Star Wars’ Emperor Palpatine Returns In Ashes Of The Empire

Published Sep 11, 2026, 1:30 AM EDT

Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond. 

Sign in to your ScreenRant account

Emperor Palpatine has become one of the most notorious villains in science fiction and the driving force behind Star Wars' central conflict. From his carefully orchestrated rise to power during the prequel trilogy to his reign as Emperor in the original films, Darth Sidious is ultimately responsible for transforming the Galactic Republic into the Empire, destroying the Jedi Order, and turning Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader.

Even death couldn't completely remove Palpatine from the galaxy, as his influence continued through contingency plans like Operation: Cinder, while The Rise of Skywalker eventually brought the Sith Lord himself back for one final confrontation with Rey. Beyond the films, he's shown up in animated series like The Clone Wars, while novels, comics, and games have expanded his dark side influence into the far reaches of the galaxy.

There aren't very many Star Wars characters that have cast a larger shadow over the franchise than the Emperor, and it looks like Palpatine is back from the dead to wreak havoc once again in a brand-new Star Wars: Unlimited line titled Ashes of the Empire.

Emperor Palpatine Is Back From The Dead... Again

Emperor Palpatine is making an official return to the franchise in a brand-new Star Wars: Unlimited Spotlight Deck for Ashes of the Empire. The pre-built, ready-to-play 50-card deck casts Palpatine as a Cunning and Villainy leader built around controlling the battlefield and exploiting the expansion's new Advantage tokens.

Palpatine can pile these temporary power boosts onto exhausted friendly units based on how many other units you control, rewarding players for building a large Imperial force before unleashing huge attacks. His deck also incorporates characters and ships including Darth Vader, Moff Gideon, Rukh, the Executor, and Moff Jerjerrod.

Spotlight Decks are designed as starter-friendly decks for each new Star Wars: Unlimited set, combining new cards with selections from previous expansions to create optimized decks that can be played immediately without any deck-building required on your own. Palpatine's deck launches alongside a second Spotlight Deck led by Luke Skywalker, whose strategy instead revolves around healing friendly units and keeping them in the fight.

Star Wars: Ashes Of The Empire Is Available Now

Ashes of the Empire is the eighth major Star Wars: Unlimited set and contains more than 260 new cards centered on the Battle of Endor, the collapse of the Galactic Empire, and the uncertain years that followed. Its new mechanics include the Support mechanic, Mandalorian token units, and Advantage tokens, with the set focusing on upgrades and characters associated with the Empire and emerging New Republic.

Alongside the Spotlight Decks, the product line includes standard 16-card booster packs, Prerelease Boxes containing six boosters, and limited Carbonite Edition boosters featuring premiums and exclusive Prestige variants. Ashes of the Empire officially released on July 17, 2026, with its Prerelease products arriving one week earlier, making the full Star Wars: Unlimited expansion available now through participating retailers.

Star Wars: Unlimited