I have seen plenty of arguments about the upgrade distribution model being unkind to those who only play a single faction (e.g., the new core set is bad value for Scum players; the Starviper is unfair to Imperial players).

In my opinion, there is far too much depth to this game to limit one's self to a single faction. If you are doing this, it seems to me that you are missing out on most of what X-wing offers, and expansion design and pricing are extremely friendly to those who want to try everything out.

For those of you who exclusively play a single faction, why do you have no interest in the other two? Do you disagree that you are missing out on 2/3 of the game?

I think it's a habit carried over from 40K where you'd starve to death from being unable to buy food if you went for more than one faction. But 40K's a case of only buying one list, let alone faction.

If someone wants to only play Brobots and beyond the required core set and 60 bucks for the expansions only buys cards from eBay/whatever then it's perfectly fine.(buying a core a selling the ships is another strategy) I don't do that cause I like collecting and flying different things. It's all personal taste. I'm sure budget has something to do with it at times as well.

One faction folks still play against the other two as opponents, so I don't think they are missing anything, thy still need to know how th other ships fly even if they don't fly themselves.

I wondered if it was that mentality too, if you've gone to x-wing from other TT war-games like I have you may be in the old habit of having to pick a side.

I don't think X-wing is intended to be like that but then If you don't have the money to buy every ship in every release then maybe you would pick a faction you prefer.

Then there's just the fact that some people don't want to be the "baddies" or they REALLY want to be the "Baddies"

I fly Rebel and Scum. I have all the things. I just don't like any of the Imperial ships...except maybe the Punisher, I get a kick out of that thing.

I think all rebel ships are boring except A-wings, so I only collect empire.

Probably a decent subset of those complaints are from players of limited purchasing power.

Some might play a single faction for several reasons. Let's consider some below:

1) Money

2) Practice - There could be some that only play one so they can be extremely familiar with it for tournaments

3) Time - If someone doesn't get to play a whole lot, they won't get to play all the ships they would own with multiple factions, so if they have a favorite, it makes sense they could limit themselves to that one and still be satisfied. Also, if someone with little time to play wants to play tournaments, they will be playing same or similar lists a lot, so they might be able to limit themselves to a faction.

3) No interest in other factions - Whether it be lore related or game related disinterest

Hating Rebels make me strong and winning virtually every match against them.

Even if I like their ships ... including the HWK and the K-Wing

There's also diminishing returns on additional investment. The amount of time you have to play is constant, regardless of expenditures, so buying more things means that you spend less time playing each thing you own. Unless money is no object or you place a very high premium on novelty, each additional dollar spent increases your fun by less than the previous dollar.

What Scojo said. In a perfect world, I'd get to play all the ships a bunch. I don't, so I play the ships that resonate with me. This means that on a competitive level I'm going to take those ships. Am I missing part of the game? You betcha. It can't be helped. I already have lots of ships in boxes that don't get much use, so I can't justify purchasing even more stuff that I won't be able to use. From a game perspective, being good at a game is very important to me. Not because I like to win (although I like to win), but because games are most enjoyable when the contest is player vs player instead of player vs. self trying to grasp the entry-level functionality of a ship. If I played everything, with my current time allotment, I'd be stuck at entry level with everything.

I have no interest in the lore or aesthetics of the rebels, I've always preferred the Empire in every sw game that gives the option. Likewise, I always enjoy the mercenary/pirate/bounty hunter factions, so Imperial and scum were easy choices. It sucks I have to waste money on rebels ships, and money isn't even an issue for me. It'd be much worse if I was on a gaming budget.

I buy all three factions, I play all three factions.

I prefer Imperial for stylistic reasons, but also because I love playing the lawful force of order in the universe, protecting the galaxy from terrorists and pirates.

I fly almost exclusively Rebels. Every now and then I'll try a Scum build, not care for it, and go right back. I think scum really still lacks a true anchor, and they definitely lack an Ace in the form of Jake/Tycho/Fel/Vader. I've only ever played Imperials twice.

Imperials just have nothing for me. I am in no way interested in a swarm. If I'm going to fly Fel and/or Vader I'd rather just fly Jake and/or Tycho. I hate the Decimator, so if I'm in the mood to fly a 360 Fattie I'd rather fly Han or Dash. Not that I ever would, but in the event I ever wanted to fly a Firespray, I like the scum versions better than the imps.

The only Imperial ship that I would enjoy flying would be the Phantom, but I didn't get my hands on them until after the nerf. I played one game with them not knowing the nerf, loved it(obviously), and then when researching proper builds I came across the rule change and lost interest. I understand they still can be viable, but haven't cared to try them again because of the lack of any interest in what/whom to fly beside them.

I think it's a habit carried over from 40K where you'd starve to death from being unable to buy food if you went for more than one faction. But 40K's a case of only buying one list, let alone faction.

I can see where this idea starts, but the X-wing distribution model lends itself to a complete game rather than selective collection.

If someone wants to only play Brobots and beyond the required core set and 60 bucks for the expansions only buys cards from eBay/whatever then it's perfectly fine.(buying a core a selling the ships is another strategy) I don't do that cause I like collecting and flying different things. It's all personal taste. I'm sure budget has something to do with it at times as well.

One faction folks still play against the other two as opponents, so I don't think they are missing anything, thy still need to know how th other ships fly even if they don't fly themselves.

If I have trouble relating to playing only one faction, I just can't imagine a single list! I was so tired of Corran/Dash by the end of regional season!

I think all rebel ships are boring except A-wings, so I only collect empire.

I can't remember why I included you in the multquote reply. It will come to me. Probably.

Probably a decent subset of those complaints are from players of limited purchasing power.

