I'm wondering if FFG will release an 7-9 player expansion like Dune had.

In Yhe General Vol.32 No.1 , Avalon Hill “Grand Dune: The 9-Player Variant”, which added the Ix, Tleilaxu, and the Lansraad to Dune.

So as Twilight Imperium is the basis of the faction in REX is there any of the other factions/races that would match those of the Ix, Tleilaxu and Lansraad?

Bene Tleilaxu: Background
The Bene Tleilaxu fail to put in an appearance in Dune , the first book of Herbert's tetralogy, however, readers of Dune Messiah and God Emperor of Dune will remember the active role they played in those books.

Perhaps the Bene Tleilaxu are best known for their three primary exports. Among these are artificial eyes such as those provided to the victims of the stone-burner near the end of Dune Messiah . Second, the Bene Tleilaxu were the source of twisted mentats, human-computers like Piter de Vries who directed their tremendous skill to evil purposes. Finally, the axolotl tanks on Tleilax were the destination of corpses who were to see new life as gholas. The most famous of these was Duncan Idaho who actually regained the memories of his previous life. It is characteristic of Tleilaxan insidiousness that they programmed Idaho to turn traitor and assassinate his master.

Only two Tleilaxans from the time-period of the game are described in the books. The more important of these was Scytale who held a position roughly equivalent to foreign minister. Like many of the Bene Tleilaxu, he was a Face Dancer. These individuals were capable of shifting their features to completely duplicate those of another person. Thus, Face Dancers made excellent spies since they could go anywhere or climb aboard any ship. Scytale supplemented this important ability with mastery in diplomacy and strategy. His verbal fencing with Paul Muad'Dib is one of the more intriguing sections of Dune Messiah .

However, not all Tleilaxans were Face Dancers. One who lacked this talent was Bijaz, the dwarf. Paul recognized that Bijaz was himself an oracle when he realized that the dwarf had not appeared in his divination of the future. In Dune Messiah , Bijaz was the catalyst that motivated the Duncan Idaho ghola to attempt to assassinate Paul.

In Dune Messiah , the Bene Tleilaxu form a secret alliance with the Guild and Bene Gesserit. In this attempt to dethrone the Atreides dynasty, the Bene Tleilaxu were the main executors, while Guild steersmen provided secrecy for the plan. The Bene Gesserit, following their usual practice, took no direct action.

Bene Tleilaxu: Rules

1. Character Identity: Duke of Tleilaxu.
2. Leaders: Scytale - 5; Twisted Mentat - 4; Ambassador - 3; Bijaz - 2; Face Dancer - 1
3. Initial Spice Allotment : 10.
4. Initial Troop Deployment: 1 token in Polar Sink, 19 tokens in off-planet Reserve.
5. Revival Rate: 3 free per turn.
6. Special Character Abilities:
   1. You need wait only 1 full turn to revive one of your dead leaders. Your other leaders need not be dead for you to do this.
   2. When other players pay spice to revive dead tokens and leaders, this spice goes to you, not to the spice bank.
   3. When you choose leaders for traitors initially, you choose 5 leaders and pick 2 of them for your traitors.
7. Additional Character Advantages:
   1. You are never required to answer truthfully regarding the leader you are using in battle. This applies both to Truth Trance and Atreides prescience.
   2. In a battle in which your opponent has fewer tokens than you and you are victorious, you and your opponent must secretly dial a whole number on the Battle Wheels. These numbers are simultaneously revealed. If the difference between them is less than or equal to 2, your opponent may either remove from the tanks at no charge his leader killed in the battle OR move up to two of the tokens killed in the battle to the Polar Sink.
   3. Your 3 starred tokens may coexist under the Bene Gesserit rules. They may ship in with other players in a manner similar to spiritual advisors, although they are actually Face Dancers who have disguised themselves to look like the local population.
8. Regular Karama Powers:
   7. Prevents Bene Tleilaxu from reviving any leader once or forces Bene Tleilaxu to answer truthfully about his combat leader once.
9. Special Karama Powers:
   7. You may revive for your own use any other player's leader currently in the axolotl tanks and thereafter use him as your own leader. This may be done irrespective of how many of the original owner's leaders have been lost (may only be used once per game).
10. Alliance: Your allies can revive leaders as you do.

