“There’ll be no escape for the Princess this time.”
–C-3PO, Star Wars: A New Hope

These are exciting times for X-Wing fans!

The Rebel fleet was not comprised of fighters alone. Pilots like Luke Skywalker may have struck decisive blows in many of the Rebellion’s greatest victories, but they relied upon the support of the freighters, transports, frigates, and other capital ships that comprised the rest of the fleet. Soon, X-Wing fans will be able to better reflect this fleet diversity.

Even though the core of X-Wing remains firmly rooted in its fast-paced skirmishes between rival starfighters, attendees at Gen Con Indy 2013 received a sneak peek at prototype models for two of the game’s upcoming starships, the Tantive IV and Rebel transport. With rules for “Cinematic Play” campaigns and a new Epic tournament format, these iconic Rebel starships will soon add new dimensions to your X-Wing experience!

Tantive IV

“Tear this ship apart until you’ve found those plans and bring me the passengers. I want them alive!”
    –Darth Vader, Star Wars: A New Hope

A Question of Scale

The Tantive IV and Rebel Transport will be the first X-Wing starships released outside of the game’s 1/270 scale. Simply too big to function in the game at that scale, they left us with two options. We could change their scale, or we could leave them out of the game. In the end, we decided these ships were simply too iconic and exciting to ignore, and we invented a new “relative” scale, carefully balancing each ship's playability against its presence on the table. This means you’ll have even more options for your games. You can continue to focus on dogfights and Standard tournament play at 1/270 scale, and you gain the option to play these huge ships in Cinematic Play and the new Epic tournament format.

The Tantive IV is perhaps the most famous of all CR90 corvettes. Not only that, it is the first starship to appear in the classic Star Wars trilogy. We see it fly across the screen, racing from right to left across the bright surface of Tatooine, firing its rear lasers, until the shape of its hull is nearly lost behind the glow of its eleven ion turbine engines.

Coming soon to X-Wing , the Tantive IV Expansion Pack allows you to command the starship that first hooked us into the greatest space opera of all time!

Designed for use in Cinematic Play and the new Epic tournament format, the Tantive IV miniature doesn’t match the 1/270 scale shared by those starships legal within the game’s standard tournament format. Instead, this carefully detailed and pre-painted miniature is sculpted at a relative scale that feels good on the tabletop, alongside the game's starfighters and other huge ships. In addition to the miniature, the expansion features new missions that promote deeply thematic play experiences, whether played individually or linked into a larger campaign, and Imperial players will have their chance to try to capture this notorious Rebel blockade runner.

The Tantive IV won’t be legal for standard tournaments, but you’ll be able to bring it to battle in both the Cinematic Play and Epic tournament format. Furthermore, you’ll gain the opportunity to crew it with the indomitable Rebel hero, Leia Organa!

Rebel Transport

“The first transport is away.”
    – Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

When the Empire launched a massive assault against the Rebellion’s Echo Base, it dealt the Rebel Alliance a tremendous blow. Still, the Rebellion’s losses could have been much greater. They were lucky to escape with the majority of their command structure intact, and the very fact the Rebellion was able to continue its liberation efforts after the battle owed much to the GR-75 medium transport and the role it played during the famous evacuation effort.

With new rules, one Rebel transport miniature, one X-wing miniature with an alternate paint scheme, and a wealth of new ship cards, upgrades, and missions, the Rebel Transport Expansion Pack allows you to recreate the drama of the Rebellion’s desperate escape from Hoth.

Like the Tantive IV , the Rebel transport is too large for standard tournament play. Smaller than the CR90 corvette, the GR-75 medium transport is nonetheless large enough to dwarf its starfighter escorts. Even though the Rebel transport is depicted at a scale that allows you to maneuver it in battle, it is still so large that it comes with multiple new damage decks to track hits against different sections of its hull.

While the Rebel transport is only legal in the game’s Cinematic Play and Epic tournament formats, the rest of the expansion is likely to make its impact upon the standard game with five different upgrade options, a new X-wing miniature, and four new X-wing pilots, including Jek Porkins and Rebel ace Wes Janson.

