Hey everyone,

^{I bought the core set last week and have played two quick start games so far, really enjoyed it and looking forward to getting stuck in with the proper rules now.}

^{After the second game with my brother he's decided he loved it too but we both agreed that we need more ships to make it interesting so last night he bought an extra X-wing and TIE Fighter. He wanted to buy an Interceptor but couldn't find one so I told him to get the TIE so he could use Howlrunner.}

^{Did we make the right call and what do you think we should get next? Something's telling me we need another TIE but I'm not sure. I'm liking the look of B-wings myself : )}

^Cheers,

^Ben

Another core set will help round out the basic tie fighters into a passable mini-swarm, and give you access to the 3X builds. The extra dice, range rulers and damage deck really do help too.

After that, the world's your oyster, really, but Vader (tie advanced) is pretty much a 'must have', as is the Falcon.

must have because he is Darth Vader

Vader be the last thing to get

Any large ship

Xwing expansion

Tie fighter expansion (just to get at least the pilot cards, wedge and howl runner is pretty nice)

B wing

Tie interceptor

Those my top pics

Vader be the last thing to get

Any large ship

Xwing expansion

Tie fighter expansion (just to get at least the pilot cards, wedge and howl runner is pretty nice)

B wing

Tie interceptor

Those my top pics

Cool well we've got the X-wing and TIE expansions now, Wedge and Howlrunner being big reasons for both.

Money is pretty tight so for the time being is that fair?

Also worth pointing out that 2x-wings vs 3 ties' is pretty unbalanced in the rebels favor. I assume you wand to get things balanced so get a few more ties if you want to go swarmy or maybe Imperial Aces / Slave-1. And a Y-wing for more astromech options and the ion should give you some stuff to play with.

I thought that might be the case, although my bro has made the jump to be Imperial (he loves Y-wings but my love for X-wings is deeper lol) he doesn't want to swarm as it's not his style.

Also worth pointing out that 2x-wings vs 3 ties' is pretty unbalanced in the rebels favor. I assume you wand to get things balanced so get a few more ties if you want to go swarmy or maybe Imperial Aces / Slave-1. And a Y-wing for more astromech options and the ion should give you some stuff to play with.

I thought that might be the case, although my bro has made the jump to be Imperial (he loves Y-wings but my love for X-wings is deeper lol) he doesn't want to swarm as it's not his style.

Another core set will help round out the basic tie fighters into a passable mini-swarm, and give you access to the 3X builds. The extra dice, range rulers and damage deck really do help too.

After that, the world's your oyster, really, but Vader (tie advanced) is pretty much a 'must have', as is the Falcon.

1. I would agree with the 3rd core if your going swarm, It gives 3-wing and 6 ties. You will need the x-wing and tie expen sets for a couple of different ships.

2. If your going B-wings it makes sense to get two and pick up two shuttles for the advance sensors (unless you wait for rebel aces)

3. Buy one of each expansion set and see what you like

I would be more methodical in your approach. Just start getting one of every ship. Decide for yourself what works and what dosnt for your play style. I enjoy using the random squad builder and playing matches with what it throws my way. Having one of everything gives you access to all the cards etc. with a few more matches youll be wanting everything anyway.

Imo the shuttle is one of the best ships in the game.

It's slow and Doesn't turn well,but if flown right can really muck up your opponents game and give you an advantage

Like I said any big ship is a must

If things are tight get one ship every payday.

Or just at couple dollars aside and get whatever you want when available.

Just to be different

I definitely didn't go down the 1 of each road, why have ships I won't play just for a card or 2?

Read up, decide on which path you want to follow. Make 100 point lists and pick the ships that cross between the lists.

Google 100point lists, there's a great PDF out there, slightly outdated now, but it'll give you cracking ideas of what you may want.

I own:

5 ties

3 interceptors, all 181st

2 royal guard

2 Firesprays

Oh, a 3 x wings I have yet to play

No Vader, no shuttle, just good clean fun!!!!

