As someone who has been playing this game since wave II, I have had no problem with the way FFG balances the game. In fact, I think it is testament to their game design philosophy that they are able to make most of the ships from the first couple of waves viable 2+ years and almost 8 waves later.

The problem arises for new players just looking to get into the game. I noticed this recently while fielding questions from some local players who were just getting into X-wing as to what ships to buy. For instance, want to fly Tie advanced? Don't buy the expansion pack, as you will need the raider to make them viable. Want to fly Y-wings for the rebels? Don't buy the Y-wing expansion, as you will need "Most Wanted" or the K-wing to make them viable.

This list goes on and on, buy you get the idea. My question is this: should FFG add "fix" cards to the original expansion packs to make starting the game less complicated for new players. I'm not talking all the new pilots, just the cards which are absolutely necessary to make the ship viable (i.e. BTL+Bomb loadout to Y-wings, Refit + Test Pilot to A-Wings, Title +ATC to Advanced).

I think they should. Eventually each expansion has to be reprinted anyway, so they might as well "refresh" them. That goes for the updated Cloaking rules card in the Phantom, cards with corrected language per the FAQ, putting the updated rules booklet in the original Core Set, plus the couple of fixes.

Doesn't mean they will, though.

no. I have 8 x-wings and don't want to have tl buy more to get the fix.

If they even concider doing it (whcih i doubt), the question is where to start and where to stop. Yes there are some very obvous candidates (Advanced Title, but there are also options that simply currently are thought of as needed Veteran Insticts were for Phantom but what now? TLT for Y-Wings now, but will that always stay the case?)

Maybe after 4-5 years.

no. I have 8 x-wings and don't want to have tl buy more to get the fix.

To be clear, the idea was not to put new fixes exclusively in old reprints, but to make current fixes available with the reprint as well as "Aces" type expansions.

I'm not talking all the new pilots, just the cards which are absolutely necessary to make the ship viable (i.e. BTL+Bomb loadout to Y-wings, Refit + Test Pilot to A-Wings, Title +ATC to Advanced).

Only the TIE advanced one I'd call absolutely necessary, and Bomb Loadout definitely isn't.

The problem here is licensing: the TIE advanced and arguably the A-wing should definitely include their fix cards in my opinion, but changing blisters means a lot of effort going through LFL.

I think it would be far easier, and potentially more lucrative if they simply sold cards by themselves.

They have, however, in the past stated that they have no intention of ever doing so. I guess you need to hunt them up on eBay, Team Covenant, etc.

And then there is the issue of how you tell the difference between new and old packs.

No.

There is a distinct difference between actually needing something and wanting something.

No.

There is a distinct difference between actually needing something and wanting something.

Another way to look at this: the "fix" cards may not be needed for casual play, but you can't tell me that someone looking to get into the competitive scene doesn't need some of these cards to make the ships competitively viable.

For a player it makes a lot of sense. For a business, not so much. After all, needing to buy one product to get the most use out of another product means they're selling two products instead of one.

I do think they should start updating cards in reprints with errata. Selling what you know is a broken product is not good business. They wouldn't continue selling Phantoms with their foils on backwards, so why should they continue packing them with incorrect rules?

Things like the TIE advanced and the A-wing are very weak if purchased in their initial form. With the A-wing it's not as bad because you buy Rebel Aces first: that means any future A-wings you buy are fine. With the TIE advanced, the only way to do something similar is to start with the Raider.

While licensing no doubt makes this very difficult, I'd definitely advocate putting TIE/x1 and Advanced Targeting Computer into the TIE advanced blister. Maybe drop Expert Handling and Concussion Missiles if you're card limited. (Squad Leader only comes with the TIE/x1, so you can't really drop that.)

I do think they should start updating cards in reprints with errata. Selling what you know is a broken product is not good business. They wouldn't continue selling Phantoms with their foils on backwards, so why should they continue packing them with incorrect rules?

They do update them. My copy of Daredevil, for example, says white maneuver.

