Thinking of jumping on board with Imperial Assault and would like some input.

Does every pack include cards that any side can use the way X-Wing and Armada do, or can you just buy for one faction and not miss out?

Can someone give me a quick rundown of game play? Turn sequence, basic mechanics, how combat and dice work, that sort of thing.

Does the campaign mode use basically the same mechanics as the Skirmish mode, just with predefined forces and set objectives?

I understand that in Skirmish mode you still use the gridded map tiles. Can gameplay be enhanced with Scratchbuilt/3D terrain?

How long is a typical game? X-Wing is about an hour, Armada is quite a bit more. where does IA fall?

How similar is it to Descent?

Anything else I should know?

Yes, each pack contains skirmish missions and a campaign side mission. It also includes command cards that can be used with either faction in skirmish (you get 15 command cards up to a point value of 15, points so far are: 0,1,2,3) as well as one specific card for the character in the pack, for example the Royal Guard Champion has a command card that allows him to make 3 attacks in a turn.

Turns in this game operate on an "I go, you go" mechanic, where the player with initiative (which changes each turn) exhausts (turns 90 degrees) a deployment card, every model associated with that card then activates. For Heroes such as Vader it's just the one, but Stormtroopers have three. Each of these models can do two actions each activation, these include generating movement points, interacting, attacking or using an ability on their deployment card that has an arrow besides it. So Vader's force choke uses an action wheras the Stormtrooper's ability to reroll one dice if adjacent with another stormtrooper, doesn't.

When it comes to attacking you roll the dice indicated in the bottom right of your deployment card, if it's a melee attack (indicated by a little swordy lightsaber thing) you must be adjacent to the target but you hit automatically. A ranged attack (little blaster symbol) is slightly different, you can attack anyone in line of sight but the number you get on your dice (not explosions or the Lightning bolts) indicates the range of the attack, if that number is lower than the distance between the models then the attack doesn't hit. Anyways, at the same time the other player rolls his defence die (very rarely dice), each little triangle cancels one damage (the explosions), each circle with a break in it cancels a surge (the Lightning) and the circle with the 'x' in it (white die only) cancels all damage. After the dice have been rolled, you can spend surges to activate the surge abilities -again indicated on the card.

All actions can be used twice, apart from abilities on the cards and attacking (or an ability that let's you attack such as Vader's brutality) unless you have a card ability that says otherwise. What's important here is that attacks and dealing damage are two different things, so for example, Vader can use Brutality (let's him attack twice but must have different targets) and force choke (deals 2 damage and 1 stress), but he can't attack and use brutality since that would count as him using two actions to attack.

Once each player has exhausted all of their deplyment cards, the initiative token is handed over to the other player, all their exhausted cards are readied (turned the right way) and the next turn begins.

Yeah pretty much the same mechanics, but it doesn't use deployment cards for the rebels (heroes have their own important sheet instead), Rebels can use both actions to attack, no command cards and stress works slightly differently. As well as this, players get XP and Credits to buy abilities, upgrades and equipment,

Yeah scratch built terrain works, hell you can build whatever you like (so long as it still has the grid) if you want to forgo objectives and just have a death match. I saw a really great imperial assault batrep on daily dial where they had all 3D terrain, walkways, stairs, solid walls, the works.

I tend to find a skirmish match lasts about 45minutes to an hour, since it's the first person to 40 that wins and objectives generally give a lot of points. The most tedious part though is setting up the board which I think the longest has taken me a solid twenty minutes to do.

Can't comment on similarities with descent since I've never played it.

Hmm anything else you should know.... Try to keep your tiles organised into dividers since they're all numbered, it'll save a lot of the time of set up since you won't have to dig through a pile looking for the right ones.

Hope this has helped, feel free to ask any other questions!

1) Does every pack include cards that any side can use the way X-Wing and Armada do, or can you just buy for one faction and not miss out?

