Hi guys :-)

I just recently started playing tabletop and got into Armada, but I'd also like to get involved with this game too.

I've heard that this game has issues in that some ships are much better than others, so I figured I'd get some advice from the community.

I'll probably be playing in 100pt local tournaments for the most part, so I'm guessing I won't need to worry about epic ships right now, unless they contain must have upgrade cards.

I know I'm gonna be fodder for experienced players, but is there something I can use to give me a fighting chance, without having to spend a small fortune to get everything? I favour Imperial ships and I'll happily fly a swarm of TIEs if it's competitive. :-)

Just need some guidance on what I should buy first, in order to get stuck into some 100pt games and not be simply slapped aside by far superior ships. I hear 2 core sets are better than 1, cause they provide extra die, etc. :-)

Please help! lol

Fear not, the game is really well balanced.

There are countless tales of the Academy Pilot winning the game by single handedly killing Vader and Soontir Fel.

As an Imperial Player I would recommend getting the Imperial Veterans pack early. The TIE Defender and Bomber are 2 core ships that are a lot of fun to fly.

Hi from Armada.

Get the new and old core.

Upsilon or Decimator

Tie FO expo

Tie SF expo

Tie Interceptor expo

Awing expo

(Imperial Vets pack)

This gives you soontir Quickdraw and Upsilon shuttle

Or Omega Leader, or 3 tie FO escorts.

Or you can go quickdraw or soontir + Chiraneau.

Cool! I'll start looking those up. :-) Thanks!

Welcome to the game.

Check the stickied links at the top of the front page for advice threads. You can also check out the Reddit XWing TMG forum there with its list of support links (on the right hand side) here: https://www.reddit.com/r/XWingTMG/

Even with a top tier list a win isn't an auto event. You'll need to have the ability to fly it as well. The meta is always changing so don't bother trying to chase it. Just fly your Factions ships and understand what their strength and weaknesses are.

For your chosen faction - Empire - they have many cheap ships with high agility but low hull. They are the most risk vs reward faction. They have some strong archetypes that you can master (PTL Fel, Procket Inquisitor, V.I. Chiraneau, Buzzsaw Whisper, Doom shuttle, etc...). Give those a try and see what tricks they provide.

When starting out proxie the cards that you don't have and play casually with experienced players at game nights at FLGS's. When you know what you want to fly then you can work on acquiring those cards for tournament play (you have to bring every card in your list to be tournament viable). You will lose games but will you ever have fun doing so. Never give up! Games can turn for you and can be won on the last attack of the night.

Enjoy the game and fly casual.

Where to start depends on your budget and how you want to play the game. FFG has started posting articles about building competitive tournament list for $101.00. These are a decent place to start as you learn the game and find out what your play style is and what you like best.

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/2/24/x-wing-101-fly-with-the-world-champ/

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/2/8/x-wing-101-imperial-veterans/

The 101 articles are a great place to start! It's a cool game and pretty much everything can be built to be competitive, so don't worry too much about what you buy. I suggest you look at sake/trade groups and try and pick up a second hand collection - it's cheaper than buying new and gives your collection a headstart.

1 hour ago, TreebeardTheEnt said:

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/2/8/x-wing-101-imperial-veterans/

Don't purchase an AWing just for Push the Limits...

Just get Imperial Aces eventually.

Thanks for the help! :-) Think I'll start off flying some TIEs, Interceptors and maybe a Decimator - then see what I wanna do from there. :-)

Hello!

You can expect to lose a majority of your first 20 games, simply because you'll be adjusting to the "dead reckoning' maneuver templates. After that point you'll need to talk with opponents before games and do one of the following for a while:

1. Ask your opponent to play a "fun" (in other words, not super competitive but still playable) list while you're still learning and/or don't have some of the key upgrades that make strong lists yet.
2. Once you have the basics down and have acquired some strong cards (in 20 games or so), just make it clear to your opponent that you don't want to face top-tier lists yet. Examples include Paratanni, PalpDefenders, Decimators, Ghosts and so on. Second tier lists are good practice though, such as TIE Swarms, Poe Dameron and so on.
3. Once you do have a strong understanding of tournament builds (after your first big tournament is the right time), just double check with opponents before playing what kind of game they're looking for.

(1) gives you a learning opportunity and every seasoned player has that one list they're dying to have fun with but know it'll be wrecked by a majority of things. (2) moves you into what you can expect at casual tournaments from most players - strong lists, but not "broken" ones - and gives you some new challenges. (3) avoids the greatest source of player frustration in the hobby - being curbstopmed in causal mathes because of a lack of communication.

All that said, here's a buying guide with a bit of strategy for the Imperial player:

Imperials in X-wing are the opposite of those in Armada. they typically have very low health values, high agility and great token stacking. As such, you want cards that play on your defensive strengths while not compromising your maneuverability. Imperials win in the late game, Rebels in the mid-game, and Scum in the early game... typically.