Bene Tleilaxu: Player Notes
The Bene Tleilaxu are the perfect spies. The Face Dancers (starred tokens) have the ability to assume the appearance and manners of anyone. Their deceptiveness and ability to control the game without direct use of force is near that of the Bene Gesserit.

As the proprietors of the axolotl tanks, the Bene Tleilaxu are similar to the Guild. Their primary source of income stems largely from death in battle. For both players, the Emperor is the best customer while the Fremen rarely pay anything.

However, unlike the Guild who can frequently bide his time in the early stages of the game, the Bene Tleilaxu must take direct action to be a viable player. For while the Guild will receive spice to transport initial forces to the planet, the Bene Tleilaxu must wait until significant forces reach the tanks for like funds to pour in.

The Tleilaxu's greatest weakness is lack of income. In the early game his income is virtually nil. The 10 starting spice will not last long. Later, after there have been battles and token losses, especially among the Guild and Emperor who are more likely to buy tokens, spice problems lessen.

To alleviate this difficulty, the Bene Tleilaxu can do several things. First, of course, picking up a spice blow can be helpful. Second, use of the starred tokens as advisors will get forces down to the planet free of charge. Since revival requires token loss, the Tleilaxu player should attempt to foment conflicts, possibly (but not exclusively) by initiating them himself. Because of his substantial revival abilities, the Bene Tleilaxu player is able to withstand possible combat losses better than other players while a victory will have the advantage of sending enemy tokens (and leaders) to the tanks.

Two other advantages can help see the Bene Tleilaxu through the red. First, there are the starred tokens that ship down without cost. Second, and especially in the middle and late game, he is often sought as an ally, most frequently by those seeking to replace lost leaders.

The Bene Tleilaxu Karama power which allows him to revive anyone's leader for his own use can be quite useful in improving the Tleilaxan battle outcomes. This is particularly true if it can be determined, either from the initial draw or from comparing notes with an ally, that the leader in question is not a traitor.

Losing battles has little effect on the Tleilaxu player. His revival rate of 3 free per turn will quickly replace token losses. Leaders lost in battle can be replaced next turn provided he has the money. These abilities make the Tleilaxu player an excellent assassin. He can afford to use 1 token (usually starred), along with his 1 leader and a weapon card to try to assassinate an enemy leader. The cost to the Tleilaxu player is low: nothing to replace and ship a starred token and a large cost to the losing leader. The major cost would be the loss of the treachery card for losing the battle.

Other players must be careful because the Tleilaxu player can just as easily play a 5 leader and try to win the battle. Even the Atreides never knows which will be tried because the Tleilaxu player is never required to answer truthfully about his leader (unless a Karama card is used).

Since the Bene Tleilaxu are primarily a late-game side, they should be effective planners in the early stages. Remember that your chief customers will be those with low revival rates and significant treasuries: the Guild and the Emperor. Thus, your choice of traitors may well belong to those players (if possible) since you will attempt to cause the death of their tokens. Similarly, since you have only 3 starred tokens, you should carefully weigh when and where to ship them in. Because of the limited quantity, they should not be used as a matter of course in every situation as is often the case with the Bene Gesserit.

In the early game, the Bene Tleilaxu should use their initial funds to obtain at least one more treachery card. Remaining funds should be used for transport to collect spice or attack or both. The objective is to gain spice either directly or by causing the death of tokens who must subsequently be revived. Of course, treachery cards like Family Atomics and Weather Control can be used for a similar effect.

The Bene Tleilaxu can be valuable in alliance for any of the the players because of your ability to revive dead leaders before all 5 leaders have been lost. From the Tleilaxan point of view, valuable allies are likely to be the enemies of the Emperor or the Guild. Frequently this will mean the Fremen. Alternatively, the Harkonnens or Atreides or Bene Gesserit also make good partners, the former because he makes possibilities for traitors tremendous and the latter two because of their combat talents. Of course, there are no hard-and-fast rules; paired with one of the "moneyed" powers, you need not worry about your spice supply while your ally can depend on always having his best leader.

Overall, this is a good character to choose for those who would like a cross between the treachery of the Harkonnen and the manipulative abilities of the Bene Gesserit.

Ix: Background
Although briefly mentioned in the first three Dune books, Ix and it inhabitants are not described in depth until God Emperor of Dune . Fortunately they do not seem to have changed much and thus we can easily surmise what they must have been in the time of Paul Muad'dib.

