imp aces aren't actually that good and is an easy skip for imperial players not wanting to bother with the green dice deathrtrap that is the interceptor (and having to buy the Viper for thrusters just to make the interceptor viable)

it's a great ship, but very specific in its utility and in which pilots are viable (basically no one apart from royal guards, thurr, jax, and soontir)

purchasing along the lines of what looks cool will be more effective, ultimately. Remember to proxy cards (Try before you buy!) so you don't end up with an overwhelming amount of models

Good to know. I may skip it then and jump right to the Phantom and another ship that I like, maybe just the interceptor expansion with Soontir as opposed to the aces.

I recommend you purchase everything online for 25-35% off the high MSRP they have set.

Amazon is still 35% off on The Force Awakens Core Set and most other ships 20-25% off. Cool Stuff Inc and Miniature Market are good online sources as well.

Nothing wrong with buying local, especially if you have a store that does give you a good place to play. But online is your best savings and often your best service if there are issues with quality. Returns are easy on Amazon, but many brick and mortar stores will not take returns for defective models.

Imperial Aces is good, just maybe purchasing two (like I did) isn't up his alley.

Buy 1 Interceptor, 1 Aces, 1 Star Viper, and 1 Phantom and you can run a nasty Fel, Jax, Whisper list that kicks my but every time I encounter it, but maybe that's because I insist on running wonky lists for science.

Imperial Aces is cool as 1 Interceptor, 1 Imperial Aces gives you a lot of nice ships and cards at a fairly low price. I would not recommend more than 1 however.

Here's the list of stuff I don't recommend more than one at the moment:

Most Wanted does not come with a deck and templates. It really is an expansion, not a core set.

1 of each that tickles my fancy is my approach for now, except for the twin aggressors.

Stage one: get some of the ships. Stage two: get all of the ships. Stage 3: Someone posts the famous mistakes were made comic.

This. And because I've already done stage 1 and 2, going to jump straight to 3.

Those Y-wings look like Mini-vans.

What is your main goal? Tournament play? Local Game store play? Play at home with friends and family?

If you are going to play at home, I might suggest avoiding the Millennium Falcon, Decimator, and Phantom ships until you get a lot more smaller based ships. The large turreted ships will be annoying to play against with a small list of ships to bring against it. It won't be fun. The Phantom can ruin your games if you don't have a lot of stuff to bring against it, as well. I wouldn't make it one of your early purchases if you are just playing amongst family.

If you are playing amongst family, then purchase a lot of smaller ships and get what you want. Then go for the big ones.

If you are playing for a more competitive style, then listen to everyone else.