FFG: Fantasy Flight Games News

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Unearth Lost Knowledge

A New FAQ is Available for Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game

The 2014 Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game season will be at its zenith next month at the 2014 World Championship Weekend. Are you prepared for the dangers that await? Can you survive the horde of unspeakable horrors that will be unleashed upon the world?

Study the new FAQ (pdf,  1.0 MB) to unlock precious knowledge for your struggle ahead.

There will be no changes to the tournament rules at this time. You can find the current version of the tournament rules (pdf,  3.0 MB) in its usual spot on the Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game website.

These changes will go into effect on October 20th, 2014.

A Word from the Developers

Iä Fhtagn Call of Cthulhu Players!

This FAQ update is focused on adjusting the state of the metagame in order to create a more interesting and fresh environment. Since the release of the The Key and the Gate Deluxe Expansion we have seen the tournament scene flush with variations of a very fast and explosive deck that uses Yithians paired with Interstellar Migration (The Key and the Gate, 37) in order to force your opponent to discard his entire deck. This deck has been warping the tournament format since its inception and we have decided to trim it back so that other decks can grow and flourish, thereby reinvigorating the tournament environment and overall making the game more fun for everyone. In order to do this, we have restricted the following cards: Lost Oracle (The Key and the Gate, 9), Studying the Void (The Key and the Gate, 35), Yithian Scout (The Key and the Gate, 15),  Nikola Tesla (The Key and the Gate, 4), and Speak to the Dead (Whispers in the Dark, 20).

In addition, the card Interstellar Migration (The Key and the Gate, 37) remains on the restricted list and has received errata that only allows it to be triggered during the story phase and limits a player from triggering it more than once per phase.

We make none of these changes lightly, but due to the nature of LCGs, we sometimes have to take a very direct approach to ensure the metagame remains fresh and vibrant and doesn’t revolve completely around one or two decks. During recent premier-level events, it became quite evident that many players had grown weary of the Ythian metagame, and we hope that this update reinvigorates the environment for Worlds. We look forward to seeing you next month!

Brad Andres and Damon Stone

Thanks Brad and Damon!

With so much new knowledge, the world is sure to shift in new ways. Download the new FAQ and tournament rules today, and stay ahead of those you will face at your next tournament.

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Source: Unearth Lost Knowledge

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Lead the Way

New FAQ and Tournament Rules are Available for Star Wars(TM): The Card Game

The 2014 Star Wars™: The Card Game Organized Play season has been full of fierce battles and heroic deeds, and the 2014 World Championship is sure to push the galactic conflict even further. Those who train and prepare will be most fit to lead their troops when the next battle begins.

Prepare yourself to lead the way by reading the new FAQ (pdf,  5.7 MB) and tournament rules (pdf,  1.3 MB) and staying up to date on the latest changes.

These changes will go into effect on October 20th, 2014.

A Word from the Developers

Hello Star Wars: The Card Game players!

With the World Championship approaching, we are providing an update to the FAQ and tournament rules for players looking to attend, as well as those playing elsewhere.

The only update to the tournament rules document is the Authorized Cards section to state that the Between the Shadows expansion will not be legal for the World Championship event.

In the FAQ, we have issued a pair of small balance errata. The metagame for the 2014 North American Championship at Gen Con was overwhelmingly driven by two objective sets: Along the Gamor Run (Knowledge and Defense, 552) and May the Force Be With You (Join Us or Die, 567). The vast majority of successful light side decks included one or both of these objectives, and the dark side metagame emerged as a reaction to these sets.

For Along the Gamor Run (Knowledge and Defense, 552) we are limiting this objective set to a single copy per objective deck. The Hired Hands from this objective set were proving to be more resilient than originally intended, and having four copies of them in a player’s deck provided a very demoralizing game experience for the dark side player.

The May the Force Be With You (Join Us or Die, 567) objective has received the addition of “Limit once per turn.” in order to keep the light side player from being able to attack with all his units and then free up multiple solid defenders going into the dark side player’s turn.

With both of these changes, we hope to see a more engaging metagame for both sides of the Force at the Star Wars: The Card Game 2014 World Championship!

Nate French
 Erik Dahlman
 Fantasy Flight Games

Thanks Nate and Erik!

In the chaos of battle, true leaders reveal themselves. Will you be one of them? Set yourself up for victory by downloading and reading the new FAQ and tournament rules now.

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Source: Lead the Way

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Become a Hero

New FAQ and Tournament Rules are Available for X-Wing (TM)

The 2014 X-Wing™ World Championship is almost upon us! Will you gain glory and recognition from Rebels and Imperials alike? Or will you be just another ship silhouette painted on your enemy’s hull?

Whether you’re planning on joining us for Worlds or going to play in your local game night, reading the new FAQ (pdf,  7.1 MB) and tournament rules (pdf,  4.1 MB) can help you prepare. For those participating in larger scale battles, the Epic tournament rules (pdf,  4.8 MB) remain unchanged.

These changes will go into effect on October 20th, 2014.

A Word from the Developers

Hello pilots!

This time around in the FAQ we have a couple of errata, a couple of rules clarifications, and a few minor rules changes. The tournament rules feature one minor change that will allow tournament organizers to manage pairings more easily, as well as make each match more competitive by pairing players to opponents with similar Margin of Victory records.

Both of the errata come from the new YT-2400 Expansion Pack: Lone Wolf and Stay on Target.  This resolves some confusion about whether a ship is considered at Range 1 of itself (it is) and whether Stay on Target can be used abusively in tandem with Navigator (it can’t).

The rules clarifications and changes affect a few corner cases that will not come up often
 for most players. The first rules clarification has to do with values being increased and
 decreased by different game effects, which has become relevant with the introduction of the VT-49 Decimator and its agility value of “0.” The other clarification is tied to a rule change around Autoblaster and the distinction between “dice results” and “hit or evade results.”
 We’ve also simplified Proximity Mines and changed the way stationary maneuvers and overlapping interact.

Additionally, the new FAQ provides answers to questions surrounding Dash Rendar, Keyan Farlander, Push the Limit, Experimental Interface, and what happens if a ship overlaps both an asteroid and a debris cloud.

Thanks for continuing to support this great game, and we hope to see you this November for the 2014 World Championship Weekend!

Happy hunting,
 Frank Brooks and Alex Davy

Thanks Frank and Alex!

Don’t get caught with an enemy on your tail! Download the FAQ, tournament rules, and Epic tournament rules now, and be prepared for your next dogfight.

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Source: Become a Hero

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Gain New Weapons

A New FAQ is Available for Warhammer: Diskwars

The 2014 Warhammer: Diskwars World Championships are closing in, and war threatens. No army would miss an opportunity for battle, but don’t run mindlessly into combat. Doing so may lead to defeat and fates much worse
 than death.

Take a moment to read the new FAQ (pdf, 742 KB) and gather your wits for your next tournament.

There will be no changes to the tournament rules at this time. You can find the current version of the tournament rules (pdf,  2.2 MB) in its usual spot on the Warhammer: Diskwars website.

These changes will go into effect on October 20th, 2014.

A Word from the Developers

Greetings Warhammer: Diskwars players!

We have updated only the FAQ document. There are no changes to the tournament rules at this time. In the FAQ you will find clarifications on several different disks and cards, including the Bloodcrushers, Shield of Saphery, and Dark Majesty. In addition, Heinrich Kemmler has received errata for clarity. Instead of reinforcing up to three Skeletons, Kemmler places up to three of them following all the rules of reanimate. This was always the intended use of the disk.

May the Old World quake with the fury of war, and we hope to see you at Worlds!

Michael Gernes & Lukas Litzsinger

Thanks Michael and Lukas!

The Old World contains all sorts of warriors. Make sure you’re one who studies by reading the new FAQ and current tournament rules so that you can crush your enemies!

