in the third quarter of 2013!

“I do not think the Road will prove too hard for your courage."
     –Gildor, The Fellowship of the Ring

As the first fully cooperative Living Card Game®, The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game offers a variety of possible game experiences. You can adventure with your friends – or quest by yourself – to thwart the Dark Lord’s plans. Your deck-building options are vibrant and diverse, and you can face a wide range of obstacles from the different scenarios in the Core Set and its expansions. What’s more, you can increase your challenge with Nightmare Decks, extra-difficult versions available for many familiar scenarios.

Now, Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to present another option for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game: Easy Mode! Taken together with Standard Mode and Nightmare Mode (which was first introduced in 2013 Season One Game Night Kits), Easy Mode offers a level of difficulty that’s perfect for casual players, newcomers, or players running thematic decks that are not efficient enough for higher difficulty levels.

Choose your mode of play, and design the ideal experience for your group of adventurers!

What Does Each Mode of Play Offer?

In one of our early articles for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, designer Nate French wrote about three different player archetypes. He labeled them “Boromir,” “Bilbo,” and “Pippin,” and he explained how each different type of player sought a different play experience, all of which were equally valid.

A Boromir seeks to tackle the greatest of challenges, a Bilbo seeks to be swept along by the game’s events, and a Pippin seeks novelty in his decks and his play experiences. Sometimes the level of a scenario’s difficulty plays perfectly into one player’s experience and not into another’s. Whether a Boromir, a Bilbo, a Pippin, or some combination of them all, not everyone has the same reason for playing The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. With those differences in mind, these three modes of play allow everyone to enjoy the experience they prefer.

• Nightmare Mode

Our Game Night Kits recently introduced players to the increased difficulty of Nightmare Mode. The three twenty-two card Nightmare Decks in the Season One The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game Game Night Kits allowed players to return to the Core Set scenarios in Nightmare Mode, where they felt the sting of deadly new enemies, stumbled through harsh new locations, and suffered the blows of punishing new treachery cards. Soon, these Nightmare Decks will be available via Print on Demand, and players will be able to find new Nightmare Decks in the Season Two Game Night Kits for the first three scenarios from the Shadows of Mirkwood cycle. These continue to increase the challenge levels of the scenarios they modify, and Nightmare Mode appeals most to those skilled veterans who hunt for new challenges, deadlier enemies, and taller mountains to scale.

Nightmare Mode presents players with truly terrifying challenges.

• Standard Mode

Standard Mode is the default difficulty for a given scenario. Players who wish can continue to play their games in Standard Mode, following all of a scenario’s normal setup instructions.

• Easy Mode

Not all who play the game are looking for increased challenges. Some may wish to focus less on constructing the most efficient deck and more on the game’s thematic elements, and even skilled veterans may seek a range of different play experiences. Accordingly, Easy Mode exists to reduce each scenario’s difficulty level. Ideal for new players and those who prefer the narrative and cooperative aspects of the game with less challenge, Easy Mode starts each hero with an additional resource and removes a number of encounter cards from a scenario’s encounter deck.

Easy Mode reduces a scenario’s difficulty level.

Why Introduce Easy Mode?

The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game appeals to a broad range of players, from casual gamers to dedicated enthusiasts. Some enjoy playing the scenarios just as they find them, some hunt for new challenges, and some are happiest to face fewer challenges as they enjoy a social experience or experiment with creative new decks. Ultimately, the goal is to have fun, and the introduction of Easy Mode means that you now have another option to customize your game and enjoy the best possible experience as you adventure in Middle-earth!

How Does Easy Mode Work?

You can find the rules for Easy Mode (pdf, 3.0 MB) available on the game’s support page. The document also includes a quick reference sheet that allows you to play in Easy Mode against all of the quests from the Core Set through the Adventure Packs of the Against the Shadow cycle.

	In Standard Mode, you include all cards marked with the appropriate encounter set icons when you build your encounter deck.
	In Easy Mode, when you build the encounter deck, you remove all encounter cards designated as "difficult." Beginning with The Black Riders, these encounter cards will be marked with the "difficulty" indicator (a gold border) around their encounter set icons.

Download the rules for Easy Mode today, and enjoy play your games of The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game at whatever level suits you best!

“Above the ruins of Ar Noy, the Qohorik rule the river, and below the Sorrows the galleys of Volantis hold sway, but neither city claims the waters in between, so the pirates have made it their own. Dagger Lake is full of islands where they lurk in hidden caves and secret strongholds.”
    –Haldon Halfmaester, A Dance with Dragons

Life in Westeros has become deadlier than ever. With the A Song of the Sea cycle and the introduction of the new naval () enhancement, the game’s fleets, Smugglers, and Captains have been able to sail their ships into challenges whenever they please. Is your opponent about to declare Stealth during a Power challenge? You can sail your Fleet from Volantis (Reach of the Kraken, 16) into the challenge before Stealth is declared. Playing a Melee? While your opponents battle each other for board position, you can slip Ser Davos Seaworth (The Great Fleet, 28) into a Military challenge to tilt its outcome in the direction that suits you best…and grab a point of power from his Renown. In short, the  enhancement has made challenges less predictable and more volatile, and it takes a skilled captain to smoothly navigate the Challenges phase.

The question is: when the  enhancement affords so much versatility to those characters who have it, where does that leave the game’s other iconic figures? Where does it leave those Nedly players who want Eddard to preside over House Stark? What will the Targaryens do when neither their Queen nor their Dragons have the  enhancement?

One option is simply to play without it. It’s impossible to deny the  enhancement’s impact on the game, but it’s still possible to rely on a deck’s other tricks to turn challenges in its favor. Perhaps your Martells can still maneuver toward victory, despite any early losses, by using The Viper’s Rage (Tales from the Red Keep, 76) and more of their many tricks. Perhaps your aggressive Stark armies will just win initiative and sweep down from the north, killing off your opponent’s  characters with No Quarter (Trial by Combat, 82) and Die by the Sword (Lords of Winter, 47) before they can even make an impact.

Another option is to give your unique characters the  enhancement whenever it suits you best.

Dagger Lake Galley

As lead developer Damon Stone explained in his introduction to the A Song of the Sea cycle, the  enhancement stemmed from a desire to capture the importance of the fleets of Westeros and their portrayal in the naval battles and envoy missions George R.R. Martin describes in the novels of A Song of Ice and Fire. After all, navies free nations from the confines of their coastal borders. They offer mobility. It makes sense that they would allow characters to enter challenges outside the normal timing.

But every navy, no matter its size, is comprised of a number of boats. War galleys or dinghies – if they can sail the seas, they can move key figures from one site to another. And the Dagger Lake Galley (The Captain’s Command, 95) is an inexpensive, non-unique, one-cost Warship that can provide just such mobility to whichever key, unique character you choose. Does Robb Stark need to cross a river to bring death to the Lannisters? Is Tyrion on the wrong side of the Narrow Sea to devise a cunning response to the latest intrigues in King’s Landing? Just hire a Dagger Lake Galley, and sail your characters into the challenges you choose.

It’s worth noting that the Dagger Lake Galley’s action is “Any Phase.” While this means you can trigger it in the Plot phase after a board reset while you avenge your fallen Lucas Blackwood (Gates of the Citadel, 1), it also means, more importantly, that you can trigger it in an Epic phase created by Battle for the Shield Islands (The Great Fleet, 39), allowing your character to attack or defend even while knelt.

What’s good for the gander is good for the goose, and if the new characters from the A Song of the Sea cycle are causing problems for you with their  enhancements, then it’s time to mount your counterattack. For just one gold, the Dagger Lake Galley can turn any unique character into a high-impact, one-man (or one-woman) navy.

Pre-Order Your Copy Today

The Captain’s Command is coming soon, so head to your local retailer to pre-order your copy today. The Dagger Lake Galley joins Aurane Waters (The Captain’s Command, 100), the game’s first Prayers, and more characters, locations, and events in a Chapter Pack that’s bound to lend more strength to the enhancement and its place in the battles, intrigues, and power grabs of A Game of Thrones: The Card Game!

“Make ready to land our troops beyond their energy shield and deploy the fleet so that nothing gets off that system.”
    –Darth Vader, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

In his introduction to the dark side affiliations of Star Wars™: The Card Game, Senior LCG Designer Nate French commented that each of the game’s six affiliations has its own core philosophies. Now as The Hoth Cycle explores new territory within the game, it reinforces those core truths about each affiliation’s central strengths.

That means that while the cycle’s Force Packs enrich the card pool with new objective sets and provide all the dark side affiliations with new methods to combat and defeat the galaxy’s freedom fighters, the Imperial Navy’s objective sets continue to reinforce the affiliation’s aggressive tendencies.

As Nate wrote, “The Imperial Navy provides the dark side player with a hyper-aggressive approach that takes the fight directly to his opponent. They are all about attacking and destroying light side objectives.”

Soon, players will see more evidence to the truth of Nate’s assessment with the arrival of the Imperial Navy cards in A Dark Time, the third Force Pack in The Hoth Cycle.

In the Shadows of Star Destroyers

It is a dark time for the Rebellion as the Imperial Navy’s fleet of Star Destroyers arrives at Hoth, and while the objective set built around A Dark Time for the Rebellion (A Dark Time, 242) doesn’t feature Star Destroyers, it does offer a comprehensive and intimidating display of the Empire’s ground presence in the shadows of its fleet.

• If the Imperial Navy are aggressive at their core, it’s because they not only wish to take the fight directly to their opponents but have the means to do so. A Dark Time for the Rebellion reinforces this aggressive mindset by offering the chance to force one point of damage upon your light side rival each turn. Of course, with two copies of the objective, the damage accelerates nicely even more quickly, and it costs you nothing. It’s just free damage, each turn, that you can pile on your opponent to keep the pressure hard and fast. The rest of the set, then, offers a number of nice synergies to take full advantage of any damage your opponent assigns to his objective.
• Despite the obvious power of A Dark Time for the Rebellion, it’s the second card in the set that’s most likely its focus. The Imperial Officer, Colonel Starck (A Dark Time, 243), specializes in finishing off wounded foes. When attacking undamaged objectives, his solitary  is hardly a deal for his four cost, but against damaged objectives he gains two  icons and two  icons, none of which are edge-dependent. One icon for four cost may be too few, but five icons? That’s a terrific bargain. Better yet, Colonel Starck’s damage capacity of three gives him enough backbone to survive a hit or two and guide his battalion toward victory!
• Speaking of Starck’s battalion, the objective set features two copies of the MTV-7 (A Dark Time, 244). Adaptable to many environments, the MTV-7 is easier to deploy than AT-STs and offers one  to utilize in the Empire’s defense or to assault light side objectives. Of course, those MTV-7s under Colonel Starck’s command are likely to strike with him against damaged objectives to help finish them off, and against them, the MTV-7 gains one  icon.
• If you’re unable to get early damage on an opponent’s objective, or if all your bonus  icons still won’t shatter the light side’s defenses in a single blow, The Moorsh Moraine (A Dark Time, 245) provides you yet another tool to crush the Rebellion and its allies. It raises the bonus damage you score against your opponents’ objectives with unopposed attacks from one to two. Since most objectives have a damage capacity of five or four, that single point of damage is a truly significant boost, and while it plays well with the other cards in the objective set, the Moorsh Moraine truly shines in a deck filled with cheap Vehicles and Characters, like TIEs and Troopers, that can swarm past light side defenses.
• Completing the objective set is the highly versatile event, Heavy Fire (A Dark Time, 246). As an action, it can add a  or  icon to a target friendly unit before that unit strikes. This may provide enough of a boost to destroy the light side’s defending unit or allow you to push enough damage past their defenses to destroy their objective. And that’s the point of this objective set: it provides Imperial Navy players with new tools to destroy their opponents’ objectives and, in that way, keep the pressure on the light side.

Each dark side affiliation works to advance the Death Star dial to “12,” but each goes about the process in its own, unique fashion. In A Dark Time, A Dark Time for the Rebellion depicts the Imperial Navy’s newest efforts to crush the Rebellion and its allies, but the other dark side affiliations each also gain new tools to propel them to victory.

A Dark Time is coming soon to expand your Star Wars: The Card Game universe. Keep your eyes open for more information about this exciting Force Pack, including a look at how the Jedi may use the Force to thwart the dark side’s ambitions.

“Checkmate in three.”
    –Reina Roja

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of Opening Moves, the first Spin Cycle Data Pack for Android: Netrunner The Card Game!

In the future of Android: Netrunner, humanity is extending its reach to the far edges of the solar system, refinements in brain mapping technology have driven the evolution of bioroids intelligent enough to join us in the workplace, and a handful of companies control the vast majority of the world’s resources. These megacorporations are all household names. They’re responsible for the buildings in which we live, as well as the threedees and sensies that we stream. Their logos are splashed across the cityscapes, and their influence pervades every level of society.

Now, as the elite hackers known as “runners” continue their silent, subversive series of assaults against their servers and assets, these vast corporations have a chance to assess the effectiveness of the strategies they’ve developed through the Core Set and Genesis Cycle. Are they functional? Are they fully future proof? Or is it time to invest more fully in powerful operations and, perhaps, even to risk negative public exposure in order to take some truly drastic action? Just how dark can a corporation become before it suffers from the backlash?

The sixty new cards (three copies each of twenty individual cards) from Opening Moves introduce a wealth of new programs, resources, agendas, ice, and operations. You’ll find a wide range of wildly innovative cards, from the Anarch’s Caïssa programs and the Shaper’s Stealth chip to NBN’s executive asset and new Illicit ice for the Corp. These cards will allow you to pursue new deck-building themes and take entirely new approaches to the game’s challenges.