Yep. Reprints of the Tie Advanced should have x1 and ATC, reprints of Interceptors, A-wings, and their associated Aces packs should include Autothrusters. Same goes for any other "fix" cards for other ships.

Question is, which cards would you axe from those blisters?

An upgrade pack of cards / sets akin to rebel aces and such work better I think. The problem with updating older sets with new cards is also that you get there being old stock in stores that's invalidated by that. Not to mention if people actually buy the leftover stock then.

I've been in a situation with Warmachine where I bought a blister of white metal minis and ended up with a card for the previous rules version (useless under the current Mk.2 rules). That wasn't so bad, since Privateer Press sold packs of upgrade cards for people who'd bought minis in the Mk.1 rules era and I could pull a card from there, but if FFG is going to do that, they're much better off just putting the fix cards in a card pack and being done with it.

Having a situation where you can't tell if you're getting what you expect until you get the blister home and cut it open sucks, so I'd say "no."

They have card manufacturing and packing ability. What would you pay for 1 of every upgrade in the game? You could even put them in 3 packs, one for each faction; include 1 new pilot and I think you're in business.

They don't seem to want to do that. But the mark up on cards in foil packs is huge so I'm not sure why they havnt started taking our money that way yet.

For AGOT LCG first edition, when FFG did a reprint of chapter packs they did put the fix for card edits due FAQ. I think FFG should continue this with X-wing. The "veteran" players will generally know better because of the FAQ updates.

As someone who has been playing this game since wave II, I have had no problem with the way FFG balances the game. In fact, I think it is testament to their game design philosophy that they are able to make most of the ships from the first couple of waves viable 2+ years and almost 8 waves later.

The problem arises for new players just looking to get into the game. I noticed this recently while fielding questions from some local players who were just getting into X-wing as to what ships to buy. For instance, want to fly Tie advanced? Don't buy the expansion pack, as you will need the raider to make them viable. Want to fly Y-wings for the rebels? Don't buy the Y-wing expansion, as you will need "Most Wanted" or the K-wing to make them viable.

This list goes on and on, buy you get the idea. My question is this: should FFG add "fix" cards to the original expansion packs to make starting the game less complicated for new players. I'm not talking all the new pilots, just the cards which are absolutely necessary to make the ship viable (i.e. BTL+Bomb loadout to Y-wings, Refit + Test Pilot to A-Wings, Title +ATC to Advanced).

As many have suggested, they could sell packs of Upgrades individually as just cards. They've started selling dice, stands and other bits separately as add-ons or custom tid-bits, why not some of the more sought-after cards?

To keep sales high they could keep the iconic upgrades as ship-only or sell different packs for different factions "Corellian Engineering" for Rebs, "Sienar Systems" for Imperials and "Czerka Corp" for scum.

Example:

Corellian Engineering Upgrade Pack: Experimental Interface, Engine Upgrade, Concussion Missiles

Sienar Systems Upgrade Pack: TIE Mk II, Extra Munitions, Ruthlessness

Czerka Corp Upgrade Pack: Mangler Cannon, Autothrusters, Stealth Device

If you make the cards cheap enough it may invigorate sales in less-bought ships like the TIE Advanced and Bomber.

Anyway, regardless of the pack composition (I'm sure we all have our favorites.) do you think that offering packs of upgrades would work as a viable alternative to changing any existing products (Something FFG is unlikely to do.)?

No. Primarily because where would you draw the line? Let's use the TIE Advanced for the example. The TIE/x1 card is needed for it to be viable, and it certainly seems like it should be included in all new blister packs. Advanced Targeting Computer is not, but it's used in a great many Advanced builds. Should it be included? What about Engine Upgrade, which many players consider an auto-include for Vader? Should they be forced to buy a completely different ship just for one card? I sometimes like Lone Wolf on Vader--should that card be included in the Advanced pack, just because I don't want to buy a different blister to get the card? (No, it shouldn't. Of course. But my point is, where *do* we draw that line?)