What to Buy :

1. Classic core set. It gives you R2-D2, Biggs and TIE fighters. While the TIE/fo is nice, the pilots in the core set aren't great.
2. Imperial Aces. Push The Limit is the card for Imperials, and his set has two of them, plus the "fix" card for Interceptors.
3. Imperial Veterans. Introduces you to the Defender and also gives you options for the TIE bomber.
4. Decimator. Big ships like this are both easy to fly and fun. It's the anvil for your hammers.
5. TIE/fo expansion. Omega Leader is a full ace out of the box, but needs care to fly effectively.
6. TIE Defender. You now have 2 of them ,which is all you'll really need.
7. Lambda Shuttle. The most used Imperial craft, and a fantastic piece. Combos well with the Decimator in terms of upgrades.
8. Starviper. It is a scum ship, but it has autothrusters, which is an essential card in the game.
9. Anything you want. You now have the core of the Imperial strategy

You don't have Palpatine (formerly an amazing card before recent nerfs), but he's now on his way out. Be prepared for Rebels not taking any meaningful damage via regeneration, and scum ships shutting you down with various shenanigans.

Above all, fly what makes you happy. Darth Vader is still cool, and so is Luke Skywalker. I talk about must have cards but you can win with cards most deem useless.

5 hours ago, DarthAmmon said:

I favour Imperial ships and I'll happily fly a swarm of TIEs if it's competitive. :-)

Good man! Imperials are the best! Also everything that hurt TIE swarms just got nerfed, so now would be a good time to try crackswarm. I love flying TIE swarms and am thinking about busting out mine!

Hello. Know that things are in a bit of a shake up right now. Many of the older ships aren't as competitive as they used to be. There is some power creep. Tie Formations are a bit of an unknown at the moment. There was a recent FAQ that shook things up. Before that, the Tie Formation was dead and not competitive. How is it now? We don't know. Many of the older ships will not be viable in today's tournament game. You will have to buy new ships for upgrades to make older ships OK (like Swarm Leader).

If you are considering non-tournament games, that's a whole other story.

I'll give the "how to save money" tips:

- Find your nearest community and your local gaming nights, play there and get to know peole (that will be important)

- For casual game nights, proxies are usually accepted by all (printed copies, printed list from your favorite online x-wing squad builder, etc). Do not be shy; veterans know that new players cannot afford to buy all ships in one go.

- For tournaments, you usually need to have the real card, but if you become part of your community then you might be able to borrow a few (we lend cards all the time in our community). That's why becoming part of your community is important.

- That way, you get to focus only on spending on ships you want to fly and not break your wallet on day 1.

- If you and a friend join at the same time, consider buying a collection of ships and sharing them when needed (each player can focus on a faction to being with).

Hopefully some of these tips will save you money and help you get a taste for the game... afterwards you'll be addicted just like the rest of us

A lot of good advice in this thread already, but I'll add my two cents.

As was mentioned, if you really want to find something competitive then check out those X-Wing 101 for some competitive builds on a budget, but really, just starting out, don't worry so much about trying to win tournaments. Play to have fun.

And along those lines, I recommend first purchasing a core set, then purchasing a 2nd core set (as has been mentioned- whether you buy two of the original core sets or 2 force awakens or one of each is completely up to you), and then go buy your favorite ships. Love TIE fighters and interceptors? Buy those. Love the old X-Wing and TIE fighter computer games? Try out the TIE Defenders and TIE Phantoms (be prepared for a steeper learning curve with the Phantoms though). Fan of the new movies and/or Rebels? Buy ships from those shows. Etc.

Why?

Becuase you are going to have a lot more fun zooming around the table with your favorite ship(s) than by buying Random-Ship-You've-Never-Heard-Of-#6 just because InternetJohnDoe said that it's uber-competitive in Netlist#7873b.

Welcome to X-Wing! You've taken your first steps into a larger world!

Taking all this info on board. :-) I heard about the recent nerfs to cards like Palpatine, so hopefully I should be joining at a point where a number of players will be back to experimenting, due to a number of auto picks not being so reliable now. lol

I only recently started tabletop, but I have a place to go which isn't too difficult to get to. Most events seem to be tournaments. But as I get to know the guys there, hopefully I can grab some contacts for casual games on the weekdays. Didn't go around asking for numbers on my first time, but I'm guessing I should see a few this Sunday when I play Armada again. I know they get stuck into a few games, so hopefully I should find a few X-Wing players amongst them. :-)

Thanks for all the pointers! Should really help in getting those must have upgrades for the ships I wanna fly. :-) From what I'm seeing of the prices, it seems a little more forgiving on the wallet than Armada - at least at the start. lol I expect that to change in a few months when I'm obsessed and must own EVERYTHING. ;-))

8 minutes ago, DarthAmmon said:

Thanks for all the pointers! Should really help in getting those must have upgrades for the ships I wanna fly. :-) From what I'm seeing of the prices, it seems a little more forgiving on the wallet than Armada - at least at the start. lol I expect that to change in a few months when I'm obsessed and must own EVERYTHING. ;-))

If you have an Android phone/tablet, get the X-wing Companion. It might not be in the Google Play store, but it's AMAZING to figure things out. It's fantastic. It's not a list builder, but it has all the info in every way you could want. It's not on Apple, though.

