In my experience most people buying IA are people running campaigns for other people.

These other people know how to play IA and likely enjoy it!

These other people have no easy way to attend Skirmish events.

meaning only 1/5-1/3 of the player base is actually equipped to attend events.

If you currently play in someone else's campaign your start up costs for attending an organized play event are $160 dollars and this is simply to secure the map tiles*. the other option is to use $75 dollars worth of play mats to replace that single component, they are wonderful but overproduced.

Imperial assalt struggles to leverage it's whole player base for events because of the maps. The dice are available on their own. the cards and figures are likewise.

While map tiles work for single use scenarios they are garbage for quickly setting up at events where the same maps get played over and over. playmats are wonderful but overproduced for how long the maps survive in rotation. we need a cheaper option!

give us cool unique paper maps! include campaign scenarios, and skirmish scenarios. maybe toss in a few reward cards and new 0 cost command cards.

lets fight in the wreckage of an AT-AT! lets get all the cool landscapes and landmarks that are too large for tiles!

*hacks like trading to get things you need don't count! they require too much effort and are obviously not working! if they worked this game would already have a good event scene.

Don't people already make cheap versions of the current maps? I mean we have them where we are at and it is no trouble. I personally don't like Skirmish too much since Scum has been on the more dominate side since the last box expansion. (It was a scum focused one after all) I just sorta have a pet peeve with the scum faction here and in X-wing when I played it. It doesn't really bother me too much for the campaign which I am more inclined to play.

8 hours ago, TallGiraffe said:

Don't people already make cheap versions of the current maps?

Yes, but they aren't tournament legal. TylerTT referring to organized play, and unique maps as opposed to what's already available.

10 hours ago, TylerTT said:

If you currently play in someone else's campaign your start up costs for attending an organized play event are $160 dollars and this is simply to secure the map tiles*. the other option is to use $75 dollars worth of play mats to replace that single component, they are wonderful but overproduced.

Imperial assalt struggles to leverage it's whole player base for events because of the maps. The dice are available on their own. the cards and figures are likewise.

Honestly, if somebody wanted to run a competitive X-Wing list you are looking at a similar price entry point. Consider the Fair Ship Rebel list.

https://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Rebel Alliance&d=v4!s!4:-1,77:-1:20:;199:-1,70,204:-1:20:U.170;207:-1,21,69:41:-1:;224::-1:-1:&sn=- Rebel Jank&obs=

You are looking at needing the following to run the list:

• original core set - $39.95
• force awakens core set - $39.95
• rebel transport expansion pack - $59.95
• heroes of the resistance expansion pack - $39.95
• arc-170 expansion - $19.95
• sabine's tie fighter - $14.95

This adds up to about $214.70 for a competitive skirmish list. This assumes paying retail price.

If we look at Imperial Assault. The largest up front cost is the Core Set Box. A competitive list for Imperial Assault can be built using the following expansions:

• Core Set - $99
• Jabbas Realm - is $60.

So yes, $160 for the map tiles. Add in a few expansions for figures, which I'll argue are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY less expensive than X-Wing. And you maybe coming close to what It costs for a good competitive list of X-Wing without adding in play mats, acrylic maneuver templates, etc.

So let's add the cost of the 3 tournament maps that are currently in rotation.

• In rotation 3 x Skirmish Maps @ $24.95 a piece = $75 (rounded up)

So this brings us to $235. Not too far off from the $214.70 for X-Wing to get a current competitive meta list.

At one point for tournaments, the assembly of maps was a major sticking point. Not really because of the assembly process, but because it cut into the game time (your allotted time included assembly).

I've introduced several players in the last month to the skirmish game. All had the core set already, and bought it when it first came out. So for them, it was just buying the jabbas realm and few expansions to get them going with the current meta state.

