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.

So, my real question is, (using the Core Set only) what faction should get the cards?

There's nothing preventing either from taking either EPT. If you're dead set on using what you have and only what you have to play 1 X Wing vs. 2 TIE Fighters, I would say that Determination is a more Imperial EPT and Marksmanship is a more Rebel EPT.

The logic for that is that the TIE fighters do not have any shields and are cheaper ships, so you really wouldn't want to put a 3 point EPT on a 14 or 17 point ship, where as the 1 point Determination can help get rid of damage from pilot crits (which go straight through since there are no shields). Furthermore, Luke's ability allows him to take the more aggressive Marksmanship EPT since he doesn't need a focus token for defense, and pushing crits through on the shieldless TIE fighters means more to Luke.

But in general, I'd recommend allowing both to take the same card even if you only have 1 copy of it, that way you can both fly what you want to fly. And then once you guys get completely sucked in, I'd recommend buying a gazillion of everything to satisfy the addiction and you'll no longer have this problem.

I had the same confusion as you when I first bought the game. I thought the game was like a normal board game, where you have all the pieces needed and no one had to argue about who gets what.

In reality, X-wing is designed kinda like Warhammer, where you are supposed to bring your fleet to the table, and I am supposed to bring mine. In that way, all the upgrade cards and ships that I own are eligible for me to use, and the same for you. If I buy an A-wing which includes the Push The Limit upgrade card, I can still bring my Imperial fleet to your house, and use the upgrade for one of my Imperial ships even though it came with an A-wing.

I am in the same situation as you, where 2 people use the same shared pool of ships and upgrade cards, and the way we solved it, was to agree that both players can use all upgrade cards that we own. Rarely ever do we actually end up using more of one upgrade card than we own, but when we do, we just use a paper stand-in for the card or something. It's fairly easy to find images of the cards online, so if you end up using the same upgrade cards much, you can print out some extras.

I have similar problem with this cards and upgrade cards but as I play with my girlfriend I generally let her choose first then have the rest (especially after several initial clear wins from my side - now It is more balanced) or we make and agreement on some - also there is possibility to print/use multiple times with some reference token/note those cards which are often in greater demand.