I have never played Descent, should I preorder two copies? Many of FFG's games are better when you purchase two (and often more) of the core...

You should be fine with 1 copy, but with the skirmish mode I am not sure. With descent you only need 1 copy, but because of the skirmish mode you may need 2 cores. I myself am most likely getting two copies, 1 to play, and one to collect unopened, unless of course skirmish mode demands that i do so.

I asked this on boardgame geek and one o the other users told me he asked the FFG guy at the demo the same question. The FFG representative said you will only need to buy one copy. My understanding with Decsent is that - except for the dice - you can't use anything from a second set unless you're using it for custom scenarios.

Speculation: if you can put more stormtroopers on a skirmish team than are included in the box, FFG will probably release a smaller expansion with stormtroopers so you don't need to buy a second core. This would be similar to the Star Wars: Armada expansion model and makes sense because you shouldn't be forced to buy two Vaders and Lukes. I think FFG is aware that $100 is too much for you to get two of them.

Also, if you need more grunts, then I'd highly recommend getting some of WotC's Star Wars miniatures. They are very nearly the same size as FFG's minis (made for a 1-inch grid system) and they're also painted. They cost $1 or less each, from the various online sellers. I plan to use WotC minis in place of all the non-painted FFG minis, whether I'm playing the campaign or skirmish mode. However, I do expect that FFG will not allow the WotC minis for official high-level tournament play....

Also, if you need more grunts, then I'd highly recommend getting some of WotC's Star Wars miniatures. They are very nearly the same size as FFG's minis (made for a 1-inch grid system) and they're also painted. They cost $1 or less each, from the various online sellers. I plan to use WotC minis in place of all the non-painted FFG minis, whether I'm playing the campaign or skirmish mode. However, I do expect that FFG will not allow the WotC minis for official high-level tournament play....

How are the paintjobs? I seem to recall them being pretty bad, but I might be thinking of HeroClix, which I thought were awful. Seriously, if you can't paint eyes with pupils that look good, don't paint eyes with pupils. A simple paintjob done well is way better than a complex paintjob done poorly.

In regards to the expansion, there are already two, but they come included in the core box. I think this is so people that just want the campaign experience don't have to buy anything else. If you are into the skirmish game and want to have an all probe droid or all wookie army, you're going to have to get some expansions.

Yeah the WOTC minis have horrible rushed slave labor paint jobs, plus they bend and set in wierd poses, you can try fixing them with ice water and a hair dryer but it is a pain in the neck. Still if you dont want to paint your own army then they should work fine, but they wont be tournament legal.

No one copy should be fine the extra dice and figures like the hero and villain packs should be all expansions. And the large figure collections like oath and anvil hopefully be wookiees, jawas, ewoks (really want a couple of packs of them to do an endor battle), biker scouts.