For more information about how Opening Moves begins the exploration of major new themes that will continue throughout the Spin Cycle, we turn to lead developer Lukas Litzsinger.

Lead Developer Lukas Litzsinger on the Spin Cycle

Welcome to the Spin Cycle! This cycle expands upon the game in exciting ways, and focuses on two mechanics: one that already exists within the Core Set, and one that is making its first appearance in the LCG®.

The first focus of the Spin Cycle is bad publicity. Corps will find plenty of powerful cards that will tempt them to take bad publicity. To what lengths will you go to keep those pesky Runners out of your servers, or take them down in meat space? Runners will gain ways to take advantage of bad publicity. They’ll even find ways to usurp the Corporate messaging machinery and tag them with some bad publicity. On the whole, managing bad publicity becomes an important aspect of business. Too much bad publicity, and the Corp will find that its servers are tissue paper, and the Runner is a pair of scissors. If the Corp takes too much bad publicity, chances are they’ve lost. Fire up the PR machine!

The next theme running through the set is the introduction of “Double” operations and events. These cards provide powerful effects at a loss of flexibility. Each Double costs an extra  to play. That’s a giant investment for a Runner, eating up one-half of his base of four . Doubles are even riskier for the Corp, taking up two-thirds of its turn, but the payoff can be game-changing. Players of the classic 1990s game may remember this mechanic, and almost all of the original doubles are back, in one form or another. In addition, they are accompanied by many new ones. These cards can change the rhythm of the game and provide for even more dramatic and exciting finishes.

Of course, not all of the set’s cards play to these two themes, and here are some other exciting tidbits about what it includes:

• A fully upgraded Psi card to trigger all-new mind games
  
• Deadly new “illicit” ice for each Corp
  
• A Criminal console worth all of its eleven cost
  
• A card that can deal six net damage

The Spin Cycle was a lot of fun to work on, and should provide for interesting new strategies on each side. There are many game-changing cards, but we wanted to make sure that the focus of the game stayed firmly on initiating and defending runs. So get ready to jack in!

    –Lukas Litzsinger, Android: Netrunner Lead Developer

Perception Is Reality

After the cyberstruggles of the Core Set and Genesis Cycle, Corps and Runners both have a chance to reevaluate their strategies, and the second round is coming. When Opening Moves kicks off the Spin Cycle, you’ll find a wide range of insidious new tricks and dramatic new decision points. More risk, more gamble, more potential reward. Will you maneuver yourself toward victory with your Opening Moves?

Opening Moves is scheduled to arrive at retailers in the third quarter of 2013!

You have created towering wonders to stand the test of time, built vast cities populated by the greatest minds in history, and tamed sprawling wilderness in the name of progress. Now, prepare to guide your civilization to new heights of power and influence.

Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce Wisdom and Warfare, the latest expansion for Sid Meier’s Civilization: The Board Game! The Wisdom and Warfare expansion offers players exciting new options to enhance their experience as they work to build their civilization from the ground to greatness. New relics, new culture cards, a new city action, and much more await!

Forge Your Path to Victory

“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”

– Napoleon

True to the Warfare element of its name, optional replacement unit cards bring a new level of battlefield tactics to Sid Meier’s Civilization: The Board Game. Units now have both Strength and Health values, which allows for even deeper strategic decision-making.

In the base game, combat value is determined by the strength of surviving units plus the combat bonus card value. Wisdom and Warfare, however, adds a new level of strategic depth with its alternative combat cards. Now, combat value is determined by the total health value of surviving units, minus wounds suffered, plus combat bonus card value. This means that wounds that do not kill a unit still impact the outcome of a battle, so players must strategically account for this when playing units and opening new fronts!

What’s more, your civilization can now adopt Social Policies, which help determine its path to greatness and increase options for long-term strategizing. For example, the adoption of Rationalism decreases the cost of learning new tech. This is especially helpful since the Wisdom and Warfare expansion has new tech cards for your civilization to research while pursuing a tech victory!

Expand Your Horizons

“Let thy step be slow and steady, that thou stumble not.”
– Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa

In addition to increasing the variety of land to be conquered, the new map tiles add two new relics to the game; the Ark of the Covenant, for example, offers two free advances on the culture track. Six new wonders, like Notre Dame, provide a testament to the greatness of your civilization, as well as powerful abilities like Research. With the Notre Dame wonder, you may spend six extra trade to learn an additional tech of the same or lower level when researching a tech. Six new culture events, such as the arrival of colonists, ensure that your citizens become more diverse than ever before. Meanwhile, building programs and city-states provide production, trade, culture, and other bonuses for your civilization.

The addition of six new civilizations means players can conquer everything in their path with Genghis Khan and his Mongols, or explore new lands with Montezuma and the Aztecs. Perhaps you’ll charge into battle as the legendary Napoleon and his French forces. Whichever you choose, new civilizations offer exciting new ways for you to become victorious and reign supreme.

With twelve new map tiles, two new relics, nearly one hundred and fifty new cards, and more, the Wisdom and Warfare expansion for Sid Meier’s Civilization: The Board Game provides great new options to help build your civilization to incredible new heights.

Visit the Wisdom and Warfare website to learn more about this upcoming expansion. Then, keep checking back for previews of Wisdom and Warfare, and look for it on store shelves in the third quarter of 2013!

“So the companies came and were hailed and cheered and passed through the Gate, men of the Outlands marching to defend the City of Gondor in a dark hour.”
    –J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

When a conspiracy threatens the heart of Gondor, Middle-earth’s greatest heroes arrive to lend their aid…

The Steward’s Fear, the first Adventure Pack in the Against the Shadow cycle for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, is now available at your local retailer and online through our webstore!

It’s time to scour the darkest of Minas Tirith’s alleys, delve its subterranean chambers, and root out the foul conspirators who seek to serve their Dark Lord by weakening the White City and all of Gondor. The Steward’s Fear continues directly after the events of Heirs of Númenor, and its scenario introduces players to the mystery that carries through the whole narrative arc of the Against the Shadow cycle. Can you find your first clues? Or will you see Minas Tirith burn?

Defending Gondor in a Dark Hour

In addition to the mysteries of its new scenario, The Steward’s Fear introduces a new hero and a wealth of new player cards that work exceedingly well together. In fact, the sample deck below can be created from just one copy of the Core Set, Heirs of Númenor, and The Steward’s Fear!

Heroes:
Beravor
Éowyn
Hirluin the Fair (The Steward’s Fear, 1)

Allies:
Anfalas Herdsman (The Steward’s Fear, 8) x3
Envoy of Pelargir x3
Errand Rider x3
Ethir Swordsman (The Steward’s Fear, 6) x3
Faramir x2
Gandalf (Core Set, 73) x3
Gléowine x2
Hunter of Lamedon x3
Knights of the Swan (The Steward’s Fear, 4) x3
Miner of the Iron Hills x1
Snowbourn Scout x3
Warrior of Lossarnach (The Steward’s Fear, 2) x3

Attachments:
Celebrían’s Stone x1
Protector of Lórien x2
Steward of Gondor x2
Unexpected Courage x1

Events:
A Test of Will x2
Dwarven Tomb x1
Hasty Stroke x2
Sneak Attack x2
Stand and Fight x3
Valiant Sacrifice x2
Will of the West x2

The key to this deck is the strength it gains from all of its Outlands allies. The more you control, the stronger they become. Ethir Swordsman gives all your Outlands characters an additional Willpower, Anfalas Hersdman gives them all an additional hit point, Warrior of Lossarnach gives them an additional point of Defense, and Knights of the Swan boost all your Outlands characters with a point of Attack Strength. These bonuses add up quickly, especially when you get multiples of each of these non-unique allies into play.

Each of your heroes serves a distinct purpose. Éowyn is the primary quester, leading your investigation of Gondor’s underworld locations with her four Willpower. Beravor should exhaust to draw cards every turn; the more cards you draw, the sooner you’ll be able to build your Outlands army. Hirluin the Fair, here, is the lynchpin of the deck. If the deck’s greatest strength is in its many Outlands allies, then Hirluin is the hero who helps pull that army together. His text allows him to use his resources to pay for Outlands allies of any sphere, meaning there isn’t a single Outlands ally in the deck that you can’t play the same turn you draw it, and because Hirluin is an Outlands character himself, he benefits from all the boosts that his allies provide!

Can You Uncover the Dastardly Plot?

With its variable Plots and Villains, the new scenario from The Steward’s Fear changes greatly from game to game, offering new twists and challenges every time.

Will Hirluin the Fair and his troop of Outlands allies uncover the dastardly plot before it’s too late? Or will they fall prey to the Dark Lord’s faithful conspirators?

Begin your adventures today. Head to your local retailer to pick up your copy of The Steward’s Fear, or order it online through our webstore!

“…That spawn of the blankness of primal time, that tentacled amorphous monster which was the lurker at the threshold, whose mask was as a congeries of iridescent globes, the noxious Yog-Sothoth, who froths as primal slime in nuclear chaos beyond the nethermost outposts of space and time!”
    –H.P. Lovecraft and August Derleth, The Lurker at the Threshold

The Key and the Gate, the fourth deluxe expansion for Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game, is now available at your local retailer and online through our webstore!

The Key and the Gate is sure to delight fans of the game’s faction centered around the tentacled, amorphous Ancient One, Yog-Sothoth, and it’s sure to please players who like the faction’s strengths in discard, recursion, and control rooted in arcane knowledge. Nearly two-thirds of the 165 cards (three copies each of fifty-five different cards) in The Key and the Gate are devoted to enriching the Yog-Sothoth faction, its mysteries, and its minions. It brings Yithians to the Living Card Game® format, adds new Sorcerers and Spells, and introduces a new version of Yog-Sothoth (The Key and the Gate, 8) that is capable of mastering the fates of other cards.

Meanwhile, The Key and the Gate bolsters each of the other factions with versatile support cards and characters who share powerful abilities and the new Fated keyword.

Altogether, the wealth of strategies it adds to the Yog-Sothoth faction and the powerful options it provides each other faction makes The Key and the Gate a fantastic companion to the game’s Core Set. It’s never been easier for players to explore the rich, intricate, competitive, and rewarding strategies of the Yog-Sothoth faction, so those investigators who work to preserve humanity’s best interests had best take heed: the stakes have just risen!

The Interstellar Migration

“It was evident that the coming doom so desperately feared by the Great Race—the doom that was one day to send millions of keen minds across the chasm of time to strange bodies in the safer future—had to do with a final successful irruption of the Elder Beings.”
    –H.P. Lovecraft, The Shadow Out of Time

Two deck lists printed on the insert in The Key and the Gate highlight a couple of the strategies its cards permit. Both “The Great Race of Yith” and “The Affairs of Wizards” use only the cards in The Key and the Gate and one copy of the Core Set, and both approach the task of winning stories from dramatically different angles.

However, while the game’s primary victory condition is winning three stories, it is also possible to win by “milling” your opponent, depleting his draw deck of all cards. This secondary victory condition appeals to some players because it is visceral and thematic; against a standard Investigator deck, it’s as though the investigators are racing to uncover the secrets of the game’s stories before the Ancient Ones and their unfathomable minions can burst into our world and destroy it.

As the lurker beyond all Space and Time, Yog-Sothoth has long controlled the best cards for mill decks, and now, with The Key and the Gate, these types of decks are more effective than ever. In fact, the sample deck below uses a few tricks to stall its opponents just long enough to unleash a massive turn of discards, all fueled by the Yithian event, Interstellar Migration (The Key and the Gate, 37). Furthermore, every single card from this deck is from The Key and the Gate!

Characters (20):
Claude Owen x1
Jeanne D’Ys x3
Keeper of the Great Library x3
Nadine Eskiy x1
Professor Nathaniel Peaslee x3
Scientist from Yith x3
Scholar from Yith x3
Yithian Scout x3

Supports (18):
Dark Passenger x3
De Vermis Mysteriis x3
Displaced x3
Frozen Time x3
Lost City of Pnakotus x3
Rite of the Silver Key x3

Events (12):
Interstellar Migration x3
Mists of Lethe x3
Return to Yith x3
Studying the Void x3

As you help your Yithians prepare for their Interstellar Migration, you’ll be drawing and discarding cards at a prodigious rate. In fact, you’ll often push yourself to the brink of a discard loss in order to get the combination in place to mill your opponent.

Your draw engine is built upon the back of the Keeper of the Great Library (The Key and the Gate, 16) and its ability to draw a card each time you discard a Yithian. If you have two of these in play, you draw two for each Yithian you discard, and you can further accelerate the process by discarding two Yithian cards after drawing two cards with Lost City of Pnakotus (The Key and the Gate, 27).

Of course, you have to stop your opponent from winning before you can discard all his cards, so the deck uses some tricks to seize control of your opponent’s characters. Professor Nathaniel Peaslee (The Key and the Gate, 6) is an excellent early character who can swap places with someone more threatening to your plans. Likewise, Displaced (The Key and the Gate, 19) allows you to steal one of your opponent’s characters for a turn, though at the cost of sending a Yithian character to the bottom of your deck…when you most likely want that Yithian in your discard pile!

Sometimes, there’s nothing you can do to prevent your opponent from sending his characters to stories, but you may still keep him from winning a final story by rerouting one of his characters with Mists of Lethe (The Key and the Gate, 32). This Spell can also give you another breath of life late in the game when you need more cards in your deck; you can move it from your discard pile to the bottom of your deck to bounce one of your Yog-Sothoth cards in play to your hand.

