The Shadows of the Galaxy Starter, in comparison to the starter set for Spark of Rebellion, offers a marginally less accessible entry point for players who are entirely new to TCGs, but its brilliantly balanced, highly thematic decks, along with the product range overall, continue to expand Star Wars Unlimited in an admirably restrained way. Fans of Star Wars Unlimited will enjoy exploring the new mechanics, and those yet to take the plunge into Star Wars Unlimited will find a lot to like in this comprehensive, reasonably priced set. This is the way.
Though countless Trading Card Games and Collectible Card Games (terms which mean the same thing, often abbreviated to TCG and CCG) have launched over the years since Magic: The Gathering (or MTG), the world’s first CCG, was released in 1993, few have stuck around for long to compete with the big three; for the uninitiated, that’s MTG itself, along with Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh, all of which have lasted more than two decades.
Star Wars itself is no stranger to the world of TCGs/CCGs; just check out our feature on the history of Star Wars card games to see how many times we’ve been able to visit a galaxy far, far away on the tabletop. Yet there’s definitely room at the table for more games; Disney Lorcana proved as much in 2023, with an entirely new game, and the first to feature Disney characters and settings, that launched to enormous critical fanfare and near-unprecedented demand.
So when Star Wars Unlimited was announced in 2023 too, despite the fact that it was set to be competing with a larger number of successful, higher profile TCGs than ever, a simplified product range, simple rules, and clean design made fans optimistic that it would find its place.
Developers and publishers Fantasy Flight/Asmodee showed excellent restraint with the product range for the launch set for Star Wars Unlimited, Spark of Rebellion, with just a Two Player Starter and booster packs available to buy. It made for a game that was not only easy to get into for new and experienced players, but also one that was pretty reasonable to continue buying cards and building decks for, in terms of its cost.
Booster packs were built for drafting and sealed play from the ground up, and were fun to open casually too, with every card in the set available in an alternate art form and/or foiled.
It was excellent, and quickly found a large, dedicated player base of Star Wars and TCG fans alike (though there’s always been crossover between the two!), quickly proving itself to be the most commercially successful product in Fantasy Flight’s decades-long history. Here at Card Gamer, we’re big fans of Star Wars Unlimited, and we rated it very highly in our review of the game in general, having been hugely impressed when trying it out at numerous conventions and pre-release events, as well as lots of casual play following its release.
So how does the Starter for the second set, Shadows of the Galaxy, fare in following the Spark of Rebellion’s first ever Two Player Starter for Star Wars Unlimited? Let’s find out.
What Is Included In The Shadows Of The Galaxy Two Player Starter Set?
If you got hold of a Spark of Rebellion Starter, you’ll know what to expect here. Two pre-constructed decks, two play mats, two deck boxes, enough tokens for both players and quick start rules to get you going as quickly as possible.
It must be noted that this set is entirely plastic free; the decks are wrapped in paper, and everything else is made of either paper or cardboard, so it’s a pretty environmentally friendly product, if that’s something you’re conscious of.
As with Spark of Rebellion’s Starter, we were really impressed by how complete the Shadows of the Galaxy set is; it really does contain everything that two players need to get going with the game, and if you’re a new or even lapsed player, the play mats are incredibly useful, in terms of making sure both players know exactly where their cards go, as well as having all of the rules summaries and keyword breakdowns that you’ll need during your games. They’re double sided too, with the reverse featuring the artwork from the Moff Gideon and The Mandalorian Leader cards.
Though they’re only cardboard, the tokens and deck boxes are also a welcome addition and again, these ensure that you’ve got enough to get playing (and storing your cards) immediately, with no extra expense required. As a side note and advice from an experienced TCG player and collector, if you do enjoy Star Wars Unlimited and can see yourself becoming invested in playing it longer term, we’d highly recommend getting your hands on more resilient, custom tokens and deck boxes. Card sleeves are a must too, to ensure that your decks stand up to repeated use.
The quick start rules booklet is well laid out and makes learning the game pretty easy; even then, those aforementioned play mat summaries, such as turn order and keyword breakdowns, will ensure that your first experiences of playing Star Wars Unlimited go as smoothly as possible, even if you’re entirely new to TCGs.
What Two Decks Are In The Shadows Of The Galaxy Starter Set?
The two decks in the Shadows of the Galaxy Starter feature characters and settings that are, for the most part, from the enormously popular Disney Plus show, The Mandalorian. Though not as universally loved among Star Wars fans as the original trilogy, which formed the basis for the cards in the Spark of Rebellion set, it’s definitely one of the less divisive settings when it comes to modern Star Wars, so it’s a smart way to expand the TCG without most fans losing interest, or lacking familiarity, with its characters and overall backdrop.
The decks included are headed up by Moff Gideon and The Mandalorian Leader cards, and the only disappointment is that there are a few cards in each deck which return, unaltered, from Spark of Rebellion. It would have been good to have had all new cards in these decks, but that’s a minor nitpick, in fairness.
It’s worth noting that there are cards from the Shadows of the Galaxy set that are exclusive to the Starter; they won’t be found in booster packs. So if you’re looking to collect at least one of each card in the set overall (check out the full Shadows of the Galaxy card list to see what’s on offer), you’ll need to get your hands on the Starter, even if you were intending to just dive in and play draft or sealed games, or collect using boosters.
What Are The New Keywords In Shadows Of The Galaxy?
There are two new keywords in Shadows of the Galaxy (you can take a look at our guide to all keywords in Star Wars Unlimited for further insight): Bounty and Smuggle. Each adds intriguing new elements to Star Wars Unlimited in general, with Bounty being able to give a player bonuses for defeating the units they’ve attached a Bounty card to, and Smuggle allowing players to bring resource cards back into play, sometimes with a bonus.
