Im looking into buying imperial ships but I have no clue which ones to buy I have aligned myself with the rebel faction but my sin liies darth vader so I know the tie advance just for that reason will be bought. However I want him to have a fair advantage so I have no ideas on which ones to buy any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

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You can not go wrong with buying at least one Firespray, at least 1 interceptor and imp aces, and x2 TIE Fighters (assuming you have the starter for total of 4)

again you said to start with so, this is my starter list.

Thank you I do have the two tie fighters that came in the core set. I appreciate the advice I may buy the imperial aces so he has 2 intercepters as well and a phantom and a defender I just dont know if I should buy the regular tie expansion if it wasnt for the swarm tactics I probably wouldnt consider it.

Well, a few questions:

What do you like to fly?

Do you prefer more agility? Raw firepower? Ships that soak up damage and keep going?

What kind of budget?

The TIE expansion gives you more pilots, including the still popular Howlrunner.

But if I were setting a rough priority list...

Imperial Aces. A lot of excellent upgrades along with a pair of an amazingly agile fighters.

Firespray or Shuttle. Both are excellent, tanky and come with again unique upgrades.

TIE expansion.

The other large ship you did not buy above.

TIE Defender. Only source of the Predator upgrade. If you play for fun/proxy you can hold off on this ship till later.

TIE Phantom. Even more agile than the Interceptor...with bigger guns.

Still go with what you like to fly...

I'd echo a Firespray, TIE Interceptor and Imperial Aces. These are some solid pieces to teach most of the modes of play available to Imperials other then the swarm, which is best done with 3 total Core Sets and one TIE expansion.

After some experience with those, you'll have a better idea of how to proceed. If he enjoys the glass cannon hyper maneuverability of the Interceptor, add a Phantom or two. If the durability and wide field of fire shenanigans of the Firespray appeals, add a Defender or two.

The Bomber and Shuttle are niche pieces. Some enjoy them, some loathe them. I'd round out your list with them later on. The shuttle offers a ton of versatility, and can dogfight with gunner, Fire Control System, and an engine upgrade, tank by forcing target locks on to itself with the pilot Kagi, or make suicide runs with nothing but the generic pilot and Darth Vader as crew. The Bomber is solid for delivering ordnance, and folks will debate whether that is worth it from now til the end of time, is also a solid jouster and is the only ship other then the Firespray that can use Bomb upgrades.

I didn't mention the Advanced, as you seem intent on picking that up already. I think Vader with Outmaneuver and Engine Upgrade actually does some heavy lifting. Perhaps not sufficient to justify his point cost, but in the name of fun, we can look past that. Other then that the quality of its pilots is in question, Proton Rockets may boost them up a bit, however.

TIEs TIEs TIEs, Interceptors may get the glory, but TIEs win the wars.

I would recommend buying another core set, it is just such a great deal. You will want the dice, and it is almost worth it just for the TIEs. Also you will want to buy 1 - exactly 1 - TIE expansion. That way you can get at least one copy of the rest of the TIE pilots, especially Howelrunner.

I just love the TIE, it is something to be said that one of the most hated lists you can send against someone is just a bunch of TIEs, almost in any configuration.

If your running even a mini swarm you want howlrunner, firespray is an excellent choice as is interceptor for soontir and aces for cheap ps6 generics and upgrades, I'd also recommend a defender it's a tough ship that works well with HLC and comes with two awesome cards predator and outmanouver.

As others have said and that you have the 2 TIEs from the starter

2x TIE Fighter

Firespray

Imperial Aces

Pretty solid start with some great upgrade cards and a decent amount of options when building

These are probably the best ones to start out with:

1 TIE fighter (has different pilots than the core set)

1 TIE Interceptor

Imperial Aces

1 Firespray

Buy a second Core Set (for more TIE Fighters and more dice), a TIE Fighter (for Howlrunner and Backstabber), a TIE Defender (for Predator and Outmaneuver, mostly) and the TIE Advanced you talked about getting. You can make some fun lists with that.

You really should get one of everything eventually, though. I would recommend a TIE Interceptor, TIE Phantom and Firespray being in your next round of purchases. Imperial Aces, the Lambda Shuttle and the TIE Bomber probably can wait a bit.

I too would tell you to get one Tie Fighter Expansion pack for the pilots, though in the current Meta. Howlrunner is not so much a need with the Predator upgrade card as long as your flying Black Squadron Ties. Yes the Statement "squints" (Interceptors) get the glory, but Ties win the war is true because you can field so many more of them. But there's just something about Soontir Fel and the rest of the 181st that gets the blood "stripes" pumpin. Getting the Imp Aces is a good idea, it opens you up to the Royal Guard "squints", and tons of useful upgrades for the Interceptor in general. The Defender is alright, with me it's been hit or miss, not game breaking, but also not a bad choice in a build.. if you can afford it. Phantoms, I don't have one, but have seen several games played with them. They can be nasty it upgraded and flown right, really nasty. Firespray. Good choice, shields and decent hull, not Falcon tankable, but it can hold it's own. Plus the rear firing arc makes your reb opponents remember it's there. Shuttle. I personally like them, they get a lot of hate, but I think their a solid choice. The zero maneuver can really clog up the lane if it's not anticipated, and the cheapest one is 21 points with 5 shields and 5 hull and add the Darth Vader crew card and it will start to worry your opponent.

So I bought the imperial aces and a tie expansion kit im loving the upgrade cards that came with it and the swarm tactics card now ipens up A major possibility for even the Z95 head hunter. I am looking at buyingbthe firespray just for the cards and so my son has bobba fet to play with as well. Im thankful for yhe advice you guys have gave and look foward ro more later on.