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Source: Gain New Weapons

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A Dictate to Follow

Tournament Rules are Now Available for Warhammer 40,000: Conquest

Warhammer 40,000: Conquest is now on sale, and players all around the world have begun waging war while exploring FFG’s newest LCG. For those looking for competition beyond the safety of their own homes, the tournament rules are now online! Whether you’re setting up a fun tournament with friends or running an event at your local game store, be sure to check out the tournament rules (pdf, MB) first. You can find the current tournament rules, along with the game’s rules documents, on the support page of the Warhammer 40,000: Conquest website.

The Warhammer 40,000: Conquest tournament rules are effective immediately.

The Traxis Sector contains many dangers, visible and hidden. Do you have what it takes to conquer this newly discovered corner of the Warhammer 40,000 universe?

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Source: A Dictate to Follow

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Mind the Details

Updated FAQ and Tournament Rules Are Now Available

It is time to once again release a new rules update as the season, and the year, begins to culminate in the biggest event of the year: the 2014 World Championship Weekend! Using the feedback and results from around the world collected during National Championships and other tournaments, we have updated the FAQ and tournament rules documents for all of our competitive games.

All changes from today’s announcement will go into effect on October 20th, 2014.

Looking Back

While we update tournament rules and FAQs regularly to give players the best possible experience, the end of the year is a great time look back on what we’ve seen in 2014. Most notably, the year has been marked by large updates to how Android: Netrunner, Star Wars™: The Card Game, and X-Wing™ tournaments are run. While these changes were large, the tournaments for all three games are now in a much better place.

Today’s update brings with it small changes to each of our FAQs and a few of the tournament rules documents. Despite the size of the changes, it is important players are up to date with the current FAQs and tournament rules. Knowing the details may be the difference between glorious victory and crushing defeat. Get yourself up to speed with these new changes by clicking on the links for your favorite games below and reading what the developers have to say:

   
• A Game of Thrones: The Card Game

   
• Android: Netrunner

   
• Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game

   
• Star Wars: The Card Game

   
• Warhammer: Diskwars

   
• Warhammer 40,000: Conquest

   
• X-Wing

Not Just For Tournaments

While the changes today are smaller than some of our updates this year, that doesn’t mean only tournament players should pay attention. In each document, you’ll find answers to many of the most commonly asked questions and rulings. Whether you’re looking to compete in a World Championship or play in a casual game night at your local store with friends, the updated FAQs and tournament rules offer clarity and structure that will give you a better play experience.

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Source: Mind the Details

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Power for the Future

Up and Over Is Now Available for Android: Netrunner

“Unlimited Energy. Reasonable Prices.”

Up and Over, the fourth Data Pack in the Lunar Cycle for Android: Netrunner, is now available at your local retailer and online through our webstore!

Throughout the first half of the Lunar Cycle, we’ve seen the Corps and Runners of Android: Netrunner jolted by their transit to the moon. At first, everything appeared to be different. There was reduced gravity, recycled air, lag times, and wave fields. The Corps came first, the early game could become the late game, and the late game could become the early game all over again.

On the moon, ghostly echoes of signals transmitted long ago acquire a sort of permanence and interfere with new data. Lunar ice mutates, changing from barrier to code gate, and back again. Powerful trace attempts destroy hardware even when they fail, and Runners have begun to unlock fragments of the legendary source code.

Now, as both sides scramble over each other, seeking to adjust to the new environment,  they realize there is one truth that remains perpetually inviolable: Credits are king.

In Heinlein as elsewhere, you still need credits to advance your agendas, to assemble your rig, to rez your ice, and to power your breakers. Without credits, you’re just a shell that’s waiting to be shattered. That’s why nearly all of the sixty new cards of Up and Over (three copies each of twenty different cards) present new economic efficiencies that you can use throughout the cyberstruggles you wage in this new lunar environment.

Reduce. Reuse. Rebuild.

One of the most interesting and game-changing new economy cards is the Weyland Consortium identity, Blue Sun (Up and Over, 68). Of course, an identity is far more than just another economy card, but Blue Sun’s motto is “Unlimited energy. Reasonable prices.” It begs us to explore its economic potential.

The first thing we realize is that Blue Sun’s motto is no empty boast. The energy plant specializes in nuclear fusion, and its special ability allows you to return a rezzed card to HQ to gain credits equal to the card’s rez cost. Immediately, it transforms the effects of an asset like Adonis Campaign (Core Set, 56) into something more akin to a reusable operation. If you install Adonis Campaign and wait to rez it until the Runner has expended his last click, then on your next turn you can gain three credits and return Adonis Campaign to your hand to regain the four credits you just spent to rez it. You can them repeat this play as often as you want, provided the Runner doesn’t access your Adonis Campaign and spend three credits to trash it.

However, your investments into Blue Sun also offer additional dividends as the identity adds misdirection to raw economy. When you bounce a card to your hand and then install a card, you’re daring the Runner to believe that you’ve just reinstalled the card you recycled, and you’re challenging the Runner to calculate his next run based upon that information.

Let’s explore the idea of this recycled asset once again, but now you replace the Adonis Campaign with a Snare! (Core Set, 70). You install it, then take it back to your hand to gain zero credits, but now the Runner knows you have a Snare!. You both know that you’re using your Snare! as a bluff, so once you install your next facedown card into an unprotected remote server, the question is whether or not the Runner will run on it.

Blue Sun is one of very few Corp cards that allow you to play this sort of shell game, sharing some carefully selected information in order to divert attention from other information.

Pressurized Atmospheres

Blue Sun is just one of the many cards from Up and Over that allow you to play with your economic efficiencies in new and interesting ways. Each of the other Corps gain their fair share, as do the Runners.

However, the efficiencies that the cards from Up and Over promote differ from those developed while the game was still back on Earth. They aren’t simple marketing campaigns like Adonis Campaign or five-for-nine investment strategies like Hedge Fund (Core Set, 110). They offer efficiencies rooted in the variable interactions between Corp and Runner. Like Architect (Up and Over, 61) and Reversed Accounts (Up and Over, 67), the economic strategies permitted by Up and Over are devious and aggressive, and they’re perfect for cyberstruggles originating within the moon’s pressurized atmosphere.

Whether you’re protecting Corporate servers or trying to burrow through them, you need credits. In Up and Over, you’ll find new ways to collect, new ways to dig for them, new ways to Inject (Up and Over, 73) them into your system, and new ways to bleed them from your opponent.

After all, in the game of data, credits are king.

Up and Over is now available. Pick up your copy today!

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Source: Power for the Future

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Announcing the 2014 World Championship Schedule

Join Competitors at World Championship Weekend, November 6-9

Update: Preregistration for the 2014 World Championship Weekend closes on Thursday, October 23rd. Register now to guarantee a spot in your favorite tournament and join us for the largest event of the year!

Back in April, Fantasy Flight Games announced the dates for the 2014 World Championship Weekend. Today, it is time to announce the highlight of the weekend: the schedule for all World Championships!

As November draws closer, hundreds of players around the world have begun to plan their treks to FFG’s hometown in Minnesota. Some will take the bus across town or pile into a car full of friends and drive a couple of hours, but others will be hopping on planes and flying halfway around the world to the Twin Cities. Will you join them and test your skills against the best in the world?

If you are looking to attend Worlds or just want to tune in as the action happens, download the schedule now and start sketching out the most important days and times for you. The schedule for each game’s side events will be posted soon.

World Championships

While all your favorite games will be returning, the centerpiece of the 2014 event is the debut of two brand-new World Championships: Warhammer: Diskwars and Warhammer 40,000: Conquest! These two games will be played alongside our perennial mainstays throughout the weekend.

