I’ve been itching to dive deeper into Star Wars Unlimited ever since the Legends of the Force release landed on my desk. Thankfully, it seems the galaxy heard me, because this time around, I’ve been sent a preview bundle for the next big expansion: Star Wars Unlimited: Secrets of Power.

Published once again by Fantasy Flight Games, Secrets of Power continues the momentum the series built in early 2024, expanding the card pool with new leaders, abilities, and artwork created exclusively for the game.

For this preview, I received two Spotlight Decks, featuring Padmé Amidala and Chancellor Palpatine, six of the 16-card booster packs, the ever-important protective sleeves, including four boxes of the Premium Art Sleeves and a Soft Crate, and a Star Wars Unlimited Game Mat.

The Spotlight Decks are pre-constructed 50-card decks themed around one of the new leaders featured in Secrets of Power, with ours focusing on Padmé Amidala and Chancellor Palpatine. As with previous Spotlight releases, it’s built with synergy in mind, giving you a ready-to-play experience without the stress of curating a deck from scratch. Inside, you’ll find a tight mix of characters, abilities, and events that all work together to showcase the new mechanics this expansion introduces.

The pack also includes double-sided cardboard tokens, which make tracking buffs, debuffs, and game effects far smoother during play. It was also exciting to find that they included a booster pack as well, but unfortunately, they are still missing even a brief run-down of the rules, so you’ll need to grab those online before jumping into your first match.

Also included were six booster packs from the Secrets of Power set. Each booster follows the familiar Star Wars Unlimited formula: 16 cards total, consisting of a leader, a base or token, nine commons, three uncommons, a rare or legendary, and one foil. While the rarity distribution isn’t guaranteed, the thrill of cracking open a pack and finding something unexpected never gets old, especially now that the card pool has widened with new factions, variants, and some genuinely gorgeous foil treatments. If you’re looking to expand beyond the Spotlight Deck, these boosters are the quickest way to inject variety and power into your lineup.

As for the accessories, Fantasy Flight continues to impress with simple but thoughtful additions. We received the same Soft crate as we did with the previous release – a lightweight, durable storage box that comfortably fits a full deck, even when sleeved. Inside is a smaller compartment specifically for tokens, which helps keep everything organised. Meanwhile, the Premium Art Sleeves in this bundle feature additional artwork compared to the previous sample we received.

We received one for Padmé, one for Palpatine, Dedra Meero from Andor, and then the “standard” Star Wars Unlimited artwork. Out of the 62 sleeves supplied, 60 have the illustrated card backs, while two are transparent, allowing your double-sided cards or other elements to be visible during play.

Speaking of illustrations, the art direction remains one of Star Wars Unlimited’s strongest points. Secrets of Power continues the trend of using bespoke illustrations instead of stills from the films or shows, and it really pays off.

The characters, environments, and moments depicted on the cards feel alive and vibrant. You can always tell which character or location you’re looking at, but the fresh designs keep each card visually exciting, even if you already know the lore inside out.

The Game Mat is a new addition for me, made out of a similar material to a mouse pad or a very thin wetsuit. While the artwork is somewhat basic, it still heavily leans on the Star Wars theme. Sections have been broken up and labelled to show where you should place your cards while gaming, including sections for a Base and a Leader, Units, Resources, Deck and Discard piles, and your initiative counter. They’re also great for protecting your cards against accidental scrapes from anything that may be on your table.

After spending some time sorting through the cards, testing the new deck, and cracking open the boosters, it’s clear that Secrets of Power aims to broaden the gameplay options without overwhelming new players. The focus on operatives, officials, saboteurs, and schemers naturally blends into existing decks, giving veterans plenty to experiment with while still offering a clean starting point for newcomers. My only worry, and it’s becoming a bit of a theme, is that this might become yet another collecting rabbit hole for me. Every time I think I’ve got a handle on the set, a new favourite card lands in my booster and pulls me right back in.

If you’ve been waiting to jump into Star Wars Unlimited, the Secrets of Power expansion is shaping up to be a fantastic entry point. Whether you’re a collector, a competitive player, or a casual fan of the galaxy far, far away, it’s well worth checking out.

Written by: Mathew Lindner