So, I'm a new player. One of my friends is getting out of X-Wing and had a collection of ships to sell. So, I bought his collection (which included ships in wonderfully good collection - guy said he only played once or twice but lost interest), and also bought a few other ships from a local store.

Now, this is my collection:

Rebels:

3 X-Wing (2 from Core set, 1 from Expansion Pack)

2 B-Wing

1 Falcon

1 HWK-290

1 A-Wing

1 Y-Wing

1 Z-95 Headhunter

Empire:

7 TIE Fighters (4 from Core set, 3 from Expansion Packs)

1 Lambda Shuttle

1 Slave I

1 TIE Interceptor

1 TIE Bomber

1 TIE Advanced

Are the ships in my collection sufficient for me to build a good variety of build lists? I also want to get the Imperial Aces and rebel Aces packs, but will probably wait until the holidays to do so.

More headhunters, maybe more bombers, and maybe a transport (comes with additional X-wing pilots) and an extra X-Wing would be good additions, depending on your budget, but there's nothing you need. The aces packs you mentioned would also be good, but I don't see the need to get more than 1 of each of those

Did you say getting out of X Wing?!

It's a pretty good collection even if you can't field certain squadrons at this time.

Getting both Aces would be good. I don't know if you've factored in Wave 4 yet but I know I'd like at least two Z-95s and at least one of the other three ships; probably want two Phantoms just to try some crazy Whispering Echoes builds. Looking at the Imperials I believe most people find that one TIE Bomber usually under performs; to me its a ship you can either do without or one you want at least two, but probably three, of.

There are lots of things of which you might want multiples eventually, but yes--you have the ability to field a lot of interesting lists, particularly on the Rebel side.

Are the ships in my collection sufficient for me to build a good variety of build lists?

Absolutely.

My son and I share one collection and buy at least one of every new ship so we have the cards as well as the ship. He claimed the Imperials while I was left with the Rebels. We have then picked up extra ships as ships, cards and/or pilots have been needed to keep up to date with our lists. I suggest you start playing with what you have, add any ships you are missing as you go and buy any extras you need to keep up with your list as we have done.

How much of each ship from Wave 4 would I need?

The imperial side is a little light for my tastes but TIE swarms aren't really my thing, and it's still way beyond most beginners' collections.

Play with it and see what you like, then buy more of that. Pick up one of each Wave 4 ship if you like, but don't worry about it too much yet.

Need is a really hard to define term. The number you would need to field any possible squad including them is:

3 - TIE Defender, E-Wing

4 - TIE Phantom

8 - Z-95

Or you can grab one of each, which will still give you a pretty large variety of squads you could build.

Why get out of X-Wing? What, to go player a better game like 40K? LOL

As far as buying Aces packs, buying two Imperial Aces is not a bad idea. 4x Royal Guard Interceptors with Push The Limits is a very fun squad, and teaches the glass cannon style of ship in a reasonably forgiving way.

Your collection has a fever.....and the only cure is more Squints!

Why get out of X-Wing? What, to go player a better game like 40K? LOL

Long story short, my friend recently got married and decided to follow his wife to her job in another state. He had a decent-sized X-Wing collection, but he hadn't played with them much. He told me that since he was going to start a family and have other obligations, he would have no time for X-Wing and decided to sell the figures. (Personally, I think X-Wing is a wonderful game to play with children as it is at the same time easy to learn and sufficiently interesting and complex, but to each their own, I suppose.)

So, it sounds like my Imperial side needs more ships. What additional ones should I get? I was thinking TIE Phantom and Imperial Aces, but would like to hear what you think.

The Phantom and an Aces is a great start.

From there I'd play some games and see what you like. If you enjoy the glass cannon/too maneuverable to hit playstyle, go for a second Aces. If you enjoy big tanky builds, go for another Lambda or Slave 1 and possibly a Defender. You have the swarm covered already.

