Shifting Loyalties

Register for this event here: https://challonge.com/j87r9l9o

Star Wars is a story about morality, at its core. Not just the fight between good and evil, externally, but also the very real internal struggle that mirrors it. We see each side pulls at the other, evil tempting the good to darkness, and good calling evil to return to the light. In no aspect of the setting do we see this drama played out more explicitly than in the Force and those who wield it. We see it when Luke brings out the good in his father, or basically any time Palpatine talks to someone who isn’t already a Sith Lord. Either way, Star Wars is all about the fallen heroes and redeemed villains.

…though some redemption arcs feel more earned than others.

On December 3rd, at 5pm GMT, Morgan Gee of the IACP Steering Committee will be hosting a free Vassal tournament with a unique list building stipulation designed around this theme.

Shifting Loyalties
You must include a Force User of a different affiliation in your army. That Force User’s affiliation changes to match that of your army, as does the affiliation of any Command Cards or Attachments with their name as a requirement. That Force User also loses and gains traits based on your army’s affiliation:

Lose Hunter, Gain Guardian
Lose Guardian, Gain Brawler
Lose Guardian, Gain Hunter

When considering which Force User to bring from one faction to another, there are some important details to consider, besides the story that you’ve always wanted to tell on the Imperial Assault battlefield.

For one thing, while the converted Force User’s affiliation changes to match your army’s, none of the affiliation symbols on their abilities change with them. So you may opt to bring Yoda into a Scum list, and he will be a Scum figure himself, but he will still only be able to Focus or use his Calming Presence on any Rebel figures you’ve included in your Scum list, because of the built-in restrictions on those abilities

Another consideration is Mara. Because of her Adaptive Skills, Mara cannot be selected as your required Force User, since whatever your army’s affiliation is, she’s already a part of it. Can’t convert the converted.

Also, while you are required to bring at least one out-of-faction Force User in your list, you are not required to include their unique command card in your command deck. As mentioned in the rule above, you are allowed to do so, but don’t feel obligated.

Lastly, it’s important to note that while Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader can both be brought into different factions in this tournament, their unique Attachments, Driven by Hatred and Heir to the Jedi, are also able to come along for the ride.

The more I think through all the possible options for list building that this Shifting Loyalties mechanic introduces, the more excited I become for December 3rd. I can’t wait to see what creative ideas everybody brings to the virtual table in just over a week.

Did you know there are zero Smugglers in the Empire faction? You could change that by converting Ezra to the Dark Side!

Lists should be submitted ahead of time, so that adherence to this unique mechanic can be confirmed. While the custom mechanic of this tournament is going to lend a casual air to the proceedings, we do still always want to make sure everyone is having a fair shot and a good time, and we certainly don’t want to disqualify anyone for bringing an illegal list to a fun tournament.

Don’t forget that we’ll be using the new map, Bespin Tibanna Station, now that it’s in rotation! Please have your Vassal updated to the most recent version before the tournament starts, so your opponent doesn’t have to wait on you updating. Fair warning that when you load the new map in Vassal, it will be missing the Initiative token. Apologies for the inconvenience; it wasn’t caught until the Vassal update had already gone out, and seems too small a thing to worry about pushing yet another update about. Just remember when you load that map, to create an Initiative token when you start the match.

Alright, enough rambling from me. Saturday, December 3rd, 5pm GMT. Be there. Palpatine said so.

You heard the man.

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