Reinforcements have arrived
Star Wars is a huge franchise, with lots of multimedia, both official and unofficial, tapping into the IP, hoping to get the attention of fans. Tabletop and board games are no different. We have miniature games, board games, card games, spin offs to mass market titles, so many options for fans to enjoy at the table with friends and family.
One of the best out there is arguably Star Wars the Deck Building game. This fantastic game sees two players (or more with additional sets) vie for victory by adding new cards to your deck in the aim to reduce enough of the opponents' bases to win.
If you haven’t played this game, you really should. You can find a review for the original set here and the Clone Wars set here.
Reinforcements have arrived
Star Wars is a huge franchise, with lots of multimedia, both official and unofficial, tapping into the IP, hoping to get the attention of fans. Tabletop and board games are no different. We have miniature games, board games, card games, spin offs to mass market titles, so many options for fans to enjoy at the table with friends and family.
One of the best out there is arguably Star Wars the Deck Building game. This fantastic game sees two players (or more with additional sets) vie for victory by adding new cards to your deck in the aim to reduce enough of the opponents' bases to win.
If you haven’t played this game, you really should. You can find a review for the original set here and the Clone Wars set here.
Rebel and Empire Reinforcements is a direct expansion for the original set. One player takes on the role of the Empire, whilst the other player takes on the Rebel Alliance. This expansion adds new and interesting things, but will the game fall to the dark side? Or bring balance to the Force?
Exploring the galaxy
First things first… You need to have the base original game to play this expansion – unlike the Clone Wars set that acts as a standalone expansion.
Inside the box, you merely get new cards, but there are plenty of them.
Both the Rebels and the Empire get the following new additions to their collection:
· 25 Reinforcement cards
· 25 Mission cards
· 10 new base cards
· 10 upgrade starter cards
The quality of the artwork is outstanding, in keeping with the quality and style of the original core set. The cards themselves are of a good quality, again like the original, so you won’t be disappointed here.
After that, there is not much to say, as that is all that is included.
What you do get additionally, however, is an insert for the box that is clearly designed to aid with the campaign rules newly included in this set.
We have not played the campaign rules, but it does spark an interest in seeing how that works with an already fantastic game.
There is a disturbance in the force…
So if you are reading this, we will assume you know the original game. Again, if you are not familiar with the original game, check out the reviews for the original set here and the Clone Wars set here.
So what is new?
Each player gets new bases, some upgraded starter cards, and the brand-new reinforcement and mission cards.
Upgraded starter cards
These are primarily designed for the campaign rules, but there are rules for an upgraded starter mode, which replaces the base game starter cards with these new ones. The starting base for each side is also replaced, with the original starter bases being returned to the box.
For the campaign mode, the game now takes place over 5 plays, where the results of each game carry over to the next. Players score points and unlock new cards in each game by spending them on upgrading cards. You also get to swap out cards in the galaxy deck with unlocked reinforcement cards, meaning over the course of the 5 games your deck evolves whilst still maintaining the core 10 starter cards and 30 faction cards in the galaxy deck.
For each of the factions' new 10 bases, 6 can be used as standard, but 4 can only be used when playing with missions, as they are directly influenced by mission cards.
Finally, the big new change… missions and reinforcements.
During setup, you place your 25 reinforcement cards to one side (no need to shuffle). Each reinforcement card has a mission card related to it, which needs to be completed to gain that reinforcement card.
In the setup phase of the game, shuffle you factions mission cards and place them face down next to your base deck (which will now include the 10 new editions). Look at the top 2 mission cards, choose 1 to put into play, and then place the other at the bottom of the mission deck.
During your turn, you can now place resources on your mission card in play, which will remain there until completed. Once you have reached the number of resources needed to complete the mission, you do the following steps:
1. Return all resources on the completed mission back to the supply.
2. Resolve its ability.
Resolving missions will allow you to add a reinforcement to the top of your draw deck.
At the start of your next turn, if you do not have a mission in play and you have not completed your maximum permitted number of missions, you can now draw 2 new mission cards and pick a new mission to put into play, which happens before selecting your new base.
The new reinforcements tend to be more powerful cards, so this is an interesting new way to boost your deck.
As mentioned, you do have a limit to the number of missions you complete. This is directly tied to the number of bases you are playing to win. So, 4 bases to win means you can complete 4 missions maximum. 10 bases to win means you can complete 10 missions.
Outside of this, nothing more in the base game changes.
Is the Force strong with this one?
The short answer… Yes!
If you like the base game a lot, stop reading and go and buy this expansion!
A more in-depth answer would be that this expansion enhances without complicating the game. It is important to note that this expansion is designed for the original core game, so if you favour playing the Clone Wars set or playing with the Mandalorian set, this expansion won’t work. Because of this, when mixing and matching the sets, you will need to ensure the new cards are not used in either Rebel or Empire decks.
Our solution?
We have kept the Clone Wars set and Mandalorian deck together to play classic deckbuilding and then included this expansion with the original set. Honestly, it is unlikely now that the original game decks will ever be played without this expansion.
Using missions means you never have to throw away unused resources, as you can place them on a mission to store until completed. The new bases and reinforcement cards are excellent additions (not going to lie, gained great joy playing the Death Star II and the Emperor).
There is next to no increase in complexity. The mission cards are simple to understand, but just give players a little extra choice and variability in games.
This is a must-include for the original core game, and we cannot recommend it enough.
THE FORCE IS TRULY STRONG WITH THIS ONE!
About the authors
We are Peaches and Meeples, busy professionals who love to chill out to fun table top games. We love board games, card games, miniatures games, competitive or co-operative. Put some dice in our hands and we are in our happy place.
We are also proud guinea pig parents to two lovely fluffballs of joy.
Zatu Review Summary
Zatu Score
90%