You'll have a solid base to mix and match with an Aces and a Phantom, the above suggestions are simply ways to specialize if you feel the need after some games.

So, it sounds like my Imperial side needs more ships. What additional ones should I get? I was thinking TIE Phantom and Imperial Aces, but would like to hear what you think.

Edit: Phantom not Defender.

How much of each ship from Wave 4 would I need?

"Need" is a strong word when it comes to ship numbers. If you want to exclusively field a certain ship type in the maximum number then you have hard numbers. If you're just looking for numbers that could provide many interesting squadron building options the number is far lower.

I had answered this question before you even asked it. My thought is one E-Wing and Defender, two Phantoms, and at least two Z-95s although I could easily see going to four or perhaps even six.

By need, I had meant having enough of a ship to be able to build mainstream builds.

I think the Z-95 is going to be featured in a lot of builds. Airen Cracken and Lt. Blount have very good abilities and the generic pilots have decent stats at low point cost.

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/105107-2014-regionals-results/page-1

If you are curious about "mainstream" builds and the ships in them, MajorJuggler has a thread here dissecting the results of the recent regionals at the link above. It wont have much information on Wave 4 (I think), but it'll give you a eye in to what ships are seeing the most play in competitive environments.

You have 7 TIE fighters. One more gives you the classic swarm

Why get out of X-Wing? What, to go player a better game like 40K? LOL

Long story short, my friend recently got married and decided to follow his wife to her job in another state. He had a decent-sized X-Wing collection, but he hadn't played with them much. He told me that since he was going to start a family and have other obligations, he would have no time for X-Wing and decided to sell the figures. (Personally, I think X-Wing is a wonderful game to play with children as it is at the same time easy to learn and sufficiently interesting and complex, but to each their own, I suppose.)

Your friend should reconsider keeping his fleets. He may just find an active community wherever he goes. Having a career and family does not mean you can never fit a little gaming in. All those real life responsibilities certainly take up most of our time but you can always make a little time now and then.

I average 50-60 hours of work a week, married with 2 small kids, 2 grown kids, 2 small grandkids, do all my own home projects and maintenance (I hate paying someone to do what I can do myself), have other hobbies, and to top it off I am lazy! Maybe that list does not reflect lazy but when it gets down to it, I am a bit lazy. LOL So if my lazy butt can do all the above and still get in 1-2 games most weeks, there is no reason why anyone else cannot do the same.

For mainsteam builds, it looks like you already have enough ships to run the frontrunners:

-7 Tie Fighter swarm with Howlrunner....check

-Han Shoots First (1 Falcon and 2 XW or 2 BW)....check

-2X2B (Biggs walks the dogs)...check (bar 2 adv sensor cards, but you proxy those outside a tourney)

So I would play with what you got first, or add some ships you don't have yet (Phantom, Imp aces). Once you figure out what you like, buy more of that. Its real easy to buy everything real fast, then realize you'll only run multiples of a certain ship about once a year (like my 2nd Tie Advanced, poor guy).

You can never have enough toy spaceships incredibly detailed collectible miniatures.

More... buy more...!!

Made my first build tonight:

Han Shoots First

1x Han Solo (main attacker)

-->Gunner (to reroll dice)

-->Marksmanship (for accuracy)

-->Chewbacca (for longevity)

2x Rookie Pilot X-Wings (support attackers)

Also made an Imperial Build:

Firespray + Mini-Swarm

1x Kressis Trellix

--->Recon Specialist

--->HLC

1x Howlrunner

3x Academy Pilot

Playtested the two against each other. Han Solo was awesome. The X-Wings' maneuverability was amazing. Kressis Trellix looked good on paper, but his big ship was rather awkward to maneuver through asteroids. (Han Solo didn't have the same problem as he had a 360 arc and so his facing didn't matter. Trellix could shoot through the front or back but not the sides.). TIE fighters are swift, but are quite fragile.