I love Star Wars. I love tactical games. These two aspects pull on me in that I want to experience the options of the game, but I'm not really interested in too much EU stuff. I want to play with what was in the original trilogy, with some noteable exceptions, namely classic video games like Dark Forces (HWK) and Shadows of the Empire (Outrider).

That being said, which ships have the most important upgrade cards for combos and for solid single ship upgrades? As a new player, which ships will get me the best of those that can be used on most other ships?

I noticed that Imperial Aces, for example, contains shield and hull modifications, and those seem like key cards to have as they could modify any ship. I'm thinking about getting two Imperial Aces just to get two sets of those cards. It appears as if the Falcon and Firespray also have some great upgrade cards (as well as cool pilots and crew), but I noticed that they are hard to come by, especially at discounted prices. Will they be re-printed, or is the current stock the end?

Thanks in advance for answering my questions!

Everything will be reprinted eventually. Just check here for the status:

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_upcoming.asp

As for the best packs for upgrades, it really depends on what ship you are talking about using with the upgrades. Imperial Aces probably has the best in terms of general use upgrades, with Opportunist, Push the Limit, Hull and Shield Upgrades. Bombers get you a great selection of Missiles and Torpedoes. The HWK has some good crew options.

Push the Limit is pretty staple. Same with HLC.

hmm....

PTL / FCS / HLC / Recon Spec / Predator

And AdvS. Always.

No votes for veteran instincts? For the moment you are correct for

Fire spray and falcon are out. Imperial aces, a shuttle, plus either a phantom for out maneuver and/or an e-wing for advanced sensors amd good astromech droids. What do you already have? The x-wing and tie fighter single packs ate also really important when it comes to pilots and upgrade cards, you need one reach of those for sure.

Folks, I'm a new player and don't speak X-wing LEET yet. If you really want to help, I need you to define your abbreviations. HLC? FCS? Clearly PLT is Push the Limit. Don't get all "Look it up yourself nooB" on me either, because that attitude doesn't grow game communities.

Which sets do these cards come in?

I currently have:

Starter

X-wing

Y-wing

TIE Advanced

HLC= Heavy LASer Cannon

FCS= Fire Control System

If there are any more, I can add them.

DTF is draw their fire

Thank you Popn. I'll be on the lookout for those. I'm guessing at least one of those comes with the B-wing?

Fire Control System comes with the B-wing.

When it comes to where to get the most upgrade bang you really need to look at the big ships and sets.

Firespray: HLC, Stealth Device (x2), Veteran Instincts, Gunner, various bombs although only a few ships can use them

ImpAce: Hull & Shield Upgrades, PtL (x2 all)

Falcon: Shield & Engine Upgrade (x2 both), Veteran Instincts, Draw Their Fire

There are places to find which upgrades come with which expansion but I don't have a simple place to point to. I guess I'll also apologize for all the abbreviations we often use here. If you don't know what they are don't be afraid to ask because most of the time someone will tell you without thinking any worse of it. It is just that it is so much easier to type of PtL, HLC, and FCS than it is to type out Push the Limits, Heavy Laser Cannon, and Fire Control System; 3 letter abbreviations vs. 13, 16, and 17 letter full names.

Folks, I'm a new player and don't speak X-wing LEET yet. If you really want to help, I need you to define your abbreviations. HLC? FCS? Clearly PLT is Push the Limit. Don't get all "Look it up yourself nooB" on me either, because that attitude doesn't grow game communities.

Which sets do these cards come in?

I currently have:

Starter

X-wing

Y-wing

TIE Advanced

You need a tie fighter expansion pack! Sometimes it isn't the upgrade cards, but the pilots which are the most important!

Also, we abbreviate things by just using the first letters. Heavy Laser Cannon is HLC, Advanced Sensors is an exception, some people like to do AdvSen or something like that. VI is veteran instincts, PtL, well, you know that one.

Yep, the plan is to get a TIE Fighter pack to get the Howlrunner, another ship, and another Swarm Tactics.

I picked up a Slave 1 when I was at the FLGS today. The minis are scarce in my community because the game is so popular here so I figured I better pick it up in case it won't be reprinted. My guess is that you all know more here, but the shop owner was reluctant to say if prior Large ships would be reprinted.

http://www.afewmaneuvers.com/topic/573-full-card-list-by-expansion/

Check it out and decide what looks good/fun to you!

Has every expansion broken down by wave and includes all the upgrade cards included in each of them.

Great resource, and I highly recommend it

Klecser, FFG will reprint all components of the game as long as it is still being supported. So, until they lose the license or make a second edition (unlikely with just how popular it is), they will reprint anything that runs out of stock. There may be periods when a product is tough to find, but I think FFG has their distribution chain down now that we won't see the kind of shortages we saw in the first year of this game's life.