The release of Unfinished Business, the long-awaited expansion for Star Wars™: Outer Rim, is fast approaching! As we head into the final months before the expansion comes out, we’d like to take a look back at everything we’ve revealed so far. This includes content we recently showed off in our unboxing and gameplay preview livestreams. Whether you missed the streams or simply hoped for another look at it all, read on to see what’s been shown so far!

New Faces

First and foremost, one of the most important aspects of this expansion is the addition of new playable characters.

We shined a spotlight on some of these characters during our two livestreams for Unfinished Business. In the gameplay livestream, we showed off what

Dengar

,

Hera Syndulla

, and

Hondo Ohnaka

were like in action, and the unboxing stream also highlighted

Chewbacca

. Many of these characters were encounterable in the base game, and now they’re playable. Not only that, but each of the playable characters from the base game can now be encountered!

Unfinished Business introduces a set of 11 new contact tokens that are colored orange to set them apart from the tokens of the base game. These orange contacts are a mixture of playable characters from the base game—such as Boba Fett and Han Solo—and characters that haven’t been seen in Star Wars: Outer Rim before, such as Ahsoka Tano. If you ever encounter a contact token for a character that someone is currently playing as, you immediately discard it and can encounter something else at that space.

With the addition of encounterable characters to the playable roster, players may occasionally find themselves receiving a bounty for a character that someone else is playing as. These “player bounties” are resolved a bit differently than normal—since contact tokens belonging to controlled characters are immediately discarded, the only way you can complete a player bounty is by challenging that player to a fight. Win the combat, and you can reap the rewards!

New Places

Another major addition in Unfinished Business is the introduction of the Core Worlds to the game board.

These new endcaps each feature a Core Worlds space—either the Spinward Core or the Trailing Core—which function as planet spaces for all game purposes, such as market actions and encounters. Both Core Worlds spaces use the same deck of encounter cards, and whenever you encounter them you can choose to either visit the Core Worlds or attempt to travel Across the Core.

Crossing through the Core Worlds has potential for great rewards, but it also comes with a lot of risk. The Empire controls the Core Worlds, and trying to cut across the Core can be extremely dangerous and/or costly for players with negative Imperial reputation. You’ll have to weigh your options carefully if you wish to cross the Core, otherwise you’ll be stuck going the long way around.

Outside of the Core Worlds, each of the encounter decks from the base game will be expanded with more cards. With more things to see than ever before, you’ll want to encounter as many planets as possible during your quest for fame. And who knows? Maybe you’ll indulge in some light

piracy

along the way.

New Gear

With new sights to see and people to meet, it’s only natural that Unfinished Business would also add plenty of new goods to pick up during your adventures.

First and foremost is a spread of new ships, such as the scrappy 

Rogue

-Class Porax-38 Starfighter

and the rebellious

VCX-100 Light Freighter

. With each ship comes a new ship goal and a new opportunity for fame and prestige; the only question is, which vessel is the right one for you?

Once you have your new ship, you’ll need some things to fill it with. Fortunately, this expansion provides plenty of new gear, cargo, mods, and jobs for you to experience! Many of these cards have two assets: one on each end. These “rotating assets” have special features or represent 2-part tasks, and the rules for rotating them depend on the cards themselves. For example, the

Bowcaster

is a powerful weapon, but it takes great strength to reload; delivering

Astromech Droid Parts

to Ord Mantell gets you some completed Astromech Droids that you can then deliver to Naboo; and a

Custom Paint Job

paired with impeccable dogfighting can make you even more famous than before.

You may have noticed that these cards have a new icon on them that shows a contact token and a range of numbers. This is the “reveal contact icon,” which can be found on most of the market cards added in this expansion. Similar to patrol movement icons, when a card is flipped faceup after a player buys or gains a card from the market, any reveal contact icon on that card is resolved. So long as the player count is within the range of numbers on the icon, the current player must choose a facedown contact token on their planet and turn it faceup, if able. This doesn’t mean they encounter that token, but it does mean they can see who it is and decide if they want to encounter the contact during their encounter step.

New Goals

If all the new things to see and goods to grab aren’t enough for you, then you’ll be happy to know that Unfinished Business also gives you lots of new things to do. For starters, a pile of new interactive jobs, such as

Honest Robbery

and

Sail Barge Sabotage

, present you with opportunities to earn credits and fame by interacting with other players, while new passenger cargo cards like the

Rebel Traitor

let you build up your reputation.

The expansion also adds some fantastic new features that shake up how Star Wars: Outer Rim is played. With the new favors system, you’ll have even more opportunities to negotiate with your opponents. Play your cards right, and you may put other players in your debt, allowing you to call on them in a moment of need to give yourself a boost. If you and your fellow players want to change up how you win the game, you can utilize ambitions.

Ambitions provide players with a series of goals that they must complete in addition to gaining the requisite number of fame in order to win the game. Each player gets their own ambition sheet with its own set of goals. Some sheets, such as

Servant of the Emperor

, have you completing tasks in a specific order, while others—such as

Galaxy’s Most Feared

—can have you completing the goals in any order you want. Do you wish to become the

Hero of the Rebellion

? Or do you have designs to reign as a

Crime Lord

? Or maybe your goal is simply to become the most

Renowned Smuggler

in the Outer Rim? No matter what form your ambitions take, they are sure to enhance your games of Star Wars: Outer Rim for ages to come!

