Welcome, Pilots. This page is your definitive guide to the fan-made cooperative campaign called Heroes of the Aturi Cluster, created by Josh Derksen as a supplement to the popular X-Wing Miniatures Game.
The campaign’s highly polished rules and components allow the normally competitive game to be played as a cooperative – or even solo – venture. This new twist on an already excellent game has made Heroes of the Aturi Cluster incredibly popular with fans since its release. So popular, in fact, that creator Josh Derksen went on to release a professional cooperative campaign product, called the Dominion War Campaign, with the company WizKids for Star Trek. Additional elements of the game can be seen in Snap Ships Tactics, another Josh Derksen product.
As a fan-made campaign, countless others have designed their own content for Heroes of the Aturi Cluster (often called HotAC for short). Many have also tackled updating the campaign, originally written for the game’s First Edition, to utilize new rules and game options. While this glut of content is fantastic for players, it has also made it exceptionally difficult for new people to find the basics necessary to dive into the campaign. The goal of this page is to curate the basics needed to play, making it as easy as possible for new players to jump in.
Note: For more information on the many contributors to this fan-made game supplement, as well as some insight as to why certain files were included or omitted in this guide, see the “Heroes of the Aturi Cluster: The Creators” section at the bottom of this page.
Heroes of the Aturi Cluster Materials: Main Campaign
| Optional to Print |
| If you are frugal with printed materials or prefer to use electronic PDF readers during games, these files can simply be downloaded. However, having materials printed and kept neatly on-hand is recommended for ease of reference mid-game. |
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| Essential to Print |
| The materials below are essential to print and have on hand while playing HotAC. It is highly recommended that they all be laminated or sleeved, if possible, for durability and professional sheen. Players who do not have access to personal laminators may achieve a similar effect by laying strips of clear packing tape across printed components before cutting them out. |
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Congratulations! You now have all the essential materials to play Heroes of the Aturi Cluster. Safe flying, pilots!
Heroes of the Aturi Cluster Materials: Ground Assault Expansion
 If you are already familiar with Heroes of the Aturi Cluster and want an extra challenge, or are an ambitious gamer who wants to bulk your campaign up from the start, the Ground Assault expansion allows your squad to tackle missions on a planet’s surface. Drop bombs on AT-ATs, dive into narrow canyons to avoid TIE fire, and guide T-47 Airspeeder wingmen to safety with exciting new scenarios for your campaign.
| Ground Assault: Optional to Print |
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| Ground Assault: Essential to Print |
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What to Purchase
While Heroes of the Aturi Cluster can be played with between 1 and 6 players, many feel it is best-balanced and experienced with four Rebel ships in the squad. Because of this, if playing alone, it is recommended that the sole player control four ships. For two players, each should control two ships. For three or more players, use one ship each.
Playing HotAC requires a copy of the core game components such as templates, damage deck, and a range ruler, which can be found in the Star Wars X-Wing Second Edition Core Set, Rebel Alliance Squadron Starter Pack, or Galactic Empire Squadron Starter Pack.
Where ships are available from the manufacturer, they have been linked in the table below. Ships not linked were usually only available for the game’s First Edition and will require a Second Edition Conversion Kit to play, as explained in the relevant Notes. Note that some ships can be purchased in bundles, which may save you money – where available, these are linked in the Notes for that ship.
Most importantly, the game requires quite a lot of ships to play. For this reason, the rules actively recommend substituting the closest ship in your collection if you don’t have something available. Don’t sweat it if you have to draw from the enemy pilot deck once or twice to pull a ship you own! You also do not need the dials, cards, or bases for Imperial ships, which means you can purchase cheap eBay lots of First Edition ships – toss the outdated cardboard, keep the minis! Similarly, since you don’t need the cardboard, Resistance or First Order versions of ships often look nearly identical and can be used in place of Rebel or Imperial versions.
