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It’s crazy to think that almost a year has gone by since I first wrote a news article to announce Fantasy Flight’s brand new Star Wars TCG for 2024. At the time there wasn’t much known about what consumers could expect or just how it would look… But here we are, Star Wars Unlimited has arrived out of hyperspace and taken the TCG world by storm.
Now, as is common practice with such releases, many people will be purchasing booster boxes, booster packs and even single cards to get the real “gotta catch em all” experience that other IPs like Pokémon have provided. However, if you want to play, not just collect, the Star Wars Unlimited TCG then the Spark of Rebellion Two-Player Starter is THE purchase for you this spring!
What follows is a review of said starter pack. For a review of the actual TCG and its gameplay, check out our review here!
“What’s in there?” - Luke Skywalker
After what felt like a very long wait, my pre-order arrived and I was able to dive right in. And boy was I excited to rummage through the big juicy decks of cards inside.
So what can you expect from the starter pack? Not only will you receive two fully pre-built decks along with deck boxes, cardboard tokens and game mats but this starter pack comes with a handful of unique cards that can’t be found in the standard booster packs. As an example, you will receive cards such as Leia Organa and Grand Moff Tarkin that you won’t find anywhere else.
As for the decks themselves, both are great fun. It’s classic Luke vs Vader, good vs evil, and the decks have been constructed as a real love letter to the original trilogy films. The gangs all here as you deploy the big guns like C-3PO, Han, Chewie and Palpatine, all the way down to the smaller fish in the pond like General Veers and General Dodonna. Fans of George Lucas’ early movies will feel right at home with these decks and will have great fun with some of the crazy combinations you can create; imagine the chaos that ensued when one of our matches saw R2-D2 and Admiral Ozzel attack each other with lightsabers!
“Punch it!” - Han Solo
Ultimately, the real aim of Star Wars Unlimited is to have players crafting their own decks by purchasing additional booster packs and then using the cards they are passionate about, utilising various aspects such as Cunning and Vigilance. That being said, what really impressed me about this two player starter pack was that we managed to have plenty of matches using JUST these two decks before we decided to bring additional cards to the party. Through attaching items to various characters, deploying waves of troopers and rebels and engaging in ground and space battles, there’s plenty going on in the Star Wars Unlimited starter pack to keep you going for a long time if you so wish!
Both decks seem fairly evenly matched so the key to success will be more about how and when you play your cards rather than the typical “I’ll play as the Empire because they always win” mentality.
The deck boxes are nice, obviously not as flashy or sturdy as the other deck boxes that FFG are selling for use with Star Wars Unlimited but I appreciate that that’s the business model they have chosen to follow with this product line and I’m just grateful that there are some unique deck boxes included with this release.
“Search Your Feelings” - Darth Vader
I have to admit that I love this game and I really like this starter pack as it provides a great entry point to what is shaping up to be a firm favourite in our household. Unfortunately, there are some TINY nits to pick but they are by no means deal breakers! For one thing, there is no element of surprise here, and what you see is what you get. I would have loved to see even just one blind booster pack included so that there was a little bit of variety in the cards that new players have at their disposal.
What I really didn’t like was that the starter pack came in a ‘disposable box’. Once you’ve opened the starter pack, the packaging is pretty much useless. I would have loved it if it was at least packaged in a box that could be used to store all the components; instead you’ll need to store the tokens in the deck box (or similar storage item) and have the player mats and rules stored separately. As I say, it’s a very small issue but as someone who loves to show off his games on the cabinet, the starter pack provides no real sustainable means of storing this TCG without additional storage based purchases.
The tokens and game mats are very cheap (just your average card and paper products meaning that the game mats are always creased at the fold), again I know that FFG have the premium tokens and game mats available, and people will buy them, but these in the starter pack are very forgettable.
“Let the Wookie Win!”
Ultimately, for the price you’ll pay for the starter pack you’ll be hard pressed to find any genuine complaints here. These are two really fun decks that perfectly capture the spirit of Star Wars and this starter pack provides a great jumping on point.
Both as a complete game experience and as a taster of what else is on store, the starter pack succeeds and passes the test with flying colours. With plenty more waves of cards coming in the months ahead, the future looks bright for Star Wars Unlimited and you’ll be glad that you started your journey with the two player starter pack!
