I've been into Star Wars: Armada for awhile, as well as Federation Commander (a shortened updated version of Starfleet Battles), and also backed the Dropfleet Commander kickstarter. However, no one in my area is into any of those games (yet. There's one other Armada guy in the county, but we have never been able to meet.), so when I heard of a X-Wing tournament this Saturday, I decided to go ahead and meet the X-Wing community.

However, all I have is the TFA core set for X-Wing, which I got through a relative who got it for free Amazon Vine. I've only played the starter game with my bro (I, being used to miniatures games dominated him). I like the game, but I haven't bought any more because I'm already spending on my other miniatures games. Should I see at the tournament if someone is willing to let me "try before I buy" or would it be more polite to just get stuff to make a list? And if so, what should I get?

For the second option, to answer the question of my playstyle, I'm someone who likes maneuverability and stealth. In online games I've played, I've always been very good as a tank and generally OK as a healer/support, but prefer to be a mobile attacker (stealth also preferred). Whereas many people I've gamed with don't like glass cannons, I've always wanted to get skilled enough to make them work, and generally that means mastering maneuvering and positioning. For example, a list in Star Wars Armada that I'm working on has an MC80 Liberty, an MC30, and Madine as the commander (in other words: very maneuverable glass cannons). In the game with my brother, I loved the T-70 X-Wing, so I'm not as opposed to more of those. Didn't get to fly the TIEs though, so I can't really say about them.

as well as Federation Commander (a shortened updated version of Starfleet Battles)

It could hardly be a more extended, in-depth version, could it? I think I've got a copy of the doomsday edition of the rulebook somewhere, and it's one of the few wargame rulebooks you could use to club full-grown wookies to death with.

when I heard of a X-Wing tournament this Saturday, I decided to go ahead and meet the X-Wing community.

Enjoy! Hope you have a good time.

However, all I have is the TFA core set for X-Wing, which I got through a relative who got it for free Amazon Vine. I've only played the starter game with my bro (I, being used to miniatures games dominated him). I like the game, but I haven't bought any more because I'm already spending on my other miniatures games. Should I see at the tournament if someone is willing to let me "try before I buy" or would it be more polite to just get stuff to make a list? And if so, what should I get?

Answer unclear, ask again later. If it was me or anyone in our area, though, people are generally happy to loan out cards to new starters and people trying the game out. At the same time, they may be less ready if they don't know you. The one warning - if it's explicitely a tournament, rather than just a game night kit or similar, they're likely to be bringing their a-game - this means (a) you may get nasty squads on the other side of the table, and (b) you may find that the things you want to have a try with are having their cards used by someone else!

For the second option, to answer the question of my playstyle, I'm someone who likes maneuverability and stealth. In online games I've played, I've always been very good as a tank and generally OK as a healer/support, but prefer to be a mobile attacker (stealth also preferred). Whereas many people I've gamed with don't like glass cannons, I've always wanted to get skilled enough to make them work, and generally that means mastering maneuvering and positioning. For example, a list in Star Wars Armada that I'm working on has an MC80 Liberty, an MC30, and Madine as the commander (in other words: very maneuverable glass cannons). In the game with my brother, I loved the T-70 X-Wing, so I'm not as opposed to more of those. Didn't get to fly the TIEs though, so I can't really say about them.

If you haven't played a game much, I'm always an advocate of "stick with simple stuff first" and "take the squad you like and practice" - figuring out combos and "that list off the interwebz" comes later.

If you've used, played with, and like the T-70, go with that to start with. It's a good, tough little ship. For the sake of simplicity, a good argument is to take four generics out for a spin:

• Blue Squadron Novice - R2 Astromech, Integrated Astromech x 4

This gives you four heavy fighters - you have the numerical advantage over 'aces' lists, and four dudes with good primary weapons so have the concentrated fire to kill big ships. You can't afford to 'joust' with swarms or torpedo-bomber lists, but with boost, and the talon roll (which you'll learn to love) and the R2 astromech turning all your slow moves green*, you can learn to outfly people at the dials, even if you don't have the PS to react to aces with boost or barrel roll after they've moved.

Consider it a learning experience, and learning to maneuver to avoid collisions, place arcs to get a shot, and block (deliberatley place a ship where a higher pilot skill ship will collide with it and thus not get actions) are the key.