You started with the Core and the picked up TIE Fighter and X-Wing expansions. That was a good choice. Although it still leave you flying X-Wings and TIE Fighters I'll a second core set could be one of the better options. It gets you one more X-Wing (and 3 X-Wings can be a very good squadron) and five TIE Fighters. The TIEs may not match the X-Wings but five is a good number to add one, or occasionally two, other ships to for a squadron. The Firespray is the least "swarmy" Imperial ship and can fly well with a number of T/F in support.

You started with the Core and the picked up TIE Fighter and X-Wing expansions. That was a good choice. Although it still leave you flying X-Wings and TIE Fighters I'll a second core set could be one of the better options. It gets you one more X-Wing (and 3 X-Wings can be a very good squadron) and five TIE Fighters. The TIEs may not match the X-Wings but five is a good number to add one, or occasionally two, other ships to for a squadron. The Firespray is the least "swarmy" Imperial ship and can fly well with a number of T/F in support.

Thanks Steven, my bro is concerned that he'll get a load of TIEs only for them to be obsolete so trying to be careful with numbers.

I am with Duraham and Winterdyne on this one, you want to have a Tie advanced... 'cause Vader.
Always go for awesome....

Thanks Steven, my bro is concerned that he'll get a load of TIEs only for them to be obsolete so trying to be careful with numbers.

I can't see Ties ever becoming obsolete in this game.

Thanks Steven, my bro is concerned that he'll get a load of TIEs only for them to be obsolete so trying to be careful with numbers.

I can't see Ties ever becoming obsolete in this game.

I get what you mean but when you can't chuck money at it you have to be more careful with what you're buying.

I get what you mean but when you can't chuck money at it you have to be more careful with what you're buying.

Oh yes I get that. Just saying you shouldn't fear buying a few Ties because they'll become obsolete.

FFG has been very, very good about avoiding power-creep, so pretty much everything in the game is still viable. There are a few ships that you don't really want more then 1 of, like the Advanced or IMO the HKW-290.

I agree with TIE Fighters never being obsolete. They're awesome little ships, and I've been playing them since 2012.

Second core. Two more TIEs and another X-wing, more asteroids and enough dice that you won't have to do the rerolling thing just to fire all your shots. (not actually sure if it's possible to get seven on one attack)

I'm also new to the game, and I'll be having similar questions as the OP once I get started.

FFG has been very, very good about avoiding power-creep, so pretty much everything in the game is still viable. There are a few ships that you don't really want more then 1 of, like the Advanced or IMO the HKW-290.

That's very reassuring to hear. In a lifetime long, long ago I played Warhammer Fantasy, and the power creep for $$$ was ... dispiriting.

Once you get one of each the TIE Expansion and the X-wing Expansion you don't need to buy any more of those. If you want more TIEs/X-wings you should buy core sets. It is really a screaming deal, and those are the ships you want a lot of.

I'm not going to tell you what ships you need to have, instead I would like to talk about the pros and cons of getting each other expansion.

TIE Advanced - Darth Vader is awesome, At first glance he may not look like he does much damage, but with a TL and Focus every turn two attack dice do pretty well against most ships. He is also really good with swarm tactics or squad leader. I wouldn't recommend buying more than 1 TIE Advanced. Some people call the ship over-cost, I dissagree, but it isn't a ship that you often see a lot of on the battlefield.

TIE Interceptor - One of the funnest ships in the game to play. But also one of the hardest. For me it wasn't an option. I had to get as many TIE Interceptors as I could field. I just love the ship. That being said, this ship can turn on you quick. I am talking 33 point Soonter Fell dying from a single luck shot. If you don't have any you might want to look at getting the Aces pack first. I think the pilots you get in that pack work better un-upgraded and so don't hurt so bad when they die.

TIE Bomber - I love this ship. I love flying four of them, but I don't really see them as that useful in squads of 1. Jonus is the Bomber "Howelrunner" and he makes Bomber squads awesome. There are plenty of awesome builds that use Jonus and no other Bombers, most of them involve a couple of HLC.

