“Your powers are weak, old man.”

–Darth Vader, Star Wars: A New Hope

Throughout the arenas of the Galactic Civil War, two great powers have struggled for dominance: the Sith controlling the Empire and the tiny Rebel Alliance struggling to win freedom for the galaxy. Neither power will give an inch in their battles, and with the Galactic Ambitions expansion for Star Wars™: The Card Game, you have the chance to determine which will finally be victorious.

Galactic Ambitions is the fifth deluxe expansion for Star Wars: The Card Game, and it puts the spotlight squarely on the Sith and Rebel Alliance affiliations by introducing new objective sets for each, as well as a single objective set for each other affiliation in the game.

Today, we’ll take a closer look at a Sith objective set that centers around the most iconic lord of the Sith—Darth Vader.

The Force Is Strong With Him

Across the Star Wars saga, there are few characters that command such fear as Darth Vader. In Star Wars: The Card Game, your opponent may be equally terrified to see you play Darth Vader under your control. From the very first days of the game’s Core Set, Darth Vader (Core Set, 35) has shaped the game. His ability to deal direct damage whenever a Sith event is played means that your opponent must constantly fear the way that cards like Force Choke (Core Set, 59) can whittle away at his forces.

The Galactic Ambitions expansion introduces a new version of Darth Vader (Galactic Ambitions, 1055), and you’ll quickly notice that he has a very different specialization. Although this Darth Vader shares the same cost, damage capacity, Force icons, combat icons, and the elite keyword with previous versions, he has gained an ability that reads, “Interrupt: When this unit resolves its unit damage icons, assign the damage to a target non-participating exhausted enemy unit instead.” Furthermore, Darth Vader gains an additional unit damage icon while your opponent has two or more exhausted units.

In essence, this ability allows Darth Vader’s combat icons to reach outside of the current engagement similar to the targeted strike keyword. You can probably think of many times your opponent attacked with a weak character, while his most important units stayed back, exhausted. Now, you can choose to forego destroying a unit in the engagement in order to reach a much more tempting target outside. No matter what you decide, your opponent must think carefully about how he declares his engagements when he has exhausted units. Even powerful Force Users like Yoda (Join Us or Die, 568) or Luke Skywalker (Core Set, 92) can fall to Darth Vader’s blade if your opponent isn’t careful.

Exhausting your opponent’s units forms a theme that runs throughout this entire objective set. The objective in this set, Dark Lord of the Sith (Galactic Ambitions, 1054), forces your opponent to focus a ready non-Vehicle unit at the beginning of the conflict phase, so long as you control three or more Sith objectives. By forcing your opponent to focus one of his ready units, you not only neuter his potential attackers or defenders for the next turn, you provide Darth Vader with even more targets to destroy.

You can also exhaust your opponent’s best units on command with Telekinetic Strike (Galactic Ambitions, 1058). This event requires you to focus one of your own units, but it allows you to place a focus token on any enemy Character or Creature unit with an equal or lower cost! Furthermore, if the Balance of the Force is with the dark side, you can place two focus tokens on the target unit instead. Exhausting one of your opponent’s units can turn the tide of any conflict, and if you need to refresh your unit quickly, you can just play a card like Rage (Lure of the Dark Side, 532).

You can also focus your opponent’s units with one of the new fate cards introduced in this deluxe expansion: Visage of the Dark Lord (Galactic Ambitions, 1059). If you have a unique Sith unit participating in the engagement, you can play Visage of the Dark Lord in your edge stack to immediately place a focus token on any participating enemy unit. By playing Visage of the Dark Lord at the right time, you could completely negate your opponent’s reason for attacking or defending, leaving you firmly in control of the situation.

This objective set concludes with two cards that you can use to support Darth Vader in any Sith deck. The Sith Warrior (Galactic Ambitions, 1056) is an inexpensive, defensive character with the shielding keyword—granting extra protection to both your units and objectives. You’ll also find a copy of Vader's Meditation Chamber (Galactic Ambitions, 1057). This unique enhancement provides a Sith resource, and if you control any Force User or Force Sensitive units, you reduce the cost to play this card by one, making it one of the most efficient resources in the game.

You Have Failed Me for the Last Time

For centuries, the Sith hid in the shadows, plotting the fall of the Jedi and their own rise to power. Now that they have succeeded and rule the galaxy-spanning Galactic Empire, they will never allow a puny alliance of rebels to steal their victory. Intimidate your opponents with the power of the dark side, and pre-order your copy of the Galactic Ambitions expansion at your local retailer today!