You May Fire When Ready. Everything you need to know about the Homeworlds Prerelease at Vault Games

Homeworlds, the ninth set of Star Wars: Unlimited, may release worldwide on Friday 9 October but you can play it early from Friday 2nd October when you attend a Homeworlds Prerelease event (which also means you can buy Homeworlds product as well).

Everything you need to know is below: what's in the set, what the event looks like if you've never been to a prerelease, and what's worth grabbing on preorder.

What's in Homeworlds?

Across the last eight sets you've had space battles, galactic politics, The Force, and more scoundrels than you can shake a vibro-knife at. What you haven't seen a lot of though is the actual worlds that make up the galaxy, and the creatures (sentient or otherwise) that call them home. That's the whole idea behind Homeworlds: alien cultures, their planets, and the armies that turn up uninvited.

There are over 260 new cards in the set, and a few things Fantasy Flight Games have already revealed that are worth knowing:

• Four main alien cultures feature in the set, and each one has its own mechanical identity rather than just being a kindred-style "trait matters".
• There are more Creature units here than in any set before it, and five of them play to the space arena.
  
• Characters and vehicles from both The Acolyte and The Bad Batch show up.

Your base choice gets more interesting too. Each primary aspect has four Common bases this time, with each of those bases carrying one of four traits: Tatooine, Naboo, Endor and Kashyyyk.  You'll find cards then care about those traits, like the Adamant Ewoks (HMW#177) deal extra damage when played as long as you control another Ewok unit or an Endor base. Picking a base used to come down to HP and an ability, but now you've got a whole extra deckbuilding decision sitting on top of it.

Your Base is More with FORTIFY

Since the start of Star Wars: Unlimited your base has sat there and soaked up damage, and maybe provided a one-use special ability. The new Fortify mechanic changes that.

It's a new keyword that appears on upgrades, and rather than attaching to a unit, a Fortify upgrade attaches to your base. Your base has become something you build on over the course of a match and most Fortify upgrades also come with an ability designed to make life difficult for your opponent.

The Tarkin Doctrine (HMW#206) lets you exhaust an enemy unit whenever you play a Fortification, which lines up very nicely with the Carbonite Chamber (HMW#095) stopping that unit from readying again. Director Krennic (HMW#095) will draw you cards for as long as your base is upgraded, and if you haven't got an upgrade down yet, a Remote Scout (HMW#085) can go and dig one up for you.

If you've been waiting for a reason to build control, this is it.

Make Your Opponents' Units Weaker

Weakness tokens are the inverse of Experience so stack them onto an enemy unit to shrink its power and health until you stack enough of them the unit dies without you having to attack it at all. The Clone X Assassin (HMW#059) can hand one out when its defeated so doubling it up with Grand Admiral Thrawn, ...How Unfortunate (JTL#002) means anything of with HP of 3 or less is on the chopping block from a single attack.

Some Interesting Cycles to Build Around

Homeworlds is bringing back matching double-aspect cards with a set of four rare cards that each match one of the primary aspects with no additional abilities. Just a cost, a power, and a HP. Jaxxon, I Can Hear you Breathing! (HMW#219), Mace Windu, Austere  Centrist (HMW#128), Maul, Only Revenge Remains (HMW#174), and Nala Se, Silent Survivor (HMW#082) each present some higher stat lines at the price of being just vanilla units, and could turn the tide of a prerelease sealed event if you can meet their resource and aspect costs. 

There's also a cycle of Legendary Creatures that gain additional effects if the base you choose matches their... HOMEWORLD(s). The Giant Gorax (HMW#188), Origin Tree Shyyyo (HMW#145), Ritual Dragon (HMW#234), and Sando Aqua Monster (HMW#094) will reward you or building around their homeworld trait while complementing the mechanical strategy for that homeworld trait as well.

The Spotlight Decks

Both Homeworlds Spotlight Decks come ready to play, with four Special-rarity cards each.

Chewbacca, Relentless Rebel (HMW#009) turns up as a Command and Heroism leader who lets any friendly unit attack while it's exhausted. This creates a bit of flexibility with your units as you can swing with a unit the same turn you play it, or squeeze two uses out of a strong On Attack ability in one round. It also gets you around the drawback on the Hijacked AT-ST (HMW#121), which otherwise sits exhausted for a few turns after it hits the table. Chewie's ability does get expensive while he's on his leader side, so the rest of the deck keeps things cheap for you: Chewbacca's Bowcaster, Handcrafted Tradition (HMW#127) accelerates your resources when it's played and attached to Chewie, and the deck is full of low-cost Ewok units that all play off each other. Ewok Archers (HMW#257) gain Ambush while you control another unit costing 3 or less, which is very nearly every Ewok in the deck. C-3PO, Captivating Storyteller (HMW#255) ties the Ewok and Rebel units together and buffs both.