This is complicated to answer. IA has 2 game modes. Campaign (2-4 players against 1 player story driven) and Skirmish (1on1 and soon 4 player brawl, similar to xwing). Campaign is very similar to Descent (more on that later). If you play the campaign, the small packs are entirely optional. If you play Skirmish, the packs are basically mandatory. All of them contain Command Cards you can use in all Skirmish plays regardless of what faction you go with. Also they contain the figures you need to actually use that unit in legal Skirmish play. So buying just one faction, you will miss out on some Command Cards. This has not proven to be vital as of now, but could be later.

2) Can someone give me a quick rundown of game play? Turn sequence, basic mechanics, how combat and dice work, that sort of thing.

Again, this is complicated as there are 2 game modes. I will start with Skirmish:

*) Both players build their armies (usually worth 40 points) and their Command Deck (15 Command Cards).

*) Initiative is decided.

*) Player with initiative activates one of his groups (up to 3 figures) and gets to spend 2 actions (move, attack, interact, special actions) with each of them.

*) Turn is passed to the other player who does now activate one of his groups.

*) At the end of a round player pass the initiative token and draw additional Command Cards.

Both players try to amass 40 Victory Points. These are awarded by certain objectives on the map (like grabbing a crate and returning it to your deployment zone) or by defeating enemy groups (you get VPs according to the cost of the enemy group).

In Campaign it's similar, but the missions are much more story driven.

*) Rebels each play with 1 Hero who is significantly stronger than regular units and can upgrade with gear and skills over the campaign.

*) Rebels usually need to accomplish objectives to win the mission, instead of defeating all enemy troops.

*) The Imperial Player get's Threat at the end of each round which he can spend to bring new units into play

*) Certain events (opening a door, interacting with a terminal) advance the mission narrative and might deploy additional imperial units for free or boost the Threat of the Empire.

*) Most missions have a round limit after which the Rebels lose the mission.

*) Depending on which side won, rewards (XP, Credits, special items) are awarded to the sides. Some missions have different follow up mission depending on who won.

There are 6 colors of dice. 4 are for attacking (red, green, blue, yellow) and 2 are for defending (black and white).

On the attack dice, a face has at least one (up to all) of the following symbols/numbers:

*) Range as a number. Used in range attacks to check if you actually hit the space the enemy you targeted is on)

*) Damage as a symbol. Used to calculate how much damage you deal (see defending dice).

*) Surge as a symbol. Used to activate Surge Abilities of the attacker.

On the defending dice, a face has 0 or one (up to 2) of the following symbols.

*) Block as a symbol. Used to reduce incoming damage.

*) Evade as a symbol. Used to reduce the amount of surges (so they can't be spent).

*) Dodge as a symbol. Indicated that the attack missed entirely (found only on 1 side of the white die).

3) Does the campaign mode use basically the same mechanics as the Skirmish mode, just with predefined forces and set objectives?

There are some slight mechanics alterations in the campaign like

*) Rebels always go first in campaign, there is no initiative.

*) Rebel Heroes can attack twice during their activations. Ordinary units can only attack once.

*) Rebel Heroes can buy new equipment between the missions and get additional skills if they banked enough XP.

*) The Imperial Player can buy new skills, upgrade cards and even side missions.

Other than that, it's very similar.

4) I understand that in Skirmish mode you still use the gridded map tiles. Can gameplay be enhanced with Scratchbuilt/3D terrain?

Current rules focus heavily on what's on the map tiles. You could use 3D doors, crates, terminals and such, but it would not make a difference mechanically. Though it would look pretty cool for sure

5) How long is a typical game? X-Wing is about an hour, Armada is quite a bit more. where does IA fall?

Depending on how fast you play, this can differ a bit.

For Skirmish, I'd say most games are over in 40-60 minutes (usually a bit less), discounting setup time.

For Campaign, some missions can go for 2 hours easily, if not more.

6) How similar is it to Descent?

General gameplay in the campaign might remind you of Descent, but it's much more refined. The campaign is, IMHO, much more diverse and engaging than in Descent and Skirmish wasn't present in Descent at all.

7) Anything else I should know?

Shameless plug to our first campaign mission played on roll20.net:

If you are interested in how the campaign plays, watch a bit of it, I'd like to think it's a very accurate representation (minus the physical parts).

