It seems like the way to start is to get:

2x Core set

1x everything else

That everyone pretty much seems to agree with. From here, what do people like to double, triple or even quadruple up on?

I was thinking of adding

1 more tie (for a total of 6)

1 more bomber

1 more squint

1 imperial aces (for a total of 4 squints) ... maybe 2 imperial aces for a total of 6 squints

1 more B wing

1 more Y wing

1 more Slave I

Do people run 2 A wings frequently? I am going to wait on the rebel transport to pick up my 4th x-wing.

I agree with the 2x core + 1 of everything inc tie booster n xwing booster

Next I look at what you want and need. I want sensor jammers on my bwings so I would be buying a shuttle.

If you can afford it, that's a really good list. If the bill for all those ships shocks you, you could always concentrate on one side or the other (Rebels or Empire) and fill out the rest of the list later. I find that a lot of people buy extra ships but never actually run them all, so it might be worth your while to design a few squads and only buy as needed.

Do people run 2 A wings frequently? I am going to wait on the rebel transport to pick up my 4th x-wing.

I really like A-Wings. I would recommend that you get a 2nd A-Wing before you get a 2nd Y-Wing. With Waves 2 and 3 here I think the days of running multiple Y-Wings are over.

I would get at least two A-Wings. Three may be too much. I think four interceptors is the max you will want. It is for me at least. Everything else looks real solid. I plan on getting another bomber (to make 4). And another Y-Wing to make three. But that's just me. I love the Y and Bomber.

You can "start" with relatively few ships. 2 cores and one of everything is good, I would say an ideal balance between money spent and variety/value of ships owned would look something like this:

2x core set

3-4 x-wings (total)

1-2 Y-wings

1-2 A-wings

2 B-wings

1 Falcon

1 HWK

5-6 TIEs (total)

2-3 interceptors

1 TIE advanced

1-2 bombers

1-2 firesprays

1 shuttle

This gives you enough ships to make a wide variety of logical squadrons. Obviously you can't do many of the specialist squadrons that only run one ship type (most of which don't seem that impressive anyway) or some of the other silly builds out there but in terms of what you will probably use the most this seems like the ideal point so far. If you find you like a ship and wish you had more you can always buy some later once you know which ones they are. The one ship I'm not 100% sure on yet is the B-wing but I think 2 is a good number at the moment

My collection is much larger than this and I find myself not using a lot of my ships very often, which I don't really mind but there are definitely logical limits if you are trying to be a bit more frugal

Yeah if you can/want to drop that much $ on it go crazy. One cool thing about this game is that you can actually build a very competitive list on a budget. Some guys playing Attack Wing at our LGS inquired about cost last night and I used the example of the GenCon winning squad that would require 2 cores and an X-wing expansion and then worse case scenario borrow some pilot upgrade cards. And even if you couldn't borrow them I don't think it would be that bad to buy the other expansions just for the cards.

Pick a faction and figure out a good list then total up what you need to build it.

I agree with the 2x core + 1 of everything inc tie booster n xwing booster

That's what I'm doing.

New to both the game and the forum...so hello. Just picked up a copy of the core set today and was planning on coming on here and asking what expansions people would advise for my first couple of purchases, reading this has me wondering if my first purchase should in fact be another core set? or should I add a bit of variety first?

Do people run 2 A wings frequently?

i like running a 4 a-wing (green squadron) list with 4 homing missiles and veteran instincts..i've had pretty descent success with it too.. i regret buying a 5th a-wing though.. a 5 a-wing list is complete garbage.. the only positive i got out of it was a 5th push the limit, though i'm not sure i'll even need it

buying up to 7 tie fighters are worth it, the swarm with Howlrunner is still very dangerous and a good solid list

New to both the game and the forum...so hello. Just picked up a copy of the core set today and was planning on coming on here and asking what expansions people would advise for my first couple of purchases, reading this has me wondering if my first purchase should in fact be another core set? or should I add a bit of variety first?

definitely a secondary core set, the cost alone is worth the price for the ships and along with that you get extra dice (which i think are necessity..others may disagree) and an extra set of templates for when your first set wears out.. i haven't cracked my second set of templates yet.. but my first is starting to wear after a year of solid play and i see myself replacing them in within the next 1-3 years for sure

and buy at least 1 tie fighter and x wing expansion pack for the extra pilots and action cards that the core set doesn't come with

If you know you're only playing Rebels, skip the TIE/F expansion.

I think it is a good idea to have 7 TIEs and 4 X-Wing as a solid base, so I bought 3 starters and 1 of each of these boosters to get these as cheap as possible.

2 Firesprays with something else also seems to be a very common build.

Then 1 of everything else and extra of anything you like or need for upgrades. I don't think you need many A-Wings and TIE Advanced unless there are upgrades you want in those expansions. Same for Y-Wings, Shuttles, Falcons, and HWKs.

