Star Wars: Unlimited

How to Play Star Wars: Unlimited

Star Wars: Unlimited is a card game, usually for two players, where you play ground and space units and attack until the other player's base is destroyed. Players take turns one action at a time, so every play gets an answer before the next one.

The goal

You win by destroying your opponent's base. Every base prints an HP number, most often 30, and it is destroyed when the damage on it equals or passes that number. Most of that damage comes from your units attacking it.

This page follows the publisher's rules as of September 2026. Before an event, check the current comprehensive rules, since the publisher updates them.

What you play with

In Premier, the main constructed format, you bring three things: one Leader, one Base and a main deck of at least 50 cards, with up to 3 copies of a card by full name. You can also bring a sideboard of up to 10 cards. You draw only from the main deck; the Leader and Base start in play.

Aspects are the six colored icons on cards: Vigilance, Command, Aggression, Cunning, Villainy and Heroism. Your Leader and Base supply aspects, and a card whose aspects they cover costs its printed amount. Each aspect icon on a card that they don't supply adds 2 resources to its cost, so an off-aspect card is legal but expensive. If you're new, a starter deck comes ready to play. The card reading guide shows where each of these numbers and icons sits on a card.

Setting up

Each player puts their Base and Leader in play and shuffles their main deck. Pick a player at random, such as with a coin flip, to start with the initiative. Each player then draws 6 cards and may mulligan once: shuffle the hand back and draw a new 6, which you must keep. The player with the initiative decides first.

Last, each player chooses exactly 2 cards from their hand and puts them face down as resources. Both players get the same 2; the player without the initiative gets no extra.

Resources pay for cards. Each resource is one face-down card, and you exhaust (turn sideways) one resource for each point of cost. Any card in your hand can become a resource, so every resource you add is a card you won't play. That choice comes up at setup and again every round.

The card types

TypeWhat it does
LeaderStarts in play. Supplies aspects and has an ability. Once per game, if you control at least the number of resources printed on it, you can deploy it, usually as a unit. The resources aren't spent.
BaseStarts in play. Supplies an aspect and has HP, and many bases have an ability. It is what your opponent is trying to destroy.
UnitStays in play in the ground or space arena. Has power and HP, and can attack.
UpgradeAttaches to a unit and changes its power, HP or abilities.
EventDoes its effect once when played and then goes to your discard pile.

Each unit is in the ground arena or the space arena, and the arena decides what it can attack. The attacking section below covers how.

How a round works

Each round has two phases: an action phase, where players play cards and attack, and a regroup phase, where they draw and ready.

In the action phase, players alternate taking one action at a time, starting with the player who has the initiative. On your turn to act, you choose one of these:

ActionWhat happens
Play a cardPay its cost by exhausting resources, then play it from your hand. A unit enters play exhausted, so it can't attack until it readies, unless a keyword such as Ambush says otherwise.
Attack with a unitExhaust a ready unit and attack a unit or the opposing base (see the next section).
Use an action abilityUse an ability on a card in play that says it can be used as an action.
Take the initiativeClaim the initiative token. You act first next round, but you take no more actions this round.
PassDo nothing this time. When both players pass in a row, the action phase ends.

Claiming the initiative costs you the rest of the round. Your opponent keeps taking actions until they pass, and you can't respond with actions of your own, so take it when you have nothing left you need to do this round or when acting first next round is worth more than what you'd give up.

In the regroup phase, each player draws 2 cards, may put 1 card from their hand into their resources, and readies all of their exhausted cards. Then a new round starts. Resourcing every round gets your expensive cards out sooner, and skipping a round keeps one more card in hand.

Attacking

To attack, exhaust a ready unit and choose a target in the same arena. A ground unit can attack an enemy ground unit or the opposing base, and a space unit can attack an enemy space unit or the opposing base. Units don't attack across arenas.

When a unit attacks another unit, each deals damage equal to its power to the other at the same time. A unit is defeated when the damage on it equals or passes its HP. When a unit attacks a base, the base takes the damage and the base doesn't hit back.

Some keywords change combat. Enemy units in the same arena as a unit with Sentinel can't attack your other units or your base, so they have to attack the Sentinel first. A Shield token on a unit prevents the next damage that would be dealt to it, and then the token is defeated. The publisher's comprehensive rules define every keyword.

How you win

When the damage on a base equals or passes its HP, the base is destroyed and that player loses. Running out of cards doesn't end the game by itself: if you would draw from an empty deck, you deal 3 damage to your own base for each card you couldn't draw, and that damage can destroy it.

Some cards heal a base, so the damage on it can go down as well as up. The damage tracker keeps each base's HP on one phone, lets the rest of the table watch live, and saves the result when the game ends.

Formats

Premier is the main constructed format and the one used above: your own deck of at least 50 cards, one Leader and one Base. Twin Suns is the multiplayer format for more than two players, with two Leaders and one copy of each card. Sealed and draft are limited formats: you build a smaller deck from cards you open at the event. The publisher adds and adjusts formats, so check its current list before you build for a specific event.

What to do next

Play a few games with a starter deck, then start swapping cards. The deck building guide covers the construction rules and how TurnZero HQ checks a deck against them. If you already have cards, the collection tracker keeps them organized, and the Star Wars: Unlimited hub lists everything else TurnZero HQ does for the game.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you win Star Wars: Unlimited?

You win by destroying the other player's base. Each base has printed HP, most often 30, and when the damage on it equals or passes that number, the base is destroyed and its controller loses.

How many cards are in a Star Wars: Unlimited deck?

In Premier, the main constructed format, a deck is one Leader, one Base and a main deck of at least 50 cards, with up to 3 copies of a card by full name. You can also bring a sideboard of up to 10 cards. Sealed and draft use smaller decks built from the cards you open at the event.

What are aspects in Star Wars: Unlimited?

Aspects are the six colored icons on cards: Vigilance, Command, Aggression, Cunning, Villainy and Heroism. Your Leader and Base show the aspects your deck is built around. A card can still be played without them: each aspect icon your Leader and Base don't supply adds 2 resources to its cost.

What is the initiative in Star Wars: Unlimited?

The initiative is a token that decides who takes the first action each round. Claiming it uses your action, and once you have it you take no more actions that round, so your opponent keeps acting until they pass. In exchange, you act first next round.

Is Star Wars: Unlimited hard to learn?

The core loop is short: you take one action, such as playing a card or attacking, and then your opponent takes one. What takes longer is learning which action is worth taking now and which can wait. A starter deck and a few games cover the basics, and keywords come up as you meet the cards that use them.

Can I play Star Wars: Unlimited with TurnZero HQ?

Not online. You play with real cards at a real table, and TurnZero HQ tracks each base's HP and records the result. It also lets you build a deck and checks it against Premier's construction rules.

Track your Star Wars: Unlimited cards and games.

Scan your cards, build decks and keep base HP on one phone while the table watches. Free to start.

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Star Wars: Unlimited card names and images are the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. and Fantasy Flight Games. © & ™ Lucasfilm Ltd. TurnZero HQ is not affiliated with, sponsored, or endorsed by Lucasfilm Ltd., Disney, Fantasy Flight Games, or Asmodee. Card data comes from swu-db.com, and prices from TCGplayer.