     
• A Game of Thrones: The Card Game
     
• Android: Netrunner
     
• Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game
     
• Star Wars™: The Card Game
     
• Warhammer: Diskwars
     
• Warhammer 40,000: Conquest
     
• X-Wing™

Preregister Today

If you haven’t already, preregister now and solidify your spot among the hundreds of players from around the world coming to Minnesota for the 2014 World Championship Weekend. But don’t wait too long because preregistration closes October 16th! While players can still register on site the day they arrive, the cost will increase to $50.

More to Come

While players can now begin deciding what day is best to arrive, there is a lot more to be announced. Stay tuned in the following months to learn the schedule of side events being run, the prizes that will be given away for all events at the 2014 World Championship Weekend, and more!

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Source: Announcing the 2014 World Championship Schedule

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An Advanced Guide to A-Wings

An X-Wing (TM) Strategy Article by Guest Writer Neil Amswych

“Yes! I said closer! Move as close as you can and engage those Star Destroyers at point-blank range.”
     –Lando Calrissian

It’s a good time to fly A-wings in X-Wing™!

The recent release of the Rebel Aces Expansion Pack has added a great deal of power and versatility to the Rebellion’s lightning-quick interceptor. You can now outfit your A-wing with a Chardaan Refit to make it a more efficient dogfighter, or you can outfit it with the highly efficient Proton Rockets to launch a devastating alpha strike. Meanwhile, the Title card A-Wing Test Pilot allows your A-wing pilots to draw upon as many as two elite pilot talents at the same time, adding all sorts of new combinations and creative wrinkles to your squad building.

Today, guest writer Neil Amswych (aka “The Tusken Tactician”), one of the A-wing’s leading advocates and the author of “A Guide to A-Wings,” picks up where he left off in that earlier article and explores some of the new, advanced strategies and squad builds now permitted by the release of Rebel Aces.

The Tusken Tactician’s Advanced Guide to A-Wings

Okay class, pay attention! As always with our training presentations, what we say here today may save your life. This final presentation is our biggest so far, which is why we have brought all our A-wing pilots together.

As you will know, our enemies have grown stronger and more agile. Now, as we conduct our missions, we contend not only with TIE fighters, but also with TIE phantoms and TIE defenders. We have received intel about forthcoming threats such as the VT-49 Decimator and bands of smugglers and bounty hunters who have also begun to engage our fighters. We will, of course, keep you informed of any developments. For now, as we confront these new threats, it’s vitally important that you know your ships and your roles.

 A 360-degree view of the starfighter miniature from the A-Wing Expansion Pack

Prototype Pilots

Prototype Pilots, I cannot overstate how important your role has become. Many of you will have noticed that your ships have been modified. The Chardaan Shipyards have been busy refitting many of our A-wings, especially yours. This is because the refit is going to help you attack and stay alive as you focus on disrupting and distracting opposing ships. We’re trying to concentrate our ordnance on Green Squadron Pilots wherever possible since they can really Push the Limit when it comes to missile accuracy. However, your role in disrupting enemy craft, and drawing attention away from bigger ships, is essential. For example, if you master your formations, you can even discourage TIE phantom pilots from decloaking, though this will involve teamwork, planning, and some careful flying around asteroids.

Despite the fact that your refitted ships give you new advantages in dogfights, you will no doubt have heard of the heavy losses sustained by the squadron of Prototype Pilots that was caught by the enemy on a training run without the support of other ships. The problems that squad faced were twofold; by themselves, your A-wings lack sufficient firepower to quickly eliminate tougher foes, and a number of Imperials have been going through a new training regimen that we have codenamed, “Predator.” With this training, these Imperials have been particularly effective against our X-wing Rookie Pilots, but the training makes them just as deadly to you Prototype Pilots. Therefore, we currently believe that you Prototype Pilots are far more effective while flying as support for other craft. If you look over here, you’ll see the designs for a squadron we are considering sending to the Bakura system sometime in the near future:

Prototype Pilot (17)
    Chardaan Refit (-2)

Prototype Pilot (17)
    Chardaan Refit (-2)

Nera Dantels (26)
    Veteran Instincts (1)
    Flechette Torpedoes (2)
    Flechette Torpedoes (2)
    Munitions Failsafe (1)
    Fire Control System (2)

Eaden Vrill (32)
    R2-D2 (4)

   Total Squad Points: 100

Okay, okay, settle down. It’s very funny, I know. Some pilots just need turrets to find a shot. That’s why they don’t fly A-wings, right? But if I can get back to what I was saying, we can see that in squads like these, Prototype Pilots running interference allow the big weapons commanded by Nera Dantels and Eaden Vrill to hit the enemy even harder. If you fly well, you will draw away enemy firepower away from their ships, and the hope is, of course, that you will evade it and then strike from close range. It is this kind of supporting role that we believe will allow you Prototype Pilots to be a major part of our success in the future.

Green Squadron Pilots

You have gone through a punishing training regimen, and your ships have been updated to allow you to use more of your talents than ever before. As former A-Wing Test Pilots, you will be able to Push the Limit of your ships and yourselves, allowing you particularly to Outmaneuver your enemy, and we strongly encourage you to do so. Your firepower may be limited, but some of you will receive training in our own “Predator” program to ensure that your shots are more accurate than ever, allowing you to focus on attack and to evade enemy shots without having to get a target lock on your opponent.

Still, you Predator traineees may not need to push your A-wing to the limit if you can Outmaneuver your target. Plus, your unique training should also teach you to be more of an Opportunist with your shots. We have found this to be extremely effective when your opponent can’t focus or evade, such as when Wes Janson has forced their hands by firing first in his X-wing or after a Prototype Pilot may have run interference. Yes, yes, calm down boys!

Green Squadron Pilots, we encourage you as you enter the final part of your training to really diversify your talents. While we strongly encourage you to learn the basics of your craft, you are free to personalize your training as you wish. For example, you may wish to learn to harness that Adrenaline Rush that I know you all feel when flying an A-wing to really gain an Expert Handling of your craft so that you can become maneuverable in a way we’ve never before seen. Or you may wish to concentrate more on heavier or more effective firepower, using some of the training methods I’ve just mentioned or, perhaps, by bringing in support ships such as Jan Ors in her HWK-290.

Green Squadron Pilot (19)
     Chardaan Refit (-2)
     A-Wing Test Pilot (0)
     Push the Limit (3)
     Outmaneuver (3)

Green Squadron Pilot (19)
     Chardaan Refit (-2)
     A-Wing Test Pilot (0)
     Push the Limit (3)
     Outmaneuver (3)

Green Squadron Pilot (19)
     Chardaan Refit (-2)
     A-Wing Test Pilot (0)
     Push the Limit (3)
     Outmaneuver (3)

Jan Ors (25)
     Nien Nunb (1)
     Ion Cannon Turret (5)

   Total Squad Points: 100

Flying with Other Ships

Of course, the recent introduction of the TIE phantom causes all of us concern. When cloaked, it is extremely difficult to hit, which is why we are very pleased to bring to you Proton Rockets, which can punch a hole through any cloaked Phantom. I want those of you who are going to be carrying Proton Rockets to get to know Kyle Katarn and Garven Dreis. Jake Farrell, I’ll be coming to you later, but you should get to know them, too. These two pilots will help you focus your shots and maintain your focus on defense as well.

In fact, all of our HWK-290 pilots can be very helpful for all of you A-wing pilots. Our Rebel Operatives might ionize a target to enable you to easily Outmaneuver it, Roark Garnet can help you claim a shot on a TIE phantom before it can cloak, Kyle Katarn can help you fire your Proton Rockets, and Jan Ors can aid those of you who want greater firepower on your ships. Get to know these pilots in the mess hall, and try to get them to fly with you.

