Of Death Stars and Empires (The Duelist)

For the expansion set, see A New Hope Limited.

Of Death Stars and Empires is Allen Varney's review of A New Hope in The Duelist #12 (September 1996, page 77).

The Duelist #12, September 1996, page 77.

Of Death Stars and Empires
Star Wars: A New Hope

Of course I write with complete objectivity. Granted, Decipher, Inc., did fly me to Norfolk along with other reviewers this past June to preview the first Star Wars: Customizable Card Game expansion, A New Hope. True, they took us aboard the three-masted schooner American Rover for an evening cruise past the immense Norfolk Naval Shipyard, home of the U.S. Navy. And not only did they give each of us that most sought-after Star Wars card, Darth Vader, Decipher brought in Darth Vader himself: actor David Prowse. But though I'm praising A New Hope here, it's not just because I had a fabulous time.

This expansion covers the parts of the first Star Wars film (subtitled A New Hope) that didn't make it into the Premiere Edition. Chewbacca the Wookiee, the droid Artoo-Deetoo, and the Death Star are this set's big draws. Yielding somewhat to customer feedback, Decipher has made these cards only half as rare as the main characters in the original set; appropriately, these cards' rarity is designated "R2."

As in the original game, common and uncommon cards teem with obscure people, places, and planets: cantina aliens, Jawa blasters, old landspeeder models, worlds like Ralltiir and Kashyyyk, and a Tusken Raider leader. The New Hope card art will delight collectors. In Decipher's Norfolk offices I saw how staff artists take grainy film frames and "enhance" them ("repaint" is a better word), turning them into crisp card images. Other cards appeal to players: common vehicles with shuttle ability, an Enhanced TIE Laser Cannon that should satisfy the forces of evil, and several "magic bullet" cards of the type familiar from Decipher's Star Trek: The Next Generation card game. These cards counter specific broken cards in the original game, such as teleporter Nabrun Leids. I never liked this approach, for it tends to compel players to include these bullets in every deck. But Decipher designer Bill Martinson says that the mere existence of the bullets tends to keep players from relying on broken cards. "The threat is stronger than the execution," he said, and possibly that perfect summer evening helped persuade me he's right.

New Hope's real significance comes from its many new rules: new card types (Immediate Effect, Creature, Squadron); ways to capture characters and starships; vehicle sites (the droid junkheap inside the Jawa sandcrawler); and undercover spies. If you have a rare holotable card (remember that hologram chessboard on the Millennium Falcon?), you can even play a sub-game of "dejarik."

But what you really want to know is how to blow up planets and Death Stars, right? As in the movie, these are lengthy, not to say cumbersome, processes. They require new rare "Epic Event" cards (Attack Run, Commence Primary Ignition); the Rebels need a rare location (Death Star Trench); and the Empire really wants the rare Superlaser; and a practical stab at blowing up anything calls for rare characters, ships, and/or weapons.

Aboard ship, I managed a credible assault on the Death Star, but it took lots of rares and plenty of figuring: X+Y−Z had to exceed 15, where X was my Ability, Y was—I forget, Z was the number of Death Star sites in play, and various cards modified all these. I liked this system for its drama and suspense, but disliked the figuring. You'll either love it or hate it, but you won't ever try it unless you buy a lot of cards.

The designers of A New Hope have done a credible job. Even the common cards show imagination and humor, and the rares add great play value. Star Wars fans who buy in big (is there another kind?) should really enjoy this expansion. —A. V.

A New Hope
Expansion set for Star Wars: Customizable Card Game
Decipher, Inc., Norfolk, VA
FORMAT 162-card expansion set in three rarities. Fifteen-card booster packs, $3.
GAME DESIGN Tom Braunlich, Ross Campbell, Jerry Darcy, Warren Holland, Bill Martinson, and Rollie Tesh.
GRAPHIC DESIGN Dan Burns
CONTACT DJediMaster@decipher.com; DCustServe@decipher.com; Web: www.decipher.com

See also

• Magazines · Media · The Duelist · Allen Varney · A New Hope Limited
• Premiere Limited · Tom Braunlich · Warren Holland

External links

• The Duelist #12, Internet Archive (Wizards of the Coast, September 1996)