Uncharted Alliances is here!  Bringing our 10th set to life has required equal parts creativity, community, and perseverance and the ARH team couldn’t be more excited to get it into your hands.  

Extra gratitude is in order to Echo3 and our playtesters for ironing out the design, Sarah Evans & Marcosguijr for ensuring the cards look as gorgeous as usual, Echo7 and our intrepid rules gurus for making sure they work as intended, and especially Draiqil for arriving on the scene to repair the database/deckbuilder and Tabletop Simulator in time to accept the new set.

So what makes these alliances so… uncharted?  Creatures!  This brand new subtype brings allies small and (very!) large, feral and tamed, upgrade and support. Whether you like your Creatures to bring big dice, utility effects, or just enable events, we’ve got you covered. In fact, we like “Creature” so much that we’ve even retroactively granted it to old friends like Morai and Salacious B. Crumb.

Uncharted Alliances is now “live” in the ARH deckbuilder/database and Tabletop Simulator. We’ll aim to release the print-and-play files up in early February once the community has had a week or so to spot any last minute edits.

We hope you’re as excited as we are to get these new cards on the table and that you’ll join us for an Uncharted Alliances Release Party on Feb 28 at 9am ET / 2pm UK. The event is completely free and will involve multiple Swiss rounds on Tabletop Simulator. Each player will receive a doublesided Ahoska Tano/Sabine Wren promo card with the winner earning a spotgloss champion version. Sign up HERE on rollbetter. 

Balance Changes

Although intentionally a more compact set than previous ones, the release of Uncharted Alliances punches above its weight with a major overhaul of the ARH Standard format. In addition to retiring the entire High Stakes collection, ARH mad scientist NuteShunsrey has removed 58 cards from the “Echoes of Destiny” reprint list and added a whopping 68 new ones. 

Although you can explore the changes yourself in the updated ARH Holocron and deckbuilder/database, we’d like to call out a few specific changes designed to address recurring patterns in the ARH meta. 

First: after multiple years with Ataru Mastery as an auto-include in any blue lineup, we’re moving it and its lil’ cousin Ataru Training to the “banned” list. We’re excited to see which blue abilities (including some spicy additions to the Echoes list) make the most of an Ataru-free world.

A set flush with massive supports (looking at you Zillo Beast!) puts extra pressure on cards that ramp quickly. In addition to bidding farewell to some of our most egregious “cheat out massive supports” offenders like Doctor Aphra, Outrider, and Dryden Vos, we’re also banning Leia Organa – Defiant Princess and her “play the top card of your deck for free” ability.

For some time, Leia has also served as one of the strongest pillars of the mill archetype, memorably playing a critical role in Toronto’s run to the 2024 Destiny World Cup crown. With one of ARH’s most powerful discard mechanics leaving the game, we’re also choosing to slightly soften another “massive support” enabler. Although we fully expect Jan Dodonna to still overwhelm opponents with big chonky dice, he’ll need to do this without a power action that lets him resolve those dice multiple times each round.

Finally, we’re also choosing to tone down Sabine Wren’s all-around power by removing “redeploy” from one of her signature upgrades, making the strategic choice to boost Sabine’s Westar a little more risky.

Looking Ahead

With the new set in your hands, the team is poised to spend some time reflecting on the next chapter for ARH. It’s clear from traffic in the ARH discord, posts in other online platforms, and direct conversations with members of the community that many players around the globe are still actively playing this amazing game.  

And… over the past year, we’ve had a much more difficult time in identifying spaces where all those players come together to create a critical mass that attracts new players, retains existing ones, and guides our priorities.  

Should ARH focus on “keeping the lights on” by maintaining and improving critical tools like the database/deckbuilder and TTS?  Post periodic changes to the ARH Standard format to keep things fresh? Host regular meet-ups for online play?  Release additional sets? Something else that would contribute to a thriving community?

The answer is ultimately up to each of you. Later this month, we’ll be undertaking a “galactic census” and hope you’ll take a couple of minutes to share what you want next for Destiny. We’ll plan on using that feedback – plus our observations of how the community responds to Uncharted Alliances – to inform our thinking with the goal of sharing what’s next in early March.

#destinyforever

The ARH Destiny team is saddened to share that heart-and-soul community member Gareth Parfitt passed away recently after a long battle with cancer.

An active “rules guru” in both the ARH Discord and the public Facebook group, Gareth was known for his thorough rulings, historical knowledge of SW Destiny, and welcoming energy for newer players.

Those who had the good fortune to know him more closely appreciated his humor, frankness and big heart, which was just as likely to manifest in an epic takedown (referring to one good friend’s appearance as “a homeless Viking”) as it was to show up with heartfelt advice to live life to its fullest.

Gareth was a regular at Echobase weekly events, a critical member of the ARH design and production team, and an avid collector, regularly attending Star Wars conventions to collect signatures from stars across the galaxy.

