Hey,

Let me start by saying I'm a huge Lotr LCG player. Deck building not a problem. I play it mainly solo but sometimes with a friend or two. I have bought all the expansions for that game which really adds up.... Anyway, as much as I love lotr, I enjoy playing other various board/card games. I thought about getting another lcg to play a 2 player game with a friend. I think I'm might pick up star wars. I would only be able to play it a couple weekends a month, so considering that, I don't want to go spend loads of money and get tons of expansions for a game I won't be playing a ton. I've done some research on the rest of the LCG's and Star Wars seems to be the easiest game to buy without being super serious about it. We will be serious when we do play the game but we just won't be competing in tourney's and competitive play. Just a weekend game day.

What should I buy to have fun with a friend and play maybe 4 consecutive games once every couple weeks? I know when I tell people what to buy for Lotr, It's hard not to give them a whole big list of things to buy. I want to stay cheap here though. I can get a core at Coolstuff for $26.99, $19.99 for a deluxe box, and $9.99 for a Force Pack. I want to spend no more than $60. I hear many people say, "You must get two cores to actually have a good experience playing the game". Considering how often I will play, is this true? I hate to buy more than one core...I didn't for Lotr and I get along perfectly fine. But for Star wars, is buying two cores a must?

I was thinking Core + Edge of Darkness would be perfect. I probably wouldn't buy any more after that for a long while. But do you think I should just get two cores and play with that? Or two cores AND edge of darkness?

In other words, what would be the cheapest option to play Star Wars casually with a friend a few times a month?

Thanks,

Khamul

Two cores and two EoD give you complete playset and plenty of cards to play with for all 6 affiliations.

For cheapest option I would say two cores. Gives you a playset and lots of sets for 4 of the affiliations.

Since you are an experienced LCGer, I think the inconsistency of the decks you could build with 1 core and 1 Edge of Darkness would get on your nerves. I think you're better off with two cores now and maybe bump that to two Edge of Darkness if you really love the game.

The game is swingy with just one core set, but for my part, I rather like the variety of decks with only 1 of each objective in it. If I were just getting started, I'd go for one core and one Edge.

I agree with those that say 2x Core and 2x Edge of Darkness. If you are willing to spend that much - about $120 new - you might also be interested in buying a used collection online. I have seen entire collections go for $150.

Thanks for the responses guys.

I agree with those that say 2x Core and 2x Edge of Darkness. If you are willing to spend that much - about $120 new - you might also be interested in buying a used collection online. I have seen entire collections go for $150.

Like I said, I'm already putting a lot of money into lotr and I don't want to spend more than around $60. I know I wont get the full experience, but with Star Wars being more of a side game to lotr:lcg, battlelore and mage knight I probably won't play it enough to get bored and disappointed with a limited amount of stuff. I've watched the Team Covenant tutorial which is really good. I have a question:

In Lord of the Rings: LCG, When you buy an expansion you get about half encounter cards (adventure cards)/ and half player cards to put in your deck. In Star Wars, am I correct that all the cards you get in an expansion are sets of player cards (objective sets)? So in a expansion you get something like 8 objectives and a certain amount of card for that each objective right?

So any more opinions on if you think I should get 2 cores or core + Edge?

Thanks

In a force pack you get 10 objective sets, 2 copies of 5 different sets.

Two cores will get you most balanced low cost purchase.

I would think you might want to raise your total just a little to get two core and two edge. In two core the Sith seem very powerful and smugglers from edge give the light side more sway. Also, being able to run scum and villainy makes it worth it. Personal opinion though.

And yes on the force pack question. Your wording makes me wonder if you fully understand how deck construction works though. Not that that really makes a difference or problem seeing you will learn soon enough.

On your budget I'd get 2 cores. After playing for a few months you may find yourself buying the 2 edge later.

So it seems like two cores is a big deal for this game apparently. So you can put a maximum of 2 objectives in your objective stack with their sets of cards in your deck? Meaning you would have a better chance of getting the good cards faster? Am I right that it just makes the games more fair because both sides have a good chance of getting the good cards? How much is wasted in buying two cores? There are many extremely helpful new player guides for LOTR; are there any for Star Wars that I should take a look at?

Thanks

Yeah 2 cores and 2 EOD's later, possibly the Balance of the Force packs. Hoth has a lot of cards that get very little play.

I'll offer my insight as a fellow LOTR/SW player.

In LOTR the core set has a lot of cards where you get a full play set to begin with and a few cards you only get one of that are super powerful (like unexpected courage). Star Wars is very different in that you get pretty much one of each objective set (I think some neutral ones you get 2x) in a core set. So yes, there will be some lesser used objective sets you may avoid but you are almost doubling your cardpool by purchasing a second set. It really annoyed me in LOTR that to add a second or third of a 1x from the core set I'd end up with countless cards that I didn't really care for. In Star Wars its been the opposite, I pick up 2-3 objectives sets I won't use but gain full sets of some of the most commonly used objective (Han, Luke, Vader, Palpatine etc). In summary I think buying a second core for Star Wars is much more beneficial at expanding your deck building selection than it is for LOTR.

I'm not sure on any new players guides, there's a couple of pod casts that have done new player startup episodes.

There is an article here on deck building boot camp: http://toptiergaming.com/2014/05/02/sw-lcg-fundamentals/

There is very little waste in two cores. Only the extras of two neutral objective sets.

Episode 9 of Table Flip I recorded a new player episode that might help.

I ordered two cores for a total of $55+Free shipping. I'll see how long it will be before I get EoD Any tips/suggestions/recommendations before I start playing? Anything you wished you would have done or known when you first started playing?

Thanks

I ordered two cores for a total of $55+Free shipping. I'll see how long it will be before I get EoD Any tips/suggestions/recommendations before I start playing? Anything you wished you would have done or known when you first started playing?

Thanks

Probably worth watching FFG's tutorial video. Get a few games in with the demo decks suggested in the rules before moving on to deck building so that you have a better idea of how you want to build the decks. Oh, and don't get frustrated if the game feels like LS or DS always wins at first, learning to play each side is a different learning curve and most people pick one up much faster than the other.

Probably worth watching FFG's tutorial video.

I've watched FFG's video twice and I've watched 2 other tutorials. I have a really good feel on how to play the game.

Oh, and don't get frustrated if the game feels like LS or DS always wins at first, learning to play each side is a different learning curve and most people pick one up much faster than the other.

Lot's of people say that DS is generally more powerful with just the core set. Is that just with the starter decks or does it even out when you do some deck building? Is it usually going to be pretty unfair no matter how good the players are?

Lot's of people say that DS is generally more powerful with just the core set. Is that just with the starter decks or does it even out when you do some deck building? Is it usually going to be pretty unfair no matter how good the players are?

DS probably has a slight edge with just the core (evened out significantly by using the starter decks as the lack of focused deck building makes luck a bigger factor). However, many play groups felt that LS had an edge. It really comes down to which side your playgroup masters first. For instance, it probably took me a good 20 games before I started doing anything resembling productive with LS decks but eventually got to the point where I was posting nearly identical win rates with each side. It may be frustrating at first when you're still getting a hang of the tactics of the game, but it will get better with practice.

A suggestion of mine is to read through the Core Rules several times. I did this and it helped a ton when explaining the game to new ones and it helped me a lot as well.

I hope you enjoy the game!