New Foes

Finally, for those of you who enjoy playing the game solo, Unfinished Business adds in a brand-new AI opponent for you to face: the bounty hunter AI deck!

This deck allows you to face off against an AI-controlled character with a more aggressive, bounty-hunting playstyle than the AI deck from the base game. When you choose to face a bounty hunter AI, you must select one of the characters who begins the game with databank card #90 to be your opponent. Each of those characters has their own AI card that gets shuffled into the bounty hunter AI deck, which adds a bit of extra flavor to their playstyle compared to the others. Playing the game with the bounty hunter AI deck is similar in many ways to playing with the AI deck from the base game, and the best part is you can use both decks in tandem with each other to have a “three-player” game with two AI opponents! You’ll find some character-specific cards for the base game’s AI deck here as well, so no matter who you face, they will all have their own spin on the gameplay.

More Business to Come

Even with everything we’ve shown so far, we’ve only scratched the surface of everything that can be found in Unfinished Business. What will you do to become a living legend? Find out when Unfinished Business arrives in stores this summer!

You can pre-order your own copy of Unfinished Business (SW07) at your local retailer or online through our webstore today!

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Check out the latest products from Fantasy Flight Games, now available in the United States at your local retailer or online through our web store!

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Nova

A boy, a helmet, and an intergalactic legacy! Sam Alexander isn’t just any teenager; he’s been recruited to the Nova Corps, the universe’s police force. And it’s his job to look after his family and his planet as the high-flying hero Nova!

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“Welcome to the X-Men. Hope you survive the experience!” – Shadowcat

The world is always in need of heroes. In order to truly achieve peace, there are times when we must put aside our differences and focus on doing what is right. That is exactly what the X-Men do, and their story is all about their fight to protect a world that hates and fears them.

Fantasy Flight Games is excited to announce Mutant Genesis, the fifth campaign expansion for Marvel Champions: The Card Game!

With this expansion, the X-Men are finally coming to Marvel Champions! Face off against the X-Men’s classic foes, such as Sabretooth, Sentinels, and the Master of Magnetism himself, Magneto. This expansion comes with five brand-new scenarios, and as with previous expansions, you can play each of these scenarios individually or as part of a larger campaign. With an extraordinary spread of new modular encounter sets, there will be ample opportunity to enhance all of your Marvel Champions games. Mutant Genesis also kicks off a new wave of playable heroes for the game, starting with two iconic X-Men: Colossus and Shadowcat, both of whom come with fully pre-built and ready-to-play decks right out of the box.

Exceptional Enemies

The X-Men have a long list of foes that they have battled over the years, and the campaign in Mutant Genesis sees them facing off against several of them. The story begins with the X-Men trying to foil an assassination plot carried out by the aggressive

Sabretooth

(Mutant Genesis, 60).

This scenario sees you protecting the senator

Robert Kelly

(Mutant Genesis, 66) from Sabretooth’s assault. By the time you arrive on the scene, Kelly is already being

Stalked by Sabretooth

(Mutant Genesis, 63B), so you will need to

Find the Senator

(Mutant Genesis, 65A) as quickly as possible in order to

protect

(Mutant Genesis, 65B) him from the villain’s rampage.

Once you take down Sabretooth, you won’t have time to rest on your laurels, as you’ll next have to deal with Project Wideawake and the menacing threat that is the

Sentinels

(Mutant Genesis, 84). These massive, mutant-hunting robots come in many forms, and their

Abduction Protocols

(Mutant Genesis, 100) will constantly demand your attention during the chilling

Night of the Sentinels

(Mutant Genesis, 87B). Fortunately, you’ll have the opportunity to rescue some captive X-Men allies, such as

Boom Boom

(Mutant Genesis, 90) and

Cannonball

(Mutant Genesis, 91). You’ll be glad to have them, because the severity of

Operation Zero Tolerance

(Mutant Genesis, 104) means you’ll need all the help you can get!

The threat of the Sentinels doesn’t end there. Once you put a stop to Project Wideawake, you’ll need to tackle the towering

Master Mold

(Mutant Genesis, 109). This scenario has you taking on

The Sentinel Factory

(Mutant Genesis, 112B) itself, forcing you to carve your way through swaths of Sentinels in order to take on Master Mold. By outfitting its “children” with

Unit Upgrades

(Mutant Genesis, 115) and

Stun Beams

(Mutant Genesis, 116), Master Mold can build a terrifying army in no time.

Both the Project Wideawake and Master Mold scenarios draw on modular encounter sets to fill the battlefield with Sentinels, with models ranging from

Mark II

(Mutant Genesis, 101) to

Mark VI

(Mutant Genesis, 106), as well as potent attachments like

Energy Barrier

(Mutant Genesis, 103) and

Targeted for Elimination

(Mutant Genesis, 107). These robotic fiends are not to be trifled with!

The Brotherhood Strikes

After a hard-fought battle to defeat Master Mold and his Sentinels, the X-Men will have no time to catch their breath when the Brotherhood of Mutants attacks the X-Mansion!

This team of villains is loyal to Magneto, and they should not be underestimated!

