Hi,

I have been playing FFG stuff for a while now and finally decided I have some disposable income I want to devote to X-wing, the only thing is I don't know what is "needed". And by needed I should probably specify that I am already into Netrunner, Star Wars LCG, and LOTR LCG, so I am aware that sometimes you have to buy multiple core sets and expansions to hit the "deckbuilding" limit. So my question is what are the rules on army limits and what should I pick up? I plan to play lightside while my roommate plays dark side, though I will be buying all the minis as I love to collect (I did notice the core set only comes with one x wing but 2 tie fighters, so I will probably want to pick up another ship for myself so it feels more fair) but basically I want to figure out what is a good starting point to give us a few army building possibilities but not break the bank when trying it out.

Ohh goodness.

Most buy 2 core sets. Then buy per wave. Pretty much just go down the item numbers as the game progresses pretty well. If you're looking to stay cheap a lot of people collect only one side. I, for example, don't support terrorists with my hard earned money.

For the glory of the Empire!

If yout really want to get into it

Two core sets

And at least one of each ship

I recommend if your on a budget

Get the Falcon and slave

And the xwing and tie expansion as they have awesome pilots

You basically need the tie expansion for the pilot Howlrunner if you plan on flying tie swarms.

Ultimately it depends how much money you want to drop. You can make do with one core set, but having two is a great start. From there you will likely want at least one of every expansion, with multiples down the line. Also it depends if you are planning to play one side or both.

A good starting point for a Rebel player would be 2 Core sets, 1 X-Wing Expansion, 2 B-Wing Expansions and the Falcon. For a good Imperial start, 2 core sets, 2 Tie Fighter Expansions, a Tie Interceptor Expansion and Imperial Aces might be a good start.

I advise you buy 1 core set, learn which side you like to play, then start to committing to more ships. For example while I have tons of ships from both factions I almost exclusively fly imperial because I like how they work better.

Well I actually plan to have the collection for my roommate and I to play against each other, so I will need ships for both sides, sounds like the general consensus is 2 core sets. So is there any limit to the number of a specific type etc. Or is it all point based? Also are the points fair if I just played with one core set or should I also pick up an extra rebel ship to round it out? (Not sure which extra ship to pick up as I don't want to get something really unfair)

It's points based for standard games, with 100 points per team being a standard game. I refer you back to my previous post about what I would start with at this point. You can play pretty evenly with 2 core sets, and fill in from there. Some good starting points would be 4 Academy Pilots vs 2 Red Squadron Pilots.

Two core sets is definitely the way to start, esp. If you are supplying an opposing force, as this gives each player a set of maneuver templates and a set of dice. This became very apparent with my son and me playing each other, then in tournaments and league at different tables.

Next buy one of each expansion as you can afford them so you get all the unigue cards! You will find you need more of some cards, again, esp. if you are supplying both forces. As an example I had to buy another Millenium Falcon tonight primarily for another Veteran Instincts card! Good thing I had a 15% off coupon at B&N! Then that card only cost me $27 with tax! LOL!

1 x-wing vs 2 Ties is pretty balanced. A standard game is 100 points per player, which could be 3-4 X-wings, 6-8 TIEs. 3 core kits and 1 X & 1 Tie expansion use to be pretty common starting point. Now theres a lot more options, so you might not want that 3rd core. The millennium falcon and slave-1 are good starting ships as well and will use 1/3 to 1/2 your squad points. Don't buy the TIE advanced, anything is better than that one.

