I haven't played much, aside from casually messing around with my buds. I rarely have extra cash to spend, so I need to be choosy with what I pick up.

I enjoy the movement a strategy elements of the game, but I'm not very confident in my piloting skills.

I have the Core Set, Millennium Falcon, and Slave One.

My budget for new ships is 35-50 USD.

Pick up a second X-Wing, and you can run Han Shoots First.

Pick up a K-Wing, and you can experiment (Han + Miranda as a 2-ship list looks fascinating).

It might be nice to explain what a "Han Shoots First" list is. Unless you're testing him to see if he'll Google it.

It's basically a list with Han + Gunner and 2 Rookie pilots for support.

Han Solo (46)

Gunner (5)

Rookie Pilot (21)

Rookie Pilot (21)

As you can see, you still have 7 points left, so the question is what to do with that. You probably don't want to put anything on your Rookies. Some people add Marksmanship on Han for 3 so that both attacks with Gunner get to focus for hit since the effect lasts the whole round and not just for one attack like a focus token. Then you could put Chewbacca on there as a crew member for 4 points. That lets Han last a little longer. It's an older list, so if you're playing at home with friends, it's great. If you're going to play at a store, it may not do as well as you'd like. (But never count a YT-1300 out of a match.)

But I think Draco's right about the K-wing being a solid addition to your force. A K-wing with TLT can deal quite a bit of damage over the course of the game. Of course, then you're only flying turrets. If that doesn't bother you, great! But some people prefer to play with ships that need to get other ships in arc. Depends on your play style, that's all.

Personally, I love Y-wings, so if you can squeeze in a Y-wing, that's pretty nice too. For one thing, they're thematic since they spend so much time on screen. Second, the Ion Cannon Turret gives them a way to control other ships by ionizing them.

Another common partner for the Falcon is an E-wing with Corran Horn. He's a star in current top tier lists, often paired with Han. Of course, Han is kitted out differently in those squads, but it still may not be a bad purchase. Corran has the ability to attack twice in a round but he sacrifices his attack the following round. It means he can focus on getting something in arc one round, and then just jet out of there the second round. And with the Millennium Falcon, you can put Engine Upgrade on him to make him faster and put R2-D2 on him from the core to help him regenerate shields.

I'm new too, so maybe too green to make recommendations...

but this would be fun:

Han - Engine upgrade / M.Falcon title / push the limit / C3PO / Skywalker

Dutch Vander (y wing) - Stealth Device / Twin Laser Turret / R2D2

Both ships should be pretty hard to kill and both can lay down some heat.

I agree with Dracon and Budgernaut on several points, and would say that if you're gonna spend $35 you should grab a K-Wing and a Y-Wing. Especially given your concern over your piloting skills, you'll be in great shape to progress with those expansions because you'll have lots of options for nasty turret gunboats between them. As an intermediate player at best, I've found turrets do a lot for my competitive success, since taking my own firing arc out of the equation makes for one fewer things to worry about. If you're gonna go ahead and drop $50, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, but consider a HWK. It's another ship to put your extra TLT from the K-Wing on, plus it has some really great support pilots. The first tournament I ever won was with a YT-1300, a Y-Wing, and a HWK. It was a stupid list, by competitive standards....which is probably why I won - no one saw it coming! It would never be effective at higher levels of competition but it obviously gave me at least a fighting chance at a more casual tournament.

Also, remember you can buy individual upgrades as singles on eBay. With a little patience, you'll be able to collect many important upgrades one or two at a time for about the same price as a drive-through lunch. Things like C-3PO or the Emperor will likely still be prohibitively expensive even as singles, but most other upgrades can be found for about $8 or less. Hope this helps!

E-Wing and X-Wing expansion packs are great. You get a good ship that can hold its own in a fight (Wedge/Corran) or team boosters if you want them when you have more (Garven/Etahn).

For your budget you might even look to getting a Y-Wing and a Most Wanted pack. That would unlock the Scum Faction for you. You already have the Slave 1 and you get new pilots.

If you are dedicated to Rebels for now, get an X-Wing first and foremost. Strange as it may sound if you read this forum, but for a casual player such as you the iconics add that much more to your enjoyment.

In fact, an X-Wing and two Y-Wings will give you some solid listbuilding options.

Once you get more comfortable with the game, you can look into diversifying to B-Wings and A-Wings.

Christmas is coming up, and single small ship expansions make for great stocking fillers while huge ships look epic under the tree. Just saying. .

Oh, and look online for the best deals. There are quite often sales going on.

With what you already have:

Thanks for the advice everyone. I looked at the HSF builds, and they seem pretty straightforward. I'm not clear on why a pair of X-Wings are the best choice for support though.

I'm really considering the K-Wing. Even if I don't use it, it's dead sexy and would look great on my shelf.

http://www.themetalbikini.com/2013/06/han-shoots-first-why-is-it-so-good.html

Read that, it's good advice.

Check that whole site out, it hasn't been updated in months and recent waves aren't nearly featured as much, but for the earlier waves it can help explain why to choose what upgrade.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I looked at the HSF builds, and they seem pretty straightforward. I'm not clear on why a pair of X-Wings are the best choice for support though.

I'm really considering the K-Wing. Even if I don't use it, it's dead sexy and would look great on my shelf.

And great taste in ships (regarding your sentiments on the K-wing). I'm looking to pick one up, too, even though I fly Scum.

are you planning on playing in tournaments or just casually with friends?

are you planning on playing in tournaments or just casually with friends?

There isn't any tournament scene in my area, so it's just friendly games. I'm hoping to hit up a few cons next year though.

are you planning on playing in tournaments or just casually with friends?

There isn't any tournament scene in my area, so it's just friendly games. I'm hoping to hit up a few cons next year though.

Since you are playing casually you could pick up a Rebel Aces to get a B Wing and an A Wing and then either the B Wing Booster and A Wing Booster to get 2 of each ship and have all of the pilots and upgrades. Or you can just grab 2 sets of the Rebel Aces to get 2 A and B wings. The B Wing is a great ship when paired with advanced sensors or fire control system, that can be proxied in casual games. The A Wings are solid blockers and their elite pilots, especially Tycho are a blast to play. Also check out this link for some build ideas: https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/131310-new-player-quick-start-list-guide