Help, I've been collecting, but rarely playing the game since wave 1, but have mainly stuck to ships that I recognise from the original trilogy. I relaxed this rule to snaffle a few Scum ships though.

Now I want to enjoy a casual game against friends using all three factions, but am not sure where to start in terms of building opposing squadrons that will be easy, enjoyable and balanced.

My modest collection is including two original core packs:

Rebels

3 x X Wing (65)

1 x Y wing

2 x A wing (incl. the Rebel Aces A Wing)

1 x B Wing (Rebel Aces)

1 x Falcon

Imperials

6 x Tie Fighters (original)

1 x Tie Advanced

1 x Tie Bomber

3 x Tie Interceptor (incl. Imperial Aces)

Scum

1 x Y wing (Most Wanted)

2 x Z95 Headhunter (Most Wanted)

1 x M3 Interceptor

1 x Khiraxz Fighter

1 x Slave I

1 x HWK

I guess using 3 X Wings vs 6 Tie Fighters (or 4 Tie Fighters & a Tie Advanced) is pretty balanced.

Not sure how to get started using the Scum faction though against those combinations.

Dont really want to buy any more if possible.

There is a lot of fun combinations there. Also, from what I can gather of your upgrades available, I don't think anything you field would be completely unbalanced. The toughest ship in there would be Fel, I think, but without Autothrusters, well flown Y-wings with Ion turrets would work him over. With the limited collection (no offence, but you aren't trying for competitive anyway) I think everything there will depend more on pilot skill than list building, you and your friends should just fly the ships you like and have fun. After a few games, you will see what works for you and what doesn't. FYI, Vader Fel with maybe an academy TIE blocker would probably be the meanest thing available to you, another fun list is Chewie with 2 GSP A's PTL & Wired. Scum headhunter aces can be fun if loaded out well and flown well.

50 minutes ago, JSwindy said:

There is a lot of fun combinations there. Also, from what I can gather of your upgrades available, I don't think anything you field would be completely unbalanced. The toughest ship in there would be Fel, I think, but without Autothrusters, well flown Y-wings with Ion turrets would work him over. With the limited collection (no offence, but you aren't trying for competitive anyway) I think everything there will depend more on pilot skill than list building, you and your friends should just fly the ships you like and have fun. After a few games, you will see what works for you and what doesn't. FYI, Vader Fel with maybe an academy TIE blocker would probably be the meanest thing available to you, another fun list is Chewie with 2 GSP A's PTL & Wired. Scum headhunter aces can be fun if loaded out well and flown well.

Thanks for the advice, buddy. I guess I just need to play more of the game and find some of this out for myself (which is part of the fun with most games).

Just some quick ideas for individual ship builds. For your purposes I would tell you crack shot and Predator and PTL are your three most beneficial EPT's. I would also say that for learning purposes, fly the ships naked to get used to the mechanics and you will quickly find things out, Like I wish I could do more K-turns with my x-wings, so you put wingman on a low priority ship to pull stress off the ship you want to fly crazy with.

mfairhu1 Ideas (311)

Tycho Celchu (36) - A-Wing

Push The Limit (3), Proton Rockets (3), A-Wing Test Pilot (0), Hull Upgrade (3), Veteran Instincts (1)

Green Squadron Pilot (24) - A-Wing

Push The Limit (3), Chardaan Refit (-2), A-Wing Test Pilot (0), Hull Upgrade (3), Crack Shot (1)

Keyan Farlander (36) - B-Wing

Push The Limit (3), Enhanced Scopes (1), B-Wing/E2 (1), Jan Ors (2)

Luke Skywalker (37) - X-Wing

Veteran Instincts (1), R2-D2 (4), Engine Upgrade (4)

Wedge Antilles (36) - X-Wing

Expert Handling (2), R5-K6 (2), Hull Upgrade (3)

Talonbane Cobra (37) - Kihraxz

Predator (3), Glitterstim (2), Engine Upgrade (4)

Palob Godalhi (30) - HWK-290

Predator (3), Ion Cannon Turret (5), Glitterstim (2)

Soontir Fel (35) - TIE Interceptor

Push The Limit (3), Royal Guard TIE (0), Targeting Computer (2), Stealth Device (3)

Darth Vader (40) - TIE Advanced

Predator (3), Concussion Missiles (4), Engine Upgrade (4)

13 hours ago, JSwindy said:

Just some quick ideas for individual ship builds. For your purposes I would tell you crack shot and Predator and PTL are your three most beneficial EPT's. I would also say that for learning purposes, fly the ships naked to get used to the mechanics and you will quickly find things out, Like I wish I could do more K-turns with my x-wings, so you put wingman on a low priority ship to pull stress off the ship you want to fly crazy with.

mfairhu1 Ideas (311)

Tycho Celchu (36) - A-Wing

Push The Limit (3), Proton Rockets (3), A-Wing Test Pilot (0), Hull Upgrade (3), Veteran Instincts (1)

Green Squadron Pilot (24) - A-Wing

Push The Limit (3), Chardaan Refit (-2), A-Wing Test Pilot (0), Hull Upgrade (3), Crack Shot (1)