This is fair; X-wing is not nearly as accessible as it was when I started playing, and I never intended to be a "buy everything" player (though I did intend to play both factions).

Some might play a single faction for several reasons. Let's consider some below:

2) Practice - There could be some that only play one so they can be extremely familiar with it for tournaments

These players lose to the ones who play everything. The latter type knows his opponent's capabilities better than the former.

What Scojo said. In a perfect world, I'd get to play all the ships a bunch. I don't, so I play the ships that resonate with me. This means that on a competitive level I'm going to take those ships. Am I missing part of the game? You betcha. It can't be helped. I already have lots of ships in boxes that don't get much use, so I can't justify purchasing even more stuff that I won't be able to use. From a game perspective, being good at a game is very important to me. Not because I like to win (although I like to win), but because games are most enjoyable when the contest is player vs player instead of player vs. self trying to grasp the entry-level functionality of a ship. If I played everything, with my current time allotment, I'd be stuck at entry level with everything.

Fair enough. What faction do you play, and which are the ships that resonate with you?

I buy all three factions, I play all three factions.

I prefer Imperial for stylistic reasons, but also because I love playing baddies.

Excuse me sir, but the Rebels are the bad guys. They are terrorists.

I buy all three factions, I play all three factions.

I prefer Imperial for stylistic reasons, but also because I love playing baddies.

Excuse me sir, but the Rebels are the bad guys. They are terrorists.

I of course stand corrected. and will edit my above post.

I'd say there is no advantage at all except cost, and that only marginaly because you end up with stuff you won't use.

Playing all factions and concentrating on the one you learn to prefer is the way to go I feel. I love HWKs, so I am highly invested in Rebels and moderatly into Scum. Since I started liking TIE Bombers my Imperial collection has been growing as well, though. At the moment all three are in balance, but competetively I still prefer R3-A2 Rebels. I mean Rebels.

I buy all three factions, I play all three factions.

I prefer Imperial for stylistic reasons, but also because I love playing baddies.

Excuse me sir, but the Rebels are the bad guys. They are terrorists.

Well said!

OT, I only play one faction in X-Wing and that is the Empire, and that is because of their style/theme/them being the good guys.

I don't feel like I'm missing out by not collecting the others. As for knowing other ships capabilities, my locals are extremely diverse so I get to play against nearly every ship.

Plus the Rebels are scum.

I buy all three factions, I play all three factions.

I prefer Imperial for stylistic reasons, but also because I love playing baddies.

Excuse me sir, but the Rebels are the bad guys. They are terrorists.

I of course stand corrected. and will edit my above post.

Thats quite better now.

You may proceed.

What Scojo said. In a perfect world, I'd get to play all the ships a bunch. I don't, so I play the ships that resonate with me. This means that on a competitive level I'm going to take those ships. Am I missing part of the game? You betcha. It can't be helped. I already have lots of ships in boxes that don't get much use, so I can't justify purchasing even more stuff that I won't be able to use. From a game perspective, being good at a game is very important to me. Not because I like to win (although I like to win), but because games are most enjoyable when the contest is player vs player instead of player vs. self trying to grasp the entry-level functionality of a ship. If I played everything, with my current time allotment, I'd be stuck at entry level with everything.

Fair enough. What faction do you play, and which are the ships that resonate with you?

Basically stuff I flew in the TIE Fighter series of games (so, Imperial), which is why I'm one of those suckers that's still pining for the Assault Gunboat. This is why I've spent hours solo playing trying to figure out all the right tactics with TIE Defenders, but can't be bothered to put a Phantom on the table against another living opponent.

Ah yes, I play scum, too.

There is no dishonor in others letting do the dirt work. They get payed and thats their job. The Empire can shine.

I stopped playing Phantoms after they totally humiliated a friend of mine twice in a row. Seemed unfair.

Preparing a narrative co-op campaign in the style of Aturi as Empire.

Will start that when my Frigate arrives (BWAHAHAHA)

Tales of the Bounty Hunters was one of the first books I've read. Since then, I've always been a bounty hunter fan and will always choose to play them if I have a choice. Sure, I have a fair amount of Rebel and Imperial ships since I collected since the beginning, but I always had trouble getting into my lists. The game was decently fun, but it didn't get me excited.

When Scum & Villainy was announced and there was the prospect of getting my favorite bounty hunters in this game, my interest spiked. I don't only play the bounty hunters because ships like the Scyk and Kihraxz have really grown on me. Plus, Y-wings have always been my favorite Rebel ship, so it's fun to be able to fly them for Scum as well.

If I were to rank Scojo's answers for myself, I'd say my reasons for playing a single faction are:

1) Thematic interest

2) I want to practice with these ships to be the best I can be with them rather than dilute my play time with other factions.

3) I only get 1-2 games per week and Scum alone has enough variation to keep me busy with that for a long time.

4) It's financially less stressful to just focus on 1 faction rather than trying to get every ship in existence. This is especially true when X-Wing isn't the only competitive game you're playing (I'm a huge fan of the Star Wars LCG).

I only play empire and this is for several reasons

1. Money.. I only have so much.

2. Playtime... miniatures are not my only/main hobby.

3. Theme I enjoy fighting against the terrorist scum.

4. My fellows in the house collect the other 2 factions and we keep separate collections (i don't use their cards they don't use mine)

At the end of the day I am an RPG player first and for most. Our hobby club plays RPGS 6 weeks out of 8 so that leaves 2 weeks club time for miniature games. I have to split that between 4 games BT, Dystopian wars, Planetfall and x-wing, and that does not even include anything someone wants me to try.

Now I do also get kitchen table time with minis and x-wing is the most likely at that. Likewise as Roleplayers we stick to our factions I still refer to friends as inner sphere scum from battletech rivalries 20 years old.