At regional level or higher events... the map assembly isn't going to be a huge deal. You only have to maybe assemble one map. Most of the regional level players are competitive enough that they will have bought the maps either locally or through Miniature Market (which still has all the mats for $20. https://www.miniaturemarket.com/searchresults?q=imperial+assault+skirmish+maps )

For other tournaments, it's up to you whether you allow the printed skirmish mats, or require the play mats, or require tile assembly. Sure it would be nice to have foldable skirmish maps already included in the box, but that isn't going to make FFG as much money as the other options. I introduce people to the game now, with the official skirmish mats. I do warn them that they do go out of competitive rotation so new mats will need to be purchased when that happens, but it is only one mat about every 4 months.

Considering that is basically what most people spend on a Starbucks coffee in a week, not a huge deal if you are a competitive player. If you aren't and just looking for casual games, then just buy a couple of mats that you pull out to play. If you want to mix it up, then you can always build a map from the tiles, but they aren't necessary any longer if you are a competitive player.

Getting people into the game, is partly comparing price to what they have now, what they have already spent on similar games, and just How much fun the skirmish format can be (once they start playing).

Much of the overall cost though, can be lower. I would say about half, if you are looking to buy things online or through swap and sell groups.

It's not a bad idea, but I know that almost all of the players in my campaigns are interested in the game because of the campaign aspect. I don't think they'd be nearly as into Skirmish.

Of course, I realize my anecdotal accounts are not representative of the community as a whole, and I'm sure a lot of people would benefit from this, so I'm all for it. I think it'd ultimately help skirmish, I'm just not sure we'd see as big as a 5x increase.

Eh it's a click bate title. I'll cop to that.

I think they have a great product with IA but they just need one more piece of the puzzle as map tiles blow for event play and mats are over produced.

What FFG needs is to support their games. They need monthly kits, not quarterly kits. This goes for all their game. Giving an excuse once every 3 months for a store and players to show up and play isn't enough to build up to a critical mass of players. Everyone plays X-Wing because everyone plays X-Wing. I would like to see the other games supported and people come out and play them as well. X-Wing isn't a better game than IA so other than no one plays it, there is no reason IA shouldn't be half as popular.

Skirmish turned off three players in my local community from buying into IA at all.

I'm not sure where you are going with this. I've never heard of people going to a tournament and there just weren't enough people there. And I'm not sure the things you are suggesting are going to address that. The problem it sounds like you really want to address is getting more (and better) skirmish content. We as a community seem to think that if we just had more players, we'd get more content. And if we just get more content, we'd get more players. And then we'd have UNLIMITED POWER! It's kind of a chicken-and-egg problem for FFG, especially because as multiple people here have pointed out, price doesn't seem to be the entire issue. People will come when FFG makes a game they like and markets it appropriately.

Don't get me wrong. I love Imperial Assault. I would never tell someone to NOT play Imperial Assault. But I feel absolutely zero loyalty to this game and would dump it as soon as something came along I thought I would enjoy as much or more. For instance, I plan on taking a extended hiatus once Pandemic Legacy Season 2 drops. If there were a new Elder Scrolls video game out right now, you would not see me on these forums for a LONG time. I might even stop playing IA for something I enjoy a little less, if it was also new and novel. There's just such a glut of things to do out there.

I guess what I'm saying is that if you want more or better skirmish stuff, dude... I think FFG is trying to address your desire. I think it's called Legion. Give it a try. IA will still be here when you get back.

Legion is not a skirmish game. It will have 1-2 characters for an entire army. It won't be a thing where you can take Luke, Han, Chewy and Leia in a list.

It will also be long rounds and not that great for events, but great for league and competitive campaigns like armada.

4 hours ago, TylerTT said:

Legion is not a skirmish game. It will have 1-2 characters for an entire army. It won't be a thing where you can take Luke, Han, Chewy and Leia in a list.

It will also be long rounds and not that great for events, but great for league and competitive campaigns like armada.

I know it won't do this for everyone, but as a campaign only player, Legion and IA are the same game. The parts of them that are different don't even register as "game" to me.

