Hello all! I was walking through a store yesterday and Star Wars X Wing game caught my eye. I showed it to my wife and she said she would interested in playing it which surprised me. We are both big Star Wars fans but have never played a miniature tabletop game. I researched this and Imperial Assault. I am leaning more towards this one but will probably the other one later as well. I noticed the core game only comes with three miniatures. I know there is a lot of expansions out there but I don’t know where to start. Which expansions would you recommend to a beginner who will just have the core set? I have been looking on eBay for lots that have the core set plus tons. Thanks!

Well first off, if you weren’t aware, X-Wing is about to transistion from first edition to 2nd edition come this September. There will be a new Core Set (note that if you want to play 2nd edition- and you probably do, it will be a significant improvement over first edition- then you will need a second edition Core Set to do so), a handful of ships are being re-released for 2.0 (and eventually all of them will be rereleased), and there will be conversion kits for players with existing 1.0 ships to convert them over to second edition.

That being said, don’t be put off by any of that, now is a great time to get into X-Wing, mainly because a lot of people are getting out of X-Wing and selling their ships off for cheap. You should be able to find ships (individually or as a collection) on sale on eBay/craigslist/Facebook/etc for 50% off of MSRP or less. Plus, stores will start clearing out their first edition stock for cheaper and cheaper as second edition gets closer.

As a new player coming in, that gives you lots of options:

• Wait until September when 2nd edition comes out and buy everything new.
• Hunt for deals in stores or on eBay and buy a bunch of ships for cheap, then pick up 1-3 of the conversion kits when second edition comes out (the cheapest option in the long run if you want a lot of ships and you want to play second edition)
• Hunt for deals in stores or on eBay and buy a bunch of ships for cheap, and then just stick with playing first edition.
• Buying a used collection also gives you the option to try the game out, decide whether or not you like it, and if you don’t, turn around and sell it and get most of your money back.

Anyway, back to your question, what expansions to look for. First off I probably wouldn’t buy the 1.0 Core Set new unless you can find it on sale for cheap. You’d be better off waiting for the 2.0 Core Set or buying someone’s collection used.

After that, buy the ships you love. You will have more fun flying the ships you know and love from the movies/TV shows/book/comics/video games/etc than you will flying some random ship that you’ve never seen or heard of just because the interwebs told you it was good. Later down the road, if you decide you want to enter the competitive scene, then you can worry about picking up the latest Hotness. For now, just focus on the ships you like.

The same can be said for which faction(s) to buy into. When second edition comes out there will be 5 factions: Rebels, Empire, Scum & Villainy, The Resistance, and the First Order. If it’s primarily you and your wife playing, then you’ll probably want at least two factions. Again, buying someone’s collection used let’s you try out a variety of things, and then if you want you can sell off the factions or ships that you’re not interested in.

also, see this thread for more discussion about the best ways to get into the game right now (mine isn’t the only opinion), though it is more about breaking into the competitive scene rather than playing casually with your wife.

Anyway, regardless of what you choose to do, welcome to the game! It’s a lot of fun!

If you're brand new I would hold off until 2.0 this fall and pick up the core set and whatever factions ships interest you guys. The alternative as mentioned above is buying a whole collection + conversion kit. But really if you only have a few ships then it's not worth it to pick up the conversion kit.

If you guys just want to play 1st edition then grab whatever you want but Rebel Aces and Imperial Veterans are the go to starter packs in my opinion.

How much do you want to spend? How are you going to play?

If you're just going to play with the wife, I'd suggest waiting till 2nd Edition comes out. Get a core set, TIE Advanced (Vader), a X-wing expansion, and a Y-wing. That should bring you in under a $100 bucks and provide plenty of amusement on the kitchen table.

Also you could just get a 1st Edition version of that and be about the same place. (There are two first edition cores a Red One (OT X-wing and TIEs) and Blue (ST X-wing (POE) and First Order TIEs.)

Herowannabe's advice is solid depending on the depth of your pockets and what you want to do.

The Blue Core Set, Heroes of the Resistance, and TIE Silencer, make two thematic and somewhat fair squads at a reasonable MSRP price point to play on the kitchen table.

