I’m considering getting IA for me and my son to play and was wondering what would make it interesting/balanced if I got the core and say $80-$100 worth of expansions? Probably skirmish only to begin with. Sorry if this has been posted before but I had a browse through the site and couldn’t find anything similar.

I would take Jabba's Realm, Heart of the empire and Tyrants of Lothal (in reverse order of priority). If you can I would also take Spectres. Other notable packs: Jawa, Thrawn, Hondo, C3PO&R2D2 and Greedo. Something still usable at competitive level is: Alliance Smuggler, Palpatine and Ig88 (but IG requires a card into Jawa pack). I strongly suggest to look at the many forums and FB groups were people sell/buy used games. Often you may find people selling stuff in very good conditions for cheap. Just make sure, everything is into their respective boxes because usually people need only few cards or miniature and then they sell the rest.

I posted a similar-ish question a while ago if you're interested:

If you want skirmish lists that are up to the current power level of competitive play, it takes quite a few expansions (in my understanding). But if you just want a handful of lists that are well balanced against each other, I would recommend starting with just the core set, and then picking up the occasional blister pack to add variety as needed. Probably stick to the earlier released figures, because there is a noticeable power creep. I've still only played a handful of skirmish games, but the Hired Guns, Boba Fett, and Echo Base Troopers packs seemed to fill in important gaps in the core set.

I was thinking core to start with, and then one or two blisters per side, then a campaign pack as we get more into it. I’m not that concerned about competitive, just one that’s a bit balanced and fun!

If (probably when lol) I got the core, what would be the best blister for variety/balance?

Thanks for the info so far!

Core box is focused on rebels and empire. Scum lacks a bit of variety. In that sense Jabba's Realm is what made Scum a really good faction (and campaign is one of the best together with the core campaign). However adding Jabba's realm to the core would make Scum too good because of the power creep. You may try hired guns and Boba as suggested. Although those are a bit of a waste in my opinion. Network is plenty of people that is selling a lot of stuff, some of them sell entire batches of expansions. Just keep an eye on FB group and forums and be patient enough. Core box itself can guarantee up to 100-150 hours of gameplay (campaign, app and skirmish). In the meantime if you see a great deal you buy it and include its content in your games.

Last question for now!

Is there any blisters I should ignore on my initial buy in to IA to start with? I’m thinking maybe the stormtroopers villain blister as there are already a load of them in the core?

If there's a dividing line for IA skirmish, it was definitely the release of the Jabba's realm box. The figures/cards in that box really set a new power level that we've been working under ever since its release, and very few figures from before that ever get played competitively (with a few exceptions like Gideon/C3P0/R2/Greedo/the characters that got card fixes).

So usually if someone was looking to get into organized play skirmish I would give the same advice as Trevize above: get Jabba's realm, heart of the empire, tyrants of lothal, and whatever blisters from those waves look interesting.

From the sounds of it, though, you're only ever going to be looking to play with you and your son at home. If that's the case, I'd almost be tempted to point you in the exact opposite direction. If one player is playing the mercenary figures from Jabba's realm and the other is playing with core stuff, it's going to be a really one-sided fight. You'd probably be better off getting blister packs from before then (Leia, Bossk, Grand Inquisitor, Obi-Wan, honestly whatever looks fun) and playing with those.

And to answer your other question, I would definitely ignore the stormtrooper pack on your first run through. It has a few useful command cards, but nothing necessary and you'll definitely get more bang for your buck elsewhere. From a strictly competitive standpoint it does give you a second elite stormtrooper card (which is a good card in the core meta) but honestly if you're playing at home it's easy enough to just pretend you have two anyway.

TL;DR

If you think you might ever get into competitive/organized play, buy Jabba's Realm, Heart of the Empire, and Lothal stuff. If you want something for fun at home that's more balanced against the core, buy stuff released before Jabba's Realm.

1 hour ago, Herr Style said:

Last question for now!

Is there any blisters I should ignore on my initial buy in to IA to start with? I’m thinking maybe the stormtroopers villain blister as there are already a load of them in the core?

I would ignore stormtroopers, like you said, and Kayn Somos for sure. General Sorin and Royal Guard Champion are niche figures that are okay but not worth the cost or risk.

I got the game to play Skirmish, but my OCD tendencies made me get the expansions in order (which I now kind of regret). I would definitely get Heart of the Empire first and then Jabba's Realm and then Tyrants of Lothal. HotE really balanced the imperial/rebel war and with only two players, it is probably a better idea to focus on the two main factions of the core before adding another into the mix.

Flavor to taste with additional blister packs (except Sorin, he sucks).

I would ignore all packs. You buy the core box and you enjoy the game in all possible ways as it is. Core box has enough content and doesn't require any pack or expansion to get on the table. Whenever you feel bored and you need something new, I would then start from the most recent expansion and packs.

Thanks for the advice guys. I just wanted to approach this game like I did Armada, and that was to find the minimum I needed for fun to fly two fleets......

............and then I went and bought nearly every single ship at least once..........Urgh! 😁

15 hours ago, Herr Style said:

Thanks for the advice guys. I just wanted to approach this game like I did Armada, and that was to find the minimum I needed for fun to fly two fleets......

