First off, let me say thanks to everyone for a great forum. I've lurked on this forum for over a year now and feel like I've read everything there is but obviously that is not true. Like most newbs contemplating their first purchase I'm a little lost. My goal is twofold. 1) I want to introduce my kids to another table top game activity we can do as a family. 2) I would like to get a budget 100 pt. list together to at least experience official tournament style play. After much deliberation I had all but decided I would purchase a TFA core plus whatever expansion combo (2 small base or 1 large base) ship my LGS had in stock. Faction was secondary. This would get me a 100 pt. list immediately (even if not the best) and would allow me to start playing the game with the kids. Now with both decks being legal for at least awhile I'm more torn. Luke and R2 both seem like great cards to have and it would be weird not having Howlrunner or Mauler as options. I know the old wisdom used to be buy 2 core and I have recently seen advice saying buy 2 core, 1 old and 1 new. This seems like great advice but that is more expensive and still doesn't get me to 100 pts. So what should a complete newb on a budget do?

P.S. I know this has been answered hundreds of times but the recent decision from FFG regarding use of both decks has made it more confusing. At least to me. And so far, I haven't seen too much comparison between not just the ships but all the other pilots and upgrades that come in the different Core Sets. Thanks again for taking the time to bring new people into the hobby.

Sorry for the duplicate posts. Another example of how much of a rube I am.

Hello! I recently signed up myself. Very friendly community; not just here but all the FFG forums where I've lurked between here, the armada, and various Dark Heresy boards for ages!

I would still go with the 2 core sets first off. The biggest benefit is that they provide ships for both factions, which is going to be useful if you're trying to get your kids to play as well. I mean, if you put all your budget into Rebel ships, then good for them, but you really won't have much of an Imperial faction to play against.

Other pieces of advice, I'd say

-Find if there is a local store near you that hosts X-Wing games, casual or competitive. Some players would be willing to trade/sell some of the ships that they don't use very often (or at the very least, they might let you borrow them while playing at the store). Playing in store tournaments may get you small prices like extra dice, alternate art cards, or even packs (depending on the store). If you want them, great, but if not then you can use them to trade for other stuff. On the trade thread here there are lots of people willing to trade for lots of different things, especially promotional stuff.

-There are at least two online discount stores (that I know off) that are good for purchasing X-Wing packs for cheaper prices, and you get store credit with each purchase. I use Miniature Market, (I forget the name of the other one, but I'm sure someone will mention it).

-There's a thread a few pages back (can't remember the title) of an online tool that you can use to determine what are the bare minimum purchases you need to get the build you want.

I hope this helps. Best of luck to you!

Is there also a dollar limit? Also, are the kids fans of Star Wars in general? Do they have any favorite ships (x-wing, tie, Falcon)? That might sway the argument. However, one core of each and an iconic ship would give you a lot to play with:

1x X-Wing

1x T-70

Falcon, Reb Aces, etc.

2x TIE/Ln

2x TIE/Fo

Firespray, Imp Aces, etc.

Retail that would be ~$150 and you'd have enough for a couple lists and have all the rulers, damage decks, and tokens you'd need. You might not get a lot of variety, but hey...

First things first you need a face.

One of the easiest and best budget builds, IMO, is "Han Shoots First". All you need is 2 Core Sets and a Falcon (or Falcon, Core Set, X-Wing).

Han Solo (46)

+ Luke Skywalker (7)

+ Chewbacca (4)

+ Millenium Falcon (1)

2x Rookie Pilot (X-Wing) (21 each)

It's got good firepower and good survivablility, and as an added bonus awesome theme! And if you go the 2x Core route, you've already got 4 TIE Fighters to face off against, so just another Imperial ship or two will round out the opposition as well!

First things first you need a face.

Ask and you shall receive.

Thanks everyone for the quick response and great tips.

I've found that kids (age 10 or under) really enjoy turret ships. It's easy and quick and pretty much always rolling dice.

With that in mind you might find having both YTs is a good buy.

If you are just going to play at home with the kids, dont worry about the damage deck ruling ... It's only an issue if later you decide to play at a store or a tourney ...

For now, just get started with a few ships, see if everyone is having fun, then go from there...

If you are just going to play at home with the kids, dont worry about the damage deck ruling ... It's only an issue if later you decide to play at a store or a tourney ...

For now, just get started with a few ships, see if everyone is having fun, then go from there...

Also don't worry about making 100 point lists.

With 2 core sets, you can have some smaller (but still the same fun) 60 v 60 matchups with the 4 TIEs against 2 X-Wings.

Agree with GaZ ... Also, when the three of us in my group started playing, we shared one damage deck for games, whether two or three of us played .. our 3 player games are free for all tho..

You're going to have a tough time getting to 100 points with a Core and two other ships, but a TFA core + Falcon may get you close, you could run Han/Luke/Chewie/Falcon, Poe/BB8/something? Or alternatively:

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/build

Put in what you think is a good starting point with ships you and your kids like, and see what kind of 100 point lists you can build! But I would echo all the "buy 2 core sets", because you get enough dice for each situation (range 1 xwing? Need 4 red dice. Range 3 tie fighter? Need 4 green dice) as well as two sets of templates. Its MUCH easier for each person to have a set of templates. And for the near future, you can choose between damage decks, then you also have the new deck for when it finally goes that way. Add one beefier ship to each faction and you may end up with two 100 point lists. Good ones!

