If someone were just getting into x-wing, would it be recommended to get your factions conversion box if there is one for the cards, and are they still planning to publish the rest of the first edition ships

25 minutes ago, Paladin1127 said:

are they still planning to publish the rest of the first edition ships

This is highly doubtful atm.

Conversion kit plus numerous 2nd hand, ship only, purchases is very good value but still quite a financial commitment.

The 2 Clone Wars factions are entirely 2.0 only, relatively small and a good starting point for those reasons.

My recommendation would be to stick with the new releases until you're truly sucked in, then spring for the favoured faction kit and fill out from there.

E.g. 2.0 Core Set, Clone Wars squadron box plus several single CW expansions. Then later, conversion kit and the 2nd hand ships you fancy most. eBay and Facebook sale groups are good sources for the latter.

You will want for a vast plethora of upgrade cards but people will almost always be happy to loan/allow the lack of, while you're starting out. It will be permanently awkward/expensive to own every single card you may want, but that's simply the nature of things.

If, for some reason, you didn't fancy continuing with the game, reselling your starter 2.0 packs would be fairly simple.

49 minutes ago, Cuz05 said:

This is highly doubtful atm.

I wouldn’t say highly doubtful, unless the quantifier is that it also be soon. Eventually they probably will get around to at least most of them (maybe not the super esoteric legends ships?)

1 hour ago, Paladin1127 said:

If someone were just getting into x-wing, would it be recommended to get your factions conversion box if there is one for the cards, and are they still planning to publish the rest of the first edition ships

Welcome! To answer your questions..

1. The conversion kits do offer a large amount of cards, but none of them are “just the cards” - they also have all the pilot cardboard and punch for a relatively complete 1.0 collection from that faction as well. I would not be too tempted to pick one of these up unless I was rather specifically playing as a single faction and I was struggling to get some of the “common” upgrade cards (ones found mainly in just the conversion or the prequel squad packs).

2. While they once said all 1.0 ships will eventually be 2.0 ships, lack of sales in the reprinted 2.0 ships has stalled this to some degree because there is a large secondary market for most 1.0 ships - some are rare as hens teeth and ffg needs to reprint them for 2.0 badly but I don’t know when that will happen.

Now, if I was brand new to the game, I would highly recommend:

Download the rules reference off the product page and read up on the mechanics. Then, go use Table Top Simulator to give some stuff a try online for free (well less cost of tts itself). The reason I recommend this is all the factions handle differently, and depending on the play style you like can impact the fun factor of playing a specific faction. Some people just love all the styles, but many gravitate to one specific basic strategy and find ways to leverage that tactic well in their faction and ship selection.

Now, if you just downright love the aesthetics of a faction, it’s totally fine to jump in with them instead. While there are niche “some do better than others at X tactic”, the reality is that all the factions can do the same basic strategies relatively well, with the exception of Separatists being pretty devoted to swarm/numbers games.

Honestly, unless you know you can pick up lists of cheap first edition ships (i.e. plenty still in stock at your friendly local gaming store), I'd skip the city aversion kits and buy solely 2nd edition at this point.

Conversion kits were -as the name suggests - a way for existing players to quickly update their collections for 2nd edition without incurring big costs. But for a new player starting from scratch, the value is a bit more limited.

The overwhelming majority of conversion kit content is now available in 2nd edition expansions anyway.

If you know you can pick up first edition models cheap (and can get hold of the kits), or if there's something really specific you're looking for that hasn't been re-released yet, fair enough. Otherwise, may as well go all 2nd.

12 minutes ago, FTS Gecko said:

The overwhelming majority of conversion kit content is now available in 2nd edition expansions anyway.

In terms of generic and faction specific upgrade cards for the large 1.0 factions, you're simply not going to get close to owning the majority, if you solely focus on 2.0 exp packs.

With most 1st edition ships being relatively easy to come by at £5-15 each, depending on size, I am still getting value from my kit purchases, eighteen months later.

While a lot of the contents will seem superfluous at 1st, the flexibility it gives you on growing a collection is insurmountable.

For £20-30 each, I'd say they are still well worth looking at picking up, once you know you're going to dive into the faction wholesale.

If I were to suddenly, weirdly, decide to embark on a Rebel collection, I wouldn't hesitate on picking up the kit and one of the many smaller lots for sale on eBay/FB, then expanding from there.

For Resistance and FO this would be a less worthwhile tactic ofc. But Scum/Empire/Rebel, I really can't see a more complete and more economical way.

1 hour ago, Cuz05 said:

With most 1st edition ships being relatively easy to come by at £5-15 each, depending on size

Interesting that you're quoting that in pounds, because most of the online shops I use for X-Wing stuff in the UK are seriously low on first edition content these days.

Amazon UK has never been great for X-Wing stuff (I think they've only ever sold it through third parties) but some of the 1e ships are seriously expensive there if they're in stock at all.

The 1e A-Wing and TIE Interceptor are the ones that come first to mind (I saw an A-Wing for £80 the other day), but they're available in second edition so not so much of a problem there.