............and then I went and bought nearly every single ship at least once..........Urgh! 😁

I was exactly like you when I started. Bought the game to play mainly with my kids. I looked at people who had everything as “crazy”. But we have enjoyed it so much and played so many hours of this game, a pack here an expansion there, two years after we started we are dropping $ on paints, wooden organizers and the like . I don’t have any regret on the money spent because we have played hundreds of hours of the game - so it’s been well spent.

To get started I would just focus on any characters that you and your son like - even if they aren’t considered “strong”. You are just going to be playing for fun, so building the list with different options and characters who you like and are fun to play is the main goal. Unless you plan on playing in local store tournaments and the like, then you need to be mindful of what units are strong etc. I haven’t played in official tournaments.

I think when we started my son wanted Bossk, I wanted Obi Wan and my daughter for some reason wanted the Bantha Rider. We bought some other iconic characters as well, Leia, Han and Chewy. Greedo is a fun character to play as well. But you can start out slow and see where it takes you. We just started playing campaign, which was a blast. But after learning the game, we also would do family skirmish events where we would play each other round robin style.

Now there is also the app, which would let you play alongside your son against the computer (campaign style). If you and your son are big Star Wars fans I feel confident you will enjoy the game.

Greedo is amazing and can play in all three factions. If you and your kid like Rebels, absolutely grab all the spectre cell folks and Hondo. If you're a trilogy purist like me, Han and Chewbacca are great as well as Jabba and the Emperor.

Is there a good female character in the core set, as I’m considering trying to get my daughter involved as well? Or would I be best off getting Leia or Hera Syndulla ( She has both as LEGO figures, and a large scale Sgt Jyn Erso)

7 hours ago, Herr Style said:

Is there a good female character in the core set, as I’m considering trying to get my daughter involved as well? Or would I be best off getting Leia or Hera Syndulla ( She has both as LEGO figures, and a large scale Sgt Jyn Erso)

The only strong females in the core box are Jyn Odan and Diala Passil, both original heroes for the game. If You want to get your daughter involved, I would suggest getting Hera as she is one of the strongest females in Star Wars and a really good addition to the game. Plus she comes with Chopper whose also pretty good.

Also, Sabine is awesome and the general value of the Zeb and Sabine pack is great.

2 hours ago, Ram said:

Also, Sabine is awesome and the general value of the Zeb and Sabine pack is great.

I second that.

I can see this is going to get expensive.

19 hours ago, Herr Style said:

Is there a good female character in the core set, as I’m considering trying to get my daughter involved as well? Or would I be best off getting Leia or Hera Syndulla ( She has both as LEGO figures, and a large scale Sgt Jyn Erso)

Jyn is great. She's fast, has decent health for her points cost and rolls a white and has nimble and cunning on defence. Your daughter will have fun rolling dodges! She can also use on the lam and run for cover among other nice smuggler cards if you end up getting any of them.

Also, with hair trigger, she'll get to surprise you. Save some money and use her and see if your daugther likes the game. I see people say use Hera, but I find she's mostly support and therefore boring. Let your daughter use a fun exciting figure!

10 hours ago, Herr Style said:

I can see this is going to get expensive.

Oh, you have no idea. I've already spent $250+ on the game and I don't have close to all the expansions, but that's my goal. Slow and steady wins the race, and all that.

I thought I was done with X Wing, but my son has other ideas. Armada still have a few more ships to buy. And now this. Will more than likely get Imperial Assault for Fathers day. 🤩

1 hour ago, Herr Style said:

I thought I was done with X Wing, but my son has other ideas. Armada still have a few more ships to buy. And now this. Will more than likely get Imperial Assault for Fathers day. 🤩

As a "gift" from your kids or are you just gonna flat out pull the Dad Card and say, "It's my day, I can buy what I want"?

13 minutes ago, GuillotineTE said:

As a "gift" from your kids or are you just gonna flat out pull the Dad Card and say, "It's my day, I can buy what I want"?

A gift for sure! They are canny shoppers for eight and ten year olds! 🤣

On 3/28/2019 at 11:47 PM, Herr Style said:

A gift for sure! They are canny shoppers for eight and ten year olds! 🤣

That’s great! I think I got Bespin for my birthday and Jabbas Realm for Fathers Day. The kids love giving me IA gifts because they like playing , but also they know how much I love it.

On 3/27/2019 at 5:02 PM, Herr Style said:

Is there a good female character in the core set, as I’m considering trying to get my daughter involved as well? Or would I be best off getting Leia or Hera Syndulla ( She has both as LEGO figures, and a large scale Sgt Jyn Erso)

If you ever do the campaign with her, Diala is about as good as it gets. 5 or 6 expansions later and she's still top tier. For skirmish, IMO it doesn't get any better than the alliance rangers. They aren't a unique figure so it might not be quite as relatable as a Leia or Hera, but they're awesome to play with.

Sabine would be another good choice.

Really, there's quite a few bad *** ladies in rebels so plenty of options.

Thanks for all the input! I’m thinking of starting in June on Father’s Day buying the following in this order: -

Imperial Assault Core set

Everything else

😁