I was privileged to meet Gareth in 2023. Over the course of that weekend and our conversations since, I was most struck by his commitment to finding – and creating – joy even when facing a never-ending stream of difficult treatments and disappointing diagnoses. I miss him already.

Gareth’s loved ones will be hosting a service in Redditch, UK on March 17. Please email swdrenewedhope@gmail.com or reach out to Casero or DarkAngelAz in the ARH Discord for details if you’d like to attend.

Togruta Open

To honor Gareth – and his favorite character Ahsoka – ARH is hosting the Togruta Open on Saturday March 22 at 9am ET / 1pm UK. Entry fees will fund a donation to Cancer Research UK to support important cancer research and treatment.

Format:

• The event will include 4 rounds of Swiss and a single elimination top 4.
• Format is ARH Standard with one exception. As a sign of respect to Gareth’s trademark distaste for mill, “Leia Organa – The Princess” is banned from the event.

Entry Fee and Prizing:

• $20 includes: $5 to ARH and a $15 donation to Cancer Research UK
• All participants earn a Wrecker spot gloss
• Top 4 earn a Morgan Elsbeth spot gloss
• Champion earns a Bo-Katan spot gloss

Purchase your ticket HERE and sign up on rollbetter HERE

All 3 heats come with a complimentary spot gloss for participation, and a chance to earn more spot glosses just by playing games.

The tournament will be run from our Discord server.

Sign up details

Heat 1: 16th November, 7am US ET / 12 noon UK time
Participants receive a Baylan Skoll spot gloss card
Sign up here on Roll Better
Buy your ticket here

Heat 2: 16th November, 3pm US ET / 8pm UK time
Participants receive a Paz Vizsla spot gloss card
Sign up here on Roll Better
Buy your ticket here

Heat 3: 17th November, 12noon US ET / 5pm UK time /
Participants receive a Tech spot gloss card
Sign up here on Roll Better
Buy your ticket here

Sign up for all 3 Heats for a discounted price of $30!

Buy your bundle ticket for all three heats here!

Entry Fee

$15 per event, or play in all 3 heats for a discounted $30!

You may play in as many events as you wish. Please sign up and purchase your ticket using the above links. Please add a note to your ticket purchase with your Roll Better/Discord username to help us match up your payment correctly.

Earning Tickets

Each heat will consist of 5 or 6 Swiss rounds depending on number of participants. Players will earn one participation ticket per match played, one ticket per win and two additional tickets per win above three.

Each game played (regardless of outcome): 1 ticket
1 win: 1 ticket
2 wins: 2 tickets
3 wins: 3 tickets
4 wins: 6 tickets
5 wins: 9 tickets
6 wins: 12 tickets

Note that tickets from wins are in addition to participation tickets. For example, going 6-0 in a GO will earn you 18 total tickets. 12 for your record, and 6 just for playing!

Redeeming Tickets

Ticket pricing:
12 Tickets – Characters
8 Tickets – Plots
6 Tickets – Battlefields

You can spend your tickets on the new spot glosses released for this event, or from our previous Galactic Open events (subject to availability).

Follow the instructions HERE to redeem tickets.

Mailing Out Prizes

If you haven’t already, please register an account here: https://swdrenewedhope.com/register

Or, if you already have an account, please be sure your profile/address information is accurate here: https://swdrenewedhope.com/my-account

We will cross reference our website to ensure prizes are mailed to your correct address. NOTE – going forward, an account on the ARH website is required to receive prizes!

We look forward to rolling some virtual dice with you on 16 and 17 November, 2024!

Echoes of Destiny List

The release of Awaiting Fate included a relatively significant overhaul of the Echoes of Destiny list – dropping many FFG cards, adding others, and adding ARH cards for the very first time.

Rearm was likely the most impactful addition to the list and we have enjoyed seeing folks playing with an old favorite. That said, we’ve concluded that the “play a discounted upgrade from your discard pile” serves as above-and-beyond rocket fuel for a red hero faction that already has similar tools in place. Rearm will be removed from the Echoes list.

Character Point Increases

Two characters see a points increase in the updated Holocron.

Senate Guard +1/+1 (7/8)

Leia Organa (SA) +1/+1 (13/15)

With its ability to “splash red” in any deck and multiple relevant abilities, the humble Senate Guard became an immediate star of the Awaiting Fate set. While we absolutely want to continue supporting multiple deck archetypes (big/little, “unlikely heroes,” three-wide) enabled by the Guard, our hope is that boosting its cost by a point will force deck-builders to make more creative tradeoffs.

Leia Organa – The Princess receives the same +1/+1 points increase for very different reasons. One of our most powerful “charm users,” Leia has proven herself as a classic two-way threat: chewing up her opponent’s deck in a mill pairing or quickly building a big board by playing high-cost cards from her own deck for free. Recent leaderboards prove the point, with the “AnnihiLeiator” deck (Leia and Aphra) winning the Awaiting Fate release party and a Leia/Daughter mill team ultimately taking Team Toronto to the promised land in the Destiny World Cup.