The deck has its vulnerabilities, of course. Timely destruction of your Keeper of the Great Library can set you back, as can timely support destruction, and Snow Graves (At the Mountains of Madness, 15) is the deck’s absolute bane! Fortunately, Frozen Time (The Key and the Gate, 22) can blank the text of whichever single card proves most troublesome, so long as it isn’t immune to Polar effects.

Will you be able to get the pieces into place for your Interstellar Migration? If you do, your opponent’s deck will evaporate in instants, giant chunk by giant chunk, and your Yithians will escape the impending doom for at least one more game!

All Time and Space at Your Retailer. Now.

Head to your local retailer today to unleash the madness of Yog-Sothoth, the Yithians, and the other great cards from The Key and the Gate!

Fantasy Flight Games is thrilled to announce the upcoming return of Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation, one of Reiner Knizia’s most highly regarded games! In this revised printing, players old and new will battle for control of Middle-earth in a tense, two-player game of strategic maneuvering and bluffing.

One player controls the Fellowship of the Ring, attempting to destroy the One Ring in the land of Mordor. The other wields the power of Sauron and his minions as they seek to reclaim the ring of power from Frodo and cover Middle-earth in darkness. Both players have nine characters, each with different abilities and strengths, to pit against the opposing side. At the start of the game, each player places his characters strategically on the game board. Since the characters’ identities are hidden from the view of the opposing side, each player should use this opportunity to do a little bluffing. For example, since Frodo is rather vulnerable, being a small hobbit, the Sauron player may assume Frodo would be placed closer to the Shire, where he can be protected by more robust units. Capitalizing on this potential assumption, the Fellowship player may choose to place Frodo closer to the front of his units, attempting to sneak him past Sauron’s forces unnoticed.

Cunning and Combat

Since Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation is designed by the celebrated and prolific Reiner Knizia, players can expect the level of elegant simplicity and strategic depth for which he’s known. Gameplay is deceptively straightforward – each turn, players move one of their hidden characters forward on the board. If a character is moved into a region that already contains an opposing player’s unit, combat ensues.

Once engaged in combat, players must be at their strategic best in order to come out on top. First, the units are revealed, along with their strength value, which is a number printed on the top left corner of each character’s portrait. Character cards, which contain the text of each unit’s unique abilities, serve as reminders of what each character can do. After resolving character abilities, if applicable, it is time to engage in a bit of cunning in order to defeat your opponent.

Next, each player chooses a card from his hand and lays it facedown on the table. Both players’ cards are revealed simultaneously, combat is resolved, and the dead are removed from the board. You must choose your cards wisely, however, since no combat card can be used again until all the rest have been played! Most of these cards are numbered, and they add to the strength of the fighting unit. Some of these cards, however, contain other powers, delivering nasty surprises for your opponent. For example, the Fellowship player may choose to use his Noble Sacrifice card. When played, both characters are automatically defeated. Or perhaps, the Sauron player may choose to employ his The Eye of Sauron card. When played, Sauron’s all-seeing eye is able to peer into the heart of the Fellowship player, rendering any text on his combat card ineffective.

If Sauron and his forces kill the Ringbearer, or if three of Sauron’s units infiltrate the Shire at the far end of the board, they seize the Ring. With the Ring of power back in his grasp, the Sauron player is able to cover Middle-earth in darkness and win the game. Of course, should Frodo and the Fellowship manage to overcome the forces of Sauron and make it to Mordor at the opposite end of the board, the One Ring is destroyed. Free from the threat of evil, the people of Middle-earth can usher in a new age of peace, along with winning the game.

What’s New in This Printing?

This printing, which includes the Classic game, as well as Variant and Draft games (introduced in the Deluxe edition), makes a wonderful addition to the collection of any Lord of the Rings enthusiast. Between its stunning artwork and its faithful recreation of the race between the Fellowship and Sauron, you’ll find Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation to be uniquely immersive, so you can enjoy a perilous adventure in Middle-earth.

While the rules and gameplay remain unchanged, there are a few new elements in this printing. They are as follows:

• The rulebook contains additional clarifications to make the game even more accessible and easy to play.
• This compact new edition features bridge-sized cards, as well as scaled down character stands and tiles, with new character cards to serve as reminders of character abilities. The game board now has visual reminders, such as character limit indicators and darker mountain borders, to help clarify play.
• It features stunning new artwork for variant game Fellowship characters, as well as for several cards.

Will you take up with the dark lord Sauron and bend Middle-earth to your will as you seek the One Ring? Or will you become part of the Fellowship and battle against the forces of Mordor on your quest to destroy the Ring of power? The choice is yours. Keep checking back for upcoming previews, and watch for Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation to hit stores in the third quarter of 2013.

“The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master.”
    –Darth Vader, Star Wars: A New Hope

This past weekend at the Star Wars Game Experience, new players and new heroes emerged in the ongoing battles for the fate of the galaxy!

The event set a new record for pre-registrations, and its strong attendance set the backdrop for a weekend full of exciting contests and other events:

• Rebel forces and their allies fought desperately against the might of the dark side in Regional Championship tournaments for both Star Wars™: The Card Game and X-Wing™.
• Enthusiastic attendees were able to sample the tournament experience by participating in the “Second Chance” and “Padawan” tournaments for Star Wars: The Card Game.
• Our X-Wing dogfight events pitted Rebels versus Imperials in massive, multi-ship battles.
• So many players showed up to play the Star Wars®: Edge of the Empire™ Roleplaying Game with the game’s designers that we had to add tables.
• Chris Gottschalk demonstrated his mastery of Star Wars trivia, defeating several teams by himself to win our trivia contest and a set of sculpted ice trays from Kotobukiya.
• Members of Minnesota’s 501st Legion arrived in costume to pose for photos and add color to the event.
• Author Troy Denning and game designer Jay Little spoke with attendees and shared their experiences with gaming in a galaxy far, far away....

…and

• We announced the next four upcoming starships for X-Wing!

Forty-five players competed in the Star Wars: The Card Game Regional Championship

Regional Championship Tournaments for X-Wing and Star Wars: The Card Game

The weekend’s action-packed Regional Championship tournaments for both X-Wing and Star Wars: The Card Game each drew more than forty contestants and highlighted the growing diversity of each game. In both of the events, the tournaments’ semifinalists all relied upon the strengths of unique deck and squad lists.

In fact, the semifinalists in the Star Wars: The Card Game Regional Championship ran decks from every affiliation except Scum and Villainy. In the end, Chicagoan Jim Cartwright took the day with his Imperial Navy and Rebel Alliance decks, winning a tense match with Minnesotan Mick Cipra; after two games, nothing separated the two, and it took a third, tie-breaking game to determine the champion!

Star Wars finalists, Mick Cipra (left) and Jim Cartwright (right)

1. Jim Cartwright

2. Mick Cipra

3. Sean Heath

4. David Bergstrom

Meanwhile, the X-Wing Regional Championship drew forty-six players and nearly as many different builds. As reigning World Champion Doug Kinney predicted in his preview of the Regional Championship season, the game’s new large-base ships featured prominently, and players ran everything from TIE swarms to squads pairing just two YT-1300s, each helmed by different pilots.

The X-Wing Regional Championship drew forty-six contestants.

After five rounds of Swiss play, Doug Kinney took the top seed, undefeated, and seven other players made the cut to single-elimination, including Minnesotan David Bergstrom, who had to take a first-round loss because he was still in the semi-finals of the Star Wars: The Card Game Regional Championship at that time. Still, David fought back from his early loss and piloted his way to victory, defeating Doug in the finals with his seven-ship squad that relied on the talents of “Howlrunner,” “Backstabber,” and five non-unique TIE fighter pilots.

Doug Kinney (left) and David Bergstrom (right) in the X-Wing finals.

1. David Bergstrom

2. Doug Kinney

3. Troy Perry

4. Jacob Pichelmeyer

The Star Wars®: Edge of the Empire™ Roleplaying Game Preview Event

Dozens of participants participated in Edge of the Empire sessions with the development team. While many of them ran through an adventure that can play as a simple bounty hunt, the game’s narrative style allowed players to pursue a wide range of amusing and unexpected plot twists:

• Half of one party was arrested and taken to an Imperial prison, leading to a daring jailbreak.
• Another party piloted their starship in a dramatic, high-speed chase through an asteroid belt.
• Other players participated in a vicious war against an infestation of tenacious mynocks.
• Some heroes reined in a rampaging dewback and rode it through town to scatter their enemies and liberate a warehouse full of slaves.
• In one game, the party’s Wookiee traded their entire reward to free his extended family from Imperial control…without telling the rest of the party!

In addition to the excitement of the weekend’s games, roleplay fans had their chance to attend a campaign-generation workshop, where developers talked about several different styles for running a campaign, then had audience groups generate their own campaigns based on the Obligations and Motivations for a potential party of PCs.

Will the Empire Strike Back?

All told, the Star Wars Game Experience was a fantastic success, and we look forward to seeing attendees return for the World Championship Weekend in November!

Until then, Fantasy Flight Games would like to thank all those who attended and departed with fond memories. May the 4th be with you!

The sound of footfall is heavy on the crooked stones of the streets. The officers split up, venturing alone into the foreboding alleys, in dogged pursuit of the killer they are seeking. On the main street, the rumble of carriage wheels is mostly unheeded. Those who bother to glance at the coach only see the shadowy outline of its passenger. From the street, no one can see the eerie smile on the man’s face, nor the bloodied handkerchief he tucks back inside the pocket of his coat. As he is carried off into the darkness, the police hunt on.

In Letters from Whitechapel, players take on the roles of detectives, scouring the streets of London’s Whitechapel district in a hunt for history’s most notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper. One player steps into the mind of the killer, trying to commit his savage acts of murder while eluding police capture. The game pits one against many, as the police try to apprehend Jack before he can claim five unfortunate victims, while Jack races to make his kills and escape to his Hideout.

In earlier previews, we looked at both parts of the game, Hell and Hunting. Today, we will discuss Special Movements Jack can use in his escapes, the sinister Double Event, and optional rules for both the Ripper and the police.

Special Movement and the Double Event

As Jack flees the scenes of his horrific murders, he has a few tricks up his sleeve to fool investigators. Each Night, Jack receives Special Movement tokens that he may use to better elude his pursuers. Using a Coach token, Jack may hire a carriage to move two circles instead of one. Also, by using the Coach, Jack can move undetected through crossings containing Policeman. The Alley token lets Jack cross a block of houses that is bounded, but not interrupted by the dotted lines. This lets Jack sneak his way past detectives and move more rapidly toward his Hideout. However, Jack cannot declare his escape after using a Special Movement to move onto his Hideout; he must always take a normal movement to end on his Hideout space.

                                           In the above example, Jack uses an alley token to move from 139 to 115.

On the third Night, the Ripper ratchets up the stakes for detectives by committing two murders. This is known as the “Double Event.” Regular rules are followed, though this time Jack kills one victim, and stealthily moves to another location to murder a second. He records the number of each crime scene on his Move Track sheet, in any order he wishes. The Hunting phase does not commence until both murders are revealed, and since the detectives cannot be sure which order the kills took place in, they cannot be certain which location Jack is escaping from at the beginning of Night three. This makes their job of trying to hem him in even more difficult, as they must choose to either focus their forces on one crime scene, or attempt to divide and conquer. If the police don’t manage to capture Jack on this night, or at least narrow down his Hideout, the Ripper only has to kill one final victim and escape to dodge justice for his heinous crimes once and for all.

Optional Rules to Help the Ripper

For players who want to present the Police with an added challenge, optional rules can be implemented to assist Jack in carrying out his vile acts and escaping from those who would seek to stop him. Jack’s Letters is one of these rules, and it allows Jack to use one of his letters on Nights two through four. The Ripper, known for his taunting missives to detectives and other important figures in the Whitechapel Murder cases, can use a letter once per Night to change the position of the Police Patrols attempting to stop him. The letters are “Dear Boss,” “Saucy Jacky,” “From Hell,” and “Goulston Street.” Each of these letters has a different effect, but all result in a disruption of the carefully laid plans of the Police players.

For example, Jack can use his “Saucy Jacky” letter to move two Police patrol tokens to other positions on the board, so that he may kill and flee the scene more easily.

The “Goulston Street” letter, which represents the Goulston Street Graffito, allows Jack to choose a Policeman pawn (red, green, or blue). The Police players must then choose to move either Jack’s chosen pawn or the brown pawn to Goulston Street, disrupting the plan they had set up to capture the Ripper.

With the addition of the False Clues optional rule, Jack may gain blue False Clue markers, which he can use to throw the pursuing detectives off his trail. For every five yellow Clue markers Jack reveals to the Police during a single Night, Jack receives a False Clue. These can be placed on any numbered circle at the beginning of the Clues and Suspicion phase, and block that circle for the rest of the Night. The False Clue prevents Policeman pawns from searching for Clues and executing arrests on that circle. This means that Jack can safely use that space during his escape without detection or capture.

Optional Rules to Assist the Police

In order to better help the Police as they search for the devious Jack the Ripper, the following optional rules make the killer’s horrible agenda more difficult to carry out.

Rushing allows detectives a third action to choose from. When a detective chooses to Rush, he may move his Policeman pawn to any adjacent Crossing. This is particularly useful if other detectives have turned up Clues that allow detectives to get an idea of Jack’s potential location. Rushing allows a detective to block Jack’s escape, possibly leading to a capture!

