Star Wars Unlimited’s Xander Tabler Talks Twilight of the Republic, Clone Wars Faves, and New Keywords

Star Wars Unlimited's Xander Tabler Talks Twilight of the Republic, Clone Wars Faves, and New Keywords

As a seasoned gamer who’s been on this Star Wars journey since the days of the original trilogy, I can’t contain my excitement for Fantasy Flight Games’ upcoming set, Twilight of the Republic! Growing up with the Clone Wars era, I can hardly wait to see familiar faces like Ahsoka and Ventress grace our card game.


Fantasy Flight Games hit the ground running with Star Wars Unlimited’s second set Shadows of the Galaxy, and now that the set is out in the world it’s time to get excited for the third set in the series. That would be the anticipated Twilight of the Republic, shifting the focus from the Outer Rim to the world of Clone Wars and the prequels and introducing new mechanics into the game while also building upon things established in the previous two sets. ComicBook had the chance to speak to Fantasy Flight Games Community Manager Xander Tabler about the new set and what it brings into play, as well as some of the new keywords and mechanics, and the how the new set and beyond will work with some of the previous keywords already in the mix.

Twilight of the Republic

Star Wars Unlimited's Xander Tabler Talks Twilight of the Republic, Clone Wars Faves, and New Keywords

Twilight of the Republic delves into the Clone Wars era of Star Wars, which is rich with franchise lore. I’ve been eagerly awaiting discussing this set because during playtesting, it showed great promise. The theme of the set is predominantly centered around the Clone Wars era, including characters from Episode 2 and the Clone Wars animated series, as well as Episode 3. Many beloved prequel characters will make an appearance, making it exciting to see how fans react when they encounter these familiar figures in a card game setting.

New Leaders

Star Wars Unlimited's Xander Tabler Talks Twilight of the Republic, Clone Wars Faves, and New Keywords

During the Clone Wars period, fans will have the opportunity to introduce some well-known characters into gameplay, such as Ahsoka Tano and Assaj Ventress, who also come with fresh strategies. In my opinion, the elements and new strategies introduced for Set 3 complement this perfectly. For the heroes, like Ahsoka Tano, her role emphasizes coordinates. To execute this, it’s best to have at least three units on the field at once, so teamwork is essential. If we have a large group of us, we can perform this action more effectively than before.

Table explained that Assajj Ventress has an ability called Exploit, which is a fresh feature. When you defeat a certain number of units, you can reduce the cost of the unit you’re about to play by two for each defeated unit. For instance, if Assajj Ventress has Exploit 2, she usually costs 4, but if you manage to take down two other units before playing her, you can do so without spending anything. This tactic involves sacrificing some of your droids or other resources, but it can help advance your objectives. Table believes that the contrast between the two sides will make the gameplay intriguing and enjoyable for players due to its unique thematic aspect.

We’ve introduced Clone Trooper tokens and Battle Droid Tokens, a feature many of you have been eagerly anticipating since the beginning. Token Units were another frequent request. Now, in Set Two, we’ve included Smuggle cards that allow you to play from your resources, and we’re also introducing Token Units, as promised. This way, we’re not only expanding the game but also moving towards a direction that feels intuitive for our players.

Staying Approachable

Star Wars Unlimited's Xander Tabler Talks Twilight of the Republic, Clone Wars Faves, and New Keywords

Among the beneficial updates introduced in Set 2 is the Smuggle mechanic, enabling players to draw cards with this keyword from their resource pool into play at a higher cost. This feature expanded the strategies available during each turn, leading me to wonder if future sets, like Set 3, will introduce more cards that leverage or expand upon the Smuggle ability.

Table explained that while he couldn’t reveal details about Set 3, the overall concept involves keywords that will come and go within sets. As we progress, each set should have a keyword that fits well. We aim to avoid having every old keyword in a set forever. Instead, we want to ensure the sets are logical, enjoyable, and easy for new players to understand.

Table stated, “We’ve discussed this since the debut of hey. Our aim is to make it simple to grasp but challenging to fully master. However, if we continue to incorporate numerous elements that need to be learned before starting, it increases complexity. To keep things progressing, when you begin using Premiere, you can combine cards from various collections, and that’s where it truly becomes impressive, utilizing those keywords. But within each collection, not every keyword may appear consistently.

Twilight of the Republic lands in stores on November 8th, 2024.

Are you looking forward to the upcoming collection? Feel free to chat about anything related to gaming and Star Wars Unlimited with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

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2024-09-08 04:39