In full transparency, the team considered nearly a dozen different options to address Leia’s power – ranging from an outright ban to free up design space for a new set already in playtesting (!) to errata changes that directly address her ability. Ultimately we believe this point increase – paired with the removal of Rearm from her toolkit – is likely to tune down Leia’s utility without undermining her unique design.

Character Point Reductions

Fenn Rau -1/-1 (9/12)

Ponda Baba -1/-1 (10/13)

Black Krrsantan -1/-1 (21/28)

Cassian Andor 0/-1 (12/14)

Enfys Nest 0/-1 (16/19)

Periodically, ARH uses balance changes to prompt deck-builders to give a “second look” at characters who may have gone unnoticed. This time, we’re spotlighting 5 characters with point reductions – including a red hero with a unique battlefield ability and very relevant subtypes, a pair of yellow villain bounty hunters, and some yellow hero scoundrels in search of new partners.

As always, the ARH team will continue monitoring the effects of these changes and consider others that might keep the meta fresh. For example, we’re certainly taking note of some purple-hued Mace Windu love and a thirst for yellow villain multi-die removal, so don’t be surprised if we’re back with some other adjustments before too long.

Prizes

Featuring two stars of Awaiting Fate, here are the exclusive prizes you can win by attending a 2024 Renewed Prime Championship.

Participation / Top 16

Participants will receive a double-sided promotion paper card showcasing alternate art for Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren!

Top 4

Make the Top 4 and you’ll earn yourself a Spot Gloss Plastic Ahsoka / Sabine promo card (double sided)

Winner

Take down the competition and you’ll go home with all the glory, plus a second double-sided Spot Gloss Plastic promo, this time with a “1st place” stamp!

Running a Renewed Prime Event – FAQs

What’s the criteria to be able to host a Renewed Prime 2024 event?

Past Renewed Prime seasons have revealed that thee most successful events are those built around an existing community. Therefore we ask to see evidence of an existing playgroup in the approximate area via photographs or previous event page(s). Please only apply if you are confident you will have good community interest in attending your Renewed Prime event.

If you are just starting out with building a Destiny community we’d recommend you apply for a Local Play Kit instead. This will help with building a local community and gage interest in running a more premium event.

How can you apply to host a Renewed Prime 2024 event?

Applications to host an ARH Renewed Prime are now open and you can apply below.
If approved one of the ARH team will be in touch with further details on how to purchase a prize kit.

What’s the cost of a kit?

$45 which includes worldwide shipping.

How many players does a kit support?

Each prize kit supports up to 16-players as standard with the option to purchase more participation cards if you’re expecting a higher turn out (please leave a comment in your application). Also included in the kit is an extra copy of the Double Sided Participation Paper Card and the Double Sided Top 4 Spot Gloss Card for the Tournament Organizer. Call it a thank you from ARH for running and organizing the event!

When will the kits be available?

Prize kits will be ready to ship in September and we ask organizers to allow a minimum of 6 weeks from when you apply to your proposed event date. This allows time for the application process, shipping the prize kits and event promotion.

What event format can I use one of these kits for?

You must run an ARH Standard format event using the latest Holocron.

Any other guidance?

Renewed Primes are considered to be Premium events. ARH issues the guidance that proxies for FFG cards and dice should not be accepted, but we leave it to the Tournament Organisers discretion. ARH cards should be printed on card, or paper slipped in front of another card. All cards should be sleeved in opaque sleeves so that the back the cards are indistinguishable from each other. ARH dice should be stickered or printed directly on the dice to a good standard as to eliminate any board state confusion. 

Apply to host your 2024 Renewed Prime at the bottom of this page!

Where to play in a Renewed Prime Event

Expect announcements via the ARH website, as well as our Discord and Facebook page as we add events to the list.

We can’t wait to see the community rolling dice in this upcoming 2024 season of the ARH Renewed Prime Championships!

Apply here!

Note: If you wish to send any photos to support your application please email them to swdrenewedhope@gmail.com

Each kit contains 1x Spot Gloss Card (for the winner) and x6 Paper Cards.

For Wave 3 we have another four kits available:

Aayla (LPK #9) – 1x Spot Gloss + 6x Paper Cards

Aayla is exclusive to In-Person Organised Play.

Luke (LPK #10) – 1x Spot Gloss + 6x Paper Cards

Vader (LPK #11) – 1x Spot Gloss + 6x Paper Cards

Maul (LPK #12) – 1x Spot Gloss + 6x Paper Cards

FAQ’s

What type of event can I use one of these kits for?
The kit can be used for whatever event type will support your local playgroup. That can be a competitive ARH Standard tournament, or something more casual and thematic. 