Firespray - If you play the Empire and you want to play in tournaments I highly recommend this ship. Point for point is has some of the best stats in the game, It hits hard and is probably the hardest ship in the game to kill. Its named pilots' abilites are a little lack luster, especially Boba Fett. This ship also comes with the gunner card and two stealth devices. If you plan on running Interceptors you are going to want that stealth.

Shuttle - Such a fun ship. So upgradeable. Naked it doesn't seem that great, but it costs the same as a X-wing, sure it has a crappy dial and only 1 agility, but it has like a million hits. Once you start upgrading this ship you will really fall in love. That being said if I had to choose between buying a firespray and the shuttle I would choose the firespray. The Shuttle also comes with some really fun cards, like Anti-Pursuit-Laser and Advanced Sensors. I think Advanced sensors has replaced PtL as the Meta's favorite upgrade. If you are planning on field B-wings you will want some shuttles just for the upgrades.

Y-wing - After the shuttle this is likely the second most unappreciated ship. It can take a pretty good pounding and 2 attack dice isn't the same thing as not being able to attack. That being said, most Y-wing I see have the ion turret upgrade. This can be a lot of fun.

A-wing - I love this ship. I has some difficulty hitting TIEs, but they have just as much difficulty hitting it. They are also pretty cheap. (If you include the Ion turret price in the Y-wing) they are currently the cheapest rebel ship you can field. Their high agility and best dial in the game can make them a lot of fun.

B-wing - After the X-wing this is the second most popular fighter in the Rebellion. Like the shuttle it works best with a few upgrades. (Not too many) but it doesn't really need them.

YT-1300 - What Star Wars fan can not have the Falcon. On top of that it is a great ship. If you want to get to 100 points without spending a lot of money the Falcon is just great. It is famous in the Han Shoots First lists, with are basically just Taking Han with Luke or a Gunner. Surprisingly it has a better movement dial than a X-wing. It also comes with the Engine Upgrade card which is a nice card to have.

Thanks for the advice!

As a player who is more into aesthetics and story, I really like the iconic ships (e.g. TIEs, Lambda) more than the strange & special (I'm thinking the TIE-Defender, the E-Wing, etc).

However, will I have to really worry that I'm going to let my preferences be an Achilles heel? Will I need the strange & special ships if I want to get anywhere?

Thanks Steven, my bro is concerned that he'll get a load of TIEs only for them to be obsolete so trying to be careful with numbers.

TIE Fighters are unlikely to ever become "obsolete" but I can see where running seven or eight of them is uncommon instead the relatively frequent occurrence it is now. I've got five and while I can't run a full "swarm" of six or more TIE's I believe I have a good number to run anything else. Now you can get dice and templates from other sources but having that second set will be helpful when two people are using one collection as is having two damage decks (one for each side, keep them separated) which makes a 2nd Core highly recommended. Two Cores is four T/F and when you throw in an Expansion for the pilots (I really don't see Howlrunner completely being replaced) and you get five which is a good number.

I also say three X-Wings is a good number which could grow to four if get the GR-75. Admittedly Epic play may require more ships but XXXX will make a respected squadron at 100 points no matter how you spend the 16 points you have left for upgrades.

Thanks for all the replies guys

I'll tell my bro that next we're getting another core set, then we can start mixing it up with other ships! Looking forward to getting some B-wings and a Falcon.

Trying to get some of my friends into the game too so it's not just the two of us playing against each other as being twins that could get boring pretty quickly!

Introductions as this is my first post - I'm BCooper85's twin. The guy who gave up on his love of Y-Wings so that his brother may chase his own love of X-Wings. I have therefore turned to the dark side. The things we do for younger brothers.....

Anyway. Great forum from what I've seen so far. You've all been very helpful and it's appreciated.

Having now caught up on the thread myself, a second core does seem the way to go. Looks like once we get that (so 3 X-Wings vs 5 Tie Fighters), we'll be looking into moving on up. Firespray looks like a good bet to me as Ben has mentioned I'd rather be precise than swarmy. I don't think he'd need to get much to stay competitive though? Especially if he picks up a Falcon or B-Wings. Am I far off with that train of thought?

Cheers