Hi Guys, looks like you have a great community here, thanks for having me!

I've bought the original started set (TFA was out of stock), love the game & want to expand. What does TFA have that the original doesn't (apart from different minis), is TFA my next logical expansion to get updated rules/counters/cards?

I'm currently playing on a 2x2 board which is ok with 3 minis, what do you recommend to use at 3x3 (playmat, felt, wood)?

Lastly, are their any noob mistakes I need to avoid?

Thanks in advance for your support.

I'm somewhat of a Noob myself, but I'll see if I can help out.

Getting the TFA core set is a pretty economical way to add ships to your fleet. I haven't yet picked it up, but I don't plan on playing in tournaments anytime soon (nothing is held nearby and just a friend and I play) so I'm not super-concerned with getting the new ships to add to my arsenal. The TFA expansion includes an updated Damage deck that will be necessary to have if you plan to play in tournaments (beginning in January, I believe). Also, it has some new upgrades - though I'm not familiar with them.

I picked up a cheap (less than $5) 3x3 piece of black felt from Hobby Lobby that we use as a board. Eventually I'd like to get one of those cool star mats, but can't justify the cost at this time. I've found that the felt works really well.

I think the biggest Noob mistake is to forget to have fun. As I said, I haven't ever played in tournaments so I'm not overly concerned with the rules. Usually when my friend and I play we're imbibing some grown-up beverages, so we forget rules all the time. Despite that, we have a blast moving our spaceships all over the place, trying to make tie fighter zoom noises and everything. Now, if I were playing in a tournament, I'd probably die a horrible quick death in the vacuum of space, which may not be as fun. So yeah, have fun.

Or maybe the biggest noob mistake is to forget to take your actions. Or making a red maneuver when your stressed.

Hi Guys, looks like you have a great community here, thanks for having me!

I've bought the original started set (TFA was out of stock), love the game & want to expand. What does TFA have that the original doesn't (apart from different minis), is TFA my next logical expansion to get updated rules/counters/cards?

I'm currently playing on a 2x2 board which is ok with 3 minis, what do you recommend to use at 3x3 (playmat, felt, wood)?

Lastly, are their any noob mistakes I need to avoid?

Thanks in advance for your support.

The TFA pack has a different X-wing (the new T-70), different TIEs (the TIE/fo to be exact), new pilots for both of the ships, different shaped asteroids, and the new damage deck (which will be required for official FFG sanctioned tournaments as of January 2016).

Ultimately, most hard-core players have bought both. For the longest time, buying two (or more!) core sets was the cheapest way to add three new ships to your collection, and have it so that you can play an opponent and both have your own dice, range rulers, damage deck and the like.

The 3x3 surface is required for any official play. I prefer a pre-made playmat (mine is a GaleForce 9) over felt, as I find felt is stretchy and sometimes keeps its fold lines, along with difficult to get *exactly* to 3x3.

Biggest mistake can be buying too much too fast and ending up with more stuff than you'll use. If you're in a game environment at your local shop where there may be players with lots of ships, ask if you can borrow them and try them out to see if they play on the table how you think they'll play in your mind.

And ask questions on here. Some folks may give you heat for asking noob questions, but all of us were noobs once. Ask away. Just use the right sub-forum.

And good luck

Felt works great and it's cheap. I need to find the Amazon link but there's a black over-sized Yoga mat that is 6x3 that costs about as much as a single 3x3 gaming mat and seems nicer to play on than a lot of the game mats I've used. Cut it in half and give one to a buddy or just keep both 3x3 mats in case you play Epic X-Wing or Armada. Both of those use a 6x3 play area.

TFA is going to be a decent value for the price but won't add much diversity to what you are playing with. The ships it comes with are different than what comes in the original core but at a superficial level still seems like just more of the same stuff. FFG is good about making their updated rules and FAQs available on their website.

Are you primarily planning on playing at home with friends where you'll be supplying everything or will you be playing at a game store with an established X-Wing community? Are you wanting to play competitively or just over beer and pretzels? Including that sort of information will help people give you relevant advice. By default, most answers that you'll get assume competitive play of one sort or another.

