So, lemme preface. I like playing X-Wing a whole freakin' lot, and y'know? I never really found a faction I preferred? I think Rebels are fun with the synergy, but I think Imperials have a lot of cool gimmicks to offer. Never really got into scum. Honestly, wasn't ever interested in Scum. Too... I dunno, too off kilter. I'm a pretty conventional thinker when it comes to fights. I mean ****, I tried applying contemporary war tactics to games that didn't even have such things. Atypical thinking for those games, typical for reality. (Y'ever seen artillery usage in Halo? No? Well it works, I can tell you that.)

I will be the first to admit, that I actually really like tanky, turreted ships. In fact, I may like them so much that I'd very much enjoy building lists around a singular tank and flying a bunch of auxiliary craft to pick off the guys dealing with the damage sponge. ****, nailing Luke or Wedge to Kyle is basically my most successful list yet. (Think I had Luke, Kyle, and another X-Wing..? Or Y-Wing..?)

It's been a long time, though. Last game I played was using a TIE Punisher and a couple other TIEs, think they were Interceptors, against my little sister using a few A-Wings. She flew them both into asteroids and drew double damage both times, died instantly, poor girl. Really had a chance with those proton rockets.

Anyway.

I don't do super great with lots of ships to manage? But here's the thing. While I'd focus probably on Rebels or large Imperial vessels, my dad, siblings and step-mother are also vastly different in playstyle and do pretty well. Well, not my sister. Dad likes Scum quite a bit, stepmom's real big on Rebels (tears things up with X-Wings, actually did really well in a local tournament using Poe, Wedge and somebody else.). I recall having lots of success using TLT Y-Wings, but hey, big surprise, those were good for everybody. Little brother is all about TIE Interceptor-like craft.

I'm not so much asking what's good for me. I like Rebel stuff because I get it.

I'm asking, "Let's say I had some money to spend. Let's say I had some family that enjoyed X-Wing but our playstyles are all pretty different. What would be the best possible investments for us?"

I would probably say what I usually say. For players looking to get in/back into the game from fresh, the Resistance/First Order stuff is a great way to start.

Force Awakens box , T-70 and Heroes of the Resistance gives you some fun pilots with powerful abilities for the Resistance. TIE/fo and TIE/sf gives you some fun pilots with powerful abilities for the First Order. And all are resonably self-contained - there's a couple of upgrades that you might like here or there, but you can get good mileage from the ships straight out of the box.

Add the new Resistance Bomber and the Silencer into the mix and you're gold.

Yup.

Also Imperial Veterans gives you a nice pack value with the Defender titles, Ryad and Mareek.

Get Defender expansion to have Vessery and another Defender model.

The Defender is sturdy, has some punch, and it's easy to fly decently. With TIE/sf and Defenders you have pretty forgiving ships for imperial bad pilots like me.

34 minutes ago, FTS Gecko said:

I would probably say what I usually say. For players looking to get in/back into the game from fresh, the Resistance/First Order stuff is a great way to start.

Force Awakens box , T-70 and Heroes of the Resistance gives you some fun pilots with powerful abilities for the Resistance. TIE/fo and TIE/sf gives you some fun pilots with powerful abilities for the First Order. And all are resonably self-contained - there's a couple of upgrades that you might like here or there, but you can get good mileage from the ships straight out of the box.

Add the new Resistance Bomber and the Silencer into the mix and you're gold.

Well I've got the TFA kit. Two of them actually. The Resistance Bomber and Silencer are definitely on my list. What do you think of Gunboats for an addition to a collection that stopped at TFA's release?

6 minutes ago, Malasombra said:

Yup.

Also Imperial Veterans gives you a nice pack value with the Defender titles, Ryad and Mareek.

Get Defender expansion to have Vessery and another Defender model.

The Defender is sturdy, has some punch, and it's easy to fly decently. With TIE/sf and Defenders you have pretty forgiving ships for imperial bad pilots like me.

Duly noted. Gotta get my Defender painted /FO at some point. Imperial Veterans does sound pretty solid.

1 minute ago, Captain Lackwit said:

Well I've got the TFA kit. Two of them actually. The Resistance Bomber and Silencer are definitely on my list. What do you think of Gunboats for an addition to a collection that stopped at TFA's release?

I'm afraid I'm unlikely to give an unbiased opinion when it comes to the Gunboat.

I omitted the part about the TIE Bomber in the pack. Bombers are a bit overshadowed right now by the Gunboats, but they are decent ordnance carriers, and the pack gives you the shuttle title, Tomax Bren, DeathFire, Gamma Veterans... and Crack shot. All worthy for casual games.

6 minutes ago, FTS Gecko said:

I'm afraid I'm unlikely to give an unbiased opinion when it comes to the Gunboat.

Hey man, for the same reason, I think HWK-290s are great, wonderful little things. Which is a very unpopular opinion (and always was, tbh.)

Kylo and two gunboats seems to work like a charm.

2 hours ago, Captain Lackwit said:

I will be the first to admit, that I actually really like tanky, turreted ships.

Sounds like you want to get your hand on the Ghost, friend.

The latest two ships seem to be all the rage, you probably have Palp and a decimator (RAC), add in the new Kylo pilot and season to taste. Gunboats have been doing very well, as have defenders with various cannons. Saw one list that had 3 low level Defenders, one with Ion cannon, one with Flechette cannon, one with tractor beam and a couple other random upgrades. Seems to be if you put in a shuttle you can do just about anything. I personally like the striker and upsilon but those aren't necessary at the moment due to all the turrets around (Miranda, dash)

But that Kylo... he's like a more fun (holy %#@^ expensive) Soontir!

