How to Play Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition – Thunder's Edge

Game Objective

The game Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition – Thunder's Edge is the second expansion for the base game Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition. It adds game systems that lead players through the Thunder's Edge expedition, unlock powerful new abilities through faction-specific breakthroughs, and open the way to The Fracture, an infernal dimension. Six new factions join the galactic struggle, including the Council Keleres.

The primary objective is to reach 14 victory points. In an alliance game, an alliance wins if one player has 14 victory points and their ally has at least 10 victory points.

Setup

To set up a game of Twilight Imperium with the Thunder's Edge expansion, follow the Full Setup rules from the reference manual, with the following additions:

1. STEP 1 — DETERMINE SPEAKER: After the speaker is determined, players may, as a group, optionally choose or draw a galactic event card to place into play. Some galactic events may further modify setup. Advanced player groups may play with more than one galactic event, if desired.
2. STEP 3 — GATHER FACTION COMPONENTS: In addition to the faction components from the base game and other expansions, each player takes their faction breakthrough card. The factions listed below take additional components:
   • The Embers of Muaat: 1 Avernus Token
   • The Nekro Virus: 7 Assimilator Z Tokens, 3 Helios Tokens, and 3 Helios Cards
   • The Empyrean: 2 Void Tether Tokens
   • The Crimson Rebellion: 1 Sever and 7 Breach Tokens
   • The Deepwrought Scholarate: 5 Ocean Cards
   • The Firmament: 5 Plot Cards, all Obsidian Components
   • Last Bastion: 8 Galvanize Tokens, 3 Helios Tokens, and 3 Helios Cards
3. STEP 4 — CHOOSE COLOR: Players who wish to use the color-based command tokens and control tokens from the Twilight’s Fall game mode may do so instead of the standard faction-specific command tokens and control tokens. This can aid in board clarity for novice players.
4. STEP 6 — CREATE THE GAME BOARD: After the galaxy is created, set aside the three tiles that make up The Fracture; these tiles may enter play during the game.
5. STEP 7 — PLACE GAME BOARD TOKENS: Place the Thunder’s Edge token, expedition side face up, in the common play area.
6. STEP 8 — SHUFFLE COMMON DECKS: Shuffle the relic deck and place it in the common play area.

Expansion Integration

To integrate Thunder's Edge with the base game and Prophecy of Kings:

1. Find the cards packaged with the "Codex Cards" cover card, also identifiable by the Twilight Codex expansion icon.
2. If you do not have a previous version of the Twilight Codex, combine the following components with similar components from the base game and expansions:
   • 20 Action Cards
   • 3 Relics
   • 6 Exploration Cards
   • 1 Keleres Faction Sheet
   • 1 Keleres Mech
   • 5 Keleres Leaders
   • 1 Keleres Promissory Note
   • 2 Keleres Faction Technologies
   • 1 "Custodia Vigilia" Planet Card
   • 1 "Custodia Vigilia" Legendary Planet Ability
3. For each remaining codex card, find and replace each corresponding component from the base game or Prophecy of Kings. In total, you will replace:
   • 3 Faction Technologies
   • 8 "Magen Defense Grid"
   • 8 "X-89 Bacterial Weapon"
   • 3 Secret Objectives
   • 5 Promissory Notes
   • 1 Mech
   • 6 Leaders
4. If you have a previous version of the Twilight Codex, simply replace all of its components with the updated versions included in Thunder's Edge.
5. Additionally, Thunder's Edge comes with its own complete sets of Alliance Reference Cards and Faction Reference Cards. The "print-and-play" versions introduced by the Twilight Codex are not used.
6. Replace the "Construction" and "Warfare" strategy cards with the revised versions included with Thunder's Edge.
7. Replace the base game "Mecatol Rex" system tile with the "Mecatol Rex" system tile that has a legendary planet icon.
8. If you are playing with the Prophecy of Kings expansion, replace the Jol-Nar "Ta Zern" leader with the "Agnlan Oln" leader.
9. If you are not playing with the Prophecy of Kings expansion, remove all Leaders, Mechs, and Exploration Cards, as well as the "Cultural Exchange Program" galactic event.
10. Finally, combine any remaining new cards with their respective decks and shuffle the red-backed and blue-backed system tiles into their respective stacks.
11. Components used in the Twilight’s Fall game mode are not used when playing a normal game.

Setup Variations

• Four-Player Setup: Used only with Prophecy of Kings. Each player receives three blue and two red tiles. Hyperlane tiles are placed as per the diagram.
• Five-Player Setup: Each player receives three blue and two red tiles. Hyperlane tiles are placed as per the diagram. There is no extra trade bonus for starting position.
• Minor Factions Setup: If playing with the "Minor Factions" galactic event, the Game Board Setup diagram provides an example of valid placement for Minor Factions systems.
• Hyperlane Setup: The hyperlane tiles (119A, 120A, 121A, 122A, 123A, 124A) are always set up in the formation shown in the diagram.

Game Flow

Refer to the manual for details on this section.