Avalanche

(Mutant Genesis, 121A) deals heavy damage and exhausts your allies,

Blob

(Mutant Genesis, 122A) stuns everyone he hits,

Pyro

(Mutant Genesis, 123A) torches everything with indirect damage, and

Toad

(Mutant Genesis, 124A) snatches away cards from your hand. You will only face one of them at a time, and how many of them you need to defeat to win is determined by your chosen difficulty, but each of them is formidable in their own right.

When

The Brotherhood Strikes

(Mutant Genesis, 125B), you and your fellow heroes will need to fend off their assault in various parts of the X-Mansion in order to

Save the School

(Mutant Genesis, 130). Both the villain you face and the part of the mansion you’re fighting in is determined randomly; for example, you may have to battle Avalanche in

the Atrium

(Mutant Genesis, 126B), chase Blob out of

the Cafeteria

(Mutant Genesis, 127B), dunk Pyro in

the Basketball Court

(Mutant Genesis, 128B), or catch Toad in

the Courtyard

(Mutant Genesis, 129B). If you let the Brotherhood overrun too many parts of the mansion, it’s game over, so you’ll have to stay on your toes!

Once the Brotherhood of Mutants is beaten back, it’s time to face the final boss of the campaign:

Magneto

(Mutant Genesis, 138), the Master of Magnetism himself. Magneto is a powerful villain with designs for human subjugation, and his scenario is a race against time to sabotage his plans before finally defeating the villain himself. With

Asteroid M

(Mutant Genesis, 141B) serving as the battlefield, you’ll have to deal with Magneto’s constant onslaught of Magnetic cards, such as

Magnetic Bubble

(Mutant Genesis, 149),

Wrapped in Metal

(Mutant Genesis, 150), and

Electromagnetic Blast

(Mutant Genesis, 153).

Magneto is a mighty foe; defeating him will test all of your skills and determination as heroes. Are you up to the challenge?

Uncanny Heroes

In order to properly face threats like Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants, you will need a team of skilled X-Men. Fortunately, Mutant Genesis comes with two mighty mutants ready to leap into the fray from the moment you open the box.

First off is

Piotr Rasputin

(Mutant Genesis, 1A), better known as

Colossus

(Mutant Genesis, 1B). This kindhearted aspiring artist has the ability to transform his skin into

Organic Steel

(Mutant Genesis, 6), and with that comes unparalleled toughness! Unique among heroes, Colossus can have an extra tough status card on his identity, allowing him to shrug off enemy attacks while also using the status cards as his own unique resource. For example, he can discard a tough status card from himself to fuel

Made of Rage

(Mutant Genesis, 7) or

Steel Fist

(Mutant Genesis, 8), then draw a card with his

Iron Will

(Mutant Genesis, 4). You can rapidly power up with

Bulletproof Protector

(Mutant Genesis, 9), and while you have at least one tough card remaining,

Titanium Muscles

(Mutant Genesis, 5) becomes a steady source of “physical” resources.

Befitting his role as the ultimate defender, Colossus comes prepackaged with a fully-built Protection deck. His signature card

Armor Up

(Mutant Genesis, 10) synergizes incredibly well with cards like

Perseverance

(Mutant Genesis, 16), allowing Colossus to nab two tough status cards just in time for the villain’s activation. Then, as the enemy moves in to swing, Colossus can punish them with a

Powerful Punch

(Mutant Genesis, 14). Meanwhile,

Polaris

(Mutant Genesis, 12) can help keep Colossus’s defenses ironclad and

Professor X

(Mutant Genesis, 19) can ready him after a villain phase spent defending. If your team finds themselves in dire straits, call upon an X-Men ally with

Mutant Protectors

(Mutant Genesis, 17) to take a hit, then give that ally some

Protective Training

(Mutant Genesis, 13) to keep them on the board longer.

Joining Colossus on the battlefield is

Kitty Pryde

(Mutant Genesis, 30A), better known as

Shadowcat

(Mutant Genesis, 30B). This plucky mutant has the ability to phase her body and the things she touches through solid matter, allowing her to ignore all of the villain’s attempts to slow her down. Representing this power is Shadowcat’s unique mass form upgrade; while she is

Solid

(Mutant Genesis, 31A), Shadowcat can generate an extra resource for attack and defense events, and while she is

Phased

(Mutant Genesis, 31B), she takes no damage when defending! That said, every time Shadowcat attacks or defends while phased, she switches back to solid form, so you’ll have to plan your strategy accordingly.

The rest of Shadowcat’s kit plays off her mass form and her innate Selective Intangibility. Being able to ignore guard, patrol, and the crisis icon is useful on its own, but when paired with cards like

Acute Control

(Mutant Genesis, 34) and

Intangible Interference

(Mutant Genesis, 35), Shadowcat becomes a master at slipping through the enemy’s defenses. Use your Solid form’s resource to help pay for a

Shadowcat Surprise

(Mutant Genesis, 37), which flips your mass form to Phased, then smack the enemy with a

Phased Strike

(Mutant Genesis, 38) to get rid of an annoying attachment. If you find yourself facing a hefty villain attack,

Quick Shift

(Mutant Genesis, 40) out of danger, and then make the enemy

Phased and Confused

(Mutant Genesis, 36) on your next turn!

