I was lucky enough to receive the X-Wing starter set for Christmas this year.

The models are fantastic, and the game looks pretty fun and fast to play.

I am wondering if any of you have some pointers in regards to what I should purchase in order to move forward and start building a squad?...

I also need to choose which side I will take.... Are there any characteristics/play styles which distinguish one from the other?

Thanks in advance

If you're like me, cashed up and want a complete game experience, BUY EVERYTHING!

Each faction has ships that fall generally into most categories.

Rebels and Imperial generally go ship for ship, the scum are a

little behind because they were released slightly later and are

playing catch up in terms of numbers of ships.

I have been watching battle reports and I like the tie interceptors a lot. Soontir Fel, push the limit, auto thrusters, royal guard tie...

They all seem really fun.

Not sure what the Rebel equivalent would be... A wings?

Unfortunately arratak, I don't have a lot of disposable income. So I will need to be more particular with what I buy.

On that note, should I buy another starter box?

Random question:

How do you get an avatar with xwing art on it... Xwings, Tie fighters, etc...?

Depends on what starter box you already have, the 1st edition is now redundant, however it has some awesome cards in it, that if you don't buy it, you may never be able to get them again. the named unique cards such as R2-D2 as a droid upgrade and Luke Skywalker as an X-wing pilot. I mean sure, the extra range and movement templates are nice to have for a friend to use. And the extra dice, because sometimes with range bonuses and upgrade you may be rolling 4, 5 or 6 red dice or green dice. So that's helpful, or you could just buy the dice upgrade pack.

I think start with 1 expansion from each faction rebel and imperial would go along way, maybe imperial and rebel aces would be good, gives you alot of ships and upgrade cards to enhance you game.

I have been watching battle reports and I like the tie interceptors a lot. Soontir Fel, push the limit, auto thrusters, royal guard tie...

They all seem really fun.

Not sure what the Rebel equivalent would be... A wings?

Unfortunately arratak, I don't have a lot of disposable income. So I will need to be more particular with what I buy.

On that note, should I buy another starter box?

Random question:

How do you get an avatar with xwing art on it... Xwings, Tie fighters, etc...?

The closest you can get to Fel with the Rebels is Jake Farrell. He's an A-Wing pilot that comes in the Rebel Aces pack.

Jake Farrell with Veteran Instinct, Push the Limit, Autothrusters and Proton Rockets.

As a general rule,

the rebels are sturdier (more hull/shield, way to regen some shield) and have a lot of turret ship.

the empire have speed and agility (more arc dodging ship, way to reposition yourself after moving).

the scum are tricksters, stealing tokens, pulling dirty tricks here and there.

For a new player, I would suggest starting with either the rebels or the Empire.

If you're still not sure what to buy, I suggest buying the Core Set that you don't already have. This way you will have 2 Tie Fighter, 2 Tie FO, 1 X-Wing, 1 T-70 X-Wing and 6 of each dice. That's enough to do some little 60 pts game and give you a feel of the game. Then expend from there. Rebel Aces is a nice expension for the Rebels, it comes with an A-Wing and a B-Wing and Imperial Aces for the Empire, coming with 2 Tie Interceptor. Then maybe a big ship for each faction, a Falcon for the Rebels and a Decimator for the Empire. And so on...

I have the original starter set.

I was thinking of buying another original starter set because it is more economical than buying extra dice and 3 ships... That, and they are on sale from Chapters for $25 Canadian right now.

Its interesting that I always play the "good guys", but with X-Wing I am really feeling the pull of the dark side

The call of the Dark Side, seductive it is.

I have the original starter set.

I was thinking of buying another original starter set because it is more economical than buying extra dice and 3 ships... That, and they are on sale from Chapters for $25 Canadian right now.

Its interesting that I always play the "good guys", but with X-Wing I am really feeling the pull of the dark side

If you already have one original core set, there is no point in getting another. The new force awakens set is a good buy. Unfortunately, its the only way to get the new damage deck. If you plan on playing imperials, you are really really going to want the new damage deck. Injured Pilot is the worst crit ever (in the original damage deck) and was removed in the new damage deck. Soontir Fel, and any other named pilot is so much happier running with the new damage deck. Plus, its just a better overall deck. The only time you would consider using the old damage deck is if you were playing a bunch of generic TIE fighters (well any generic list with no pilot abilities, elite cards or secondary weapons).

So is the force awakens set essentially the newest edition of xwing?

So is the force awakens set essentially the newest edition of xwing?

In a way. It has a more complete and streamlined rulebook (although that's available in pdf online). The templates/tokens are essentially all the same and it comes with different ships/cards than the original core, so it doesn't exactly replace it. Having both is good if you plan on playing either rebels, imperials or both. The main thing is the damage deck. Its unfortunate that FFG won't offer it for sale by itself (although I can see why---it doesn't make them any money doing so).

So the damage deck and the models are the only real changes

So the damage deck and the models are the only real changes

Yes, and the upgrade cards. Both sets come with different upgrades to choose from (except proton torpedoes....I own a million proton torpedoes it seems!)

So I just got a smoking' deal on an original Core pack... $24!!!

So I have now doubled my Imperial and Rebel forces

Two starter sets is the way to go, because now, you have the makings of two different squads, with minimal investment. Next comes the homework part. Figure out what faction you want to focus on, then look at what lists you can make. Me personally, I bought another Tie fighter and the Gozanti class cruiser set (that set has some pretty decent tie pilots in it). With that, I came up with a nice Tie swarm list. Now, I also bought a bunch of other ships, for a Rebel build, but I got the Gozanti cruiser for the reason that it looks cool, for scenario/epic play, and for the pilots and upgrade cards. Barring that, everyone told me to buy a Tie interceptor for Soontir Fel. Haven't done it yet, as I'm still working on my Tie swarm, plus I need another Y wing. It's tough to acquire some cards you need for builds you see, as they are only available in certain expansion sets, so try and work with what you have, because if funds are limited, card chasing can be very expensive.

If you're flying dark side, it's good to stock up on as many original core sets as possible, as this gives you the most options for cheap TIE's. I'd also recommend picking up the TIE expansion (and if you're flying X-wings, the X-wing expansion) for more fun pilot options. If you're totally wanting to go with the lawful rulers of the galaxy, you'll definitely want an Interceptor and Imperial Aces. As you get more $$$, get more addicted, and more successful at convincing your kids that everyone eats two meals a day these days (kidding, CPS) spend a good deal of time on these forums (fora?) to get good guidance on which ships are worth the money, which give you the best bang for the buck, and which you'll need multiples of.

And, if you have not given some serious glances at MajorJugglers "Index of useful links", DO SO NOW!!!!!!

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/126226-index-of-useful-links/

I just started playing as well. I would listen to the folks here, start out slow and steady, pick up the aces pack for the rebels and imps. after you buy both core sets. I prefer the imperials so I mainly have lots of them. I do also have rebels to fight against.

Great advice everyone, thank you.

I have been watching LOTS of battle reports on YouTube.

I have been seeing how builds can make or break a game, which also lead to see what you mentioned above in regards to it being difficult/expensive to get the needed cards for some of the more popular builds.

I am going to take some time and paint up my Tie and X-Wing fighters, then I will focus on where to go from here.

It is hard not to just go out and buy everything because all of the models are so cool.

I picked up the core set at the beginning of November. I've shown very little restraint in buying ships.

Just play what looks fun, try new stuff and you will figure out what you like to fly. remember it is supposed to be fun!!!

I have never had an issue with forgetting to have fun with gaming.