Guys, my son and I are getting into X-Wing 2.0. We are going to play Imperials and Rebels. I'm also playing Legion and have the entire Star Wars RPG collection from FFG.

So here is my question: can you provide me a 2.0 buyers guide for new a player, playing Imps and Rebels? For example, how many A-Wings would one realistically need? How may B-Wings, Tie-Defenders, etc.? Just don't want to go overboard and buy four Y-wings or three Tie-Interceptors, for example, when you would only ever run one or two of them. Is what I am saying making sense?

Yes, we will be playing casual at home for a while, but eventually I'll want to play with the guys at the store. I've read that one Tie Defender is the most you'll ever need in an Imperial list. I've read that four T-65 Xwing fighters is more than enough. Again, I hope you all can help me. Thank you in advance!

My personal advice is 1 of each ship that you like to start with...

1 A, 1Y, 1TIE/d, etc.

If you find a good deal on certain 2-ship 1e expansions and have conversion dials for those ships, definitely buy those up (Imp Aces, etc).

Tie Intercepter's awesome. I'm newer as well, and playing Separatists, but TIE Interceptor has Soontir Fel who is AWESOME.

Depends on what you like to fly as well. I wont ever fly 5x, but own 6 of them. I fly two at most in a list. Other people like flying swarms of generic pilots.

Xwings = 2 (start with two, go from there, Bwings can sub for Xwings easily)

Bwings - 2 (can sub for Xwings as they are same cost and firepower)

Awings = 1 (the fire power is weak, but they make good support (jake arvel)/filler(generics for blockers)

Ywings = 1 (start here. Dutch with proton torpedoes can fit in any rebel list 🙂 running joke here on thee forums. )

Falcons = 1 (you really dont need more, but we all end up with three)

Good start for rebels, and can make many lists. Rebels Mix and match alot of ships. So one of each of the rest is probably adequate. Uwing, Bwings, Xwings, Ywings, Awings. Just grab one of each and make a list.

Empire:

Defenders = 1 (there is a double defender lambda list, but you dont need to fly it unless you fall in love with the ship. Start with 1)

Tie X1 = 2 (Vader for sure, and Maarek sometimes as a wingman. The tempest with passive sensors is not bad filler either.)

Tie v1 = 2 (Great ship, fun to fly. All good named pilots)

Lambda = 1 (Dont get addicted to space cows. One is enough.)

Tie Interceptors = 2 (Popular lists fly mostly just Soontir, some others fly double Alphas or Sabers. Hardly ever see 3+)

Tie Fighters = 6 (A good tie swarm starts with 6 - minimum)

Reapers = 1 (If you love it, get 3, they are fun. But one is good for a start until you get the hang of them. Most list with reapers only involve one).

Strikers = 1 (If you fall it love with it, you will get 6. But just try each named pilot for now. Usually, people either swarm them or just fly 1).

Decimators = 1 (double decimator is for later in life when you have given up all hope of green dice)

At least one of each ship is a safe bet, if you like a ship a lot, especially how it plays then you can buy more. Unless you plan to go to big tournaments then don't worry so much about whats best but rather what you like. Like X-Wings? Buy them. Like Tie Bombers? Buy them.

The only Rebel ships I would be leery about getting one of would be the Auzituck and maybe the Stolen Tie Fighter. For Imps I would say the same for the Tie Agressor.

makes me wish I had someone close or friendly to play the game with. or even family. I'd totally teach the game from a story/campaign/dm-style perspective for kids too.

I would say buy two starter sets (cheap way to get 2Xs and 4 Ties [and enough dice]). From there a Y-wing, Falcon, X1 (Vader), and the interceptor, and maaaybe a Decimator, just so both factions can experience large base ships and the bomb mechanic. Then...play!

Part of what I loved about getting in to this game was loving what I had and what the game was...and then the anticipation and excitement of going and getting a new ship! The first time I tried a phantom, the mechanics blew my mind. Then with the Ghost popping a shuttle out, oh man.