What’s the cost of a kit?
Expect to pay approx $15 per kit shipped. Depending on your location, kits will be shipped from one of our worldwide ARH community leaders.
Based on a local community of 6 players that’s just $2.50 per player! Please use the form at the bottom of this page to apply.

What’s the criteria to be able to purchase a Local Play Kit (LPK)?
You must show us evidence of an existing playgroup, or intent to start a playgroup where this kit will be used. These kits are not to be used as a way to purchase the cards for individual purposes.

Do I need to use this kit at a games store to qualify?
No. Wherever your playgroup plays SW Destiny we want to support you.

When will these be available?
August 2024. Aplications can be submitted now for approval.

Can I order as many kits as I like?
Yes, but we need to distribute these kits fairly across the community. If a certain kit becomes more popular we want as many playgroups to have the opportunity to get their hands on it as possible.

Will there be more kits in the future?
Yes, the plan is to release a wave per ARH set release cycle, previous kits will then be phased out. 

Can I still purchase kits from previous waves?
Yes, although stock for some cards is limited. You can find Wave 1 kits HERE and Wave 2 kits HERE.

Apply for your kit

Fill in the form below, and someone from the ARH team will get back to you!

Group Stage Leaderboards

Group A

With the Scotland squad dropping just before the Cup, each Group A team only had 4 matches to prove their mettle and this led to an extra-compressed leaderboard throughout the group stage. England-South was first to qualify as LandoWonka emerged victorious 2-1 from a “win and you’re in” matchup with DarthCluny (stream HERE), leaving the Echobase crew to truly enjoy their round 5 bye.

Elsewhere in Group A, the heat was on. With 26 best-of-three matches complete and just 4 to go, each team had a theoretical path to the semifinals. Here, Canada-OuterRim and Poland each entered the home stretch in control of their own destiny; wins in their remaining matches would put either of them at the top of the group with a 3-1 record. The Americans on the other hand, needed to win their matches and count on a bit of luck from others, with USA-MidRim and and USA-East each hoping to emerge from a 4-way scramble at 2-2.

First up was Aproderick vs. Darteo, with Poland represented by Jango/Dengar/HighStakes and the young American showing up with his tried-and-true “Blue Bean” – Sabine/Asajj/ProfitableConnection. The first two matches reached a 1-1 deadlock before timezones interfered to increase the drama… After reconvening the following day, Darteo emerged victorious – earning the distinction of the only player in the Cup to play all 3 games of every best-of-three match.

Darteo’s victory set the stage for a critical rubber match later that day between Night and MrPapagiorgio, who was following his USA-East teammate’s lead in bringing Sabine/Asajj to the table. Not to be outdone, Night also invited Sabine to the party, but it was her thematic partner Ahsoka who did the heavy lifting – resolving her weapons against multiple characters on the way to a Poland victory.

Elsewhere, Cyne and RandoMando (stream HERE) squared off for the rubber match of the Canada-OuterRim vs. USA-MidRim showdown. Pivoting from earlier pairings, each player brought their own versions of Sabine/Asajj – setting up a wild mirror with downgrades, rerolls, and pumped-up weapons everywhere. When the dust settled, Rando had earned the win, effectively knocking out Canada and keeping MidRim hopes alive.

In the final day of group stage play, Aproderick and Vika (stream HERE) met with the fate of Group A in their hands. A win for Poland would bring semifinal glory and the group A crown in light of their earlier head-to-head win against England. Vika played his spoiler role beautifully, however, handing Aproderick’s bounty hunters their second straight loss to Sabine/Asajj and allowing MidRim to sneak into the semis by virtue of their head-to-head wins against Canada and Poland. Phew…

Group B

Not to be outmatched, Group B had set the stage for its own rollercoaster final week. Undefeated through 4 rounds, pre-tournament favorite USA-Missourado was scheduled for a clash of the titans with Canada-Toronto, whose first 2 matches against Brazil had already guaranteed they’d enter the final round 3-1.

Across the pond, England-Midlands was also making things interesting, winning their first two matches against World to guarantee a 4-1 finish and send fans scurrying to analyze how tiebreakers would sort out an increasingly likely logjam at the top of the table.

First up in the Missourado/Toronto match was SpartacusN7 and StrongBrad, with the Canadian bringing Hunter/Bo-Katan/TMTNE against his southern neighbor’s Leia/Daughter/Flexible mill. After nearly 90 death-defying, tightrope-walking minutes, StrongBrad emerged with the 2-1 win to put the Torontonian backs against the wall: OldBenKenobi and LiquidSnake would *both* need to win in order to force the three-way tie.

To pump up the drama, these matches were scheduled simultaneously so fans could flip between the coverage – a feat that required multiple devices at tournament central (aka Casa Casero).