Some popular Rebel squads are

XXBB

AABBB

Falcon & 2 X, B, or Y

ABXY

BBBB

XXXX

For the Empire

6-7 TIE fighters

4-5 TIE fighters & Firespray (aka Slave-1)

4 TIE bombers

4-5 TIE fighters & a Lambda (not a beginner's ship)

3 Firespray

2 Firespray & 1 TIE Interceptors or 2 TIE fighters

1 Firespray & 2 TIE interceptors

3-4 TIE interceptors

And thats not including any wave 4 ships

The only advice I can add here, I think, is to play each ship once or twice. Figure out which ones you like the feel of and then devote more money to them. Use the X-Wing wiki to figure out what upgrades come with what ships. That should guide you further as you become more adept at the game and can strategize on what cards you want to outfit yourself with. I strongly advise against buying more than 1 of anything that isn't a TIE fighter or an X-Wing until you know if you like how it flies, or if you willingly buy a ship you won't like for a card that you will. At least at that point it's your own informed decision.

But yes, two core sets especially if you're sharing the play experience with someone on-hand. That way you can each hoard your own movement templates and the like. Sharing across the table can get tedious.

A good way to start is to have a friend go in with you. One of you can be filthy Rebels and the other can be the Imperial heroes. That way you can share the burden of building up 2 forces.Anyway the best things to buy when starting off:

1 or 2 Core Sets: You can manage with the 1. Comes with 2 ties and 1 X-wing with Pilots like Luke that aren't in other packs. Although you will REALLY want a 2nd set of dice. So either buy the dice pack or a 2nd core set. You can maybe find the core sets for 25 bucks each online.

Tie Fighter and X-Wing expansion: Just buy one of each for now, they come with upgrades and pilots not found in the core pack.

Slave-1 and Millennium Falcon:

Both are pretty good ships with upgrade cards that don't come in any other pack. They are also high points ships so it makes it easier to fill out a squad of 100 points. Falcon comes with 2 of the awesome Engine Upgrade cards.

Imperial Aces: Kind of a Bargain. Comes with pilots you will get a lot of use out of that aren't found in regular Interceptor pack, and lots of modifications you can use on any other ship.

1 other Rebel ship: Y-wing, Hwk-290 are decent support ships. B-Wing can be pretty fun.

With those you will have:

2-3 X-wings with all the pilots

Millennium Falcon

1 other B-Wing or Y-Wing best bets

3-5 Tie Fighters with all the pilots

Slave-1

2 Tie-interceptors with half the pilots, but pretty good ones.

For about $120 if you buy it online. Miniature Market does free shipping on orders of $100. (They're sold out of the Falcon at this moment)

If you only want to do 1 faction, you can probably get by with an $80 purchase.

Stay away from Tie-Advanced and A-wing for now, they are getting new releases later, and they aren't terribly good in the game right now. Tie Defender costs too many points for what it does, I'd avoid it too.

If you want some later options:

1 Tie-Interceptor expansion, for the rest of the pilots.

The other Rebel Ships you didn't get besides the A-wing

1 Tie-Phantom for the funny tricks it can do

1 Lambda Shuttle, but only if you bought a Millenium Falcon, because they are near useless without the engine upgrade card.

1 to 3 Tie Bombers, these guys are pretty good

1 or 2 Z-95 Headhunters Cheap ships to fill out a force, can use missiles.

If you absolutely need to have a Tie-Advanced for Darth Vader, only buy 1. You will never need more than 1 Tie-Advanced in any list.

Also, don't restrict yourself to the tournament standard 100 points per side. 125+ per side can be a lot more fun.

The point cost of each ship will depend on the pilot in it, so you can have fair fights. Before upgrades:

Tie Fighter Generics are 12-14 points each, named pilots 15-18.

X-Wings range from 21 point rookie pilot to 29 point Wedge Antilles.

Yt-1300 (Millennium Falcon) Outer Rim Smuggler 27 points, Han Solo 46

Firespray (Slave-1) 33 point Bounty Hunter to 39 point Boba Fett.

2 core sets will give you ships, but you will need more expansions to fill out a 100 point squad. Start with a 50-60 point cap until your number of ships and upgrades can hit the 100 point mark easier.

Something no-one has mentioned yet is the multitude of squad builders available online. They will allow you to see precisely what each and every card in the game does, see examples of existing squads and let you play around with building a squad you like.