The addition of Area Arrests means that a detective may Execute an Arrest on all of the numbered circles adjacent to his location, instead of just one. This wider net makes the Police extremely difficult opponents to elude.

The I Know Your Address optional rule involves a special Police role called the Head of Investigation. Each Night, the police players randomly determine who will lead the task force for the night by turning over the top tile in the Head of Investigation pile. The Policeman of the corresponding color will take command for the Night. Interestingly, each Head of Investigation tile has an image and name of a real member of the Whitechapel Murders Investigations.

The I Know Your Address optional rule comes into play if Swanson (brown) or Abberline (red) become Head of the Investigation for the Night. Once per game, when either of these players is Head of the Investigation, he may immediately Execute an Arrest and name any circle on the game board. If that circle is Jack’s secret Hideout, the detectives win the game.

Finally, with the Catch Me, If You Can optional rule, Jack may not choose red numbered circles OR numbered circles adjacent to them as his Hideout. This allows detectives a head start in deducing possibilities for Jack’s Hideout, while making the Ripper’s choice of hiding spots even more difficult.

Join the hunt for Jack the Ripper, or take on the role of the killer himself in the suspense-filled game of cat and mouse that is Letters from Whitechapel. Pre-order at your local retailer today, and check keep checking back for more on Letters from Whitechapel!

Retailers: FFG Organized Play is gearing up for Season Two of 2013, and now is your chance to get in on the action! We’re now accepting pre-orders for our Season Two Game Night Kits, so head to our B2B store or contact your local retailer to find support as you run your own tournaments, host weekly league nights, and cultivate your local player base.

But you must pre-order through our B2B store or your distributor by May 24th to receive your kits when they ship out in July, just in time for the start of the next season!

Our Season Two 2013 Game Night Kits each offer exciting, exclusive, and collectible materials to inspire your local gaming community. The A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Kit contains alternative art versions of Balon Greyjoy and Wildfire Assault, for example, while our X-Wing™ Kit contains alternative ship cards, using stills from the movies. Meanwhile, our Season Two Game Night Kit for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game includes three new Nightmare Decks, plus much more!

Please note: The alternative art cards in these kits are produced through FFG's Print on Demand process, and as such, they may appear slightly different in color and texture from the game's other cards. To be tournament legal, any randomized deck including these cards must be sleeved with opaque or art sleeves.

Learn more about our upcoming Game Night Kits by following the links below:

• A Game of Thrones: The Card Game
• Android: Netrunner The Card Game
• Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game
• Star Wars™: The Card Game
• The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game
• Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game
• X-Wing™

Are You a Player?

You can do your part by telling your favorite local game store about our Game Night Kits! If you’re really interested, here are some other ways you can promote Game Nights for your favorite game:

• Encourage your friends to join you and play at your favorite local game store
• Ask your favorite local game store if you can post a sign-up sheet
• Offer to run a demo day
• Volunteer your services as event organizer

Each Season Two 2013 Game Night Kit features exclusive, collectible materials that won’t be available anywhere else, so if you’re interested in the alternate art cards, acrylic game components, playmats, or other components, be sure to talk to your local retailer about Game Nights!

“He noticed a place of dense black shadow ahead of him, black even for that forest, like a patch of midnight that had never been cleared away. As he drew nearer, he saw that it was made by spider-webs one behind and over and tangled with another. Suddenly he saw, too, that there were spiders huge and horrible sitting in the branches above him."
     –J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

Retailers: Build your local player base with Season Two 2013 Game Night Kits for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, now available for pre-order through our B2B store or your distributor!

Along with a custom playmat, rules sheet for an optional tournament format, and promotional poster, these kits offer three more “Nightmare Decks”; this time, players can increase the challenge of their games. Each twenty-two card Nightmare Deck is designed to add new terrors and surprises to familiar scenarios.

What’s a Nightmare Deck?

As many retailers may know from last season’s Game Night Kits, Nightmare Decks present players the opportunity to revisit past scenarios cast in the shadows of a challenging new Nightmare Mode. Featuring deadlier enemies, darker locations, and more terrifying surprises, each of the Game Night Kit’s three Nightmare Decks introduce twenty encounter cards and instructions for using them to reshape exisiting encounter decks. The result? A nightmarish journey that will have players on the edge of their seats!

These Nightmare Decks will be available as Print on Demand expansions later in 2013, after the Game Night Kits rotate out of circulation. Until that time, they are exclusive to our The Lord of the Rings Game Night Kits and can help you turn your store into a hub of adventure and excitement! Please note: The cards in this kit are produced through FFG's Print on Demand process, and as such, they may appear slightly different in color and texture from the game's other cards. To be tournament legal, these cards must be sleeved with opaque or art sleeves.

What’s in the Season Two 2013 The Lord of the Rings Game Night Kit?

Each Season Two 2013 The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game Game Night Kit comes with materials built to support players in their nightmarish new adventures in Middle-earth:

• Three new Nightmare Decks, each with twenty-two cards: The Hunt for Gollum, Conflict at the Carrock, and A Journey to Rhosgobel
• A custom playmat depicting stoic dwarves entering Moria
• An eye-catching promotional poster
• Optional tournament rules with a competitive team play format
• An informative pamphlet with instructions for running your Game Night

Are You a Player?

You can do your part by telling your favorite local game store about our The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game Game Night Kits! If you’re really interested, here are some other ways you can promote The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game Game Nights:

• Encourage your friends to join you and play at your favorite local game store
• Ask your favorite local game store if you can post a sign-up sheet
• Offer to run a demo day
• Volunteer your services as event organizer

Save Middle-earth from darkness; get involved at your local retailer today!

“Yeah, NBN tried tracing me once. It was amusing. By the time I was done with my run, they were still trying to make sense of my decoy IP and discern if I was actually a one-hundred seventy-eight year-old Russian woman in orbit around Mars."

–H. Maurico, the architect of Crypsis

Retailers: Tap into your local Android: Netrunner player base with our new Season Two 2013 Android: Netrunner Game Night Kits and their exciting alternative art cards! These new kits are now available for pre-order through our B2B store or your distributor.

Android: Netrunner The Card Game reimagines the high-stakes cyberstruggles of Richard Garfield’s classic Netrunner and updates them for contemporary audiences. Likewise, the Season Two 2013 Android: Netrunner Game Night Kit reimagines and updates two of the game’s most popular cards, Kate “Mac” McCaffrey and Scorched Earth, providing full-bleed designs and stunning alternative art. Included with these exclusive cards are a stunning playment, an instructional pamphlet, and a promotional poster.

Rezzed in Full Bleed

In addition to a playmat, a promotional poster, and an informative Game Night pamphlet, each Android: Netrunner Season Two Game Night Kit contains alternative art cards for the two of the game’s popular cards, Kate “Mac” McCaffrey and Scorched Earth. Please note: The alternative art cards in this kit are produced through FFG's Print on Demand process, and as such, they may appear slightly different in color and texture from the game's other cards. To be tournament legal, decks that include these cards must be sleeved with opaque or art sleeves.

Art plays an integral part in Android: Netrunner The Card Game. While the game’s mechanics immerse players in the cat-and-mouse nature of high-stakes cyberstruggles, its artwork shapes their futuristic context. Megalithic corporations rule the world. Humans work alongside bioroids and clones. Advancements in brain-mapping techniques permit men and women to interface minds and machines.

The artists who have worked on Android: Netrunner have brought to life these futuristic realities. The “meat” world exists simultaneously with the “cyber” world. Only through the imaginations and talents of the game’s artists do the distinctions fully take shape between the styles and devices that exist in the physical world and the abstracted, symbolic appearances of programs as they appear in the virtual world. The Season Two 2013 Android: Netrunner Game Night Kits reshape this reality with alternative art cards. With new designs that more fully feature their art, the new Kate “Mac” McCaffrey and Scorched Earth cards rez the future in an exciting new style. These cards won’t function any differently than the standard copies, but they are exclusive to the Season Two 2013 Android: Netrunner Game Night Kits.

What’s in the Season Two 2013 Android: Netrunner Game Night Kit?

Each Season Two 2013 Android: Netrunner Game Night Kit comes with materials built to support players as they participate in the game’s daring runs, bluffs, traces, traps, and high-stakes cyberstruggles:

• Exciting full bleed alternative art cards: two copies of Kate “Mac” McCaffrey and seventeen copies of Scorched Earth
• An Android: Netrunner The Card Game playmat for the top winner
• An eye-catching promotional poster
• An informative pamphlet with information on running your Game Night

Are You a Player?

• You can do your part by telling your favorite local game store about our Android: Netrunner The Card Game Game Night Kits! If you’re really interested, here are some other ways you can promote Android: Netrunner The Card Game Game Nights:
• Encourage your friends to join you and play at your favorite local game store
• Ask your favorite local game store if you can post a sign-up sheet
• Offer to run a demo day
• Volunteer your services as event organizer

The Kate “Mac” McCaffrey and Scorched Earth alternative art cards are exclusive to the Season Two 2013 Android: Netrunner Game Night Kits. They will be available only for a limited period of time and won’t appear anywhere else, so be sure to talk with your local retailer about hosting Game Nights for Android: Netrunner The Card Game!

Based on the classic card game designed by Richard Garfield, Android: Netrunner The Card Game is a game for two players set in the dystopian future of Android. It pits monolothic megacorps against subversive netrunners in a high-stakes struggle for the control of valuable data.

“I am fluent in six million forms of communication. This signal is not used by the Alliance. It could be an Imperial code."
     –C-3PO, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Retailers: Build you local playing community for Star Wars™: The Card Game. Season Two 2013 Game Night Kits are now available for pre-order through our B2B store or your distributor!

Each Game Night Kit comes with materials to support your players in league play, tournaments, or demos. In addition to a custom playmat, informational pamphlet, and a promotional poster, the Season Two 2013 Star Wars Game Night Kit introduces two highly collectible cards – alternative versions of Luke Skywalker and Vader’s TIE Advanced, with titles and flavor text in Aurebesh.

These Are the Cards You’re Looking For

The innovative deck-building model for Star Wars: The Card Game truly permits the game’s most legendary heroes, villains, and starships to shine. The Aurebesh versions of Luke Skywalker and Vader’s TIE Advanced in the Season Two Star Wars Game Night Kits will further call attention to the awesome power of the Force™!

Please note: The alternative language cards in this kit are produced through FFG's Print on Demand process, and as such, they may appear slightly different in color and texture from the game's other cards. To be tournament legal, these cards must be sleeved with opaque or art sleeves.

What’s in the Season Two 2013 Star Wars Game Night Kit?

Each Season Two 2013 Star Wars Game Night Kit comes with materials built to support players as they participate in the game’s fast-paced tactical strikes and dramatic edge battles:

• One playmat depicting the Battle of Hoth
• Two Aurebesh language copies of Luke Skywalker, and seventeen Aurebesh language copies of Vader’s TIE Advanced
• A promotional poster showing Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker
• An informative pamphlet with information on running your Game Night

Are You a Player?

You can do your part by telling your favorite local game store about our Star Wars Game Night Kits! If you’re really interested, here are some other ways you can promote Star Wars Game Nights:

• Encourage your friends to join you and play at your favorite local game store
• Ask your favorite local game store if you can post a sign-up sheet
• Offer to run a demo day
• Volunteer your services as event organizer

The Aurebesh Luke Skywalker and Vader’s TIE Advanced cards will be available only for a limited period of time and won’t appear anywhere else, so be sure to talk with your local retailer about hosting Game Nights for Star Wars: The Card Game!

“It was from the artists and poets that the pertinent answers came, and I know that panic would have broken loose had they been able to compare notes.”

–H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu

Retailers: New Season Two 2013 Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game Game Night Kits now available for pre-order through our B2B store or your distributor!

The Season Two 2013 Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game Game Night Kits support your local Call of Cthulhu player base. Each kit contains exclusive and highly collectible alternative art editions of two of the game’s cards, Glaaki and Eldritch Nexus. The madness runs deeper with a custom playmat, an instructional pamphlet, and a promotional poster. Lure would-be investigators through your doors with the Season Two 2013 Call of Cthulhu Game Night Kit.

Dark Dreams Given Form

“On the other side of the earth poets and artists had begun to dream of a strange, dank Cyclopean city whilst a young sculptor had moulded in his sleep the form of the dreaded Cthulhu.”
     –H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu

In the world of H.P. Lovecraft’s eerie fiction, artists are often touched by dreams of the strange realms that lie just beyond the comprehension of most humanity. Their practiced sensitivity allows them to perceive the world around them differently than other people, but it also renders them vulnerable to the terrors that lie just beyond the edge of perception.

With the 2013 Season Two Call of Cthulhu Game Night Kits, players will gain the opportunity to behold the terrors that these artists capture in all their horrific splendor. The alternative art versions of Glaaki and Eldritch Nexus feature stunning new depictions of these classic characters and full-bleed graphic design that puts the art front and center like never before. Please note: The alternative art cards in this kit are produced through FFG's Print on Demand process, and as such, they may appear slightly different in color and texture from the game's other cards. To be tournament legal, these cards must be sleeved with opaque or art sleeves.

What’s in the Season Two 2013 Call of Cthulhu Game Night Kit?

