Hello all,

I just picked up the starter set last week and bought a second X-Wing and a Tie Interceptor over the weekend. I'm having fun so far just playing against my girlfriend or whoever happens to stop by, but I already want more!

I have to limit my purchases however, and can't regularly drop even $15 on a new ship every week. I want ALL the ships, and copies of them too, but I need a good starting point. As I mentioned I have two X-Wings and Ties and a Tie Interceptor, I'm looking to keep the two sides balanced so that I can keep playing with just the stuff I have on hand. I was considering a Tie Advance x1, a Y-Wing (because I love the classics) and/or another Tie fighter (for the alternate pilots and upgrades). I also have a creeping desire to get the HWK 290. My girlfriend has expressed interest in the A-Wing and the YT-1300 so I was hoping she would actually buy them, and soon...

I guess I just need some advice on squadron/fleet building, from both sides.

Thanks a lot!

Jake

Welcome to the addiction!

I would recommend sticking with ships you like first, which you have already listed! However, some are better in actual play than others and it depends upon your play style as well!

The Advanced and HWK are the least useful of the ships you listed. The Awing and the YT-1300 are good ships followed by the YWing.

The newest wave, Defender, Phantom, Z95 and Ewing are shaking things up currently and should be considered also.

Eventually you will want at least one of everything, for the cards at a minimum! Hence, the addiction! Read the forums, add ships as you can and play a LOT! It will come together!

And always remember, HAVE FUN!

First thing that most will tell you, and I agree is a 2nd core set.

I know it's a bit of money, but it's the best value you can get. 2 more Ties, 1 X alone cost $45 retail. Plus you get more dice, more templates, a extra deck, ect...

Next a Tie Fighter expansion will give you more pilots which gives you a lot of good options.

After that, perhaps save up for a YT-1300 and Firespray, both are great ships and really let you fill out a 100 point list on a budget.

After that, just collect what ever suits your fancy, all the ships are good so it's not like you'll end up wasting money. But on a budget like yours I'd recommend sticking to no more then 1 of each ship for now. Also don't get more then 1 Tie Advanced ever. They're good for Vader but that's about it. The HWK-290 is a great ship but again I'd say no more then one.

Thanks guys, I'll consider a second core set, in the mean time should I go with a Tie Fighter pack (assuming the GF gets the A-Wing) or wait until I can afford two sets (one for each side)? Again, remember I'm going for balanced forces for both sides and just playing for fun, not trying to be super competitive.

Go with something your GF will play so you have a friend to play with more then just what you want.

I'd say another Tie Fighter would give you the most options right now, Imp side.

If you're looking for bang for your buck, I'd say wait and get the rebel aces. That'll net you the a-wing, and a super sweet b-wing.

That'll even out your ship numbers a little too.

If you're looking for bang for your buck, I'd say wait and get the rebel aces.

It's going to be 2-3 months before we see Rebel Aces.

The new ships might be fun to consider as well. I'm going to use some of them for the first time tonight.

I'd recommend going to one of the online squad builders and researching the ships and possible upgrades a bit.

The HWK isn't a bad ship if it is partnered with X-wings like Biggs and Wedge.

The B-wing is also a good sturdy ship Rebel side.

Imp side I'm a huge fan of interceptors, and that would be a good ship to have multiples of.

Otherwise, I recommend the Slave I Imp side, unless you feel like taking a risk and trying the TIE Phantom or Defender.

The TIE Advanced does tend to be a bit of a dud unless you use Vader, and even then it only goes from bad to meh.

^ he's not playing competitively though.

Take all your ships, fill them to the brim with upgrades. Vader becomes super fun in casual games.

If you're looking for bang for your buck, I'd say wait and get the rebel aces.

It's going to be 2-3 months before we see Rebel Aces.

Yes, but that time gives him some chance to build up cash for the one big purchase.

Can't go wrong with Slave 1 and Millennium Falcon

The HWK isn't a bad ship if it is partnered with X-wings like Biggs and Wedge.

The B-wing is also a good sturdy ship Rebel side.

Imp side I'm a huge fan of interceptors, and that would be a good ship to have multiples of.

The TIE Advanced does tend to be a bit of a dud unless you use Vader, and even then it only goes from bad to meh.

I just took at a look at the HWK with XWings as you suggested and do believe, That I have a new build for tonight's league! thanks!

The BWing is sturdy, agreed!

Interceptors are AWESOME and they look COOL doing it!

The Advanced is a letdown, esp. For somebody who grew up seeing it as an awesome Imperial ship!

I'll see how that HWK fits for me and report back!

Strangely, you have the same items I started with, and the same name as me. I would highly recommend a second starter set to get extra dice and templates so the person you play against can have them for themselves when you play. (plus its super annoying to not even have enough dice for an x wing at range 1, and you can never have enough ties). For imps if you get a large ships, best to go with slave 1 because its more straight forward and easier to use than the shuttle. The falcon is a great ship for the rebels, but ill warn you not to get used to using it, especially when starting out, otherwise you wont learn how to maneuver as well.If you like elite maneuverable pilots, get imperial aces and those a wings. I would say its safe to just focus on the first two waves (tie fighter, x wing, y wing, advanced, interceptor, a wing, slave 1, and falcon) because those ships will help you get most of the different play styles and the main differences between sides, before you get into support ships like the shuttle and HWK or the wave 4 ships that break the usual cheapness of imperials rule, and pricyness of rebels. The one exception I would say is the b wing though, because it really is a great chunky tank for the rebels, and can be fit into as many lists as an x wing. And as for huge ships, just ignore those for now, work on getting a lot of ships first!

Good luck, and have fun playing such an amazing game!

First off, welcome to the party.

I'm not sure if someone suggested to pick up a second Starter, if for nothing else, for the extra tokens and (movement) templates -- also the extra dice. If a second starter is not in the cards at the moment, you should look into getting the dice pack for, again, the extra dice.

If I may ask, where do you hang your hat? If it happens to be close to a cell of X-wing players, the players that I know are accepting of new players. They will let you use their ships during local meet-ups so you can try them out, and decide for yourself if you should buy that particular ship.

Good luck. And, again, welcome to the game. You've taken your first step into a larger world.

I'm in the D.C. metro area. I think my better half has nixed the second core set, at least for now. The debate seems to be coming down to Y-wing or A-wing for her and something that would help balance the imperials for me. I'm leaning towards a tie fighter expansion or maybe the tie advance. I could be persuaded to go for the bomber or a second interceptor though.

Thanks for all the advice so far, I'm really excited to get deeper into this game, and the reception from the community so far had been very positive.

If you're looking for bang for your buck, I'd say wait and get the rebel aces. That'll net you the a-wing, and a super sweet b-wing.

That'll even out your ship numbers a little too.

Even ship number is FAR from an "even" playing field especially when TIE Fighters are involved. Pre-upgrade SCCO Jake can currently field 57 points of Rebels (Wedge + Luke) and 60 points of TIEs (Fel + Maulter + Dark Curse) but available upgrades greatly favor the Rebels. Adding two more rebel ships greatly swings any "balance" that way and besides, RAces will not be out for a while yet.

As for "what to get" I'd like to be boring and say "get another Core Set" as it gets you three X-Wings and four TIE Fighters. The TIE Fighter Expansion really doesn't get you much in terms of "upgrades" but does get you Howlrunner and Backstabber who are two very desirable pilots. If your girlfriend were to get the YT-1300 the rebels will be strong enough to field a respectable 100 points squadron and leave the Imperials to play catch up.