Thanks for the responses. You guys answered my questions and answered questions I was about to ask. I knew there was a second edition coming out but until this morning, I just thought it was a rerelease. I’m glad I waited since the whole game and mechanics are being changed. Per everyone’s advice, I have a few sets I’m watching on eBay that would net me the core game plus a bunch of other ships that I can upgrade when 2.0 comes out. I have watched a few video reviews and super excited to play this game. Thanks Frimmel for the ship recommendations to add to the core set. The Slave and Falcon also look pretty badass. Few more questions: Any recommendations for videos/articles/other readings to gain more knowledge? What are your feelings of the big cruiser ships? Have they released any information on the conversation kits and how many they will convert incase I find some good deals on ships and want to go ahead and pick them up? Thanks for all the advice!!!

But the ships you like -- but if you buy right now the TIE Silencer, TIE Reaper, Heroes of the Resistance, and TIE/FO expansions are great value (plus TIE Reaper and Saw's Renegades have 2.0 content).

If you think you like it, the Imperial Assault core set is one of the best buys in gaming. It's two games in one -- campaign and skirmish -- and you don't need expansions to play for a long time.

So far, there is no hard info on the big cruisers (aka Epic ships) in second edition. Fantasy Flight Games has been coy about any news. Suffice to say, all we know is that they're working on it.

However, folks that DO play with Epic ships find that it is the most cinematic experience over the standard "kill 'em all" dog-fighing that most people play. You just don't see very many people playing it in stores unless they've made arrangements ahead of time. Most store played games lean towards competitive play.

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Regarding getting into the game, 1st edition is still valid and still a fun game to play. If you are a casual player, you don't have to fuss with second edition unless you plan to play outside your home at stores and events after it launches.

Just speculating here, but you will likely find plenty of people that will bounce between both, just to get their Star Wars fix. The biggest problem with 1st edition is/was that later waves (generally Wave 8 and afterward) had elements that were/are O ver P owered for earlier waves to compete with. Competitive players would exploit these OP elements and it would trickle down into more casual games, making them more oppressive than fun to play. Hence the game was reaching a boiling point when 2.0 was announced this May.

Having said that, if you are playing at home with a plate of nachos & lemonade, none of that should make a lick of difference unless you plan to use the same exploits and stomp you friends and family.

I say get into First edition now. If you like it, then you've already won. If you really get into it, you can always convert to second edition down the line vs. waiting 8 weeks to see if you might like the game or not.

This game is known to be "plastic crack" so just pace yourself!

Read around the forums, its great. Just ignore every post by me. I'm strictly for advanced users.

10 minutes ago, Commander Kaine said:

Read around the forums, its great. Just ignore every post by me. I'm strictly for advanced users.

Wait.. so are you for x-wing 1.0? Do we have to ignore you in the 13th of September on? ?

2 hours ago, That Blasted Samophlange said:

Wait.. so are you for x-wing 1.0? Do we have to ignore you in the 13th of September on? ?

?

I don't get how my comment implies that.

18 hours ago, Digitalman87 said:

Thanks Frimmel for the ship recommendations to add to the core set.

You're welcome. Remember just because the wife is interested it doesn't mean she'll be happy if you spend a lot of money on all of this. Here's another thread on this topic.

Practice saying this.

And once you have some of the ships you'll start looking into sleeves and storage. And transport containers to take to game shops. And do I buy premade foam trays or cut my own. You'll run to home depot to buy 2'x4' boards because your table isn't big enough and two of those will fit in your car where a 4'x4' won't. Then you'll see all the sweet paint jobs and boom you suddenly have 10+ colors of paint now, yet you've never painted before. Oh, and here's a kickstarter for amazing game mats: /pledged. Another for acrylic tokens... etc, and on and on.

Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything.

Most importantly, I'd do it all over again.

Take your time and enjoy the ride.

Thanks again for all the advice. I was watching a few kits on eBay but after looking at the conversation kits and pricing stuff out, I think I’m just going to wait til September for second edition and start fresh there instead of trying to convert 1 and 2 and figure out what works and doesn’t. I’m not 100% sure if I like having to use the app. I’ve read the second edition faq but still confused if it’s mandatory to use the app or if my wife and I can just breakout the cards and ships and start playing without setting up squads and everything through the app.

2 minutes ago, Digitalman87 said:

Thanks again for all the advice. I was watching a few kits on eBay but after looking at the conversation kits and pricing stuff out, I think I’m just going to wait til September for second edition and start fresh there instead of trying to convert 1 and 2 and figure out what works and doesn’t. I’m not 100% sure if I like having to use the app. I’ve read the second edition faq but still confused if it’s mandatory to use the app or if my wife and I can just breakout the cards and ships and start playing without setting up squads and everything through the app.

