I have 2 core sets, looking to add to my squadron. I am new to the game and love it. I dont know enough about the game to give you and sense of my playing style. I searched a many squad list online and have found them overwhelming and still somewhat foreign. Please give me the first expansion you'd buy as an imperial player. Thanks!!

Anyone?

Tie interceptor is a good add. Plus if you get the imp aces as well you can run jax and soontir. The Tie adv prototype seems pretty good as well. and get some copies of Autothrusters either via trade or from the star viper.

Tie Fighter.

It's cheap, and if you already have 4 Tie Fighters, you need Howlrunner to tie them all together into a lean, mean, fighting team.

EDIT: Also, a TIE f/o is a great option. It comes with pretty much the most self-contained ace in the game. Omega Leader, with Juke and Comm Relay upgrades. Great at bringing the pain against enemy aces, who your other 4 TIE fighters might currently have troubles with.

I would buy the Tie Defender. It has a fun maneuver dial and some pretty sweet stats. The squad point cost ranges from 30-37 for just the ship, but it would fit perfectly with a squad that has four Ties. It is able to fly by itself or in a tight squad, so whatever your style is, this ship is a great fit.

When I first got into the game after core sets the next expansions I got were the phantom and imp aces. Granted this was pre nerf but both expansions offered a ton of fun tools to use and build upon.

FO expansion comes with a ton of fun pilots to use and fill all sorts of roles as well, from swarm filler to pocket ace to ahole.

New or old core set? Or both?

As someone mentioned before getting a tie fighter expansion is a nice choice if you are looking to swarm

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say, get an Imperial Aces and a star viper. Even if you only ever want to fly empire (like me, welcome to the fold by the way) there are several integral upgrades in that combination. You get autothrusters which are basically required for any Imperial ship that has boost. 2 tie interceptors to take advantage of those autos, a couple copies of one of the most used elite upgrade (push the limit), a large amount of useable modifications to play around with on your ties, and that all will set you up for the next purchase, a normal interceptor to fly the baron soontir fel around.

thanks! super helpful! I've heard Darth Vader is a must too. What expansion has him? ... and is that worth buying?

thanks! super helpful! I've heard Darth Vader is a must too. What expansion has him? ... and is that worth buying?

I second the advice that a Tie/Fo is a good choice. I like Omega Leader too but other pilots have their uses.

The Tie Defender and Bomber are a little on the weak side but should get a boost soon with the forthcoming "Imperial Veterans". I would wait for that and get them rather than the individual packs.

I agree with those above that an Imperial Aces pack, a Star Viper (for the autothrusters) and a Tie/Fo would be good as your "next wave" of purchases.

Lots of great advice above (I am a huge fan of TIE Interceptors and thus the Imperial Aces pack, but to get the most mileage you would also need the autothrusters from the StarViper pack [and I really love Soontir Fel, who is only in the regular Interceptors pack]). If you want a large-base ship, I would take the Decimator over the Firespray (I throw this out there because no one has yet mentioned large base ships and I was not impressed by the Firepsray, which was the entire reason I focused on Empire over Rebels early on).

To be honest, the Empire's large-base ships leave me a little cold. Even with TLTs and the the half-point nerf, The Falcon and Outrider are fun to play. The Decimator and shuttle seem to get used largely as Palp-mobiles.

Maybe that is my problem for not challenging the perceived wisdom of the meta but I normally just load up on more flavours of Tie fighter.

The Phantom is a worthy choice. Whisper is nasty and the common build is self contained except for veteran instincts. Happily, veteran instincts is this season's tourney participation prize, so if there's any scene in your area you should be able to bum one. Plus Whisper is costly enough that you'll be pushing a full squad right away. PLUS, Whisper is hard to fly... which might not seem like a plus, but it will force you to start thinking a few maneuvers ahead, so it's great training.

To be honest, the Empire's large-base ships leave me a little cold. Even with TLTs and the the half-point nerf, The Falcon and Outrider are fun to play. The Decimator and shuttle seem to get used largely as Palp-mobiles.

Maybe that is my problem for not challenging the perceived wisdom of the meta but I normally just load up on more flavours of Tie fighter.

The same here. I just felt like the large bases deserved some mention. And I completely forgot about the shuttle.

this is awesome and a lot to take in... I will dig deeper into each ship. My initial thoughts were Decimator, Imp Aces, and Phantom. Perhaps I will stripe out the phantom for another a tie f/o. Maybe stripe out the Decimator too... I suppose anyway I go, I cant be TOO wrong.

The Decimator is great fun to fly and depending on your local meta can be very hard to kill (no-one uses TLT or heavy Ordinance bear me really).

It really comes down to what intrigues you. What do you want your Imperial Force to be. TIE's, Intercepters, a big Decimator with a fleet of basic TIES? While your growing look at what you feel will be most fun for you. Aces are a solid Multi-pack if you want Intercepters. Heck TIE Bombers can be fun to play and see because they are not the most common. If you want your TIEs to be lead by Soonter Fel and howlrunner gab a Standard Intercepter pack and a Basic TIE pack.

Tie FO for Omega Leader

Imperial Aces

Starviper for Autothrusters

Tie Interceptor for Soontir Fel

That would be my recommendation. If you have money left

Tie Advanced prototype

Tie Phantom

A TIE f/o and a regular TIE expansion would fit right in with the 4 other TIE you already have.

Omega Leer and Howlrunner are great low point aces/ squad leaders.

Large expansion = Imperial Aces. Two Interceptors + 2x Push The Limits + 2 x Royal Guard Title (Both necessities!!!)