The A-Wing Hall of Fame

There’s a growing number of pilots whom we are entering into the A-wing Hall of Fame, and I want to introduce you to them if you haven’t met them already. Gemmer Sojan, where are you? Ah yes, right at the back… How unlike you! Gemmer here likes to fly right into the thick of things, charging through enemy lines, or flanking and then boosting round the back to fire up close and personal. We have found that when we attach a Stealth Device to his ship, he can evade nearly any enemy attack. And we’ve actually been taking advantage of his talents in a squadron that we’ve codenamed “So Near Sojan.” In this squadron, Gemmer and the HWK-290s will stay with Biggs Darklighter during the opening approach. Gemmer will then charge forward while the HWK-290s flank, leaving opposing ships with attacks from many differing directions.

Gemmer Sojan (22)
     A-Wing Test Pilot (0)
     Push the Limit (3)
     Chardaan Refit (-2)
     Stealth Device (3)

Rebel Operative (16)
     Ion Cannon Turret (5)

Rebel Operative (16)
     Ion Cannon Turret (5)

Biggs Darklighter (25)
     Experimental Interface (3)
     R2-F2 (3)

   Total Squad Points: 99

Notably this squad makes use of the Experimental Interface, and once it’s completed, the Experimental Interface is going to help our cause significantly, particularly because in tandem with another pilot acting as Squad Leader, A-wing pilots will no longer need to Push the Limit all the time.

We eagerly await this technology.

Gemmer Sojan
     A-Wing Test Pilot (0)
     Outmaneuver (3)
     Chardaan Refit (-2)

Prototype Pilot (17)
     Chardaan Refit (-2)

Garven Dreis (26)
     R2-D6 (1)
     Adrenaline Rush (1)

Luke Skywalker (28)
     Experimental Interface (3)
     Squad Leader (2)

   Total Squad Points: 99

This brings us to Arvel Crynyd. Yes, you all know Arvel. No pilot likes to fly closer to his foes than this guy. Arvel has now undergone training similar to that you Green Squadron Pilots have received, and he will now also be able to Push the Limits of his ship, allowing him to Stay on Target much more often. We believe that this training may help him to become far more useful in squads. Failing that, we’re teaching him how to fly even more aggressively – to bring a sense of Intimidation to those enemies with which he’s always playing chicken. We expect this training to be complete in only a few months. Once Arvel learns how to Stay on Target, we are hoping to send him to battle in the following squadron, which we have codenamed “Arvel On Target.”

Arvel Crynyd (23)
     A-Wing Test Pilot (0)
     Stay on Target (2)
     Chardaan Refit (-2)

Roark Garnet (19)

Kyle Katarn (21)
     Blaster Turret (4)
     Recon Specialist (3)

"Dutch” Vander (23)
     Ion Turret (5)

   Total Squad Points: 100

This is a rare synergy build and we have yet to see how functional it will be, partly because Roark Garnet is so good at helping others, but almost completely useless with his primary weapon. Nonetheless, if the formation works, Arvel can race at an enemy ship, acquire a target lock on it, and then focus his fire before anyone else can respond. This is perhaps the deadliest that Arvel has ever been. Who knows, one day he may even end up taking out a Super Star Destroyer! Okay, okay, calm down! Stranger things have happened.

The Best of the Best

There has been much talk around the barracks of our two star pilots, Jake Farrell and Tycho Celchu. Jake has proven to be a remarkable and slippery pilot, boosting or barrel rolling his way out of his opponent’s firing arcs almost at will. Having flown an extraordinary number of sorties, he relies upon his Veteran Instincts to fire early, even firing before TIE phantoms can recloak, and he can also Outmaneuver almost all enemy pilots.

In Jake’s newest squadron, which we’ve given the codename of “Anchorman,” Jake flies behind the big hitters, under the protection of Biggs Darklighter. At the opportune moment, he surges forward and wreaks havoc:

Jake Farrell (9)
     Chardaan Refit (-2)
     A-Wing Test Pilot (0)
     Veteran Instincts (1)
     Outmaneuver (3)

Biggs Darklighter (25)

Garven Dreis (26)

Blue Squadron Pilot (22)

   Total Squad Points: 99

Our final pilot you surely all know… Tycho Celchu. Nice of you to join us, sir! Tycho is a shining example of the benefits of our rigorous training regimen, and he is now an absolute force to be reckoned with. Like Jake, he is now able to use his Veteran Instincts to respond to the movements of almost all enemy craft. One volley of Proton Rockets from this guy and you could see a TIE phantom downed in one shot. Still, he often flies without ordnance, capitalizing on his ability to handle even the most stressful situations by Pushing the Limit of his craft and displaying his expert handling of barrel rolls.

Tycho Celchu (26)
     A-Wing Test Pilot (0)
     Push the Limit (3)
     Expert Handling (2)
     Chardaan Refit (-2)

Rookie Pilot (21)

Biggs Darklighter (25)

Roark Garnet (19)
     Ion Cannon (5)

   Total Squad Points: 99

Again, when the Experimental Interface is completed, Tycho believes he can fly his A-wing through battles in ways that are more daring than you could possibly imagine:

Tycho Celchu (26)
     Experimental Interface (3)
     A-Wing Test Pilot (0)
     Push the Limit (3)
     Expert Handling (2)
     Chardaan Refit (-2)

Rookie Pilot (21)

Biggs Darklighter (25)

Rebel Operative (16)
     Ion Cannon (5)

   Total Squad Points: 99

Pilots, you are now a force to be reckoned with. TIE phantom and TIE defender pilots will fear you. Decimators will be torn to shreds by your Proton Rockets. This is the time of the A-wing. This is your time. Now man your fighters… and may the Force be with you!

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Source: An Advanced Guide to A-Wings

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A Champion's Perspective: Warhammer: Diskwars

A Tournament Report by 2014 North American Champion Francois Fressen

After Gen Con wrapped up in August, we contacted the winners of the North American Championships and asked each player to write a short summary of their experience and their strategies. As World Championship Weekend approaches, we will be posting articles each week so players can learn how to best prepare for their next large tournament, as well as begin readying themselves for the biggest FFG event of the year!

We start our series with 2014 Warhammer: Diskwars North American Champion Francois Fressen sharing how he arrived at his tournament-winning army list and highlights from a few of his games.

I am a data scientist in healthcare and an astrophysicist at Harvard. I live in Boston with my wife and our two young children. I used to play international board game competitions in high school and college, but now I mainly spend time playing solo and theorizing about games when my little ones are sleeping. This hypothetical testing turned useful earlier this year when I realized I could attend Gen Con in August. Theorizing has way more flavor when there is a tournament I can imagine myself attending!

On Preparing for the Tournament

This game has had a hold on me since its first announcement. It takes the best of both worlds: the great concept of disk flipping as a smart and elegant alternative to miniatures and cardboard grids, and the flavor of Warhammer’s world. This combines with FFG’s game design dedication to make a fair, fast-paced, highly strategic and thematic game.

While testing, I realized that the game played surprisingly well solo by choosing potentially appropriate action cards on both sides and then randomly selecting which card to play from among those. The first list that emerged from my tests featured Karl Franz, Alarielle the Radiant, and their respective faction’s siege range weapon. It was only late in my tests that Teclis and his Sun Dragon got my preference over Alarielle. As my list changed, the factions remained Empire and Elves, but the focus became much more mobile and aggressive.

I was unable to find an army list with Orcs or Dwarfs that could convincingly challenge this list. But interestingly, some other solid contenders emerged from my tests: an Empire army focusing on priests, a Chaos army with two Bloodthirsters and their versatile action cards, and a Vampire Counts army with Zombie Dragons and Tomb Banshees. These three armies all managed to pull several victories against my well-trained Order army, but Karl and Teclis had the edge overall.

