Hi all!

A friend of mine is ordering the core set and I have agreed to help out with the expansions.

What are your most-recommended purchases beyond the core set?

Note: I'm already heavily invested in X-Wing over the past year, so I have mats and things like that. I'm talking specifically ship expansions. But if there's anything specific to Armada I'm all ears!

The fighter packs are pretty important to get, especially the rebel 1 and imperial 1 packs.

For Imperials: Imperial Star Destroyer, Imperial Light Cruiser, Gozanti Transports, Imperial Fighters I

For Rebels: Home One, GR-75 Medium Transports, MC-30 Cruiser, Rebel Fighters I

Well, if you're thinking Imperial or Rebel , @Snipafist and I wrote a few blogposts about building fleets for cheaper....

I would recommend a dice pack, both wave 1 fighter packs, an ISD, and one of the MC80 variants for the rebels. Should be a lot of fun!

51 minutes ago, geek19 said:

Well, if you're thinking Imperial or Rebel , @Snipafist and I wrote a few blogposts about building fleets for cheaper....

I heartily endorse this blog. There is a practical upper limit to how much "book knowledge" will help you in Armada versus table experience, but reading this blog will get you very close very quickly.

Regarding actual purchases, it depends on how competitive you want to be, and how your playstyle works. Everyone initially should get both fighter packs, probably more than one of the first at some point in the future, and should pick ships based off what is cool or they think might fit their playstyle. If you really liked the CR90's speed but wished it hit harder, especially at close range, look at the MC30, Raider , and Gladiator . If you want to play with the big boys, the ISD and Home One are classic iterations of their respective faction, and the Liberty offers a unique Rebel counter to the Imperial the Empire doesn't have a good answer for. Eventually you will want to invest in other things, whether to round out your faction or expand your horizons, but you are going to have a tough time trying to guess what you might like off the boxes and forum posts. (Other than the Imperial . If you don't like the Imperial , it's because you're Rebel scum and can't kill it.) Explore the offerings, grab a few things that look cool, learn how they fly, what you like and don't like, and expand from there. Singles of everything to start never hurt anyone either, no ship is worthless. Wait for multiples until you're sure you want it though. Have fun, and welcome to the game.

It all depends on what your overall strategy you want.

Fighter heavy: victory class (for flight controllers), peltas (for rapid launch bays and a decent rebel carrier), flotillas for your preferred faction.

MSU: Nebulon b frigates (xi7), raiders and cr90s (need multiple small units for an msu), mc30s ( TRC and APT two of the best upgrades for an MSU), gladiators ( demolisher and screed for imperials) ArquitenLC ( extra imperial long range).

Heavy ship: MC 80 , home one , ISD, victory class, interdictor, pelta.

My best advice...download a list builder app on your android phone, build some lists and go play them on Vassal to see how they fly and how YOU like to fly. You will figure out pretty quick what you like and what you don't like.

I am acutely aware of how out of date the Steel Squadron "New Player Resource Guide" is (not updated since Wave 2!) so we're going over it with a fine toothed comb to make it work for pre-Wave 6.

In the meantime, feel free to check out Steel Squadron as well as a resource for you.