Putting his trust in mill, LiquidSnake notched a first win with Leia/Daughter/Flexible against NuteShunsrey’s villainous eVader/Palp/PtM, tiptoeing around Vader’s big damage sides while picking off some big upgrades.

Meanwhile, in the arena across the way, OldBenKenobi stayed true to form, bringing Sabine/Asajj/Profitable for the 4th straight round against Norman’s latest trooper squad: PreVizsla/Enoch/TMTNE. In game 1, the blue/yellow heroines delivered some remarkably consistent rolls, which proved enough to bury the zombie troopers in a hail of ranged and melee damage.

Back in mill-land, the imperial villains from Missourado blunted the Canadian momentum, with NuteShunsrey riding the wave of an early kill to tie the match at 1-1 and notch an all-important “individual player win” that would serve as tiebreakers in the case of a three-way tie.

Back at Norman’s table, Sabine/Asajj’s hot streak continued, leaving the villainous troopers dumbfounded and looking up at the wrong end of an 0-2 loss.

All eyes then on LiquidSnake and NuteShunsrey’s final game. A win for Missourado would secure a 5-0 group stage ranking and top seed heading into the semifinals. A win for Toronto would force the triple tie at the top of the table, with Midlands and Toronto each having one more opportunity (against World and Brazil, respectively) to pick up individual player wins.

The game started ominously for the charming heroines, with Vader and Palpatine knocking out Daughter early in round 2 and sitting with a healthy deck of 17 cards.

And then, in a scene reminiscent of her feistiest showdowns with Vader, Tarkin, and the rest of the Imperial establishment, Leia decided to punch back. Power Action for 4 cards to end the second round. Fresh Start for 4. Then another Morai-fueled Power Action for 3 more. And insult to injury: Deep Meditation to flip a dangerous Force Sense die to a useless 2 shields. NuteShunsrey swung hard in the final round, but with only a couple of cards in hand, it was only a matter of time until LiquidSnake delivered the final result for his Toronto teammates.

When the dust settled the next morning and the Destiny community surveyed the scene, Missourado was still clinging to a semifinal spot with a 4-1 record, 23 individual player wins, and hopes that Toronto (23) and Midlands (22) would fail to pick up any additional individual wins in the final matches of the group stage: OldBenKenobi (Toronto) vs. Filipels (Brazil) and Gameslayer (Midlands) vs. Djclero (World). With a high stakes “penalty shootout” format on deck as the 3rd tiebreaker, each team realized the enormous upside of separating themselves from the pack.

Gameslayer’s match with Djclero (stream HERE) was up first and the Destiny world watched as a crew of unusual suspects squared off with the semifinals on the line: Chopper/Bix/SenateGuard vs. Momin/SithAcolyte/SithCultist/AwaitingFate!

Relentlessly passing abilities back and forth between them, DJ’s “Sith Club” fought valiantly but found itself overmatched by an avalanche of cheap droid upgrades from Bix and Chopper. Gameslayer’s 2-0 victory put England-Midlands safely into the semifinals with 24 individual player wins, heralding in what might be the beginning of the “Meebur Meta.”

And so after 44 matches and 100 individual player games in Group B, it all came down to OldBenKenobi and Filipels (stream HERE). A Brazil 2-0 win would force Toronto into a dramatic penalty shootout with Missourado, but any other result would allow Toronto to claim the top spot.

To the surprise of no one, Ben stuck with “old trusty” (aka Sabine/Asajj/Profitable), but Filipels showed up with a spicy Syndulla family affair: inviting Cham and Hera to throw *lots* of indirect damage across the table. The “everybody yellow, everybody blue” dynamic duo claimed the first game handily but ran into trouble in game 2, where the Twi’leks skirted within one damage of claiming a win for Ryloth (er… Brazil) before finally succumbing 2-0 to the group champion. Phew… (again)

Choose Your Champion

The conclusion of the Group Stage provides a perfect opportunity to check in on the “choose your champion” competition to see whose bracket is busted and who is still in running for sweet prizes: professionaly printed copies of the Dicey Companions draft kit from Dice Commando! For refresher on the scoring format, check out the info hub HERE.

All in all, 18 community members correctly predicted at least one of the 4 semifinalists. England-Midlands was the biggest surprise, with only one fan predicting they’d claim one of the top cut tickets from Group B.

Quinlan Vos had the best crystal ball, missing out only on Toronto in predicting 3 of our semifinalists in their correct positions and earning 6 points so far.

OldBenKenobi also predicted 3 semifinalists, but Toronto was the only squad he slotted in the correct position so leaves the group stage with 4 points in hand.

Just behind the leaders with 3 points each are LiquidSnake, Norman, SpartacusN7, and ThatWookieSmell

With 3 points available for predicting the champion and 2 points for picking runner-up, members of the 2 point club are still in the running which means Fablewick, KingGrouber, NuteShunsRey, and Thyagumm, RandoMando will be hoping for the perfect podium in order to claim their prize.

