So I stopped playing right around the release of 2nd edition due to time and family issues. Started looking back into the game and was wondering if anyone still plays with the the resistance/rebellion and first order/empire combined rules with the 2nd edition costs and cards? Or is this way too broken? I really enjoyed sheathapede/t70/alphabet soup lists at the end there and was wondering if this would even be possible to play this still in casual, or would I just play vs nightmare combos?

I think most folks would prefer to play against a single faction. If you showed up at my casual night, I mean, I'd still play, but I'd "strongly hint" that follow the 2e squadbuilding rules next time.

However, there's a decent number of options for each faction that probably fill the needs. Resistance Transport and Transport Pod both sorta fill the role that something like a Sheathipede did. A great thread on multiple T-70 + other stuff lists is here. Not all of it is currently valid, since the thread started a while ago and points just updated, but it's worth a look.

16 hours ago, Ayleron said:

So I stopped playing right around the release of 2nd edition due to time and family issues. Started looking back into the game and was wondering if anyone still plays with the the resistance/rebellion and first order/empire combined rules with the 2nd edition costs and cards? Or is this way too broken? I really enjoyed sheathapede/t70/alphabet soup lists at the end there and was wondering if this would even be possible to play this still in casual, or would I just play vs nightmare combos?

I would not be inclined to let you have it both ways. Casual for me doesn't mean throw the squad-building rules out the window. Casual means I don't mind your FO TIEs or FO SF TIES being used as the models for Empire TIE/Ln with appropriate dials and cards.

I feel like asking to play with old squad lists is gonna get dangerous quick, because someone will roll up with Kylo/Vader/Vonreg (or some such iteration that fits), and will kite and points fortress until the game ends.

They've definitely separated out the factions for balance issues - even just being able to put things like Fanatical on shieldless Imperial ships would shatter the action economy into 1e levels of broken.

So, yah. They've been separated for a reason, and are really fun as is. Because you would just be playing against nightmare combos.

On 1/12/2020 at 5:55 PM, Ayleron said:

So I stopped playing right around the release of 2nd edition due to time and family issues. Started looking back into the game and was wondering if anyone still plays with the the resistance/rebellion and first order/empire combined rules with the 2nd edition costs and cards? Or is this way too broken? I really enjoyed sheathapede/t70/alphabet soup lists at the end there and was wondering if this would even be possible to play this still in casual, or would I just play vs nightmare combos?

I totally get the potential dismay at having your two beloved factions split into four less-familiar ones. Totally get it. When I got back in last year, I swore that I was gonna start small just with Scum and First Order based on what factions my favorite 1.0 ships ended up in in 2.0. Well, that and I was gonna splash a bit of Republic because I love me some prequels.

I’ll let you guess where I stand a year later (hint: I lurve this game). But I’ve been there. Somehow cumulatively low on ship options in each new faction and not fancying the buy-in on a bunch of ruddy conversion kits? Absolutely been there.

But the game’s so much better now. So much more balanced. Sure, imbalances creep in. But even the imbalanced stuff gets fixed before long. And I mean “fixed,” not fixed via XYZ add-on card in PDQ aces rerelease.

So: I’d urge you to start small, and with the ships you enjoyed most. If your jam was Sheathipede + T-70 + a variety of Rebel mainstays, I’d propose that maybe a Rebel conversion kit would be a good starting point? You’d have to get by with the T-65 instead of the T-70, but honestly it’s a much better ship overall than the 1.0 version was. And as long as you can live with that switch, the rest of what you mentioned should check out.

Resistance could be a good faction to grow into later. I’m enjoying them immensely in 2.0. But a decent amount of their options in 2.0 come from ships not covered by the conversion kit, so you’d probably be looking at a bigger buy to do them “right.”

Empire/FO can also be good, though I do think they’re finding value in divergent growth paths. Empire remains the hordes & aces faction; FO is more the bad-attitude, “Go on, shoot me, I dare ya” types.

Scum has been feast or famine. I heard they were stupid broken good at the beginning of 2.0. They’ve felt somewhat toothless for about the last year. But the latest points update has helped a lot (I think).

On 1/12/2020 at 6:55 PM, Ayleron said:

So I stopped playing right around the release of 2nd edition due to time and family issues. Started looking back into the game and was wondering if anyone still plays with the the resistance/rebellion and first order/empire combined rules with the 2nd edition costs and cards? Or is this way too broken? I really enjoyed sheathapede/t70/alphabet soup lists at the end there and was wondering if this would even be possible to play this still in casual, or would I just play vs nightmare combos?

2nd edition was made essentially to stop those end game lists so you might have trouble finding someone who wants to deal with that. I loved first edition up until the the last year of it, and only vaguely enjoy second edition. and Ive been having similar issues finding games I enjoy. Homebrew is awesome but its a hard sell to get people outside a small and consistent play group to agree what rules should be different.