Star Wars: Unlimited Rules Explained
How Capture Works in Star Wars: Unlimited
A captured unit isn't gone. It sits face down under the unit that captured it, and the moment that unit leaves play, it comes back. This guide covers what capture removes, how rescue works, and why some decks capture their own units.
The short answer
When a unit captures another, you put the captured unit face down under it. The captured unit loses its damage and its upgrades and is out of play. The capturing unit is now guarding it. When the guard leaves play, every unit it was guarding is rescued and returns to play exhausted, under its owner's control (rules 8.33.1 to 8.33.4).
Players new to capture often treat it like removal and move on. It's closer to a hostage: how much it's worth depends on how long the guard survives. Capturing an opponent's best unit with a small unit they can defeat next turn gives it back to them fresh, with no damage on it.
This page follows the publisher's Comprehensive Rules version 9.0, dated October 9, 2026, and the rule numbers are from that document. Card examples are from the Premier-legal sets as of October 2026. Capture first appeared in Shadows of the Galaxy, and in today's Premier sets nearly all of it is in Secrets of Power.
What capture does
If the unit that was supposed to do the capturing has left play by the time the effect resolves, that part of the effect is ignored (rule 8.33.1.a). There is no limit on how many units one guard can hold.
Rescue: getting it back
A captured unit comes back in two ways. An ability can rescue it directly, or its guard can leave play, which rescues every card under it immediately (rule 8.33.4). The rules check for a missing guard right away, ahead of any abilities waiting to resolve (rule 1.16.5.c). It doesn't matter how the guard leaves: defeated, returned to hand or captured itself. Cards that rescue directly, such as Unexpected Escape, are mostly from Shadows of the Galaxy and Twilight of the Republic, which have rotated out of Premier, so in today's Premier games the guard leaving play is the usual way back.
Owner, not controller, matters here. If you had taken control of an opponent's unit and it was captured, it goes back to your opponent when rescued. If you control another copy of a rescued unique unit, the unique rule then makes you defeat one of them; see the unique rule.
DJ, Need a Lift? plays around both halves of the rule. His leader side plays a unit from your hand for 1 less and has a friendly unit capture it, and its When Played abilities still resolve after the capture. Once he deploys, friendly units that are rescued enter play ready instead of exhausted.
Captured is not defeated
A captured unit leaves play, but it isn't defeated. When Defeated abilities on it don't trigger, and abilities that count defeated units don't count it. Abilities that trigger on a unit leaving play do. Bounty, from Shadows of the Galaxy, is the one keyword that fires on both: it resolves like "When Defeated/When Captured," collected by an opponent (rule 7.5.13).
If the guard is defeated, its own When Defeated abilities resolve, but the rescue happens first, as a game-state check. By the time those abilities resolve, the rescued unit is already back in play, exhausted.
A capture that doesn't last
Your opponent's 2-cost unit has 1 damage on it. You play Covert Operative (2/4), which captures it. The damage is removed as it goes under.
On your opponent's turn, they attack Covert Operative with a 4-power unit and defeat it.
Covert Operative leaves play, so its captured unit is rescued at once: back in play, exhausted, with no damage.
Your opponent spent one attack and got their unit back undamaged. You traded a 4-cost unit for a short delay.
Whether that trade was good depends on the board. A capture that holds a key unit through the round your opponent needed it can still win the game; one that's undone right away mostly heals their unit.
Capturing your own units
Some cards capture friendly units, and the reason is the reset. A rescued unit comes back with no damage, and it's a new copy, so it can be played around differently the second time.
Escape Pod
Secrets of Power #056
Captures a friendly non-Vehicle, non-leader unit
Libertine, Under New Ownership
Secrets of Power #212
An enemy unit captures your unit; Libertine gets +1/+0 per card it guards
Arrest
Secrets of Power #195
Your base captures an enemy unit until the regroup phase
Escape Pod tucks a friendly unit under a 0/3 ship, out of reach of attacks and removal that target units in play, until the pod leaves play. Libertine, Under New Ownership goes further and has an enemy unit capture one of yours. Defeat that enemy unit later and your unit comes back to you, because a rescued unit returns to its owner. Arrest is the only card in the catalog as of October 2026 that has a base capture: the enemy unit goes under your base, and its owner rescues it at the start of the regroup phase, so it's out for the rest of the round.
Capture cards in Premier
As of October 2026, the capture cards in Premier are almost all from Secrets of Power. The ones that capture an enemy unit all say "non-leader," so a deployed leader can't be taken by them.
Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Schemer
Secrets of Power #193
Your opponent chooses: give him a unit, or he readies
Charged with Corruption
Secrets of Power #127
Disclose to capture an enemy non-leader unit
The Mandalorian, Cleaning Up Nevarro
Secrets of Power #209
Captures after he attacks and defeats a unit
Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Schemer shows why the guard matters. When he's defeated, his own When Defeated has a friendly unit capture an enemy non-leader unit in the same arena, so defeating him gives back what he was holding but can cost the opponent another unit.
Common mistakes
Resolving When Defeated on a captured unit. It left play, but it wasn't defeated.
Keeping damage on a captured unit. Capture removes it.
Returning a rescued unit ready. It comes back exhausted unless a card says otherwise.
Resolving When Played on a rescued unit. It enters play without being played.
Forgetting the captive when the guard is bounced. Any way of leaving play rescues it.
Giving a rescued unit to whoever controlled it last. It returns to its owner.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does capture do in Star Wars: Unlimited?
The captured unit is placed face down under the capturing unit. Its damage is removed and its upgrades are defeated, and it is out of play while it's captured. When the unit guarding it leaves play, or an ability rescues it, it returns to play exhausted under its owner's control.
Is a captured unit defeated?
No. Capturing a unit makes it leave play, but it isn't defeated, so When Defeated abilities don't trigger. Cards that care about units leaving play do see it.
How do you get a captured unit back?
Make the guarding unit leave play: defeat it, return it to its owner's hand or remove it any other way, and every card it was guarding is rescued at once. Some abilities also rescue a captured unit directly.
Does a rescued unit trigger When Played?
No. A rescued unit enters play, exhausted, but it isn't played, so When Played abilities don't trigger. It comes back as a new copy with no damage and no upgrades.
Can you capture a leader in Star Wars: Unlimited?
The capture cards in the current Premier sets all say "non-leader unit" when they capture an enemy unit, so in practice, no. Your leader is safe from them.
What happens if a token unit is captured?
It is set aside instead, like any token leaving play. It doesn't come back when the guard leaves play.
Keep the board straight.
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