As a hero with formidable martial prowess, Shadowcat blitzes into battle with a pre-built Aggression deck. Call on

Magik

(Mutant Genesis, 42) to teleport a pesky minion back into the encounter deck, and with some

Attack Training

(Mutant Genesis, 43) equipped to

Wolverine

(Mutant Genesis, 41), you’ll have a high-powered ally that can rip through your enemies for a good long while. When you’re feeling confident, mark a minion as a

Gatekeeper

(Mutant Genesis, 44) to set up some threat removal; Shadowcat can ignore the patrol icon while she’s Phased, so your allies can take the minion down while you focus on the villain’s schemes. Then, when you’re ready to go all out, hit the villain’s forces with a

Team Strike

(Mutant Genesis, 45). With both Magik and Wolverine in play and each of them equipped with Assault Training, plus Shadowcat herself, you’ll have 9 damage to spread out among enemies however you wish!

Incoming X-Men

As with every Marvel Champions campaign expansion, Mutant Genesis heralds the beginning of a new wave of hero packs. However, this time around, there will be six hero packs instead of four. On top of that, the first two of those heroes—Cyclops and Phoenix—will release on the same day as Mutant Genesis!

This means that you will be able to take on this exciting new story with a full team of X-Men right out of the gate. Look forward to hearing more about Cyclops and Phoenix in their own respective announcement articles in the future, as well as all the X-Men that come after them!

Mutant Protectors

The wait is finally over: the X-Men have arrived on the scene. Fans of Marvel Champions: The Card Game won’t want to miss out when Mutant Genesis launches early this fall, with the Cyclops and Phoenix Hero Packs releasing alongside it and four more heroes soon to follow!

You can pre-order your own copy of Mutant Genesis (MC32en) at your local retailer or online on our webstore today!

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in our forums!

Hello, The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game players new and old. For over a decade now, this epic card game has thrilled players all over the world, and over the years those same players have built, rebuilt, and tweaked a massive variety of decks. Today, we’d like to showcase some of those decks for you!

We asked some wonderful members of The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game community to share their favorite decks with us and tell us why they’re so great. You can find links to their full deck lists within their respective sections below, as well as their thoughts about the decks’ playstyles, strengths and weaknesses, and more.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look!

The Red Arrow

Deck List: The Red Arrow

Created By: Chad Garlinghouse

Tell us about your deck’s general playstyle. Why is it your favorite deck? What are some of the best things you can pull off with it? Any standout combos?

The playstyle is a swarm of Rohan allies charging in and out of battle. This deck is a favorite of mine for a number of reasons, one of them being that I love how the deck looks on the table. The art on the Rohan allies is beautiful to look at, especially seeing an entire calvary at once.

Another reason is this deck allows you to swarm the table with Rohan allies quickly, overpowering the encounter deck with sheer numbers. One of the most powerful combinations is spirit hero Theoden and tactics hero Hirgon. Both heroes have an ability that discounts the cost of an ally. If you quest with Hirgon successfully and did not play a Rohan ally in the planning phase, you can now play a tactics Rohan ally for a discount of 2, to a minimum of 0. Free Riddermark Knight? Don’t mind if I do! Another fantastic combo is the sword Gúthwinë and the ally Grimbold, who has a Feint ability if you discard him. After Theoden, wielding Gúthwinë, helps kill the enemy that Grimbold feinted, bring him back from the discard pile to be played again the next turn.

What inspired the creation of this deck? What made you want to build it this way?

My favorite types of decks to build are those that blend theme with mechanics. The Red Arrow features a thematic hero lineup. While rereading The Lord of the Rings, I came to the passage about Denethor sending the Gondorian scout Hirgon to deliver the Red Arrow to Theoden as war was upon them. I thought about these heroes within the LCG and realized they made a very solid hero lineup, with abilities that complimented each other. The idea that these three heroes could facilitate a deck that assembled a Rohan army of allies was too good to pass up!

What are some of the particular strengths of your deck? What are some of its weaknesses?

One of the strengths of the deck is the ability to get allies in play quickly. Hirgon and Theoden reduce ally cost, and with Denethor’s setup ability of starting with 2 resources and being able to pass one to Hirgon, this enables you to play 2 allies on turn one easily. Hirgon and Theoden can quest for 4 and Denethor can defend; this is very important for your first couple of turns as the deck gets going. Another strength is the ability to return allies from your discard pile. Rohan allies leave play a lot, either by a player card effect or by taking on an enemy who was too strong. Returning these allies to your hand to be played again is a form of card-draw, which is very helpful in a deck without access to lore. Speaking of the lack of lore, we come to the major weakness: no healing. The deck does feature 3 Honour Guards to help with blocking damage.

What is your favorite scenario to play with this deck and why? What about your favorite campaign to use it in?

My favorite scenario to play is The Black Serpent because the archery and effects that cause you to discard allies are not a problem for this deck. The allies can take the archery or be discarded and Gúthwinë can bring them back. My favorite campaign scenario to play with it is Helm’s Deep. I love seeing the Rohan army defending their own keep.

If a newer player wanted to give your deck a try, what advice or recommendations would you give them?

