“Chewie, this won’t help me! Save your strength, there’ll be another time!”

–Han Solo, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Ally Packs and Villain Packs for Imperial Assault bring new adventure to your campaign and skirmishes! In all figure packs, you’ll find detailed plastic figures of iconic characters, as well as new Command cards, Agenda cards, Reward cards, and Deployment cards. In addition, each figure pack features a new campaign side mission and two new skirmish missions that use the same map.

In our last preview, we explored an infamous rogue and a deadly bounty hunter with the Han Solo Ally Pack and the IG-88 Villain Pack. Today, we’ll take a look at the new strategies opened by two more figure packs as we preview the Chewbacca Ally Pack and the General Weiss Villain Pack!

A Wookiee’s Loyalty

Chewbacca is widely known as Han Solo’s companion and protector, and this Wookiee is fearsome combatant and a worthy ally for any team of Rebels. Whether you use him in a campaign mission or a skirmish mission, Chewbacca's two abilities highlight the two major roles he can fill.

Chewbacca’s first role is as a front-lines fighter, dealing damage and clearing the way for other heroes. His Slam ability is a crucial part of this ability. By using Slam as an action, Chewbacca can choose an adjacent hostile figure and roll a red die. The chosen figure suffers damage equal to the die result, and if the target is a small figure, Chewbacca can push it one space.

Dealing damage when your opponent cannot roll defense dice is a massive benefit, and with one red die, Chewbacca can deal significant damage with every Slam. If the figure survives the blow, you may also be able to push it one space. One space might not seem like much, but that’s often all you need to block your opponent’s firing lanes, forcing him to move to a less advantageous position before opening fire.

Chewbacca’s second ability reflects his identity as a guardian. With the Protector ability, Chewbacca grants all adjacent friendly figures a bonus block whenever they roll defense dice. A bonus block is useful no matter what your situation, and it can sometimes make the difference between life and death for a figure.

In your campaigns, Chewbacca is a great asset for any Rebel strike team. In many campaign missions, the Imperial player wins if he wounds all of the heroes. Chewbacca's Protector ability forces your opponent to deal much more damage if he wants to wound the heroes for victory. Chewbacca’s damage dealing prowess can also clear the way for your heroes, but the Imperial player often redeploys any units that are destroyed. You can make this option less appealing with the Intimidation Reward card. This card can be depleted during a mission after you defeat the last figure in a group to increase the deployment cost of that group by two! You gain this card by winning the Celebration side mission, which is included in the Chewbacca Ally Pack.

Chewbacca offers similar benefits in your skirmish missions, whether you play with the new Imperial Labor Camp map or another skirmish setting. New Command cards in this Ally Pack invite you to enhance your strategies for Chewbacca and other figures. You may use Wookiee Rage to damage an adjacent hostile figure without allowing him to roll defense dice. Alternatively, you may use Hold Ground to keep hostile figures from exiting spaces adjacent to a Guardian unit, buying your other figures time to accomplish objectives. Finally, you may take revenge for a friendly figure’s defeat by playing Debts Repaid . This card allows you to ready Chewbacca’s Deployment card and Focus him, setting up a devastating reprisal on your next turn.

The General’s Command

While smugglers like Chewbacca flout Imperial law, there are those who are completely committed to upholding the Empire. One of these men is General Weiss , a field commander of Imperial forces. With the General Weiss Villain Pack, you can construct either a standard AT-ST or General Weiss’s own heavily modified assault walker.

On the battlefield, General Weiss’s customized walker is a formidable presence. The Epic Arsenal ability illustrates its firepower, allowing the general to form an attack pool out of any three attack dice. General Weiss may use two blue dice and a green die to attack heroes at long-range, or overwhelm nearby targets and trigger surge abilities with two red dice and a yellow die, or any other combination of dice. Whatever your situation, Epic Arsenal ensures that you always have the best possible dice.

General Weiss also possesses a keen tactical mind and an understanding that, in battle, positioning is one of your most valuable assets. The General’s Orders ability allows you to choose up to two other friendly figures on the map and perform a move with those characters. By keeping your forces mobile, you can take up position on new firing lanes or make tactical retreats to keep your troops from being surrounded by enemy forces.

In your campaign games General Weiss can put his tactical expertise to use by ordering your other troops to charge into battle or claim objectives, even while he focuses his firepower on the heroes. No hero can hold out long against concentrated fire from General Weiss, and by wounding the heroes one at a time, you can bring the Empire closer to victory every turn.

Of course, The General’s Scheme agenda set means that Weiss’s influence is not limited to the battlefield. You may lure the heroes into the Forest Ambush side mission, you may give an Inspiring Command to focus figures adjacent to an Imperial Leader, or you may make Special Modifications to a normal AT-ST to grant it increased firepower.

Your Imperial skirmish forces can also benefit from General Weiss and his unique talents – as well as the new Command cards included in this Villain Pack. You can battle within a new skirmish map – the Imperial Research Lab, an area filled with narrow corridors. In these confined quarters, a card like Explosive Weaponry could easily damage a large amount of enemy figures by giving your attack Blast 1. Alternatively, you can take advantage of General Weiss’s large size with Overrun . In his assault walker, he can fill almost any passage, and Overrun allows you to damage hostile figures when you enter their spaces. Another new Command card allows Weiss to call upon the Endless Reserves of the Empire. Endless Reserves brings a defeated friendly Trooper back to its group, and after use, this card is shuffled back into your Command deck.

Prepare for Battle

You may live a lawless life on the Outer Rim, free from any government’s interference. You may work to uphold the galactic order of the Empire by any means necessary. No matter which side you support, it’s time to enter the Galactic Civil War.

Pre-order your Ally Packs and Villain Packs at your local retailer today, and check back for our preview of the Rebel Troopers and the Royal Guard Champion.