Actions and How to Play

Thunder's Edge Expedition

Players can venture into Thunder's Edge to unlock powerful new abilities and potentially earn the right to claim the Thunder's Edge planet for their faction. Thunder's Edge begins the game in play, off the board, with its expedition side — the side divided into six "slices" — face up.

At the end of a player's turn, they may commit to the expedition. To do so, they choose an unclaimed slice of the expedition and pay the indicated cost, placing one of their control tokens on that slice to indicate it has been claimed.

The expedition costs are as follows:

• Spend 5 Resources
• Discard 2 Action Cards
• Spend 5 Influence
• Discard 1 unscored Secret Objective
• Exhaust 1 Specialized Planet Technology
• Spend 3 Trade Goods

Once claimed, that slice cannot be claimed by another player, meaning other players must choose a different cost to pay in order to contribute to the expedition. The first time a player claims one of the expedition slices, they gain their faction breakthrough. A player may claim multiple expedition slices in a game, but must choose a different unclaimed slice each time they do so.

When all slices are claimed, the expedition is complete; the player who claimed the final slice flips Thunder's Edge to its planet side and places it in a system of their choice that does not contain a planet, a supernova, or a printed wormhole. Then, the player with the most control tokens on the expedition places that many infantry on Thunder's Edge. In case of a tie, the player who claimed the final slice chooses which tied player places infantry on Thunder's Edge. Thunder's Edge cannot be placed in The Fracture.

Breakthroughs and Synergy

A breakthrough is a new type of faction-specific component, most commonly gained by interacting with Thunder's Edge. A breakthrough will give each faction a new unique ability and grants synergy between two technology colors.

Synergy links two technology colors. A technology or technology specialty of one color with which a player has synergy can count as the other color, for purposes of researching technology and for scoring technology-related objectives. Even so, a technology can only count as one or the other at any given time, not both.

Each time a breakthrough is gained, there is a possibility that The Fracture enters play. When a player gains their breakthrough, regardless of source, if The Fracture is not yet in play, they roll one die. If the die result is 1 or 10, they place The Fracture into play.

The Fracture

The Fracture is an enigmatic area of space that is not connected to the rest of the galaxy. When The Fracture enters play, the player who brought it into play places it along any board edge, based on player count. Then, they place neutral units as indicated on the back of The Fracture tiles.

• If The Fracture was brought into play by a breakthrough roll, the player who rolled places ingress tokens on the board. For each synergy color on their breakthrough, that player must choose three systems that contain matching technology specialties, if possible, and place ingress tokens in those systems. A system cannot have more than one ingress token, and no more than six ingress tokens can be placed in this way.
• If The Fracture was brought into play by another ability, or by a breakthrough that does not have synergy (as is the case for the Nekro Virus faction), the player chooses four planets and places an ingress token in those planets' systems. Each planet must be in a different system and must have a different technology specialty. If there are not four different technology specialties in play, the remaining ingress tokens are not placed.

Finally, players place an ingress token in the Thunder's Edge system, if it is in play, or in the Mecatol Rex system, if the expedition has not been completed.

Regardless of where The Fracture is placed, its systems are not adjacent to the systems it is touching, and each of its systems is considered on the board edge. Access to The Fracture is possible through ingress tokens. A system that contains an ingress is adjacent to each system in The Fracture that contains an egress. However, ingress systems are not adjacent to other ingress systems, and egress systems are not adjacent to other egress systems.

Planets within The Fracture are highly rewarding. Each planet in The Fracture has a relic icon. One planet, Styx, has a relic icon and is a legendary planet.

Relics

When a player gains a planet card from the planet deck that has a relic icon, or when a game effect instructs them to draw a relic, they draw the top card of the relic deck and place it face up in their play area. Relics provide players with powerful abilities that can change the course of the game.

Legendary Planets

Many of the planets in this expansion are legendary planets, indicated by the legendary icon. When a player gains control of a legendary planet, they also place its legendary planet ability card in their play area. Each legendary planet ability card grants its owner a unique and powerful ability. If a player gains control of an exhausted legendary planet ability card, it remains exhausted.

Neutral Units

Neutral units are non-player forces that engage a player in combat if the player moves units into the planet or space area those neutral units occupy. The combat statistics of neutral units are indicated on the neutral unit reference card, and their rolls are made by any player other than the active player. During combat, hits are assigned to neutral units in the order presented on the neutral unit reference, prioritizing the lowest units on the reference card first (e.g., hits will always be assigned to neutral destroyers before they are assigned to neutral cruisers).

Neutral units always use unit abilities when they can (sustain damage, space cannon, etc.), but are unable to use any other abilities. Neutral units do not take turns or perform any other game function, unless explicitly stated by rule or ability text.

Neutral units count as other players' units for purposes of resolving player abilities and other game effects. However, there is no "neutral player," and neutral units are unable to make decisions; in the unlikely event a decision needs to be made for a neutral unit, the speaker makes that decision.

Purge

If an ability instructs a player to purge a component, that component is removed from the game and returned to the box.

Space Stations

Some systems contain space stations. A player gains control of a space station from the deck or another player when they