I'm all about it. I don't play skirmish (I think I've done 2 rounds) despite owning one of everything for Imperial Assault. I absolutely adore the campaign play, but I have no interest in trying to convince a friend to play, picking through the stack of available missions, digging out the proper tiles, building lists (especially the command card things, there are SO MANY) all to go at it. I'm almost positive it would take us longer to set up than play... Game should be more simplified. Print me a map pack with a handful of scenarios, that speeds things up drastically.

If they released a set tomorrow with the legal paper maps, one of each color die, and 3 or 4 very expensive heroes totalling 40 pts for all 3 factions, it would not increase the player base IMO. I used to think it would but I realized it was just me wishing for a cheap cool product to collect.

I do historical reenactment. The buy-in for that is hundreds of dollars just to casually try it out. Thousands if you want to get involved in an actual battle. Unless you live near me, in which case I will sew you a free suit of clothes, give you dishes to eat off of at events, and loan you anything else you need to start.

In all these years, this offer has netted me precisely zero recruits. I sew half an outfit for a newbie before they wander off.

I do three different time periods. I used to do 1800's. There were things I really needed to do to upgrade my kit for 12 years and somehow never got around to finding a couple hundred bucks for the right pair of pants or whatever. Never got around to finding the leathers I should have been wearing. Specifically I was in an 1800's artillery group just to avoid needing a musket, and never got around to buying the optional saber for that impression, despite a love of swords. In March I decided to get into the 1700's. That period fired me up like you wouldn't believe. Somehow I suddenly found $800 for a musket and $400 for a pistol and $300 for a sword. I got my leathers and my uniform and all the rest. No matter the cost of the other bits of gear, I either bought or bartered for them, acquiring the equivalent of probably $3000 of gear in 6 months. So it was clear to me that I had been wasting my time in the 1800's and I sold all my stuff for that period to my friends who ran the group.

Let me repeat again. For over a decade I have been offering a free suit of historically accurate clothing to anyone who wants to join me at events. It gets me no recruits. When the events roll around, everyone has other plans. They bought concert tickets. They are visiting their friend who is never in town anymore except this weekend. Etc. etc. etc.

The fact is, you don't want to increase the player base by huge numbers if those players are so disinterested that they can't buy the core set and take the time to assemble a map.

Money is often not the barrier to new hobbies. Sometimes its not even the barrier to old hobbies. Most people simply aren't that enthusiastic. If you want to go to big official tournaments, gas and hotels will dwarf the cost of maps. Time and enthusiasm keep people out of your favorite hobby. Remember, before you introduced them to IA, they had a whole "bucket list" of hobbies they already want to get to, and a whole set of hobbies that they are already having a tough time juggling with work/school/kids.

38 minutes ago, IronNerd said:

I'm all about it. I don't play skirmish (I think I've done 2 rounds) despite owning one of everything for Imperial Assault. I absolutely adore the campaign play, but I have no interest in trying to convince a friend to play, picking through the stack of available missions, digging out the proper tiles, building lists (especially the command card things, there are SO MANY) all to go at it. I'm almost positive it would take us longer to set up than play... Game should be more simplified. Print me a map pack with a handful of scenarios, that speeds things up drastically.

Play the starter battle in the book. FFG already picked out your armies and command cards. It really is quite simple to try. If you then find that assembling the map tiles is all that's holding you back, invest in one single used neoprene mat and see if it makes you play skirmish more often. If it does, you found your game.

From within the community, it seems like skirmish has some tweaking to do with ugnaughts, hunters, etc, seems some lists are unbalanced pretty badly. I don't think this tweaking will do a ton to necessarily bring in new players, but it's a first step, and can probably help stop hemorrhaging existing players.

From there, I don't know. I've said before that as of now, I genuinely enjoy IA's gameplay and components more than Legion, but I probably wouldn't have felt that way two years ago, if both games had been out then. From an outsider's perspective, the epic scope of Legion is likely to garner more attention.