On my North American Championship Army List

Regiment 1

     
• Karl Franz (33)
     
• 2x Knights Panther (20)
     
• 1x Talabheim Greatsword (8)
     
• 1x Marienburg Swordsman (5)
     
• Rally
     
• Arcane Attack

Regiment 2

     
• Teclis (34)
     
• 1x Sun Dragon (15)
     
• 1x High Mage (7)
     
• 2x Militia Spearmen (12)
     
• Speed of Asuryan
     
• Shield of Saphery

Reserve Regiment

     
• Alarielle the Radiant (35)
     
• 1x Sun Dragon (15)
     
• 1x Ellyrian Reavers (9)
     
• 1x Militia Spearmen (6)
     
• 1x Lothern Sea Guard (5)
     
• Eager Troops
     
• Stall

I did not really consider the Dark Elves, Skaven, Wood Elves, and Lizardmen factions introduced in Hammer and Hold and Legions of Darkness, as they don’t have access to elite units yet. I consider elite units both a flavorful and necessary component of most lists. However, the Empire is an exception to this requirement for me, as it can include two Knights Panther units which stand very close to the elite status for me. With that in mind, I added Marienburg Swordsmen and Talabheim Greatswords to two Knights Panther units to complete Karl Franz’s regiment.

Teclis’s support consists of a mighty Sun Dragon, two very solid Militia Spearmen, and one important High Mage. My command cards covered the four initiative keywords in order to have my actions harder to read by my opponent: Speed of Asuryan, Shield of Saphery, Arcane Attack, and Rally. Three of these cards relied entirely on Teclis and the High Mage. The reliance is a bit risky, but I felt the reward was worth it.

I think it is the number of synergies in this list that made it a good choice for me. Although an army usually benefits from having its two regiments sharing the same faction, it looked like the respective support that my two regiments offered to each other either enhanced their strengths or covered their vulnerabilities. Here are the most noteworthy combinations:

     
• Speed of Asuryan on Teclis with Karl Franz’s ability and the second action of Speed of Asuryan allows a “run, hit, remove the activation token, hit again, and run again” sequence of actions.
     
• Teclis and the High Mage’s arcane resistance protect them from the unstable nature of Arcane Attack.
     
• A charging Knights Panther pinning several units is a good target for the Sun Dragon’s fire thanks to the Panther’s physical resistance.
     
• Rally shines in this army list where it can provide additional early reach to very aggressive units.
     
• The High Mage provides backup for magic command cards in case Teclis bites the dust and a much needed arcane resistance to my Knights Panther.

On the 2014 North American Championship

I did not get initiative in any of my games, but I did get the benefit of choosing the scenario card, and battling on my own terrain. This helped because my terrain was not favorable to ranged armies and did not provide much fortification against my cavalry’s impact abilities. I got an early edge in several games, being able to claim a few wounds and disks as soon as turn one thanks to the extra mobility provided by my command cards.

Overall, I faced a combination of the base set armies, but surprisingly no Vampire Counts armies. My training games against the Counts had been the most unpredictable, and I had expected them to be in at least a few army lists.

The most intense situation in the tournament came as I faced an entirely ranged army. I exposed Teclis on turn one without the protection of my Shield of Saphery command card, as I was tempted to use his magic to burn a unit of Militia Archers. The following turn, Teclis was in a perfect position to use Arcane Attack and Rally, but another vengeful Militia Archers and the fearsome Helblaster Volley Gun combined to wound Teclis twice. I had lost my centerpiece on the second action sequence of the game. My Knights Panther surprisingly dodged more arrows than my overconfident hero, and they eventually turned the tide in an uphill battle and saved my troops from an early doom.

On the Final Match

In the final match, I faced a High Elf army featuring a variety of ranged units and two Sun Dragons. The deciding factor for this game was probably having the appropriate resistances for the different damage sources my respective troops were facing as the state of the battlefield evolved. I decided not to challenge my opponent’s Sun Dragon in the middle of the field, as I did not want to test my luck against its Shield of Saphery. Instead, I accepted a few unit exchanges to create an early advantage until I was able to pin most of the opposing units and decide how to deploy my reserves to claim the battle.

Afterthoughts

The Warhammer: Diskwars tournament was the first event I registered for at Gen Con, and the experience has made me eager for other tournaments and to see new expansions featuring the factions recently introduced. I now hope to foster local tournament scenes, and Warhammer: Diskwars will be the game I have in my bag at future conventions. I don’t think there are many other ‘miniature’ games this deep, where you can fit your entire army in your wallet!

2014 World Championship Weekend

Thanks, Francois!

Francois’ story shows that you don’t always need a group of friends to prepare for a tournament. Check back in the coming weeks to hear stories from other North American Champions, and if you haven’t already, register for FFG’s 2014 World Championship Weekend, and join us next month for your chance to gain fame in your favorite game!

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Source: A Champion's Perspective: Warhammer: Diskwars

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The Galaxy's Most Wanted, Part One

A Preview of the Most Wanted Expansion Pack for X-Wing (TM)

“This bounty hunter is my kind of scum, fearless and inventive.”

    –Jabba the Hutt

Recently, we kicked off our previews of the sixth wave of X-Wing™ expansion packs with a look at its different upgrades, which go a long way toward providing the Scum and Villainy faction with its own, distinctive personality. Its ships don’t permit quite the same swarms or nimble, high-risk piloting as the Empire’s, nor do they work quite as well in formation as the rugged and resilient ships that the Rebellion’s squad leaders most often favor. Instead, the galaxy’s Scum operate best when its squadrons’ individual pilots are left to their own devices and given license to purchase the deadliest and dirtiest upgrades available on the black market.

This generalization holds true even when we look at what the Most Wanted Expansion Pack offers the faction as it reintroduces two of the game’s pre-existing starfighters, repainted and re-outfitted to better suit the faction’s self-centered aces.

By repurposing some of your existing starships, the Most Wanted Expansion Pack kick starts your Scum faction with enough firepower that it can immediately take the fight to Rebel and Imperial forces. It comes with enough new ship cards and upgrades to field a whole fleet’s worth of the galaxy’s most fearsome thugs, hired guns, pirates, and spice runners. It also comes with three pre-painted miniature starfighters, one Y-wing and two Z-95 Headhunters.

Each of these feature identical sculpts to their Rebel counterparts, but they feature markedly different paint schemes. The expansion’s Z-95 Headhunters feature a white and black paint scheme and wing markings that indicate they belong to the notorious Black Sun organization.

A 360-degree view of the Most Wanted Z-95 Headhunter

The expansion’s Y-wing, meanwhile, features its own gritty, Scum-themed paint scheme, one that evokes the ship’s durability.

A 360-degree view of the Most Wanted Y-wing

Though these starfighters look quite different than their Rebel counterparts, they feature the same stats and the same maneuver dials. So what sets them apart within the Scum faction? The Most Wanted Expansion Pack transforms them by pairing them with unique pilot abilities and upgrades.

The Scum’s Z-95 Headhunter

As a ship, the Z-95 Headhunter is the same within the Scum faction as it is within the Rebellion. Except for one thing: The Scum’s Z-95 Headhunter gains access to the illicit upgrade () and all the different tricks it introduces, including the ability to use a “Hot Shot” Blaster once per game to attack a ship outside of your firing arc.

By itself, the illicit upgrade adds enough tricks to Scum pilots such as the Black Sun Soldier and Binayre Pirate to distinguish them from the Rebellion’s Bandit Squadron Pilot and Tala Squadron Pilot, but Most Wanted pushes the distinction between the Scum and Rebel Z-95s even further with the introduction of two unique Z-95 aces who epitomize the faction’s self-serving tendencies.

