Hey Guys,

I'm nice and new to the X-Wing world having played Armada in fits and spurts since it came out whilst moving around the country (UK) and changing jobs.

I want to get more into X-Wing as there are more events for it compared to Armada, plus its smaller, easier to pick up and quickly teach to friends and sometimes you just want to push some smaller ships around!

I have heard 2nd hand from different bits of the forums that X-Wing waves become redundant or out matched by the newer released waves, can anyone shed any light on this or is it just people griping needlessly?

Either way I'm really interested in building up a First Order only collection as I have all my OT Empire needs covered with several varying sized triangles in Armada and I like the feel of the new trilogy. I appreciate that there is only a handful of ships at the moment but with new films coming out and more and more external movie material hopefully it should grow into a good selection.

My question is are the First Order ships stacking up well against other ships or are there some select Empire ships I should purchase as well for certain upgrades etc?

Cheers!

Yep. Omega Leader (TIE/fo), Quickdraw (TIE/sfs) and now Kylo Ren (TIE Silencer) are all really good pilots. The Upsilon packs a punch and is more mobile than the Lambda as well.

Pretty much all the unique First Order ships have useful and/or fun abilities, and most of the packs are pretty well self-contained. Honestly, the Force Awakens Core Set, Upsilon, one TIE/fo expansion, one TIE/sfs expansion and the new TIE Silencer would give you more than enough to field some respectable squads.

I honestly think that First Order vs Resistance is probably the most fun version of this game to be had right now. Or will be on Thursday. Rey is crazy good and Kylo (crew and maybe pilot?) are a handful but the new astromech is pretty sweet on T-70's and the bomber looks OK but not broken like Nym or Miranda.

1 hour ago, gamblertuba said:

I honestly think that First Order vs Resistance is probably the most fun version of this game to be had right now. Or will be on Thursday. Rey is crazy good and Kylo (crew and maybe pilot?) are a handful but the new astromech is pretty sweet on T-70's and the bomber looks OK but not broken like Nym or Miranda.

The new astromech is not part of the First Order class of ships (Blue Lable). It comes with the Phantom II, which is a rebel ship (Red lable), not resistance.

So, I explored this possibility when Kylo was spoiled, and it was generally agreed to be good but not top tier.

Kylo w/AS, PTL, Primed Thrusters, Title, Autothrusters

Omega Leader w/ASTS

Backdraft w/FCS, VI, Title (and maybe other stuff)

First Order lists are totally viable even before the Silencer

Its Resistance that kinda suffer. Literally all they can do is mass T70 (meh) or Rey/Poe (which is done way, way too much so people know how to deal with it)

You’re all clear, kid, let’s get this game and go play!

yes, first order only lists are viable. If you want to do that for thematic purposes, you’re probably all set. I’m sure someone will point out cards you really want and won’t have them that way but it’s all good. The only one I can think of is lightweight frame for your SF, but the good news is that both ships it comes in are interesting in their own ways they’ll just break your theme.

actually, a striker wouldn’t be bad because it’s a good cheap ship to fill when you’re flying something like Kylo (silencer) and Omega Leader or QuickDraw.

I ran Quickdraw, Omega Leader, and Backdraft for a while. It's a super solid list and lots of fun. With the Silencer coming around, I'm looking forward to checking out what lists I can put together using all three First Order Fighters.

I have a lot of fun with Stridan (Fleet Officer, Pattern Analyzer) and three F/O Omegas (Comm Relay, Crack Shot).

...not sure if this counts, but I've also enjoyed Backdraft, Quickdraw, and a Whisper painted in First Order Special Forces colors.

2 hours ago, Pooleman said:

The new astromech is not part of the First Order class of ships (Blue Lable). It comes with the Phantom II, which is a rebel ship (Red lable), not resistance.

Can't tell if serious or not. Does this mean Poe can't take intensity because it comes with an Empire ship? I'd sign on with unique characters being restricted by era but generic upgrades?

Just now, gamblertuba said:

Can't tell if serious or not. Does this mean Poe can't take intensity because it comes with an Empire ship? I'd sign on with unique characters being restricted by era but generic upgrades?

The original post was about buying only “resistance ships”. Of course they are interchangeable but if he wants to purchase only resistance ships then the Phantom II, and it’s upgrades, would not qualify.

I gotcha. Yeah, upgrades are going to be tricky if you only by NuTrilogy. Except for Omega Leader.

That ship expansion is one of the best Xwing products ever. Competitive without being oppressive and totally self contained. If only we had forty years worth of legends to get some better pilot names.

