I'm having a friend over tonight who has never played X Wing. We don't have much time, maybe an hour, do you have a suggestion of two easy Imp vs Rebel builds?

My default has been Biggs Walks the Dogs with other friends, but I have no real feel for the Empire. I'm afraid we won't be able to complete much with that build. I know I could play XX vs AP x 4 but does that really give the feel for the game?

I have pretty much at least two of everything, except the Falcon and the Tie Advanced.

If your friend is a big SW fan, recreate the Battle of Yavin. Include Luke and Vader for sure. Biggs and Wedge would be good too.

I always start people with the QuickStart rules.

Then I play full rules with two academy ties vs red squadron with an r2 (both 24 points)

Then I'll usually introduce proton torpedoes, upgrades (more than r2) and names pilot abilities and let then pick their side for 35 points.

I would not use Biggs on intro as his ability is... quite game-breaking... no, twisting. I'd stick with unnamed pilots and very little upgrade cards. And the most familiar birds; XYB for rebels, TIE/ln TIE/int for Imperials. Luke and Vader should be the only named pilots.

If someone is new to mini gaming period. Go with something simple, just pushing the ships around and rolling the dice is going enough to give them a feel.

If they've played other games like 40k or Warmahoards, then maybe something a bit more complex or larger then the quick start rules could work. But I'd still keep it small for the first game, maybe Luke or some other named X-Wing pilot vs 2 named ties or something.

One thing to avoid in a small game though is Luke and R2-D2, he's almost impossible for a single tie to kill.

I have been using 1 Academy and 1 Obsidian (25 points) for Imperials, and 1 Rookie with Proton Torpedoes (25 points) for Rebels. It has been very 1-sided for the Imperials, but it helps to teach about pilot skill order and even secondary weapons. Actually, I manage to win with Rebels sometimes.

Anyway, it's not the best starter I've discovered. I think it's better to use the 28 point squads in the rulebook, Luke Skywalker for the Rebels, and "Night Beast" and Obsidian Squadron Pilot for the Imperials.

Alternatively, the rulebook also says that if you use just core set material, you can make your own 31 point squads.

and 1 Rookie with Proton Torpedoes (25 points) for Rebels.

Proton Torps are pretty much universally agreed on being too expensive. So you're effectively giving the Imps a 1-2 point advantage. Which may not sound like much, but when you're only spending 25 points, 1 or 2 points is a meaningful % of the total.

I would concur about avoiding proton torps for the first game. They are a big risk-reward item. You have to set them up, with the right PS and action. Then it all comes down to one dice roll. Did you roll awesome? Dead Tie Fighter before it shoots, you'll probably win. Roll like crap? Tie fighter takes no damage and you are probably losing 1 or 2 shields in return fire with nothing to show for it, most likely losing. I once had a 2 AP and 2 Obsidian vs 2 rookies with proton torps for a starter/demo game. My friend whiffed both torps, and nearly lost a rookie in the first engagement. I think that game was so lopsided that it kind of turned him off to the whole thing.

I would switch for a shield upgrade instead if you are trying to fill 4 points (very easy to understand, and lets their braid focus on something else besides the upgrade). Otherwise I would stick to the quickstart guide if your trying to keep it real basic.

An old article I read said something about using to 50 point "squadrons":

Rebels:

Chewbacca, Gunner, and Marksmanship although these last 3 points can be flavored to taste.

Imperials: Three TIE Fighters - Howlrunner, Backstabber, Dark Curse although again you could change for flavor.

Some people HATE using the Falcon for newbies because it "is too easy to use" but for the first games you can argue that is exactly WHY you use it. The Falcon can take lots of hits so the newbie isn't chased away but getting killed too quickly. The 360 arc means he can avoid frustration at not getting shots because a target isn't in the firing arc; Gunner also helps here to make sure the newbie feels things are going right and improving his odds of getting hits. We're using Chewbacca here as well so the newbie doesn't need to worry about critical hits making things more complicated.

You use those TIE Fighers to show the newbie how teamwork works (Howlrunner), the importance of firing arcs (Backstabber) and also a bit about why dice modifications can be important (Dark Curse.)