I think if IA is to continue, it's at a bit of a crossroads regarding its identity. Do they want to try and be as accessible as possible to new players, to be an option for those on the fence about Legion? Or do the see no reason in "competing" within their own company, and instead want to just cater to old players who already have everything- requested units, skirmish improvements, campaigns that incorporate multiple expansions... Either way, I think IA can continue to serve us well, as long as FFG is still game.

1 hour ago, subtrendy2 said:

From within the community, it seems like skirmish has some tweaking to do with ugnaughts, hunters, etc, seems some lists are unbalanced pretty badly. I don't think this tweaking will do a ton to necessarily bring in new players, but it's a first step, and can probably help stop hemorrhaging existing players.

Exactly. Your community, ie the 8 guys or so who show up to every store event, can decide to "be cool everybody, just be cool" and not do cheesy lists calculated for every possible advantage. Or not. That's on you.

Personally I think world tournaments and the like should use matched lists, and require everyone to bring certain models/cards. See who the best PLAYER is, not the best SELECTOR. It's a friggin' world tournament, if you can't afford the models, play chess. I know of no other scenario where people feel entitled to play something at a national or world level.

1 hour ago, subtrendy2 said:

From there, I don't know. I've said before that as of now, I genuinely enjoy IA's gameplay and components more than Legion, but I probably wouldn't have felt that way two years ago, if both games had been out then. From an outsider's perspective, the epic scope of Legion is likely to garner more attention.

It's all about how many models you feel like being on the hook for.

1 hour ago, subtrendy2 said:

I think if IA is to continue, it's at a bit of a crossroads regarding its identity. Do they want to try and be as accessible as possible to new players, to be an option for those on the fence about Legion? Or do the see no reason in "competing" within their own company, and instead want to just cater to old players who already have everything- requested units, skirmish improvements, campaigns that incorporate multiple expansions... Either way, I think IA can continue to serve us well, as long as FFG is still game.

It's already plenty accessible to new players. Anyone who balks at $100 for 36 miniatures, a modular map set, dice, and rules isn't motivated to play. Anyone who is truly motivated to play, you can't stop if you tried. Buying enough clampacks to make an army can rapidly approach $60, so the cost of a bog box expansion isn't bad either. When Hasbro brought the buy-in for D20 minis down to $9.95 (Obi-Wan, Vader, 2 flunkies each, 2 maps and a die) there were still people who said "Those little guys are SO EXPENSIVE!". If newbies want in, they'll get in.

I "can't afford" skirmish either. When it came out I was pretty annoyed by the high price tag as I hate to let a SW miniatures infantry scale game go unplayed. But I played it with a friend, liked it, and hauled enough old stuff out of my basement to get enough store credit to cover my entrance into the game. People who want ot play will find a way in. People who "can't afford it" are either the working poor with kids (who aren't going to be able to go to weekend events anyways) or just unwilling to prioritize it over other things in life.

I knew that if I bought a core set, then Return to Hoth and every directly related clampack to that expansion, and at least Weiss, Chewbacca, and R2/3PO were non-negotiable must-haves. I would end up picking up Jabba's Realm, Rebel Rangers, Jabba, and the Dewback too. And I STILL said to myself "this is so much cheaper than Warhammer!". Warhammer has no problem getting new players.

Money is not the problem. Most people just don't want to play this. Video games, Magic, and beer are the problem. FFG does nothing to enforce the use of official maps, if a new person really can't afford maps. FFG goes out of their way to give you loads of cardboard tokens in case you really can't afford clampacks, and does nothing to enforce the use of plastic at the local level.

I don't want 5x the members of the community if they are people who are the bottom of the barrel in terms of motivation. $100 and 5 whole minutes per game of map tile sorting is not a huge barrier to entry. What's a person like that really gonna bring? Other than a sense of entitlement?

10 minutes ago, TauntaunScout said:

It's already plenty accessible to new players. Anyone who balks at $100 for 36 miniatures, a modular map set, dice, and rules isn't motivated to play. Anyone who is truly motivated to play, you can't stop if you tried. Buying enough clampacks to make an army can rapidly approach $60, so the cost of a bog box expansion isn't bad either. When Hasbro brought the buy-in for D20 minis down to $9.95 (Obi-Wan, Vader, 2 flunkies each, 2 maps and a die) there were still people who said "Those little guys are SO EXPENSIVE!". If newbies want in, they'll get in.

