Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game

Overview

Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game is a competitive 2-player deckbuilding game in which one player controls the Galactic Empire and the other controls the Rebel Alliance. Each player begins with a weak 10-card starter deck and uses resources to purchase more powerful cards from a shared galaxy row. Players build up attack power to assault their opponent’s bases, which are protected by capital ships. The first player to destroy three of their opponent’s bases wins the game. The Empire always takes the first turn.

A central mechanic is the Balance of the Force track, which shifts between factions as cards are played, unlocking conditional abilities and granting bonus resources when fully on your side.

Components

Component	Quantity
Galaxy Cards	90
Rebel Starter Cards	10 (7 Alliance Shuttle, 2 Rebel Trooper, 1 Temple Guardian)
Empire Starter Cards	10 (7 Imperial Shuttle, 2 Stormtrooper, 1 Inquisitor)
Base Cards	20 (10 Rebel, 10 Empire)
Outer Rim Pilot Cards	10
Reference Cards	2
Balance of the Force Track	1
Force Marker (White)	1
Resource Counters (Yellow)	20
Damage Counters (Purple)	50

Icons

Icon	Meaning
Attack	Damage dealt to targets, capital ships, or bases
Resources	Currency used to purchase cards
Force	Moves the Force marker toward your side of the Balance of the Force track
Unique	Indicates the card is unique and may be referenced by other cards

Key Terms

Cost: Number of resources required to purchase a card (upper left of units and capital ships).
Target Value: Amount of attack required to defeat a card in the galaxy row via bounty hunting/sabotage. Printed upside-down facing the opponent who can attack it.
Hit Points: Amount of damage required to destroy a base or capital ship (bottom of card).
Reward: Benefit gained by the player who defeats the corresponding target in the galaxy row. Rewards are optional.
Exile: Immediately remove a card from the game and return it to the box.
Card Abilities: All card abilities are optional – you can choose not to resolve them.

Card Types

Card Type	Description
Unit	Played from hand into your play area. Provides attack, resources, Force, and/or abilities. Discarded at end of turn. Can commit to attacks on bases or bounty hunt/sabotage targets in the galaxy row.
Capital Ship	Stays in play across turns until destroyed (damage >= hit points). Provides resources at the start of your turn. Can commit to base attacks but cannot bounty hunt/sabotage. Destroyed capital ships go to their owner’s discard pile.
Base	Each player has a base deck. Your current base is faceup. When destroyed, the attacker places it in their victory pile. You choose a new base from your remaining base cards at the start of your next turn.

Faction Affiliation

Empire cards: Only the Empire player can purchase them.
Rebel cards: Only the Rebel player can purchase them.
Neutral cards: Either player can purchase them.
A card belonging to your opponent’s faction is an enemy card.

Setup

Choose factions: One player takes Empire, the other takes Rebel.
Prepare base decks (beginner game): Find the 5 Rebel bases and 5 Empire bases listed below. Return the remaining 10 bases to the box (used only in advanced modes).
Place starting base: Place your starting base faceup in front of you. Place the remaining 4 base cards facedown underneath it (order does not matter).
Build starter decks: Take your faction’s 10 starter cards, shuffle them, and place them facedown near your base deck.
Create galaxy row: Shuffle all 90 galaxy cards together to form the galaxy deck. Deal the top 6 cards in a line to create the galaxy row. Orient Empire cards facing the Empire player, Rebel cards facing the Rebel player, and neutral cards sideways. Place the galaxy deck facedown at one end of the galaxy row.
Outer Rim Pilots: Place the 10 Outer Rim Pilot cards in a faceup stack at the opposite end of the galaxy row.
Supply: Place damage counters and resource counters near the galaxy deck within reach of both players.
Balance of the Force track: Unfold the track and place it next to the Outer Rim Pilot stack with the Rebel symbol facing the Rebel player. Place the Force marker on the space all the way to the Rebel side.
Draw hands: Each player draws the top 5 cards of their deck. The Empire player takes the first turn.

