This is what I was hoping we'd see in the new formats, easier player entry. And the fact that it's being testified to by even a first edition converter, after a rotation, is testament to its ability in that direction. I think this is a good sign, even if it is only one testimony. And that a thread got necrotic for it doesn't even bother me lol. Thanks, @Spinland . Glad you were still able to find some wisdom in the 'Jedi archives', just don't go looking for planets, they have a tendency to go missing lol 😂 . And a hearty WELCOME to the game!

I long advocated the formatting of the game. Actually, Magic's Standard was always a comparison we tried to push for. A major part of that was Core sets. It's been such an effective model for Magic that when they briefly did away with it, new player entry suffered. The whole format suffered. The expansions and blocks (comparable to our 'waves' for the blessedly uninitiated into magic) even suffered without the base of material that the numbered, or as they are now M-XX where XX is the year, as they were sets provided the designers to build on and give some underlying structure. They ended up bringing 'core sets' back for all these reasons.

To that parallel, I imagine the core set, factions starters, and squadron packs will still always be good start points for a new player. All that needs to happen is that the ships in said box become HS legal alternatingly. Like our v19 is out of format for now, but I suspect it will be back next year and the Aethersprite will be out. Where Magic gets a new core every year, we will get one for each faction that shares itself around over the years. And certain ships like the X-wing or TIE, for either Faction they are a key part of, will always have it in HS.

After that, it's fine to me to ask new players to buy a bit of other stuff to go to an event. New players usually play Casual to start anyway, so much of this is moot. Once they have some of that initial inventory, something had to keep them investing. Going all the way back to when I started hosting the events at a FLGS, I instituted a rule for registering: we'd waive your $5 entry fee if you bought an X-wing product. Generally after five players entered, the OP kit is payed for either way. Either in profit off the retail sales, or just cash. Almost always people just bought an expansion blister anyway, which just grew the local collections and player base. Win-win.

I think my local area would be in a good position to use that rule universally now with Hyperspace. I hope it helps any who read it here, in their area as well. Especially because if your store is being cool about it and someone shows up with the wrong ships unknowingly, they have the option to just buy something to use that day and keep for home, still play the event without 'paying to enter', and not be out a dime. Even picking up a participation promo as a bonus! Just make sure you catch them at the register, or allow their entry fee to be a credit towards purchase in case of a goof 😁

Thanks for the extra insight, @ForceSensitive ! I appreciate getting to peek under the hood now and again, and I also understand the business aspect of this: my eldest daughter and her SO ran a FLGS until they finally had to throw in the towel, and my local soon-to-be supplier deals gaming supplies on the side alongside his main business because he can't make ends meet on gaming stuff alone. We're semi-rural and not exactly a hotbed of gaming demographics but it's home. 😎 🍺

I'm inferring from your remarks about rotation that some stuff that dropped off the Hyperspace list over the past year has a chance to return eventually? Won't try to pin you down on specific decisions but I'm about to inherit some 1.0 Black Sun stuff (that I'm ordering conversion kits for) and it'd be nice be have them come back onto the blessed list. *coughcoughStarViperscoughcough*

I've been beating the bushes for interested X-Wing gamers around here and have turned up a couple so, once virus-related restrictions ease up, I might be able to help engineer some demand in my local sphere of influence—and some folks to play this game with, so win-win.

@Spinland Sorry to hear about the store, it's not easy for them to survive I know. We are sadly a niche market. I'm super lucky to be an a very urbanized area. There's been a constant presence of FLGS for years making the market rough for the area in competition ironically. Any given moment there's about 6 stores within the same hour drive from the city center. Only so much the market can support even with our areas love of games 😔

As far as we know, and this is just from what FFG had said in various statements and so far held to, yes, Various ships will come and go from the Hyperspace format. Extended will be all ships always. Both formats will see use in tournament organization. So your Vipers still have a home even when not in HS, and still a good idea to keep sharp on skill wise. Eventually at some point your Vipers will surely be HS legal.

This rotation with all that's going on in current events, was not what we should come to expect of future rotations. How many ships come and go is still not known as to what FFG is really looking for. They just didn't have enough event info to really make some decisions this year. I suspect there will be more change in future rotations. But I also suspect some 'usual suspects' to always be around.

Realistically, they could have each faction in HS have a main fighter, a bomber, an interceptor, a shuttle (ish), and then something 'cool', and something that 'doesn't sell well and needs pushed'. And for just my opinion, that's all good in my book. But we could also get some HS seasons that are 'big gun' themed, or 'covert ops' themed. And that's something I personally hope for.

16 hours ago, ForceSensitive said:

Realistically, they could have each faction in HS have a main fighter, a bomber, an interceptor, a shuttle (ish), and then something 'cool', and something that 'doesn't sell well and needs pushed'. And for just my opinion, that's all good in my book. But we could also get some HS seasons that are 'big gun' themed, or 'covert ops' themed. And that's something I personally hope for.

Interesting idea! I can already see how this "live" concept of what fits and what things cost lends itself to a fluid environment. I only played a bit of Magic (last time was 4th Edition) but I seem to remember concern about metas getting stale and settling into just a few powerful deck types. Maybe my attitude will change over time (at my age, not a huge chance) but, as things stand now, I'm more interested in getting to play with a lot of fun and interesting toys than I am in piling up tourney wins.

20 hours ago, Spinland said:

I It's probable that what drew me to the Resistance for my first faction is I love how the T-70 is more faithful to the original McQuarrie concept art and so I had to up and buy a quartet of them as my first purchase—then rationalize some casual-play lists that leverage them after the fact. 🙃

4 T-70s is a strong start, to be sure - two of the strong lists have already been mentioned in this thread.

Welcome to the game; may it be a hobby for many years!

Just a quick bit on ships coming back into rotation. It will happen and, in fact he’s already happened. I didn’t know it at the time because I haven’t bothered to look at the hyperspace legal list since I won’t be playing X-Wing for a while yet, but most V-19 pilots have already cycled back into rotation.

6 minutes ago, FatherTurin said:

...most V-19 pilots have already cycled back into rotation.

Yeah, I noticed that yesterday. I was watching a video podcast and someone mentioned them and I was curious over their actual current status and checked.

I totally forgot about that lol 😅 😂