... But I've only ever played one game of Skirmish before.

First, are any tiles from Jabba's Realm required for tournament play yet? If so, that'll be what stops me pretty quick. ... How does one find what maps are in rotation? I didn't see it in the PDFs, or I skimmed right on past the listing.

Second, anyone want to give me some pointers, and possibly a list suggestion?

I own every box expansion besides Jabba's, I own most Imperial Blisters (I don't know that I'm actually missing any, I just can't remember offhand), and I own an assortment of Rebel/Scum, mostly for their skirmish cards more than anything.

My first game of skirmish, I ran Inquisitor, Blaise, eTrooper w/ Cross Training, 2x rTroopers, an Officer, and Zillo (... I'm pretty sure that's what it was). I got wrecked by a list featuring Vader, rImperial Guards, an Officer, and I think rTroopers finished the list (two deployments, if I'm not mistaken). Vader had closed in FAR faster than I expected, and nothing I had on the table, once the Inquisitor went down, could remotely touch the guy. It was an epic match, but mostly in that it felt like we recreated the Vader scene in Rogue One, and I wasn't on the best side of that shot...

So. Would love some list tips, sans Jabba's Realm, and focusing on Imperial...

OR do I sit this one out until I grab Jabba's Realm and have more to work with?

Thanks all!

The map from Jabba's pack is in the rotation, so you need tiles from Jabba's Realm or the official playmat. (It comes with the mission cards, so you don't need anything else from wave 8, if you so prefer. You will need map tiles for the other maps in rotation though.)

See the latest tournament rules from https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/star-wars-imperial-assault/. The Tournament rules lists the valid maps.

Jabba's palace is in the rotation, I would check with the tournament organiser if you are expected to bring all map titles or if they have worked something out, casual events normally do in my experience, after all you only need one map for each pair. The maps in rotation are in the rules on the download section, the other two are from Obi Wan and Blasie packs so need the core and bespin.

My suggestion, drop the rTroopers and the officer for almost anything else, what else have you got?

I would call the TO and see if you have to have the tiles. We often have enough for extra players or we sometimes substitute maps that people have or we haven't played. The elite probe droids are still a good buy in my book. Royal Guards aren't terrible, but a bit pricey as is the Royal Guard champ, you could always bring a bounty hunter or two. Captain Terro is a really good buy imo.

Scheduling and the likely requirement for Jabba's realm kept me out of the event, but I appreciate the suggestions all around.

I'm about to start up a campaign with a new group and I'll grab Jabba's realm probably sometime during. ... And I'm very excited to see the next big box on the way!