“Then we’ll do it real quiet-like.”

–Han Solo, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

In the sleek corridors and grimy underworks of Cloud City, a secret war is waged between Rebel operatives and the agents of the Imperial Security Bureau. A Rebel sympathizer recently recovered some vital ISB codes that could give the Rebellion a crucial edge in their struggle. Unfortunately, he disappeared before he could make contact, and now both sides are locked in a game of cat-and-mouse to recover the codes before it’s too late.

The Bespin Gambit is an upcoming expansion for Imperial Assault that invites you to visit one of the most iconic locations from the Star Wars saga—Cloud City. With an entirely new mini-campaign, a new skirmish map, eleven plastic figures, and a wealth of new cards, this expansion brings you to the heart of a shadow war among the clouds.

Today, we’ll begin our series of previews of The Bespin Gambit and its corresponding figure packs by looking at the two new Rebel heroes included in this expansion!

Hiding in Plain Sight

The first hero to sign up with the Rebellion in The Bespin Gambit is Davith Elso—a Force user with a knack for stealthy operations. In your campaigns, Davith Elso allows you to take full advantage of the new Hidden condition with his Cloak and Dagger ability. While attacking with a melee weapon, this ability lets you spend a single surge to gain the Hidden condition, which reduces enemy accuracy and gives you a free surge during your first attack.

The Hidden condition must be discarded after you make an attack, but because Hidden gives you a bonus surge and Davith can spend a surge to Hide, you can almost certainly attack and immediately Hide again. By remaining perpetually Hidden, despite making attacks, Davith forces your opponent to engage you on your own terms.

You can also take advantage of Davith Elso’s preternatural quickness with Force Speed. This ability lets Davith suffer a single strain to immediately move up to two spaces during his activation. Force Speed combines with any other strain you suffer to gain movement points—enabling Davith to move much faster than your Imperial foes would otherwise suspect.

Davith Elso’s Class deck provides you with additional ways to stay hidden in the shadows and strike with devastating effect when you emerge. As one of your first Class card purchases, you may choose to acquire Elusive Agent. You can exhaust this card after you become Hidden to recover one strain—a useful effect, especially considering that Davith’s Force Speed ability costs strain to use. You may also invest your experience points in a Shrouded Lightsaber. This covert melee weapon deals significant damage, and it only becomes more dangerous if you’re Hidden when you attack. Finally, you may purchase the Fell Swoop card. When you’re attacking with a melee weapon, you can spend two surges to trigger Fell Swoop—becoming Hidden, moving two spaces, and performing another attack! If you need to get the jump on more than one figure at once, Fell Swoop gives you a perfect way to neutralize those who would oppose your mission.

Master of Intelligence

Davith Elso is joined in his covert espionage missions by Murne Rin, an Ithorian intelligence master. Though her outward role is that of a diplomat, Murne Rin is a useful asset for any mission, as your Imperial foes will soon discover.

The first way that Murne Rin can aid the Rebellion is by providing False Orders to lower-ranking Imperial soldiers. By spending an action and taking a strain, Murne Rin can choose a nearby hostile figure with a figure cost equal to or less than the threat level. Then, you can perform an attack with that figure, allowing you to turn groups of enemies against each other and tear apart the Empire’s forces from within!

You may also use your status as a Figurehead to help your allies over the course of a mission. This ability reads, “After an attack targeting you resolves, if you suffered 1 or more damage, choose another hero within 3 spaces that has suffered at least 1 strain. That hero recovers 1 strain.” Inevitably, you’re going to take damage during your mission, and allowing your allies to heal strain whenever you do could help your fellow heroes use their special abilities much more consistently.

Murne Rin’s Class deck not only invites you to pull a group of heroes together—it allows you to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. First, you can easily bring unique Allies into your party with Company of Heroes. This card reduces the deployment cost of a unique Ally by four, helping you bring heroes like Lando Calrissian into play without drastically increasing your opponent’s threat. Solidarity lets Murne Rin recover strain when a nearby hero rests and gain movement points when a nearby hero moves, rewarding you for keeping your heroes close together and working as a team. Finally, you may purchase Waylay. By suffering a strain after you use False Orders, you allow a nearby hero or Ally to perform an immediate attack! Increasing your number of attacks per round is critical for overwhelming the forces arrayed against you, and Murne Rin may be just the person you need to mastermind your mission.

Rebel Heroes in the Skirmish Game

In the skirmish game, these two Rebel heroes are no less dangerous. Murne Rin maintains her False Orders ability, but it now allows her to target any hostile figure with a figure cost of three or less, and she can now perform a move or attack with the chosen figure! The differences here are small, but important. Many skirmish missions revolve around maintaining control of an area or carrying objectives to a certain place. By moving an enemy figure away from the action, you may be able to tip the balance of an objective at the crucial time. You may even use Murne Rin’s Command card, Fatal Deception, to take temporary control of a higher-cost unit, like a Royal Guard or a Trandoshan Hunter.

You can also benefit from the Field Report ability. This ability triggers at the end of Murne Rin’s activation, and as long as you have more Command cards in hand than your opponent, Murne Rin and another nearby friendly figure can become Hidden. Because the Hidden condition reduces the accuracy of all incoming attacks, making your figures significantly harder to hit can be important if you’re trying to protect a certain figure.

As Murne Rin controls the flow of the battle, Davith Elso prepares to strike from the shadows. His surge abilities allow him to Hide and deal extra damage, as well as piercing through much of your enemy’s armor. The Stealthy ability lets Davith Elso become Hidden at the start of each mission, and you can use that condition to get close enough to use Cut and Run—an ability that forces hostile figures to suffer damage when Davith Elso moves out of their space. In other words, by simply moving through your enemies’ spaces, you can actually deal damage that their defense dice never have the chance to block.

Finally, you may spend two surges to trigger the Fell Swoop ability. When you use Fell Swoop, Davith can become Hidden, move two spaces, and perform another attack after the first attack resolves, transforming him into a whirlwind of deadly attacks. Of course, you have to get close enough to trigger Fell Swoop, and you don’t want to be defeated along the way. Fortunately, you can use the Vanish Command card. This Command card prevents Davith from suffering damage or receiving conditions until his next activation. What’s more, he gains four additional movement points at the beginning of his next activation—more than enough to let you rush into an enemy position and take down some figures before they know what’s happened.

The Shadow War Has Begun

In The Bespin Gambit, secrets are worth more than anything else, including the lives of the Rebel and Imperial agents. Decide how much you’re willing to risk, and how you’ll escape once you have what you need. Look for our next preview to explore the Imperial and Mercenaries figures, and pre-order your copy of The Bespin Gambit at your local retailer today!