Once you figure out something you what to play, you can see what expansions you have to pick up to build your squad.

Here are a few of the more popular squadbuilders:

Voidstate's squad builder

Fab's Squad generator

(Yet another) X-wing miniatures squad builder

The core set is a bargain as you pay less for three ships the rules and all the tokens than you do for three expantions so going for two core sets is not a bad idea.

Once you pick a faction start with the basic ships cheap tie fighters and xwings are a solid starting place, once your comfortable with those you can start on the more specialised ships like b-wings and a-wings.

Really there are no terrible choices so go for what you like the look of.

It's points based for standard games, with 100 points per team being a standard game. I refer you back to my previous post about what I would start with at this point. You can play pretty evenly with 2 core sets, and fill in from there. Some good starting points would be 4 Academy Pilots vs 2 Red Squadron Pilots.

Quibble: 2 reds vs academies is not good for the rebels. Better to go with 2 rookies and give one R2-D2 (for the same points).

Oh and if you are playing casual with your roommate and not entering tournies then you can get away with just printing the cards you need, as long as you have the correct ship and coresponding dial there is no difference between a Starter set X-wing and the one in the booster pack or the one that comes with the Rebel Transport, which I notice no one has mentioned. It's kinda like a Rebel aces pack.

you can find every card, what they come with and what they do on the X-wing wiki http://xwing-miniatures.wikia.com/wiki/X-Wing_Miniatures_Wiki

Using the squad builders is really good advice too.

It's points based for standard games, with 100 points per team being a standard game. I refer you back to my previous post about what I would start with at this point. You can play pretty evenly with 2 core sets, and fill in from there. Some good starting points would be 4 Academy Pilots vs 2 Red Squadron Pilots.

Quibble: 2 reds vs academies is not good for the rebels. Better to go with 2 rookies and give one R2-D2 (for the same points).

Man when I first started it was so hard trying to take down two named x wings with named ties, I wish I had played with generics

I would say initially 2 core + 1 X-Wing and 1 or 2 TIE Fighters (I say 2 as that would give you a proper 6 TIE swarm), that way you will have all the Tie and X-Wing pilots (except the transport ones), that gives you the good core of a TIE swarm and you can have 3 man X-Wing squads.

Expand from there

Ohh goodness.

Most buy 2 core sets. Then buy per wave. Pretty much just go down the item numbers as the game progresses pretty well. If you're looking to stay cheap a lot of people collect only one side. I, for example, don't support terrorists with my hard earned money.

For the glory of the Empire!

+ our ships look better. Lambda+Interceptor + Phantom have replaced a couple of family pictures in my living room

We just covered this topic on NOVA Squadron Radio! Check out episode 1 found here:

www.novasquadronradio.com

~Ed

Coming pretty much from the same background as you, LCG games, and also collecting both sides so I can play with a buddy I just thought I'd chip in with my two cents

Like everyone else say, get 2 core sets. It's the best and cheapest way to quickly get a nice tie fleet. Plus manoeuvre templates for two and enough dice. (Sometimes you need a dice or two more for a roll than is in one core set)

After that I'd say buy one of each ship. This way you get all the cards and scenarios. (Scenarios isn't necessary, just cool). THEN you decide if there is some ship/ships you really like more than others and buy a second of those. THEN when you have been playing some games and know which ones are truly you absolute favourites you either buy yet more of those ships. OR if there's a squad or group or team you favour or have heard/read about you buy the ships to make that.

I would recommend to not buy everything at once though. I have one of everything except wave four and the transporter. I was about to buy a second A wing, B wing and 1-2 extra tie interceptors but this will actually come in the ace expansions. The rebel one comes with an alternative A and B and the Empire comes with 2 times interceptors. Not sure I would have bought the ace packs if I had bought the extra ships so sometimes it pays off waiting

I would also recommend you to laminate your dials before putting them together. This will make them last longer. Feel free to pm me for more info. And happy gaming