Whereas the Rebellion’s top Z-95 Headhunter pilot, Airen Cracken, exemplifies his faction’s philosophies by passing free actions to his wingmates during the Combat phase, the Scum pilot Kaa’to Leeachos hordes actions for himself. At the start of the Combat phase, he can steal a focus or evade token from any of his wingmates at Range 1–2. Depending on how you see it, this means that Kaa’to Leeachos effectively has a built-in Push the Limit, without the squad point cost or stress token, or it means that he’s leaving another of your Scum pilots high and dry each round. Of course, both are true in their own way, but it’s noteworthy, either way, to point out that if you put Kaa’to Leeachos in the right squad and formation, his ability grants him access to an evade token that his action bar doesn’t normally offer. It also means that he can grab a focus token even after performing a Koiogran-turn.

Meanwhile, N’dru Suhlak very likely represents the best example of how the Scum faction’s individualistic pilots demand the freedom to fly their fighters however they want, unimpeded by such irritating distractions as tactical formations, rules of engagement, or the legality of their upgrades. So long as there are no other friendly ships within Range 1–2 of N’dru Suhlak while he’s attacking, he gains an extra attack die. This means that while N’dru Suhlak is flying solo, he can hit as hard as a non-unique TIE interceptor or X-wing, but for fewer squad points and with a higher pilot skill.

The Scum’s Y-wing

Just as the illicit upgrade helps to distinguish the Scum faction’s Z-95 Headhunters from the Rebellion’s, the Salvaged Astromech upgrade () begins to separate Scum Y-wings from their Rebel counterparts.

As mentioned in an earlier preview, “Illicit Dealings,” the Salvaged Astromech upgrade replaces the standard Astromech upgrade featured by the Rebellion and helps to reinforce the idea that the Scum faction is a bit less orderly and a bit more aggressive than their rivals. Additionally, it reinforces the idea that Scum pilots follow their own interests and their own flight paths.

We saw a couple of these Salvaged Astromech ugprades in “Illicit Dealings,” but they didn’t fully illustrate how the Most Wanted Expansion Pack transforms the Y-wing. Rather, the Salvaged Astromechs that we saw merely hinted at the many new roles the Y-wing will be able to play within the Scum faction. While at one squad point the Unhinged Astromech may be a good bargain for Syndicate Thugs looking to race around the battlefield at full tilt with an Ion Cannon Turret, more aggressive pilots may prefer to equip R4 Agromechs in order to acquire target locks each time they spend focus tokens to perform attacks with equipped Blaster Turrets. Finally, because there are times that you won’t need to modify your attack dice so much as you’ll wish you could modify your target’s defense dice, Most Wanted introduces the unique Salvaged Astromech R4-B11.

Notably, a couple of the expansion’s unique Y-wing pilots partner exceedingly well with these last two Salvaged Astromechs. Kavil, for one, rolls an extra attack die whenever he attacks a ship outside of his firing arc and partners very well with the R4 Agromech.

Equipped with a Blaster Turret and R4 Agromech, Kavil offers your Scum fleet a consistently modified attack of four dice, so long as he can find a target at Range 1–2 outside of his primary firing arc.

On the other hand, the expansion’s second unique Y-wing pilot, Drea Renthal, is less likely to need the target lock granted by the R4 Agromech since she can simply receive a stress token to acquire a new target lock whenever she spends one. This means she’s far more likely to equip R4-B11 as she guns her ship straight at the enemy fleet, firing torpedoes with abandon. Alternatively, if her Y-wing has the BTL-A4 Y-wing Title, she can attack twice in the same round, once with her primary weapon and once with a turret. Furthermore, if she wishes, she can spend target locks to modify every die roll in the whole sequence. If Drea Renthal spends her target lock to modify her first attack roll, she can receive a stress token to acquire a new target lock, which she can then spend to modify the defender’s results. After that, she can receive a second stress token to acquire a new target lock on the same opponent or a new one, and she can then attack that opponent with a turret weapon, such as the Autoblaster Turret, modify the attack dice, take another stress token, acquire another target lock, and modify her target’s defense dice. However, since she’ll then be buried in stress tokens and her BTL-A4 Y-wing Title will prevent her from firing against opponents outside of her primary firing arc, Drea Renthal may wish to consider equipping a Bomb Loadout, perhaps carrying a Proton Bomb to discourage any would-be pursuers from trying to outflank her in order to claim free shots at Range “1.”

Drea Renthal with an extremely aggressive thirty-two point build.

Pure Aggression and Reckless Abandon

In many ways, the unique pilots and the upgrades in the Most Wanted Expansion Pack serve to define the sort of high-risk, high-reward tactics that the Scum and Villainy faction’s self-interested pilots might employ in their pursuit of bounty or their defense of their profit base. Still, many of the expansion’s upgrades, such as the Bomb Loadout and BTL-A4 Y-wing Title, can also play on ships outside of the Scum faction, and it’s possible that as the galaxy’s Scum enter the game’s heated battles, we may very well see a number of Rebels and Imperials adopting some of their tactics.

In the meantime, stay tuned for more previews of the Wave VI expansions for X-Wing. We’ll continue with our second preview of Most Wanted, exploring some of the ship cards and upgrades for the other ships it makes playable within the Scum faction – the HWK-290 and Firespray-31!

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Source: The Galaxy's Most Wanted, Part One

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Blood, Fury, and Chaos

Preview the Uthuk Y'llan Army and Lore Powers in BattleLore: Command

 

Rage was in his demon-tainted blood. It coursed hot through his veins, fueling his thirst for more blood, for destruction, for death. It made him fearless, sharpened his senses, quickened his movements. He laughed at the nervous soldiers he could see across the field, imagined his scythe slicing their heads off, blood spattering on the ground, on their armor, on his skin. He could almost taste it. Soon the battle would begin. Soon he would litter the field with mutilated, dismembered corpses. Soon the nearby village would burn while he feasted upon slaughtered livestock and listened to the screams of the dying. He was Uthuk Y’llan. He lived for war.

In BattleLore: Command, a digital application for iOS, Android, and PC, the Daqan lords and determined villagers of Terrinoth take on the most vicious enemy they have ever encountered: the Uthuk Y’llan, barbarians from the eastern steppes, eager to ravage the land and massacre its people. Take charge of either army in skirmishes against a friend on the same wireless network or against the CPU, or command the Daqan army in a single-player campaign to save your homeland from the bloodthirsty hordes that threaten it.

Our last preview looked at the various units and tactical strengths of the Daqan army, as well as looking at how combat works in the app. Today’s preview focuses on the Uthuk Y’llan army, a force of humans corrupted and deformed by demon blood fighting alongside malicious and hellish creatures. Whether defending Terrinoth against the invading Uthuk Y’llan army in the campaign mode, or deploying their demonic units against your opponent in the skirmish mode, you will need to understand their capabilities in order to triumph in battle. We will also look at lore powers in BattleLore: Command, which are specific and sudden advantages in battle, from increasing a unit's combat value to infesting the battlefield with swarms of poisonous insects. Used at the right moment, lore can put victory in your hands or save you from fast and bitter defeat.

Demon Blood and the Viper’s Bite

The core of any Uthuk Y’llan army are the Blood Harvesters, humans drawing extraordinary strength and terrible bloodlust from the demon blood they consume. These infantry units match the Citadel Guard with a movement value of two, and combat value and health of three, but surpass them in anger: the Rage ability increases the combat value of a Blood Harvester unit if it is weakened, their ferocity increasing with every blow they take. Blood Harvesters also value the enemy’s death over their own lives: their Frenzy ability allows them to deal a blow to an enemy unit by sacrificing themselves.

The ranged counterpart to the Blood Harvesters are the Viper Legion, archers whose arrows can poison the enemy in addition to slaying them outright. A poisoned unit can be harmed not only by a hit result in combat, but also by a lore result, doubling your odds of dealing damage to it. The poison doesn’t wear off either, but endures until the enemy commander spends two lore points to dispel it.

