I've decided to pick up the 2.0 core and one conversion kit next month. Which faction should it be? I do play some competitive, with a local event coming up in November.

General answer is Empire. Hearing great things about TIE swarms, Bombers, and Defenders look like obscene fun.

For a more in depth answer, How much of each faction do you have and what do you like flying, playstylewise and/or ships?

Hard to say if Scum or Empire hold sway, but Rebels are the pits.

But as points costs aren't fixed it could all change tomorrow. Buy the faction you want to play.

Depends on what you like flying as well.

Well that depends. Which one has the sexiest ships?

Empire has TIE Interceptor. Scum has Slave One. Rebel has X-Wing, Y-Wing, A-Wing, B-Wing, Falcon, ARC-170.

Soooo, Rebel, I suppose.

Of course, then there are the sequel and prequel factions to consider. Resistance has... err.... First Order has.... umm.... Anyway, Republic (presumably) has Aethersprites, LAAT, N1, Jedi Shuttle, Naboo Royal ships. Separatists has, err, Ventress’ semi-circular ship?

So pretty much still Rebels, maybe Republic.

Gotta say that empire just has the most... everything?

They seem to be the easily most varied faction ATM, not necessarily the strongest but the most FLEXIBLE in what is strong

Tie swarm, bomber swarm, four phantoms, ace + miniswarm, ace + Bomber accompaniment, shuttle/reaper support + miniswarm...

Basically they have some very solid ships and HEAPS of enjoyable manuevering gimmicks from Decloak to ailerons to autothruster to the force to Inquisitor crew coordinate or Cienna on Vizier to Deathrain action shenanigans to...

Now scum's INCREDIBLY fun, imo, but in a more "brute Force" sort of way where they have a scant fraction of imperial finesse but a WHOLE lotta mods!

The playstyle's decidedly more basic than what you'd get flying Vermeil + whisper + echo (aka Squad I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE IM GOING) but they're enjoyably straightforward while retaining a few tricks (rigged Cargo, quads, some nifty device tricks which work with on overlap mines ...)

Basically, it's the difference between dancing around people with Whisper or having an r5-p8 kimoglia beat a poor bastard down while Mux keeps him at I 0

Fang fighters are another nice contrast, as they're nimble but they also enjoy just punching you in the face Mano e mano

Rebels...idk if it's me but ugh. Don't get me wrong, they're STRONG but every list I make comes out the same.

1.) Grab a bunch of self sufficient support ships (moldy crow is awesome)

2.) Grab Biggs

3.) Formation fly

Honestly, the only rebel ships I give half a **** about atm are the Moldy Crow and Xwings, which are quite powerful and flexible (which makes your decisions that much more important)

Everyone else moves like a lump across a shuffle board or requires extreme edge kiting tactics (aka the toilet bowl swirl) that bore me to death

2 hours ago, ScummyRebel said:

Depends on what you like flying as well.

I cannot agree more. There's no sense running a meta busting monstrosity of a list thats above your skill level or worse a boring one. If you're not planning on tournament play til November I would proxy as many lists as you can before grabbing the conversion kit.

I did “one of each” conversion because I could afford it and had the ships already. I would not have done that if I was newer to the game in terms of acquisitions.

Now is the best time to find what you want to try, then do that. Picking one isn’t the end of the world either if you want to add another later.

Pick the faction with the ships and playstyle you like most.

4 hours ago, SOTL said:

Buy the faction you want to play.

Just do this. Empire seems strongest right now, but they're all fine. Fly what you love.

7 hours ago, ficklegreendice said:

Gotta say that empire just has the most... everything?

Except aesthetic variety!

Because recruitment posters from 1998 games that contain no text at all are the way forward

- Try to find people playing 1.0 in your area and chat with them. Watch some games or even ask them if they could lend you some ships to test.

- Play FlyCasual, Vassal or Tabletop Simulator softwares to get the gist of the game and of the ships.

- What models make you itchy to play with? What Star Wars stuff really makes you interested in the setting?

Those questions may help you decide for one faction.

Each faction has their own play style.

Imperials have lots of cheap ships and a lot of very specific ships. They can do something like a Tie Swarm or heavy hitter + mini swarm. They can also do some things like 4 ship lists like 4 Tie Bombers or so.

Rebels have a lot of sturdy ships, hero pilots and crew, and tend to all support each other. Surprised people seem down on them. Solid workhorse Xwings, zippy Awings, and beefy Bwings.

Scum have a good variety of ships, but tend to have dirty tricks. They sometimes screw over their own team for an advantage. Solid stock of famous bounty hunters.

10 hours ago, ficklegreendice said:

Rebels...idk if it's me but ugh. Don't get me wrong, they're STRONG but every list I make comes out the same.

1.) Grab a bunch of self sufficient support ships (moldy crow is awesome)

2.) Grab Biggs

3.) Formation fly

I've always made it a point to never fly with Biggs. It's just a better game without him.

There is more to Rebels than jousting and formation flying.

I find the Empire has the most diverse ships IMHO.

They are very fun to fly and compliment each other better than the other factions.

Regardless, you got to love the ships first or flying them will suck.

That is why I have a few ships of each of the main three factions.

I enjoy flying the ships more than building a great list.

This is also why 2.0 is exciting, more focus on flying and less on card building.