Tanky Rebel ship? Grab the Ghost and Phantom II kits. I'll also echo getting the Heroes of the Resistance set if you don't own it yet.

TIE Silencer is pretty solid to build around and you may want some Starwings to go along with it. Wouldn't hurt to get a Decimator as well.

As for scum... Guns for Hire along with the old Star viper and K fighter to pair then up. The new kimogila has an interesting new trick that's VERY situational but if used right, is a real prone for your opponent.

2 hours ago, Captain Lackwit said:

Hey man, for the same reason, I think HWK-290s are great, wonderful little things. Which is a very unpopular opinion (and always was, tbh.)

Hey now, the HWK-290 is an amazing ship. I've won more than a few tournaments using 2 of them in a list

4 hours ago, Captain Lackwit said:

I don't do super great with lots of ships to manage? But here's the thing. While I'd focus probably on Rebels or large Imperial vessels, my dad, siblings and step-mother are also vastly different in playstyle and do pretty well. Well, not my sister. Dad likes Scum quite a bit, stepmom's real big on Rebels (tears things up with X-Wings, actually did really well in a local tournament using Poe, Wedge and somebody else.). I recall having lots of success using TLT Y-Wings, but hey, big surprise, those were good for everybody. Little brother is all about TIE Interceptor-like craft.

I'm not so much asking what's good for me. I like Rebel stuff because I get it.

I'm asking, "Let's say I had some money to spend. Let's say I had some family that enjoyed X-Wing but our playstyles are all pretty different. What would be the best possible investments for us?"

For your dad, I would likely suggest Guns for Hire. For your stepmom, Heroes of the Resistance for more T-70s. I would suggest looking at Wave 9, 12, and 13 for a variety of different playstyles among the factions. In addition to the Ghost, for yourself.

In addendum to what I posted above, if you want to satisfy everyone with new or more stuff, look for used lots from those that have mad the poor decision to leave the game entirely (or legit need money for more important things).

Okay, if you want tanky, turreted ships then get a couple Auzitucks.

They are VERY tanky - and having a 180* arc is very good.

6 hours ago, E Chu Ta said:

Sounds like you want to get your hand on the Ghost, friend.

I've definitely wanted to for some time, since I love that TV series.

1 hour ago, Boba Rick said:

Okay, if you want tanky, turreted ships then get a couple Auzitucks.

They are VERY tanky - and having a 180* arc is very good.

Yeah, I remember calling them the little-sibling-wants-to-play-too ship given how forgiving they are, but they ARE extremely attractive options and I'm kind of amazed they're not everywhere yet.

5 hours ago, Innese said:

Hey now, the HWK-290 is an amazing ship. I've won more than a few tournaments using 2 of them in a list

MY MAN!

5 hours ago, Sithborg said:

For your dad, I would likely suggest Guns for Hire. For your stepmom, Heroes of the Resistance for more T-70s. I would suggest looking at Wave 9, 12, and 13 for a variety of different playstyles among the factions. In addition to the Ghost, for yourself.

That sounds like a really good set of suggestions. What aboot thy little brother? Imperial Veterans? Kid is straight obsessed with TIE Interceptors too, what'd make them super good?

Straight up Interceptors or TIEs in general or something that plays like Interceptors?

5 minutes ago, Sithborg said:

Straight up Interceptors or TIEs in general or something that plays like Interceptors?

He REEEAAAALLY loves straight up TIE Interceptors. But I bet he could learn to love x7s as well. So what suggestions do you have for both?

They really haven't added anything to Interceptors. The TIE Striker and TIE Silencer are similar enough to the Interceptor that he could mix them in with Interceptors.

Imperial Veterans is great if you like Defenders.

2 minutes ago, Sithborg said:

They really haven't added anything to Interceptors. The TIE Striker and TIE Silencer are similar enough to the Interceptor that he could mix them in with Interceptors.

Imperial Veterans is great if you like Defenders.

Excellent. I'll keep those directly in mind then.

I've always wanted to run A-Wings. What do you think of them in the game's current state?

32 minutes ago, Captain Lackwit said:

Excellent. I'll keep those directly in mind then.

I've always wanted to run A-Wings. What do you think of them in the game's current state?

I like a Snap/Juke sprinkled in to create problems.

26 minutes ago, Boba Rick said:

I like a Snap/Juke sprinkled in to create problems.

Nice. Are Prockets still tasty or are they useless now?

3 minutes ago, Captain Lackwit said:

Nice. Are Prockets still tasty or are they useless now?

Well, I'm no expert on A-Wing but it seems like they have a hard enough time staying alive so I'd keep it as cheap as possible.

11 minutes ago, Captain Lackwit said:

Nice. Are Prockets still tasty or are they useless now?

Cruise with deadeye might be better, but Prockets still hit like a truck.

If your goal is to have fun, buy a resistance Bsf-17 bomber thingy. Crimson specialist is so much fun to fly with bomblets (and is decently good)

13 hours ago, Captain Lackwit said:

Hey man, for the same reason, I think HWK-290s are great, wonderful little things. Which is a very unpopular opinion (and always was, tbh.)

Gunboats are lots of fun. I have a list featuring 2x gunboats and Colonel Vessery (tie defender pilot).

i like the look of the HWK, but that dial.... man.... no bueno. I did use to fly (casually with family) a list I called Smugglers Run - basically Han Solo with a Kyle Katarn escort feeding him extra tokens. I don’t think I could take myself seriously if I did it today, but that was hilarious in the days of not knowing a thing about what was good and trying to learn from scratch.