In God Emperor of Dune , we discover that Ix (the ninth planet) is the leading technology producer for all the worlds. Their inventions include dictatels, the Ixian Globe, Leto II's royal cart whose anti-gravity devices worked by thought control, lasguns, thought transmitters, weather control satellites, navigation machines, brain probes and many other devices. In fact, it is hinted that the Ixians defied the provisions of the Butlerian Jihad and created artificially intelligent machines.

In God Emperor of Dune , both Ambassador Malky and his "niece" Hwi Noree are Ixian. In addition we meet, briefly, an Inquisitor of Ix, one of the men who directs the destiny of that planet. The picture revealed is that of very subtle enemies of the Emperor (except for Noree) who supply him with the technology he demands, yet plot his destruction. In fact, it can be argued that of all the major powers in that time, only Ix was an opponent worthy of Leto's fear and, given the outcome, that fear would have been justified.

Ix: Rules

1. Character Identity: Earl of Ix.
2. Leaders: Ambassador - 5; Bronso - 3; Georad - 2; Tagir Mohandis - 2; Implementor - 2.
3. Initial Spice Allotment : 7.
4. Initial Troop Deployment: 1 token in Polar Sink, 19 tokens in off-planet Reserve.
5. Revival Rate: 1 free per turn.
6. Special Character Abilities:
   1. When any player except Ix plays a weapon, defense or Weather Control card, Ix receives 1 spice from the spice bank. When Ix plays such a card, no spice is received.
   2. You receive 2 treachery cards initially, instead of the usual one.
   3. You may hold up to 5 treachery cards at any time.
7. Additional Character Advantages:
   1. When you play the Weather Control card, you have two options. You may use it as described on the Player Aid Pad or you may place (not move) the storm into any territory you desire.
   2. In combat, your computational abilities give you an added advantage. You may request of your opponent the number he has dialed on the Battle Wheel; your opponent must answer truthfully. If this power is used in conjunction with the Voice and/or prescience, it must follow the uses of those powers.
   3. Your armies are always supplied for combat. You need not expend spice to do so.
8. Regular Karama Powers:
   8. Prevents Ix from placing Storm freely or forces Ix to pay spice to supply his units in combat.
9. Special Karama Powers:
   8. Allows Ix to play a Karama card as a Projectile, Shield, Poison, Snooper or Lasgun card and not declare which until both Battle Wheels have been revealed, once.
10. Alliance: Your allies may use your Computational Abilities in battle.

Ix: Player Notes
The technology peddlers of Dune start with only 7 spice. After purchase of a treachery card, probably not much will remain. Nor does Ix have the ability to ship free as the Bene Gesserit or Bene Tleilaxu do. Thus, spice supply becomes a primary consideration.

One of Ix's chief sources of income is the play of certain treachery cards in battle. Thus, it is in Ix's interest to encourage combat as much as possible. Helpful advice to other players during the Movement Phase can prove quite profitable.

A second, more obvious technique is to collect on spice blows. True, this often requires combat, but here you has several advantages. First, you will probably have more treachery cards than your opponent (Harkonnen excepted) since initially you have two and can hold five. Second, you will know the number he dialed, often a good indicator of your opponent's entire battle plan. Third, you are always supplied for combat and thus needn't expend additional spice. And fourth, you stand to gain spice from the death of leaders as well as the use of cards that provide you with spice.

Your Karama card power, which allows you to decide what weapon or defense it represents after the battle, is perhaps the most effective of all the Karama powers. It can completely turn the battle around and often is a game-winning ploy.

You will often be sought as an ally, even if you are spice-poor or have many tokens in the tanks. Most frequently, Ix's allies are powers that lack combat abilities, but have sizeable spice supplies, e.g. the Emperor and the Guild. This is because Ix, like the Atreides and Bene Gesserit, have an effective combat ability that translates to your allies.

However, it is still a good idea to avoid squandering spice in useless activities, for it will quickly be depleted. Because your armies need no spice for supply, you will discover a dangerous tendency to dial higher than you need to in combat. This leads to the second potential problem: having too many tokens in the tanks. With Ix's slow revival rate and possible spice shortage, this is a very difficult predicament.

Logistics
When playing with more than six players, there will be an insufficient number of player dots. Simply allow some players to use the "slits" where the two parts of the board join as dots.