The Empire has specialized ships that function well together. It's weird, but now they even sometimes support each other well, which is odd for me as I like my Imperial pilots to be self-serving bastards that are only concerned with racking up kills. Their ships and pilots are great and you can field lots of them...or just two of them. Every single ship has merits and flaws and I LOVE IT.

Rebs have multi-role ships, it seems. The X-wing is a great ship - it can do practically anything, and once you weigh it down with a droid, a torpedo, a talent and maybe a mod, it's a bloated target primed for a beating. So, Rebs are kinda awesome, but you have to be aware of what you're going to face. They are also still the kings of the warm and fuzzy help-you-buddy-out concept. jan Ors makes you hit harder, Biggs keeps you alive longer, etc. They can be fun and I WILL kill ships with X-wings and A-wings because I love them, but the faction has its downside (in my opinion anyway).

Scum do weird things. And I love them for it. The M3A alone, is such a fun ship now. It used to be you'd just build them with Mangler Cannons and that was the build, period. Now, with no Mangler to select, you have this crazy list of options - do you go for control or firepower? Do you sling ships into rocks or make their movement predictable? And that's just one tiny ship in their arsenal.

So, choosing which faction is really hard. Every faction comes with hard choices and all have ships that fly well and plenty that pose challenges to flying well. They all have highly efficient ships and plenty that are less efficient but do special things. If I had to choose one, I will always choose the POINTY SHIPS. Imperials FTW.

1 hour ago, heychadwick said:

I've always made it a point to never fly with Biggs. It's just a better game without him.

There is more to Rebels than jousting and formation flying.

Wish that were the case, but you'll lose literally any ship to a swarm or miniswarm in one round without him, apart from four focus moldy

Only moldy or xwing are mobile enough to bob and weave around them, all while not being hysterically overcosted

My experience, anyway

25 minutes ago, ficklegreendice said:

Wish that were the case, but you'll lose literally any ship to a swarm or miniswarm in one round without him, apart from four focus moldy

Only moldy or xwing are mobile enough to bob and weave around them, all while not being hysterically overcosted

My experience, anyway

No A-wings? They can even take Cluster Missiles. Same with Headhunters.

I think you need at least 4 ships and maybe more. Z-95s and A-wings for the win.

1 hour ago, Bad Idea Comics said:

The Empire has specialized ships that function well together. It's weird, but now they even sometimes support each other well, which is odd for me as I like my Imperial pilots to be self-serving bastards that are only concerned with racking up kills. Their ships and pilots are great and you can field lots of them...or just two of them. Every single ship has merits and flaws and I LOVE IT.

Arrogant bastards, maybe. Self-serving bastards belong in the Scum faction, NOT the Imperial Navy. Imp Navy flyboys should be able to work together.

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Rebs have multi-role ships, it seems. The X-wing is a great ship - it can do practically anything, and once you weigh it down with a droid, a torpedo, a talent and maybe a mod, it's a bloated target primed for a beating.

With it's improved dial, extra hull, and integrated barrel roll, it would seem to me that the X-Wing is best flown nearly naked these days.

Quote

So, choosing which faction is really hard.

It's a good problem to have.

53 minutes ago, heychadwick said:

No A-wings? They can even take Cluster Missiles. Same with Headhunters.

I think you need at least 4 ships and maybe more. Z-95s and A-wings for the win.

It's nice to see the little ships advocated for again.

Choose scum... you'll get paid

20 minutes ago, Darth Meanie said:

It's nice to see the little ships advocated for again.

ALL OF THESE!

1 hour ago, heychadwick said:

No A-wings? They can even take Cluster Missiles. Same with Headhunters.

I think you need at least 4 ships and maybe more. Z-95s and A-wings for the win.

Eh, no mod missiles ain't my thing esp not on low Initiative ships that need TLs to fire

In my experience, on the opponent's side of the table, they just pop before accomplishing anything. Unlike barrage bombers, they have neither the health nor ease of leveraging ordnance (nor Jonus)

Meanwhile,

Rebel Synergy

(38) Kyle Katarn
(10) Perceptive Copilot
(12) Moldy Crow
Points 60

(48) Biggs Darklighter
(0) Servomotor S-foils
Points 48

(52) Wedge Antilles
(9) Proton Torpedoes
Points 61

(30) AP-5
Points 30

Total points: 199

Four ships

Ap-5 wedge into giant proton torps

Su pport biggs with Kyle, you can also later support wedge (esp on red moves) and who is himself a late game monster

Seriously, moldy crow is the bee's ******* knees in second edition

the only ship if fly sans Biggs is ironically the ship Biggs flies (and moldy crow). Boost has been the game defining action against my buddies (who all seem to adore tie miniswarm). With it, you can dart around obstacles and pick at the swarm from the sides.

Without it, you better pack a **** good synergy blob to counteract Howlrunner

5 hours ago, Vector Strike said:

- Try to find people playing 1.0 in your area and chat with them. Watch some games or even ask them if they could lend you some ships to test.

Ok, my bad. I seem to have given the impression that I'm new to X-Wing. I've got a substantial collection, play regularly every week, and have participated in the competitive scene for the past two years. I'm totally on the fence about which faction to pick, because I don't have a strong preference. I plan to pick up more stuff after 2.0 launch, but starting out, I'm limiting myself to one conversion kit on launch.

I guess I'm looking for the faction that will give me the most bang for my buck, and that seems to be Empire. Though Scum is tempting as well.