I loved growing the game over time, and I would argue that growing from a reasonable base will help you enjoy the game more and for a longer time. But that's from the perspective of someone who went that route. Your path doesn't have to be the same by any means. This is an amazing game. My favorite list even includes an E-wing which you can still only get by converting a first edition model.

That being said, my top 5 favorite ships to fly for rebels and imperials:

Imperial

Decimator, Defender, Interceptor, Tie Advanced, Tie fighters.

Rebel

X-wing, Arc 170, Y-wing, E-wing, Falcon.

P.S. Also check out the card packs like Hotshots and aces (more pilots and useful cross faction cards that dont come with the aforementioned ships), Dont Tell Me the Odds (extra obstacle types), and...the bomb one (cant remember the name but gives you all the bombs lol). The second two also provide some scenarios in case you feel like spicing up your dog fights.

Have fun and welcome to X-wing!

Rebels

E-wing is kinda botched design (really expensive, but linked actiona antisynergistic with the ship ability). I would not buy one in the beginning.

If you and your child are into story mode:

You can look around for a used Auzituck, these are quite unusual in their way to fight (180 deg firing, slow turn, but Saw Gerrera especially hits hard).

Arc170 is heavy gunship fun, but no 2nd edition Rebel version as of yet available. You could buy a Republic one though, dial is identical.

Empire

Has TIE bombers as well, nobody named them so far. There exist lists with Aces + 2 Bombers. You might proxy one and see how it feels. Their nimble bombing is fun (drop sideways), especially with seismic charges, they are crit magnets, though.

I would not directly buy 6 TIE l/n. Fly 4 from the 2core sets, and see how it feels. If you like swarms, then you can buy more.

TIE Striker is fun, if you master their special movement (obligatory pre boost). Which not everyone does! I would proxy one and test a little before spending the money on the real thing.

14 minutes ago, Managarmr said:

Rebels

E-wing is kinda botched design (really expensive, but linked actiona antisynergistic with the ship ability).

Say what?

Ewing design is just fine - you can use them with r3 Astro to setup your approach for double modded shots, and later on the linked action is perfect for boosting or barrel roll to gain arc then link lock for torpedos. It used to be reallly good when protorps were cheaper, and while it’s not as good now it can still work in some games.

A good start would be a second 2nd edition core set. That way you get two X-Wings, four TIE Fighters, two damage decks, extra dice and a second set of range rulers and templates for cheaper than it would be to buy the individual models.

A good rule of thumb would be no more than one of each large base and two of the small base expansions. I'd probably stick solely to 2nd edition releases at this point as well.

But honestly? If you're flying with family at home, Just buy what you like the look of. At the end of the day... mistakes are always made:

Thank you everyone for the advice! Going to stick with 2.0 for now. Gonna grab two core sets and one of each Imp and Rebel ship and see how that goes. Take care and be safe.

42 minutes ago, Mesrob said:

Thank you everyone for the advice! Going to stick with 2.0 for now. Gonna grab two core sets and one of each Imp and Rebel ship and see how that goes. Take care and be safe.

Stay safe, and have fun! That sounds like an excellent option to get into the game.

You may ultimately want to pick up a t65 and tie fighter individual pack as well, as there are pilots unique to those packages you won’t have in the double core. And honestly 5x ties is easy to run on the board (3 t65 is a little trickier, but Wedge is 100% worth it and honestly it’s also pretty reasonable to fly 3 X all at once).

Core set, One X-wing expansion pack, Two TIE fighter expansion packs done. Done. Two X-wings versus four TIEs for a game. All the content will play back into itself too, and it gets you a solid base for any fun stuff.

Then Play 100pt games a few times. I did this as my recommendation as store rep for years as a really fun game you could practically treat as a board game for your game night. And as a 'good jump' into the game for first edition and still just as much for second. That will get you used to the basic mechanics, and a chance to play in the variations. Feel it out.

Then if your still in, get a mat to play on for comfort and ease (trust me fam, it's nice). And pick up some fun stuff. Like a Falcon and a Decimator. Or if your not sure, after that base stuff I mentioned, and a bit of time come back and tell us what you liked and we can steer you to some similar stuff to what you liked.

