FYI: There is a TLDR (and a request) at the bottom of this post.

There have been plenty of people discussing how nice it would be to have a new version of X-Wing (2.0) come out... and there are plenty of people who, understandably, hate the idea and say that it would probably chase them out of the hobby if they were suddenly required to buy all new ships and cards. Personally, I feel that X-Wing as it is is mostly great the way it is. I don't think we need new dice, or any new mechanics that would require massive changes in the components for the game. However, I do feel that the game would be much better with more diversity, if some of the pilots and upgrades had some minor tweaks. Mostly, I'd like to see weak/bad cards made better, and I do like the errata they've done in this FAQ (though they were a bit heavy handed with Manaroo and Palpatine imo) Examples of what I'd love to see: Giving a lot of the middle-PS pilots EPT slots, and making some of the real stinkers worth actually using (I'm looking at you, R3 Astromech and Flight Instructor). Lt. Lorrir, for example, would be awesome if he had an EPT slot and his pilot ability didn't stress him out.

Since the FAQ came out with the new errata for the big cards, I have seen many people saying how nice it would be if FFG started reprinting some of these with updated text, so that people didn't have to walk around with the latest copy of the FAQ every time they wanted to play, or try to remember what the text of a card ACTUALLY should be. I also saw the awesome reprints that Citruscannon is making and thought to myself, hey, maybe this is the way to compromise and make everybody happy... how to grow and improve the game without alienating a large portion of the customer base.

How would FFG do this without forcing everybody to buy new, reprinted cards included with ships we don't need? Well, for one, any time a new ship is reprinted, they would of course want to include the new versions of the cards in with the reprinted ships, but what about all the cards that have been printed already? FFG should make those cards available individually. Hell, I'd personally like to see EVERY upgrade card available for purchase separately. Maybe you can buy one for a set price... maybe a few bucks, which is still a HELL of a markup considering the cost to print a single card. But, if the card has been errata'd, you can trade in your old copy for a free replacement. Even FLGS's with active X-Wing scenes could keep an inventory of upgrade cards. Stores with big MTG scenes already do this. Getting new versions of changed cards could be as simple as heading down to your FLGS and swapping out your cards for new ones... or sending them in the mail to FFG, if you live to far from a brick-and-mortar store. The FLGS could send the old cards to FFG and receive a credit. This sort of system already exists with things like unsold magazines... I have done it myself before, in the business that I own.

Of course, there is always the argument that FFG would never do this, because it would cut into their bottom line. Why sell a few pieces of cardboard for a few bucks each when you can force somebody to shell out 15-100 bucks to get the one or two cards they want, instead, right?

First, there's already a pretty big secondary market of people who buy ship blisters, then separate the ships from the upgrades and sell them separately on eBay or wherever to make a profit. If somebody wants that Palpatine Card, or the 4 Tie Advanced Titles, but knows they'll never play an Epic game, they are going to get those cards regardless, and somebody else is going to get a deal on a lower priced epic ship.

Second, if FFG becomes comfortable with releasing some cards separately from (and in addition to) ship blisters, they can use some of those releases to make existing ships more appealing. Instead of buying a ship so you can get a card, they can more easily come out with specific cards that would incentivize players to buy more of a certain ship. Right now we tend to find "fix" cards in the Veterans/Aces packs, as well as the big Epic ships, but why not put those out separately in card packs, and then add more cool stuff in with the repainted ships you get in the Veterans/Ace packs? The development time it takes to print some cards should be FAR shorter than what you see to create new ships. It could probably be done cheaply enough here in the States, and cut down on that whole "slow-boat-from-China" thing. As with Citruscannon's cards, the official errata'd cards could have a version number on them for easy identification. Hell, they could even release some old, unchanged cards with alternate art and make MORE money that way for people who want to get the cards with the cool new artwork. The competitive meta could adjust to balance changes much more rapidly and would probably be much healthier overall with faster balance changes. I'm sure this would all do wonders for earning goodwill with the fanbase.

Any thoughts?

TL, DR: FFG could make upgrade cards (specifically errata'd ones, or preferably all of them) available for purchase separately from ships. This would allow them to expand and improve the game more fluidly without necessarily cutting too deeply into their bottom line.

Request: This isn't a "fix" thread, but some people are going to hate it anyway. If you don't like my thoughts here, you may be tempted to post, telling me my idea is stupid and I'm a stupid person for having it. If that happens, may I suggest that you maybe just... don't? I welcome any and all productive, constructive thoughts and ideas, but if you're just going to throw tomatoes, maybe save us all some frustration and energy, take the high road, and hit the "Next Unread Topic" button instead.

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without necessarily cutting too deeply into their bottom line

I think this is the crux of it: if it were profitable for FFG to do separate cards they'd probably do it already. Until such a time as X-Wing's distribution model starts to collapse under its own weight I doubt much will change.

I don't think they've ever tried it. If they just can't stand the idea of selling individual cards, they could release them in packs, to make sure people are spending more money than they need to. Things move at the pace of a snail in business, and businesses are notoriously scared of taking risks, so you are probably right that not much will change. It's nice to imagine, though...

I'd be very surprised if they haven't had their business analysts consider it at some point. It's not exactly a novel idea.

...And I think you're giving their business analysts a bit too much credit! It would be interesting to chat with one of the developers and hear from their own mouth how they feel about the idea and what FFG's official opinion is. I'm betting they don't have one.

I would argue something similar to the Campaign pack that came out for Armada would be the best place to put card-reprints. Something old packaged with a new narrative campaign.