"There's an Imperial defector in Jedha. A pilot. He's being held by Saw Gerrera. He's claiming the Emperor is creating a weapon with the power to destroy entire planets."

–Cassian Andor

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of the Rise of the Empire expansion for Star Wars™: Rebellion!

Inspired largely by the characters and events of Rogue One, Rise of the Empire introduces a plethora of new heroes, villains, starships, troopers, and vehicles from that film, alongside other characters, ships, and events from Star Wars: Rebels and the classic trilogy, plus new missions that add more drama and intrigue to your games.

You can send Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor to recover the Death Star plans. You can confuse Imperials with false orders and assaults behind enemy lines. You can command Director Krennic and his finest death troopers. And you can set traps for the Rebel pilots and soldiers, luring them away from their base and into massive battles with more fully cinematic combat and tactics. Even Jabba the Hutt makes an appearance, offering his services to the Empire and feeding his prisoners to the Sarlaac.

Altogether, Rise of the Empire enhances your games with eight new leaders, thirty-six plastic miniatures, five target markers, two attachment rings, three new dice, and more than one-hundred new cards. You'll find U-wings, TIE Strikers, Nebulon-B frigates, and the Interdictor. You'll gain new ways of subverting your opponent's plans, and you'll discover a whole new chapter in your ongoing Galactic Civil War!

A Rebellion Built on Hope

It is a dark time for the galaxy, and it is growing darker. With every passing day, the Galactic Empire spreads its oppressive rule to new systems, destroying all peace and hope. Worse yet, however, are the rumors that the Empire is constructing a secret battle station of unimaginable power. Against this overwhelming threat, the only hope for freedom lies with the group of unlikely heroes who have banded together to complete a series of dangerous secret missions.

With Rebellion, you gain full command of one side of this struggle or the other. You command the full leadership and military of the burgeoning Galactic Empire, or the brave and desperate heroes of the fledgling Rebel Alliance. In either case, you must balance all your military strength, resources, and political alliances against the secret missions you undertake to advance your cause. You must keep an eye to the loyalties of whole systems while directing your forces to victory in battles or guiding them to success on missions.

The result is that your game becomes a sweeping tale of individual heroics with far-reaching consequences, and this story turns largely upon the outcome of the missions you attempt. Accordingly, Rise of the Empire introduces brand new mission decks for the Empire and Rebellion that pluck your games of Rebellion outside the timeframe of the original Star Wars trilogy and allow you to begin with the Death Star under construction and Director Krennic eager to see it fully developed and tested.

Desperately outnumbered and outgunned, the Rebellion's very survival, then, hangs upon the surgical precision of its missions. As the Rebel player, you'll need to consider your options carefully. Will you attempt a Secret Mission alongside Cassian Andor? Will you fight Behind Enemy Lines with Saw Gerrera? Or will you focus on developing your forces, offering a Promotion to a leader like Admiral Ackbar or Wedge Antilles? The wrong decision may spell doom. The right one may save millions of lives.

Cinematic Combat

It's only natural that a Rebellion expansion inspired by Rogue One would feature a good number of daring heroes, scheming villains, and critical missions. But, of course, there's more to the film than its desperate, covert operations and spy work. The film just wouldn't be the same without its superlaser blasts and its climactic battles in space and on the ground.

Similarly, Rise of the Empire wouldn't be the same without its new combat units, tactic cards, and the new rules it introduces for bringing them all together in massively cinematic confrontations in space or on the ground. You'll have Rebel vanguards launching rockets against Imperial assault tanks. You'll find TIE Striker pilots weaving past Rebels entrenched with their Golan Arms DF.9 turret placements. And if you're the Rebel player, you may watch in horror as you realize the Imperials have developed gravity wells on their Interdictor that can prevent your Nebulon-B frigates from escaping into hyperspace.

With Rise of the Empire, you can use advanced tactics cards to bring a new dimension to combat. The Rebellion and Galactic Empire each gain their own tactic decks, filled with surprises that allow their units to use their unique strengths to change the course of combat. When you play with these advanced tactic cards, you don't just change the cards you play in combat; you change the whole nature of the combat itself.

When you play with the cinematic combat rules from Rise of the Empire, you and your opponent each secretly choose one of these advanced tactic cards at the start of each round of combat. When the cards are revealed, their effects can have potent repercussions, many of which relate directly to the units you're fielding in the battle. There are others that may even reach beyond the theater of battle.

For example, if you play Rogue One in a combat where you have a U-wing and then retreat a unit in the round you play it, you can rescue a captive leader. Suddenly, your round of combat gains a bit of the story element usually associated more closely with your missions. Or if you arrange a winning Confrontation , you can eliminate one of your opponent's leaders!

A Perfect Fit

"Our Rebellion is all that remains to push back the Empire. We think you may be able to help us."

–Mon Mothma

New leaders. New missions. New tactic cards that lead to more fully cinematic combats. Rise of the Empire isn't just inspired by Rogue One; it follows the movie's example, adding new depth and story to the Rebellion game experience just as seamlessly as Rogue One provided new insight into the Galactic Civil War presented in the original Star Wars trilogy.