Thanks for the info guys.

Is the extra dice pack a good idea? I can't imagine a second core set makes any sense.

Also, in the campaign mode I know the rebels can do side quests and such, but how many missions are there in the campaign proper? Or maybe I should say, how many tiers of missions are there in the campaign proper. If you just play campaign games, how many games does the campaign run?

I think you would be fine with the set of dice that comes with the Core set, seeing as from my experience you rarely need more than two of the same die, with some exceptions being General Weiss as you can choose his dice pool, and where a focused character attacks with a weapon that already rolls two greens. So as long as you don't mind rerolling a die a die in those situations the Core set ones should be fine. Granted they could release a character or weapon to make you need more down the line, but you can always buy that if and when we get to that point.

The core set campaign runs a minimum of 11 missions: the intro mission, 4 story missions, 5 side missions, and the finale. There are also some opportunities for the Imperial player to add extra missions as forced missions, but those won't come up in every campaign. There is also a 4-mission mini-campaign in the Twin Shadows expansion, and the Return to Hoth expansion that was recently announced is supposed to have a full-length campaign.

As for an extra set of dice, I kind of like having a second set for campaign, but it's entirely optional. I'd suggest running the intro mission before deciding if you want to get the extras.

Just started playing myself, having played X-Wing for a while and also just getting into Armada (but waiting for Wave 2 to hit). Anyway, I played Descent ages ago and it is very reminiscent of that game, but it was good to see that someone above listed it as more refined. My only objection is that the minis aren't painted. Don't get me wrong, I paint well and love painting, but I want to play NOW, but won't play until they are all painted. Since time is limited, looks like playing is months away ....

You should get the Fantasy Flight Star Wars Dice app for your phone/tablet instead of purchasing physical dice. I have it an highly recommend it. It sounds like you play X-Wing too, so the dice app would be good for both games.

You should get the Fantasy Flight Star Wars Dice app for your phone/tablet instead of purchasing physical dice. I have it an highly recommend it. It sounds like you play X-Wing too, so the dice app would be good for both games.

Call me old fashioned, but I cant stand dice apps. Sure, they are nice to have, but nothing can replace the tactile feel and sound of rolling dice.

Thinking of jumping on board with Imperial Assault and would like some input.

Does every pack include cards that any side can use the way X-Wing and Armada do, or can you just buy for one faction and not miss out?

Can someone give me a quick rundown of game play? Turn sequence, basic mechanics, how combat and dice work, that sort of thing.

Does the campaign mode use basically the same mechanics as the Skirmish mode, just with predefined forces and set objectives?

I understand that in Skirmish mode you still use the gridded map tiles. Can gameplay be enhanced with Scratchbuilt/3D terrain?

How long is a typical game? X-Wing is about an hour, Armada is quite a bit more. where does IA fall?

How similar is it to Descent?

Anything else I should know?

do you have extra disposable income?

do you like to paint miniatures?

do you enjoy ground based skirmishes?

do you like easy to learn hard to master tactical gameplay?

if you said yes to at least 2 of these then i think this game will be something you'll enjoy

in my opinion, FFG knocked this game out of the park. it's just a shame it hasn't picked up as much traction as X-wing did at the start

sorry, i'd give you all the true answers you were looking for but it appears a few people already have

Thanks for the info guys.

Is the extra dice pack a good idea? I can't imagine a second core set makes any sense.

Now back to that original point. As an X wing player, I would say multiple starter sets for that game are required. For this game, I wouldn't necessarily agree (I currently only own one), but I will warn you that X wing has spoiled you. In the X wing core set, you receive duplicate cards to run each of your TIE fighters in duplicate of any of the generic pilots. With Imperial Assault, this is not the case. For the majority of the generic units, you will receive enough models to run multiple groups. FYI, generic groups come with two tiers, a regular and an elite version. This is similar to the graduated tiers of pilots in X wing. However, you will only receive one elite card and one generic card (2 generic cards in the case of storm troopers and the officers because they come with a third set of models), but not enough to run all of your models as one or the other. (Technically, there IS a limitation on quantity, you can have 4 regular or 2 elite of any unit in your army.)

