There's a lot of discussion about this so far in various threads so I figured I'd start one to make it easier to find and discuss.

In X-Wing two cores is frankly a bit of no-brainer, you get a great deal and have a good number of commonly used ships to start your collection. However I'm not so sure that will hold true for Armada.

In X-Wing 3 ships cost MSRP $45. Core set costs MSRP $40, so right there you're getting a 5 buck discount. Then figure extra dice, damage deck, templates, ect... It's a great deal.

But for Armada, it's $100 MSRP. In that you get 3 ships, that will cost around $85 to $90 based on the costs of the other ships. We're also getting 10 fighters which would retail for $25 @ $2.50 per. So all told you're getting $10-115 worth of ships, so again a good deal.

But the issue is that you'll most likely want to buy at least one expansion pack of each ship in the core set for the upgrades that come with them. You'll also want to buy 1 fighter pack for each side you'll play, to get the other fighters.

Given the points for a VSD you'll be hard pressed to put 3 in a list and have an effective list. That means the value of the 2nd core goes down, if you have no use for that 3rd VSD. What was a $110-115 value is now effectively $70-85 value, because you "lost" 40 bucks. Also I don't think you'll have need for 14 squads of Tie Fighters or even 10 squads of X-Wings. So you're again losing value, because you are getting more ships that you may not have any use for.

Of course some people might want them for other reasons then game play. So the value of the 2nd core is a bit more subjective. But it's clear to me at least that the 2nd Armada core is not anywhere near the no-brainer that it is in X-Wing.

It's possible that when we have more details about the game this could change... But right now I'd suggest to everyone to think long and hard about it before you pre-order 2 core sets.

I for one will probably just be picking up most of the starting lineup and one starter set. I want the extra cards that come in the Victory SD expansion as well as the models and requisite gameaids that come in the starter set, for example.

With X-wing, speaking purely for myself, it was basically a no-brainer. X-wing and Tie fighter blisters did not exist on the market except for at outrageous collector's prices so I had to buy a second starter just for the ship models themselves to get my squad count up.

I then had everything a friend needed to get into the game with just expansion packs as leftover "spares" from my purchases, which I considered to be a net win for the hobby in general.

In addition, it looks like we'll need fewer capital ships on the table for a typical game than snubfighters in xwing. From the tentative points costs we have it's looking like 2 Victory SDs and a Gladiator SD are about the limit for a typical points cost game, or even two Victory SDs and a lot of upgrade(fleet commanders?) and squadron card upgrade(howl, etc.).

And from what we've seen thusfar, two Victory and one Gladiator is probably the exact fleet composition I'll have for the first few months of the game for my Imperials.

It is also worth noting that many companies will be undercutting MSRP fairly heavily(I'm speculating 20-30%). Miniatures Marketplace is already selling pre-orders on the starter set for $69. I've as of yet seen no under MSRP price quotes for any ship expansions(of which we only have the tentative gencon prices).

Nonetheless, regardless of MSRP, the X-wing starter can be had for less than $28, and individual expansions can be had for around $10-12(or more).

I'll boil it down. Using MM price for the starter and assuming a 20% discount and an MSRP of 29.95 on the Gladiator, we can build a three capital Imperial fleet for $92.96 plus shipping, also assuming you can swap both Rebel ships in the starter for a second starter box Victory, which seems like a fair bet. If you were willing to go to $109 you could even buy the Imperial fighter pack.

That would give you a solid core to build on as funds and future expansions allow and still not break the bank compared to getting into *most* miniatures wargames.

I am however crazy and will be building both fleets at the same time. Am projecting extremely tight finances for Q1 2015.

Two cores, definitely two cores. I want to fly 3 VSD I!

Did the math. at 75 each 3 are 225 pts, 25 for a admiral leaves me 50 pts for tie fighters. I think, considering the price of the expansions (40$ for the Assault frig for example) that getting a second core will be quite cost efficient.

that getting a second core will be quite cost efficient.

Only if you have a use for a 3rd VSD and a lot of extra fighters. If however 3 VSD's with so few points left over isn't a viable list... then no a second core is not cost efficient.

3 VSD's + Cmdr, is 250-260 depending on the commander. 50 points means 5 squads of Tie Fighters and 5 points for upgrades. It's possible that may be a viable list, but based on what they said at the demo, it didn't sound like it.

I've pre-orderd two. i want two sets of all the extra stuff and there are plenty of folks who will buy just the ships who don't play. For example, I bought a second set of CR-90 stuff (everything but the ship) for $20 (shipped). Nice to have dupes of some of those cards and replacements for the inevitable loss/damaged items.

that getting a second core will be quite cost efficient.

Only if you have a use for a 3rd VSD and a lot of extra fighters. If however 3 VSD's with so few points left over isn't a viable list... then no a second core is not cost efficient.

3 VSD's + Cmdr, is 250-260 depending on the commander. 50 points means 5 squads of Tie Fighters and 5 points for upgrades. It's possible that may be a viable list, but based on what they said at the demo, it didn't sound like it.

Are all X-wing squads fielded viable? Most of mine are fielded just for fun.

But of course we can have different opinions. I for one will most certainly go for two starter sets. (Oh and undecided number of expansion ships)

Are all X-wing squads fielded viable? Most of mine are fielded just for fun.

No And if someone wants to do 3 VSD's even if it doesn't do well, then yeah a 2nd core is a great deal.

