Hi everybody, I have a quick question. I would like to get into this game, but I do not have much to spend and I would like to buy into one faction to begin. I am going to try to spend 70 dollars or below. I know I have to get a core set first, so which would core would you recommend? That leaves about 55 dollars to spend. I will be shopping online, so I can stretch my money a little further. Thanks for you input!

Edit: I will be playing in tournaments ad well.

It's all preference. Go with the Blue starter for the Force Awakens for sure. Then it is honestly just a matter of do you the idea of using the rebels or the empire. The ships fly very differently though I would say the rebels can be a bit more forgiving. Imperials are fragile but can hit like hammers in many cases. Go with what you feel will bring you the most fun.

If you have a faction preference, I suggest you stick to it. The exception would be Scum, because they have a different "core set" (the Most Wanted expansion pack) that doesn't really synergizes with any Core Set.

Either way, the The Force Awakens Core Set is a solid buy. If you stick to Rebels, a T-70 X-Wing (the blue one) expansion pack is more than recommended. Same for the TIE/FO expansion pack, you choose Imperials. Can't go wrong with either.

Other than that, it gets easier to help once you choose a side. A bit of research you help you through, no matter what.

In general, the Rebels have more health and more firepower on more expensive ships, while the Imperials have cheaper, lighter ships that are better at dodging, but require good flying skills for the best utility. Personally, I prefer the Imperial play style better, although I have seen that Scum and Rebels tend to be a bit easier for newer player (although the lack of any Scum units in core sets means that it can be a bit more expensive to get into).

I tried to fly Imperial when I strated. It was very tough to fly at first. Made me quit the game at first. Got back into and went with Rebels. Rebels are a bit more forgiving when flying. Then I got Scum and had some fun with them. Finally got back into Imperial. All 3 Factions are fun to fly and have their own positives and negatives. At this point I like to fly the Imperials the most. I don't tend to stick with one faction though now. Just fly what I want.

Welcome Biohunter,

I too just jumped in, and started playing. In fact my first game was at a local store that was also running a regional tournament for Spring, 2016

Personally I say to follow the advice of those above and play what you would enjoy more, and build on/from that; however, that being said Scum rocks!

Now I spent more on my initial purchase into X-wing, but I was going specifically for a list to run in the tournament. Seeing my first ever game was at that event, and I finished 4th of 8 I have to feel I am on the right path.

Definitely get the new set from Force Awakens, the damage deck is a little different than the original. This is the deck every participant used in the tournament I just participated in. With the remaining $55 you have a few options. If you wanna go Imperial Consider Imperial Aces, and with the remaining money pile on another Tie/FO or 2. Or look at a Firespray, and a Tie/FO. Had you more money to invest You could then look at a Shuttle, with...

You could also go Scum. Consider Most wanted ( pretty much a must ) with either a Y-wing, or the HWK-290, you should be able to get that for 55 That would get you started in Scum an a path to be competitive. The tournament had a player who had been playing about a month, and fielded a HWK-290 an 2 Z-95's. If you could squeeze Most wanted, and IG-88 in that is another solid start.

Rebel I don't have much experience with, but a quick Battlescribe look maybe a YT-1300, and another T-70

Definitely go on eBay for your purchases as a number of stores use Buy Now to move product but watch out for shipping costs.

You will find that focusing on one faction is all well and good but cards that make squads work cross over.

Go with ship designs you like. The Core with the new and maybe not yet available Imperial Vets would give you four Imp ships, with cards that would make Bomber and Defender expansions viable extras.

IF you have a proper local game shop you go to, it likely has a squadron of players for X-Wing already. I suspect that someone might loan you ships and cards for a game night if you'd like to try them out for size. Just saying.

Given your request, if it were me, I would advise myself to go back in time and [just] get the TFA core set and at least a B-wing. Maybe the Rebel Aces. B-wings are not to fast or fancy, but they have shields (which shed critical hits better), and a cannon (cool guns shoot turn after turn), and upgrades possible. Grow slowly.

But, I sort of like the Imperial ships, and I went a little nuts buying the cool stuff from Rebel and Imperial factions. So, I've had fun collecting, but haven't got much game time in.

Good luck!

Imperials.

Anyone who tells you different is a traitor.

