The Long Drawn Out Draw

The initial dice roll sequence for choosing sides went 1-2-3.  Kent, always seeking a trifecta, took up the Imperial forces, Ric chose the Rebels, and I was left, surprisingly, with the Hutts.  The game started off with the Death Star on Elom, Storm Troopers on Arbra and Excharga, and Rebels on Omwat. 

Initially, the Rebels stumbled with poor dice rolls against lucky Storm Troopers, the Hutts did only slightly better, and then the Imperial forces kicked ass everywhere.  The game looked to be in the bag for the Emperor.  Sith Lord Kent managed to eliminate the Rebels on Omwat and then destroyed Sluis Van and Gamorr with the Death Star.  Safe in the Wild Space, he drove the Rebels down to a handful of scattered systems.  They even captured the Ison Corridor, which had briefly been held by the Rebels. 

But the combined Rebel and Hutt attacks finally put the breaks on an easy victory for the Dark Side.  The Hutts amassed a fleet of 2 capital ships and 2 bombers.  That combined with a faction card flush let them sweep from Tatooine all the way to Bespin, doing considerable damage to the Imperial legions in the process. 

Despite an invasion through the asteroid field of Sluis Van and an unexpected uprising of Hutts on Elom, the Empire held on to the Wild Space.  With the Emperor's starbase safely behind impenitrable asteroid fields in the Wild Space, it looked like an Imperial victory.

But wait!

The Rebels clawed their way back from 4 systems to 7 and then totally pwned the Storm Troopers invading Falleen in an attempt to break into the Mid Rim.  The pesky Hutts split their fleet in two and made a run at a win.  Only stubborn resistance at Kessel by the Rebels prevented a 10 system takeover. 

After that, the Rebels were sitting on a faction card straight in a good position to counterattack both Hutts and weak Storm Troopers remaining outside the Wild Space.  The Hutts were sitting pretty with 8 resource planets and 20-odd garrisoned systems.  The Emperor was strongly protected in his fortified Wild Space. 

Perhaps the Rebels could hold on and neutralize the Storm Troopers.  Somewhere in the few remaining cards was the "death from above" card that would enable an invasion into the Wild Space despite the blockading asteroid fields.  Perhaps the Hutts could garner the last few resource planets.  Perhaps the Storm Troopers trapped outside the Wild Space could turn the tide and eliminate the Rebels.

We'll never know.  After 3 and a half hours, 12 turns, one large pizza, two eclairs, and lots of wine and beer, a draw was called.