Meta Review & Decklists

Overall, the World Cup meta (raw data HERE) continues to be a Sabine show, with the yellow/blue apprentice and her pumped up weapons appearing more times (29) than the next two characters combined: Asajj 16 times and Paz 11.

Elsewhere, Pre Vizsla and Enoch stock rose over the final rounds, while some early/middle round stars like Gorian, Luke, Merrin, Qi’ra and Yaddle faded down the stretch.

Although the World Cup is first and foremost a team competition, now is a terrific opportunity to recognize individual player accomplishment: the five players who each successfully navigated the group stage without losing a single best-of-3.

Gameslayer, semifinalist from England-Midlands, went 5-0 across his matches, losing a single game to Fablewick. Impressively, Gameslayer was the only player to run the table with different decks in each round:

• Hondo/2xSenateGuards/NoAllegiance
• Pre/Enoch/TMTNE
• Gorian/Palp/Heist
• Dooku/Momin/AwaitingFate
• Bix/Chopper/SenateGuard

LiquidSnake’s 5-0 performance led Toronto to the semis, but stuck with just two decks: Hunter/Bo-Katan/TMTNE and the trusty Leia/Daughter/FlexibleLeadership team that won the decisive 2-1 match against Nute Shunsrey.

RandoMando’s 4-0 streak was also built on just two pairings: running a a go-go-go Paz/Jannah/TMTNE team until his final match against Cyne where his 2-1 win in the Sabine/Asajja/Profitable mirror was just enough to sneak USA-MidRim into the semifinals.

Rounding out the club were Quinlan Vos (USA-Missourado) who went 4-0 with Paz/Wrecker/Warfare without losing a single individual game and Vika (Canada OuterRim) who rode Sabine/Asajj/Profitable to his own 4-0 streak, losing only one match (to Darteo) along the way.

These one-per-year, per-country competitive events are the most premium ARH Standard event of the annual calendar for in-person play, with exclusive prizes to suit.

Read on for details on Grand Championships in the United States and United Kingdom this August, as well as how to sign up your country to host a Grand Championship this year.

Grand Championships Dates & Locations

United States – August 3rd

Gen Con – Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis

Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America, taking place Thursday, August 1 – Sunday, August 4. Get your convention badge HERE and sign up for Grand Championships HERE.

In addition to the Grand Championships (Saturday @ 8am), ARH’s “host with the most” Majobasil will also be hosting an FFG Standard event (HERE, 10am Thursday) and two limited format events from Dice Commando where ARH supplies all the necessary cards: Destiny SMASH! (HERE, 10am Friday) and Dicey Companions Sealed (HERE, 5pm Saturday).

For a preview of what’s in store, check out THIS terrific 2023 highlight reel from On the Sensors.

United Kingdom – August 10th

HandyCon – Delta Hotels, Milton Keynes

HandyCon has been bringing gamers together in Milton Keynes since 2017 and will be this year’s host for the UK Grand Championships. The convention runs from August 9th through 11th, with the ARH Grand Championship event taking place on Saturday, August 10th at 10am.

With the intrepid LandoWonka of Echobase fame hosting, this event is sure to be a big hit.

Get your HandyCon ticket HERE and sign up for Grand Championships HERE.

Host the Grand Championships at Home!

If your nation isn’t listed above, you’re willing to host, and you feel your country has the player base (can attract at least 16 players), we would love to help you organize a Grand Championship event! Please reach out to Casero in the ARH discord or email swdrenewedhope@gmail.com to start the conversation.

Grand Championship Exclusive Prizes

Participation

It’s important to the ARH team that even if you aren’t the most competitive player, you still leave with some good swag. Playing in all rounds of swiss will earn a spot gloss Din Djarin card and tournament organizers will be packing some other spicy prizes to supplement the “prize wall” throughout the event.

Top Cut

Top cut qualifiers will earn an exclusive alt art Bo-Katan Kryze.

Winner

1st place winners playmat.

Looking for more World Cup content? Swing by the “Destiny World Cup info hub” HERE or the #worldcup-chatter channel in the ARH Discord server. You can also check out past articles here on the ARH website or tune into the terrific streamers who are providing World Cup coverage: Thyagumm at SWDBR, LandoWonka at Echobase, Rando Mando, Gameslayer, Norman and Bastmaster 

Group A Leaderboard

Fueled by strong performances from Erik (one of just 5 players to have won all 3 best-of-three matches so far), England-South controls its own destiny heading into a final match against USA-MidRim where a win would guarantee them a spot in the semifinals.