Each Season Two 2013 Call of Cthulhu Game Night Kit comes with materials built to support players as they investigate and confront the horrifying truths of reality:

• One playmat depicting a Cthulhu rising from the sea
• Two copies of the full-bleed, alternative art version of Glaaki, and seventeen copies of the full-bleed, alternative art version of Eldritch Nexus
• A promotional poster showing a doomed investigator
• An informative pamphlet with information on running your Game Night

Are You a Player?

You can do your part by telling your favorite local game store about our Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game Game Night Kits! If you’re really interested, here are some other ways you can promote Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game Game Nights:

• Encourage your friends to join you and play at your favorite local game store
• Ask your favorite local game store if you can post a sign-up sheet
• Offer to run a demo day
• Volunteer your services as event organizer

The Glaaki and Eldritch Nexus alternative art cards are exclusive to the Season Two Call of Cthulhu Game Night Kits. They will be available only for a limited period of time and won’t appear anywhere else, so be sure to talk with your local retailer about hosting Game Nights for Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game!

“Man your ships! And may the Force be with you!”
      –General Dodonna, Star Wars: A New Hope

Retailers: Become a hub of excitement and activity for X-Wing™ Miniatures Game while supporting your local player base with our new Season Two 2013 Game Night Kit, now available for pre-order through our B2B store or your distributor!

The Season Two 2013 X-Wing Game Night Kit includes a range of prizes and resources to help you run a competitive tournament or weekly league. Reward the top competitor with an attractive medal (not pictured below), and offer other contenders two sets of acrylic shield tokens or alternative ship cards that capture Wedge Antilles and a TIE fighter pilot with stills from the movies (specific pilot to be announced later)! What’s more, you can learn how to run leagues with the included instructional pamphlet, and draw players in with the eye-catching promotional poster.

What’s in the Season Two 2013 X-Wing Game Night Kit?

Each Season Two 2013 X-Wing Game Night Kit comes with materials built to support your local players through their cinematic space combats: Please note: The alternative art cards in this kit are produced through FFG's Print on Demand process, and as such, they may appear slightly different in color and texture from the game's other cards.

• Fifteen acrylic shield tokens
• An awesome medal for the overall winner
• Nineteen alternative ship cards featuring stills from the movies: two copies of Wedge Antilles and seventeen copies of a TIE fighter pilot (specific pilot to be announced)
• A promotional poster showing a TIE advanced engaged in battle
• An informative pamphlet with information on running your Game Night.

The kit also includes a custom medal, not pictured above

Are You a Player?

You can do your part by telling your favorite local game store about our X-Wing Game Night Kits! If you’re really interested, here are some other ways you can promote X-Wing Game Nights:

• Encourage your friends to join you and play at your favorite local game store
• Ask your favorite local game store if you can post a sign-up sheet
• Offer to run a demo day
• Volunteer your services as event organizer

The Wedge Antilles and TIE Fighter Pilot alternative art cards are exclusive to the Season Two 2013 X-Wing Game Night Kits. They will be available only for a limited period of time and won’t appear anywhere else, so be sure to talk with your local retailer about hosting Game Nights for X-Wing!

“Behind the Lannisters came their great lords and captains. Their banners flared and flapped, a pageant of color: red ox and golden mountain, purple unicorn and bantam rooster, brindled boar and badger, a silver ferret and a juggler in motley, stars and sunbursts, peacock and panther, chevron and dagger, black hood and blue beetle and green arrow.”
     –George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

Retailers: Become a hub of excitement and activity for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game while supporting your local player base with our new Season Two 2013 Game Night Kit, now available for pre-order through our B2B store or your distributor!

Season Two 2013 Game Night Kits for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game revisit the world of Westeros in a whole new light. Each kit contains exclusive and highly collectible alternative art editions of two of the game’s popular cards, Balon Greyjoy and Wildfire Assault, along with a commemorative playmat for the top competitor. Learn how to run leagues with the included instructional pamphlet, and draw players in with the eye-catching promotional poster. Help players rule the Seven Kingdoms at Game Night!

A New Vision for Westeros

Season One steered our A Game of Thrones Game Night Kits in a bold new direction by introducing exclusive, alternative art cards. We’re continuing in this direction in the upcoming Season Two: this new kit includes two alternative art copies of Balon Greyjoy and seventeen alternative art copies of Wildfire Assault! Please note: The alternative art cards in this kit are produced through FFG's Print on Demand process, and as such, they may appear slightly different in color and texture from the game's other cards. To be tournament legal, these cards must be sleeved with opaque or art sleeves.

These cards, along with an awesome A Game of Thrones: The Card Game playmat for the top winner, an instructional guide to Game Nights, and a promotional poster, will give you the tools to cultivate a passionate and dedicated local player community. Use your kit to run your own tournaments, or set up a weekly league!

What’s in the Season Two 2013 A Game of Thrones Game Night Kit?

Each Season Two 2013 A Game of Thrones Game Night Kit comes with materials built to support your local players through their battles, intrigues, and bids for power:

• One playmat depicting a Lannister army on the march
• Two copies of the full-bleed, alternative art version of Balon Greyjoy, and seventeen copies of the full-bleed, alternative art version of Wildfire Assault
• A promotional poster showing a Greyjoy ship engaged in battle
• An informative pamphlet with information on running your Game Night

Are You a Player?

You can do your part by telling your favorite local game store about our A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Game Night Kits! If you’re really interested, here are some other ways you can promote A Game of Thrones: The Card Game Game Nights:

• Encourage your friends to join you and play at your favorite local game store
• Ask your favorite local game store if you can post a sign-up sheet
• Offer to run a demo day
• Volunteer your services as event organizer

The Balon Greyjoy and Wildfire Assault alternative art cards are exclusive to the Season Two 2013 A Game of Thrones Game Night Kits. They will be available only for a limited period of time and won’t appear anywhere else, so be sure to talk with your local retailer about hosting Game Nights for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game!

“From the high mountains to the deep jungles, armies march to the beat of drums and blowing horns, beneath a canopy of fluttering banners and gleaming standards."
     –Warhammer, “The World of Warhammer”

Retailers: Make your store a hub of activity and excitement for Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game with our new Season Two 2013 Game Night Kits, now available for pre-order through our B2B store or your distributor!

Each kit contains exclusive and highly collectible alternative art editions of two of the game’s most popular cards, Judgement of Verena and Warpstone Excavation, along with a commemorative playmat for the top competitor. Learn how to run leagues with the included instructional pamphlet, and draw players in with the eye-catching promotional poster. Encourage players to bust ‘eads in the Old World with the Season Two 2013 Warhammer: Invasion Game Night Kit!

Legends Born on the Battlefield

The Old World is a place of eternal war. Hordes of Chaos marauders and daemons sweep down from the north in wave after wave. Against them stand the Men of the Empire, the Dwarfs in their mountain Karaks, and the High Elves in their glittering armor. Their battles shape and reshape the world, both its landscape and its history. The dead litter the fields as carrion for scavenging animals. The victorious rise as legends.

The 2013 Season Two Warhammer: Invasion Game Night Kits will give new shape to two of the game’s popular cards. Their stunning, alternative art versions of Judgement of Verena and Warpstone Excavation feature new art and graphic design that puts the art front and center like never before. Please note: The alternative art cards in this kit are produced through FFG's Print on Demand process, and as such, they may appear slightly different in color and texture from the game's other cards. To be tournament legal, these cards must be sleeved with opaque or art sleeves.

What’s in the Season Two 2013 Warhammer: Invasion Game Night Kit?

Each Season Two 2013 Warhammer: Invasion Game Night Kit comes with materials built to support players as they battle to conquer the Old World:

• One playmat depicting an Orc astride a massive Wyvern
• Two copies of the full-bleed, alternative art version of Warpstone Excavation, and seventeen copies of the full-bleed, alternative art version of Judgement of Verena
• A promotional poster showing a rampaging Orc army
• An informative pamphlet with information on running your Game Night

Are You a Player?

You can do your part by telling your favorite local game store about our Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game Game Night Kits! If you’re really interested, here are some other ways you can promote Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game Game Nights:

• Encourage your friends to join you and play at your favorite local game store
• Ask your favorite local game store if you can post a sign-up sheet
• Offer to run a demo day
• Volunteer your services as event organizer

The Judgement of Verena and Warpstone Excavation alternative art cards are exclusive to the Season Two Warhammer: Invasion Game Night Kits. They will be available only for a limited period of time and won’t appear anywhere else, so be sure to talk with your local retailer about hosting Game Nights for Warhammer: Invasion The Card Game!

Take a break from your quest and set down your pack. Every adventurer needs a chance to rest and recuperate. Take off your shoes and rub the soreness out of your feet. It’s time for rest and Second Breakfast…

Today, The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game developer Matt Newman shares a deck made to highlight the strengths of the Men of Gondor.

Second Breakfast with The Lord of the Rings Developer, Matt Newman

In our first two helpings of Second Breakfast, Caleb Grace presented a couple of his favorite decks: one focusing on Ranged heroes and Bard the Bowman’s Great Yew Bow (The Hobbit: On the Doorstep, 14), the other focusing on strong questing power and cards with the Rohan trait. In today’s installment, I’d like to take a moment to share the deck I’ve been using, both in our playtest sessions and outside the office.

Gondor, Bulwark of the West

“By our valour the wild folk of the East are still restrained, and the terror of Morgul kept at bay; and thus alone are peace and freedom maintained in the lands behind us, bulwark of the West.”
    –Boromir, The Fellowship of the Ring

Ever since I first read The Lord of the Rings, my favorite of Middle-earth’s many people have always been the men of Gondor. Gondor’s long and interesting legacy dates back to the days of Númenor, and it contains many different people, places, and sub-groups. There’s Imrahil of Dol Amroth, Faramir and the Rangers of Ithilien, Beregond and the Guards of the Citadel, and of course, Boromir, Captain-General of the White Tower.

Many readers remember the people of Gondor for their flaws – Denethor’s fall to corruption and Boromir’s attempt to take the One Ring from Frodo – but I choose to remember the Men of Gondor for their strength and vigilance.

Gondor has always faced the shadow of Mordor head on. While others hid in their forests or their mountains, Gondor had little choice but to stand tall and proud, to defend its borders, and to serve as the shield wall of the West. In that same spirit, this deck excels at defending against the forces of shadow, supporting others through resource generation, and recruiting cheap and effective soldiers. Also, it only requires one copy of the Core Set, the Heirs of Númenor deluxe expansion, and just a handful of cards from other expansions.

Heroes
Boromir (Heirs of Númenor, 2)
Aragorn (Core Set, 1)
Beregond (Heirs of Númenor, 1)

Allies
Citadel Custodian x3
Defender of Rammas x3
Errand-rider x3
Envoy of Pelargir x3
Faramir x2
Gandalf (Core Set, 73) x3
Gondorian Spearman x3
Guard of the Citadel x3

Attachments
Celebrían’s Stone x1
Citadel Plate x1
Gondorian Shield (The Steward’s Fear, 5) x3
Horn of Gondor x1
Spear of the Citadel x3
Steward of Gondor x2
Sword that was Broken (The Watcher in the Water, 55) x2

Events
Behind Strong Walls x3
Ever Vigilant x2
Goblin-cleaver (The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill, 16) x2
Sneak Attack x2
Valiant Sacrifice x2
Wealth of Gondor x3


With its starting heroes, Boromir, Aragorn, and Beregond, this deck boasts some fantastic defense and attack strength right out of the gate. What’s that, you say? My starting threat of thirty-three is too high? What? Are you scared of the Orcs and the Trolls? We are Men of Gondor. Let them come!

Playing the Deck

If I’m lucky, my opening hand will contain Steward of Gondor (Core Set, 26), which allows Aragorn to activate his Response every turn; it also gives him the Gondor trait, opening him up to greater synergy with the rest of the deck. My starting hand will usually have at least one Weapon or Armor attachment that I can throw on Beregond for free, freeing up his resource for an Envoy of Pelargir (Heirs of Númenor, 18). Or, if I have Wealth of Gondor (Heirs of Númenor, 6), I can throw a second resource on him and put out an early Gondorian Spearman (Core Set, 29) or Defender of Rammas (Heirs of Númenor, 7). I might also throw a Horn of Gondor (Core Set, 42) on Beregond in order to accelerate his resource generation for later turns.

Where this deck really shines is defense. To that end, Gondorian Shield quickly becomes the centerpiece for this deck. Drop one on Beregond for free and he suddenly becomes a six-Defense Strength powerhouse. Throwing one on Boromir or Aragorn (once he has taken up the Stewardship) boosts either hero to four Defense, which is nothing to mock. Using Spear of the Citadel (Heirs of Númenor, 9), I can sometimes kill enemies just by defending over the course of several turns, often without taking any damage. This process can be accelerated using Goblin-cleaver and exhausting a Spear of the Citadel before defending. In this way, Behind Strong Walls (Heirs of Númenor, 8) becomes an ever better card than Feint (Core Set, 34), because I can defend with Beregond, ready him, give him an additional point of defense, and then defend against a different enemy, dealing damage to both with Spear of the Citadel! There are very few enemies this deck truly fears.

Of course, defending against hordes of enemies is only one avenue to victory. This deck also includes several cards to muster Willpower for the quest. With Faramir (Core Set, 14) and Sword that was Broken, every ally is inspired to greatness, even all those allies who start with one or zero Willpower. If I really need to focus on my questing, I can use Ever Vigilant (Core Set, 20) to ready Faramir and use his ability a second time, giving my army of characters an additional Willpower boost.