Cinematic Play

“All troop carriers will assemble at the north entrance. The heavy transport ships will leave as soon as they’re loaded. Only two fighter escorts per ship. The energy shield can only be opened for a short time, so you’ll have to stay very close to your transports.”
    –Leia Organa, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back


The Rebel Transport Expansion Pack comes with its own X-wing escort.

The Rebel Transport Expansion Pack marks the arrival of a new mode of play. While the missions that form Cinematic Play have been a part of X-Wing since the game’s debut, the Rebel Transport Expansion Pack introduces new rules for linking its missions into a heavily thematic campaign.

Over the course of three missions, the Rebel Transport Expansion Pack allows you to recreate the evacuation of Hoth. You’ll relive the Rebellion’s desperate effort to escape Hoth’s atmosphere, survive the initial encounter with the Imperial blockade, and make the jump to lightspeed. Each of these missions stands on its own as a rewarding play experience, complete with unique themes and mechanics, but you’ll also be able to link them together for a fuller Cinematic Play experience.

Throughout the scenarios, players assume the roles of the Rebel Alliance and the Imperial Navy. In the linked missions, your resources are precious, so you have to think carefully as you build your pilot rosters and schedule the deployment of your ships and pilots. If a unique pilot is shot down in one mission, that pilot is removed from all future play within the campaign. Thus, the expansion’s Cinematic Play doesn’t just offer you a chance to appreciate the scenes and themes of the classic trilogy; it provides a rich and rewarding strategic experience.

Will you alter the course of history? In Cinematic Play, you take command of some of the Star Wars trilogy’s most pivotal moments!

A New Tournament Format

The Rebel transport and Tantive IV are too big for the standard tournament format, so we’re launching an all-new tournament format sized to include them!

Three Modes of X-Wing Play:

  • The Standard tournament format features 100-point squads of starships, all at 1/270 scale.
  • The Epic tournament format features larger squads, which can include huge ships.
  • The missions of Cinematic Play all come with their own guidelines and will indicate when huge ships are legal.

The Epic tournament format allows players to field ships of all sizes in massive battles that will echo throughout the Star Wars universe. In the game’s Epic format, your Rebel transport can support the efforts of your X-wings with its frequency jammers, and the Tantive IV can fire its powerful lasers against your opponent’s TIEs.

While the standard tournament format at the heart of X-Wing will continue to focus on quick, deadly skirmishes between opposing squadrons, the addition of the Epic format means that you’ll gain unprecedented squad-building flexibility. Not only does the Epic format mean that you’ll be able to build truly intimidating fleets, it means you can look forward to launching those fleets against your opponents in fantastic space combats of truly epic proportions!

Keep your eyes open for more information about the Epic tournament format as we approach the release of the Rebel Transport Expansion Pack.

The Next Wave?

Because our past X-Wing expansions have all fit a model of four simultaneous releases, many of you may wonder whether or not the Tantive IV and Rebel Transport Expansion Pack are part of our fourth wave of expansion ships. They are not. These are special additions to the X-Wing line and will not supplant or disrupt our next wave of starship expansions (details of which will be announced at a later date).

The Fleet Is Coming

“Hurry! The fleet will be here any moment.”
    –Leia Organa, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

The Rebel fleet is massing. At its core, X-Wing remains a game of the type of fast-paced dogfights that its standard tournament format hightlights; however, with the Tantive IV and Rebel Transport Expansion Packs, you’ll be able to add even more depth and more options to your X-Wing games than ever before.

As you await their release, be sure to check back for more news about these starships, Cinematic Play campaigns, the Epic tournament format, and other upcoming starship expansions!

X-Wing is a tactical ship-to-ship combat game in whi ch players take control of powerful rebel X-wings and nimble Imperial TIE Fighters, facing them against each other in fast-paced space combat. Featuring stunningly detailed and painted miniatures, X-Wing recreates Star Wars’ exciting space battles. Select your crew, plan your maneuvers, and complete your mission!

© & TM Lucasfilm Ltd.

 

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