Launch the Fleet

“This is Admiral Raddus of the Rebel Alliance.”
   –Admiral Raddus, Rogue One

The massive space battles of the Star Wars saga are one of the most iconic pieces of the series and the Galactic Civil War. From the opening shots of the Tantive IV fleeing from a massive Star Destroyer to the ground-shaking battle above Scarif in Rogue One, these conflicts and the capital ships that define them are thrilling moments. Now, you’re about to have two more monstrous capital ships, crewed by thousands, that you can bring to the space battles on your table in Star Wars™: Armada.

The Chimaera Expansion Pack and the Profundity Expansion Pack are now available at your local retailer or online through our webstore!

Even more than growing the Imperial and Rebel fleets with new capital ships, the two new expansion packs of Star Wars: Armada Wave VII are focused on their commanders. Grand Admiral Thrawn and Admiral Raddus define their expansions as much as any capital ship or fighter squadron, and with these new commanders added to the ships, cards and tokens in these expansion packs, you can be certain that your interstellar battles will never be the same.

Chimaera Expansion Pack

The Chimaera is Grand Admiral Thrawn’s flagship, an Imperial Star Destroyer emblazoned with Thrawn’s stylized chimaera sigil. The aesthetic differences between the Chimaera and a standard Imperial Star Destroyer are striking, but perhaps the greatest benefits lie with the new officers that the Chimaera Expansion Pack brings to your fleet.

In an earlier preview, we invited 2016 Star Wars: Armada World Champion Josiah Burkhardsmeier to take us behind the scenes on the Grand Admiral Thrawn upgrade card that he created. Thrawn is a tactical genius, and his powers of anticipation and preparation make him incredibly dangerous—to the Rebellion or whoever else you may pit Thrawn against.

In the game, Grand Admiral Thrawn lets you prepare for any eventuality by placing three command dials facedown on his upgrade card after deploying your fleet. Then, during the game, you can reveal one of these dials at the beginning of the Ship Phase to grant an identical dial to every ship in your fleet. Provided you can correctly anticipate the commands that you’ll need once battle is joined, Grand Admiral Thrawn may be just what you need to tip the battle in your favor. You can read more about how you might use Grand Admiral Thrawn in Josiah’s guest article here!

There’s a second World Champion card to be found in the Chimaera Expansion Pack as well: none other than Governor Pryce. Designed by 2015 World Champion Jonathan Reinig, Governor Pryce also rewards your ability to plan ahead and examine the battle before it even begins. During a round of your choice, you can guarantee that Governor Pryce’s ship will activate after all other ships—potentially firing last in one round, then immediately firing again in the next round! You can find more about what Governor Pryce can bring to your fleets in Jonathan’s article here.

Of course, the Chimaera itself is also included in this expansion pack, along with a host of powerful upgrade cards and new ship cards for you to refit your Imperial Star Destroyers. In our preview, “Chimaera,” we took a closer look at the ship and upgrade cards that you can expect to find inside this expansion!

Profundity Expansion Pack

As much as the presence of Grand Admiral Thrawn shapes the Chimaera Expansion Pack, Admiral Raddus does the same for the Profundity Expansion Pack. Arriving in force aboard a hulking MC75 star cruiser, Admiral Raddus draws you into the space battle of Rogue One, with two ship cards for the MC75 cruiser and a total of fourteen upgrade cards.

In our first guest article with Chris Fritz, we explored exactly what can become possible when you include Admiral Raddus in your army. Admiral Raddus allows you to set aside one of your ships at the beginning of the game—and then have it “hyperspace jump” into the battle at a key moment. If your Imperial opponent is suddenly faced down by a massive capital ship emerging from hyperspace and bristling with turbolaser cannons, it might just be enough to break the Imperial lines and destroy your enemies in a key battle. You can read more about Admiral Raddus in Chris’s guest article here.

Admiral Raddus brings a new ship blasting out of hyperspace to catch the Chimaera in flank!

We also took the time to explore the interplay between the objectives that you choose and the ships that you bring to the battle in Star Wars: Armada with Ian Cross. Though neither the Chimaera Expansion Pack nor the Profundity Expansion Pack introduce new objectives to the game, every new capital ship that enters the game offers a new variable into your battles—and another thing to consider when you’re picking the perfect objectives to accompany your fleet. You can read more of Ian Cross’s conclusions in his guest article here!

And finally, we took the time to look into the Profundity Expansion Pack itself, taking a closer look at the options you’ll find from the two MC75 ship cards and the arsenal of upgrade cards to be found within this expansion pack. With characters like Jyn Erso arriving to support Admiral Raddus in battle, you can bring the might of the Rebel Alliance to bear against the Galactic Empire with this new capital ship. You can read more here in our article, “Profundity.”

Jump to Hyperspace

The fleet battles of Star Wars: Armada are about to heat up, with two powerful new capital ships and two brilliant commanders blasting their way onto the battlefield.

Pick up your copies of the Chimaera Expansion Pack (SWM29) and the Profundity Expansion Pack (SWM30) at your local retailer or online through our webstore today!