So I will soon be going to my first ever store tournament and I have only just realised that you have to bring your own damage deck (such a noob). Anyway I will be running a Dash/Lothal build but only have the first version damage deck. However I have read that Dash is not a fan of the first version damage deck and id be better off with the 2nd, is this good advice?

What damage deck do you use and why, and does anyone know where I might be able to pick up a 2nd version damage deck in the UK without buying another core set?

Sorry if if this question would have been better suited elsewhere.

i think generally the 2nd deck is better no matter what youre running. Though i somehow always draw the 2damage crit....

if you're running 4BZ or any Mass generic (no upgrade) lists first deck is the best. if you're running almost anything else 2nd is most certainly better.

for dash you most certainly want the 2nd.

First deck has Cant use EPT or Pilot ability (the only reasons you take dash over WSF) and Discard secondary Weapon another major reason you take dash.

The scary thing about the original damage deck for Dash is you could pull the Munitions Failure which pulls your cannon off.

The old deck is great for non secondary weapon generics (in general) as there 4 crits that do absolutely nothing to you (Injured Pilot and Munitions Failure).

The new deck replaces those two crits with Shaken Pilot (can't assign a straight maneuver next round) and the crit that after you perform a white maneuver you assign a stress token to your ship. A few others were reworded.

I would bring your deck but ask if anyone has a new deck you could borrow once you are there.

Is it actually a choice? I thought the "new one" was now the "official" one for tourneys.

Is it actually a choice? I thought the "new one" was now the "official" one for tourneys.

FFG was going to force a switch at the beginning of the year but changed their mind. Either deck is currently legal.

Is it actually a choice? I thought the "new one" was now the "official" one for tourneys.

FFG was going to force a switch at the beginning of the year but changed their mind. Either deck is currently legal.

Thank You. I'd only heard there was going to be the switch. Generally though if I have the both I'm better off with the TFA set one aren't I?

Thanks for all the input, I see a common theme haha. I will try and borrow one for the tournament but it looks like I will have to buy one sooner or later.

Easy, if you are running turrets or cannons that you need for you list to work, run the NEW DAMAGE DECK. If you do not have any turrets or cannons, run the old damage deck.

The old deck has a Remove secondary weapon crit, there are only two, but Dash always get it.

the next deck just lowers your attack for all weapons by 1, so a 3 dice heavy laser instead of getting rid of it. With your list go the the new deck, especially if going to a tournament.

Thanks for all the input, I see a common theme haha. I will try and borrow one for the tournament but it looks like I will have to buy one sooner or later.

If you are playing a low PS generic list without a lot of pilot abilities, EPTs, or secondary weapons the original deck is the way to go. Pretty much anything else wants the new deck.

Is it actually a choice? I thought the "new one" was now the "official" one for tourneys.

FFG was going to force a switch at the beginning of the year but changed their mind. Either deck is currently legal.

Thank You. I'd only heard there was going to be the switch. Generally though if I have the both I'm better off with the TFA set one aren't I?

generally speaking yes, but there is a higher damage potential (with Major explosion > Minor explosion) but less crippling effects (Munitions Failure Injured Pilot)

Thanks for all the input, I see a common theme haha. I will try and borrow one for the tournament but it looks like I will have to buy one sooner or later.

They aren't offered up too often on ebay, but when they are, they are usually fairly cheap for just a deck.

OR

You can join and post on this group. Lots of stuff for sale or trade.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/StarWarsXwingSwapandSell/

Awesome thankyou!

Thanks for all the input, I see a common theme haha. I will try and borrow one for the tournament but it looks like I will have to buy one sooner or later.

Worth pointing out that the new core set ALSO has DIFFERENT asteroids, which are legal to combine with the first core set.

IE., each player also needs to bring 3 of their own obstacles for the event, which you combine with your opponent each round to set up the 6 obstacles on the table. So it's pretty common for someone running a list that likes big rocks (like, say, Dash) to use two of the rocks from one core set and the third from the other - to get the biggest combination of rocks possible.

Should get tfa core...

But if you really don' t want that, its for sale here .

In the 2015 worlds they gave all participants a TFA damage deck as it was required. I wonder if they would do that with the 2016 worlds maybe even the nationals.

You should be fine with either deck in any setting, it's not going to have that much of an impact that you're going to really care about. A crit is a crit and the whether it knocks off your cannon or limits your actions it's still bad news.

Now, not to downplay the advice already given (since it is all sound) but there are some things to consider. Suppose you are running an Ace and some fodder. Which deck is best? One (newer) is a bit kinder to your Ace while the other (older) is kinder to your generics. So really it's up to you to decide which is better for your purposes. Do you want to protect your Aces upgrades, or do you want to shrug off crits with generics?

