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“Chewbacca Just Blew Up My Death Star!!!”
And with those fateful words my very first playthrough of Star Wars The Deckbuilding Game ended in a crushing defeat… and you know what? I really didn’t mind!
Such is the level of fun and enjoyment that I experienced in this brand new offering from Fantasy Flight Games. The Star Wars franchise and the world of Deckbuilding come together for a truly wild ride that will please all level of gamers.
When the box arrived, and was promptly unpacked, my first thoughts were, “This is a lot smaller than I anticipated.” And, in the same way that you should never judge a book by it’s proverbial cover, I really shouldn’t have let the size of this game give me any cause for concern. There is a lot of gaming greatness in this relatively small box!!! In fact to borrow a phrase from the franchise… “The force is strong with this one!”
“Ready Are You?”
Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game is a rapid fire, head to head game for 2 players. This is the ultimate Rebels vs Empire experience in card game format! To come off victorious your faction (either the Imperials or the Rebel Alliance) will need to destroy your opponents bases which are located on such iconic planets as Hoth, Yavin IV, Mustafar, Endor and many more.
To protect your bases you will want to purchase Capital ships to shield these planets from enemy fire and intercept the damage from your opponent. For Star Wars fans there is a lot of fun to be had with sending your operatives out into the action; one decisive victory came about after Jabba the Hutt launched an attack on the Imperial base on Coruscant! It’s precisely this kind of thematic joy that makes this game so good.
If you are thinking this is a reskin of Fantasy Flights earlier card game ‘Empire vs Rebellion’, let me emphasise that that is definitely not the case! Throughout the game you will be purchasing cards to improve your hand, playing them to your play area and committing them to attack. Like Marvel Champions, another Fantasy Flight staple, there are no limits to the number of actions you can take during your turn, so having the right cards in your hand can spell doom for your opponent in a short period of time.
Players start the game with a small hand of pretty weak cards that can enable them to launch small attacks and generate resources. These resources can be spent to purchase more powerful cards from the ‘Galaxy Row’, a central marketplace. Of course, any Star Wars fan knows that the galaxy far, far away is home to all sorts of shady characters with no loyalties or sympathies for either side of the conflict; they are simply hired hands. Whereas only the Empire can purchase Imperial cards and only the Alliance can purchase Rebellion cards, the Neutral characters and ships are available to anyone… for a price!
Star Wars The Deckbuilding Game takes full advantage of this fact and enables players to purchase such characters as Boba Fett, IG-88, Lando Calrissian and many, many more. The Rebel Alliance may find that legendary bounty hunter Bossk can be a powerful ally, whereas the Empire might make good use of some Jawa scavengers. It’s all one big sand box for players to dig into and let their Star Wars fantasies play out on the table.
“No Disintegrations”
One particular highlight of this deckbuilder is the ‘Bounty Hunting/Sabotage’ ability. Perhaps you notice that Darth Vader has appeared in the ‘Galaxy Row’ and is available for your opponent to purchase. Using the ‘Bounty Hunting/Sabotage’ action you can send characters and ships that you own to attack such a threat and discard that card, thereby robbing your opponent of the chance to add said character to their deck. Again, it’s a lot of fun to send out a team of characters like Princess Leia and Dengar to prevent Director Krennic from joining the Empires squad. Whenever you attack a card in the ‘Galaxy Row’ and discard it you will gain the Reward listed on the bottom of the card. This really sweetens the pot, as not only do you eliminate potential threats but you get paid for it too.
Of course, like all good deckbuilding games, most cards will have additional actions, effects and titles that will factor into your victory or defeat. Making good use of these cards will increase your chances of ending this conflict once and for all.
“That’s Not How The Force Works”
As the struggle between good and evil rages, the balance of the Force is constantly changing. In Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game players will be vying for mastery of the Force using the Force track. Playing the right cards will tip the balance in your favour and enable you to use the excellent card abilities that have the requirement: ‘If the Force is with you…’! These are nice little bonuses that improve some already powerful cards; let’s just say if the Force is with Darth Vader then there is going to be trouble!!!
“In My Experience There’s No Such thing As Luck”
Perhaps you are looking at this game and wondering how rule heavy it is. Well, the good news is that it’s really not. That’s not to say that it’s a light game. There is enough strategy and depth to sink an X-Wing in (ala the swamps of Dagobah!). What Fantasy Flight have done though is to produce a game that feels like a true love letter to the Star Wars universe which is great fun for veteran gamers and yet welcoming to new players.
It is surprisingly quick to play and quick to learn, by the second game we were able to get straight into it without hardly referring to the rules. So perhaps you love Star Wars but are put off by the size of FFGS other offerings such as Outer Rim, Star Wars Rebellion or their many miniature games. If that’s the case (and even if it’s not) then I would heartily recommend this. It’s a welcome change to have a Star Wars game without an intimidating rule book or a high point of entry. Not only that but it doesn’t dumb things down; there are lots of deep cuts like playing some bounty hunters to Ord Mantell.
At the end of the day, this is what a Star Wars card game should look like. It’s fast, it’s engaging and most of all as George Lucas himself said, “IT’S FUN!” So check out Star Wars The Deckbuilding Game and experience for yourself what might have been in the conflict that happened “a long time ago…”