In short, the total number of cards you receive is equal to the number of matching figure groups. For example, one of my favorite units is the Trandoshan Hunter. The set comes with two groups of models but only two cards, one of each type. I'd really like to run two of the regular tier group, but it is not possible with one core set. The trend follows suit with each other unit type in the box. This is compounded by the fact that, currently, all units in core set only exist on the core set, and the only ones that have an announced blister release are storm troopers.

Also, the most popular meta list at the moment is colloquially called 4x4. It includes four generic Royal Guard groups and four generic Imperial Officers, totaling 40 points. However, the set only includes two generic officer cards and one generic guard card. This means, to play this list, you must own FOUR core sets or find others willing to piece them out.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the info guys.

Is the extra dice pack a good idea? I can't imagine a second core set makes any sense.

Also, in the campaign mode I know the rebels can do side quests and such, but how many missions are there in the campaign proper? Or maybe I should say, how many tiers of missions are there in the campaign proper. If you just play campaign games, how many games does the campaign run?

1) Is the extra dice pack a good idea?

Yes. The core set comes with 2 dice of each color (except for white, where you only get one). However, it can be that you would attack with 3 green dice. With only the core set, you'd have to re-roll one die and calculate in your head. Also, rerolls (per mechanic) would be fiddly. I won't happen often, but for this alone, I'd say 1 or 2 dice packs are a good investment. If anything, it helps if you play campaign with 4 other players as you can distribute dice around the table.

2) I can't imagine a second core set makes any sense.

Well ... actually it kinda does. See Engine25's answer for more details. But this can also be solved by buying singles from Team Covenant or ebay. With the new rules changes it probably won't be necessary even if you want to play the best of the best, but you still will be limited in putting together armies.

3) Or maybe I should say, how many tiers of missions are there in the campaign proper. If you just play campaign games, how many games does the campaign run?

A campaign has at least 11 missions and at most 15 missions including sidequests. Though most likely it will be 11-13. Each lasting about 90-120 minutes. But the campaign guide has ~30 missions in total and each Ally/Villain Pack is gonna add another mission. This means that the campaing is highly replayable . Depending on Hero composition, who wins which missions and what side missions are included, the only mission that has to be the same every time is the first one.

BTW, what is the actual breakdown of the miniatures in the core set? Everything I have read says "includes 34 miniatures" but doesn't say what they are.

9 Storm Troopers

2 E-WEBs

3 Imperial Officers

3 Probe Droids

4 Royal Guards

2 Nexu

4 Trandoshan Hunters

Darth Vader

Fenn Signus

Jyn Odann

Gideon Argus

Dialia Passil

Gaarkhan

Mak Eshka'rey

Luke

9 Storm Troopers

2 E-WEBs

3 Imperial Officers

3 Probe Droids

4 Royal Guards

2 Nexu

4 Trandoshan Hunters

Darth Vader

Fenn Signus

Jyn Odann

Gideon Argus

Dialia Passil

Gaarkhan

Mak Eshka'rey

Luke

Did you forget something?

Only the hulking great AT-ST!

There's also technically 36 miniatures as Luke and Vader are included as "Expansion" packs that come with the core

I'd hold of on buying a dice pack because you'll probably end up buying at least 2 core sets if you intend to play Skirmish competitively at all. I really like playing IA but I feel that FFG is being kind of shady with the way they handled the skirmish cards included in the core set, which was a real disappointment coming from X-Wing.

So far, unique units only have a single version of their skirmish deployment card. Generic units have an elite and regular version of their deployment card. When you buy a generic unit expansion pack it comes with the cards needed to run the included models as either the elite or generic version. In the core set there is only one deployment card per generic model, so you end up with two groups of Trandoshan Hunters but only one elite card and one regular card. If you want to run multiple of the same generics you need to pick up a second core for the deployment cards.