Imperials, you can get a strong list for few dollars. Rebels are kinda spread around. BB8 works best on not Poe. Poe works best with R2D2 or R5P9. Lots of rebels like Predator, which is in not rebel packs (except the Ghost). Ywings like TLT which are in Kwing expansions, etc. Imp Aces gets you two interceptors with everything you need for them like Push The Limit, TItle, and even Targeting Computer which is nice on them or an extra hull/shield which will do fine in place of Autothrusters. Maybe $23 online?

$32 left.

Tie/FO $12 online. Gets you Omega Leader and everything you need for him (Juke/Comms), plus another badass in Zeta Leader and Force Awakens has his favorite upgrade Wired.

$20 left - Pre-order Imp Vets? That is gonna be AWESOME! But if you need to spend it now for more Imperials, A lambda is not a bad investment. Great support ship for your Interceptors even without Palpatine. Fly a doomshuttle to push crits through. Or fly Yorr with FCS and Rebel Captive and toss a HLC on him and do dmg from long range while destressing your ships.

Carnor Jax + PTL + TITLE + Hull Upgrade + Targeting Computer = 34pts

Omega Leader + Juke + Comms + Hull Upgrade = 30pts

Yorr + FCS + HLC + Rebel Captive + IA = 36pts

If I was buying into one faction it would be imperials right now. They have best aces in the game, and Imp Vets comes out soon to give them a supreme jouster ship. TAPs are excellent support ships. And they are fun to fly. You dont need TLTs, or expensive astromechs like Rebels. You just need to get a starviper for Autothrusters at some point.

Another pack that I think sort of comes with the upgrades it needs is the Tie Phantom. Not bad for being self-contained.

Sounds like you probably should consider purchasing the Force Awakens core set, and 2 T-70s. ($70) 3 T-70s provide a very good starting squad, but are still a long way from a winning team. You will need to also pick up the Tie Defender (for cards) and might want to pick up the Imperial Aces ($29) That way you will have a stronger T-70 squad and also will have some Imperial ships to play with.

Another pack that I think sort of comes with the upgrades it needs is the Tie Phantom. Not bad for being self-contained.

Yeah, although the Falcon for Vet Instincts and Gunner is pretty close to mandatory to really bring the two aces alive.

Another pack that I think sort of comes with the upgrades it needs is the Tie Phantom. Not bad for being self-contained.

Yeah, although the Falcon for Vet Instincts and Gunner is pretty close to mandatory to really bring the two aces alive.

That's the Slave-1. Falcon doesn't have Gunner.

A solid buy for the Phantom as you can pair both up and have a good self-contained squad. Phantom brings Tactician and RecSpec, fantastic choices for the 'spray.

Let's just admit that the best plan is to have two of everything in the product line, right?

But, yes, to start an Imperial squad beyond the TFA core, then the Slave-1 is excellent. It's a good large ship, not fragile, Boba is just cool, good cards, easy learning curve, and pairs well with several other choices you might get anyway (Aces, Tie Phantom) - and affordably gets you up to 100 points for a standard squad size. Likewise, the Millennium Falcon is a great starter choice for Rebels for the same reasons (with perhaps fewer "gotta have it" upgrade cards).

Thank you for all the input! Now to decide....

When you DO start to pick stuff up, don't forget that if you want to wade into Scum, you'll be best to have a Firespray, a Y-wing, a Hawk and a Z-95. That way, when you pick up Most Wanted, your scum faction will have access to 2 Y-wings, 3 Z-95's, a Hawk, and a Firespray. You can make some pretty decent lists with those pieces (And, with the exception of the firespray, you can find the others pretty cheap).

This might lean me to starting with Rebels so that you can collect 3 out of 4 of those types of ships for the rebel faction, then with Most Wanted, you've got yourself at 2 playable factions with one kit.

When you DO start to pick stuff up, don't forget that if you want to wade into Scum, you'll be best to have a Firespray, a Y-wing, a Hawk and a Z-95. That way, when you pick up Most Wanted, your scum faction will have access to 2 Y-wings, 3 Z-95's, a Hawk, and a Firespray. You can make some pretty decent lists with those pieces (And, with the exception of the firespray, you can find the others pretty cheap).

This might lean me to starting with Rebels so that you can collect 3 out of 4 of those types of ships for the rebel faction, then with Most Wanted, you've got yourself at 2 playable factions with one kit.

As someone who trailed this exact path, I can vouch for this.

Your only real problem when doing this is that you won't have decent EPTs for your aces.

To solve this problem while making the best out of your budget, I point you to the Kihraxz Fighter. Between the K and the 'spray, you'll have great EPTs for a Scum starter.