41 minutes ago, gamblertuba said:

If only we had forty years worth of legends to get some better pilot names.

Which would be great if it was a legends ship instead of a new ship, from a new movie that we didn't know any pilot names for and FFG is probablyr ather strict about assigning random names to stuff from the new movies...

6 hours ago, Vineheart01 said:

First Order lists are totally viable even before the Silencer

Its Resistance that kinda suffer. Literally all they can do is mass T70 (meh) or Rey/Poe (which is done way, way too much so people know how to deal with it)

New Old Han will probably get some play with courier droid coming out. And TFA chewie did something important awhile back (top 4 at a Spanish regional or something).

Although the bomber looks like you could make a fun list out of. First order has more options though.

7 hours ago, ScummyRebel said:

You’re all clear, kid, let’s get this game and go play!

yes, first order only lists are viable. If you want to do that for thematic purposes, you’re probably all set. I’m sure someone will point out cards you really want and won’t have them that way but it’s all good. The only one I can think of is lightweight frame for your SF, but the good news is that both ships it comes in are interesting in their own ways they’ll just break your theme.

actually, a striker wouldn’t be bad because it’s a good cheap ship to fill when you’re flying something like Kylo (silencer) and Omega Leader or QuickDraw.

Fun list indeed -I love strikers- but they are not First Order ships. :|

Indeed.

• If you want to play a first order only squad, that's easily done. TIE/fo, TIE/sf, Upsilon Shuttle and TIE/vn give you the means to do anything from heavily upgraded ace fighters to light swarms to support ships to even a trio of brutally powerful but unwieldy battleships.
• If you want to buy first order only stuff....that's less good of an idea. If people are fine lending you upgrade cards, or you can proxy, or buy cards independently, then fair enough, but if not there are odd cards you'll wish you had access to from other expansion packs. In various combinations, off the top of my head:
  • Missiles, Various for your TIE/sf
    • Cruise Missiles (Scurrg/Gunboat)
    • Harpoon Missiles (Guns For Hire)
    • Ion Pulse Missiles (TIE Defender/Z-95)
    • Scrambler Missiles (Kimogila)
  • Systems Upgrades, Various for your TIE/sf, TIe/vn and Upsilon
    • Advanced Sensors (Lambda Shuttle/E-wing)
    • Fire Control System (B-wing/TIE Phantom)
  • Crew Upgrades, Various for your Upsilon
    • Rebel Captive (Lambda Shuttle)
    • Gunner (Firepray)
    • Systems Officer (Imperial Veterans)
  • Elite Upgrades
    • Veteran Instincts (Firespray/Millenium Falcon)
    • Push The Limit (A-wing/Imperial Aces)
    • Swarm Leader (Striker)
    • Expert Handling (X-wing/TIE Advanced)
  • Modifications
    • Engine Upgrade (Millennium Falcon/Hound's Tooth)
    • Lightweight Frame (TIE Striker)

11 hours ago, Admiral Sylva said:

My question is are the First Order ships stacking up well against other ships or are there some select Empire ships I should purchase as well for certain upgrades etc?

I've flown a pure FO list to some success over the last 6 months, it was Omega Leader (PtL and HCS), Quickdraw (Juke, LWF, FCS, title and CR) and Backdraft (Juke, LWF, FCS, title and CR), and it net me a store championship and a top 8 in nationals (167 players). Palob and Wes (and now jamming tokens) will make you want to cry, but thankfully Wes isn't not popular anymore, and it *is* possible (though difficult) to kill Palob at range 3. Juking on two 3-die attacks twice is nasty, and if Quickdraw loses a shield or if you decide to shoot out of both arcs for some free, unmodified shots, enemy ships often take damage for free even when you roll just one hit.

Unfortunately, to build this list with only imperial purchases, you'll need a number of things: Imperial Aces for PtL (Carnor Jax is awesome but the other pilots are underwhelming), two phantoms for FCS, a striker and an aggressor for two LWFs, two SFs, two FOs (the separate expansion) for Juke and CR, and an Upsilon for the Hyperwave Comm Scanner. The only thing I consider to be a "card" purchase is the second TIE Phantom (and maybe the second FO), as few lists require even one phantom these days, but FCS is likely a card you'll finding yourself wanting multiple copies of (particularly with the Upsilon, SF and Silencer all being able to equip it) so look into card sellers (or a B-Wing) if you know you don't want the second phantom.