Although the leader illustrations are the same size as the existing ones, it will be difficult to achieve the same thickness, which causes problems for the initial traitor draw. To address this, print out this leader table, cut out the names to form leader cards and draw from these instead.

For player shields, the easiest thing to do is trace around one of the existing shields onto thin cardboard, cut it out and thereby construct a new shield.

Counters in this game carry no information and so may be easily borrowed from some other game, e.g. Risk. Or, use coins. Three different types are needed, one for each of the new sides and a third kind for the Bene Tleilaxu starred tokens.

The LANSRAAD

AT START - 20 tokens in reserves (off-planet). Start with 30 spice.

FREE REVIVAL - 3 tokens.

ADVANTAGE - You have Influence over almost all major powers (except the Fremen) on Dune.

ALLIANCE -You may not ally with the Fremen (although a third player may be allied to both). Allies may make use of the Lansraad "Optional Advantage" of restricting territories; the same conditions as to who may be affected is imposed.

Leaders and Values: Baron Moat-6

Earl Viaconte-5

Administrator-3

Commissioner-2

Representative-1

Disadvantages:

Optional Advantage: At the start of any turn, before the Storm marker position is determined, you may declare any non-sietch territory on the map board (except for the Polar Sink) "restricted". AU tokens that do not belong to the Lansraad player, a Lansraad-allied player, the Fremen player, or are co-existing Bene Gesserit tokens must be moved out of this territory during the upcoming revival/ movement turns. Failure to do so results in the tokens being sent to the tanks. With the exception of the above-mentioned token types, tokens may not be moved into the territory during the entire turn. The Lansraad player may not declare the same territory "restricted" for two consecutive turns.

Karma Powers:

Strategy: Plentiful spice, a high revival rate, decent leaders, and a very effective special power are the Lansraad's good points; its starting with all its tokens off planet and commencing play with a natural enemy (the Fremen) are its bad ones. If you decide to start a seven-player game with a sietch invasion, I advise against invading any Fremen sietch. Any victory you gain against the desert dwellers will be short-lived. As time passes, the wise Lansraad player will join in an alliance, preferably of an anti-Fremen nature. His power of "restriction" can allow his allies to cordon off spice territories for their own use. But, you must be careful who you pick as your friends and what they get out of the deal, for someday they may be your enemies.

I think experienced players will find including the Lansraad into their games of DUNE spices things up. Not that the standard game is boring-far from it. But the Lansraad will force all to rethink old strategies; and I always found it hard to envision that such a powerful body as Herbert presents would not have become involved in the affairs of Dune after such a period. One last note: If future factions to play in DUNE are created, the Lansraad may or may not have Influence over them. A power like the Gholas (The GENERAL , Vol. 18, No. 5) or the Ixians ( HEROES , Vol. 1, No. 1)--something from outside the Imperium-would hardly be much influenced by the August body, or honor their "restricted" notices. On the other hand, anything that is created to reflect some group from within the Imperium will.

I'm wondering if FFG will release an 7-9 player expansion like Dune had.

In Yhe General Vol.32 No.1 , Avalon Hill “Grand Dune: The 9-Player Variant”, which added the Ix, Tleilaxu, and the Lansraad to Dune.

So as Twilight Imperium is the basis of the faction in REX is there any of the other factions/races that would match those of the Ix, Tleilaxu and Lansraad?

Well, if they're going to add new races to REX, the first and most obvious to me would be the Sardakk N'orr. I'm not sure how well that race would align with any of the Dune expansion races, but they're the only major race known to be present in the conflict who aren't there in the current game.

The Landsraad is a coalition of other houses that provide oversight to the Emperor, so the equivalent in REX would be a coalition of "minor races" that form part of the Imperial government. This could be represented as a conglomeration of other races from the setting who were known to the Imperium in the time frame, but not explicitly mentioned as being an active part of the conflict.

Personally, I'd be fine with FFG striking out on their own and designing an entirely unique Sardakk race (and others.) The Ix, Tleilaxu and Landsraad variant races were not designed by the original game designers; they were written by contributors to The General magazine (owned and operated by Avalon Hill, same as the board game, hence no legal quandaries arose.) Plus there are tons of fan-made variations, and a certain amount of debate regarding the viability of The General versions anyway.

I wonder how many would be interested in a 7-9 player expansion, I know the group I have games of Dune with enjoy the extra factions, means no-one has to sit out of the fun and backstabbing for a number of hours.