| Heroes of the Aturi Cluster | 1 Player | 2 Players | 3 Players | 4 Players | 5 Players | 6 Players | Notes |
| T-65 X-Wing | optional | optional | optional | optional | optional | optional | Each player must choose either an X-Wing or a Y-Wing at the start of a campaign. Also available in the Core Game box and Rebel Starter Pack. |
| BTL-A4 Y-Wing | optional | optional | optional | optional | optional | optional | Each player must choose either an X-Wing or a Y-Wing at the start of a campaign. Also available in the Rebel Starter Pack. |
| RZ-1 A-Wing | optional | optional | optional | optional | optional | optional | Each player has the option to upgrade to an A-Wing during a campaign. Also available in the Phoenix Cell bundle and Rebel Starter Pack. |
| A/SF-01 B-Wing | optional | optional | optional | optional | optional | optional | Each player has the option to upgrade to a B-Wing during a campaign. Also available in the Phoenix Cell bundle. |
| Modified YT-1300 Light Freighter | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| HWK-290 Light Freighter | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | In addition, each player has the option to upgrade to an HWK-290 during a campaign. |
| GR-75 Medium Transport | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Requires First Edition model and Huge Ship Conversion Kit. |
| TIE/ln Fighter | 5 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 16 | These numbers represent the highest possible amounts – you will likely be fine with 2-4 less beyond 3 players! Also available in the Core Game box and Empire Starter Pack. |
| TIE/in Interceptor | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | These numbers represent the highest possible amounts – you will likely be fine with 1-2 less beyond 3 players! Also available in the Skystrike Academy bundle. |
| TIE/sa Bomber | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | These numbers represent the highest possible amounts – you will likely be fine with 1-2 less beyond 3 players! Also available in the Empire Starter Pack. |
| TIE/ph Phantom | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Requires First Edition model and Galactic Empire Conversion Kit. |
| TIE/d Defender | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | Also available in the Skystrike Academy bundle. |
| TIE Advanced x1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Also available in the Empire Starter Pack. |
| TIE Advanced v1 | optional | optional | optional | optional | optional | optional | If any players choose to use Force powers, one of these ships is required. |
| Lambda-Class T-4A Shuttle | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Requires First Edition model and Galactic Empire Conversion Kit. |
| VT-49 Decimator | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Currently available for 2nd Edition, but Asmodee does not have it listed on their website. |
| Ground Assault | 1 Player | 2 Players | 3 Players | 4 Players | 5 Players | 6 Players | Notes |
| T-47 Airspeeder | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Z-95-AF4 Headhunter components are used for gameplay, but no official miniature exists. Click for example 3D-printed proxy. |
| UT-60D U-Wing | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | The First Edition “Saw’s Renegades” expansion includes 2nd Edition components. |
| AT-AT | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | No official miniature exists. Click for example 3D-printed proxy. |
| AT-ST | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | No official miniature exists. Click for example 3D-printed proxy. |
| TIE/sk Striker | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| TIE Reaper | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | The First Edition TIE Reaper expansion includes 2nd Edition components. |
| Gozanti-Class Cruiser | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Requires First Edition model and Huge Ship Conversion Kit. |
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The Creators
At this point, countless people have contributed to Heroes of the Aturi Cluster. Hundreds of files exist with fan-made supplemental materials, from new player ships to missions that allow you to assault a Star Destroyer. For those interested, much of this additional content can be found on the Heroes of the Aturi Cluster Custom Campaigns, Missions, & Rules Facebook group with nearly 6,000 members.
For this curated page I have opted to keep materials to a minimum, and direct new players to a version of the campaign which closely matches the current rules and aesthetics of the X-Wing Miniatures Game. While there will always be people who prefer earlier editions of the game, I think it is important for the longevity of the campaign that it be as familiar to new players and compatible with the current game as possible.
While it would be impossible to thank everyone who has offered ideas, encouragement, supplemental materials, and playtesting over the many years since Heroes of the Aturi Cluster was created, this article would be incomplete without acknowledging the contributions of the people listed below.
Josh Derksen
The creator of Heroes of the Aturi Cluster responsible for the original concept, rulebook, missions, art, AI design, and the bulk of the work that has gone into Heroes of the Aturi Cluster to this day. If you have not already, read the Goonhammer interview with Josh.
Shaun Tiernan
Updated the original campaign to be compatible with the rules for the Second Edition of the X-Wing Miniatures Games, along with actively stewarding the popular Heroes of the Aturi Cluster Custom Campaigns, Missions, & Rules Facebook group. This group is largely to thank for the expansion’s ongoing popularity. Shaun was also a major part of formatting the Ground Assault expansion to be compatible with the original campaign.
Justin Gan
Created many of the graphic components for both the updated Second Edition version of the game and the Ground Assault expansion, as well as assisting with curation of the Heroes of the Aturi Cluster Custom Campaigns, Missions, & Rules Facebook group.
Peter Dolan
Spearheaded the creation of the Ground Assault expansion in partnership with Josh, Shaun, and Justin.
Christos Petropoulos
Consolidated materials and updated the campaign to match the rules and the sleek, modern, aesthetic of the current Second Edition of the X-Wing Miniatures Game (sometimes called “2.5”). Most of the documents linked on this page were created by Christos, for which we are very grateful!
Claes Sörensson
While not the focus of this article, Claes created the popular Flight Group Alpha companion campaign to Heroes of the Aturi Cluster. This campaign uses many of the same game mechanics but allows players to command an Imperial squadron of TIE pilots, rather than Rebels.
The Playtesters
Many people have assisted with playtesting over the years, and their feedback has been invaluable in catching errors, balance issues, unclear language, and more. To everyone who has ever reached out and offered to playtest, then submitted actionable feedback – thank you!
Have any questions or feedback? Drop us a note in the comments below or email us at contact@goonhammer.com.
