Brief Allegiance
By Trent McCrow

The Independent Development Committee's (IDC) sixth expansion, Battle of Hoth (BOH), is predominately focused on the Galactic Civil War being waged by the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance. Over the last two weeks we have taken a look at both sides of the war with both General Carlist Reikeen (B) and Imperial Camp being spoiled. This week we reveal our third card from BOH, Outrider (C).

The Outrider has a strong place in the Star Wars story and is one of the few C-canon* elements from the Star Wars Expanded Universe to be promoted to the G-canon* level as the Outrider appears in the special edition of A New Hope. When it comes to the Star Wars Trading Card Game (SWTCG) this modified YT-2400 light freighter made its first appearance in Wizard of the Coast's (WOTC) expansion Rogues and Scoundrels.

We at the IDC realize that Dash Rendar's Outrider was almost as well known as the Millennium Falcon and so we have decided to revisit this amazing one of a kind ship.

For 5 build (1 more then the Outrider (A) version) you get a 50/4/4 Smuggler Transport. The upkeep is still the same as the Outrider (A) version, but the game text offers something a little different then the Accuracy 1 and Shields 1 in the SWTCG's original version of Outrider.

This time around the Outrider (C) only has conditional abilities. For starters this card goes down the route of the Millennium Falcon by allowing an extra pilot. Instead of Shields and Accuracy this unit gets Lucky 2 as long as it is being piloted by a unit with the Smuggler sub-type. This change in direction for the Outrider moves this card into the pilot friendly category and encourages you to use Dash Rendar (A) with this unit.

Apart from being Pilot friendly there is one more quirk to this new version of the Outrider. The last ability reads:

"While this card is in play or stacked under the Outrider, the Outrider gets "Pay 1 Force --> Evade 1".

This is an interesting ability to say the least. If this card is in the Space arena it will give itself "Pay 1 Force --> Evade 1", but it will give the stack it is part of the ability also! But the real strength is that any time this card is in play (ie. not removed from the game) as it is currently worded will still provide the "Pay 1 Force --> Evade 1" even when it is in the discard pile!

Check back next weekend for an even bigger change to the SWTCG as I reveal a new keyword in the IDC's sixth expansion Battle of Hoth.

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About the Author
Trent is currently doing what he loves best and that is be involved with the SWTCG and the IDC in particular. He is a moderator at Rebelbasers.com and is looking to revive the RB community. Trent is currently studying a Bachelor of Arts with a specialization in Communication and a minor in Graphic Design. He hopes that his involvement with the IDC will prove to be a valuable experience as he seeks to start his career in the professional gaming industry. Despite all that, he still has time to introduce the game to new players…KEEP THE GAME ALIVE!