Again my whole point is that how good of a deal a 2nd core is, depends greatly on how much use you have for a 3rd VSD. If you find you have a use for one, to sell, paint, sit on a shelf or play with... Then yes a 2nd core is. But if you don't want a 3rd one, then no the 2nd core isn't a great deal.

The whole point of this is that some people seem to think 2 cores is the default you should buy for every FFG game, and I'm just pointing out that in this case it may not be true.

All this talk about the VSD, but I'm curious how the point system will work out for fielding 3 Neb-B's and 3 CR-90's.

but I'm curious how the point system will work out for fielding 3 Neb-B's and 3 CR-90's.

3 of either will work just fine, but 3 CR-90's or even 3 Neb's wouldn't make a very good list, for I think the same reason that 1 VSD won't... To many points left over.

3 CR-90's will be between 114 and 132 points.

3 Neb B's will be between 156 and 174 points.

2 core sets would give you?

2 sets of dice - yes thats what i like

2 VSD + 12 ? Tie Fighter squadrons - this would be enough for fleets of 300 points

2 VSD + 12 ? Tie Fighter squadrons - this would be enough for fleets of 300 points

But then you're missing out on any upgrades or other cards that come with the VSD expansion. We have yet to see how big of a deal that is, but imagine not having Howlrunner and flying a tie swarm.

I'll be going for one core and a VSD pack. Then I'll study all the upgrade cards and see if it's possible to cram in a third victory and still have some decent upgrades. If not, I'll buy a fighter pack and pimp out my two VSD's to the max.

but I'm curious how the point system will work out for fielding 3 Neb-B's and 3 CR-90's.

3 of either will work just fine, but 3 CR-90's or even 3 Neb's wouldn't make a very good list, for I think the same reason that 1 VSD won't... To many points left over.

3 CR-90's will be between 114 and 132 points.

3 Neb B's will be between 156 and 174 points.

This is actually my big concern with a second core set: I could possibly talk myself around to wanting a third Victory -class and a second set of dice, but not to a third CR90 or Nebulon-B. So that makes me lean strongly toward buying a core set, a dice pack, and an extra Victory -class expansion rather than buying a second core set.

This is actually my big concern with a second core set:

Right now my plan is to buy 1 core set, 1 of each expansion. I am likely going to buy a 2nd GSD's and 2 CR-90's, because I think 3 of those could be useful.

2 VSD + 12 ? Tie Fighter squadrons - this would be enough for fleets of 300 points

But then you're missing out on any upgrades or other cards that come with the VSD expansion. We have yet to see how big of a deal that is, but imagine not having Howlrunner and flying a tie swarm.

Two Core Sets vs One Core Set all presupposes that the expansion sets will come with cards that are not included with the core sets.

While this expectation seems reasonable, and would follow the releases of X-Wing wave 1 ships, it is not guaranteed.

I personally will wait to see what comes with each of the Wave 1 expansion sets, and based on that, determine how many Core Sets I will purchase.

I am pretty sure that is what most will do, unless they absolutely know they want 3 VSDs no matter what.

Two Core Sets vs One Core Set all presupposes that the expansion sets will come with cards that are not included with the core sets.

They actually said as much at GenCon. But since I can't provide a link it is 2nd hand info, so take that as you will.

Two Core Sets vs One Core Set all presupposes that the expansion sets will come with cards that are not included with the core sets.

They actually said as much at GenCon. But since I can't provide a link it is 2nd hand info, so take that as you will.

Missed that tidbit ... well, I guess then it will be interesting to see exactly what does come with the wave 1 expansions.

I'd guess at the very least an additional commander or two.

I really hope they sell the non model stuff separately if the expansions are going to have different cards that makes you buy them too. The second dmg deck and templates are just about mandatory for both people to go to a tournament together...

but I'm curious how the point system will work out for fielding 3 Neb-B's and 3 CR-90's.

3 of either will work just fine, but 3 CR-90's or even 3 Neb's wouldn't make a very good list, for I think the same reason that 1 VSD won't... To many points left over.

3 CR-90's will be between 114 and 132 points.

3 Neb B's will be between 156 and 174 points.

Unless you go crazy and try to run 3 of Each (comes to 270 using your low end figures), not a lot of fighter support but if you make your formation right you can probably have a nasty AA field of fire

Escort nebulons have 3 anti squadron dice so thats 9 + 6 from corvettes, also if you concentrate fire you can get few more.

If you keep a compact formation you can waaste all enemy fighter in one salvo i guess.

Unless you go crazy and try to run 3 of Each (comes to 270 using your low end figures)...

Don't forget the Commander, that's at least 25 points, so you're looking at 295 points. But who knows such a list may work, with that much anti-fighter support it may actually work.

Remember that you have 3 or 2 dices x number of ships x number of squadrons in range. Considering TIE has 3hp you can kill 6 squadrons multiple times over.

I think that anti squadron might be to strong becouse you have your set numebr of dice against EVRY squadron in range.

Remember that you have 3 or 2 dices x number of ships x number of squadrons in range. Considering TIE has 3hp you can kill 6 squadrons multiple times over.

I think that anti squadron might be to strong becouse you have your set numebr of dice against EVRY squadron in range.

You need to think twice before you move your Tie Fighter squadrons in range of a Nebulon.

But on the other side, its not their job to attack capital ships. Their job is to screen imperial capital ships from the rebel fighters. Even if you attack with bomber squadrons you would suffer serve losses. So this is a job for VSDs

Can squadrons locked in battle be attacked by capital ships?

Can squadrons locked in battle be attacked by capital ships?

I believe they did that in the TC demo video.