Look, I'm excited as can be for the expansion and I want somewhere to talk about it with other people. I couldn't find a Shards of the Throne forum, so I just decided to start a topic here. So, what is the feature of the new expansion that you are the most excited about?

The new preview is super cool. I have to admit that I'm most excited about the flagships, because it appears they reinforce the racial characteristics. Now I need to play the game with each race all over again, just to get the good flavors!

I'm also intrigued by the Trade III card. There's been some coverage of this over at ti3wiki.org, with many players trying to assess the nuances brought about by this new SC. It's easy to speculate without a view of the formal base rules changes that may be in place, but the pictures on the recent preview here on the FFG site make it clear that trade in the game has now earned an upper case "T" and become Trade. That is to say, I expect Trade will be a new layer of sinister on an already great design.

It sounds to me like Trade just got more vicious, because of the following aspects of this new SC:

• Instant pay-off for TAs
• Mercenaries, which are a whole new set of goodness unto themselves
• More of a free market approach: SC primary no longer has an approve bit
• Secondary means TAs may be broken and pay off 1 TG

This last one has some players wondering, so what? Compared to getting a tech or the popular Action Cards, it might not be on your priority list. Unless someone else breaks your TAs and you expect folks may not be inclined to renew TAs with you. There can also be a lot of time between Trade III being played this game round and it being played again next game round (assuming someone takes it during next Strategy Phase). This means that TA you were counting on to buy off a neighbor could be evaporated by adversaries across the galaxy who are hell bent on seeing your beautiful plastic ships obliterated.

Now consider your mercs. You need to pay to keep the mercs around, else you could face an unsettling loss of power in a given sector. Suddenly, trades are very important because without those TGs, your mercs say bye-bye. If you are worried your TA may be broken, maybe you'll break someone else's just so you can have 1 TG for an "insurance" payment next time around. Evil abounds.

The new mech units also seem cool. I expected sustained damage and there's probably a cost of 1-2 resources for each of these. They may also have a better combat number.

Intrigue is also looking cool. Maybe the politics will also be more of a factor in the game, a la Eagle Game's remake of Conquest of the Empire.

Drool reflex is also incurred when I think of the options the new racial techs and new races will bring to the table. I simply can't wait.

Finally, the new scenario where you can play as the Lazax sounds fun.

Honestly, I like everything I'm seeing so far.

Mercenaries

Flagships

New politicial sub-game.

I have yet to see something about thi expansion that I'm NOT excited by! =D

I'm looking forward to the Mechanized Units and Flagships. I'm also curious about what new Technologies will be uncovered, and what the new Systems may have to offer. Not to mention, what impact (besides positive) will the new Expansion will bring.