"We are fighting a bigger fight, but it's still the right fight."

–Hera Syndulla

Imperial Assault is one of the most immersive Star Wars™ experiences available for the tabletop, enabling you and your friends to undertake countless missions and fight countless battles in a vibrant and exciting universe of noble heroes and nefarious villains. These fights occur all across the diverse Star Wars galaxy—in the sandy dunes surrounding Mos Eisley, on the rocky ice planet of Hoth, or in the steam-filled depths of Cloud City, just to name a few. You can string these missions together in the campaign game, joining your friends as a plucky Rebel strike team taking on the monolithic Empire; or you can jump from one battle to the next with your customized fighting force in the skirmish game. You can trade shots with bounty hunters like Bossk and Boba Fett , or you can recruit them to your side.

But how do you know if you're fighting the right fight?

The Rebel Alliance needed far more than blasters, fighters, soldiers, and pilots to combat the evil Empire. Those were all vital, of course, to the struggle for galactic freedom, but they were never going to win the war. The rag-tag Rebels were always too heavily outnumbered. Too heavily outgunned.

The Rebellion's hope for victory never lay with its strength of arms, but with its brave leaders and their ability to inspire others to dream and to act. The Rebel Alliance persisted because it fought for a cause that others wanted to support. It persisted because it fought the right fight.

Soon, you'll be able to bring another of these leaders into your games of Imperial Assault. The daughter of an influential Twi'lek general, Hera Syndulla proved herself as a skillful pilot and a clever operative during the Rebellion, but her greatest strength was her leadership. She inspired bravery, nobility, and loyalty in those around her. And you'll find her leadership well represented in the Hera Syndulla and C1-10P Ally Pack, as well as the loyalty she inspired in even the most cantankerous of astromech droids.

Phantom Extraction

“Well… on our last mission, Chopper got a little overzealous and got himself captured."

–Hera Syndulla, Phantom Extraction

If you want to recruit Hera and her droid companion to your Imperial Assault campaign, your journey starts with the side mission Phantom Extraction.

It's notable because the mission immediately lets us know why you can find people willing to follow Hera; she's loyal to those who are loyal to her. Her unruly astromech droid, C1-10P (more commonly known as "Chopper"), begins the mission in a makeshift Imperial prison. And when you attempt the mission, you're signing up to help free the droid and get everyone off-planet.

It won't be easy. You have limited time and limited resources, and the sizeable Imperial contingent stationed around the droid is certain to call in reinforcements as soon as you give them a chance. But if you succeed, you'll have earned Hera's trust, and you'll have earned Chopper's curmudgeonly gratitude. And the chance you'll win that duo as your allies means that undertaking the mission is well worth the risk.

Hera Syndulla, Spectre-2

It's easy to understand how Hera Syndulla can play a valuable role in either your campaign or skirmish game. Despite a deployment cost of just four points, Hera packs a punch with her ranged attack of three dice. She pairs this with the resilience provided by seven points of health and a black defense die.

These make Hera an above average combatant, but Hera's much more than a mere combatant. She's a Leader who can inspire your squad and make it better. Her Call the Shots ability grants a passive boost to all of her allies within three spaces, and she can reposition herself—plus each adjacent ally—immediately upon deployment with her Smooth Landing ability.

It's only a point of movement, but in the time-sensitive battles of Imperial Assault, that movement can very well spell the difference between successfully completing a mission or failing. Or in the skirmish game, it could spell the difference between ending a round with Luke Skywalker in position to attack twice—once on his own, and again when granted the ability by Leia Organa's Battlefield Leadership—or simply finding himself on the wrong side of a corner, with no line of sight to his target.

C1-10P, "Chopper"

Why would Hera go through so much trouble to recover a droid? And why should you consider helping her? First of all, there's the matter of loyalty. Chopper has been with Hera since she was a young girl. She repaired him after his Y-wing was shot down during the Clone Wars, and he has served her faithfully since then.

Chopper's a cranky droid. Others frequently find him difficult to get along with. But he's also very good at what he does. As part of the crew aboard Hera's ship, the Ghost, Chopper's made himself invaluable—and not only because he modified the ship's systems to the point where he's the only one capable of interacting with its computer. With an array of equipment that includes an arc welder, rocket booster, electroshock prod, fire extinguisher, spark projector, and buzz saw, Chopper has often made critical contributions to the success of Hera's missions on the ground as well as in the Ghost.

In fact, Chopper's earned himself full "Spectre" designation. He's Spectre-3, the third member of Hera's crew—right after Hera and the Jedi Kanan Jarrus. Chopper also looks to make himself an invaluable nuisance in Imperial Assault with his abilities and cost-effective attack. At a deployment cost of just three, Chopper can modify his attack of one red and one green die with the potent Pierce "2" and Recover "2" surge abilities. Furthermore, if he doesn't need to move more than two spaces to make his attack, he can Ram his opponent, moving and rolling a green die to deal damage equal to the number of results. And if he doesn't need to move at all, he can use his System Shock ability to deal two damage and one strain to any enemy on or near a terminal.

In a skirmish game, Chopper's ability to deal damage via his System Shock ability might even deter your enemy from bothering to gain control of a terminal. And that means you'll likely find yourself with more command cards in hand—plus more of the advantages that your Command cards can provide you.

Call Your Shots

In the campaign game, the mission is everything. But in the skirmish game, it's only part of the larger battle. You can score points by destroying your opponent's units, or you can score points by completing the mission objectives. However you combine your points, you only need forty to win.

With the Command cards from the Hera Syndulla and C1-10P Ally Pack, you'll find a number of ways to prioritize the mission, both through card effects that can help you achieve your objectives and others that minimize your opponent's ability to win with a minimal focus on the available objective points.

In an Imperial Assault skirmish, there's a tremendous distinction to be made between a unit that's down to the last remaining points of health on its last figure and a unit that's been completely eliminated and scored by your opponent. First of all, you have the fact that as long as your unit's still in the fight, it's still able to deal damage. It's still an activation you can use to force your opponent to activate his or her units before you go all-in with your heavy hitters. And it's granting your opponent a lesser total of victory points.

Nonetheless, there are times you can see the writing on the wall. It might be when the last of your elite Rebel Troopers is staring down the barrel of a gun aimed at him by an uninjured IG-88. Or it might be when the last of your Alliance Rangers finds himself cornered by the Dark Lord of the Sith. In either circumstance, fighting may be noble, but Hera's plan to Evacuate is probably better.

Using Evacuate to reduce the amount of points your opponent scores from your unit won't stop him from winning if he tables your force, but it will buy you a bit more time to score the objective points you need to win. A couple points here or there adds up quickly, and while Evacuating the last of your elite Rebel Troopers or Alliance Rangers may potentially cost you a point or two of damage against an IG-88 or Darth Vader, it's more likely going to force your opponent to look elsewhere for the two points he just lost.

At the same time, you can hasten your collection of victory points by using Advance Warning and On a Mission to get your leader, Chopper, and your other units into position. And your Droids can use Targeting Network —over and over—to keep your covering fire on target and keep your opponent honest.

Fight the Right Fight

When you have Hera Syndulla and Chopper at your side, the odds are good that you're fighting the right fight. And even if you find yourself outnumbered, you'll have the vision and talent to make the best of your situation.