The best balance is to balance the squad points in the bottom right corner.

Luke 28

Red 23

R2D2 4 = 55

Dark Curse 16

Night Beast 15

Academy 12

Academy 12 = 55

Kill Luke First!

Thanks, this is what I need to know.

I've found the points system to be the most balanced of any game i've played (and i've played a lot since i got a copy of warhammer in 1986).

In most games we have the 'winner' is left with one or two mauled ships left, often a single ship with one hit left.

Its probably stating the obvious but the random dice roll factor curve slackens off with more ships.

with 1vs2 a single roll can make a massive difference.

For example, if i get a single critical hit on a tie with my first shot I can with luck and the right crit draw have pretty much put that ship out the game. I've seen an xwing smash a tie in one round of shooting as it was at range 1 and rolled 3 hits and crit (one more than needed).... in comparision if the TIE got three solid hits in at range 1, one of them would have to be a critical to do more than chip the x wings paint job.

Those shields are much better than hull points because a hull point hit removed by a critical that affects the ship or pilot has a fair chance of screwing your game plan. Whereas as long as you've got shields up (lets say at full strength on an X) the TIE has to knock em down, until then a crit is just a hit. makes a big difference, thats why the shield upgrade card is 4pts and the hull upgrade card 3pts.

try playing with asteroids as well if you have not already, you might find an X wing being 'slower' (as in having a 1 move) sometimes favours the X wing.

But in fairness you probably do need about 60 points a side really for a good starting game. 100 is standard but try 60 points as a step up without breaking the bank, its also easily done with a second core set.

(you'll find the second core set really useful for extra dice, a set of rulers/templates each ... before you even consider the 'cheap' price for three decent ships)

If you're still using the beginning scenario rules, move on to the full rule system. The X-wing's ability to spend a target lock and a focus on the same attack can easily result in 3 hits, dealing some serious damage to a Tie fighter if it's agility roll is poor. Asteroids and stress are other important factors that some new player don't fully grasp. Make sure you're both using the same number of points per squad.

I've actually never tried the initial 1 X-wing and 2 TIEs... I didn't really find out about the game until the third wave, (this is my first real board game, I played video games and that was it before this, now I'm addicted!) But anyways... much to my wife's dismay I bought the starter set and at least one of every ship right off the bat. I can't see myself playing with fewer ships though, personally I think it's a blast the more ships you get to play with (although it takes a lot more time) but I definitely recommend getting more ships if you can!

With so few ships the dice rolls and player movements play such a HUGE roll in the outcome of those early games.

It is balanced enough that it should be a good base, however if you find one side/player is dominating the games, switch forces!

Agree with above comments. You really want to collect enough ships to get 100 point matches for both sides. While the core set is balanced per say, its really not a complete game, more like a introductory trial to see if its something that interests you.

At its core X-Wing is a game that rewards risk management, good estimation and smart choices, but it does have an element of luck with the dice. The fewer you roll, the swingier it can feel.

In a game where you have one or two ships to work with, a bad dice roll can be catastrophic which really isn't usually the case in a full 100+ point game. In fact the more points you play with the less likely dice will determine the outcome of a game.

My recommendation for anyone starting the game (as I have recently) is to buy two core sets, 1 extra Tie Fighter and 1 Extra X-Wing. It wasn't until I had this sized of a collection that I really felt like I was playing a complete game.

^^^^^^ This.