I cannot recommend this thread highly enough for getting your head around moving in the game:

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/110115-earning-your-wings-a-guide-for-understanding-movment/

If you're happy dealling with a few special rule cards (and if you've come from a background of Armada the concept shouldn't be to bad), then if you want your T-70s to be extra shennanigan-ey, you can make a squad of 3 pilots from fairly common cards people should be able to lend you who can really make those fighters dance:

• Poe Dameron, Push The Limit, BB-8, Integrated Astromech
• Ello Asty, Daredevil, R2 Astromech, Integrated Astromech
• Blue Ace, R7-T1, Integrated Astromech

Each one flies differently, but does so really spectacularly:

Poe gets a free barrel roll before any green move, and can use push the limit to tack a boost onto it as well.

Ello can talon roll back and forth at will as long as he stays unstressed (hence the R2 to help shed off any he picks up), and instead can take stress to boost 90' instead of just 45'.

Blue Ace can boost 90' without taking stress, and if he boosts when in an enemy's arc of fire, picks up a free target lock on them at the same time.

Is it a devastating squad? No. But I think you might enjoy flying it.

* Talon roll one turn, then hard turn and boost next turn, means your fighters are ridiculously slippery for something as tough and shooty as an X-wing.

Try calling the game store (or whomever is hosting the event) and asking if the regulars are friendly enough to loan some game components to a new player to try the game out. I've been to a few stores where the store owner/manager was into X-wing and would loan out game components to let new players experience the game.

//

Otherwise, you'll have to make some investment to get a 100 point list. If you want to keep that investment small, you're not going to be able to buy a top-tier competitive list, but if your real goal is to just try out the game, and you're willing to accept that a bare-bones buy won't be able to take on all comers, then you can consider a couple of low-investment options. Some recommendations, seeing as how you like the T-70:

(1) Start with the T-70 you have from the core set. Pull out Poe Dameron with BB-8, and the Wired card.

(2) Option 1 (MSRP $30). Buy two more T-70 Expansion Packs. Add Ello Asty and Red Ace to your list; equip both with Targeting Astromechs. Put Weapons Guidance on Ello. Put Integrated Astromechs and Cool Hand on Poe and Ello (drop Wired). That's 100 points with decent, if not optimized ships, that will maneuver the same, and you can build from this core that has a few decent upgrades.

(3) Option 2 (MSRP $30). Buy a T-70 and regular X-wing Expansion Pack. Add Ello Asty and Wedge Antilles to your list. Equip Poe with BB-8 and Wird. Put Targeting Astromech, Cool Hand, a Proton Torpedo, and Integrated Astromech on Wedge. Use Ello without upgrades. That's 100 points with some tough, high Pilot skill pilots, and you'll have some variety for later. Wedge is great, though the other upgrade cards in the regular X-wing pack are only so-so. The three ships still fly similarly.

(4) Option 3 (MSRP ~$30). Buy a YT-2400 Expansion Pack. Equip Poe with BB-8, Lone Wolf, Weapons Guidance, and Proton Torpedoes. Select the Dash Rendar YT-2400 and equip it with the Outrider Title, Heavy Laser Cannon, Leebo crew, Stay on Target, Proton Rockets, and Countermeasures for a 99 point list. This is a much more difficult list to fly, but will expose you to using a large base ship, give you an iconic hero (Dash) who is a top-tier pilot, and will help you to learn a variety of upgrade cards. (Some might suggest buying the Millenium Falcon upgrade pack -- I don't recommend that at this point since there is a new expansion coming out with the Falcon, and if you decide to stay with the game you can decide which Falcon -- or both -- you want to own later).

(5) Option 4 (MSRP ~$55). Buy only if you think you're going to stick with the game -- pick up an Original Core set (benefit: you now have extra dice and templates making a two-player home game more convenient, and more TIE Fighters for two-payer games) and a T-70 X-wing Expansion. Equip Poe Dameron with BB-8 and Cool Hand. Equip Ello Asty with R5-X3. Equip Luke Skywalker with R2D2, Marksmanship, and Integrated Astromech for 100 points. This gives you a similar experience as Option 2, but with some different iconic pilots, and gives the great durability of a Luke + R2D2 combination (and is one of the few combinations where the Marksmanship card can work -- you'll learn that eventually).

Focus on learning the game and having fun!

If you're a new player, depending on the store, I'd recommend attending but as a spectator. That way, you get to experience more games, see more interactions, and people will always help you understand what's going on. Make sure that's okay in advance (either call the store or try to connect to someone or a local group on Facebook, if there is one), but at the stores I frequent, we would love to have new players eager to learn. As was said before, since it's a tournament, people will be bringing their A-game and, possibly, meta-dominant lists, and those can be really frustrating to fly against, especially as a newer player.

