“I am your father.”

–Darth Vader, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Take your place in the Star Wars universe with Imperial Assault, a new miniatures game of tactical combat and thrilling adventure for two to five players! You’ll find two complete games within Imperial Assault: a campaign game, which invites you to join a story that changes based on the outcomes of your missions, and a skirmish game, which allows you to battle head-to-head against a single opponent.

In addition to the massive amount of missions and figures included in the Imperial Assault Core Set, the Luke Skywalker Ally Pack and the Darth Vader Villain Pack are included in the Core Set as an added bonus. Like other Ally Packs and Villain Packs, each of these expansions includes not only a sculpted plastic figure but also new missions and cards for the campaign and skirmish games.

In today’s Imperial Assault preview, we’ll turn to these two figure packs and explore the new missions and powerful abilities they offer to you in both every game.

Lord of the Sith

There are countless characters that fill the Star Wars galaxy, and many of them are highly dangerous. But perhaps no other being inspires the same fear as Darth Vader, lord of the Sith. His skill with a Lightsaber is exceptional, his fame as a pilot is legendary, and his mastery of the dark side of the Force is nearly unmatched. In the Darth Vader Villain Pack, you gain the cards to call upon Darth Vader to eliminate any threat to the Empire’s power.

For the campaign game, this Villain Pack introduces a new three-card Agenda set that the Imperial player may include in the Agenda deck at the start of a campaign. With this Agenda set, you can introduce a new side mission: Dark Obsession. If the heroes undertake this mission, they must engage in a desperate mission to help Luke escape before Darth Vader captures him forever. But if the hero players do not take on this side mission, you can deploy Darth Vader in any of your future missions! The two other cards in this Agenda set offer more tools for an Imperial player eager to bring Darth Vader into a mission. As You Wish can be played at the start of a mission to add the Darth Vader Deployment card to your hand of potential reinforcements, while A Dark Power reduces the deployment cost of any group by five, helping you bring your most expensive units into play much quicker.

The Darth Vader Villain Pack also offers new missions and cards for the skirmish game. Two new skirmish missions use the new Massassi Ruins map, challenging your team to recover important holocrons or save important excavation sites from orbital bombardment among the verdant jungles of Yavin 4. In both skirmish missions, you can use the new Command cards introduced in this expansion. By playing Close the Gap, you can bring your Brawlers closer to your opponent, whereas Force Lightning allows you to quickly incapacitate a hostile figure. Lure of the Dark Side gives you the chance to briefly control and perform an attack with any small figure and Lord of the Sith lets Darth Vader take an additional action for each hostile figure defeated, potentially sending him on a path of destruction through your enemy’s figures.

Hero of the Rebellion

Luke Skywalker’s life changed forever from the day his aunt and uncle were slain by Imperial Stormtroopers, leading him away from rural life on Tatooine to the heroic destruction of the first Death Star. Now, he fights for galactic freedom as a hero of the Rebellion, inspiring the troops around him to greater deeds and battling with blaster and Lightsaber to vanquish the tyrannic Empire. Like other Ally Packs, the Luke Skywalker Ally Pack offers a sculpted plastic figure with new tools for both your campaigns and skirmishes.

With the addition of the Luke Skywalker Ally Pack, you can include a new side mission in your campaigns. In the Sympathy for the Rebellion mission, you join Luke Skywalker in an attempt to gather new recruits for the Rebel Alliance. Of course, Imperial troopers are already in the area, and any attempt to stir the flame of rebellion quickly leads to a firefight. If you can successfully complete this mission, you gain The Ways of the Force Reward card. When a hero has this Reward card equipped, he may suffer a strain before taking an attribute test to become Focused, dramatically increasing his chances of succeeding at an attribute test and giving you a better chance of quickly completing your mission objectives.

Your skirmish games can also benefit from the inclusion of the Luke Skywalker Ally Pack. Two new missions take advantage of the new Moisture Farm map among the deserts of Tatooine. You may battle to tag crates of precious water, or use the distraction and chaos of a Tusken Raider attack to vanquish your opponent’s army. You can also use the new Command cards included in this expansion for any skirmish mission. Deflection reduces another figure’s accuracy and gives you the chance to inflict damage against your attacker, while Meditation gives you another action for your next activation. Knowledge and Defense improves your defense with an extra white die, and Son of Skywalker gives Luke the chance to activate twice in one round, doubling his chances to deal a decisive blow to the Galactic Empire.

Hero or Villain?

Whether you cast your lot with the Rebellion and Luke Skywalker, or pursue the Empire’s agendas with Darth Vader, the Darth Vader Villain Pack and Luke Skywalker Ally Pack included in the Imperial Assault Core Set give you the chance to adventure and battle in the Star Wars universe. With these expansions, your campaign and skirmish games change forever.

Imperial Assault will soon be available at your local retailer! Pre-order your copy today.