Two Heads Are Better Than One

This deck performs adequately in solo play, but it has its weaknesses: a lack of healing, card draw, threat reduction, and location control. However, these can be mitigated when you play with more than one player. This deck really shines when paired up with a deck that wants to avoid enemies, because I can snatch up as many enemies as possible and defend against each, freeing my partner to do what he does best. I might even throw in a copy or two of The Hammerstroke (The Blood of Gondor, 111) so I can engage every enemy in play, keeping my teammates safe. In longer games, I occasionally end up with more resources than I know what to do with, but I can use Errand-rider (Heirs of Númenor, 3) to share the wealth with my fellow players. Playing with others also allows this deck to benefit from their threat reduction and card-drawing effects.

Caleb and I have had a lot of fun pairing this deck with his “Archery” deck. These decks have great synergy, as I can usually handle defending against every enemy in play, and Legolas (Core Set, 5) and Bard the Bowman (The Hobbit: On the Doorstep, 3) can snipe the enemies one by one while they’re engaged with me. Defending against five or more enemies at the same time sounds dangerous, but this deck makes it look easy. Backed up by Caleb’s archers, we have on more than one occasion cleared the entire board of enemies in a single combat phase…without taking a single point of damage in the endeavor.

I hope you’ve had fun reading about these three decks that Caleb and I often use when playtesting the new scenarios your fellowships will face. And there’s plenty to look forward to: The Steward’s Fear is shipping to stores right now and will soon launch you into the exciting adventures of the whole Against the Shadow cycle!

    –Matt Newman, Associate LCG Developer

Thanks, Matt!

As we head into the Against the Shadow cycle, one of the most exciting things about Matt’s deck is that it will only get stronger. The Men of Gondor look to gain strength throughout the cycle, but they’ll need it! They face the hordes of Mordor to their East and dark conspirators within their walls. They’ll need to make all the allies they can as they seek to protect their own, and the adventures of this dramatic cycle all begin with The Steward’s Fear!

“Faster, more flexible, more adaptive. Yes, they’re more expensive, but you get what you pay for, and this new generation of bioroids represents a significant breakthrough in Haas-Bioroid’s ability to wire the world’s greatest neural networks.”
    –From “The Evolution of Thought”

Who will write the future?

In Creation and Control, the upcoming deluxe expansion for Android: Netrunner, some of the world’s most innovative programmers prepare themselves for their next runs on corporate servers. Meanwhile, the top-flight engineers and designers at Haas-Bioroid decide upon the best way to protect the corporation’s investments in its next generation of bioroids… Employ the bioroids!

Bioroids are constructed with synthetic bodies and given artificial intelligence based upon the world’s most powerful brain-taping technology. They don’t eat, they don’t sleep, they don’t tire, and their neural networks are streamlined for optimal performance in the tasks for which they’ve been programmed. Accordingly, bioroids are amazingly fast, powerful, and efficient.

Still, bioroids are machines, not people, and some runners exposed a number of weaknesses in Haas-Bioroid’s earlier security designs; they were too slow to adapt in their thinking, and runners were able to outmaneuver them. In game terms, this means that runners could anticipate the subroutines of first-generation bioroids, like Ichi 1.0 (Core Set, 62) and sacrifice one or more  to break the most threatening or frustrating of them, as they chose. Furthermore, only two first-generation bioroids, Heimdall 1.0 (Core Set, 61) and Viktor 1.0 (Core Set, 63), were actually programmed with subroutines to end runs. Thus, even though early bioroid ice could approximate human thought more closely than any other artificial intelligence, and even though they offered terrifically efficient service, they were still limited by their programming.

But the world of Android: Netrunner is always evolving, and when they wish, its megacorporations are able to channel vast fortunes into the research and development of new technologies.

Enter the next generation of bioroids!

More Expensive. More Efficient.

The improvements in Haas-Bioroid’s second generation of bioroids begins, but does not end, with its ice. As an example, Heimdall 2.0 (Creation and Control, 15) gains a point of strength over its first-generation counterpart, but that’s not all it offers for the three additional  that it takes to rez it. First, its second subroutine gains a point of brain damage in addition to its “end the run” effect. More importantly, though, is its modified text:

“The Runner can spend  to break up to 2 subroutines on Heimdall 2.0.”

How important is this change? It is important enough that Haas-Bioroid is willing to launch the release of a whole new wave of bioroids.

Each turn, the Runner starts with a pool of four . His whole turn is effectively a matter of finding the best, most impactful ways to spend those . Jacking in and beginning a run against a Corporate server costs one , so let’s explore the consequence of this new text by looking at it in the context of a Runner’s three remaining . Against first-generation bioroids, the Runner can break any number of subroutines by spending one  per subroutine. This means he can run, force the Corporation to spend its  to rez its ice, and then break any that would cause serious problems.

As an example, a Runner who slams into Heimdall 1.0 can force the Corp to pay eight  to rez it, spend one  to prevent the brain damage, and then end his run with no real damage done. He still has two  remaining and could run against another Corp server with a  in hand, ready to cancel the nastiest subroutine of the next bioroid – if the Corp can still afford to rez it.

On the other hand, if the Corp were to rez Heimdall 2.0 instead, the Runner would have to spend two  to prevent the brain damage he might suffer, and he’d only have a single  remaining. He could still run again, but he would no longer have a  to save him from the nastiest subroutine of the next bioroid.

The difference becomes more consequential when you consider that in the late game, the Corporation is more likely to have multiple servers, all running at once, and if the Runner gets behind and needs to find some agenda points, he’ll need to be able to run against multiple servers (or get lucky with his targeting). Also, if the Runner wants to save  to protect himself from bioroid subroutines, then he’ll have a maximum of one  to spend preparing for the run, rather than two. Finally, it’s worth noting that the cost to break all the subroutines on Heimdall 2.0 is four , rather than the three  it would take to break all subroutines on Heimdall 1.0.

Better Integration Yields Better Protection

Despite the improvements in its ice, Haas-Bioroid’s greatest advancements in bioroid technology derive from its fuller integration into its whole corporate structure, from its agendas to its upgrades.

Haas-Bioroid hopes to greatly reduce all the shortcomings of its artificial intelligence by continuing to improve the quality of the brain scans upon which it models its bioroids. Early results from Haas-Bioroid’s ongoing Project Wotan (Creation and Control, 6) have proven extremely optimistic, and when this agenda is scored, it will offer bioroid ice an unparalleled measure of flexibility. Once integrated into a company, this new technology could add “End the run” subroutines to any piece of bioroid ice, in any server, whenever it was needed (up to a total of three times). All those aggressive bioroids that don’t have “End the run” subroutines? Project Wotan “fixes” them, making them powerful stopping agents in your time of need.

And if the flexibility offered by Project Wotan isn’t enough to sell you on the second generation of bioroid technology, then Haas-Bioroid would like you to know that it has also developed two upgrades that permit all of your bioroids to behave in breathtaking new ways.

For two , the Awakening Center (Creation and Control, 21) can host any number of bioroid ice and rez one in a time of need…at a reduction of seven . While the ice is trashed after the run is completed, it’s worth noting that the Awakening Center permits an unparalleled level of Corporate flexibility. It allows the Corp player to choose which of its bioroid ice it will rez with full knowledge of the Runner’s rig. It even works if you have zero ice protecting the server. That’s a Corporate security officer’s dream come true.

If two seems like too much to spend for such amazing flexibility, then perhaps you’d consider an upgrade that costs only one …Tyr’s Hand (Creation and Control, 22). Less versatile than Awakening Center over the long haul, Tyr’s Hand is an amazing ace in the hole. Because you don’t need to rez it until you want to trigger its ability, it remains nicely “in the hole,” and because its ability prevents a bioroid subroutine of your choice from being broken, it’s pure trump.

These upgrades do nothing less than redefine the rules of net security; at least, that’s what Haas-Bioroid would have you believe. And the truth is that the only reason anyone might have to doubt Haas-Bioroid’s claims is that the abilities of these upgrades cannot work in tandem. Because the bioroid ice hosted by Awakening Center are installed to the upgrade, rather than installed protecting its server, they are not legal targets for the ability of Tyr’s Hand.

But don’t worry…Haas-Bioroid is committed to the ongoing evolution and improvement of its bioroids!

System Integration Now Complete

With the full system integration offered by Project Wotan and these two new upgrades, Haas-Bioroid’s bioroids are destined to become more effective than ever – not just the second generation, but the first generation, too, and all generations of bioroids to follow.

Prepare to integrate the new generation of bioroids into your games of Android: Netrunner. Head to your local retailer today to pre-order your copy of Creation and Control!

Board your airships, because business is booming! Since the discovery of valuable resources like quartz and ore, people are lining up to seek their fortune by wheeling and dealing in the steam-powered, steampunk boomtown in Planet Steam!

In Planet Steam, two to five players take the roles of entrepreneurs, racing to assemble equipment, claim plots of land, extract resources, and accumulate riches. After harvesting resources using tanks and converters, players must buy and sell those resources in a volatile and ever-shifting market. The one who amasses the greatest pile of credits by the end of the game will be victorious. However, only through shrewd resource management and clever manipulation of supply and demand can a player reign supreme!

In today’s preview of this exciting game of enterprise and economics, we will take a look at the plots up for grabs on the game’s Claim Map. We will also check out the equipment available to acquire and upgrade as players try to make a name for themselves as top entrepreneurs.

Stake Your Claim

The Claim Map is the area where land is divided into zones to be claimed by fledgling entrepreneurs on their quest to make a fortune. Players will later set up their extraction equipment in these zones, gaining resources to sell on the open market. What’s more, each zone a player has claimed is worth 25 credits at the end of the game, and the more zones a player holds, the more resources he is able to extract. Get your hands on as many as you can, because they’re going fast!

Planet Steam features a clever system to scale for the number of players, which means the game’s Claim Map is set up differently depending on how many people are playing. In a four player game, the Claim Map is set up as follows:

Claim zones are becoming increasingly scarce as more and more prospectors snatch them up in their attempt to strike it rich. Many of the claim zones have already been bought up by greedy companies, hoping to sell them off to eager, wannabe tycoons such as yourself. Each player begins the game with two claim zones, represented on the image above by the colored claim markers. The empty spaces are available to be claimed by any player, either by outbidding your opponent at auction, or by trusting the roll of the die. Zones covered by gray markers are not available to be claimed until the unclaimed zones are staked out.

Purchase and Upgrade Equipment

Once you have laid claim to a zone – or several – the next step is to stock up on extraction equipment. During the Tank Phase of the game, players may import tanks or purchase them from the local tank market. Importing tanks is done at a fixed price, while the cost of buying local varies depending on the supply. After purchasing a tank from the local market, players decrease the tank supply marker by one, adjusting the price for the next tank that is purchased. The more tanks you buy, the less there are for your opponents – and the more pricy they’ll become.

Players can buy as many tanks as they wish to each turn, provided they have enough credits and zones to accommodate their equipment. Tanks are worth 25 credits each at the end of the game, so stock up!

Standard tanks (those without a converter attached) extract water, but players can purchase converters to diversify the type of resources they can extract. With all of that energy, ore, and quartz to extract, a converter will help you get your hands on your share!

Typically, tanks can only extract one resource per turn, but players who wish to boost their extraction ability can purchase superchargers. Players must choose wisely, however, since each tank can only hold one supercharger. Along with extracting an additional resource each turn, superchargers are worth 50 credits each at the end of the game, making them incredibly valuable investments.

Extract Valuable Resources

Now it’s time to start harvesting those resources – after all, that’s where the credits are!

Of course, in order to dredge up valuable resources, energy must be expended. Players must spend one energy per tank to gain one resource during extraction. After resources are extracted, they are loaded onto a player’s respective resource carrier card to be sold on the open market.

Let’s look at an example of resource extraction. In our example, during a four person game, the claim map is set up as follows:

Players have claimed zones, then positioned their extraction equipment as shown above. During the extraction phase, the yellow player, who has Lady Steam this round, goes first (we’ll talk more about these characters and their relation to turn order in a future preview). He spends one energy,  to extract one quartz, and two water. Since two of his tanks are located on a river zone, he is able to extract water without the use of energy. The orange player extracts next, and spends one energy to extract one energy and two water. Since he has an energy converter, he may extract one energy without expending any. Because of he has one tank in a river zone, he does not need to spend energy to extract water there. Purple player is next, and spends two energy to extract two water. Green player is last, and spends two energy to extract one ore and one water.

Now that basic extraction is complete, it is time for bonus extraction! The yellow player is able to extract an additional water during this phase, because one tank has a supercharger. He also receives an additional water because of the Synergy bonus. Two (or more) of a player’s tanks positioned next to each other orthogonally, extracting the same resource, extract bonus resources equal to the number of tanks in a row minus one. Since the yellow player has two tanks next to each other, both extracting water, he receives one additional water. The orange player receives no bonus resources this turn. The purple player also extracts two additional water (one for the supercharger, and one for his Synergy bonus). Finally, the green player extracts one additional ore with the help of his supercharger, and bonus extraction is completed.

Now, carriers whisk these newly extracted resources to town to be sold, fetching a tidy profit for our budding industrialists.

In the next preview, we will look at the Resource Terminal, which tracks supply and allows players to manipulate the market to fix the best prices for themselves, while gouging their opponents. The person who best uses the ever-fluid nature of the market to their advantage is slated to become an economic kingpin, in the highly competitive world of Planet Steam.

“Inform the commander that Lord Vader’s shuttle has arrived.”
     –Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the next four single starship expansions for X-Wing™!