My advice to a new player is to look for your attachments in your opening hand. Snowmane and Gúthwinë are very important to keeping the deck moving forward. A Very Good Tale is a great way to get allies into play, ideally you want to exhaust 2 allies that have a combined cost of 6 to maximize your choices. Remember, discarded Rohan allies can always be brought back.

Do you have a story or memory about this deck that you could share with us?

I do remember bringing this deck to Gen Con and it worked really well in the game we were playing. At that time, Rohan decks were not very popular, so it was great to have one that worked well.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your deck? 

There is no Steward of Gondor in this; I tend to leave that card out of my decks so they are more multiplayer-friendly. If you wanted to add a couple of copies, I would play it on Theoden. You lose some of the theme that way, but it would help since the spirit resources are always in need.

Éomer and Éowyn Go On An Adventure (and Glorfindel is There Too)

Deck List: Éomer and Éowyn Go On an Adventure

Created By: Justin

Tell us about your deck’s general playstyle. Why is it your favorite deck? What are some of the best things you can pull off with it? Any standout combos?

This deck accomplishes everything I like to accomplish. The deck quests incredibly strong, it keeps threat low, and it relies on one strong hero to deal with all the enemies engaged with me. Since my first game, the quest phase has remained my favorite phase and it’s hard to find a hero that quests better than Éowyn. As a bonus, she turns every unique card you can’t play into additional willpower. This allows you to play very reactively, setting up lines that allow you to best take advantage of the challenges the game laid out before you.

My favorite moment with this deck is when Éomer is all suited up with Firefoot and Unexpected Courage and he is single-handedly dealing with multiple enemies a turn with his 7 attack (or when I quest with 12+ willpower, that feels great too).

What inspired the creation of this deck? What made you want to build it this way?

When I bought The Voice of Isengard expansion, I immediately fell in love with Éomer. With most games I play, I focus on efficiency and I very rarely “dream” of elaborate combos, but Éomer caused me to start dreaming. The fact that he could attack at 5 strength reliably was exciting, and this excitement doubled when Firefoot was released in the next pack. At that point, Éowyn and Glorfindel had already found a home in all my decks, so naturally they were the perfect two to pair with Éomer. Since then, the deck has expanded with the growing card pool, focusing on cheap allies, protection, and efficient questing.

What are some of the particular strengths of your deck? What are some of its weaknesses?

This deck works incredibly well in the questing phase. Éowyn’s ability is one of the strongest in the game because it turns player’s otherwise dead cards into willpower and you only need to use it when you want to. This deck also handles enemies quite well, with both Éomer and Glorfindel attacking.

The bigger weaknesses of this deck are the resource generation and card draw. The deck tries to work its way around this by keeping its cost curve low, but there will still be times you may feel the lack of cards in hand or be a little short for paying for the card you want to play.

The other weakness of this deck is that the heroes aren’t built to routinely tank damage or defend, so losing allies at the wrong times could be devasting. Cheap allies and discard recursion like Stand and Fight can help alleviate this, but a bad treachery at a bad time could put you on the backfoot (which is not as fun a foot as Firefoot).

What is your favorite scenario to play with this deck and why? What about your favorite campaign to use it in?

My favorite scenario to play this deck in is The Fords of Isen. This is the first scenario in The Voice of Isengard deluxe expansion. This scenario has become my routine deck testing scenario and, in turn, has become one of my favorite scenarios. This deck works particularly well against this scenario because there are hordes of enemies, allowing Éomer and Firefoot to do their job very well.

My favorite campaigns to play this deck in are the Dwarrowdelf and The Ring-maker campaigns. They both have a lot of enemies (go Firefoot) and a lot of interesting scenarios as well. This deck is a blast to bring into Foundations of Stone because it works very well after the incredible shift halfway through that scenario.

If a newer player wanted to give your deck a try, what advice or recommendations would you give them?

The first tip I’d give is that spirit Glorfindel works so much better when you have a Light of Valinor in your opening hand. If you have it, keep it and if you don’t, mulligan for it. This keeps your threat low, allowing you to grab the enemies you want to fight as opposed to being forced to fight too many enemies at once.

In addition, even though a card like Dúnedain Hunter seems scary, he works as a phenomenal defender and when he eventually gets defeated, he pumps up Éomer’s strength for Éomer to get revenge for the fallen hunter.

Lastly, Éowyn’s ability is incredibly strong. It allows you to commit a little less than normal for the questing phase, allowing you to keep back your Envoys and Pathfinders for potential defenders if need be. Don’t be afraid to discard cards to Éowyn and ensure you’re asking your teammates if they want to use her ability in the questing phase too!

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your deck?

The heroes for this deck provide a fantastic base that allows players to modify this deck to suit their playstyle. What matters is that Éowyn provides incredible questing, Éomer good damage, and Glorfindel can flex to fit both spots with ease. Because of this, players can fill their deck with what interests them, allowing for a lot of flexibility. It’s a big part of what makes this game so engaging.

The Swords of the Noldor Reforged

Deck List: The Swords of the Noldor Reforged

Created By: Joseph Forster

Tell us about your deck’s general playstyle. Why is it your favorite deck? What are some of the best things you can pull off with it? Any standout combos?