Keyan Farlander (36) - B-Wing

Push The Limit (3), Enhanced Scopes (1), B-Wing/E2 (1), Jan Ors (2)

Luke Skywalker (37) - X-Wing

Veteran Instincts (1), R2-D2 (4), Engine Upgrade (4)

Wedge Antilles (36) - X-Wing

Expert Handling (2), R5-K6 (2), Hull Upgrade (3)

Talonbane Cobra (37) - Kihraxz

Predator (3), Glitterstim (2), Engine Upgrade (4)

Palob Godalhi (30) - HWK-290

Predator (3), Ion Cannon Turret (5), Glitterstim (2)

Soontir Fel (35) - TIE Interceptor

Push The Limit (3), Royal Guard TIE (0), Targeting Computer (2), Stealth Device (3)

Darth Vader (40) - TIE Advanced

Predator (3), Concussion Missiles (4), Engine Upgrade (4)

Thanks for taking the time and effort to post these.

I'll have a look at them when I get chance.

Out of interest if you were doing a 100pt Scum list with my ships and pilots, what would you choose?

Probablly Dace Bonearm and Kavil both with Ion turretts and then fill pts with Z's or the Scyck also with Ion missile/torp/cannon or if you want an Ace use Talonbane (his ability is great, but the ship's dial and stat line aren't what it should be, thus the fix coming soon) From there flavor to taste

7 hours ago, JSwindy said:

Probablly Dace Bonearm and Kavil both with Ion turretts and then fill pts with Z's or the Scyck also with Ion missile/torp/cannon or if you want an Ace use Talonbane (his ability is great, but the ship's dial and stat line aren't what it should be, thus the fix coming soon) From there flavor to taste

Cheers fella!

I think you've got some fair list ideas, but I'd just like to point out that building balanced lists goes against the primary goals of list building, and list building itself is half the fun of the game. I'd let your friends you're playing with build their own lists. Generally the goal of list building is to create a favorable advantage for yourself using ships which fly in a style you prefer. Having the lists prebuilt both takes away the strategizing part of the game when building a list, and also forces your friends into a style of flying you've chosen for them which may be a NPE.

For example, even if you've got an even match between 3 T65's and 6 TIE's they are two entirely different styles of flying. Flying a TIE formation is a difficult skill to master and isn't for everyone. The same number of points invested in 3 Interceptors while possibly evenly matched with the TIE swarm is an entirely different style of flying which your friends may prefer.

I'd just sit them down and tell them the pros/cons quickly of different ships, and have them come up with 100 point lists.

An easy 100 point Scum list could be:

2-Y-Wings (turret weapons don't require precise piloting)

Serissu (Scyk) her ability will assist the Y-Wings survivability

HWK (turret weapon once again)

28 minutes ago, Joe Censored said:

I think you've got some fair list ideas, but I'd just like to point out that building balanced lists goes against the primary goals of list building, and list building itself is half the fun of the game. I'd let your friends you're playing with build their own lists. Generally the goal of list building is to create a favorable advantage for yourself using ships which fly in a style you prefer. Having the lists prebuilt both takes away the strategizing part of the game when building a list, and also forces your friends into a style of flying you've chosen for them which may be a NPE.

For example, even if you've got an even match between 3 T65's and 6 TIE's they are two entirely different styles of flying. Flying a TIE formation is a difficult skill to master and isn't for everyone. The same number of points invested in 3 Interceptors while possibly evenly matched with the TIE swarm is an entirely different style of flying which your friends may prefer.

I'd just sit them down and tell them the pros/cons quickly of different ships, and have them come up with 100 point lists.

You've made some good points that I hadn't thought about.

I guess I was thinking about my friends third or fourth game ever using the full rules as per the original core set. I wanted to be able to make suggestions to them.

The more I look at the replies on this thread, the more I think I should go slow and let them grow organically into the game if they want to.

These friends like Star Wars films, X Wing vs Tie Fighter computer games and simple board games, but unfortunately are questioning the complexity of X Wing miniatures as RPG types games aren't their bag at all.

33 minutes ago, Arctic Dragon Games said:

An easy 100 point Scum list could be:

2-Y-Wings (turret weapons don't require precise piloting)

Serissu (Scyk) her ability will assist the Y-Wings survivability

HWK (turret weapon once again)

Thanks for this

For beginners, I usually recommend a run through of "Heroes of the Aturi Cluster". You would likely need to bone up on the system and be sure you are prepared to guide them through. But, its a fun cassual, co-op scenario that would give them a chance to learn the basics of flying and how upgrades can work together. Just a thought........ Cuts down on how much they have to decide before play and allows for several people to easily play at he same time.

3 hours ago, JSwindy said:

For beginners, I usually recommend a run through of "Heroes of the Aturi Cluster". You would likely need to bone up on the system and be sure you are prepared to guide them through. But, its a fun cassual, co-op scenario that would give them a chance to learn the basics of flying and how upgrades can work together. Just a thought........ Cuts down on how much they have to decide before play and allows for several people to easily play at he same time.

Thanks for this. I've seen 'Heroes of the Aturi Cluster' mentioned on here before, but have never checked it out properly.