A Glimmer of HopeA Preview of The Battle of Hoth for STAR WARS (TM): The Card Game
“All right, boys, keep tight now.”
–Luke Skywalker, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Few moments in movie history better capture the desperate plight of an overmatched military than those early scenes from The Empire Strikes Back in which Rebel pilots first launch their snowspeeders against the Empire’s hulking AT-AT walkers.
Before the AT-ATs even come into firing range, their footsteps rattle Hoth’s icy plains and shake ice and snow from the walls of the Rebels’ outer trenches. Then, the AT-ATs begin firing their cannons. Even those Rebel defenders who survive the blasts are showered in explosions of snow. Rebel snowspeeders fly to the rescue, racing across the barren, white battlefield to counter the walkers, but their shots prove ineffectual. Even a direct hit against an AT-AT’s viewport dissipates harmlessly off its shielding, and we get a shot of the inside of an AT-AT’s cockpit. In the heat of battle, the AT-AT’s interior is frighteningly calm and quiet.
Then everything changes. Commander Luke Skywalker realizes the futility of the Rebellion’s strategy and tells his squad mates to stop trying to blast the walkers, but focus instead on tripping them with their speeders’ harpoons and tow cables. In the face of terrible adversity, the hero’s ingenuity provides a glimmer of hope.
Attack Pattern Delta
Soon, players will be able to recreate these dramatic scenes in their games of Star Wars™: The Card Game. The upcoming Force Pack, The Battle for Hoth, not only introduces the game’s first AT-AT, it allows players to field Rogue Leader (The Battle for Hoth, 280) and pursue new strategies based around fielding whole squads of Speeders.
In fact, Rogue Leader is part of an entire objective set built around Speeder synergies.
- While you control more Hoth objectives than your opponent, the set’s objective, Attack Pattern Delta (The Battle for Hoth, 279), helps you race your Speeders into battle. “Action: If you control more Hoth objectives than your opponent, look at the top card of your deck. If it is a Vehicle unit with cost 2 or lower, put it into play. (Limit once per turn.)” While this action isn’t limited to Speeders, it certainly lends them a significant boost. All but one of the light side’s Speeders cost two or less, and the objective creates nice combinations between the set’s Speeders and those of the Hoth objectives, Hoth Operations (The Desolation of Hoth, 182) and Preparation for Battle (The Search for Skywalker, 213).
- Then, if you want to be sure all those Speeders are put to good use, Rogue Two (The Battle for Hoth, 281) helps to transform your Speeder squadron into a massive, destructive force. It gains an edge-dependent (
) for each attacking Speeder unit you control, including itself. Furthermore, its presence on the table triggers Rogue Leader’s game text, so that it gains a 
icon. It pays to have a good wingman!
- If those two unique Speeders aren’t enough, the objective set comes with a third non-unique Snowspeeder (The Battle for Hoth, 185). This non-unique Snowspeeder is an important addition, especially when you consider the card in the context of a fifty-card deck. You can’t have more than one copy of Rogue Leader or Rogue Two in play, but you can play as many copies of the Snowspeeder as you want.
They can help you build up your Rogue Two, as well as the cumulative Edge value you may gain from Hoth Operations. And with one 
icon and an edge-dependent () icon, the Snowspeeder is not a Vehicle to dismiss lightly.
- The fifth card in the set, the Snowspeeder Launch Bay (The Battle for Hoth, 282) provides some welcome resource acceleration for any deck, but in a deck built around your Speeders, it also boosts your unit damage. Against Imperial Walkers, it’s even more effective, allowing you to add a point of unit damage and a focus token once per phase.
- Finally, what better card would there be to complete the objective set built around the Speeders launched to slow the Empire’s AT-ATs than the fate card, Battle of Hoth (The Battle of Hoth, 236)? In the end, your Speeders may not be able to blow up all your opponent’s Walkers, but this card reminds you, you don’t need to! The goal is to strike a blow against the dark side, and Battle of Hoth can advance your cause by damaging your opponent’s Hoth objectives or keeping yours intact long enough to find a way to win.
Prepare for Battle
The Empire’s AT-ATs are on the march. Their thunderous steps rattle Hoth’s frozen tundra. Their cannon fire rains across the battlefield in lethal volleys.
Will Rogue Squadron’s efforts be able to slow the unstoppable advance long enough for the light side to find their way to victory? You’ll soon have your chance to find out. The Battle for Hoth is coming!
Keep your eyes open for more information about this action-packed Force Pack, including a look at the Imperial Navy’s Walkers.
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Source:
A Glimmer of Hope
