Card packs would be a buzz-kill for the competitive side and a business-kill for the marketing side.

New zero point upgrade spoiled:

"X-wing Fix"

Action: To have fun: use pen & paper proxies.

Action: To win acrylics: buy the expansions.

I haven't played with them in Epic yet, but good lord, do they make great display pieces. Along with my Ghost, because I don't have a storage solution for that...

And let's all be thankful that with FFG re-entering the randomized collectible model, that we appreciate the current model, as flawed as it may be for some.

I'd rather buy ten X-Wing ships for assorted cards than ever buy one booster anything. There's nothing enticing about Star Wars Destiny for me.

Card packs would be a buzz-kill for the competitive side and a business-kill for the marketing side.

New zero point upgrade spoiled:

"X-wing Fix"

Action: To have fun: use pen & paper proxies.

Action: To win acrylics: buy the expansions.

I want card packs but I don't think it will happen for what you just said.

FFG has already stated several times that they will never sell expansions without ships in them.

The packing is as well super anti-environmental. I mean, ok, that card is sure worth what they are asking for, but the amount of packing is excessive. There is even this cute, little promo toy in the Palpatine package, must be some silly stardestroyer for Armada or something …

Are we clear now? ;-)

Oh, I agree. The packaging is ridiculous and the model is super anti-consumer.

It's hard to call this model anti-consumer when blind booster purchases are a common practice. I'd rather buy one $15 Starviper and know that I'm going to get 2 copies of Autothrusters than to have to open $5 booster packs until I get lucky enough to get the cards that I'm looking for.

It's hard to call this model anti-consumer when blind booster purchases are a common practice.

It's also not like you get cards you can't actually use with that expansion, and sometimes you get more cards than you need... I mean FFG could have only put one autothruster in the Starviper pack, and the Starviper very much likes having Autothrusters on it.

It's really hard to call it anti-consumer when you compare it to what other companies have done.

Even games like Warmahordes or 40k 'force' you to buy things you may not want for the sake of using what you do want. I had to buy the Mk3 faction deck for Cygnar even though I only needed a dozen or so cards out of it. You would also have to buy a Devastator pack if you want to use a Heavy Bolter in your tactical marine squad for 40k.

So this idea that you have to buy X so you can use Y isn't really unique to X-Wing.

I wish there was a better secondary market for X-Wing upgrade cards.

In some ways the idea of a secondary market for X-Wing is a myth...

...the only thing you can really sell on a secondary market are the cards. Next to no one is going to buy a model on the secondary market. Why would I buy another X-Wing for even $5 when I likely want at least some of the cards that come in it?

Not sure if the UK market is a bit different, but there are at least 3 well-known online sellers of individual components ie models/pilots/upgrades/accessories...

...and there are a few of us who buy the models for their own sake - I just can't get used to the idea of such good quality miniatures for less than I used to pay for a small plastic aircraft construction kit - if only I was better at repainting them!

If you buy enough of each ship so you can fit 100 point of generics into a list you will have all the cards you need.

FFG does make money hand over fist using their current business model. Why would they change that? They wont.

Like some said buy individual cards online ebay etc if you refuse to buy whole ships for upgrades.

I prefer to have enough of each faction to run anything. Then its not even an issue.

The packing is as well super anti-environmental. I mean, ok, that card is sure worth what they are asking for, but the amount of packing is excessive. There is even this cute, little promo toy in the Palpatine package, must be some silly stardestroyer for Armada or something …

Are we clear now? ;-)

Oh, I agree. The packaging is ridiculous and the model is super anti-consumer.

It's hard to call this model anti-consumer when blind booster purchases are a common practice. I'd rather buy one $15 Starviper and know that I'm going to get 2 copies of Autothrusters than to have to open $5 booster packs until I get lucky enough to get the cards that I'm looking for.

That's assuming I don't think blind boosters isn't also anti-consumer.

My thoughts on FFG offering upgrade only products was that they might gain more revenue from people who are currently limiting their purchases (or using proxies) and that might overshadow their losses from the competitive playerbase that's going to buy K-wings/Punishers just to get the extra muntions (for example). I see there are many perspectives on this. I appreciate those who took the time to reply constructively to my post.

Matt

The packing is as well super anti-environmental. I mean, ok, that card is sure worth what they are asking for, but the amount of packing is excessive. There is even this cute, little promo toy in the Palpatine package, must be some silly stardestroyer for Armada or something …

Are we clear now? ;-)

Oh, I agree. The packaging is ridiculous and the model is super anti-consumer.

It's hard to call this model anti-consumer when blind booster purchases are a common practice. I'd rather buy one $15 Starviper and know that I'm going to get 2 copies of Autothrusters than to have to open $5 booster packs until I get lucky enough to get the cards that I'm looking for.

We are talking about small sins from FFG and you bring a raging. burning army from hell as counter argument? ;-)

Besides, a TRADING card game makes a point about one part of the game being the actual trading. It's really a valid method with those blind booster games, because people always end up with cards they do not plan to use, which leads as well to a rather easy way to acquire cards on the aftermarket to reasonable prices. At least if it is not a golden cow like black lotus or similar.

Companies who make their money with gambling are for sure a lot more anti-consumer. Blind booster expansions are in this regard more on the light side of all these gambling scams running around and trying to 'cheat' people out of their money. Still, why is this even worth a comparison with X-Wing? I mean sure, at least I don't have to sacrifice my firstborn to FFG to get my Vader fix. That is nice, but it is still anti-consumer to use the raider as distribution method for a balance fix.

Now we could argue that Palpatine as epic only card would have been better and thus should have been in the raider, but as it stands he would have been a much better card to pack into the lambda shuttle or decimator expansion instead.

Yes, you must buy each and every expansion pack if you want to play the corresponding upgrade card.

It is absolutely illegal to play any type of proxy or copy of a card in a normal, casual game. Which is why ffg has an undercover shadow army patrolling game stores and gamers' homes across the globe. This is why there are no images of any of the upgrade cards available anywhere online and certainly not on the FFG website. Every copier and printer has been programmed to never reproduce ffg x-wing cards, just like paper currency.

If you try to proxy, the ffg police will ram down your door, confiscate your all your x-wing material and probably your opponents. You may also be detained at their maximum security facility in Minnesota where you may be water boarded or forced to watch Xanadu nonstop.

Proxying will not be tolerated. You will be found. You cannot hide. And you will be persecuted to the fullest extent.

Thank goodness. I thought I would have to watch Boxing Helena.