I think this is a non-issue, though. For non-tournament play, just proxy the cards you want to use that are in other packs. I do that, and only one player has ever objected in the slightest (and he was objecting because I was proxying unreleased cards, not for the proxying itself). If a player is seriously enough into X-Wing that they are regularly playing tournaments, then they likely either already have the additional ships (because they're serious enough about X-Wing to play in tournaments! : ), or they can borrow whatever missing cards they need from other serious players they've been playing with for a while now.

On a personal note: I'm currently proxying the TIE Advanced cards from the Raider (including Juno, one of my current favourite pilots), because I don't play epic, and I refuse to pay $30-ish for the cards alone, or $60 - $120 (Canadian) for a $18 ship I actually really do want. I am rather annoyed with FFG for the way they did this, and I'm voting with my wallet. So I can empathize with the OP; I just understand why original releases cannot (and should not!) be changed--except possibly for faq updates, but even then I'm not sure it's cost-effective. But seriously FFG, stop putting fixes in epic packs! While they do, it will *always* be more cost-effective for me to take an extra bit of time to print out the cards myself, and proxy them instead. If I ever want to play the TIE Advanced in a tournament, I'm confident one of the players in my group that owns a Raider will be willing to let me borrow the needed cards for it.

FFG: I'm willing to buy a new ship (or even an Aces pack) to get 'fixes', because I'm also getting more ships and other cards in those packs. The Rebel Transport is the last (and only) epic ship I will *EVER* buy to get cards I want for the regular game. Period.

Would it make things easier for new players absolutely is it practical not at all.

They can't recall old stock to repackage in an affordable way, you can't put them in reprints because then no one buys the older versions and your taking a dump on your retail partners leaving them with worthless stock.

What they should do is release card packs that include up to date reference cards and some select upgrades like the advanced tittle and ATC so they don't have to buy a raider, but it'll never happen.

Releasing fixes with new waves is something we are stuck with.

No.

There is a distinct difference between actually needing something and wanting something.

Another way to look at this: the "fix" cards may not be needed for casual play, but you can't tell me that someone looking to get into the competitive scene doesn't need some of these cards to make the ships competitively viable.

So don't use those ships until you have those upgrades, or borrow them from someone who does.

Interceptors need the Royal Guard title and Autothrusters. A-Wings need Chardaan and Autothrusters. The Falcon needs C3PO. The Y-Wing needs R3A2 and the BTL-A4 title, or Twin Laser Turrets. The Phantom needs Veteran Instincts. Just about every ship in the game ultimately needs things from other expansion packs than the one it came in to be truly viable in the current meta. That's part of FFG's business model, and it's not going to change.

What I would do is produce a yearly companion set for each wave that bundles all of the "essential" upgrades for those ships that were released in later expansions.

Maybe include a new repaint, and alt art cards so there's something in it for the collectors - but it doesn't include anything that you HAVE to buy if you already have the relevant upgrades, and doesn't detract from the Aces packs or blisters

With a few exceptions I'd limit the pilot cards to generic only, and definitely leave out unique pilots from the Aces sets so people still have a reason to buy the standalone expansions and Aces packs, and I'd update it yearly (if necessary) so if any new "essential" upgrades come out in future waves, the companion set can be updated accordingly.

So for example, the Wave 1 Rebel Companion set would include a Y-Wing and X-Wing, the Astromechs and unique pilots from the Transport, Integrated Astromech, assorted useful EPTs (Lone wolf for Luke, Daredevil for Porkins, Outmaneuver for Wedge etc etc). BTL Title for the Y wing, Bomb Loadout, extra turrets etc.

Invalidating your existing stock of ships by releasing would likely be a untenable solution for FFG and any of thier retailers.

They introduce "fixes" in new products which increases that products value to the players and act as insurance for that products profitability. I don't think FFG would want to shoot themselves in the foot by altering that in anyway at this point, but especially not in a manner that would leave retailers out in the cold.