Welcome to the game! These, are your first... Steps. Lol

Thanks again. Purchased one Core set, and one Tie Advanced (Nostalgia for Vader) and a T65 Xwing expansion. Also bought the Death Star Assault playmat (Yavin) from Asmodee's website. Played our first game, so much fun.

I do have two questions though:

1. Wasn't the point list in 1.0 a 100 points. It's 200 points now, correct?

2. The Imperial Tie Fighters have serious quality control issues. Especially in the core. Bent and uneven panels, and the peg under the cockpit for one of mine was very uneven. Anybody else experience this?

1 hour ago, Mesrob said:

Thanks again. Purchased one Core set, and one Tie Advanced (Nostalgia for Vader) and a T65 Xwing expansion. Also bought the Death Star Assault playmat (Yavin) from Asmodee's website. Played our first game, so much fun.

I do have two questions though:

1. Wasn't the point list in 1.0 a 100 points. It's 200 points now, correct?

2. The Imperial Tie Fighters have serious quality control issues. Especially in the core. Bent and uneven panels, and the peg under the cockpit for one of mine was very uneven. Anybody else experience this?

Glad you’re having fun! Welcome to the game!

In answer to the questions:

1. yes, in 1.0 it was 100 points however many ships cost about half as much as they do now. 2.0 is about a 2:1 ratio where 2 2.0 points = 1 1.0 point. It allowed for more fine tuning in costs where something could be busted at too low a cost or useless at just 1x 1.0 point more.

A standard 2.0 game is 200 points per player.

2. ffg has had some QC misses here and there for sure. All their separatist Bulb fighters are backwards (have to rotate the base opposite direction for model to point correct way) for example. They are mostly great but the mistakes suck when they happen to you.

Can't tell you how many TIE fighter have been run through my workbench for the locals. Just call me Wattos Junk and Repair Shop.

1 hour ago, ForceSensitive said:

Can't tell you how many TIE fighter have been run through my workbench for the locals. Just call me Wattos Junk and Repair Shop.

How did you fix them? I put mine in a cup of water that had just been boiled and gently bent them back into shape. Wasn't 100% effective, but they were 90% better than before. Would love to know if you have a better technique. Thanks!

4 hours ago, Mesrob said:

How did you fix them? I put mine in a cup of water that had just been boiled and gently bent them back into shape. Wasn't 100% effective, but they were 90% better than before. Would love to know if you have a better technique. Thanks!

It depended a little on the model just because some break apart easier than others. Half the ones I did we already broke. The joints are not terribly interconnected on the TIE models and a little patient wiggling and twisting will snap the glue. The factory doesn't use much as far as I can tell. It does help to take a hobby knife and press it in to the joint to create a stress point (or multiple) before attempting. The knife might just pop it off itself if your lucky. A bit of simple scraping if needed and a spot of new super glue, hold it steady for a minute and put it in a rig if you have one, or just zip-kick it, and you should be back in business.

The TIE/advance used to fairly often have a flaw where the right panel would be toed nose in. If that happens dropping the model on a concrete surface bizarrely did the best to break it off I didn't get to it first. 🙄 Ask me how I know lol. It's panel joint is funnily enough not different from the TIE fighter usually held on by one spot

A few notes: super glue is only good in tension loads, so if you have a way to shear it or apply torsion (eyes strut to panel connections suspiciously) you can shatter the glue structure before the plastic tears if your careful. If it snaps wrong and you take a bit of the plastic, at this scale a spot of sculpting epoxy and a spot of paint hide a lot of sins. And if truly necessary, you could pin the panel back in place once apart for a stronger joint, though I've never had too yet, I have thought about it.

Shockingly I've had no problem with any of my TIE Fighters at all, except a first release TIE Phantom which had a misaligned top panel.

It's the Rebels that have been giving me gyp. Two Y-Wings that like losing their engine nacelles. One X-Wing with a peg that seemed to enjoy flying off to the right and, of course, the X-Wing laser cannons... even if they were aligned properly, they can snap off just taking them out of the blister...

This is what happens when you're a rag-tag fleet of mismatched ships using whatever tech you can get your hands on, I guess.