If you can, I'd recommend bringing some stuff (good lists have already been suggested, I won't overload you with my own), but try to spectate if possible.

Whatever you decide, though, make sure to have fun!

The only advice you need:

Have fun and...

Outrider Dash cannot benefit from Gunner at all

Whoops, good catch. Take Leebo instead.

Another option would be to ask if the LGS has 100 point lists pre-built for rent, I know my FLGS does. That way you can try out something without having to borrow from strangers (I am guessing they will be strangers due to the comment you made about meeting the x-wing community) who might not even have all of their stuff since some people will only bring the stuff for the list they are playing in a tournament to make changing tables easier. Either way WELCOME!!! And I hope you enjoy a game or more at the tournament.

Go to the store, play in the event. Be prepared to lose every game but have fun anyway.

Agree with all the above! If there's a local player group on Facebook I'd check there, there's lots of states that have those. Local players are far more likely to help you with a list and loan you components.

If you do decide that you like the game, the playstyle you talk about (glass cannon) is all about the Imperial Aces. Its a harder list to fly due to all the maneuvering options, but if flown well can take you far. You'll want an Imperial Interceptor, and a copy of Push the Limit somewhere. Good buys for this style would probably be the two Imperial dual-ship boxes: Imperial Aces and Veterans. Push the Limit is almost necessary, or Vader is alright. Ultimately you'll want to get a phantom on the table, which may not do so well in the current meta. Some of the options to fully kit out the aces can get expensive because upgrades come in other packs like the Raider.

Lastly: see if they have a weekly game night at that shop. Usually these are pretty casual. Just ask beforehand if you can proxy cards (list builders work great here) and test out things before you buy them. Have fun with the game!

To echo everyone else, just choose a squad you like flying and have fun. My first tournament I only won the 2nd game, and that only barely.

Most players are friendly enough to loan you some ships and upgrades to use. If you want to buy your own ships, there are plenty of forum posts about starting a collection. Most people prefer to get another starter set (I recommend the force awakens one so you can get Poe and BB-8). If you bought that and another x-wing expansion you could easily make a decent list.

I've been to two tournaments so far. Both have been a ton of fun (your opponent has a lot to do with this; I've read horror stories, but ever experienced anything bad myself). In both cases I came out in almost exactly the middle of the pack. The first one was 15 people and I placed 9th. The second was 8 people and I placed 5th.

The excuse to play a game I really enjoy for a bunch of hours, and hang out with great people - priceless.

And don't be afraid to ask questions. Maybe not during the match, but if you have time, afterwards. In my first tournament I lost a game (to the eventual winner) and lost it fairly badly. While we were waiting for other games to end, I asked him if he minded giving me some tips. He was more than willing, and in fact we had a great conversation about some of the moves I had made during our match and how I could have done something different. That particular opponent was apparently very invested in the game; he played in the Las Vegas tournament earlier this year and did well. Yet he was still willing to help out a rookie.

I played a fairly simple Rebel list with some regeneration capabilities (Miranda, Poe, and a generic B Wing). I went 2-1 in the opening rounds and finished 9th. Rebels are generally considered easier to fly (and more forgiving of mistakes). I flew an Imperial list for my second tournament, had a ton of fun, and went 1-2. Still placed 5th due to Margin of Victory.

For my last bit of advice... as a new tournament player, I didn't understand what MOV meant, and how it would impact my standing. Basically it can change your strategy towards the end of a game. If you only need one more point of damage on a large ship to get to half damage, it's worth it, because it gives you points. If you are already below half on a large ship and have a small ship you might be able to destroy, that can change your target priorities. Likewise if you want to defend (protect) one of your ships. Anyway, MOV is not something that comes up in casual games, but it's important for a tournament. So you might want to have at least a basic understanding of MOV (Margin of Victory) before you go.

I've been into Star Wars: Armada for awhile, as well as Federation Commander (a shortened updated version of Starfleet Battles), and also backed the Dropfleet Commander kickstarter. However, no one in my area is into any of those games (yet. There's one other Armada guy in the county, but we have never been able to meet.), so when I heard of a X-Wing tournament this Saturday, I decided to go ahead and meet the X-Wing community.

However, all I have is the TFA core set for X-Wing, which I got through a relative who got it for free Amazon Vine. I've only played the starter game with my bro (I, being used to miniatures games dominated him). I like the game, but I haven't bought any more because I'm already spending on my other miniatures games. Should I see at the tournament if someone is willing to let me "try before I buy" or would it be more polite to just get stuff to make a list? And if so, what should I get?