Other cards you might find yourself wanting are: Advanced Sensors (Lambda shuttle/E-Wing) as it goes really well with both the Upsilon and the Silencer, Sensor Jammer (Lambda Shuttle/U-Wing) can also be useful, and Pattern Analyzer (rebel expansion-only for now) is often found on Quickdraw. Then there are the dozens of EPTs, many of which that can only be found in a single expansion, but I'll leave that to you.

Not yet but it is getting there now with 4 ships to its name, with 3 of those ships being on a small base (Resistance still only has 1 small ship the T-70 X-wing).

Still I don't think there is enough for a faction split yet. After all Scum started with 6 ships. However they are starting to play around with actual mechanics for them giving certain subfaction requirements for upgrades to trigger.

Still if you are looking for a soft split I have this format which splits the primary factions but fills the gaps by faction mixing.

I can see both 1st Order and Resistance hiring a few mercenaries.

11 hours ago, VanderLegion said:

Which would be great if it was a legends ship instead of a new ship, from a new movie that we didn't know any pilot names for and FFG is probablyr ather strict about assigning random names to stuff from the new movies...

How long did it take to get a full stable of TIE fighter pilots though? The Resistance pilots like "Blue Ace" are a complete joke but there has never been an overabundance of named bad guy pilots.

They seem to have switched to 'generic-sounding call-sign' from XYZ Leader, now, though.

Although I have to register my concern with the idea of the first order turning over it's irreplacable prototype superiority fighter to someone whose call-sign is "Blackout"....

They have inertial dampeners. It's fine. We're all fine here... now.

5 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

• If you want to buy first order only stuff....that's less good of an idea. If people are fine lending you upgrade cards, or you can proxy, or buy cards independently, then fair enough, but if not there are odd cards you'll wish you had access to from other expansion packs. In various combinations, off the top of my head:
  • Missiles, Various for your TIE/sf
    • Cruise Missiles (Scurrg/Gunboat)
    • Harpoon Missiles (Guns For Hire)
    • Ion Pulse Missiles (TIE Defender/Z-95)
    • Scrambler Missiles (Kimogila)
  • Systems Upgrades, Various for your TIE/sf, TIe/vn and Upsilon
    • Advanced Sensors (Lambda Shuttle/E-wing)
    • Fire Control System (B-wing/TIE Phantom)
  • Crew Upgrades, Various for your Upsilon
    • Rebel Captive (Lambda Shuttle)
    • Gunner (Firepray)
    • Systems Officer (Imperial Veterans)
  • Elite Upgrades
    • Veteran Instincts (Firespray/Millenium Falcon)
    • Push The Limit (A-wing/Imperial Aces)
    • Swarm Leader (Striker)
    • Expert Handling (X-wing/TIE Advanced)
  • Modifications
    • Engine Upgrade (Millennium Falcon/Hound's Tooth)
    • Lightweight Frame (TIE Striker/TIE Aggressor)

If you're running First Order only, you can happily do without any of the striked upgrades above. The rest aren't necessary by any means, but might be useful to have for a bit of variety. Most of them can be picked up pretty cheaply via eBay (especially with Veteran Instincts and Engine Upgrade available as alt art versions).

Honestly, most of the First Order ships are pretty well self-contained. A couple of copies of FCS, Advanced Sensors, VI and Push for Kylo, an Engine Upgrade and a Lightweight Frame or two and you're set.

Easily

Quickdraw Backdraft Omega Leader

https://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Galactic Empire&d=v4!s!208:220,36,-1,-1:42:31:;209:27,36,-1,-1:42:31:;187:152,153:-1:-1:&sn=Unnamed Squadron&obs=

5 points left to play around with tech on the SFs and a mod on Omega

A nice list; but as noted, you'll need quite a few odds and ends to get those bits that aren't in first order boxes. Off the top of my head:

• 2 x TIE Striker (Lightweight Frame)
• 2 x B-wing (Fire Control System)
• 1 x U-wing (Expertise)
• 1 x Firespray (Veteran instincts)

Making a list with just 'whats in the box' is actually quite hard - I agree with @FTS Gecko that the first order stuff is better than most, though. Especially with the Silencer packing 2 copies of advanced optics.

17 hours ago, stuffedskullcat said:

I have a lot of fun with Stridan (Fleet Officer, Pattern Analyzer) and three F/O Omegas (Comm Relay, Crack Shot).

...not sure if this counts, but I've also enjoyed Backdraft, Quickdraw, and a Whisper painted in First Order Special Forces colors.

Ha, similar to my list

Stridan with title, Operations specialist, rebel captive, fire control

3x omegas with snapshot.