Welcome back Cadets, to another edition of Future Tuesday! This week, we’re doing something a bit different: We’re going to talk about Admirals: Star Strike’s upcoming signature format,Career Mode!
Wait, what’s Kepler edition? New today, including a brief summary of Career mode, Kepler Edition is the beta edition of the existing rulebook, which you can get here! The Core rulebook summarizes the Career Format, but doesn’t have specific rules – Those will come later in Career Handbooks, small booklets with all the rules you need to start and grow your Career Set.
So what exactly is Career mode? Put simply, it is a Sealed Pack format where every game you play earns you Resources to add new packs and starships to your Career Roster. Starting with a semi-randomized group of cards, you’ll play through sets of 5 games (called a Tour of Duty), spending your resources after each Tour of Duty to add new Orders or new Starships.
If you prefer building a precision character, that option is available as well – but at a price. For each Tour you complete, you get 5 Experience Points (or xp), coincidentally the cost of an Orders Pack (containing 4 Basic Orders and 4 Special Orders). You can instead purchase specific Special Orders at a cost of 3 xp Each, or Basic Orders at a cost of 1 xp each. While picking out your Orders may allow you the specific orders you’re looking for, an Orders Pack has a comparative xp value of 16 xp for it’s low cost of 5, making it a good option if you want to quickly expand your selection of Orders.
As you might have guessed, Career mode has different fleet building rules than Constructed Play, allowing up to 3 copies of each Basic Order, and even allowing you a duplicate Special Order! This expansion comes with drawbacks though – if facing an opponent who has completed fewer Tours than you, your Order Library for that game may consist of up to 5 fewer cards – 1 for every 2 full Tours difference. New Players can join in with established groups without fear of their lack of Career xp putting them at a disadvantage!
But what happens when you’ve played a Career so long that you’re playing every game with a 10-card Order Library? Career mode also comes with a sort of “New Game +” called Passing the Torch, where your current Career Character retires and passes on some of their knowledge and resources to their successor, and granting their successor low-cost xp access to all of their previously earned Orders. This legacy-style reset lets you continue to tell your own story within the Star Strike Universe!
Career Mode is coming soon – are you up to the challenge of becoming a Career Admiral?
