JZWINK said:

Dark Horse acquired the license years ago, presumably their losing it is a case of it simply not being renewed. Which makes sense, since Disney owns both Marvel and Lucasfilm; it's a question of moving the property in-house.

There's no such issue here, since Disney doesn't have a tabletop game developer in-house. As long as SWLCG continues to be profitable, FFG will almost certainly keep the license.

Re: Martin's comments --

None of the EU-only eras are likely to ever be popular enough to justify their inclusion in the game in any major way. Remember, catering only to hardcore fans isn't a viable business model, even for a AAA+ property like Star Wars. And while things like taking out Home One with Force Lightning fall under gameplay abstraction, mixing together characters who lived thousands of years apart is a bigger hurdle to overcome. We geeks can be a remarkably fickle and nitpicky lot. Also, I feel that the Clone Wars era is distinct enough in feel that a separate game, with separate rules, is justified.

Xenu's Paradox said:

There was a rumor a few weeks after the Lucasfilm announcement that Disney was looking to acquire Hasbro -- who owns Wizards of the Coast -- that scared the ever-loving daylights out of fans of FFG's Star Wars games who figured the license would go to WotC.  Turned out to be nothing, but you never know.

I just want this game to continue for more than a few years. I would actually like to see the new trillogy in this game, but I have my doubts.

JustinMcBride said:

As long as it's profitable, I don't think we have to worry about that. And FFG is without a doubt among the best in the business. When the CCG market crashed (for the second time), they were one of the few companies to keep their product lines going, albeit in a different format. And now they have more card games on the market than anyone else, including Wizards! Yes, Magic is still the 800 pound gorilla and likely makes more money for Hasbro than FFG's entire company-wide profits, but Wizards still only has two games (Magic and Duel Masters) going at this point, while FFG has Thrones, Cthulhu, Warhammer, Rings, Netrunner, and Star Wars -- three times as many product lines!

FFG has a game for both the hobbit and LotR so they might do something similar here. Who knows what the future holds.

Toqtamish said:

I don't play it (yet) but I always assumed The Hobbit's cards were just a part of LOTR with slightly different gameplay?

Now on this topic, and why I asked, is I know there's a lot of elitist Star Wars-aholics out there who hate the new trilogy, but in my opinion the more variety the better.  Granted, I just first watched The Phantom Menace yesterday and was expecting something along the lines of the worst movie ever and was pleasantly surprised when it was much better than I expected.  Guess it pays to not let fanboydom blind my enjoyment of a card game?

Xenu's Paradox said:

Xenu's Paradox said:

Comparing FFG  to WOTC is like comparing a regional store chain to Wal Mart, there is no comparison.  When you have magic the gathering as your flagship product you don't need 5 other games.  

Not that my vote counts, but I would say no to the EP 1-3 cards. I play another Star Wars Card Game, and there is nothing fun (to me) about having anachronistic battles featuring the characters I feel ruined Star Wars …

The prequels introduced many assets that could be used in unique ways, look at what Decipher did with the podraces in the original Star Wars CCG, an alternate way to play with an arguably overpowered win condition. 

It comes down to the concept that some people do enjoy the prequels, and many kids and teens grew up with them and some even see 1-3 as "their" movies.

If people are really going to get bogged down in the logic of Vader/Anakin existing on the same deck, they are in the wrong game. If you want realism or a "Star Wars Universe Sim" game, play the RPG. 

I would love to see iconic moments and characters from the prequel trilogy, especially Count Dooku, Mace Windu, General Grevious, and maybe new ways to play involving politics or negotiations. 

If people are really that uptight about it, then have two formats for play: "Classic" and "Prequel" One you can only use OT cards, the other you can use Prequel. (Or have three formats if people really want to splinter the playgroups) 

We have already seen cards with Mara Jade, so there is no doubt we will get at least hints of EU eventually in the game. Prequels aren't that farfetched. 

Kryptonite Kollectibles said:

I for one can't wait for a "Brakiss" card…I know it's a dream..I can always make a CUSTOM card.  I'm almost done with BLANK templates if anybody is interested in making customs.

I sent them an email a while ago, thinking it can't hurt to just outright ask them, and they said they have "many planned items over numerous years", so I would imagine we're safe for a while yet. Also, given how astonishing the success of X-Wing has been, to say nothing of any other SW-related game from FFG, I think Disney would have to be certifiable to take the licence from them just to give it to a pet-company. The business of the DH licence being revoked in favour of Marvel was, the last I read, just a rumour too. 

It was quite a while ago that the topic of what FFG could produce came up, and I think it was one of the artists involved in the card game who said they have licence to use original trilogy and EU images, but whether that was for the previous incarnation of card game or not, I can't remember now. Plus, how much of the deal would an artist be aware of? Well, anyway.

For what it's worth, it really wouldn't bother me seeing prequel-related cards pop into this game. I can't see it happening, but they have added in other factions to their games once they are suitably established (Order of the Silver Twilight), so we could perhaps see a Republic and Separatist expansion at some later date. But I doubt that. This game just feels so much like Warhammer Invasion to me, and based on that flimsy premise I think six factions is all we will see. But should the day come when Count Dooku and Poggle the Lesser go up against Princess Leia and Admiral Ackbar, I'm not about to get the matches out. WotC's Star Wars Miniatures seemed to do pretty well for them, and you could have Darth Nihilus go up against Cade Skywalker in that game. 

I think it is probably more likely that we'll get to see Grievous and Maul in a separate game, and I'd be all over that as I am with this. The films did tend a bit too much towards the silly at times (though were mostly parodies of the original trilogy), but I think, when handled sensibly (has anyone read James Luceno's excellent prequel work?) , they can be just as compelling. The sprawling tale of galactic conflict, (most of) the personalities involved, and the exotic battlegrounds and situations are all really very enjoyable. Skulking down the lower levels of Coruscant with Lorn Pavan and I-Five, hob-nobbing with Senators and Neimoidians, or on an adventure with a Jedi or three, I'd love to bring that back to the tabletop gaming arena!  

The only reason I could see someone saying "Make it a different game!" is the fact certain cards/themes would not fit within the current affiliations, but I do not see anything to prevent them from increasing the number of affiliations.

superradjoe said:

Which affiliations could it be increased with, though? I cannot deny, I'd love to see a New Republic affiliation at some time, and I think this could fit in with the theme almost perfectly, as the NR still battled the Empire, the Sith, etc. The trouble is, there's nothing really easy that could be brought in to balance that. Yuuzhan Vong would be a natural choice, but most people would probably be a bit underwhelmed. Hm.

superradjoe said:

You mean OTHER than diluting the packs? We're only getting 5-6 objective sets per pack, split between 6 factions and neutral. Adding more factions is going to make it very difficult to keep a good balance between them all.