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Like a lot of people, I was really taken aback by the success of Star Wars Unlimited TCG; you can check out our reviews here but the tl;dr is it’s really, really good. The second set - Shadows of the Galaxy - is broadly themed around the Fringe: those wretched hives of scum and villainy, slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindlers, or just simple men (and women, and droids) trying to make their way in the galaxy. So you might wanna buckle up, baby, as we take look at what’s coming this July!
THEMATICS
One of the big themes of this set around developing the Underworld and Bounty Hunter key words for Villain decks. Dominance of Boba decks notwithstanding, Jabba and his ilk in the base set are mostly consigned to being binder fodder (possibly even bantha fodder). However, the Underworld is not confined to the yellow sands with a host of bounty hunters to track down your prey, new Trick cards, and making the leap from the comics, Vader’s personal amoral archaeologist, Doctor Aphra!
Another major theme is Mandalorians. Yes, this is indeed The Way. A fully developed sub-faction in both Hero and Villain, drawing on everything from Gar Saxon and the battle for Mandalore right through to Din Djarin, Grogu and their nemesis, Moff Gideon – and it’s these that make up the core of the new starter set.
There’s also some SOLO action with Qi’ra and Vos, which also means new Lando (and sweet space cape), new Falcon, and a new spin take on sacrificing your own units for wider advantages – no longer exclusively Palpa-green territory.
One of the notable teases in the first set was Black One, with the introduction from the outset of the sequel trilogy (oh alright, yes, Aggression has Kylo Ren on the art ). Now, we see this developed a bit more, with leader versions of Rey and Finn and the frankly terrifying Snoke. Whilst you might argue that this won’t appeal to the core fans, that’s what they used to say about the Clone Wars.
The aftermath of the Clone Wars, of course, gives us my personal highlight of the set: Clone Force 99! Yes, the Bad Batch are coming to SWU, with Omega acting a little like Hera for Spectre, bringing the whole, disparate bunch together.
In another neat act of nice gap filling, we also get a dedicated Wookie sub-faction mechanic for Hero decks. It’s great to see the focus of a fan-favourite theme, even if it does feel a little early in the evolution of the game.
MECHANICS
Speaking of the game’s evolution, there are two big new Abilities coming, SMUGGLE and BOUNTY, along with the new CAPTURE mechanic.
SMUGGLE, first of all, allows you to play cards directly from your resources, meaning that you have much more control over what’s getting stashed there. I for one am very excited for this.
BOUNTY is the price on someone’s head. They’re typically cheaper, but at a cost: when they’re defeated or captured, your opponent gains a bonus. Equally, you can “upgrade” an opponent’s character with a bounty.
Talking of Capture, this primarily COMMAND mechanic places an opponent’s card (and so out of play) under the capturing unit.
And of course, there’s a few seriously spicy cards to round out the set. As well as a heavy emphasis on upgrades in the set, there’s the most expensive card in the game so far, and a whole new way to… lose.
Looks like it’s time to shake up the meta and make a break for hyperspace! I have spoken.