Hi there,

I've been getting into X-Wing recently. Having a friend who plays Rebel and another who plays Imperial, I decided to go for Scum (also, they're space pirates, what's not to love?). In terms of purchasing ships, I've already spent what seems to be an indecent amount for the amount of games that I have actually played. It seems to me that Scum struggle to access certain upgrades without buying ships that they straight up can't use (I'm thinking Push the Limit, Weapons Engineer, Fire Control Systems, etc. that are included in both Rebel and Imperial expansions).

Is this normal for such a miniatures game? Do Rebel and Imperial players have the same problem? Do most X-Wing players end up buying almost every release?

Thanks for any advice

SO

Welcome to the game and congratulations on your decision to invest your time, money, energy, and whatever extra storage space you have in your home for the love of mini ships!

You have taken your first step into a larger (miniature) world.

As a new player, one thing to note is that Scum was a little late to the party for this game as it was not part of the original faction format release and has had some catching up to do. This can account for some of the lack of card access you were referring to.

That aside, it is common in this game to not have immediate access to every card if you limit your purchasing to one faction (regardless of which one) only. If you are a patient player, time has shown that in some cases FFG will release cards that originally only appeared in one set or faction, in later sets of differing factions. This often means waiting for later expansions to be released.

The greater x-wing community is also a friendly one, and there are multiple trading sites that you can look into if you are interested in trading cards or other related x-wing items you have extras of for cards or other x-wing related items you would like to have. There is one great thread on this forum called the big x-wing trade thread. In some cases, community members are even generous enough to gift cards to other players simply for the betterment of the game and the community.

There is also the possibility of prize support. If you try your hand at a competitive x-wing event, often times there are prize cards (even if you do not win) that have cool alternate art and give you access to upgrades you may not have, such as push the limit, gunner, or Veteran instincts. Some stores even throw in store credit or ship expansions as prizes!

Lastly, there are 3rd party sites, like ebay, where sellers offer just the upgrade cards or parts of expansions you may be interested in for less than the cost of purchasing an entire ship you may have no desire to own or use.

You also mentioned your two friends have bought into the other two factions for x-wing, borrowing from them for particular cards you are interested in trying or making a build with is a great option too. And unless you plan on going to a competitive event, you can always proxy certain cards you have an interest in, to see if they are really worth a possible investment before you commit to a new purchase.

To answer your question about what most players purchase, I would say when it comes to most of the invested players, it is very common to buy at least 1-2 of almost every set that comes out simply for the love of both Star Wars and this game.

Now there are some who buy many more copies of every set, and others who are able to show more restraint and buy less.

Its really up to you and how much you enjoy owning the toys :-)

Hope that helps a bit!

Thanks for the really rather detailed reply! Definitely helps to hear others' experiences.

*whew* I at first wondered if you were trying to purchase a new player.

Hi, I'm new into this game as well.

The best thing I've done to try figure out what to buy for my collection is to utilize the squad builder app in my signature. Also, there's this link too: http://xwing-builder.co.uk/components#view=type

By using these tools you can see what each ship and pilot does differently and what exactly is in each expansion.

If you're going to go Scum (which looks awesome), the first choice is Most Wanted. It gives you all kinds of stuff, including 3 ships. It also gives you cards and dials for the HWK-290 (Rebel) and Slave 1 (Imperial) ships. If your friends have those two ships you can use their ships with your pilot cards and dials, or buy your own. Most likely you are going to wind up with some Rebel and Imperial ships anyways because everyone buys a core.

You probably already knew all this.

The most important piece of advice: buy extra dice.

I love to play Scum & Villainy, but I buy one of each expansion so I get all the cards... and I can play with others that don't have any ships.

For a new player just buying in and wanting to play scum, I'd suggest simply getting 1 of every scum ship, including the HWK-290 and Firespray (except the M3-A). Figure out what you like to fly, then buy more accordingly. As for individual upgrades that come with other factions ships, you can pick them up on ebay individually, or you can trade them in various places.

Personally, I primarily fly Scum in tournaments, but casually I try to play little bit of everything. As a result usually buy one of each new expansion. After I try them out, I'll supplement with additional copies as needed.

To make it simple all factions depend on upgrades from "hostile" expansions to some extent. As time has gone by the Rebels and Imperials have seen certain upgrades repeated on ships they use but because the Scum are relatively recent this isn't as common. For your Scum you also run into that issue where several of your Most Wanted ships are also available to the other factions and the HWK and Firespray you actually need to purchase the models from the hostile factions.

That all sounds useful, thank you. I immediately picked up a core, most wanted and Firespray (which is a load of fun to fly).

I was also bought an M-3a as a gift. What are the issues with that shop aside from its obvious fragility?

My favorite ship to fly so far is a loaded up HWK with Kyle Katarn and a recon specialist. I'd get the HWK if I were you, because Palob's ability just looks like sick fun.

Welcome to the game!

As others have noted scum is a little tough at first due to it being a later addition. I love scum and its what i personally play most often. Based on the sets you have bought try this build, This can be a fun build to do with what you have. to answer your question yes you will buy ship packs just for cards. I just started playing and have already picked up Core Set, Most wanted, Falcon, Star Viper, Hound's tooth, Boba, X-wing, Khrasik, and extra dice, and there are still more ships I want because of cards. It is a fun game and if you goal is to just have fun then focus on what you like. Its not always the guy with every card at his disposal that will win its you ability to fly the ships really well and out plan your competition.

Welcome to the community and have a blast man!

99 Points

52 points

• Boba Fett

Firespray-31

Veteran Instincts

Heavy Laser Cannon

Proximity Mines

Outlaw Tech

22 points

• Kaa’to Leeachos

Z-95 Headhunter

“Hot Shot” Blaster

Wired

Stealth Device

25 points

Syndicate Thug

Y-Wing

Proton Torpedoes

Autoblaster Turret

Unhinged Astromech

BTL-A4 Y-Wing

Firstly, welcome.

I understand your frustrations with needing cards outside of your chosen faction. I love the Original Trilogy and as a result, only purchase ships from the films (both Rebel and Imp). So, like yourself I am limited in what cards I have access to.

Luckily for me, X-Wing is a casual game I play with my mates once a fortnight or so. If this is you, proxy proxy proxy. It's not worth dropping your coin on ships you won't use.

My only advice (and it's hard not to follow when viewing these forums) is to ignore other's suggestions for lists. You're new, you're fresh, you're excited. Play with what you have, experiment with your own builds and encourage your mates to do the same. You'll find some combinations that are dreadful and others not knock your pants off .. and with that comes this exhilarating feeling of discovery, wonder and hopefully .. victory.

To conclude, fly casual for a while, get a feel for the game and check your PM.

I would suggest eBay as a great source for cards, etc. Your best bet is generally not to buy a single card you need but a whole set of stuff from someone maybe selling off a large portion of their collection for whatever reason. You can then split some of this with your buddies who play the other factions.

I must say that the response to my question has been fantastic so far. Thank you to all involved.

I've been trying out my own lists so far, using the simply named X-Wing squad builder app on Android. I've had greater success through mixing high and low pilot skill ships. Totally forgot to add that I have a Kihraxz expansion too. Not sure how, as that has been my favourite ship to fly, nipping in between asteroids and turning on a dime. Great fun!