Star Wars: Destiny
2
10+
Play out your own epic, saga-spanning, “what if” battles in Star Wars™: Destiny, a collectible dice and card game for two players!
In every game of Star Wars: Destiny, you’ll gather your small team of iconic characters and battle to defeat your foes, using your dice and the cards in your deck. The last player with characters left standing wins the game, but to successfully outmaneuver your opponent, you’ll need to carefully consider your options and enhance your deck with new dice and cards. If you ever wondered who would win a duel between two teams of heroes and villains from the Star Wars universe, there’s no better way to find out than with Star Wars: Destiny.
images © Fantasy Flight Games
User Reviews (1)
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INTRODUCTION
Star Wars: Destiny (SW: D) is set in the Star Wars Universe covering all the movies, including the latest release –The Force Awakens. SW: D is, dare I say it, a collectible card/dice game for 2 players [shutter]. Players play either a villain deck or a hero deck. The cards feature familiar characters, events, equipment and quotes from the movies. SW: D is for players age 10 and up and plays in about 20 minutes.
COMPONENTS
The components are very good. SW: D features fairly durable cards with excellent artwork. Players will probably still want to sleeve the cards since the cards will see heavy use. There are also large(0.5″) heavy plastic dice with etched faces. The rulebook folds out to a two-sided 11×17 inch sheet. The rulebook is well organized and written, and has many examples.
SET UP
SW: D requires players to construct a deck. The deck consists of 30 cards with no more than two of a kind. The deck will also have up to 3 characters totaling 30 points and 1 Battlefield. Each character is assigned at least one point value. Some characters have two point values because a player can choose to use either 1 or 2 dice for the character. Hero and villain characters cannot be mixed; however, there are rogue or neutral characters which can be paired with either heroes or villains. Battlefields have an end turn special ability which the first player to end his turn can take advantage. Be prepared to spend some time sorting through cards and determining which card combos work best with each other. Some time can be saved by checking out the many decks others have already posted online.
Once players have assembled their respective decks, getting started is very quick. Players roll all their character dice and total the values. The player with the highest value chooses which Battlefield to fight on and essentially chooses the starting player. The Battlefield not chosen is removed from play and that player receives 2 shields to divvy up among his characters. Players then shuffle their deck and draw 5 cards. Ready to go!
GAME MECHANICS
SW: D is played in a series of Rounds which consist of an Action and an Upkeep Phase. In the Action Phase, players alternate taking turns in which they can perform 1 of the following actions:
1. Play a Card from Your Hand.
2. Activate a Character or Support.
3. Resolve Dice.
4. Use Card Action.
5. Discard a Card to Reroll Dice.
6. Claim the Battlefield.
Play a Card
A player pays the Resource cost in the upper left-hand corner of the card to play a card. Support, Upgrades and Equipment cards are permanent cards which are laid down in front of the player. Event cards are resolved and then discarded.
Activate a Character or Support
A Character or Support card is exhausted (turned on its side) and all dice, including any attached equipment or upgrade dice are rolled. The dice are placed in front of the Character/Support and form the player’s dice pool.
Resolve Dice
Use any number of dice that have the same symbol. For instance, all dice that show the melee symbol can be used to deal damage to an opposing character(s). Dice abilities include melee damage, ranged damage, gain resource(s), give Shield(s), discard opponent Resource(s), force opponent to discard a card(s), reroll a die and activate a special ability indicated on the die’s associated card. The dice can also roll a blank. Resolved dice are removed from the player’s dice pool and placed on its respective card.
Use Card Action
Some cards have a special action on them. A player can spend his action for the turn to use this ability.
Discard a Card to Reroll Your Dice
A player can discard any card in his hand to reroll any number of dice in his dice pool.
Claim the Battlefield
A player may end his turn for the Round by Claiming the Battlefield. Only the first player to end his turn can claim the Battlefield. This player may use the Claim ability on the Battlefield. This player also becomes the first player for the next Round.
During the Upkeep Phase, players Ready any Exhausted cards, gain 2 Resources, discard any undesirable cards and then draw cards until they have 5 cards in hand.
Play continues until one player has Defeated all his opponent’s Characters or a player runs out of cards. A Character is defeated when he or she takes damage equal to or greater than their health.
THOUGHTS
SW: D is an easy game to learn and play. Yet there is a good amount of strategy too. This is a quick playing game with minimal downtime. The well-known theme combined with a quick easy play makes this a great game for casual gamers.
One thing I really like about this game is the smooth mechanics. The dice aspect is fully integrated with the card play. The dice mechanic does not feel tacked on or clunky. This game design is truly impressive.
Now I know what you’re thinking. Cards and dice, there must be a heavy luck factor?!?!? Actually, no, there isn’t. The dice give players the flexibility to reroll or just turn the die to a particular side. The dice can also give more resources too. Many cards give players the option to reroll dice or simply use a blank die for an action on the card. SW: D is balanced in that you have adequate resources but never quite enough to do EVERTHING you want to do.
Unfortunately there is a down side to SW: D. It is a dreaded collectible card game. Yes, you’ll need to purchase booster packs containing an unknown, a blind buy if you will. The booster packs include 5 or 6 cards and 1 die. Be prepared to spend a bit on this game.
Another minor quibble is the weak theme. But it’s Star Wars, how can it have a weak theme?!?! Well I’m glad you asked. Other than good guys versus bad guys there is no theme. There are no missions to complete. No battle for Hoth or Death Star to destroy. Characters and equipment from different time periods in the Star Wars Universe can be mixed and matched. For instance, a deck could contain as its characters Admiral Ackbar and Padme. This is a minor negative in my opinion and another reason why this game will appeal to a broad audience.
Star Wars: Destiny is a very good, fun, quick playing game. If you can stomach the cost of this collectible card game beast, then I highly recommend adding Star Wars: Destiny to your collection.