Small Expansion = Tie F/O. You get Omega Leader who is godlike 1v1. Plus Juke and Comms that are both awesome additions.

Dont get (yet anyways):

Tie Advanced: They arent great unless you also get the title+Advanced Targeting Computer. You either have to buy the $80-$100 Raider expansion to get four of em, or spend like $15-$20 on ebay for one pair. I think right now, you would benefit more from Imperial Aces for the money to get a suitable Vader.

Tie Advanced Prototype:

Awesome ship, but you really want Autothrusters and PTL or Juke for these things

there is so much... I would get a TIE advanced just you you have Vader(must add the raider latter) . Imp Aces kicks ass, a deci is a must have and there is a set coming soon Imperial Veterans.
Dont forget the bomber .....

Lots of people giving good choices. My first expansion was Imperial Aces.

If you intend to play Imperial only, you'll want to get ships that fall into the main tiers of play-style..

Swarms - 4 low squad point ships flying in formation. The goal is to fly directly at your opponent because you have the dice advantage.

Swarming is generally done with four Imperial/New Order Tie Fighters and Tie Advanced Prototypes. Pretty much any Imperial swarm is naked without Howlrunner, whom comes in the Tie Fighter booster pack.

Arc Dodging - Arc Dodgers are the most maneuverable ships in the game, which they rely on to stay alive (Arc Dodgers have high evasion, but generally low hull). The goal of Arc Dodging is in the title, you need to get out of enemy firing arcs and whittle down your opponent. Tie Interceptors have dominated this category for a while but you'll find that Tie Phantoms are exceptional at getting out of the way of Arcs. A successful Interceptor is generally built using the following expansions: Tie Interceptor Booster, Imperial Aces, Star Viper. Tie Advanced Prototypes and some of the higher Pilot Skill Tie Fighter Pilots are often found in this category.

Turrets - Generally, large based ships that have a 360 degree firing arc. These ships excel at dealing consistent damage throughout a match, and flight patterns are generally determined by match-ups (don't fly directly at swarms, but do fly directly toward Arc-Dodgers). Currently, the only imperial ship with a 360 arc is the Decimator which is an awesome ship (Slave 1 comes close with 180 degree arc).

These 3 Tiers are basic and classic play-styles and work in a sort of rock-paper-scissors fashion. Generally Swarms have advantage over Turrets, Arc-Dodgers over Swarms, and Turrets over Arc-Dodgers.

Some ships I would recommend steering clear of early on would be -

Lambda Shuttle - Though currently used in one of the most popular squads today, the Shuttle is an awkward, low maneuverability ship that is designed to play more of a support role than anything. It is fairly useless unless it carries Emperor Palpatine within. (The Emperor comes exclusively in the Imperial Raider Expansion which is extremely pricy if just getting into the game.

Tie Bombers/Tie Defenders - Whilst both of these ships are great, I would hold off on buying them until the Imperial Veterans expansion is released which gives significant advantages to each.

Tie Advanced - This Ship has become increasingly prominent since the Imperial Raider expansion, as it has some of the best stats and pilots in the game. Unfortunately it suffers from the same problem the shuttle does, in that it pretty much needs the Imperial Raider for it to become viable.

1.) TIE/fo Expansion - Assuming you don't have much Imperial stuff and don't plan on buying too much, the TIE/fo Expansion is the most complete. Most expansions come with 4 pilots where the TIE/fo Expansion comes with 6, giving you greater diversity and bang for your buck. You're also likely to already have TIE/fo Fighters if you bought the Force Awakens Core Set, meaning it will greatly supplement what you already have. Plus, Omega Leader has everything he needs right out of the package to kick anyone's ass.

2.) Slave-1 - while not seen as competitive for Imperials, provides an amazing amount of upgrades in the package and can be used to great effect if you have the Scum conversion. If you have Most Wanted already, this is a VERY high recommend as the pilots all have highly different play-styles, the ship is extremely flexible, and it is an overall blast to play! If you don't proxy, you'll need Engine Upgrade from another expansion.

3.) Imperial Veterans Expansion Pack - coming out soon, and it comes with a LOT of goodies and a cool red color TIE Defender. High recommend. Out in maybe 1-2 months?

4.) TIE Phantom - Extremely unique. Only ship with native cloak, only small ship with native 4 red dice. It's like a slippery assassin class from a video game in ship form. Fun to play!

X.) If you're not proxying cards and don't plan on buying much, I would recommend staying AWAY from:

TIE Advanced - need upgrade from Raider ($75-100). I proxy the **** card. It ain't worth. If you proxy, Vader is fun.

TIE Defender - lackluster without upcoming buffs from Imperial Veterans Expansion Pack. If you proxy, sure go ahead.

TIE Fighter - You're buying this mostly for Howlrunner, and if you're not buying much then you won't have the TIES for her to support.

Imperial Aces Expansion Pack - Needs to be bought with TIE Interceptor Expansion Pack. If you're not proxying, you need Autothrusters from Starviper (which is Scum). With proxies, Imperial Aces + Interceptor is a whole team right there.

Lambda-class Shuttle - Always extremely difficult to use, without proxies it usually needs Palpatine from Raider. Rarely used but still potentially effective in a non-Ace list.

VT-49 Decimator - For fun, casual settings I'm personally against 3+ attack primary turret ships. Takes away a lot from what makes the game cool.

Hope that helps!

Lot's of contradictory remarks going around, which must be confusing. So I'll amend my earlier remarks by telling you to follow your heart, as it will guide you down the path you know to be true.

(But seriously don't get the Shuttle)

Awesome. This has been helpful. Maybe I will run a +1/-1 for every ship mentioned and buy up to my budget with the winners.