Squads are limited to 1 of a unique, 2 of an elite, or 4 of a regular unit. To be able to run 4 groups of generic Trandoshans you'd need to buy 4 core sets even though the only things you'd use out of set 3 and 4 are the regular deployment cards since you had all of the elite deployment cards you could use when you bought your second core.

I would also point out that the rulebook is available for download. You could at least review the rules if not the campaign guide.

Thanks,

Duncan

I don't think you need 2+ core boxes for skirmish. The game is young. Four guards are really strong right now, but we will see a lot more diversity with coming releases and even purpose-built counters analogous to Autothrusters in X-wing, if necessary. To me, it's not worth an extra $300 (or even $100) to play what is arguably the strongest Wave 1/2 list only to have those extra models all collect dust in a year.

If you do want to start playing skirmish games, the core box includes a pretty well developed Imperial faction, but the Rebels definitely need to buy the expansions, and this is doubly true for Mercenaries (Scum). It looks like Twin Shadows will benefit Mercenaries then Rebels then Imperials in that order, but I don't actually have the box yet.

Playing the popular Imperial and Mercenaries armies in the current meta will require at least 2 core sets, or a few ebay purchases of certain units. Looking at what's on the horizon in the next couple waves of releases, I think 1 core set will be enough. In this way it's similar to X-wing; Swarms were the dominant Imperial list for the first 3 wave, but how often do you see a 7-8 TIE swarm these days when we have Autothruster Fell, RAC, Whisper, etc.

A couple things that hasn't been mentioned yet:

- the Core set comes with a ton of command card (56 I think), so it's not such a handicap if you miss a few because you don't have the expansion pack they come in. Also your deck of 15 cards (max 15 points) is shuffled, then at the start of the match you each draw three, and one more at the start of each round. You can draw an additional card for each computer terminal you control, and there's a few game effect that allows you to draw more. Often you wont use, or see, your entire deck in a match as they tend to last 4-5 rounds.

- Dice colors:

Green: Balanced results.

Red: high Hit, low Surge, no Accuracy (range in spaces)

Blue: average Hit and Surge, high Accuracy

Yellow: low Hit, high Surge, low Accuracy.

Black: high Block, low Evade, no Dodge

White: low Block, high Evade, has Dodge

Surges can be spent to activate abilities (X=1,2, or 3)

+X Hits

+X Hits & +X Accuracy

+X Accuracy

Focus (add a green die to next attack or skill roll)

Recover X (remove X damage tokens)

apply a Condition (Bleed, Stun, Weaken)

Cleave X (deals X damage to other viable melee targets)

Blast X (deal X damage to all targets adjacent to the defender)

Thanks for the help guys.

Thinking of jumping on board with Imperial Assault and would like some input.

Does every pack include cards that any side can use the way X-Wing and Armada do, or can you just buy for one faction and not miss out?

Can someone give me a quick rundown of game play? Turn sequence, basic mechanics, how combat and dice work, that sort of thing.

Does the campaign mode use basically the same mechanics as the Skirmish mode, just with predefined forces and set objectives?

I understand that in Skirmish mode you still use the gridded map tiles. Can gameplay be enhanced with Scratchbuilt/3D terrain?

How long is a typical game? X-Wing is about an hour, Armada is quite a bit more. where does IA fall?

How similar is it to Descent?

Anything else I should know?

1. Great to hear you are wanting to join the ever expanding world of Imperial Assault

2. Yes FFG seem to like the Card formation from X-Wing and Amada (if it aint broke...) they require Yellow and Green sleeves so that will give you an indication of size.

3. I play campaign more and not tried skirmish but run down for campaign is

http://iacommand.com/campaign-beginners-guide/

4. Campaign mode differs in that the Imperial Player is the GM and will set up the mission and have access to what is coming, Rebel players are just trying to do objectives within so many turns.

5. Nothing stopping you building your own map pieces, just make sure they are of the same size and shape and build away.

6. Skirmish - depends on the player, Campaign can last hours

7. Similar by all accounts

8. Reading the rule book can leave you scratching your head. Best to have this forum up when playing so you can filter through Q+As

Thanks for all the help guys.