Beginner Base Decks

Rebel Bases	Empire Bases
Dantooine (starting base)	Lothal (starting base)
Hoth	Corellia
Mon Cala	Coruscant
Sullust	Death Star
Yavin IV	Endor

Turn Structure

The game alternates turns between the Empire player (first) and the Rebel player. Each turn follows this structure:

Beginning of Turn

Reveal new base (if needed): If your base was destroyed on your opponent’s previous turn, look at your remaining base cards and choose one to reveal as your new base. Resolve any “When you reveal this base…” abilities.
Force bonus: If the Force marker is all the way to your side of the Balance of the Force track, gain 1 resource (take a resource counter from the supply).
Capital ship resources: Gain resources from each capital ship you have in play (take resource counters equal to each capital ship’s resource value). These resources plus any gained from the Force bonus form your initial resource pool.

Main Phase (any order, any number of times)

You may perform any of the following actions in any order, as many times as you are able and wish to:

Play a card from your hand
Purchase a card from the galaxy row or Outer Rim Pilot deck
Use a card ability on a card you have in play
Commit units and/or capital ships to an attack on the enemy base
Commit units to a bounty hunt (Empire) / sabotage (Rebel) attack on a target in the galaxy row
Resolve an attack

End of Turn

Discard all unit cards from play (to your discard pile).
Return your base and each capital ship in play to their proper orientation.
Discard any remaining cards in your hand (to your discard pile).
Return all resource counters from your resource pool to the supply.
Draw 5 cards from your deck. If your deck is empty when you need to draw, shuffle your discard pile to reform your deck, then continue drawing.

Actions

Play a Card

Take a card from your hand and place it faceup in your play area. It is now in play.
Immediately collect resource counters equal to the card’s resource value.
Move the Force marker toward your side of the Balance of the Force track by the card’s Force value.
Once in play, you may use the card’s ability and/or commit it to an attack.

Purchase a Card

Cards in the galaxy row and the Outer Rim Pilot deck are available for purchase.

Spend resources equal to the card’s cost (return resource counters to the supply).
Place the purchased card faceup on top of your discard pile.
Faction restriction: You can only purchase cards from your own faction or neutral cards. You cannot purchase enemy faction cards.
When a card is removed from the galaxy row, immediately replace it with the top card of the galaxy deck.

Use a Card Ability

You may use the ability of each card you have in play once per turn.
Card abilities can be used the same turn the card was played.
Abilities are optional – you never have to use them.
If you choose to resolve an ability, you must resolve as much of it as you are able (you cannot partially resolve an ability by choice).
After using a card’s ability, tilt the card slightly as a reminder.
You cannot choose a “choose” option that you cannot resolve.

Commit to an Attack

Attacking the Enemy Base

Group units and/or capital ships together in your play area to indicate they are committed to attacking the enemy base.
Each card can commit to one attack per turn.
Committing does not immediately resolve the attack – multiple cards can be committed before resolution.

Bounty Hunting (Empire) / Sabotage (Rebels)

Commit units to attack an enemy card in the galaxy row by placing them in front of the target card.
Capital ships cannot be committed to bounty hunting or sabotage attacks.
Each card can commit to one attack per turn.

Resolve an Attack

Resolving a Base Attack

Total the attack value of all units and capital ships committed to the attack.
Take that many damage counters from the supply.
Capital ships first: Each capital ship your opponent has in play must be destroyed before any damage can be applied to their base. You choose how to distribute damage among multiple capital ships. A capital ship is destroyed when damage on it equals or exceeds its hit points; it goes to its owner’s discard pile.
Remaining damage to base: After all enemy capital ships are destroyed, apply remaining damage counters to the opponent’s base. Damage counters stay on the base unless repaired.
Base destroyed: When damage on a base equals or exceeds its hit points, the base is destroyed. Place it in the attacker’s victory pile (at their end of the Balance of the Force track). Return all damage counters on that base to the supply. Excess damage is lost – it does not carry over to the next base.
The destroyed player chooses a new base from their remaining cards at the start of their next turn.
Keep committed cards grouped as a reminder they have attacked and cannot attack again this turn.