There will be quick build cards that prebuild a ship and circumvent the app. There will be an online pdf with the ship costs listed in the app. And of course, when playing at home, rules can be as lax as you want.

There is not an official app presently. But I have 3 different squad builder apps on my phone and two+ others bookmarked on my computer. They all excel in different aspects. Which is "best" comes down to personal preference. The official app will funnel us all to a single source for squadbuilding but, for prebuilding squads then hunting down the appropriate cards to bring with you (which is almost a necessity when you have a large collection), nearly everyone uses an online squadbuilder of some sort.

In fact, you could download or web browse to one of the builders while waiting for 2.0 just to familiarize yourself with the jargon on the cards. Build out the lists people describe in threads to see how their points were distributed, perhaps. Idk. Point being, I wouldn't let the official app scare me away.

3 hours ago, ViscerothSWG said:

There will be quick build cards that prebuild a ship and circumvent the app. There will be an online pdf with the ship costs listed in the app. And of course, when playing at home, rules can be as lax as you want.

There is not an official app presently. But I have 3 different squad builder apps on my phone and two+ others bookmarked on my computer. They all excel in different aspects. Which is "best" comes down to personal preference. The official app will funnel us all to a single source for squadbuilding but, for prebuilding squads then hunting down the appropriate cards to bring with you (which is almost a necessity when you have a large collection), nearly everyone uses an online squadbuilder of some sort.

In fact, you could download or web browse to one of the builders while waiting for 2.0 just to familiarize yourself with the jargon on the cards. Build out the lists people describe in threads to see how their points were distributed, perhaps. Idk. Point being, I wouldn't let the official app scare me away.

I'll expand on the quick build cards here, for me trying to get my fiancé into this game, they are gonna be nice. They seem to be more thematic and only include cards from the core set and their respective expansions. So Luke's quick build has R2-D2 as his astro and a couple of other cards to give him abilities like when he was flying in Episode 4.

They also have threat ratings (Luke's build has a threat of three) so if you want to quickly set up a game, you could say, "Let's make a game of Threat 8," and then use ships whose threat levels add up to 8 for each side. Great way to get into it if you have no prior experience, and then you can use the app/pdf with the actual points to make lists more competitive/to your liking.

Or just keep using quick builds if you are just enjoying some time around the kitchen table, if you like. You do you.

That’s a great point. I can see myself getting into the game and want to build my own loadouts but my wife use pre made loadouts. Always me to deep dive and still play nice with my wife. Time to highjack my own thread. I’m super pumped to get this game. I can see myself getting Imperal Assault down the road as well but I want a game I can play now. I’m thinking the Star Wars The Card Game. What card games do you guys play in the Star Wars universe?

On 7/20/2018 at 9:03 AM, ViscerothSWG said:

Practice saying this.

And once you have some of the ships you'll start looking into sleeves and storage. And transport containers to take to game shops. And do I buy premade foam trays or cut my own. You'll run to home depot to buy 2'x4' boards because your table isn't big enough and two of those will fit in your car where a 4'x4' won't. Then you'll see all the sweet paint jobs and boom you suddenly have 10+ colors of paint now, yet you've never painted before. Oh, and here's a kickstarter for amazing game mats: /pledged. Another for acrylic tokens... etc, and on and on.

Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything.

Most importantly, I'd do it all over again.

Take your time and enjoy the ride.

On 7/21/2018 at 6:54 AM, Digitalman87 said:

That’s a great point. I can see myself getting into the game and want to build my own loadouts but my wife use pre made loadouts. Always me to deep dive and still play nice with my wife. Time to highjack my own thread. I’m super pumped to get this game. I can see myself getting Imperal Assault down the road as well but I want a game I can play now. I’m thinking the Star Wars The Card Game. What card games do you guys play in the Star Wars universe?

Star Wars the Card Game is technically a dead game - FFG has stopped producing anything for it or supporting it in any way.

That being said, it might be perfect for you then. It is quite a fun little game especially if you get that one expansion that allows for 3 and 4 player variants and little campaign thingies. Most game stores have plenty of stock of it, and will be trying to sell it for a reduced rate. And it's a nice little stand-alone game that you and your wife would likely enjoy very much.

The other "Star Wars card games" are the old Decipher LCG, fun but very very dead, and Destiny, which I've heard is more fun now than when I played it but still very very expensive. And then there's Pocketmodel, but we don't talk about that...

The Decipher Star Wars CCG is the greatest Star Wars card game. It is arguably one of the greatest CCGs.