I've been playing casually for a few weeks now, enjoying the game greatly, but not sure what to get next.

I have two TIE Fighters (original core set), a TIE Interceptor, TIE Bomber and TIE Advanced for the Empire; X-Wing (core set), Y-Wing, Z-95 Headhunter and B-Wing for the Rebels. I'm not looking to get into the larger ships just yet or scum.

My thoughts are:

HWK-290 - Big fan of Dark Forces

A-Wing - Round out the set of fighters from the original trilogy

TIE Defender - Big fan of the TIE Fighter game

Lambda-class shuttle - okay, the one larger ship I might go for.

Any advice?

Cheers

Don't get a TIE Defender yet. A nice bet would be the Imperial Aces pack for two Interceptors and a huge boost to their capabilities or the Imperial Veterans pack for a TIE Defender and a TIE Bomber (and a huge boost to the Defender's capabilities). [imperial Veterans is not out quite yet]. For Rebels, I am a huge fan of the A-Wing b/c of Tycho Celchu, although the Rebel Aces pack with an A-Wing and a B-Wing is pretty nice too.

I would also buy rebel- and imperial aces...good value and fun ships to play...

// LÖWE

You might want to get the second core set.

It gives you another set of maneuver guides, more dice, and it gives you access to both the TIE/FL, and the T-70 X-Wing, which adds a lot more options.

You could also definitely gain value from either the TIE Fighter or X-Wing actual expansions, as they add new pilots and good cards, and I will always suggest the HWK, as I am a huge fan of the little brown birdie.

Not a big fan of the HWK. Lambda-class shuttle would be my choice. Since you have mostly Imperial stay focused on one faction for a little while longer.

I would also buy rebel- and imperial aces...good value and fun ships to play...

// LÖWE

I agree. Good pilots and upgrades here.

Not a big fan of the HWK. Lambda-class shuttle would be my choice. Since you have mostly Imperial stay focused on one faction for a little while longer.

Out of curiosity, why don't you like the HWK? I've been buying ships 1:1 Imperial to Rebel, the only difference being the second TIE Fighter from the core.

BUY MOAR SHIPS!!!!

But seriously, Rebel/Imperial Aces are always a good buy. Millenium Falcon is also a great iconic ship that is fun to fly.

People don't like HWK-290 because of it's limited use in competitive fields. Also, it has the most limited manouver dial out of any other small based ship in the game (making it kind of boring to fly).

A-wings are fun dogfighters and personnal favourites of mine and I'm sure you'll have fun with them too. However, whilst great on their own, A wings really benefit from the 'Rebel Aces' pack.

TIE Defenders are getting major upgrades soon with 'Imperial Veterans' and hopefully they'll see some tournament play after that, but you may just want to hold off on buying a single one until 'Imp Vets' is released.

The lambda shuttle suffers from the same problem HWK 290 does, it's just kind of boring. The only tournament play it sees is toting around the Emperor and that's just because it's squad point costs are so low. Seriously, when I was first getting into the game and I flew the shuttle for the first time, I was pretty disappointed.

A really great ship that needs no other expansions than it's own is the TIE Phantom. Everthing that makes it great will come in it's own little box. Be warned though, this ship is among the most complicated to fly in the game and will take practice to get down.

The recently released TIE-ADV Prototype is also a lot of fun to fly (Bonus if you're a fan of Rebels TV series)

I also recomend Rebel and Imperial Aces, seriously you're gonna be surprised how much of a difference they can make in game.

I say go for the Awing as well, really fun ship.

Also it would be good to grab the solo TIE Fighter pack in that two of it's best pilots are added in this set (Backstabber and Howlrunner) and long term you'll want four anyways to fly a full fledged TIE swarm.

I'll close with the fact that whilst mint condition ships are nice and all, you can save yourself a lot of money by looking for used sets online. You can Even find Specific upgrade cards if you need them!!!!! look for the Autothrusters card if possible as well as the Tie Advanced Title Card TIE/X2 and ADV. Targeting computer upgrade card.

Good Luck Mate, welcome to X-Wing

I'll second the check out eBay advice but be sure to watch for free shipping v paying for shipping because a lot of Buy It Now bargains evaporate with stiff shipping prices. I picked up two Kihraxz and saved $6!

I really want the Imperial Vets, too, even though most of my buys will be Scum & Villainy ships.

The wife sent me out to pick up a Starbucks gift card, the FLGS was on the way . . . So I got the HWK-290 and a second TIE Interceptor.

I think the next purchase will definatly be the Imperial Aces pack, though. I would have gone with that now, but didn't want to spend too much at once.

When you're starting out, it's good advice to play what you have - and add little by little. It helps with learning the game, rather than changing the game every time you add a new ship(s) to the mix. Another piece of advice, unless you're more passionate about the fiction / video games, is to not expect a favorite ship from the movies to be similar, or a favorite, in the X-Wing tabletop game. I like collecting ships for theme and flair, but, that's not the best way to a win in every case.

Having said that, the box sets (aces, veterans, most wanted) are a good way to multiply your forces, and get some sought-after upgrade cards. I like the Defenders a lot, in spite of the bad rap some people assign them, so the Imperial Veterans seems like a great next buy.

Furthermore, I suspect your wife actually wanted you to get the HWK and Interceptor. Why else would she have sent you out - past the FLGS?

Imperial aces. Great pilot choices.

Since you're not looking to get into scum I'd get either Imperial or Rebel Aces depending on which faction you are leaning towards.

Get what you like. HWK isnt great competitively, but its fun for casual play. I toss it out there every now and then. Rebel Aces is awesome. You get Ors and Katarn crew, and the pilots for A and Bwings are fantastic.

Defender is a good pick up. I just got one myself. You are gonna want Vessery when Imp Vets comes out.

I was going to agree with those suggesting Imperial Aces but I just read your later post saying you picked up a second Interceptor so you might want to go in a slightly different direction.

Hmmmm...I would recommend grabbing a TIE expansion (from the red set) to get Howlrunner as well as a TIE/FO expansion for the awesome Omega Leader, Juke, and Comm Relay.

Definite bang for your buck with Rebel Aces.

NOTE: If you do decide to dip into Scum and Villainy at all, consider grabbing Slave-1 and the Most Wanted expansion. Slave-1 comes with Imperial pilot cards but Most Wanted comes with S&V pilots for Slave-1 AND the HWK you just bought AND two Z-95s AND another Y-Wing with S&V pilots. You would get a lot of mileage from Slave-1 and Most Wanted considering what you already have,