Nasty, Brutish, and Massive

Where other armies might have cavalry and elite forces, the Uthuk Y’llan have demons bred for war, their viciousness and hatred cultivated for centuries. The most revolting of these demons are the Obscene, ravenous, bulging creatures who can only move one space at a time –  unless they smell the enemy nearby. Then, their craving for blood draws them adjacent to the enemy unit. Although slow, the Obscene are nevertheless deadly: they have a combat value of four, enough to wipe out a unit of Rune Golems or Citadel Guard.

The Uthuk Y'llan can also deploy packs of fiendish Flesh Ripper Brutes to tear down enemy cavalry. What these beasts lack in size, they make up for in speed and ferocity. With a movement value of three, these charging, chomping hunters can rise towards unsuspecting enemy units. Their sharp senses can smell the fresh blood of a wounded soldier, luring them to prey upon the weak: their Bloodthirst combat result deals a point of damage to an already weakened unit. Moreover, their Pursue ability is more effective than that of the Citadel Guards, allowing them to chase an enemy two spaces instead of one, or destroy one unit and then move two spaces towards new prey. 

The most fearsome of all Uthuk Y’llan units is the Chaos Lord, a horned, clawed monster that towers over the battlefield. The moment that enemy troops catch sight of him, they struggle to control their terror. With a combat value of four and a health value of six, he can survive more blows than any other unit in the game. Being Immoveable, he can ignore one retreat result in combat, remaining in place in order to counterattack. With a single, earthshaking roar he can chase enemy units away: his Terrifying ability allows him to force enemies to retreat twice, wrecking your opponent’s strategies and wreaking havoc among his troops.

Combat Spells and Sudden Strikes

Battle is more than just a test of a army’s capabilities, however. A commander may have a new tactical insight, or find an unforeseen opportunity to exploit the enemy’s weakness. In Terrinoth, moreover, magic is used in battle: to paralyze the enemy, guide arrows around obstacles, or bring a weakened unit back to life, for example. The lore powers in BattleLore: Command represent these various combat advantages, from sudden bravery to blood sacrifice. Playing a lore power costs a certain amount of lore points, which you accumulate both through combat results and at the start of each turn, when you also gain a new lore power. Use them during your combat turn for an offensive boost that the enemy can’t anticipate, or play them defensively to shield your units against the enemy’s onslaught.

Each army possesses a different and unique set of lore powers. The Uthuk Y’llan derive their lore powers from dark, demonic magics and from their insatiable rage. Blood Sacrifice allows you to steal the health of one unit in order to give that health to another. Chaos of Battle undoes the enemy’s movement phase by magically compelling the ordered units to move randomly, possibly sending a weakened unit straight into a group of ravenous Flesh Ripper Brutes, or moving a group of Rune Golems away from the unit that they intended to attack. A unit filled with the Fury of Y’llan has their combat value increased by three, as the unmitigated rage in their blood drives them to new levels of savagery.

Many of the Daqan lore powers come from the determination of the troops. Valor and Vengeance, for example, enhances the combat value of a single unit, as if it were suddenly spurred on to achieve greater glory than its fellows. Assault makes it almost certain that your units will do terrible damage to the enemy that turn, indicating the commander’s decision to throw his army unreservedly into an attack. Portal, one of the magical Daqan lore powers, can transport a unit to a strategically significant location against the rules of movement, or pull back a surrounded unit so that it can survive to fight again.

Command and Fight

Use demonic magic to thwart your opponents efforts or inspire your brave troops to do noble deeds on the battlefield. Channel the unquenchable rage and fury of the Uthuk Y’llan into the destruction of Terrinoth’s defenders or lead the Daqan army in a battle to save their homeland from a cruel and ruthless invading force. Each army has its own particular tactical strengths and weaknesses and each needs a shrewd commander to guide it to victory.

Check the BattleLore: Command minisite for future previews and more details. The game will be available soon in the App store, Amazon Marketplace, and on Google Play.

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Source: Blood, Fury, and Chaos

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STAR WARS (R): Force and Destiny (TM) Beta Update #7

News From the Developers of the Force and Destiny Beta

Hello Force and Destiny™ beta testers,

In this week’s update (pdf, 317 KB), we introduce more changes to some of our fearsome (and not so fearsome) adversaries. Although some of these changes are minor, a couple profiles saw some major modifications to decrease or increase their effectiveness:

   
• The Imperial Assassin sees his offensive potential decrease slightly. Pairing his high Agility with a disruptor rifle made for a profile that was a bit too readily tailored for killing Player Characters.

   
• Meanwhile, the Fallen Master is getting a bit of an upgrade; he gains the Improved Reflect talent. With his high Reflect ability – and now Improved Reflect – the Fallen Master is a dangerous ranged combatant even if he doesn’t have a ranged weapon. PCs may have to close to engage him if they want to take him on, which is just what the Fallen Master wants!

   
• Similarly, the Inquisitor now has the Improved Parry talent as one of his optional selections. Improved Parry makes the Inquisitor brutal in close combat, since it combines nicely with his three ranks in Adversary. However, it does leave him with one key vulnerability: the inability to protect himself from ranged attacks with Reflect. The GM should always make sure the main nemesis has a vulnerable point, after all! However, to ensure the Inquisitor wasn’t too terrifying in close combat, we toned down his Intimidating Presence ability slightly. We didn’t want him to guarantee Improved Parries for every hit he suffered.

Finally, we made a small addition to the Terrify talent. Taking this talent now gives you Conflict at the start of each session. You may be wondering why we added this new game effect, and also why we only added it to one talent in the book. The answer to the first question is that this is a concept we want to explore in the future, and we want to start establishing it as a possibility now. The answer to the second question is that we don’t want to guarantee that a specialization makes someone fall to the dark side, so we want to be judicious in the number of these talents we add, especially to a single specialization.

That’s it for this week. Let us know how these adjustments play out in your games. We look forward to hearing your feedback!

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Source: STAR WARS (R): Force and Destiny (TM) Beta Update #7

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Rewards for Your Service

Preview Side Missions, Experience, and Items in a Campaign

“Well, look at you! A General, huh?”

   –Han Solo, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Enter the Star Wars universe with the thrilling campaigns and skirmishes of Imperial Assault, a tactical board game of cinematic missions for two to five players.

You can find two full games within Imperial Assault. The campaign game invites you and up to four friends to take part in a gripping narrative that pits a small strike team of Rebel heroes against the massive military power of the Imperial player. You’ll also uncover the tactical conflict of the skirmish game, which allow two players to muster their own forces and battle head-to-head over conflicting objectives. Whether you play the campaign game or the skirmish game, you’re sure to experience the Star Wars galaxy like never before.

In our most recent preview, we explored two of the heroes that you can play over the course of the campaign. In future previews, we’ll examine the skirmish game, as well as the various rewards and threatening options available to the Imperial player as he commands countless Stormtroopers, vehicles, and villains to crush the insignificant Rebellion. Today, however, we’ll turn our attention to the missions these heroes may choose to undertake, and the experience and items they collect along the way!

Take to the Field

The campaign included in the Core Set of Imperial Assault is split between story missions and side missions. Story missions form an overarching plot that reaches across the campaign – the Core Set campaign tells the story of a scheme to exterminate the entire Rebel Alliance with one fell blow. The outcome of a story mission directly influences the next available story mission, meaning that the events of your campaign will change and shift based on the actions of the heroes and villains you control.

Side missions fill in the spaces between story missions, as Rebel High Command gives your strike team other missions and your characters’ personal obligations require attention. At certain points in the campaign, the heroes must choose a side mission to undertake. In most circumstances, two side missions, drawn randomly from the Side Mission deck are available for the heroes to choose.

