“If you cannot afford to lose, you should not play the game.”

–Prince Xizor

The shadows offer a perfect place to hide from Imperial attention, and those who dwell there might have the means to obtain illicit technology or favors. Between the Shadows brings new power to the Scum and Villainy and Jedi affiliations for Star Wars™: The Card Game. The Jedi work secretly for the galaxy’s good, while the Scum and Villainy work for the highest bidder.

By their very nature, the Scum and Villainy are often found working alone, with loyalties shifting at a moment’s notice. The exception is the massive Black Sun crime syndicate. Uniting pirates, spice runners, information brokers, bounty hunters, and mercenaries, Black Sun rose to unmatched prestige during the events of the Galactic Civil War, largely due to the actions of its leader: Prince Xizor.

In our last preview, we explored the power of a fully-trained Jedi with a new version of Luke Skywalker. Today, however, we visit the other side of the shadows to plunge into the darkness of Black Sun and Prince Xizor’s objective set!

A Black Sun Rises

Prince Xizor is a master of schemes and treachery, and his possible plots take life with the Masterful Manipulation (Between the Shadows, 670) objective. This objective has two resources and a Reaction that allows you to use both resources without qualms. Masterful Manipulation bears the text, “Reaction: After your opponent’s turn ends, shuffle this objective back into your objective deck to draw 1 card.” Under normal circumstances, focusing an objective for two resources means it won’t provide any resources on your next turn, but Masterful Manipulation offers you an easy way out. You can use both of this objective’s resources and replace it in your objective deck at the end of your opponent’s turn, granting you new, unfocused resources for your next deployment phase. In addition, if your opponent ever wants to destroy Masterful Manipulation, he’ll have to do it in one turn, before any sign of Xizor’s schemes vanishes into the shadows.

As the ruler of a criminal empire, Prince Xizor (Between the Shadows, 671) is a force to be reckoned with in the galaxy. Your opponent will surely learn to fear Prince Xizor and his massive spread of combat icons. Whether you need to eliminate enemy units, damage an objective, or befuddle your opponent with cunning tactics, Prince Xizor has a way to accomplish all his goals. Not only does he have the elite keyword, his Reaction allows him to capture a card from each opponent’s hand whenever an objective leaves play. Prince Xizor’s ability not only triggers when an objective is destroyed, but also when Masterful Manipulation is reshuffled into your deck, giving you even more access to capturing your opponent’s cards and fueling objectives such as The Findsman’s Intuition (Lure of the Dark Side, 537) or Jabba’s Reach (Edge of Darkness, 374).

You gain another method to trigger Xizor’s Reaction in Shadows of the Empire (Between the Shadows, 674). By playing this event during your turn, you may place a target enemy objective at the bottom of its owner’s objective deck. For just one resource, you can eliminate threatening objectives ranging from Against All Odds (Lure of the Dark Side, 524), to May the Force Be With You (Join Us or Die, 567), to The Defense of Yavin 4 (Core Set, 138), and trigger Xizor’s ability to boot.

A criminal organization like Black Sun has plenty of ways to get the resources you need, such as by hiring a Debt Collector (Between the Shadows, 673). A Debt Collector can prove useful for defending your objectives and provide the resources you need to pay for the best starfighters. Black Sun also gains a powerful attacker in the Black Sun Headhunter (Between the Shadows, 672). This Fighter is an amazing bargain for two resources, offering four damage capacity, shielding, and high potential blast damage. The best starfighters never come free, though, and you must spend a Scum resource after each deployment phase to maintain the services of the Black Sun Headhunter. With the help of your Debt Collector though, you’ll have the funds to retain the Black Sun Headhunter long-term.

This objective set concludes with a new fate card introduced in Between the Shadows: The Prince’s Scheme (Between the Shadows, 675). This fate card contributes only one Force icon to your side, but if you control a participating unique Scum and Villainy unit, you may take a non-fate card from your opponent’s edge stack and place it in your edge stack! Increasing your Force icon total while decreasing your opponent’s means certain victory in many edge battles.

Out of Darkness

The Between the Shadows deluxe expansion leads you into the shadows of the Star Wars universe to engage in hidden conferences and illicit dealing. Whether you pledge yourself to the Jedi, the Scum and Villainy, or to another affiliation with shadowy interests, you’ll find the cards you need in Between the Shadows.

Preorder this deluxe expansion at your local retailer, and check back for more previews!