Hello,

Just to start off, this question is based off of the Core Set only.

I just recently got a Core Set for Christmas and playing against my brother. We got to talking about who should get what upgrade cards. We understood that a ship can't use an upgrade card unless it has the icon. This is more in regards to the Elite Talent cards. The Core set has two (Determination and Marksmanship). Luke Skywalker, Mauler Mithel, and Obsidion Squadron Pilot all have the Elite Talent upgrade.

The rules state that the Imperial player gets first choice of upgrades.

But if you and your brother are ok with it, I'd recommend using proxies. Write the name of the upgrade on a bit of paper and put that with the pilot card.

Have a read of the Squad Building rules on page 18. When you get some more ships, you will get some more and different upgrades. Some of the Rebel ships are quite good, as they generally have quite a few different options with upgrades (torpedoes, missiles, R2 units), etc. And if you get an X-wing or TIE fighter expansion, you will also find there are some pilot cards that don't come with the Core Set.

This game is very much about expanding your collection of ships, and with each expansion comes different upgrade options.

Thanks for the replies. All the answers were good. Having the Imperial player choose first (due to initiative) would solve the issue. Also, looking at Page 18, I did notice this little quote (I must have read over the manual like 20 times and never noticed it.)

" If players only own the three ships found in this game box, each player should field 31 points."

This will strongly restrict the options available. I was trying to calculate a fair match between the core set factions based on points and was frankly confused. The results from this post have actually been helpful. Thanks again!

Axelburn

Once you get some more ships, your options will increase rapidly. Enjoy.