This deck focuses on the central Noldor mechanic of drawing lots of cards, using them in several ways throughout the turn, then losing whatever is left over at the end of the turn. There are always interesting choices with this deck. Every planning phase is interesting as you draw an entirely new hand of cards every turn, then plan how to use them. The first planning phase is massive, with a minimum of 11 cards passing through that opening hand. In addition to always having interesting planning phases, this deck is powerful and resilient and rewards replay. I’ve beat so many quests with this deck! It plays well solo and multiplayer and while it has its weak spots, it’s my go-to if I want to beat a quest and have a reliably good time doing it.

What inspired the creation of this deck? What made you want to build it this way?

I built the first version of this deck right after The Grey Havens came out. In fact, I built this to play with my friend Ryan when we first met in Portland! I wanted to lean into the Erestor and Noldor playstyle, but it took me a while to focus the deck so it was reliable. That constant flow of cards and options is so cool for the Elves. I’ve played it long enough that I had opportunities to change it up several times as new key cards were released.

What are some of the particular strengths of your deck? What are some of its weaknesses?

Noldor have a lot of answers to the hard problem the game tends to throw at a deck. They always have card draw and they always have resource acceleration. If you have those two things, you already have a solid foundation for a deck. Another huge part of getting a deck to succeed in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is solid starting willpower and this deck can quest for 9 willpower on turn 1 with heroes alone. It usually quests for 11 on the first turn while retaining a character to use as a defender if necessary. This deck can also stay in a game for the long haul if necessary. Recycling the deck gives you the possibility of reducing your threat by 36 over the course of a longer game. All for 0 resources! It also lets you bring back allies over and over again. Even if you draw out your deck a full 4 times and can no longer draw cards, you can play Lords of the Eldar every turn and strengthen all your characters. Its primary weakness is low attack numbers, especially early in the game. With no devoted hero attacker or clear attacking ally, you have to sacrifice some quest power to kill off the first couple enemies you see. But once you get a couple decent allies with armor and swords and they get encouraged by the Ring of Fire, you can handily take out the biggest of enemies.

What is your favorite scenario to play with this deck and why? What about your favorite campaign to use it in?

I have found this to be a silver bullet for Attack on Dol Guldur. And that quest needs a silver bullet! One of the most punishing things that can happen in that quest is forcing you to discard your hand. Possibly on several occasions. This deck doesn’t mind! It has answers to almost all of the horrible things that quest does to a player. This is the only deck I’ve used that can consistently beat that nasty quest on almost every attempt.

I also beat the eeeevil nightmare Wastes of Eriador quest several times with this deck, which is no easy task.

If a newer player wanted to give your deck a try, what advice or recommendations would you give them?

Play it several times. It doesn’t have complicated combo sequences that have to be set up, but it can be a little overwhelming dealing with all new cards every single turn and managing all the card and resource manipulation sometimes. It’s not a simple deck but with a couple plays, some of the basic and repeatable combos like Elven-Light/Arwen and Cirdan/Light of Valinor/Narya become second nature and the deck becomes a lot of fun. It’s a beginner-friendly deck because it’s hard to lose with it.

Do you have a story or memory about this deck that you could share with us?

Gen Con 2019 – I was playing some of the Ered Mithrin cycle with my friend Jon and he was playing a Dale deck. Dale relies on drawing a lot of cards as well so you can equip your army with armor and weapons. There’s a treachery in that cycle that will force the player with the most cards in hand to discard their entire hand and we drew that treachery over and over again. Each time I held up my empty hands and Dale’s economy crumbled (along with Jon’s morale). I felt bad. And good.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your deck?

This deck isn’t anything super original. It just focuses on the Noldor play style as the designers intended. But I feel I discovered it without netdecking or seeing anyone else do it first so I feel a special bond with the deck. I’m also proud of the fact it made it to page 1 of the Hall of Fame on RingsDB.

The Road Goes Ever On

These three decks are only a tiny taste of the possibilities that The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game has to offer. Whether you try out one of the decks shared here today or take a stab at building your own, there can be no denying the endless wealth of gameplay just waiting to be discovered!  

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Our partners at Edge Studio are proud to announce the upcoming release of a classic roleplaying game originally produced by Fantasy Flight Games, reimagined and updated to work with modern 5^th edition D20 rules. Midnight: Legacy of Darkness imagines a world overrun by an evil god and his legions. You take on the role of freedom fighters, rebels, and renegades, trying to survive and stand against the encroaching Shadow.

You can experience the war against the Shadow for yourself on May 27^th. In the meantime, be sure to check out this epic video trailer detailing what you can expect out of the game!

For more information on Midnight: Legacy of Darkness, please visit www.edge-studio.net.

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This year marks the 25^th anniversary of Twilight Imperium! We’re celebrating this momentous occasion all year. If you haven’t checked out the anniversary’s official web page yet, be sure to do so! You can find it here.

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A new faction has arrived in Twilight Imperium! First revealed as part of the Twilight Codex Vol. III, the

Council Keleres

joins Twilight Imperium’s roster as its 25^th faction. How fitting for the year of the game’s 25^th anniversary!

Read on to learn a bit about the Council and its motivations for joining the fray.