29 minutes ago, DarthAmmon said:

I only recently started tabletop, but I have a place to go which isn't too difficult to get to. Most events seem to be tournaments. But as I get to know the guys there, hopefully I can grab some contacts for casual games on the weekdays. Didn't go around asking for numbers on my first time, but I'm guessing I should see a few this Sunday when I play Armada again. I know they get stuck into a few games, so hopefully I should find a few X-Wing players amongst them. :-)

See if these guys have a Facebook group. If not, then it might be worth looking into creating one. It's easier to join and less intrusive than asking for phone numbers. It's also easier to post stuff like "I want to play thursday night at X place, anyone want to join me?"

I'm not a super user of Facebook (actually, I joined it only for X-Wing), but I have to admit that it really helps to find gamers, touranements, etc.

Also there's this helpful tool to try out some ships and combos that might look good on paper to a newbie, but in practice not so much:

https://ynot6517.github.io/bench/?#

Read the manual (in the drop down menu on the top right) and you'll be off to the races in no time.

In addition, there are people selling their collections on ebay all the time. You can get a really good value for what you pay for if you don't mind used ships & cards, just stay in your budget!

Good luck!

Just as an aside, this response from the community that everyone had to a new player is awesome. SW fans are great to begin with, but the X-wing Miniature Game fans are truly at the top. High fives all around.

As a rule, large based turreted ships are easier to fly for a beginner, so Decimator wouldn't be such a bad option. Then move on to the aces and multiple small ships when you are more familiar with the mechanics of the game, incrementally. Defenders are also not bad at all... it is a good all-around, forgiving ship to learn with.

Never buy a ship just for the upgrade card without checking your local community, trade threads, and then ebay first.

Really just depends on your personality though. If you'd rather jump in head first just go to some tournaments and the learning curve will be steep, but you will learn FAST. You will be able to see right away what ships are good and why when they are kicking your teeth in and flying circles around you.

If that's not your personality, then start slow by playing casual games with friends that are of like mind, and play with whatever ships you think are cool.

I should also mention you don't even need the starter set these days. there are tons of extra tokens/dice/rules floating around im sure you could get your hands on them.

Really appreciate all this help. :-) Didn't expect to get so many replies! You certainly know how to make a guy feel welcome! :-))

Looking forward to getting the core set and reading through all the details. :-)

1 hour ago, Meade said:

I should also mention you don't even need the starter set these days. there are tons of extra tokens/dice/rules floating around im sure you could get your hands on them.

While this is true, the core set still gives you the best value for your buck (barring special sales). 3 small based ships for $40 MSRP is better than anything else out there. The extra dice and rulers are gravy.

I jumped in a few weeks ago, bought the TFA core, heroes of the resistance and the A-Wing for PTL. I flew Rey and Poe with a quasi decent build utilizing components from those expansions in my first tournament this past weekend. I went 0-4 but had a lot of fun, and even got within one damage of winning one of those games, hoorah. Considering they were my first ever games of X-Wing I thought I did pretty decent and I definitely, definitely learned a lot.

I wouldn't recommend your first game come at a tournament, try and fly some casual games first at your LGS, but if you have a good local community like I do it shouldn't be an issue either way. I only really had problems with one guy but otherwise it was a great day.

Essentially the point I am trying to make is that there is a benefit to buying only a few pieces to start as it is less to learn. Focus on learning the rules and how to fly your ships properly before worrying about decking them out with all the bells and whistles. For instance, I had hotshot co-pilot on Rey, Kanan is the ideal crew member (after Finn, or before?) but I didn't feel like dropping 60 bucks on the Ghost for one card. I made it through just fine and honestly I probably would have forgot to use Kanaan's ability half the time anyway.. because I forgot to use other abilities constantly. Even forgot to take my action a few times, lol. So don't overload yourself to start.

Welcome to the game!!

As an Imperial First player (i.e., I also like Scum and rarely play Rebels) my words of wisdom would be:

You gonna lose a lot in the beginning. Imps can be tricky, because they have no shields usually, so if you get shot, you get dead. And, sadly, your flying just isn't going to be good for awhile. It took me a long time to learn not to bump myself and lose my actions.

With that in mind, I would recommend the TIE Defender. Yeah, everybody hates it cuz it's like flying on Easy. But right now, you need that. I also think the TIE Advanced Prototype would be a good second starting ship for 3 reasons: it gets a free Evade when flown right, lets you toss on some missiles for fun, and it less forgiving than the Defender, which moves you closer to what it will be like to fly most of the other TIE fighters.

And in about 5 games ( ), when you're tired of the same old thing. . .play EPIC!!