Star Wars Unlimited is about to shake up the trading card games sector like an earthquake of power. The novelty will not only rely on a strong license, but will also increase organized tournament formats and gameplay. So something could happen with Star Wars Unlimited.
Admittedly, as a decades-long Star Wars fan, it's difficult not to view the new trading card game Star Wars Unlimited through rose-colored fan glasses. If the term “Star Wars” appears somewhere, you can be pretty sure that I will be there: Outer Rim, Rebellion, Armada, Imperial Assault or the deck building game - everything is on the shelf and a lot of it ends up on the table relatively regularly. And with fun.
To put it into perspective: I am a board gamer who not only celebrates Star Wars: Rebellion (rightly!), but also likes the simple pick up and deliver system from Star Wars: Outer Rim. That means: It usually doesn't take more than the license for George Lucas' powerful sci-fi epic to get me excited. So why should you trust me when I say in a preview of Star Wars Unlimited that this trading card game has enormous potential and will be really good at the time of release? Quite simply: the trading card game would work perfectly with the gameplay even without Star Wars.
Tactical as of publication
There was great excitement when Fantasy Flight Games announced a Star Wars trading card game. As a fan, I had been waiting for this since Decipher's Star Wars Collectible Card Game was discontinued - so many years. This also shows that wherever it says Star Wars, there is enthusiasm in it, because the old trading card game was anything but well-rounded in terms of gameplay. Bulky, a complicated set of rules and sometimes long games - I collected more than I played. So I was skeptical at first Star Wars Unlimited has been officially announced. From that point on, things could always develop in either direction, but it is now clear: things are heading in a good direction.
Since 2011, Fantasy Flight Game has had the rights to produce officially licensed Star Wars games and they have made extensive use of them. There was experience in dealing with the brand, and many of the titles published were completely successful. The Star Wars Destiny dice duel alone – a collecting game of all things – was mothballed comparatively quickly. Here Fantasy Flight Games simply overdid it with new releases and ultimately scared off the organized play scene. This resulted in the game being stopped. So you were warned: also at Star Wars Unlimited könnte es in die Hose gehen. Dann allerdings stellten die Macher ihre Pläne vor, die Hand und Fuß zu haben scheinen. Man geht die ganze Sache von der Veröffentlichung neuer Sets bis hin zur Wettkampforganisation systematischer an. Das vermittelt letztlich den Eindruck, dass tatsächlich funktionieren kann, was FFG und Asmodee sich vorstellen bezüglich Star Wars Unlimited.
Starting in March
When Star Wars Unlimited starts unofficially on March 1st and officially on March 8th, fans will probably be there in large numbers. The mood can be seen on social media and it is mostly good. With “Spark of Rebellion” – the name of the first set – Fantasy Flight Games wants to spread this to the community. It already works in terms of content. Star Wars Unlimited starts predominantly with content from the classic trilogy, which is known to be best received by fans. There are a few maps of the Galactic Republic here and there, which puts us in the realm of the prequels, but that's okay too, because thematically it fits.
The premise of Star Wars Unlimited is similar to the competitive games: You put together a deck, in this case with at least 50 cards, and compete against other players. The highlight: Iconic characters and units from the films form the army with which the enemy base must be defeated. At the start of the trading card game there are two pre-built decks: one around Luke Skywalker as the leader, one around Darth Vader. That's a great fit, but later Star Wars Unlimited won't be limited to that, not even to the fight between the empire and the rebels - that would ultimately become a drag in sealed tournament formats at the latest.
This is where the potential of Star Wars Unlimited becomes clear for the first time: the simple goal of destroying the base is not as easy to achieve as it initially seems. The division into ground and space combat units makes it necessary to balance your deck in a clever tactical way, otherwise there would be a risk of being overrun because you have nothing to counter the opponent in one of the areas. In addition, only one action is possible per turn. You can play a unit or action, equip an upgrade or grab the initiative token to start the next round safely (but you pass and no longer have the opportunity to intervene in the active round). So you can never do everything. Star Wars Unlimited therefore relies on small, round-by-round skirmishes and not on mass battles as we know them from other trading card games. Yes, you can also overrun your opponent in Star Wars Unlimited, but the opponent must have been very unlucky when drawing cards or simply not paying attention. It's more about timing: When do I play my leader? When do I use hand cards’ “When Played” abilities? When do I attack and who or what? Do I forego playing a resource because I only have good cards in my hand that can be useful? The same applies here: “Supplies” are played from the hand; there are no lands like in Magic the Gathering. This means that every card can potentially become a resource, which is both a blessing and a curse. This requires the players to make decisions. Every round. Because: Basically it is advisable to play a resource in every round. Of course you can deviate from this.
Lean decks, plenty of strategy
Overall, by streamlining the deck and relying on tactical cards and the one-action-per-turn rule, Star Wars Unlimited creates a refreshing game concept that is easy to learn but offers plenty of room for deck building and synergies. And: The waiting time is pleasantly short. It's a quick exchange of blows that usually remains exciting until the end - or until the first serious mistake. If the enemy base is reduced to rubble at the end, you win. This usually takes between 30 and 45 minutes, but with increasing experience it can sometimes go faster or take longer.
The replay value is high and the fun is already there with the two starter decks. Of course that is not the case. You can pursue some great strategies even with the standard cards. In short: it will be something!
Fantasy Flight Games is also taking the surroundings seriously this time: there are tournaments up to the highest level, plans for many years are already in the drawer, the community idea is clearly the focus, and plenty of accessories come from the professional hands of Gamegenic From the plain card game, it also becomes a real eye-catcher on the gaming table. And now Fantasy Flight Games has also let the Wookie out of the bag when it comes to multiplayer mode - Star Wars Unlimited is not limited to pure 1-vs-1 duels, but can also be played as a "real battle" with rule adjustments.
Star Wars Unlimited turns out to be great fun not only, but especially for Star Wars fans. The only potentially critical point can be seen here: the target group. Of course, it's aimed at both beginners and experts, but everything is based on Star Wars, so you should like that, but at least you have to accept it. Star Wars Unlimited will not have the target group range of a Disney Lorcana. But there are enough Star Wars fans in this country too.
# | Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
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1 |
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Fantasy Flight Games SWH0302DE Fall of the Republic... * | 101,99 EUR | ||
2 |
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Star Wars: Unlimited TCG Shadow of the Galaxy... * | 29,95 EUR | ||
3 |
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Gamegenic, Star Wars: Unlimited Acrylic Tokens * | 23,90 EUR | ||
4 |
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Star Wars: Unlimited TCG Spark of Rebellion BOOSTER DISPLAY (24... * |
113,61 EUR |
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5 |
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Star Wars: Unlimited The spark of a rebellion... * | 31,91 EUR |
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