The other thing too is that if you shuffled properly, you might end up never seeing whichever cards it is that worry you. Conversely you could draw two of the same crit and be double stuffed!

The long and the short of it, for me anyways, is that it's too random to really affect gameplay on a scale where one deck is decidedly better than the other. Sure you can say as a general guideline that generics want the old deck and Aces want the new one, but it's only just that; a guideline.

More specifically, in a case like the OP describes, either deck can be good. Lothal Rebel doesn't care about losing his pilot ability, but Dash does. It also depends greatly on how you've built your list. If Dash is loaded up while Lothal Reb is light, then I would say that's all the more reason to run the old deck. VCX is going to take more crits than Dash, and he will probably go down first. By the time you get to putting crits on Dash, you may very well have drawn all the bad cards out! Again however, you may have just weeded out all Dash's harmless cards and left him with a pile of ability and upgrade strippers. ANother thing to think about! What if Dash draws a munitions failure again? Who cares? Cannon is already gone, that crit meant nothing!

Honestly I think that if there was really any comparable difference FFG would have gone through with their intended deck update. As it stands though I think the differences between decks serve only to highlight certain aspects of listbuilding and it's a purely tactical choice for the player to make. There is also the fact that a lot of people didn't want to be forced to make any purchases they didn't really need in order to play tournaments. How many traditional swarm players are going to want to buy another core set full of ships they don't need in order to play legally as they had been doing in the past? Perhaps people hated TFA (morons) and didn't want to sully their collection with newjacks? It's not fair to force them, or anyone really, into making purchases based simply on legal requirements for tournament play. Thus we see the rules as they are now where both decks are legal.

In reality, with both decks beings so similar, perhaps it was just a test to see what we as consumers would do? We know that FFG is definitely not interested in repackaging essential game components, so maybe they were just seeing if we would go out and buy core sets to stay legal? I think enough complained about it that FFG relented. Of course, all this postulating falls on it's face when you realize the new core set is pretty awesome and we were buying it anyways! Lol!

The advantages of the second damage deck are not worth $40 (or their equivalent pounds), especially for a first tournament.

Sure, it kind of sucks if Dash draws a "Munitions Failure" from the first deck and loses his cannon, but at the same time the old crit that reduces his primary weapon value is a freebie for him (whereas the new deck lowers his attack by one, whether he's using primary or secondary). So it's close enough to a wash to not bother spending for just a new deck. If you can find one on Ebay or a secondary market for a couple of pounds grab it, but if not don't sweat it.

Eh, if you're planning to play a bunch, the other core set is a worthwhile investment. A spare set of templates, a range ruler you can cut up so you have a range 1 and a range 2 ruler, and actually enough dice to play the game... worth picking up even if you don't plan to use the new deck.

Don't get hit. Failing that, don't worry about one card that might cause you to drop two attack dice at range 2 or 3 but reinstates your range one attack.

Eh, if you're planning to play a bunch, the other core set is a worthwhile investment. A spare set of templates, a range ruler you can cut up so you have a range 1 and a range 2 ruler, and actually enough dice to play the game... worth picking up even if you don't plan to use the new deck.

I utterly disagree with you. Buying more than one starter, either old or new, is only worthwhile only if you just have to have the ships and cards in them. Inferring how great having two starters is extremely disingenuous if you don't also point out how having two might not be worthwhile.

If you need "spare" templates any of the multitude of aftermarket acrylic ones are a better investment than another starter since they are far more durable. If you just need or want more dice you can just get the FFG dice pack for considerably less that a starter. If need both you can shop around a bit and have both of those items that you'll USE for less than another starter and not have a bunch of crap you may have no use for. Now if you want the ships a starter is a deal, but only if you want THOSE ships

Eh, if you're planning to play a bunch, the other core set is a worthwhile investment. A spare set of templates, a range ruler you can cut up so you have a range 1 and a range 2 ruler, and actually enough dice to play the game... worth picking up even if you don't plan to use the new deck.

I utterly disagree with you. Buying more than one starter, either old or new, is only worthwhile only if you just have to have the ships and cards in them. Inferring how great having two starters is extremely disingenuous if you don't also point out how having two might not be worthwhile.

If you need "spare" templates any of the multitude of aftermarket acrylic ones are a better investment than another starter since they are far more durable. If you just need or want more dice you can just get the FFG dice pack for considerably less that a starter. If need both you can shop around a bit and have both of those items that you'll USE for less than another starter and not have a bunch of crap you may have no use for. Now if you want the ships a starter is a deal, but only if you want THOSE ships

I disagree on the dice pack. That one is really expensive compared to everything else. By just spending some bucks more you get the SAME amount of dice PLUS three ships, cards and templates (even asteroids etc).

If you intentionally use the first deck: you are a bad person.