Resolving Bounty Hunting / Sabotage

Total the attack value of all units committed to the attack against a target in the galaxy row.
If the total equals or exceeds the target value, the attack is successful:
- Discard the defeated card to the galaxy discard pile.
- Replace it with the top card of the galaxy deck.
- You may choose to receive the reward printed on the defeated card (rewards are optional).
If the total is less than the target value, nothing happens.
Excess attack is lost – it does not carry over.
No damage counters are placed on bounty hunt/sabotage targets.
Keep committed cards grouped to the side as a reminder they cannot attack again this turn.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Winning: The first player to destroy 3 of their opponent’s bases wins the game.
The game immediately ends the moment a third base is destroyed. No other cards, abilities, Force, attack, or resources are resolved after that point.
Destroyed bases are placed in the attacker’s victory pile for tracking.
Optional rule – Adjustable Game Length: Players may agree before the game to change the number of bases required to win (2 for a shorter game, 4 or 5 for a longer/more strategic game).

Special Rules & Edge Cases

The Balance of the Force

The Force track has 7 spaces: 3 dark side (Empire), 1 neutral (center), 3 light side (Rebel).
The Force marker starts all the way on the Rebel side.
When you gain Force, move the marker toward your side by the indicated amount.
“If the Force is with you” abilities can only be used when the Force marker is on one of the 3 spaces on your side of the track. If the marker is on the neutral center space, the Force is with neither player.
If the Force is all the way to your side at the start of your turn, gain 1 bonus resource.

Ability Keywords

Choose: Pick one of the listed options. You must pick an option you can fully resolve; you cannot choose an option you cannot resolve.
Deal Damage: Damage dealt directly to the enemy base by an ability ignores capital ships.
Destroy: Immediately discard a capital ship (from opponent’s play area to their discard pile, or from galaxy row to galaxy discard pile).
Discard: Cards discarded from your hand go to your discard pile. Cards discarded from opponent’s hand go to their discard pile. Cards discarded from the galaxy row go to the galaxy discard pile. When a card ability discards a card from the galaxy row, you do not gain any reward from that card.
Exile: Remove a card from the game permanently (return to box). When you play a card that exiles itself, you may use its attack, resources, and Force before exiling it. Exiled cards from your hand must be in your hand at the time you resolve the exile ability.
Gain: Gain additional attack, resources, or Force as described. Each value on a card can only be used once per turn.
If (Conditional): The ability can only be used when the stated condition is met (e.g., “If the Force is with you”).
Look: Look at a card secretly (opponent cannot see it), then return it to its original position.
Repair: Remove the indicated number of damage counters from your base.
Reveal: Flip a card faceup so all players can see it. If not instructed to discard it, return it to its original position facedown.
When (Triggered): Triggered abilities resolve at the specific moment described (e.g., “When you reveal this base…”). Triggered abilities are not limited to once per turn – they resolve each time their trigger condition is met. If a “when” ability conflicts with a Reward, resolve the Reward first.
While (Constant): The effect is always active as long as the stated condition is true. When the card with a constant ability leaves play, its effect immediately ends.

Outer Rim Pilots

Available for purchase by either player from the Outer Rim Pilot deck (separate from galaxy row).
Purchased like any other card (spend resources equal to cost, place on discard pile).

Empty Deck Rules

Player deck empty: Do not shuffle your discard pile just because your deck is empty. Wait until you actually need to draw a card, then shuffle your discard pile to reform your deck.
Galaxy deck empty: Wait until a card needs to be added to the galaxy row, then shuffle the galaxy discard pile to reform the galaxy deck.

Galaxy Row Replacement

Whenever a card leaves the galaxy row (purchased, defeated via bounty hunt/sabotage, or discarded by an ability), immediately replace it with the top card of the galaxy deck.