I "can't afford" skirmish either. When it came out I was pretty annoyed by the high price tag as I hate to let a SW miniatures infantry scale game go unplayed. But I played it with a friend, liked it, and hauled enough old stuff out of my basement to get enough store credit to cover my entrance into the game. People who want ot play will find a way in. People who "can't afford it" are either the working poor with kids (who aren't going to be able to go to weekend events anyways) or just unwilling to prioritize it over other things in life.

I knew that if I bought a core set, then Return to Hoth and every directly related clampack to that expansion, and at least Weiss, Chewbacca, and R2/3PO were non-negotiable must-haves. I would end up picking up Jabba's Realm, Rebel Rangers, Jabba, and the Dewback too. And I STILL said to myself "this is so much cheaper than Warhammer!". Warhammer has no problem getting new players.

Money is not the problem. Most people just don't want to play this. Video games, Magic, and beer are the problem. FFG does nothing to enforce the use of official maps, if a new person really can't afford maps. FFG goes out of their way to give you loads of cardboard tokens in case you really can't afford clampacks, and does nothing to enforce the use of plastic at the local level.

I don't want 5x the members of the community if they are people who are the bottom of the barrel in terms of motivation. $100 and 5 whole minutes per game of map tile sorting is not a huge barrier to entry. What's a person like that really gonna bring? Other than a sense of entitlement?

I totally get what you're saying, but many people aren't going to see having only the core box as sufficient.

When I say IA has a bit of an identity problem, I mean that it's pretty far reaching. For instance, consider the boxed expansions. For campaign players, these can be great! A ton of minis, a ton of cards, a ton of tiles, etc. As a campaign player, I absolutely love boxed releases.

For skirmish players, I could see them much preferring simply being able to buy packs. Say someone runs a trooper list, and wants the riot troopers. From a campaign perspective, you get 16 minis, cards, tiles, etc. For this particular skirmish player, he might only want the four riot troopers (and may in fact want to buy 3 copies of this box to max out on them). It'd be a silly thing to do, for sure, but if that's what he wants, that's what he's going to have to do. 12 of the minis in each box may go to waste, all of the tiles in the extra boxes will pretty much be redundant.

The box formula is a great value when you want most of what's in it. But I can see it as being a pretty big hurdle for people wanting to be selective.

Of course, I totally agree that the skirmish game would be more fun if people didn't try to min/max their sets too much anyway, but in the competition field I don't see that as realistic.

On 10/11/2017 at 8:03 AM, kingargyle said:

Honestly, if somebody wanted to run a competitive X-Wing list you are looking at a similar price entry point. Consider the Fair Ship Rebel list.

https://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Rebel Alliance&d=v4!s!4:-1,77:-1:20:;199:-1,70,204:-1:20:U.170;207:-1,21,69:41:-1:;224::-1:-1:&sn=- Rebel Jank&obs=

You are looking at needing the following to run the list:

• original core set - $39.95
• force awakens core set - $39.95
• rebel transport expansion pack - $59.95
• heroes of the resistance expansion pack - $39.95
• arc-170 expansion - $19.95
• sabine's tie fighter - $14.95

This adds up to about $214.70 for a competitive skirmish list. This assumes paying retail price.

If we look at Imperial Assault. The largest up front cost is the Core Set Box. A competitive list for Imperial Assault can be built using the following expansions:

• Core Set - $99
• Jabbas Realm - is $60.

So yes, $160 for the map tiles. Add in a few expansions for figures, which I'll argue are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY less expensive than X-Wing. And you maybe coming close to what It costs for a good competitive list of X-Wing without adding in play mats, acrylic maneuver templates, etc.

So let's add the cost of the 3 tournament maps that are currently in rotation.