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Though the Keleres are born of the Galactic Council, they are often left to their own devices, traveling the galaxy brokering peace, intervening in conflicts, and tackling threats to galactic civilization as a whole. They even act without the consent of the Tribunii or the Galactic Council when timeliness is a factor, only to be censured by the Galactic Council after the fact.

The member states of the Council send recruits, who are selected according to the traditions of each individual planet or system, to serve in the Keleres. The Great Powers have learned, since the Keleres’s founding, that the Keleres are a useful tool for furthering their own designs. Rather than sending their best operatives away to the Keleres, many send political opponents, incompetents, dangerous prisoners, and other individuals who are difficult to do away with and  undesirable to have around. On the other hand, a few Great Powers find it prudent to send highly competent personnel, sometimes out of respect for the Galactic Council but more often than not to clandestinely advance their own goals. The Keleres, then, are a strange and difficult order to manage.

The Galactic Council elects three of its own to be the Tribunii of the Keleres. Members of the Council treat the responsibility with mixed sentiment: as both an honor and a burden. The Tribunii have the power to command the Keleres and to implement the designs of the Galactic Council in a concrete way. However, the mixed quality of the Keleres means having to accept no small number of failures, which, in turn, can hurt the Tribunii when members of the Galactic Council seek accountability. Canny Tribunii, such as Tribunii Kuuasi Aun Jalatai, learn when best to use the Keleres, when to set them aside, and who among the ranks are right for the job.

The fraught political environment means that most Councilors don’t serve as Tribunii long. In the five years since the Keleres’ founding, there have been seven Tribunii, including the current holders of the office. Two were forced to resign in disgrace, one was killed on a mission, and one was assassinated in an intra-agency power struggle. For those Tribunii who meet and overcome the challenge of utilizing the force of the Keleres, however, the fruits are significant indeed. It requires much talent for this to happen, but when it does, it can tip the balance of the Galactic Council itself.

The three Tribunii who currently serve are in delicate balance, and therefore the future of the Keleres and the Imperium itself may be at a tipping point. Kuuasi is oldest and wisest among them. Harka Leeds is as ambitious and cunning as she is ruthless in her schemes. Odlynn Myrr, though new to the role, brings a fresh perspective and hope for unity and stability in the Imperium.

Despite the delicate balance of power between the Tribunii, the Keleres represent the Galactic Council and, as such, must embody the unity of the galaxy, not just the whims of its leaders. The Great Civilizations, however, frequently compete with one another in trade, war, and politics. Though some conflict can cement the bonds of a society, too much can just as easily rip it apart. Thus, the diverse skills of the Keleres are brought to bear on missions of peace and negotiation.

At times, the Keleres act as a neutral party or temporary ally among factions at war. Negotiation, knowledge of history, and familiarity with alien species pave the way to peace and prosperity for the galaxy. They broker peace on the one hand, but join battles on the other, especially when violence seems to be the only means to stability.

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Get ready to take on Unifinished Business by downloading these exclusive wallpapers! Utilizing the stellar artwork from the expansion depicting iconic characters and ships, these wallpapers make the perfect backgrounds for your mobile device. 

To download on an iPhone/Android phone, first click on the thumbnail. When you see the full image, press the image and hold until you see “Save Image/Download Image”. Once the image has been saved, you’ll need to set it as a wallpaper in your device’s settings.

Click 

here

 for a larger resolution, 

here

 for Android, or 

here

 for iPhone.

Click 

here

 for a larger resolution, 

here

 for Android, or 

here

 for iPhone.

Click 

here

 for a larger resolution, 

here

 for Android, or 

here

 for iPhone.

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“We’ll protect this city, no matter what.” – SP//dr

After her father’s mysterious death, Peni Parker became the new pilot of the SP//dr suit. Alongside her arachnid co-pilot, with whom she is psychogenetically linked, SP//dr defends the citizens of New York City from attacks big and small, and sometimes even travels across the Multiverse to aid fellow Spider-heroes in saving existence itself.

Fantasy Flight Games is excited to announce the SP//dr Hero Pack for Marvel Champions: The Card Game!

This high-powered hero suits up for battle in this expansion pack, which introduces SP//dr as a new playable hero along with her seventeen signature cards. With a pre-built Protection deck ready to play from startup, you’ll be able to bulldoze the villains with SP//dr’s high-tech suit from the moment you open the box. With a plethora of upgrades giving her a unique resource engine, SP//dr is a one-of-a-kind web-warrior who can adapt to any scenario.

This hero pack also includes a bonus modular encounter set featuring the Iron Spider’s Sinister Six!

All Systems Go

Even among other heroes, SP//dr stands out as particularly unique. There are a few reasons for this (which we’ll go over in a moment), but the first and most obvious is the fact that this hero’s identity card is actually split between two separate cards!

While in alter-ego form, you are

Peni Parker

(SP//dr, 2A), and the

SP//dr Suit

(SP//dr, 1B) enters play as an Inactive support card. When you’re ready to take to the streets, you flip both Peni and the suit—Peni becomes

SP//dr

(SP//dr, 2B), an Interface upgrade that is automatically attached to the

SP//dr Suit

(SP//dr, 1A) in its Active form. Both of these cards together make up the hero SP//dr, and her split identity is not the only thing unique about her.

