9 minutes ago, Astech said:

A Lambda shuttle is a good second choice - it has a lot of utility in 100 point squads. For you, it's going to depend on your playstyle - whether you want to play the empire with 3 aces or 2 aces and some kind of escort. The YT-2400 is fantastic out of the box, whereas the Falcon is garbage without a lot of upgrades. I'd say the 2400 is better in ever way.

Hunh, so along with me liking the design more, YT-2400 is better at the start, whereas the falcon is something you want later in the collection. Though like I said, think I may pass on the Lambda to start with to keep stuff smaller. That and I'd much rather keep the funds to either round out the additional ships, or to put towards putting a Scum group together. Ok, so with Starter, all 3 duo fighter expansions and the YT-2400

13 minutes ago, ScummyRebel said:

Yes, Corran is an Ewing pilot for some reason.

The 2400 is a great ship in the game. I think the only downside over the falcon is a tendency to use the outrider title with HLC for 4 dice attacks, but creates a range 1 "donut hole" enemies can get into without taking a shot. If you like the ship, get it!

For a casual list game, the two packs plus your core and the two large base ships sound like a great starting point. That will give you some good rebels and imperials to start with.

My advice is that unless you are really attracted to the Scum of star wars, stick with imperial and rebel. It's an easier divide. I went scum right away, but the pirates, bounty hunters, and other criminals all really appeal to me more than the stories of the imperial aces or the rebel pilots (but the rebel pilots are a close second)

I like the Scum, on the other hand the only must have is the Scurrg, which is a Rebel/Scum dual type, well and the bounty hunters, but I don't really need that many large ships. Lots of fun options overall

2 minutes ago, MandoBard said:

I like the Scum, on the other hand the only must have is the Scurrg, which is a Rebel/Scum dual type, well and the bounty hunters, but I don't really need that many large ships. Lots of fun options overall

Need is relative... I started by buying what I "needed", and suddenly my "needs" grew to every rebel and scum expansion (some in multiples) except the Tantive IV. And I somehow picked up loads of imperials too.

The comic may be over used but it's not wrong. It's my adventure into xwing portrayed perfectly.

Just now, ScummyRebel said:

Need is relative... I started by buying what I "needed", and suddenly my "needs" grew to every rebel and scum expansion (some in multiples) except the Tantive IV. And I somehow picked up loads of imperials too.

The comic may be over used but it's not wrong. It's my adventure into xwing portrayed perfectly.

Well, that's why I'm starting with a definite number + a couple random fighters I'll save up over a month or two for and pickup with the Scurrg release. I'm putting this together moreso for a later date than now, so I'll keep myself from buying anymore until what I have has been used regularly. I've managed to cull my Heroclix buying, and have resisted Armada for 3 months now(after spending 3 weeks last month saving most of what I needed for my base start cost). That's also why I'm waiting till after easter. I want to make sure I want to do this. I'm pretty good at budgeting, and after some initial enthusiasm I know how to show restraint(which is why my Sega Saturn collection hasn't seen a new game since July, and I'm selling all my spare Clix).

Reason I started this thread is to figure out how much it'd cost, and what I'd need want for a core setup. Which is doable, although I'm also curious to experiment with this "Vassal" program a bit

Vassal is a great way to experiment with ships that I wish I had known more about when I first got started. Would have made my purchases a little smarter over time. Probably would end up in a similar.biat to what I am now anyway, but would have gotten more use out of all the ships along the way.

Realistically, the stuff you're talking about sounds like a good way to get started and have some fun games.

For casual fun I say start small

1 x Core, 1 x X-Wing, 1 x Rebel Aces, 1 A-Wing, 1 B-Wing, 2 x TIE Fighter, 1 x TIE Defender, 1 x TIE Advanced, 1 or 2 x TIE Interceptor

That'll let you field a nice 4 ship Rebel build with 2 lots of 2 ships vs a TIE mini swarm and some ace support.

From there you can buff the Rebels with a YT (2400 is better ) and an E-Wing, and the Imperials with a TIE Phantom and Imperial Aces/Veterans.

And thus begins the never ending spiral of buying everything and dumping £1k+ into a "casual" game