For the second option, to answer the question of my playstyle, I'm someone who likes maneuverability and stealth. In online games I've played, I've always been very good as a tank and generally OK as a healer/support, but prefer to be a mobile attacker (stealth also preferred). Whereas many people I've gamed with don't like glass cannons, I've always wanted to get skilled enough to make them work, and generally that means mastering maneuvering and positioning. For example, a list in Star Wars Armada that I'm working on has an MC80 Liberty, an MC30, and Madine as the commander (in other words: very maneuverable glass cannons). In the game with my brother, I loved the T-70 X-Wing, so I'm not as opposed to more of those. Didn't get to fly the TIEs though, so I can't really say about them.

Oddly enough, it sounds like you might enjoy flying the imperials even more than you did the rebels; as (generally) the imperials tend to fit the glass cannon description a little better than rebels.

My imperial list-building experience is a little on the short side, but....

TIE/Fo x1, and either TIE advanced prototype or possibly TIE interceptor or Defender Will get you 100pts of imperials.

The imperial Aces or Imperial Veterans packs are also quite good.

The ship to make sure you get is the TIE/Fo because it's fairly well self-contained (doesn't really need cards from other ships) and is rather effective. If your budget can accommodate Imperial aces or Veterans after that then I'd say that is the best choice. Otherwise, one of the other ships above will do you okay. (TIE advanced prototype preferred.)

If you were planning on building Rebels, I might jump straight in with Rebel Aces.

It'll get you more or less straight to 100 points with what you already have, And you'll also get some very interesting ships to fly.

People may be able to lend ships and/or cards, (community for this game is generally pretty good) but I wouldn't count on people having spare ships with them unless they have advance notice; I've only been playing for 9-12 months and I would hate to try transporting my collection in its entirety, so I tend to travel light, and try to bring only what I need.

Speaking of glass cannons, the TIE Phantom is probably the ultimate glass cannon in the game. It has a pretty steep learning curve, though.

Speaking of glass cannons, the TIE Phantom is probably the ultimate glass cannon in the game. It has a pretty steep learning curve, though.

HLC M3a's?

Speaking of glass cannons, the TIE Phantom is probably the ultimate glass cannon in the game. It has a pretty steep learning curve, though.

HLC M3a's?

LOL. Yeah, those too!

These are all good suggestions but don't forget "to crush your enemies -- See them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!"

General:

Fly Casual, expect to lose every game and get tons of tips and just have fun.

Your special case:

Ask in your local group if someone can loan you a list and maybe do a training run before the tourney with you. It kind of late now, but maybe you are still lucky, having a list with a concept and someone who can explain you that concept makes the game in the tourney setting more enjoyable for a rookie (imho). If it is too late for that, just fly what you have, enjoy the experience and enjoy what the other guys are flying. Might help you to find your own prefered style and be a good base to start your own fleet into that direction.

Thanks all! I went ahead with a variant on Hawkstrike's #2 option (forgot I had this tab open on my phone to look at). Lost the first game against Korean and 4 Z95s. Got a buy and lost a practice game against "brobots" and won a third versus scum due to the luck of the dice. The scum guy was selling ships for cheap, so I got a B-Wing, E-Wing, Z-95, and the Falcon for $25.

I really like the game, but I'm gonna go slowly in collecting. I think a new ship per tourney will be good. I'll sadly need another TFA starter for the damage deck as I lost mine .

Damage decks are for cheap on ebay as a lot of people bought more starter sets then they could ever need damage decks.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=x-wing+damage+deck&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.TRS0&_nkw=x-wing+damage+deck&_sacat=0

Thanks all! I went ahead with a variant on Hawkstrike's #2 option (forgot I had this tab open on my phone to look at). Lost the first game against Korean and 4 Z95s. Got a buy and lost a practice game against "brobots" and won a third versus scum due to the luck of the dice. The scum guy was selling ships for cheap, so I got a B-Wing, E-Wing, Z-95, and the Falcon for $25.

I really like the game, but I'm gonna go slowly in collecting. I think a new ship per tourney will be good. I'll sadly need another TFA starter for the damage deck as I lost mine .

You could also get an Original base game and get all of the other stuff that comes with it that isn't in the TFA base. Original damage cards are still legal for tournaments so no problems there. Glad you were able to make it work and have fun at the tournament.