“Don’t underestimate the Force.”

–Darth Vader, Star Wars: A New Hope

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce Ancient Rivals, the first Force Pack in the upcoming Opposition cycle for Star Wars™: The Card Game!

Throughout the Galactic Civil War, certain feuds and rivalries have defined countless conflicts. The Jedi battle the Sith lords, playing out the age-old struggle between the light and dark sides of the Force. The armies and navies of the Rebels and the Empire clash on planets and in the skies above them. The galaxy’s smugglers and spies struggle for supremacy against the scum that lurk in the shadows. These dynamic rivalries have shaped the Galactic Civil War, and now, with the the Opposition cycle, they will take their rightful place in Star Wars: The Card Game as well.

Ancient Rivals kicks off the Opposition cycle and simultaneously serves as an introduction to the new themes and mechanics that will be found therein. Here, you will find a host of cards that focus on the struggles between pairs of affiliations: Jedi and Sith, Rebel Alliance and Imperial Navy, Smugglers and Spies and Scum and Villainy. The Opposition cycle also introduces a host of new fate cards, including a new type—fate cards with an affiliation. Ancient Rivals also offers up a host of iconic characters: the heroes and villains of Star Wars: Rebels begin to appear in the LCG®, joined by new versions of classic characters like Dengar, Han Solo, and Darth Vader. Immerse yourself in the epic conflicts and battles of the Galactic Civil War in the Opposition cycle, beginning with Ancient Rivals!

A New Beginning

From her first introduction as Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan to her choice to leave the Jedi Order, Ahsoka Tano has made her own way in the galaxy. Now, the Ancient Rivals Force Pack gives you the chance to gain Ahsoka’s help as you fight for freedom across the galaxy.

Ahsoka Tano (Ancient Rivals, 1123) is an undeniably powerful force on the battlefield, but she doesn’t even need to participate in combat to help you replenish your hand of cards for edge battles. Ahsoka’s special ability reads, “Reaction: After you reveal 1 or more Jedi cards in your edge stack, draw 1 card. (Limit twice per turn.)” The amount of draw this ability can give you is almost unprecedented, and it helps you immediately recoup the loss of placing cards in the edge stack. Because her ability can trigger twice on your turn and twice on your opponent’s turn, Ahsoka Tano may quickly prove to be a crucial part of your light side forces. Even if you only play a single Jedi card in each edge battle, you’ll constantly replenish your hand and force your opponent to spend his own cards if he wants to win.

You can further increase your odds in any edge battle with Ahsoka's Informant (Ancient Rivals, 1124). This unit may seem unimpressive, but when edge stacks are revealed, you may sacrifice this unit as an Interrupt to place any Jedi card from your discard pile into your edge stack! Of course, because this happens before edge stacks are actually revealed, you won't konw how much you need to win, but Jedi cards typically feature a higher number of Force icons—so you have a good chance of winning the edge battle if you want to. Once your discard pile is large enough, you may even consider Ahsoka’s Informant as a way to win any edge battle you want, on demand.

The Jedi stand for truth and justice as a beacon to the entire galaxy, but nowhere are they more invested in supporting the light than in their endless struggle against the Sith. This longstanding feud can give you an edge when you go up against the Sith in the Opposition cycle, and one example of this is Ahsoka's Lightsabers (Ancient Rivals, 1125). This enhancement always gives one of your units extra unit damage and blast damage, and while the enhanced unit is attacking a Sith objective, Ahsoka’s Lightsabers also provides a tactics icon. The potential to gain three combat icons for a single resource makes Ahsoka’s Lightsabers an excellent prospect for enhancing your units.

You can also directly counter the Sith with Ancient Rivals (Ancient Rivals, 1126), the first of the new affiliated fate cards introduced by this cycle. In addition to being a Jedi card that can trigger Ahsoka Tano’s ability, Ancient Rivals offers you a choice—you may leave it in your edge stack, where it contributes two Force icons to your total, or you may discard the card to choose and discard any Sith card or any neutral non-fate card from your opponent’s edge stack! There are two copies of this fate card included in this objective set and playing them can make your edge battles against the Sith significantly easier.

The two copies of Ancient Rivals also give you a way to trigger this set’s objective: A New Beginning (Ancient Rivals, 1122). This objective provides two resources, which normally forces you to wait a turn for the resources to refresh if you use them both at once. However, after you reveal a Jedi fate card in your edge stack, you can remove all focus tokens from A New Beginning, freeing you to use those resources immediately—perhaps even playing an event that will turn the course of an engagement.

Face the Opposition

The Star Wars movies have been defined by the rivalries and clashes between heroes and villains. Now, with Ancient Rivals and the other Force Packs of the Opposition cycle, you can bring these cinematic struggles into your games of Star Wars: The Card Game. Look for Ancient Rivals at your local retailer in the second quarter of 2016!