Before a campaign begins, the Rebel players must construct the deck of Side Mission cards. Four gray Side Mission cards are randomly included in the Side Mission deck, representing unique opportunities for the Rebel Alliance to take advantage of, including ripe Imperial targets or planets ready for rebellion. Successfully completing these missions grants the heroes a specific Reward card that may prove useful in future missions. The heroes must also include the red Side Mission cards that correspond to the heroes in the campaign. For example, if Gideon Argus participates in the campaign, the Friends of Old side mission must be included in the Side Mission deck. These side missions bring old debts and duties to the fore, and successfully completing a hero-specific side mission grants that hero a special Reward card that greatly increases his efficacy. The final step in building the Side Mission deck is for the heroes to select four green Side Mission cards. These side missions allow the heroes the chance to fight alongside an iconic Star Wars character, including Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, or Chewbacca. If the heroes successfully complete one of these mission, they may even call upon that character as an ally in other missions.

Our Just Rewards

The Imperial Assault campaign game offers you and your fellow players the chance to command a strike team in a series of missions that spans the Galactic Civil War. Of course, as your team embarks on mission after mission, they gain experience in their chosen area of expertise, whether leadership, stealthy movement, or use of the Force. And naturally, you’ll get paid for your hard work as well. A steady influx of credits ensures that your gear and weapons are always top-notch. Of course, if the Imperial player defeats you and achieves his objective first, he’ll receive the majority of the rewards.

At the end of each mission in the campaign, the heroes collect a number of rewards. Some missions offer a special Reward card that can provide powerful bonuses, but experience and credits are much more common rewards. Heroes individually gain experience that can be spent to purchase new Class cards. Every hero in Imperial Assault has an individual deck of Class cards, each of which offers new abilities. Some of these cards are relatively inexpensive for just one experience point, but more powerful Class cards, such as Gunslinger, can cost more. We looked at two heroes’ Class cards in our previous preview, and as we explore more heroes in future previews, we’ll examine their Class decks as well.

While experience invites your heroes to increase their skills, credits  allow you to purchase new weapons and equipment. At the end of many missions, a number of credits are delivered to the heroes for purchasing new items.

Credits can also be earned through your actions during the mission. Whenever a hero is next to a supply crate, he may use an action to claim the crate token and draw a card from the Supply deck. These cards offer a variety of helpful tools, including an Emergency Medpac or Valuable Goods, but each crate token that you claim is worth fifty additional credits at the end of the mission, giving you the chance to purchase even more equipment.

Weapons, Armor, Equipment

Once you’ve received your experience and credits, you have the chance to spend them both before you begin a new mission. The Imperial player also has the chance to spend his rewards, which we’ll cover in a future preview. When spending experience, all of your hero’s Class cards are available at once – you can purchase any of them, provided you have the requisite experience. Item cards, on the other hand, are arranged in three separate tiers. As the campaign progresses, you’ll gain access to new tiers of Item cards, giving you the opportunity to buy more and more effective weapons, armor, and gear. In most cases, when you purchase items, the top six Item cards are revealed from the deck. You and your fellow heroes can spend your credits to purchase any number of these items, provided you can afford the cost.

Item cards give you the chance to customize your hero’s weapons and capabilities. As the campaign goes on, you can switch between a variety of weapons. A hero who starts with a ranged weapon may decide to use a melee weapon as well, or outdated weapons may be phased out once the campaign progresses. A DL-44 or a Vibroblade may be an excellent weapon for your first missions, but later on, a Sporting Blaster or a Force Pike proves more effective. In addition, you have the option to modify your weapons and make them truly your own. Many weapons display a number of arrows in the bottom right-hand corner of the card, which signifies the number of modifications that weapon can take. You may add a Shock Emitter to your melee weapon, for example, or an Overcharger to your blaster.

You’ll find more than weapons at your disposal in the Item deck. In a mission, every hero can carry two weapons into battle, but he can also carry one piece of armor and up to three equipment items. A Combat Coat can make the difference between life and death when blaster bolts are flying, and stocking up on equipment like a Portable Medkit or Extra Ammunition keeps you and your weapons fully functional.

Two Steps Ahead

Your heroes have the chance to choose new missions, hone their skills, and purchase new items in every Imperial Assault campaign. Join us for our next preview as we look at two more heroes you can play as over the course of a campaign.

Pre-order Imperial Assault at your local retailer today!

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2014 Worlds Tournament Update

An Explanation of the X-Wing 2014 World Championship Flight Structure

Update: World Championship Weekend preregistration closes on Thursday, October 23rd. If you have not registered for the 2014 X-Wing™ World Championship yet, we strongly recommend signing up for the second flight. Preregister now to guarantee your spot. We will accept walk-ins the day of each flight but only if there is room remaining. If you do not preregister, we cannot guarantee you entrance in the 2014 World Championships.

At the end of August, we announced the schedule for all 2014 World Championships at the 2014 World Championship Weekend. To make sure players are as prepared as possible, today’s article outlines the X-Wing™ flight structure players will encounter this year at Worlds.

Why the Split Into Two Flights?

With the increasing popularity of X-Wing and the space the game requires to play, we will be splitting the tournament into flights to accommodate the large number of expected players for the event.
The flight system is one that we debuted at Gen Con this year and worked well. For the X-Wing World Championship we will be making
a few, small changes to improve the system but keep the overall structure. In short, having two flights allows more players to compete in the tournament.

How Will the Flights and Overall Tournament Work?

Each flight will accommodate up to 128 players and be run with six Swiss rounds. At the end of six rounds, the top 16 players in each flight will be invited to compete in the Finals on Saturday. The 32 players invited back on Saturday will compete in a top 32 single-elimination format. The final player standing at the end of the day Saturday will be crowned 2014 X-Wing
World Champion!

How Do I Reserve My Spot in a Flight?

To reserve a spot in one of the flights, you must preregister through our online store. As players register for the 2014 World Championship Weekend, we send out a general survey to each registrant. This survey will include a question asking for your preference on which X-Wing flight you would like to compete in. Once we receive your response, we will reserve a spot for you in your chosen flight. If one of the flights fills completely, we will notify you as soon as possible.

If you have already preregistered, you should have already received the survey. If you did not, please contact us at organizedplay@fantasyflightgames.com immediately.

The day of each flight, and only if space is available, we will accept any players who did not preregister. We strongly recommend you preregister for the 2014 X-Wing World Championship as we cannot guarantee there will be space if you attempt to register the day of the event.

Is There a Difference Between the Two Flights?

Other than the flights being on separate days and the fact that different players will end up competing each day, there is no difference between the two flights.

Do I Have to Play in Both Flights?

No. Players can qualify for the finals on Saturday no matter which flight they play in.

Can I Play in Both Flights?

A player may compete in both flights only if there is room. However, a player can reserve a spot for himself in only one flight. We will accept players reserved for a different flight only after all other players have had a chance to enter that day’s flight. Players who make the top 16 cut in Thursday’s flight cannot play in Friday’s flight.

For example, Karen plays in Thursday’s flight but is unable to make the top 16 cut. She returns Friday morning to try and enter Friday’s flight. 105 players have a spot reserved, and each player checks in on time. 12 other players arrive without a spot reserved in either Thursday’s or Friday’s flight. We register those 12 in the tournament. After all 117 players are registered, we open registration for players like Karen, with space for 11 more players. Karen makes it in!

We will also be hosting X-Wing side events both days for those who are not playing in that day’s flight. Keep your eyes on our website! More details on side events will be announced shortly.

What if I Have a Bye From a National Championship?

Congratulations on winning such a prestigious and challenging event! We are in the process of contacting all
National Champions directly with additional information and the survey. You do not have to preregister for World Championship Weekend, but please fill out the survey when you receive it so that we can reserve a spot for you
in the flight of your choice.

Preregister Today

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to preregister for the 2014 World Championship Weekend. With more people preregistering this year than any year previously, space is sure to be at a premium! If you’re looking to try your hand at piloting in the 2014 X-Wing World Championship, preregistering is even more important. Guarantee which flight you’ll play in and preregister now!

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Source: 2014 Worlds Tournament Update