The rest of Group A remains wide open, with the upcoming showdown between Poland and Canada-OuterRim giving one of these squads a chance to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

The most dramatic moment of the round may belong to USA-East. After starting the Cup 0-2 and losing the first match of the 3rd round against Mid-Rim, Darteo and KingGrouber pulled off comeback 2-1 wins to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Group B Leaderboard

Over in Group B, USA-Missourado remains the only undefeated squad, bolstered by 3-0 performances from both Norman and Quinlan Vos. Just behind the Americans, England-Midlands and Canada-Toronto each have their own undefeated players in Gameslayer and LiquidSnake.

With each group sending just two teams to the semifinals, all eyes will be on the final round match between Missourado and Toronto, with the winner practically guaranteed to move on. A chance of a three-way tie at the top of the group means every game matters more than ever, since “individual player wins” within a best-of-three serve as an important tiebreaker.

After some tough early losses, USA-Nationwide is ready to play the spoiler role, while Brazil and World will be ready to pounce if any of the top 3 falter.

And speaking of semifinals, now seems like the perfect time to reveal the final piece of World Cup prizing. Each semifinalist will earn a copy of this Cup exclusive Asajj Ventress card from the desk of Marcosguijr and our friends at Star Wars Destiny Brazil (SWDBR)!

Meta Review

As outlined in last week’s article (HERE), the Cup is offering *tons* of data on the World Cup meta. In just three weeks, 36 players have competed in 45 best-of-3 matches, showing up to the table with 70 distinct characters and 15 distinct plots. Those interested in a more granular view or realtime updates can check out the dataset HERE.

As always, some characters are getting more love than others. Case in point: players have only selected 6 yellow hero characters when building their team (8.6% of all characters), but the Mandalorian magnetism of Sabine Wren (played 17 times with variety of partners) and Paz Vizsla (7 times), mean we’ve seen more yellow hero more (nearly 17%) than any other faction.

The “7 appearance” club also includes Asajj Ventress (6 times with Sabine and once with Cad Bane) and a couple of big blue 17-pointers in Baylan and Luke. Just behind with 6 appearances each are Palpatine, Senate Guard (5 showings in the first round before vanishing), and Sabine’s two 13 point sisters: Merrin and Qi’ra.

Meanwhile: after running wild over the late Resurgence meta with his good buddy Maul-Consumed by Revenge, Darth Vader has still yet to make an appearance, sitting out the Cup thus far with other iconic blues like Rey, Obi-Wan, and Yoda.

Unsurprisingly given all the troopers running around, the mighty Mission that Never Ends is king of the plots, appearing 10 times out of the total 55 plots played thus far. Asajj & Sabine’s antics have kept Profitable Connection high on the list as well, closely followed by Crucial Intel, Warfare, Leverage, and Path to Mastery.

Looking for a refresher on the Cup format?  Swing by the “Destiny World Cup info hub” HERE or the #worldcup-chatter channel in the ARH Discord server. 

Round 2 Leaderboard

Although we’re still waiting final results from a couple of best-of-3 matches, the field is beginning to take shape. All these matches mean there is also a tremendous amount of coverage from a variety of streamers including Thyagumm at SWDBR, LandoWonka at Echobase, Rando Mando, and Gameslayer. Norman and Bastmaster have also been capturing matches on their Twitch channels and we may create a home for this content on the ARH YouTube channel soon.

If you’re interested in checking results from individual matchups, you can find player pages for Group A HERE and Group B HERE. 

Group A

In Group A, a last-minute drop by Scotland means each round will include a bye for each team, which will undoubtedly add some suspense heading into the final rounds.  For now, England-South is top of the table at 1-1 with 8 individual wins. Strong performances from Erik have been critical for this squad, with his Aayla/Sabine securing victories in each round – including a wild mirror match against Brazil.

That said, Canada-Rim and USA-MidRim have each posted a victory in their only opportunity, which means they’re entering round 3 without a loss. With bye rounds behind them, each squad will be itching to continue their winning ways.

Elsewhere in Group A, Poland showed up with something to prove, beating England 2-1 and losing some close matches to USA-MidRim. USA-East, despite sitting 0-2 entering Round 3, is aiming to climb back up the table after some very close losses, including back-to-back 2-1 losses for Darteo that each came down to game-deciding unblockable damage on a final turn reroll.

Group B

In Group B, Canada-Toronto has come out swinging, winning all 6 of its Round 1 and 2 matches. Here, OldBenKenobi has stayed loyal to the same Sabine/Asajj/Profitable pairing that Darteo and Vika brought to the party in Group A, while LiquidSnake and SpartacusN7 have alternated between Leia/Daughter mill and much more aggressive pairings.

Close behind are England-Midlands and USA-Missourado, with Moordotz/Norman’s upcoming match (a Round 2 cliffhanger!) on track to determine which squad will advance 2-0 vs. 1-1.

One storyline here? Red/Yellow Troopers!  Missourado’s QuinlanVos has won both of his matches so far 2-0 with a very aggressive Wrecker/PazVizsla pairing, with teammate Norman running his own Bad Batch + Mando squad with Hunter and Bo-Katan. Across the pond, Gameslayer showed up to Round 2 with Enoch and Pre Vizsla to show that villains have game too – and that they’re capable of delivering 12+ damage/round while keeping dice on the table with Enoch, Night Troopers and Mission that Never Ends.