• In rotation 3 x Skirmish Maps @ $24.95 a piece = $75 (rounded up)

So this brings us to $235. Not too far off from the $214.70 for X-Wing to get a current competitive meta list.

These are all things that a new player would only know after they have decided to try out and buy into the game. Here is what the calculations that people are doing in their head before they decide if they are going to buy the game actually looks like.

pre-painted x-wing core set: $40

vs

unpainted IA core set: $80-100

pre-painted x-wing expansions: $15-40

vs

unpainted IA expansions: $40-60

Yes, we as invested players understand that IA core and expansions come with way more value than X-Wing equivalents do and that it's more fair to compare an x-wing pack to an IA figure pack, and that X-Wing is actually an expensive game as soon as you want to play competitively, but players that know little to nothing about the game aren't going to know this until after they've already decided to buy in. Until they become invested in one of the games, the above comparisons are the ones that many prospective players are going to be making, and it's why we're not seeing IA take off the way x-wing has, at least on the skirmish side.

FFG really needs to make a product for IA that makes it more accessible to people that are only interested in skirmish and don't want to spend all the extra money on the campaign stuff.

2 hours ago, subtrendy2 said:

From within the community, it seems like skirmish has some tweaking to do with ugnaughts, hunters, etc, seems some lists are unbalanced pretty badly. I don't think this tweaking will do a ton to necessarily bring in new players, but it's a first step, and can probably help stop hemorrhaging existing players.

From there, I don't know. I've said before that as of now, I genuinely enjoy IA's gameplay and components more than Legion, but I probably wouldn't have felt that way two years ago, if both games had been out then. From an outsider's perspective, the epic scope of Legion is likely to garner more attention.

I think if IA is to continue, it's at a bit of a crossroads regarding its identity. Do they want to try and be as accessible as possible to new players, to be an option for those on the fence about Legion? Or do the see no reason in "competing" within their own company, and instead want to just cater to old players who already have everything- requested units, skirmish improvements, campaigns that incorporate multiple expansions... Either way, I think IA can continue to serve us well, as long as FFG is still game.

I agree, and I think the choice has already been made. We just won't know it until the app hits.

I think the app will show you whether Skirmish is going to be what you are describing, or a cute free game that comes with the Campaign. But even if the app comes down with all kinds of great skirmish stuff:

People seriously need to stop waiting for the reps from corporate to come save the day. It's not gonna happen. Unless you are very lucky in where you live geographically, ie, 20 minutes from Warhammer World in Nottingham, UK as a GW player. Even then, the "support" you think you see comes from local nerds who put in a lot of free labor.

Edit: Before I played either, I could see that $100 for a giant box of Star Wars toys was a way better deal than $40 for two Micro Machines. I still don't own X-Wing.

24 minutes ago, Tvboy said:

FFG really needs to make a product for IA that makes it more accessible to people that are only interested in skirmish and don't want to spend all the extra money on the campaign stuff.

Why? Just sell them Legion or whatever it's called.

For the record, I'm only interested in Skirmish (since none of us have time to be a DM... I mean "Imperial Player") and I think the product format works just fine. I'm actually glad to hear that tweaked out revved up lists cost an arm and a leg. Long may they be absent from the earth. Painting my guys costs more (if I paid myself minimum wage) than multiple copies of boxed expansions. I don't expect extra victory points for being a Technicolor army going up against the grey & tan brigade.

42 minutes ago, Tvboy said:

These are all things that a new player would only know after they have decided to try out and buy into the game. Here is what the calculations that people are doing in their head before they decide if they are going to buy the game actually looks like.

pre-painted x-wing core set: $40

vs

unpainted IA core set: $80-100

pre-painted x-wing expansions: $15-40

vs

unpainted IA expansions: $40-60

Yes, we as invested players understand that IA core and expansions come with way more value than X-Wing equivalents do and that it's more fair to compare an x-wing pack to an IA figure pack, and that X-Wing is actually an expensive game as soon as you want to play competitively, but players that know little to nothing about the game aren't going to know this until after they've already decided to buy in. Until they become invested in one of the games, the above comparisons are the ones that many prospective players are going to be making, and it's why we're not seeing IA take off the way x-wing has, at least on the skirmish side.

