Rebels and Imperials

Countless conflicts have spanned the storied history of the Star Wars™ galaxy, from ancient duels between Jedi and Sith to climactic battles between the Resistance and the First Order. That said, to many fans, the most iconic of all the wars that have taken place among the stars is the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance. It is this very conflict that stood center stage when we launched Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game in March of 2023, and today, we return to that conflict for its next expansion.

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the Rebel & Empire Reinforcements Expansion for Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game!

Serving as a direct expansion to the original edition of the game, this box intensifies the conflict between the Rebels and the Empire with new units, capital ships, and bases joining the fray. Also included are new mission cards that let you add reinforcements mid-game and new game modes that shake up how you play.

Note: This is not a standalone expansion. A copy of the original edition of Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game (SWG01) is required to play.

Familiar Faces

Of the 140 new cards included in this expansion, 50 of them are “reinforcement cards”; 25 for Rebels, and 25 for the Empire. Unlike normal cards, reinforcement cards are not shuffled into the galaxy deck at the start of the game. Instead, you earn them by completing special “mission cards,” a new card type introduced in this expansion.

Each reinforcement card has a corresponding mission card. While setting up the game, you shuffle all of your faction’s mission cards into a mission deck and set the faction’s reinforcement cards off to the side. At the end of setup (and the start of every one of your turns during play), if you don’t have a faceup mission card in front of you, you reveal the top two cards of your mission deck, pick one to keep, and place the other on the bottom. You can only complete a certain number of missions per game, so make sure you choose wisely. From then on, that mission stays in play until it’s completed and its reward is claimed!

To complete a mission, you must place resources on it during your turns, similar to how you would spend resources to purchase a card from the galaxy row. The main difference here is that any resources you spend on a mission remain on that mission card until it is completed, which means you can work toward the mission’s completion over multiple turns instead of having to do it all at once. Once you have a number of resources on the card equal to its mission value (designated by the number at the bottom of the card), you complete the mission and immediately add its corresponding reinforcement card to the top of your deck.

For example, the Rebel mission Renounce the Empire will earn you the Mon Mothma unit as a reward. Likewise, the Imperial mission Restore Imperial Order will add the Admiral Thrawn unit to your deck. Other Rebel reinforcements include iconic heroes like Yoda , R2-D2 , and C-3PO , while the Imperials can call on the aid of powerful villains like Emperor Palpatine , Grand Inquisitor , and Dedra Meero . Mission cards can earn you more than just units; you can also gain access to capital ships like Home One and Redemption for the Rebels and Chimaera and Executor for the Empire. There are many powerful tools to be found within each faction’s reinforcement cards, but keep in mind: there’s a limit to how many missions you can complete during a game!

Outside of the reinforcement and mission cards, the Rebel & Empire Reinforcements Expansion also comes with 10 new bases and 10 upgraded starter cards for each faction. Some of the bases—such as Klatooine and Death Star II —have abilities that either interact with your current mission or scale off the number of missions you’ve completed, while other bases—such as Ryloth and Scarif —have more “traditional” base abilities for added variety.

As you might expect, the upgraded starter cards are used to replace the cards in your starter deck. These add more variety to the early game, since there are five different upgraded starter cards per faction as opposed to the three different standard starter cards per faction. On the Rebel side, you’ll find the Rebel Astromech , Tauntaun Rider , Smuggling Ship , A-Wing , and MC30 Scout Frigate , while the Imperials will have the Probe Droid , Dewback Rider , VT-49 Decimator , TIE Striker , and Arrestor Cruiser . It’s important to note that these upgraded starter cards were specifically designed for use in the new campaign mode. Speaking of which…

New Ways to Play

As we alluded to earlier in this article, the Rebel & Empire Reinforcements Expansion comes with a number of new game modes! Each of these modes combines elements from this expansion with the original edition content to create new ways to experience the game, ensuring that you have even more reasons to put the game on the table.

The most notable of these modes is a campaign mode, which transforms Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game from a fast, one-and-done skirmish into a five-part series of games where the results of each match carry into the next. At the end of each game, you and your opponent score points based on the number of bases you destroyed and the number of mission cards you completed during that game. You can then use those points to buy upgraded starter cards for your starter deck, gradually replacing the old cards as you do so. You can also swap out cards from the galaxy deck between games, replacing them with the reinforcement cards you earned. Since you’re updating both the galaxy deck and your own starter deck between each game, it makes each campaign a completely unique experience. Whoever manages to destroy 5 enemy bases in game 5 wins the campaign!

We’ll provide more information on campaign mode (and the other new modes) on a later date, so stay tuned for even more ways to play!

A Reinforced Game

With 140 new cards, new strategies to explore, and new modes to play, the Rebel & Empire Reinforcements Expansion is a must-have for any fan of Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game. Look forward to adding this expansion to your collection when it arrives in stores this July!

You can preorder your own copy of the Rebel & Empire Reinforcements Expansion (SWG04en) at your local retailer or online through our webstore today!

Written by Peter Schumacher