The best piece of advice that I can give you is "Do what the card says to do, don't do what the card doesn't say to do". 90% of all X-Wing questions can be answered by carefully reading the card and doing what it says to do, not what you think it says to do. Another 9% are answered by the FAQ (the most recent copy is always available at the site I linked earlier). The remaining 1% gets argued about in this subforum.

Youre going to make noob mistakes. That's part of being a noob. You start getting into the game and enthusiasm overcomes logic and BANG! Lost actions. Missed opportunities. This is just part of the game. The most important thing to remember is to have fun.

"Mistakes were made."

I would actually recommend against a TFA core set as your next purchase. The ships feel like flying an evolution of the ships you already have. But if you went with an A wing and a Phantom (just as an example) you'd experience a COMPLETELY different play style.

As a second ship, with the emphasis on play style differences, I would probably look at (in order by faction, limiting to just $15-20 ships):

A wing - fast nimble ship

Y wing - lugging dog of a ship, but with a turret and control

K wing - fast lugging bomber, super customizable

E wing - fast nimble powerful expensive ship. Stay away from Push the Limit + R2D2 though at <100 point games

B wing - Better version of the X wing, and while it plays more like a knife fighter, it fills the same role

HWK - Not worth it at <100 points (and you can argue not worth it at 100pts, but at least there's a case to be made for it there)

Z95 - A single Z95 doesn't do much by itself

Interceptor - fast nimble deadly ship

Advanced - Assuming you're okay proxying the title card, this can be a slow durable but surprisingly deadly ship

Defender - While not super competitive, it can be fun to play, especially at the beginning when players typically joust a lot

Phantom - I wouldn't recommend it for a beginning. It'll either be a huge point sink and die too fast if the player isn't good, or will solo the other player. Not a good ship for beginners or smaller point totals

Bomber - A not as good version of the Punisher. Jonus is the only one playing, and that's as a support ship

Short of picking up a Falcon because it's an iconic ship, I would stay away from the larger expansions until you get an opportunity to pick up several other ships and figure out the style you like. (Note, big ships is a style itself that you'd be ignoring by following this advice).

Ok, that's the run down on what to buy next. As for noob mistakes and how to avoid them, your best friend is going to be the rulebook. Read it thoroughly (including all the blue sidebars), then read it again. And probably once more for good measure.

When you look at the pilot and upgrade cards, do what they say, not what they don't say. One of the biggest mistakes made is trying to apply some weird logic to them. They're not supposed to be confusing, so simply follow what they say.

One of the big mistakes usually occurs during the Combat phase. New players tend to roll the dice at the same time. Follow the sequence carefully.

Attacker rolls

Defender modifies, then the Attacker modifies

Defender rolls

Attacker modifies, then the Defender modifies.

That's probably the main things to look for. If in doubt, read the rulebook and do what it says.

Thanks guys, that all really helps a lot. I've just played four games, each slightly more complex with equal wins on each side. The only thing mistaken was the dice modification order (subtle but important change). Both my buddy and me really enjoyed the games. Both of us are pleasantly impressed with the scope of games available in just one starter box ( and we're still on a 2x2 board). This game has legs me thinks!

Thanks guys, that all really helps a lot. I've just played four games, each slightly more complex with equal wins on each side. The only thing mistaken was the dice modification order (subtle but important change). Both my buddy and me really enjoyed the games. Both of us are pleasantly impressed with the scope of games available in just one starter box ( and we're still on a 2x2 board). This game has legs me thinks!

There's no doubt about that. The more expansions you get, the levels of complexity and enhancement you add to your games. If you look at the Rebel Aces pack you'll get two different ships that play quite differently to the X-wing, plus a host of handy upgrades. The best thing is that FFG are quite happy to tell you what each pack contains, so you know exactly what you're getting when you buy. Check out the X-wing wiki for details

http://xwing-miniatures.wikia.com/wiki/X-Wing_Miniatures_Wiki