Complete Setup

This section describes how to set up a game using all of the advanced rules.

Step 1: Determine Speaker

Randomly determine one player to gain the speaker token; that player is the speaker.

Step 2: Choose Factions

Each player chooses one faction sheet; this is their faction for the game.

Each player places their faction sheet in their play area.

Step 3: Gather Faction Components

Each player takes the following components that have their faction's icon: 1 home system tile, 17 control tokens, 2 faction technology cards, 3 leader cards, 16 command tokens, 1 mech unit card, 1 faction promissory note, and additional faction-specific components.

Each player places each of their faction components near their faction sheet.

Players return all unused faction components to the game box.

Only the Naalu Collective, the Nekro Virus, the Ghosts of Creuss, the Embers of Muaat, the Vuil'raith Cabal, the Nomad, the Empyrean, and the Titans of Ul have additional faction-specific components.

Step 4: Choose Color

Each player chooses one color and takes the corresponding components: 63 plastic units, 1 command sheet, 1 leader sheet, 33 technology cards, and 5 promissory notes.

Each player combines their color-specific and faction technology cards into one technology deck and their color-specific and faction promissory note cards into one promissory note deck.

Each player places their decks, command sheet, and plastic units in their play area.

Each player places their leader sheet in their play area.

They then place their agent, commander, and hero leader cards as well as their mech unit card in the corresponding slots on the leader sheet.

All leaders are placed showing the side that has the slot icon in the upper-right corner.

Step 5: Distribute Starting Planet Cards

Each player takes the planet cards that correspond to the planets in their home system and places those cards faceup in their play area.

Step 6: Create Game Board

Place the Mecatol Rex system tile in the center of the common play area.

The galaxy will consist of either three or four rings around Mecatol Rex, with each player's home system in a set position in the third ring.

If using hyperlane tiles for a five, seven, or eight-player game, place the specific hyperlane tiles as shown in the corresponding diagram.

Place the wormhole nexus in the common play area with the gamma wormhole side faceup, and place the 3 gamma wormhole tokens next to it.

Separate blue-backed and red-backed system tiles, shuffle them, and deal a specific number to each player based on player count.

Starting with the speaker and proceeding clockwise, players place system tiles one at a time to build the galaxy rings, reversing order at the end of each round of placement.

Each ring must be fully built before placing tiles in the next ring, and anomaly tiles or tiles with the same wormhole type cannot be placed next to each other unless there is no other option.

Step 7: Place Game Board Tokens

Place the custodians token on Mecatol Rex.

Place one frontier token on each system that has no planets.

Step 8: Shuffle Common Decks

Shuffle the action card, agenda, stage I objective, stage II objective, secret objective, relic, and each exploration deck separately and place them in the common play area.

Step 9: Create Supply

Gather and create separate piles for trade good tokens, fighter tokens, and infantry tokens.

Step 10: Gather Strategy Cards

Place each of the eight strategy cards faceup in the common play area.

Step 11: Gather Starting Components

Each player gains the starting technologies and starting units listed on the back of their faction sheet, placing the technologies faceup and units in their home system.

Each player places three command tokens in their tactic pool, three in their fleet pool, and two in their strategy pool.

Step 12: Prepare Objectives

Each player draws two secret objectives and chooses one to keep, shuffling the other back into the deck.

Players place the victory point track, choose the 10 or 14-space side, and place a control token on the '0' space.

The speaker deals five facedown stage I objectives and five facedown stage II objectives in rows.

The speaker reveals the first two stage I objectives.