The HWK-290™ Expansion Pack, Lambda-class Shuttle™ Expansion Pack, B-Wing™ Expansion Pack, and TIE Bomber™ Expansion Pack are scheduled to arrive in the third quarter of 2013. Each of these expansions comes with a detailed miniature starship, accurately rendered at the same 1/270 scale as the game’s other ships (as always, we worked closely with Lucasfilm Ltd. to ensure the correct sizes of each ship), and includes multiple ship cards, upgrades, a maneuver dial, and all necessary tokens.

Supporting Your Fleet

As a group, these starships allow X-Wing players to pursue a wide range of new, tightly focused, squad-based strategies built around their support functions and system upgrades.

Both the HWK-290 and Lambda-class Shuttle Expansion Packs introduce an array of support options that clever squad leaders will be able to use to great effect. Designed from the ground up as support ships, the HWK-290 and Lambda-class Shuttle are versatile utility vessels that make your other starships better.

The HWK-290™ Expansion Pack

The HWK-290 comes with four ship cards for a Rebel Operative and three unique pilots, including the renowned Kyle Katarn, who can assign his focus tokens to friendly ships within Range 1–3. Additionally, each HWK-290 can be outfitted with a turret weapon and a crew member, and the expansion provides you with six upgrade options, including the unique Moldy Crow title card, representing Kyle Katarn’s signature starship.

Meanwhile, Imperial fleets gain the support of the new Lambda-class Shuttle. This starship expansion includes four ship cards, featuring three unique pilots who can each provide powerful benefits to their squad mates.

The Lambda-class Shuttle™ Expansion Pack

As an example, Captain Kagi can divert enemy target locks from your other ships and force your opponent to fire against his shuttle and its five shields. The Lambda-class Shuttle is highly customizable, too, as each one can carry up to two crew members, one cannon, and a system upgrade. Pair Captain Kagi with a Rebel Captive, and you may discourage your opponent from trying to establish target locks and fire missiles. The expansion comes with a total of twelve upgrade cards.

Also new to this wave of expansions is a new type of upgrade, the system upgrade (). System upgrades appear with both the Lambda-class Shuttle and B-Wing Expansion Packs, and they give players more control over the game by reducing the potential risks inherent in random dice rolls and an opponent’s unpredictability. For example, when your ship is defending against an attack, the Sensor Jammer allows you to convert one of your opponent’s  results to a  result that cannot be rerolled. Be sure to see our coverage of system upgrades in upcoming previews.

Deadly Weaponry

Need a ship to boost with the support abilities offered by the HWK-290 and Lambda-class Shuttle? Perhaps you might consider the devastating offensive potential of the B-wing or TIE bomber.

The B-Wing™ Expansion Pack

The B-Wing Expansion Pack allows you to equip any of its four ship cards with an impressive array of upgrades. Each B-wing can be outfitted with a system upgrade, a cannon, and up to two torpedoes, including the hard-hitting Advanced Proton Torpedoes. These short-range torpedoes can only fire at enemies within Range 1, but with its five shields and ability to barrel roll, the B-wing is built to get up close and personal in even the thickest of combats.

The final ship among these four upcoming expansions, the TIE bomber is capable of delivering an astonishing payload. While not as agile or fast as other TIE variants, TIE bombers can carry enough firepower to destroy virtually any enemy target.

The TIE Bomber™ Expansion Pack

Each TIE bomber is capable of carrying two torpedoes, two missiles, and one bomb. Accordingly, the expansion’s five upgrade cards present you with a wide array of armaments, including the punishing Proton Bombs, which deal one faceup damage card to each ship within Range 1 when they detonate, even bypassing any shields the ship might have. We'll present more on these exciting new options in a future preview, so be sure to check back often!

Decide the Fate of the Galaxy

With their new support abilities, system upgrades, and massive payloads, these new starships look to heat up the ongoing battles between Rebel and Imperial fleets. You can look for them to arrive in the third quarter of 2013. Until then, keep your eyes peeled for more previews, announcements, and other X-Wing news!

Trying new challenges, terrifying new monsters and the whims of fate await investigators in the upcoming Unseen Forces, the first expansion for Elder Sign! Along with the brand new Blessed/Cursed mechanic, Unseen Forces offers new Ancient Ones, new investigators, and thrilling new Adventure cards as players battle archaic forces of evil for the fate of the world.

In our last preview, we highlighted the new entrances to the museum, along with a selection of new Adventure and Other World cards. Today, we will take a closer look at two of the new investigators and the powerful new abilities that will aid them during their time in the museum. Hopefully, we don’t awaken the Great Old Ones as we preview one of the horrifying new Ancient Ones available in the upcoming Elder Sign: Unseen Forces!

A Final Vision of Destruction

“Jacqueline's dreams are filled with terrible visions of blood and fire. She has dreamed of a museum in a city called Arkham, a quiet town that is to be destroyed by a terrible creature before the world is plunged into chaos for a thousand years. Her dreams have never been wrong before. Now, Jacqueline has come to the place that haunts her to try and stop the inevitable destruction - a place she knows will soon become a nightmare made flesh.”

Investigator Jacqueline Fine, the Psychic, has a Sanity of 7 and a Stamina of 3 (all those visions increase brainpower, but leave her physically weak). Jacqueline can use her Precognition to discard a Mythos card, delivering her fellow investigators from its potentially deadly effect.

For example, if the Mythos card The Stars Align . . . To Bring Madness is drawn, the text states that 1 Doom token is added to the Doom Track. Unfortunately, this addition of a Doom token will cause the Ancient One to awaken. Jacqueline discards this Mythos card, and draws again. This time, she draws A Curse . . . Amid the Stillness which must go into effect immediately. The text states that an Investigator (of the players’ choice) must become cursed. After some discussion, Jacqueline draws a Cursed card. The Investigators’ exploration may continue . . . for now.

 A Last Encore?

“Jazz has been nothing but trouble for Jim since the day he picked up his daddy’s trumpet. There was something strange and otherwordly about the writing on the inside of the bell, but it made good music. Jim got a lot of gigs with that trumpet, until the day it made Widow Jenkins get up and dance . . . at her own funeral. Since then, Jim hasn’t had much luck finding work, but he has learned a lot about the weird whispers in Arkham. Lately, the graveyard ghouls have been talking about the old museum . . . and The End. Jim isn’t too keen on that idea. He’s got more songs he wants to play before then.”

Jim Culver, the Musician, is an unusual addition to the roster of Investigators. With his Strange Luck ability, Jim may focus or assist even after successfully completing a task. In our example, Jim is attempting the Seeking Leads Adventure card. He rolls the green dice and obtains the following results:

Because the tasks must be completed in order, Jim uses the 2 Investigation die to complete the first task. Since he successfully completed the first task, he may reroll the remaining five dice. Normally, since the task was a success, focusing would not be allowed. Jim uses his Strange Luck ability to Focus the Peril die, re-rolling the other four. This time, he rolls the following:

Since Jim obtains another Peril result, he may use this to complete the second task successfully, keeping the Focused Peril die from last turn to help him complete the third task.

New Abominations

“Here, it seemed, was the ultimate source of all miscreation and abomination. For the gray mass quobbed and quivered, and swelled perpetually; and from it, in manifold fission, were spawned the anatomies that crept away on every side through the grotto. There were things like bodiless legs or arms that flailed in the slime, or heads that rolled, or floundering bellies with fishes' fins; and all manner of things malformed and monstrous, that grew in size as they departed from the neighborhood of Abhoth. And those that swam not swiftly ashore when they fell into the pool from Abhoth, were devoured by mouths that gaped in the parent bulk.”
— Clark Ashton Smith, "The Seven Geases"

Abhoth is just one of the loathsome new Ancient Ones in Unseen Forces. His Doom Track is relatively short – he will wake up after just nine Doom tokens are placed. To seal him away for eternity, eleven Elder Signs are required.

Abhoth presents an additional challenge for Investigators due to his Children of Abhoth monster markers. During setup, the three Children of Abhoth monster markers are placed facedown next to the Abhoth Ancient One card. Each Midnight, a Child of Abhoth appears in the museum, following normal rules for monster placement. This is in addition to any other monsters that may appear as a result of At Midnight effects, Mythos cards, or Doom Token placement.

These three offspring of the Abomination require Investigators to become Cursed in order to defeat them. Instead of being claimed as a trophy by a triumphant investigator, a Child of Abhoth monster is returned to the Children of Abhoth pool, and may be placed out again the next time Midnight rolls around. Investigators must make sacrifices to best these monsters, because if ever all three Children of Abhoth are in play when the clock strikes Midnight, the game ends immediately – and not in favor of our Investigators.

Should Investigators fail to keep Abhoth from waking up, the battle for the fate of the world will be a difficult one. Abhoth’s attack requires Investigators to discard any combination of three trophies and/or items each turn, or be devoured. On their turn, Investigators must roll a tricky three dice combination of two Perils and a Terror to remove one Doom Token from the Doom Track as they work to defeat the terrible Abhoth.

The fate of Arkham (and the world!) is in your hands! Will you brave powerful forces lurking within the museum to save humanity from the Ancient Ones? Pre-order Elder Sign: Unseen Forces at your local retailer today, and get ready to take on all-new horrors inside the museum!

“Maester Luwin said the day was looming closer. The end of the long summer was near at hand. Winter is coming.”
    –George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of Fire and Ice, the second Chapter Pack in the Kingsroad cycle for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game!

The Kingsroad cycle returns players to the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, their conflicts, and their intrigues. It also marks a return to several of the prominent themes and mechanics that have already been developed in A Game of Thrones: The Card Game. Accordingly, though the Chapter Packs in the Kingsroad cycle are light on new rules, they introduce a fantastic array of strategies and deck-building options as their cards promote new synergies and encourage players toward deep, new exploration of the existing card pool.

The sixty new cards in Fire and Ice (three copies each of twenty different cards) draw new focus to the game’s Summer and Winter mechanics, and they add a number of intriguing new twists. Not only will you find new characters and locations to grant your deck and House a powerful boost in one season or the other, you’ll find two new Seasons agendas that will lead to all-new deck types.

A Song of Fire. A Song of Ice.

“In ancient books of Asshai it is written that there will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword.”
    –Melisandre, A Clash of Kings

Seasons in Westeros can last for years, Thus, it’s only natural that they can drastically reshape the lives of those they impact, and in A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, the Great Houses each favor one season, either Summer or Winter, excepting the Baratheons, who exist divided between Summer and Winter just as the House is divided between brothers. Summer favors the rich Lannisters and the Dornish of House Martell. They count numerous boons during Summer’s bounty, as do those who support Daenerys Targaryen. Further north, the Starks and Greyjoys are more heavily impacted by Winter than the other Houses, so they have adapted, becoming harder, leaner, and more severe. These qualities may not increase their comfort when the air is warm and the harvests are plenty, but they can prove the difference between life and death when the heavy snows begin to fall.

While the new cards in Fire and Ice don’t create Summer or Winter, they feature numerous interactions with the seasons, and two new agendas heighten the extreme impact the seasons have upon Westeros.

In A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, it is neither Summer nor Winter until a card creates the season. The two most elemental cards for establishing seasons are the Black Raven (A Song of Summer, 2) and the White Raven (The Winds of Winter, 24). The Black Raven creates Summer, and the White Raven creates Winter. If either one is played, it forces the discard of the other, meaning that the two Ravens will never create co-existing Summer and Winter seasons. Still, it is possible for the seasons to co-exist. While neither the Black Raven or White Raven are in play, the Crown of Meereen (Queen of Dragons, 6), Crown of Winter (Lords of Winter, 1), and Crown of Azor Ahai (Kings of the Storm, 23) can all create seasons, and their effects can exist simultaneously. They don’t trump each other, but the Ravens trump them.

Now, with Fire and Ice, even the Ravens can be trumped. The Seasons agendas, A Song of Fire (Fire and Ice, 39) and A Song of Ice (Fire and Ice, 40), each prevent opponents from creating a rival season unless they, too, are running a Seasons agenda.

This means, too, that they will force players to give careful consideration to decks built around either Kings of Summer (A Song of Summer, 1) or Kings of Winter (The Winds of Winter, 21). Players running these recently restricted agendas will suffer when they can’t create the season of their choice against a rival Seasons agenda, and they’ll be forced to build their decks without relying too heavily on the positive effects of their agendas or intended seasons. Furthermore, they’ll need to time the play of their Ravens to ensure that the game doesn’t swing to their rival season, or their agendas will prove only a hindrance.

Though the new Seasons agendas will trump the old ones for creating seasonal game states, they don’t offer the same immediate, visceral impact. Instead, each rewards players who can build decks to take advantage of its passive effect. With A Song of Fire, this means finding a way to draw consistently up to the enhanced cap of four cards (or five, if two players are running A Song of Fire). With A Song of Ice, this means balancing the cost-effectiveness ratios of your deck so that you’re always coming out of a turn with a set of four cards in your hand that set you up better for the next turn than the cards in your opponent’s hand do for him.

This is an exciting evolution in the seasonal agenda type, creating an additional layer to the A Game of Thrones metagame. Additionally, as noted by Lead Developer Nate French, it marks a shift in the focus of the seasonal agenda:

“Summer and Winter decks have historically been more about using the effects of the Kings of Summer and Kings of Winter agendas to make decks run more efficiently. While such decks may have used a couple season-based cards, they weren’t often focused on that season in a significant manner. Fire and Ice and the newer Seasons agendas reward decks that combine many season-based effects, and a card like Green Dream (Fire and Ice, 35) will help players pull those effects to the forefront, ensuring that the clash between Summer and Winter remains fully impactful on the board.”