If you want to gently introduce yourself to, and familiarise yourself with, these two keywords before entering competitive play events, this Starter is a great way to do so, especially with the Moff Gideon deck; The Mandalorian is, as you’d expect, focused quite heavily on Bounty, but has no Smuggle cards. By contrast, Moff Gideon’s deck contains both Bounty and Smuggle cards, so you’ll get a good handle on what they do and how to use them if you use his deck.
How Do The Two Decks Compare?
An element of Star Wars Unlimited that Fantasy Flight do incredibly well is to make the decks (and individual cards) feel highly thematic and true to the lore of the Star Wars universe; the decks included in the Shadows of the Galaxy Two Player Starter are no exception to this.
Moff Gideon’s deck is based around brute force, with lots of ground and space units, along with actions that deal damage or defeat opposing units and good use of the new Bounty and Smuggle keywords on a few of his cards. As a Leader card, Moff Gideon is fairly quick at being able to deploy, with only 5 resources needed to bring him in as a ground unit. His general action as a Leader is to exhaust, then attack with a unit that costs 3 or less. If it’s attacking another unit (chances are it will be), it also gains +1 power for its attack.
When Moff Gideon is deployed as a unit, he has 3 power and 6 HP, making him a fairly formidable card when attacking. Importantly, he also gains Overwhelm (meaning that excess damage he deals after destroying a unit in an attack is dealt to your opponent’s base), though with just 3 power this will likely need to be boosted in some way with other card abilities or upgrades. As an extra bonus, he also grants the Overwhelm keyword to any other unit that costs 3 or less while he’s deployed, as well as giving those same units +1 to their power while they’re attacking. Despite the usage of the slightly more complicated Bounty and Smuggle keywords, Moff Gideon’s offense-focused deck is a great option for players new to Star Wars Unlimited, as it feels very straightforward to play.
When it comes to The Mandalorian, his deck has a solid focus on a wide range of keywords that help his units to direct attacks or make Gideon attack certain units, with good use of the Ambush and Sentinel keywords. It also feels as if The Mandalorian’s deck is very equipment heavy, with plenty of upgrades or options to give your units Shielded, to strengthen them against, or with their own, attacks. Restore for healing also plays a part, and Bounty for giving bonuses when defeating units is priceless.
As a Leader, The Mandalorian is slightly slower to deploy than Moff Gideon, with the deployment requirement being that you need at least 6 resources in play. You can choose to exhaust him when you play an upgrade card, which then exhausts an enemy which has 4 or less HP remaining.
When deployed as a unit, The Mandalorian has 4 power and 7 HP, making him pretty resilient and slightly more powerful than Moff Gideon overall. Of course, with numerous upgrades in the deck (cleverly representing The Mandalorian’s extensive armoury), this can be boosted further too. His unit ability is straightforward: when you play an upgrade, you can exhaust an enemy unit which has 6 or less remaining HP. Given that Moff Gideon himself has a printed HP of 6, it’s likely that you’ll be able to exhaust and therefore frustrate the opposing Leader quite often!
Overall, with the reliance on upgrades and a wider variety of keywords, The Mandalorian deck is slightly less friendly to newcomers, but balances well against the Moff Gideon deck. If you’re picking up this set, playing and getting acquainted with both decks will give you a great overview of the Shadows of the Galaxy set, even before you venture out into buying boosters and discovering new cards.
The Card Gamer Verdict
Even with Spark of Rebellion, Fantasy Flight showed a deep knowledge of, and passion for, the Star Wars universe, with game mechanics that truly evoked the feel of the space opera saga. From battles unfolding on multiple fronts, with Space and Ground units taking each other on, to the destruction of Bases being the ultimate way to secure victory and Leaders turning the tide of battles, everything felt as if you were taking part in your very own, classic Star Wars story.
Shadows of the Galaxy, though moving on from the classic, iconic Original Trilogy era, does the same thing, only with the post-Return of the Jedi, pre-Sequel Trilogy setting of The Mandalorian. It’s a great way to evolve the TCG beyond its original backdrop, and this Two Player Starter is the perfect entry point either for new players, or those already familiar with Star Wars Unlimited thanks to Spark of Rebellion.
Though it does feature new mechanics, they’re not overwhelming or too difficult to pick up, again even for new players, and this Starter also does a fantastic job of covering lots of different keywords and mechanics in the game overall, not just the two new ones.
With helpful accessories such as the brilliant play mats and surprisingly resilient cardboard deck boxes, it’s great value for money too, giving two players everything they need to get learning and playing the game very quickly indeed.
Given that the Bounty and Smuggle cards are likely to form the basis of many decks you’ll see out in the wild, we’d highly recommend Shadows of the Galaxy as a starting point even for new players, so they aren’t surprised or confused when encountering these cards for the first time when playing against new opponents. Though the new keywords make the game very slightly less new player friendly, they’ll definitely be here to stay, so it’ll pay to get your head around them using this set first.
Though the release schedule and product ranges for TCGs can sometimes feel relentless and difficult to keep up with, Fantasy Flight and Asmodee have shown remarkable restraint with Star Wars Unlimited, with a steady pace of sets being released and just one type of booster pack needed to keep going with playing, no matter how you intend to proceed. In terms of getting involved overall, even for returning players (who’ll want to get hold of the Starter Exclusive cards and try out the new mechanics), the Shadows of the Galaxy Two Player Starter set is the perfect first step. This is the way.