2 original cores and 1 new core should get you a pretty good start. Honestly, after that if your #1 priority is family games then let the kids pick! Build your moderate tourney lost off that. You'll have 3 xwings and 6 ties. 1 more ship from either faction should get you to 100pts. 4 ship rebel builds are classic and solid as is the tie swarm.

Welcome! Hope you join us on the imperial side!

Welcome to X-Wing! This is a great game and you'll find a lot of good people and advice in these forums.

As mentioned above, don't worry about getting 100 point squads initially. The cores come with several scenarios that are good to cut your teeth on. They make for excellent training devices. That's what my friend and I did when we started with this back in January. If you and your kids like the game, then you can pick and choose what to buy next. The main thing is have fun!

2 core sets is an excellent way to start off, and will give you the most ships for your $$$, even at full retail pricing.

Beyond that, my advice to new players is this: what do you want to fly? Buy that.

For me it was seeing the wave 2 ships come out. The fast, nimble A-wings and Interceptors have always been my favorite Rebel/imperial ships respectively, and the Falcon and Slave 1 are just so iconic, so when I started playing the game those were the first things I went for. And I had fun.

For my buddy it was the B-wings, and- to a lesser extent- TIE bombers. He's always had a thing for B-wings, and he has fun flying them.

So what is it for you? If you could fly any one Star Wars ship in real life, which would it be? Get that ship first. Ask your kid(s) the same thing, and get them their favorite ships. You'll get a lot more enjoyment out of the game doing that than buying all the ships you need for Net List #487 just because it's competitive.

As for tourney play, we're at a really beautiful place in the meta right now in that almost every ship in the game can be competitive. There are a couple that still need a little love from FFG in order to reach their full potential, but even those ships can be deadly in the right hands (except for maybe the Scyk. I don't think I've ever seen a thread with someone boasting how they won a tournament with Scyks...). The biggest thing is to be thoroughly familiar with your list and how it flies. And it's going to be a lot easier to reach that level of familiarity if you enjoy flying those ships.

You've taken the first step into a larger world. Welcome. And may the force be with you!

Don't jump directly into 100 points games, the "build up" phase can be very entertaining. I would suggest getting the new core and playing all the missions, then getting maybe the old core, if you want classic X-Wings (which aren't all that good, that shouldn't matter in a casual enviroment, though. Luke is still a boss.), maybe some Aces Packs, which provide you with good ships and upgrades, maybe the Falcon, or really anything that you would want to try. My first purchases after my second core (both old ones, that were) were a TIE Interceptor and a HWK-290, both of which aren't the cream of the crop out of the box. I still had a blast with them!

Quick, blast him while he is missing his extra green dice!!!

But seriously, an old core and a new core set will put you in a good starting place with both factions and give you enough templates and dice to not have to share, which is useful. The old core is being reprinted though I think, likely with the updated rules, template icons and damage deck, so it's probably best at the moment to just pick up the new core and one or two add on expansions for each side then get the old core later on.

What I would recommend is to go for one large base ship + the Aces pack for each. So the Falcon and Rebel Aces and then the Firespray (or Lambda/Decimator... up to you) + Imperial Aces.

That will give you a good starting point for both factions as well as a good spread of ships for Rebels. The Imperial set-up will be a bit less varied due to 2x Interceptors. If this bothers you, you could replace the Imperial Aces with two Imperial expansions, such as TIE Defender + TIE Interceptor or something like that. The problem is that Imperials have more ships to avoid as a new player, such as TIE Advanced, which is weak without spending £££ on the Raider, or the TIE Bomber, which has over-costed aces and no proper "fix" for ordnance yet.

What want your kids play? Mine go mostly for Rebels (the good guys, and visually more appealling as just one more of 5000 TIE variants), esp. B-wing, but the oldest had even fun trying flying a Lambda - fun scenario though, rebels had stolen it, Empire was trying to kill it before it got away

I am more the gamemaster, playing the EVIL Empire or dubious Scum

That said, the Lambda is quite iconic as well (and contains Vader and some other cool cards), but not that easy to fly without Engine Upgrade. Card is in the Falcon, if you do not proxy. We proxy a lot of cards, to keep costs down (and test stuff before eventually considering buying).

Thanks everyone for your great advice and encouragement. This conversation has given me clarity, even though it is some what different than my original thought process. Since I try to do all my shopping at b&m stores when possible; I am simply going to go to my local store this weekend and buy a single Core Set. Everything else will grow from there in time. Or it won't and it didn't cost more than a simple night out. Of course if the shop has both Core Sets on the shelf I will again spiral into the pool of uncertainty. Decisions, decisions.....

If you're only buying one core set, go with the new one as it has updated rules, templates and damage deck. I'd recommend skipping B&N though and place an order through Miniature Market. You will make a significant saving over RRP, especially if you order enough for free shipping, which is easily conceivable if you're buying a small start-out force for both Rebels and Imperials.