In the Wake of War

While the Kingsroad cycle returns players to the Seven Kingdoms, it depicts those lands as they exist after the War of the Five Kings. Forever scarred and changed, they’re familiar, but not quite the same as they were before.

In addition to the new Seasons agendas, Fire and Ice offers new versions of important figures such as Balon Greyjoy, Tommen Baratheon, and Bran Stark. Along with the Chapter Pack’s other cards, these characters reinforce their House’s traditional strengths while allowing you to tweak your tactics and strategies.

Expect to witness an explosion of new decks and strategies in the third quarter of 2013 when Fire and Ice arrives at retailers everywhere!

Since its debut at Gen Con 2010, Dust Tactics has grown to include an ever-expanding range of units, a passionate and committed fan community, and the release of its miniatures game counterpart, Dust Warfare. Now, the time has come for the next chapter in the Dust story.

Beginning June 1st, 2013, New Zealand–based Battlefront Miniatures will partner with Dust Studio to publish and distribute the Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare miniatures game lines. On that date, we will transition sales and marketing activity to Battlefront Miniatures.

Below is the official press release for this announcement, followed by a brief Q&A.

Dust Studio today announced that Battlefront Miniatures will become its publishing and distribution partner for the Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare miniatures game lines. Fantasy Flight Games, Dust Studio’s current publishing partner for those games, will transition sales and marketing activity to Battlefront Miniatures on June 1st, 2013.

“Dust has had a wonderful few years, during which we have seen the game’s community grow exponentially,” said Dust creator Paolo Parente. “Both Dust Studio and Fantasy Flight Games have evolved significantly during our relationship, and we now mutually feel that we are both better served by moving in new directions. Christian (CEO of Fantasy Flight Games) and I have known each other for many years, and I can say that this decision is a truly amicable one.”

Added John-Paul Brisigotti, CEO of Battlefront Group, “we are very excited by the Dust universe, and although it is a first for us to be distributing a product other than our own, the fit with our business model made this partnership something we could not resist. During the last few years, we have been moving into new avenues to expand the breadth of products the group offers, and we see Dust as another one of these ranges.”

“We’ve been fortunate to distribute Dust Tactics since its debut at Gen Con 2010, and we’re very proud of our development work on Dust Warfare,” said Christian T. Petersen, CEO of Fantasy Flight Games (FFG). “The last year, however, as FFG experienced phenomenal growth across many of our publishing categories, it became clear that Paolo and the Dust games would be better served by a partner who specializes in the unique business of miniature games. We’re confident that Paolo’s partner choice in Battlefront Miniatures is a strong one, and we wish nothing but the best to them, to Paolo, and to the fantastic Dust fan community.”

Starting June 1st, Battlefront Miniatures will begin soliciting and distributing all new products for Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare. FFG will ship all of its previously solicited new products prior to that date, and FFG will continue to exclusively sell all current Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare items while its inventories last. While FFG will support the Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare regionals events in May and June 2013, all future marketing and organized play for the games will be handled by Battlefront Miniatures, including the scheduled Gen Con 2013 tournaments.

About Dust Studio:
Dust Studio Limited is a Hong Kong–based company that creates and manufactures the Dust Tactics miniatures line, as well as model kits and scenery together with various books and comic books about the Dust universe. For more information, visit www.dust-models.com

About Battlefront Miniatures:
Battlefront Miniatures Limited is a New Zealand–based company that created Flames of War, the WWII miniature game. Battlefront publishes the world’s premier tabletop gaming magazine Wargames Illustrated, and owns Gale Force Nine, the leading manufacturer of game accessories. For more information, visit Battlefront’s website at www.flamesofwar.com.

About Fantasy Flight Games:
Roseville, Minnesota’s Fantasy Flight Games is a publisher of board, card, miniatures, and roleplaying games. Founded in 1995 by Christian T. Petersen, Fantasy Flight Games has published hundreds of successful titles, including licensed products based on A Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars, as well as many original board games such as Twilight Imperium, Arkham Horror, and Descent: Journeys in the Dark.

What Exactly Will Change on June 1st, 2013?

As of June 1st, 2013, Battlefront Miniatures will announce, distribute, market, and promote all new products for Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare. From that date forward, please visit Battlefront’s website for all the latest Dust-related announcements.

What About Previously Announced Products?

From now until our inventory is exhausted, FFG will be the exclusive distributor for all Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare products announced before June 1st, 2013.

Who Will Handle Customer Service?

Issues pertaining to products announced prior to June 1st, 2013 should be directed to FFG, while those pertaining to products announced after June 1st, 2013 should be directed to Battlefront.

Visit our Dust Tactics product page or our Dust Warfare product page to see a full list of the products FFG supports.

Who Will Answer Rules Questions?

After June 1st, all rules questions should be directed to Battlefront Miniatures, regardless of the release date of the product in question.

How Will This Affect Organized Play?

While FFG will support the Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare regionals events in May and June 2013, all future organized play for the games will be handled by Battlefront Miniatures. This means that Battlefront will host all scheduled Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare events at Gen Con 2013. Further, it means that the World Championship Tournament for these games will not take place at FFG’s Worlds Event in November. Further information on Worlds will be forthcoming.

We at Fantasy Flight Games would like to again thank Paolo and the Dust community for three outstanding years. We wish the best of luck to them and Battlefront Miniatures!

Since its debut at Gen Con 2010, Dust Tactics has grown to include an ever-expanding range of units, a passionate and committed fan community, and the release of its miniatures game counterpart, Dust Warfare. Now, the time has come for the next chapter in the Dust story.

Beginning June 1st, 2013, New Zealand–based Battlefront Miniatures will partner with Dust Studio to publish and distribute the Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare miniatures game lines. On that date, we will transition sales and marketing activity to Battlefront Miniatures.

Below is the official press release for this announcement, followed by a brief Q&A.

Dust Studio today announced that Battlefront Miniatures will become its publishing and distribution partner for the Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare miniatures game lines. Fantasy Flight Games, Dust Studio’s current publishing partner for those games, will transition sales and marketing activity to Battlefront Miniatures on June 1st, 2013.

“Dust has had a wonderful few years, during which we have seen the game’s community grow exponentially,” said Dust creator Paolo Parente. “Both Dust Studio and Fantasy Flight Games have evolved significantly during our relationship, and we now mutually feel that we are both better served by moving in new directions. Christian (CEO of Fantasy Flight Games) and I have known each other for many years, and I can say that this decision is a truly amicable one.”

Added John-Paul Brisigotti, CEO of Battlefront Group, “we are very excited by the Dust universe, and although it is a first for us to be distributing a product other than our own, the fit with our business model made this partnership something we could not resist. During the last few years, we have been moving into new avenues to expand the breadth of products the group offers, and we see Dust as another one of these ranges.”

“We’ve been fortunate to distribute Dust Tactics since its debut at Gen Con 2010, and we’re very proud of our development work on Dust Warfare,” said Christian T. Petersen, CEO of Fantasy Flight Games (FFG). “The last year, however, as FFG experienced phenomenal growth across many of our publishing categories, it became clear that Paolo and the Dust games would be better served by a partner who specializes in the unique business of miniature games. We’re confident that Paolo’s partner choice in Battlefront Miniatures is a strong one, and we wish nothing but the best to them, to Paolo, and to the fantastic Dust fan community.”

Starting June 1st, Battlefront Miniatures will begin soliciting and distributing all new products for Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare. FFG will ship all of its previously solicited new products prior to that date, and FFG will continue to exclusively sell all current Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare items while its inventories last. While FFG will support the Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare regionals events in May and June 2013, all future marketing and organized play for the games will be handled by Battlefront Miniatures, including the scheduled Gen Con 2013 tournaments.

About Dust Studio:
Dust Studio Limited is a Hong Kong–based company that creates and manufactures the Dust Tactics miniatures line, as well as model kits and scenery together with various books and comic books about the Dust universe. For more information, visit www.dust-models.com

About Battlefront Miniatures:
Battlefront Miniatures Limited is a New Zealand–based company that created Flames of War, the WWII miniature game. Battlefront publishes the world’s premier tabletop gaming magazine Wargames Illustrated, and owns Gale Force Nine, the leading manufacturer of game accessories. For more information, visit Battlefront’s website at www.flamesofwar.com.

About Fantasy Flight Games:
Roseville, Minnesota’s Fantasy Flight Games is a publisher of board, card, miniatures, and roleplaying games. Founded in 1995 by Christian T. Petersen, Fantasy Flight Games has published hundreds of successful titles, including licensed products based on A Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars, as well as many original board games such as Twilight Imperium, Arkham Horror, and Descent: Journeys in the Dark.

What Exactly Will Change on June 1st, 2013?

As of June 1st, 2013, Battlefront Miniatures will announce, distribute, market, and promote all new products for Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare. From that date forward, please visit Battlefront’s website for all the latest Dust-related announcements.

What About Previously Announced Products?

From now until our inventory is exhausted, FFG will be the exclusive distributor for all Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare products announced before June 1st, 2013.

Who Will Handle Customer Service?

Issues pertaining to products announced prior to June 1st, 2013 should be directed to FFG, while those pertaining to products announced after June 1st, 2013 should be directed to Battlefront.

Visit our Dust Tactics product page or our Dust Warfare product page to see a full list of the products FFG supports.

Who Will Answer Rules Questions?

After June 1st, all rules questions should be directed to Battlefront Miniatures, regardless of the release date of the product in question.

How Will This Affect Organized Play?

While FFG will support the Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare regionals events in May and June 2013, all future organized play for the games will be handled by Battlefront Miniatures. This means that Battlefront will host all scheduled Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare events at Gen Con 2013. Further, it means that the World Championship Tournament for these games will not take place at FFG’s Worlds Event in November. Further information on Worlds will be forthcoming.

We at Fantasy Flight Games would like to again thank Paolo and the Dust community for three outstanding years. We wish the best of luck to them and Battlefront Miniatures!

“If you know what you’re missing, you only want it more.”
    –Andromeda

Humanity’s Shadow, the fourth Data Pack for Android: Netrunner The Card Game, is now available at your local retailer!

When a handful of megacorps control the vast majority of human interests, it’s inevitable that they will be able to hire new employees from top-class talent pools that include many of the world’s best and brightest young minds. It’s also inevitable that these giant corporations will squeeze many of the world’s poor out of the limelight, push them into the shadows, and marginalize them. Many of these marginalized individuals will then make themselves available as resources to those elite hackers, known as runners, who are capable of slicing through even bleeding edge encryption systems.

In Humanity’s Shadow, sixty new cards (three copies each of twenty individual cards) heighten the tensions between the world’s richest corporations and the people who want to pick them open. They’ll find new uses for the Data Pack’s ice, icebreakers, hardware, events, and operations. But even as the game’s corps and runners seek to implement these new tools and strategies, Humanity’s Shadow reminds us that the ongoing cyberstruggles aren’t won with technology alone. Accordingly, you’ll find several unique, new individuals arriving to offer their inestimable talents…sometimes, for a price.

How much difference can one person truly make? The deck list below serves to highlight the distinctive talents of the new Runner identity arriving in Humanity’s Shadow, Andromeda (Humanity’s Shadow, 83).

Economic Warfare

Andromeda

Hardware (2):
Doppelganger x1
Plascrete Carapace x1

Programs (8):
Corroder x1
Crypsis x1
Femme Fatale x1
Gordian Blade x1
Ninja x1
Parasite x3

Resources (11):
Aesop’s Pawnshop x1
Armitage Codebusting x3
Bank Job x3
Data Dealer x1
Kati Jones x1 (Humanity’s Shadow, 91)
Public Sympathy x1
Xanadu x1 (Humanity’s Shadow, 82)

Events (24):
Account Siphon x3
Easy Mark x3
Emergency Shutdown x3
Forged Activation Orders x3
Inside Job x3
Kraken x3 (Humanity’s Shadow, 90)
Special Order x3
Sure Gamble x3

Total Cards (45)

Though she’s now a dispossessed ristie, Andromeda still retains the advantages of her education and upbringing. What she lacks are credits. More specifically, she lacks the sizable sums of credits she would like to see neatly invested in diversified portfolios like those her parents once controlled.

Accordingly, she has begun to wage economic warfare against the game’s corporations, and other individuals like Kati Jones have shown up to offer their assistance. Whether they mistakenly view Andromeda’s intentions as some noble form of justice, or whether they simply don’t care why Andromeda steals from the megarich, these sympathetic souls are happy to supply her with the resources, technology, and tricks she needs to hit the corporations where it hurts – their bank accounts.

Economic warfare is the name, theme, and primary mechanic of this deck. With Parasite (Core Set, 12), Emergency Shutdown (Cyber Exodus, 43), Account Siphon (Core Set, 18), Forged Activation Orders (Core Set, 20), Kraken, and Xanadu, it has the tools to starve any Corp player of credits. Then, all this economic warfare comes together in Andromeda’s unique ability, which allows her both to ramp up quickly to an early position of economic strength and hang onto the components she needs in order to strike against the Corporation’s defenses at key moments.

It’s worth noting that even though Andromeda’s ability doesn’t let her hold onto extra cards when the Runner’s turn ends, it does mean that you can mulligan back to nine cards if your first draw isn’t strong enough to turn the game’s cyberstruggles immediately in your favor.

The Skills to Pay the Bills

Pick up Andromeda, Xanadu, Kraken, and the other great cards from Humanity’s Shadow today. This Data Pack for Android: Netrunner is now available at your local retailer!