Something you may have already noticed about SP//dr is her particularly low hand size. Peni has a hand size of 4 while the SP//dr Suit has a hand size of only 3. This is because SP//dr primarily relies on her Sync Ratio ability to generate resources instead of the cards in her hand. Whenever you need resources, simply exhaust Interface upgrades you control, and you’re good to go. You’ll automatically have SP//dr herself as an Interface right off the bat, but there are four additional Interface upgrades in her deck. First and foremost is the

Host Spider

(SP//dr, 10), Peni’s psychogenetic co-pilot and her partner in crimefighting. Besides the spider, you also have a

Psychic Link

(SP//dr, 11),

Speed-Metal Alloy

(SP//dr, 12), and a

Web-Fluid Compressor

(SP//dr, 13) to work with. If you can get all of these Interface upgrades in play, then you will have 5 renewable resources at your disposal every turn. And if you don’t need the resources, you can always use the abilities on the upgrades themselves!

Of course, you will want to build up the SP//dr Suit as fast as possible to maximize SP//dr’s gameplay, and fortunately her deck comes with some tools to help with that. Ask

Aunt May & Uncle Ben

(SP//dr, 7) to get Peni her SP//dr cards quickly, then play

All Systems Go

(SP//dr, 4) when you need to find that last Interface upgrade. Alternatively, once you have all of your Interface upgrades in play, you can use All Systems Go to get another use out of all of them. This is great for cards like

Rapid Deployment

(SP//dr, 5) and

Web-Trap

(SP//dr, 6), which have bonus effects if you use Sync Ratio to help pay for them. Finally, if you find yourself in dire straits, you can always fall back on the SP//dr Suit’s

Ejection Protocol

(SP//dr, 8) to take a moment to rest and regroup.

Outside of her suit, SP//dr’s pre-built deck also comes with a full array of Protection cards to help her stand strong in the face of villainy. Have

Daredevil

(SP//dr, 14) dish some of the damage he takes back to attacking enemies while

Spider-Man Noir

(SP//dr, 15) turns the villain’s treacheries into power. Use your webslinging to stun enemies with a

Thwip! Thwip!

(SP//dr, 17) and protect yourself from a treachery with your

Spider-Tingle

(SP//dr, 20) (and then put that treachery under Spider-Man Noir to boost him up). Use

Spider-Man

(SP//dr, 22) to get an extra use out of an upgrade—such as an Interface upgrade—and protect yourself from damage with a

Forcefield Generator

(SP//dr, 19). Then, once the generator’s uses are nearly gone,

Repurpose

(SP//dr, 16) the upgrade to give yourself a hefty boost to THW, ATK, or DEF. With versatility and durability, it’s clear that SP//dr is a truly

Unshakable

(SP//dr, 24) hero!

Grand Larceny

Like with the other hero packs this wave, SP//dr comes with a bonus modular encounter set packaged in. This set features Iron Spider’s Sinister Six, a group of six superpowered criminals that will wreak havoc when they show up. Watch out for

Sandman

(SP//dr, 35) burning through the encounter deck, take cover from

Bombshell

(SP//dr, 31) and her explosive blasts, and brace yourself against

Hobgoblin’s

(SP//dr, 33) assault. Of course, you will also need to face

Iron Spider

(SP//dr, 34) himself, and stop his team from committing

Grand Larceny

(SP//dr, 30).

As with all other modular encounter sets, the Iron Spider’s Sinister Six set can be added to any scenario for some extra challenge. Can you stop this villainous crime spree?

Suiting Up

With her unique gameplay style and her superpowered suit, SP//dr is a one-of-a-kind hero and the perfect web-warrior to cap off the Sinister Motives wave for Marvel Champions. Look forward to taking on the Sinister Six with SP//dr when the SP//dr Hero Pack arrives this summer!

You can pre-order your own copy of the SP//dr Hero Pack (MC31en) at your local retailer or online through our webstore today!

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Check out the latest product from Fantasy Flight Games, now available in the United States at your local retailer or online through our web store!

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Sinister Motives

“With great power comes great responsibility.”

In the Marvel universe, those six words carry great significance as the driving principle behind one of the greatest heroes ever known: Spider-Man. This web-slinging, wisecracking hero is beloved by many, but he also has his fair share of mortal enemies. Fortunately, Peter Parker is not the only wall-crawler protecting the streets of New York from villains and their sinister schemes…

In this expansion, you and your fellow heroes take to the streets and rooftops of New York City and face off against a rogues gallery of classic Spider-Man villains, including Sandman, Venom, Mysterio, and the notorious Sinister Six. As with previous expansions, you can play each of these scenarios individually or as part of a larger campaign, and with a sinister spread of new modular encounter sets, there will be ample opportunity to mix things up for all of your Marvel Champions games. Sinister Motives also kicks off a new wave of playable heroes for the game, starting with two iconic web-warriors: Ghost-Spider and Spider-Man (Miles Morales), both of whom come with fully pre-built and ready-to-play decks right out of the box.

Not a standalone product. A copy of the Marvel Champions: The Card Game core set is required to play.

You can pick up your own copy of Sinister Motives (MC27en) at your local retailer or online through our webstore today!*

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*Available in the US and select markets. To find updates on this product’s release in your territory, please follow this link.

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