Grand Moff Tarkin, Tyrant of the Outer Rim (HMW#004) is the Fortify deck, and it plays exactly how you'd expect after reading the section above. Survive, fortify, weaken whatever is in front of you, and get to nine resources so you can bring out the biggest gun in the galaxy (and first ever Space leader), The Death Star, Icon of Tyranny (HMW#004). 

What Happens at a Prerelease?

If you've never been to one, this is far and away the most welcoming event on the calendar, and a great spot to start if you've been thinking about picking the game up.

You turn up, and you get a Homeworlds Prerelease Box. Inside you'll find:

• 6 Homeworlds booster packs
• 2 exclusive prerelease variant leader cards (Chewbacca and Grand Moff Tarkin, in treatments you can only get from this box)
• 19 counters
• A deckbuilding guide, a divider card, and a deluxe deck box

You crack your six packs, build a deck out of whatever you open, and play five rounds of Best-of-One matches. That's Sealed. Nobody walks in with a tuned constructed list, nobody has practised the matchups, and everyone is figuring out the new cards at exactly the same rate you are. You keep everything you open, too.

If you're new, that levels the field completely, and the team will teach you the rules on the day. If you're not, it's your first proper look at the set's gameplay before the Store Showdown and PQ season kicks off.

You don't need to bring anything with you. Sleeves if you like using them, and a mate who's never played is always welcome.

Event information

Vault Games Brisbane City
Address: Lower Ground, 62 Queen St, Brisbane City QLD 4000
Dates & Times: 6.30pm Friday 2 October 2026 & 11.00am Saturday 3 October 2026
Format: Sealed, 5 rounds, Best of One
Entry: $45, includes a Homeworlds Prerelease Box
Prize Support: 2 boosters for attendance per event.
Tickets: https://vaultgames.com.au/products/star-wars-unlimited-homeworlds-prerelease-vault-games-brisbane-city

Vault Games Clayfield
Address: Shop 4, 730 Sandgate Rd, Clayfield QLD 4011
Dates & Times: 11.00am Sunday 4 October 2026 & 6.30pm Thursday 8 October 2026
Format: Sealed, 5 rounds, Best of One
Entry: $45, includes a Homeworlds Prerelease Box
Prize Support: 2 boosters for attendance per event.
Tickets: https://vaultgames.com.au/products/star-wars-unlimited-homeworlds-prerelease-vault-games-clayfield

Seats are capped at each store, so once they're gone, they're gone. If you've been meaning to book, don't leave it until the last week.

And if you've been working through your Smuggler's Run sheet, your sixth stamp is a one-time discount code for 50% off a Homeworlds prerelease ticket. Now's the time to cash it in!

What Should You Preorder?

That depends on what you're chasing.

Booster Box (24 packs) is the standard way into a new set. Every pack has a leader, a base or token, a guaranteed rare or legendary, and a foil. This is your pick if you want to draft at home with your mates, or if you'd rather build constructed decks straight away instead of hunting singles.

Carbonite Booster Display (12 packs) is the collector product. Every Carbonite pack has a Carbonite-exclusive Prestige card in it, alongside premium foils, Hyperspace variants and a Hyperspace or Showcase leader. Fantasy Flight print these in limited quantities and haven't planned a reprint, so the allocation is fixed. Once it's sold through there's no reordering, and if you've been around for a few sets you'll know Carbonite is the first thing to disappear.

Spotlight Decks (Chewbacca and Grand Moff Tarkin) are ready to play out of the box, with four Special-rarity cards each, and both show off the set's new mechanics. If you've got a friend who keeps saying they'll give Star Wars: Unlimited a go one day, this is what you hand them.

A few common questions

Can I pick up my preorder at the prerelease?
Absolutely. Choose in-store pickup at checkout, select your store, and it'll be waiting for you from open on 2nd October.

What about shipping?
You get free delivery on orders over $200, and flat rate under that. Just keep in mind that any order containing a preorder item ships once everything in it has arrived.

I can't make prerelease weekend. Have I missed out?
Not at all. There's still a prerelease at Clayfield on Thursday 8 October, and keep an eye on our events pages and the Discord for launch weekend events from 9 October. Product will be on the shelf from the 2nd if you just want to grab some and get a casual game in.

I've never played Star Wars: Unlimited. Is a prerelease a silly place to start?
It's honestly one of the best places to start. Everyone's working the set out together, and someone will teach you the rules on the day. Plenty of the regulars started at a prerelease and never left.

Anything not covered here, jump into the Vault Games Discord or ask the team at either store.

See you on the 2nd!