Hey folks. My after school club is loving the core set campaign. There are now so many expansions. I am wondering which set will give me the best bang for my buck. Hoth looks like it adds lots of tiles and models...So does Jabba's palace. Any suggestions? Also, which expansion provides good models for skirmish??

Thanks

I like the jabba's realm campaign, and if you are looking for good skirmish models, that is the one to go for. Hoth is a fun campaign that is slightly rebel favored but still a blast regardless. Heart of the empire just came out which looks sweet but I can't attest to the campaign as I haven't played it, but it also brings fixes for some core box characters for skirmish.

I think you should get the following small expansions and why:

C3P0/R2 expansion because they're both solid for rebels. Great support figures and some great cards.

Greedo expansion for Mercenaries. Fun to play and so cheap for what he does. However, you'll likely need something else to bring some good mercernary squads to the table.

ISB Infiltrators. Some would disagree as they're not amazing in competitive play, but not bad if used correctly. Also, they come with some great cards including cross training which can help your core stormtroopers.

Jabba’s Realm all the way!

Campaign - Fun narrative, cool twist on story missions, 3 heroes are fun to use, plenty of “wow” minis (Rancor, Jabba himself, flying stormtroopers), the nemesis imperial class deck, lots of recognizable locations

Skirmish - Best bang for your buck to flesh out the mercenary faction

For Skirmish, don't let not having the actual figures keep you guys from playing! Put together any skirmish list using a list builder ( ia-armies & tabletop admiral are good) and proxy.

Yeah, I'm going to have to echo the above sentiments;

Jabba's Realm is best bang for buck in both Skirmish and Campaign.

Ally and Villain packs are a little more tricky to recommend, as a lot of them require the box expansions they came out with to have the right tiles to play.

Twin Shadows - Boba Fett, R2-D2 & C-3PO , Kayn Somos, Bantha Rider
Return to Hoth - Leia , Dengar, General Sorin
Bespin Gambit - Lando, Bossk, Agent Blaise, ISB Infiltrators
Jabba's Realm - Jedi Luke, Jabba, Captain Terro
Heart of the Empire - Ahsoka, Maul, Palpatine

Additional Ally/Villain packs with no corresponding box all use only Core tiles;

Alliance Smuggler, Jawa Scavenger, Hired Guns, Hera & Chopper, Grand Inquisitor, Obi-Wan Kenobi , Greedo, BT-1 & 0-0-0, Wookie Warriors , Stormtroopers

And finally, Ally and Villain packs that were released with the Core (and only use core tiles);

Han, Chewbacca, IG-88, General Weiss, Royal Guard Champion, Rebel Troopers, Rebel Saboteurs

All in all, it's hard to recommend Ally or Villain packs without knowing the purpose. Campaign or Skirmish?

Campaign, I would probably pick packs that are usable only with Boxes you already have, So any of the ones marked RED .

Skirmish, I would probably pick as for Campaign, but with a few more to help flesh out more than two or three lists at a time. So any of the ones marked RED or ORANGE .

If you end up picking up another of the boxes (Campaign or Skirmish), I would add the ones in GREEN if you get Jabba's Realm or BLUE if you get Heart of the Empire or PURPLE if you get Return to Hoth.

EDIT: I hope that makes sense. I'm happy to clarify more about which packs and why if you want.