Give him a recreation of the escape from Tatooine:

YT-1300, Chewie pilot

Falcon title

Expert Handling

Han and Luke crewing in the turrets.

Face him with Boba Fett, with a Gunner, an HLC, Seismic Charges and Determination.

That's 54 points each in iconic, relatable ships.

No worrying about formations, few concerns about arcs, lots of concepts in actions and upgrades without being too overwhelming and survivability and repositioning in both ships.

Biggs is great, but requires formation flying to be efficient, and that might prove difficult for a newbie. I agree that Vader vs Luke is a cool face off for a first game, each accompanied by generic squad pilots.

I wouldn't overwhelm a new player with too many abilities and rules, one named and some generic wingmen on both sides.

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/110978-intro-mini-squads/

That was my attempt at intro squads. I like the 55-60 point squads if you are only going to use one a side but I am now making 50pts squads so I can easily convert to 100pt games.

You really need to know your audience with this game. Everybody I have taught the game to have played many types of games but weren't former tabletop players. But with x-wing you really just need experience with rules and order of play type games. All players found the intro rules to be boring. I added 2 asteroids, range modification, and crits. I avoided ordanance and ions. They didn't like flying only generic pilots.

So how did it end up? A new convert?

24 points only. No named pilots.

2 ties vs xwing with hull.

bwing with hlc vs 2 zs

tie advanced with proton rocket

HWK with ICT and Recon Spec

saber with hull

Y with ICT and R2

Green with PTL and Outmaneuver

Royal Guard with targetting comp

mastered basics? Take two of these squads. 48 vs 48.

Its fun, you can get anywhere from 2 to 4 ships without complicating the game. Best if you have 2 ties and 2 Zs

25 points tends to get pretty broken:

x with R2d2 vs an AP and a obsidian? thats not fair.

sigma ps3 phantom vs same thing? nope.

Wedge + R2-D2, 2x Red Squadron X-wing, 1x Rookie X-wing.

That's 4 rock-solid ships, all of the same type (which means he will quickly get the hang of the peculiarities of that ship and its manouvre dial), it will teach him to work with different PS levels in movement and combat, he will get at glimpse at how elite pilots + upgrades work, but he will not have to worry himself about formation flying. You can step it up a bit by substituting Wes for Wedge, but I'd actually leave it as is.

I used this specific list for introducing a friend of mine to the game, and it worked really well.

(note this is taken from what you can get with 2 core sets 1 A-wing and 1 Tie Interceptor expansion, a great start IMHO)

Starter Rebel Build

two X wings and one A-wing

• Luke Skywalker

1. Determination
2. RD-D2
3. Proton Torpedoes

• Biggs Darklighter

1. R2-F2
2. Proton Torpedoes

• Tycho Celchu

1. Concussion Missiles

Total 99 points.

I think this describes a typical rebel squadron in detail with high firepower and shielded ships. As well as explain the different type of upgrade cards.

Starter Imperial Build

4 Tie Fighters and 1 Tie Interceptor

• Mauler Mithel

1. Swarm Tactics

• Dark Curse

• Black Squadron Pilot

1. Marksmanship

• Black Squadron Pilot

1. Elusiveness

• Soonter Fel

1. Push the Limit

Total points 98.

I feel this represents the Imperial Squadrons and teaches how to use the lower pilot skill Ties as blockers. Not to mention lets the Imperial player have initiative. Also show the different abilities from upgrades and demonstrates how you can use upgrades from other packs (such as Soonter Fel's Push the Limit which comes from the A-wing pack). Also shows how you need to use maneuverability instead of relying on having more hit points.

So I think this is a good start up, I haven't exactly tested it for balance but everything here you can get from the simple 2 core sets, and A-wing expansion and a Tie-Interceptor expansion. I also think playing with the core set and wave 2 small ship expansion is a great introduction without going into more of the complicated rules such as big ships and ion tokens while explaining some of the general rules such as actions upgrades and pilot abilities while remaining in character with their faction. Another benefit for restricting to 2 core sets and the wave 2 small ships is if your friend decides to start his/her own collection this shows him/her where to start and what squadrons he can build with his ships, and he can get everything listed here for less than $100. Having already played with those models he/she should then know what squadron to build and how to play with those models against other players.