The rest of Group B features three squads who will be working hard for the rest of the Group Stage to crack into the top 2 and earn a spot for the semis. The World team, an early favorite, just missed a win against Canada and is looking up from their spot at 0-2. Brazil managed to edge out USA-Nationwide 2-1 in the second round with strong performances from Filipels and Marcosguijr bringing the Brazilians back after a big opening win by Fablewick‘s trademark lightsaber deck – this time with Huyang and Dooku instead of Ahsoka.

Choose Your Champion

How do these early results compare to the crystal ball predictions from the community? 

Strong early performances from USA-Missourado and Canada-Toronto line up with early predictions, with ~50% and ~35% of community members picking them as finalists. That said, Team Toronto is relishing its underdog status, finding motivation in the fact that they were expected to struggle in the group stage, with the majority of predictions placing them in 3rd place behind Missourado and World.

Although it’s too early to say whether USA-MidRim is on track to live up to the community’s predictions (a consensus pick to finish first in Group A and the third most popular pick for a spot in the finals), Poland appears to be on its way to exceeding a community-predicted 5th place, and a big 2-1 win in the second round means Brazil will be knocking on the door of the top 3 in Group B. Over in Group A, early wins by England-South and Canada-OuterRim mean their 3rd round showdown will likely be an important gate on the road to the semifinals.

For the three squads at 0-2, World and USA-East each have some work ahead of them to live up to pre-tournament expectations which most frequently predicted they’d finish in the top 3 spots of their respective groups), while USA-Nationwide teammates will be hunting for upset targets at each stage.

One other squad who might find some motivation from the “Choose Your Champion” bracket? England-Midlands, who are one win away from entering the third round 2-0 despite being picked to finish 4th in Group B and receiving zero predictions for a spot in the finals.

World Cup Meta – An Early Look

More than anything, the World Cup is an opportunity for community members to compete and root for each other as we continue to play this amazing game. And… in addition to generating lots of gameplay content thanks to our streaming friends, all of these matches have given a glimpse of the early Awaiting Fate meta.

Over the course of 28 matches in Round 1 and 2 with two still to play, we’ve seen 60 distinct characters and 11 plots. The distribution of character factions has been relatively even, with slightly more distinct Blue Villain characters (20%) than any other faction. Interestingly, only 40% of the distinct characters played so far have been Hero, but when we account for repeat appearances among the 119 characters played so far, that figure jumps up to more than 50%. Red characters are slightly under-represented through this lens and it’s worth noting that with Sabine, Aayla, Maul and Palpatine showing up multiple times with their “gains blue after setup,” the lean towards blue is likely even more pronounced.

We’ve captured some other early themes below, but you’re welcome to visit HERE for a peek at the raw data from each match and a birds-eye view of the trends from one round to the next.

• Welcome to “Sabine Season!”  One of the stars of Awaiting Fate, Sabine has been played 12 times – more than any other character. After an initial flirtation with Merrin before her errata, players are quickly realizing that for 13 points, Sabine brings *lots* of consistency, especially when paired with her best buddy the Noti Villager.

• Unsurprisingly, Sabine’s most frequent partners Asajj & Profitable Connection (alternately dubbed “Blue Bean” or “She Hulk” at Casa Casero and played 5 times in the Cup thus far), and Aayla (4) also rank in the “most popular” category along with the humble Senate Guard, who has shown up 6 times – including twice in an amazing 4-wide Relentless Advance deck from Thyagumm – proving that cheap access to red is *very* appealing.

• As noted earlier, troopers are showing up on both hero and villain sides in multiple configurations – including Darth Cluny’s snazzy PazVizla/Jannah – so it’s no surprise that The Mission That Never Ends has been played 4 times.

• In the overall analysis, we mention that we’ve seen more distinct blue villains than any other faction, but 11 of the 12 characters played have only appeared once. The one exception is big, bad Baylan Skoll who has been played 5 times by 4 different players – pairing with Palpatine three times and twice with Rukh.

• Mill is also making an appearance with Toronto bringing Leia, Daughter, and Flexible Leadership to two matches and Poland twice pairing Leia with 2 Patient Padawans.

• One final story to keep an eye on relates to the characters who are either absent or struggling in the early rounds. Bigs like Gorian, Luke, and Jango have a single win despite 8 appearances among them, Capital Ship aficionados Dodonna, Ackbar, and Needa are 0-5, nerfs to Merrin and Carson seemed to have scared off the crowd, and Vader and Obi-Wan – popular since they first appeared in Display of Power – are apparently sitting out the Cup.

We’ll be sure to follow these stories and more as the Cup unfolds!