May 29, 2026 | Written by Peter Schumacher

For over two years now, the Star Wars™: Unlimited trading card game has been going strong. From the initial release of Spark of Rebellion back in 2024 to the recently-launched A Lawless Time back in March of this year, there are already seven sets’ worth of content for the game out in the world, with even more coming up in the future. With each set boasting over 200 cards, new mechanics, and its own unique “schtick,” it can be a bit daunting for a new player to know where to start, or for a returning player to know where to jump back in after taking a few sets off. One could argue that the answer to that question could simply be “the latest set,” but with each set having its own design identity—and with it, its own mechanical complexity—a new or returning player jumping in on one set could have a very different experience than a player jumping in on the next one.

Fortunately, there is a solution to this conundrum, and one that will appeal to new players, returning players, and current players alike: Icons.

Welcome to the official first look at Icons, a new type of set for Star Wars: Unlimited! Prominently featuring an all-star cast of iconic Star Wars characters (hence the set’s name), Icons arrives as a miniature “fourth set” in the yearly release cycle. It serves as a perfect jumping-in point for both newcomers and returning players while still being appealing to current players as well. We’ve got a lot to cover today, so let’s dive right in!

What is Icons?

In a nutshell, Icons is a “mini-set” of Star Wars: Unlimited with a heavy focus on fan-favorite characters and straightforward mechanics. There are only 194 cards in the set compared to a normal set’s 250+, and all of the Common-rarity cards in the set are reprints from sets that came before it (though some of them have new art). Some of the Uncommon cards are also reprints, albeit many with new art, as is the case with Grogu (Icons 2027 Edition, 154) and Savage Opress (Icons 2027 Edition, 108). That said, the rest of the Uncommons—along with all of the Rares and Legendaries—are completely new to the game. Not only that, but every Rare and Legendary in the set is a unique unit card featuring a fan-favorite Star Wars character; the set is called “Icons” for a reason!

The primary goal of the Icons set is to provide an easy jumping-in point for both newcomers to Star Wars: Unlimited and returning players who have been gone for a while. Only a handful of the cards in this set have complex abilities, and there are no special mechanics in the set beyond what is present in every set of Star Wars: Unlimited. However, unlike Intro Battle: Hoth, which was entirely new-player-focused (and had its cards designed to prioritize ease of learning over competitive strength), the new cards in Icons boast comparable power levels to those in a standard set. Also similar to the standard sets, cards from Icons will be Premier-legal (yes, even the reprints) upon the set’s launch, and will remain so until the set rotates alongside A Lawless Time, Ashes of the Empire, and Homeworlds in March of 2028.

What are Some New Cards?

We’ve been teasing them for a bit now, so let’s take a look at some of the new cards that are introduced in Icons! For starters, the set has a total of eight leaders, all of which are completely new cards. One of those leaders is Darth Vader (Icons 2027 Edition, 1), a Vigilance and Villainy leader who can draw you a card and heal your base at the cost of a resource and defeating a friendly unit. This is a small price to pay, especially when you have access to low-cost units like the Death Star Stormtrooper (Icons 2027 Edition, 97) or the Onyx Squadron Brute (Icons 2027 Edition, 15), the latter of which even has a When Defeated ability to sweeten the deal. After defeating a friendly unit with Vader’s ability, you can then play Moff Gideon (Icons 2027 Edition, 22) at a discount, allowing you to replace the defeated unit quickly and efficiently.

Another Icons leader is Leia Organa (Icons 2027 Edition, 8), who arrives as a Cunning and Heroism leader that can help you quickly cycle through your deck and find the exact card that you need. Since Leia’s ability lets you place a card of your choice on top of your deck, it works particularly well with cards that interact with that space, such as the returning C-3PO (Icons 2027 Edition, 188) and You’re My Only Hope (Icons 2027 Edition, 194) or the new Jar Jar Binks (Icons 2027 Edition, 187).

As for some Rare cards, The Inquisitor’s TIE (Icons 2027 Edition, 104) can harry your opponent’s hand if it gets too big, while the Millennium Falcon (Icons 2027 Edition, 158) can let you replay a friendly unit for just a single resource. Darth Sidious (Icons 2027 Edition, 26) has great synergy with the Darth Vader leader, allowing you to damage enemy units each time you heal your base, while Lando Calrissian (Icons 2027 Edition, 167) can give leaders like Leia even more control of what cards are in your hand.

Now, we wouldn’t want to end this preview without at least one Legendary card to show you, and Anakin Skywalker (Icons 2027 Edition, 78) certainly fits the bill. Not only is he a hard-hitting unit on his own for his cost, but he can also allow you to search your deck for a Darth Vader (Icons 2027 Edition, 67) unit upon his defeat. Anakin also lets you ignore all aspect penalties on your Darth Vader cards for as long as Anakin is in your discard pile, which means you can mix in other versions of Vader into your deck for some wild potential combos!

What are the Products?

There are more differences between Icons and a standard set than its size; the product lineup for Icons is a bit different as well. For starters, there are no Spotlight Decks and no Carbonite Edition booster packs in Icons. The standard booster packs are also different from those of a standard set.

For starters, Icons booster packs have a lower price point than standard set booster packs, making them easier to pick up for new and returning players. On the flip side, unlike standard set booster packs, Icons booster packs have only 9 cards in them. This—along with the fact that Icons boosters are not guaranteed to have a leader or a base in them—means that these packs are not designed for draft or sealed play. Here is the full breakdown of what you can find in an Icons booster pack (note that there will be variance from pack to pack, just like with a standard set):

• 3 Common cards
• 1 slot with a 25% chance of being a leader and a 75% chance of being a fourth Common card
• 1 Hyperspace Common card
• 2 Uncommon cards, with a chance of being upgraded to a Hyperspace Uncommon, Rare, or Legendary card
• 1 Rare or Legendary card
• 1 Hyperspace Foil card of any rarity

Also unique to Icons is the introduction of a “booster 4-pack,” which is just what it sounds like: a combination of four Icons booster packs into one large pack. It even costs a dollar less than buying all four packs individually, and it comes with an alternate-art variant Cassian Andor unit card that you can’t get anywhere else! Grabbing a couple of these is cheaper and easier than snagging an entire booster display, allowing players to still crack open multiple packs while on a budget.

Finally, we have the Icons Starter Box. Sharing some similarities with both the Two-Player Starters from Year 1 and Intro Battle: Hoth, this new introductory box features the Darth Vader and Leia Organa leaders we covered earlier and comes with two pre-built, 30-card decks to walk you and a friend through your first few games of Star Wars: Unlimited. Between each game, the box instructs you to open some preset, non-randomized “deckbuilding packs” of additional cards to add to your deck and help you learn deckbuilding basics. Finally, once you’re through all the deckbuilding packs and have a handle on how the game works, you’re rewarded with a pair of proper Icons booster packs to begin growing your collection!

Star Wars: Unlimited is a game that only continues to grow with each passing year, and now, with the addition of Icons, it’s getting even bigger. Whether you’re a completely new player, a returner looking to dive back in, or a current fan who wants to grab it all, you can look forward to adding the Icons set to your collection when it arrives this fall!