STAR WARS X-WING – MILLENNIUM FALCON / PUBLISHER: FANTASY FLIGHT GAMES / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
You simply can’t have a Star Wars-themed spaceship combat game without the Millennium Falcon. Han Solo’s iconic ship is every much character in the movies as Yoda or a light sabres. This is such an obvious thing that the X-Wing game has three versions of the Falcon. Lando’s shiny new ship from the Solo movie, the more battered flying junk heap from The Force Awakens and this ship, Han’s classic Millennium Falcon, the ship we first fell in love with.
The Star Wars X-Wing – Millennium Falcon Expansion is a new release of sorts. The ship is for the game’s second edition and as such is an improvement on the older model. It’s also the only version of the freighter that is for the Rebel faction, other versions belonging to Scum or the Resistance. The new piece is prettier than the old one. It’s got the original circular radar dish, which moves left to right. It’s sturdy, but if you make it fight the Battle of Endor, be careful. The paint job is superb, and the detail is on the right side of ‘beaten up’ while still looking pretty. We did note that the escape pod model (from Lando’s Falcon) won’t fit on it, but then it’s not supposed to.
The expansion comes with the usual collection of cards that let you add new features to your existing fleet. Because this is Han’s ship, we get cards for the classic crew. So if you want Han, Leia, Luke, Lando, Nien Nunb, R2D2, and C-3PO, you can get them here. Threepio is especially fun as he lets you calculate the odds. Get it right and get more evade actions. Luke is essentially the ultimate gunner with the Force as his ally. R2, Chewy, and Leia will help the not-so fragile ship survive even longer. Oh, and Han shoots first. Always.
Gameplay-wise, the ship is still as fun and as playable as it’s always been. Being one of the larger ships in the game, it tends to dominate the field and function as a damage soak. One common tactic in play is to create a ‘Fat Han’ list, which means the bulk of your points go on Han Solo and his ship, with another craft (usually Wedge Antilles in an X-wing) doing a lot of the actual ship-to-ship combat. The Second Edition doesn’t make the Falcon any less of a beast but instead gives you more options. Why go for Fat Han when you can have a cunning and skinny Lando? Or a horde of plain old YT-1000 freighters? There are many possibilities for fun with this must-have box.