Discard Pile Visibility

All three discard piles (both player discard piles and the galaxy discard pile) are open information. Any player may look at them at any time, but you cannot change the order of the cards.

Capital Ship Persistence

Capital ships remain in play across turns. They are not discarded at end of turn.
Capital ships are only removed from play when they have damage equal to or greater than their hit points (destroyed).
Destroyed capital ships go to their owner’s discard pile (not the galaxy discard pile).

Attacking After Base Destruction

You can resolve an attack against an opponent’s base even if it has already been destroyed this turn. This allows you to damage their capital ships. Any damage that would be applied to the (already destroyed) base is lost.

Unplayed Cards

You do not have to play every card in your hand. Cards you choose not to play are still discarded at the end of your turn.

FAQ Clarifications

You do not have to resolve a card’s ability immediately after playing it (unless it is a “when” triggered ability).
If an exile ability says “exile from your hand or discard pile,” you can exile from both places (a combination).
If the Force is all the way to the Rebel side and an opponent plays Duros Spy (which forces a choice between discarding a card or gaining Force), the opponent with no room to gain Force must choose the option they can fully resolve (discard a card).

Advanced Game Modes

Full Galaxy: Use all 10 bases per faction instead of 5. Recommended to play to 4 bases for victory.
Secret Bases: Start with your starting base, then secretly choose 4 more from your remaining 9. Return unchosen bases to the box facedown. Neither player knows the other’s base lineup. Recommended to play to 4 bases for victory.
2v2 Multiplayer: Requires two copies of the game. Rules available at FantasyFlightGames.com.

Optional Rules

Adjustable Game Length: Change the number of bases required to win (2 for shorter, 4-5 for longer). Agree before the game begins.
Paying Off Neutral Cards: Spend resources equal to a neutral card’s cost to discard it from the galaxy row (to the galaxy discard pile) without adding it to your deck. You cannot bounty hunt or sabotage neutral cards normally – this optional rule provides a way to remove unwanted neutral cards.

Player Reference

Key Numbers

Item	Value
Starting deck size	10 cards
Hand size	5 cards
Galaxy row size	6 cards
Bases to destroy to win (beginner)	3
Bases to destroy to win (advanced, recommended)	4
Force track spaces	7 (3 dark side + 1 neutral + 3 light side)
Starting Force position	All the way to Rebel side
First turn	Empire

Starter Deck Composition

Rebel	Empire
Alliance Shuttle x7	Imperial Shuttle x7
Rebel Trooper x2	Stormtrooper x2
Temple Guardian x1	Inquisitor x1

Turn Sequence Quick Reference

Start of turn: Reveal new base if needed -> Gain 1 resource if Force is all the way to your side -> Gain resources from capital ships in play.
Main phase (any order, repeat as able): Play cards -> Purchase cards -> Use abilities -> Commit to attacks -> Resolve attacks.
End of turn: Discard units from play -> Straighten base/capital ships -> Discard hand -> Return resource counters to supply -> Draw 5 cards.

Attack Rules Summary

Rule	Base Attack	Bounty Hunt / Sabotage
Who can commit	Units + Capital Ships	Units only
Target	Opponent’s base (capital ships must be destroyed first)	Enemy faction card in galaxy row
Success condition	Damage dealt = attack total	Attack total >= target value
Excess damage/attack	Lost (does not carry to next base)	Lost
Damage counters placed?	Yes (on capital ships and base)	No
Reward?	N/A	Optional (printed on defeated card)
Defeated card goes to	Attacker’s victory pile (bases) / owner’s discard (capital ships)	Galaxy discard pile

Purchasing Rules

Card Type	Empire Can Buy?	Rebel Can Buy?
Empire cards	Yes	No
Rebel cards	No	Yes
Neutral cards	Yes	Yes
Outer Rim Pilots	Yes	Yes

Force Quick Reference

Gain Force = move marker toward your side.
Force on your 3 spaces = “Force is with you” (enables conditional abilities).
Force on neutral center = with neither player.
Force all the way to your side at start of turn = +1 resource.