But bgextras, Element Games, Firestorm Games, Wayland Games, MagicMadhouse are all either completely out of 1e content or have only a handful of less popular ships.

TIE Bombers are getting harder and harder to find, and they're a movie ship without a 2e re-release. I found a U-Wing and IG-2000, but only at one shop and with only 2 or 3 in stock. These are decent ships that are also disappearing.

TIE Phantoms, E-Wings, Kihraxzes, YT-2400s, TIE Punishers are all basically impossible to find. And the Gunboat vanished before 1e was even finished.

Not saying it can't be done, or that second hand isn't an option. But I do think FFG assuming re-releases don't sell has missed at least part of the picture. While some of the re-releases were obviously part of the push of the new edition to new customers (can't launch the game without selling X-Wings), I do think they made some bad choices with which ships to re-release when, and offering 2e re-releases of the 1e ships actually in need of reprint might have turned out differently.

I guess we'll see where these 'squadron packs' end up going, that might be the get out clause that lets them re-release old 1e ship models with new content paint and avoid annoying people, but I don't think it's impossible that FFG will turn back to re-releases, say, next year. Especially if they realise that re-releasing the Gunboat and IG-2000 will probably sell more than re-releasing the Decimator or the Punishing One

2 minutes ago, GuacCousteau said:

Not saying it can't be done, or that second hand isn't an option. But I do think FFG assuming re-releases don't sell has missed at least part of the picture. While some of the re-releases were obviously part of the push of the new edition to new customers (can't launch the game without selling X-Wings), I do think they made some bad choices with which ships to re-release when, and offering 2e re-releases of the 1e ships actually in need of reprint might have turned out differently.

I guess we'll see where these 'squadron packs' end up going, that might be the get out clause that lets them re-release old 1e ship models with new content paint and avoid annoying people, but I don't think it's impossible that FFG will turn back to re-releases, say, next year. Especially if they realise that re-releasing the Gunboat and IG-2000 will probably sell more than re-releasing the Decimator or the Punishing One

This^

They needed to pick different reprints first, aside from the basic wave 1 they did. I’d happily buy a third gunboat or maybe an IG2000. I have no need for a second YV666.

32 minutes ago, ScummyRebel said:

This^

They needed to pick different reprints first, aside from the basic wave 1 they did. I’d happily buy a third gunboat or maybe an IG2000. I have no need for a second YV666.

... Although I'd quite like the Nashtah Pup repaint.

And @Cuz05 - @GuacCousteau 's post is why I used the "unless / if" disclaimers. The conversion kits are great if you already have a collection, or access to one for cheap. As time goes by however, first edition models and expansions get harder to find.

And for a new player, starting small is probably a better idea than going balls out. I stand by my comment; there's no reason for a new player to pick up the conversion kits now unless they know they can get a good quantity of first edition ships cheap, and / or there's specific first edition ships they want to field that aren't currently available in second.

Dudes. Friends, eBay and Facebook, not stores. I've spent the last 2 and half years inflating my collection this way, at those prices. Kits and the new edition have only made it easier and more cost effective.

Seek and you shall find.

Unless you want a Gunboat ofc.

1 hour ago, ScummyRebel said:

IG2000.

For eg, 2 weeks ago, I bought 2 of these off FB, after asking, for £20. And ofc, my 18 month old conversion kit supplied the cardboard.

Just now, Cuz05 said:

For eg, 2 weeks ago, I bought 2 of these off FB, after asking, for £20. And ofc, my 18 month old conversion kit supplied the cardboard.

I haven’t looked because I’d need to pilfer everything for it as I only have one conversion kit and two models currently. And the way the ship cardboard on those are, you kinda need 2x kits complete IG content to get any 3 ships on the mat at once.

And I’m not in a huge rush to do it, willing to wait for reprint. I can and have fielded 2x plus a D crew carrier for some good shenanigans. It was meant as an example of something that ffg could offer as a tempting sale.

1 minute ago, ScummyRebel said:

I haven’t looked because I’d need to pilfer everything for it as I only have one conversion kit and two models currently. And the way the ship cardboard on those are, you kinda need 2x kits complete IG content to get any 3 ships on the mat at once.

And I’m not in a huge rush to do it, willing to wait for reprint. I can and have fielded 2x plus a D crew carrier for some good shenanigans. It was meant as an example of something that ffg could offer as a tempting sale.

Oh absolutely, but I think we're at the deep end of the ship pool at this point 😄

My Lancer, 3x Viper list has to utilise a 1.0 Viper dial 😕

6 hours ago, Cuz05 said:

until you're truly sucked in , then spring for the favoured faction kit and fill out from there.

Then later , conversion kit and the 2nd hand ships you fancy most. eBay and Facebook sale groups are good sources for the latter.

Just like to emphasize these 2 qualifiers in my 1st post for the OP, in case my defence of kit plus 2nd hand ships being a good thing overwhelms these very important considerations. I don't disagree with anyone else's recommendations.