I'm interested in flying first order, resistance and/or rebels and was wondering what some good new player friendly lists would be. Some of my friends are also interested in empire and scum so really any lists that might be good for new players would be appreciated. I've been flying a rebel list that I cobbled together of things that I thought looked cool playing with a few people at my local shop but we are all really new to the game and don't know what we are doing.

If everyone is new, take a look at the escalation format in the rule book, and quick builds. That’s a great place to start. There are PDFs for quick builds for every ship at https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/x-wing-second-edition/

1 hour ago, Opsmason said:

If everyone is new, take a look at the escalation format in the rule book, and quick builds. That’s a great place to start. There are PDFs for quick builds for every ship at https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/x-wing-second-edition/

Ah, that's really helpful. Thanks!

These are beginner lists I have made. They are mostly thematically fun, and I try to incorporate abilities that are not head scratchers, while also working on skills like blocking (most lists has a low ps ship). I also take into account only buying 2nd Edition releases, staying away from conversion kits (when I can), and also buying minimal amount of ships to be kind to the wallet. All lists assume you have at least the core set.

Rebels

Luke Skywalker (62)
Hull Upgrade (5)
Servomotor S-Foils (0)

Wedge Antilles (52)
Servomotor S-Foils (0)

Blue Squadron Escort (41)
Servomotor S-Foils (0)

Gray Squadron Bomber (31)
Ion Cannon Turret (4)
Proton Bombs (5)
Total: 200

Two fun themed aces, a turret ywing, and some bomb fun. Simple upgrades, easy to fly, and thematic as ****. Ace abilities are easy to trigger and dont require actions or special range requirements.

BUY: Xwing, Ywing, and the third Xwing can easily be subbed for a Bwing or another Ywing, or anything really for around 41pts, as its there just to provide beef.

Empire

Darth Vader (65)
Fire-Control System (2)

“Howlrunner” (40)

Iden Versio (40)

Gideon Hask (30)

Academy Pilot (23)
Total: 200

I like force users for new players to help not crush them when they bump or fly onto rocks. So I present Vader, greatest of all force users. Easy ability as he just spends force to do more and more actions. You also get a little miniswarm to prepare you for the 6 and 7 ship swarms. The academy is here to practice the blocking skills.

BUY: two ties, and tie advance.

Scum

Old Teroch (56)
Fearless (3)

Boba Fett (86)
Perceptive Copilot (8)

Zealous Recruit (44)
Total: 197

Everyones favorite bounty hunter Boba Fett. Pretty easy ability to trigger. He can be built to have a billion upgrades, but Im keeping it simple here. Take a focus action, get two. Other than that, he is just big mean Boba Fett. He is accompanied by two fangs. One is a low initiative fang to practice blocking, while the other is a scary mofo ace named Old Teroch. All three at range 1 of an enemy is a dead enemy.

BUY: Firespray and Two fangs and you are set!

Resistance

Poe Dameron (68)
Heroic (1)
R4 Astromech (2)
Integrated S-Foils (0)
Black One (2)

Nien Nunb (55)
Heroic (1)
Integrated S-Foils (0)

L’ulo L’ampar (38)
Heroic (1)

Blue Squadron Recruit (32)
Total: 200

The main man, Poe! His double actions are great for new players wanting to learn ace flying, since he is also beefy with 6hp, one mistake doesnt mean D.E.A.D. He also comes with a get out of jail free card called Black One. His wingmates are Nein Numb, and simple ability to use and effective for newbs to stay stress free. Also, two of the new resistance Awings. If you are gonna fly resistance, you need to master these dudes, plus they are the most fun ship to fly. You get Ace Lulo and also a ps1 awing to practice your blocking skills.

BUY: Two T70s, Two Awings.

First Order

Kylo Ren (76)
Hate (3)

“Quickdraw” (45)
Predator (2)
Pattern Analyzer (5)
Special Forces Gunner (10)

Epsilon Squadron Cadet (28)

Epsilon Squadron Cadet (28)
Total: 197

Its everyones favorite, Kylo! Again, force user! I paired him with Quickdraw. QD can be tricky to fly, but the SF is one of my favorite ships and is really fun. To go along with the aces are two ps1 blockers. They take up space and plink damage. Keep them out in front of Quickdraw to make the enemy come through them to get to QD while Kylo flanks. The list has force, aces, jousters, and blockers. Everything a newb needs to practice. (the two TIE F/Os can be subbed out for an Upsilon Starkiller Base or another silencer if you already own those and dont want to buy two more ships!)

BUY: Silencer, Tie S/F, TIE F/O, TIE F/O. First Order Conversion Kit

Republic

Obi-Wan Kenobi (53)
Delta-7B (17)

Anakin Skywalker (60)
Delta-7B (18)

Gold Squadron Trooper (25)

Gold Squadron Trooper (25)
Total: 198

It's Obi and Anakin together! Master and Apprentice! Easy abilities to use and thematic. Pair them with two clone troopers (or 1 Arc like Wolffe depending on what you bought). This list is very economical.

BUY: Guardians of Republic Pack, 1 Delta.

CIS

I dont recommend this faction to new players as its full of weird tricks and networking and Dooku alone can have 6 or 7 triggers per round to remember. Also, flying 5-8 droids can be brutal on the wallet. But, if you must, I made a simple list that only requires the Separatist Pack and 1 Sith Infiltrator. Very economical to try the faction out:

Darth Maul (65)
Hate (3)
Proton Torpedoes (12)
Kraken (10)

Wat Tambor (43)
Trick Shot (2)
Impervium Plating (6)
Soulless One (10)

Trade Federation Drone (20)
Energy-Shell Charges (4)

Trade Federation Drone (20)
Energy-Shell Charges (4)
Total: 199

Everyones favorite Sith, Darth Maul. His ability is simple and straight forward to use, compared to Dooku. Normally, you want him paired with Palpatine, but thats more triggers to remember and Palps is NPE to newbs you are playing against, so I went for good old Proton Torps instead. Simple to use and packs a punch, especially with double shot Maul. Ive paired Maul with two droids. They are simple and can block and be pests and the Energy Shells give them a little bite. Mauls main wingmate though is Wat Tambor who gets rerolls pretty easily thanks to Kraken on Maul and brings some beef also thanks to Souless One and Impervium Plating, making him essentially a 9 hit-point monster.

BUY: Separatist Pack, Sith Infiltrator

Wurms, thanks so much for taking the time to type that up for me! Its greatly appreciated

@Prof River Song

Out of curiosity, what made you and your friends jump into X-wing?

New faces are rare in my neck of the galaxy.