FFG really needs to make a product for IA that makes it more accessible to people that are only interested in skirmish and don't want to spend all the extra money on the campaign stuff.

Yep everything you said is valid, I was comparing the costs based on the original post and what a competitive player would need to spend. Locally I managed to get two new players that also play X-Wing, but mainly because they already had the Core set, and for at least one, X-Wing had become dull.. with the current two ship meta again, so was looking for something new. Legion sparked an interest in the skirmish game, and since it isn't out IA is scratching that itch.. The other guy was mainly interested in Legion, but once he played IA he doesn't see the need for Legion personally. Mainly because Legion is projected to be along the same game length as an Armada or Epic X-Wing game.

Getting newer players that don't have the core set already... well, that is a bit tougher sell. That $100 price point for retail of the Core Set is the big stumbling block, even more so than the unpainted figures (I tell them nobody really cares if your figures are painted or not that is up to you).

I compare the box expansions of IA to the Large and Huge ship expansions in X-Wing or Armada.... but you get way more for your money.

The best way I have gotten people that are even remotely interested in a Star Wars ground battle game, is to play demo games with them. If they are really interested after that, I let them know of the small but local play group that we have and how laid back and casual it is locally. We have a lot of people that just like to run silly goofy skirmish lists, which makes it more fun than constantly min/maxing the squads. We then also run more competitive tournaments with FFG OP kits for prizes.

Honestly though, getting Imperial Assault out in the open and being willing to show people how to play (have pre-built skirmish armies and the play mats already), is going to be the single best way to get new players into the game.

26 minutes ago, kingargyle said:

Honestly though, getting Imperial Assault out in the open and being willing to show people how to play (have pre-built skirmish armies and the play mats already), is going to be the single best way to get new players into the game.

Perfect

5 hours ago, kingargyle said:

Honestly though, getting Imperial Assault out in the open and being willing to show people how to play (have pre-built skirmish armies and the play mats already), is going to be the single best way to get new players into the game.

This One Weird Trick Can Quintuple Your Skirmish Players Overnight!

On 10/11/2017 at 11:03 AM, kingargyle said:

Honestly, if somebody wanted to run a competitive X-Wing list you are looking at a similar price entry point. Consider the Fair Ship Rebel list.

https://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Rebel Alliance&d=v4!s!4:-1,77:-1:20:;199:-1,70,204:-1:20:U.170;207:-1,21,69:41:-1:;224::-1:-1:&sn=- Rebel Jank&obs=

You are looking at needing the following to run the list:

• original core set - $39.95
• force awakens core set - $39.95
• rebel transport expansion pack - $59.95
• heroes of the resistance expansion pack - $39.95
• arc-170 expansion - $19.95
• sabine's tie fighter - $14.95

This adds up to about $214.70 for a competitive skirmish list. This assumes paying retail price.

If we look at Imperial Assault. The largest up front cost is the Core Set Box. A competitive list for Imperial Assault can be built using the following expansions:

• Core Set - $99
• Jabbas Realm - is $60.

So yes, $160 for the map tiles. Add in a few expansions for figures, which I'll argue are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY less expensive than X-Wing. And you maybe coming close to what It costs for a good competitive list of X-Wing without adding in play mats, acrylic maneuver templates, etc.

So let's add the cost of the 3 tournament maps that are currently in rotation.

• In rotation 3 x Skirmish Maps @ $24.95 a piece = $75 (rounded up)

So this brings us to $235. Not too far off from the $214.70 for X-Wing to get a current competitive meta list.

That's not really a great example...

There exist more reasonable Tournament lists that don't require a Huge Ship and Both Core Sets.

More realistically we are talking about 1 Core Set for $40, 3 Small Ships for $15 each, and 1 Large Ship for $30. ~$115