4 Bombers seems like a great number, as does 2 or 3 B-Wings, and at least 2 Interceptors.

i am at 31ships

3x core sets

2x Slave1

2x Falcon

2x Tie-advanced

2x A-Wing

2x Y-Wing

3x Tie-intercepter

2x Tie-fighter expansion (8 total)

2x X-Wing expansion (5 total - only can play 4 i know but one of my pegs was damaged)

2x Tie-bomber

2x B-Wing

1x HWK-290

1x Shuttle

just buy what u like playing. none can tell u what is better or worse - depends on what faction and then what ships u like.

im thinking of going up to 3-4 bombers, just want to see how good they r in numbers. possibly a 2nd HWK s well. Its good to try them out before you load up on them imo.

I did 3 starters, there just too worth it. Then 2 of every other ship, except for the large ones.

2 main sets + 1 of everything including tie and x wing.

From there it's what you will play. But I wouldn't go over board knowing at least the ace set and the x wing from the transport is coming. I think another tie bomber and b wing are useful and not likely for a repaint soon. Is like another firespray for more stealth devices but it's kinda hard to justify $30 for 2 upgrades. Beyond that I think the only other set that's not going to be sitting in a case is maybe an interceptor if you don't plan on getting two ace sets

I started with 2 core sets, as it really is good value for money. You still "need" to get an x wing and tie expansion for the extra pilots though. Id say that is a minimum.

The rest really is up to you. I focused on imperial, but wanted to build up enough so my friends (using my stuff) could have quite a bit of choice.

I've currently got.

1 falcon (friend purchased for the collective)

3 x wings

3 a wings

2 b wings

2 slave ones

1 lambda

5 ties

3 bombers

2 interceptors (I want 4 but awaiting the aces expansion)

1 advanced

the same friend has also ordered a y wing and hwk, I would like a second y wing but view them as similar to the b wing, so I can avoid letting myself buy another.

This is enough for me, for awhile (I hope). 2 friends of mine have 3 core sets between them, so we have quite a few options if we combine our stuff (for silly 400-500 point games) and to involve some of the others in our group who cant afford to get into a second or even third gaming system.

You do have to watch out for any cards you may want. Push the limit is only available in the a wing expansion, and I love that pilot skill. Stealth device is only in the slave one expansion and that is great for interceptors. Fel with push the limit and stealth is bloody awesome

Thanks for all the advice! Another core set it is then...really looking forward to building my fleet

I just bought my third B-Wing and second Falcon.

Edit: Formatting and completing the list...

I have 4 X-Wings. Only really need 3, but the 4 Rookie build is pretty fun.

I have 5 TIE Fighters (two cores, 1 expac). I'll likely get two more at some point. I haven't decided if I'm going to get a third core or two more expansions...

I still don't have any Y-Wings and desperately want 3...

I have one TIE Advanced and feel that is just right. I've never wanted to fly two Advances. I may buy a second someday... I doubt I'll ever want three.

I have 3 interceptors and I want two more, but I'm impatiently waiting for Imperial Aces...

I intend on purchasing a third A-Wing for another PTL (and I'm one of the weirdos that enjoy flying the A-Wing).

I have two Slave 1's and might buy a third.

I have two Millenium Falcons as of today. This is primarily for the 4 shield upgrades. I might try a dual Falcon build for shenanigans.

I have 3 bombers, and I think that's one too many.

As stated above, I just ordered my third B-Wing.

I'm satisfied with one Lambda and one HWK.

i started out trying to get enough of everything to run 100 points of the basic, generic pilot, but quickly screwed that goal up, so now i just kinda buy whatever I can afford. My current roster is:

2x Core Set (just right)

5x X-wing (far too many, should have stopped at 2)

2x Y-Wing (just right, but could probably find a use for a third)

3x TIE Fighter (1 shy of the basic swam list, but I'd never run that many so probably 1 more than needed)

3x TIE Advanced (WAY too many, could have gotten away with none but wanted Vader)

5x A-wing (I pre-ordered 4 and then won 1, could probably ditch 1-2 and be fine since I don't like the 5A swarm)

4x YT-1300 (Ok, there is a story here, that I'll get into later in the post...)

4x Interceptor (perfect, but with the introduction of the Imp Aces, I'm gonna double that number... probably should have stopped at 2)

2x Firespray (seems perfect to me, as 3x BH doesn't appeal to me)

3x B-wing (perfect number)

2x HWK-290 (oddly enough, 1 less than I want but 1 more than I think I'd ever fly...)

3x Bomber (I need another one, but probably wouldn't run the squad more than once so probably not worth it)

1x Shuttle (Lotta debate here, I want to like it but can't find it in my heart to enjoy the shuttle)

The Falcons... I originally bought two, to counterpart the two Firesprays and because double YT lists. Then in August when I got married, my mother bought me one to use the model as a wedding cake topper, so while I don't play with it, I have an entire third expansion. Then I went to Gencon, and only brought 1 of my YTs with me. I ended up wanting to run a double YT list on saturday, so I bought half a guy's expansion off of him (he primarily plays Imperial, so I took the ship and rebel specific cards, plus a gunner from his Slave 1, and he kept the non-falcon specific stuff) and now have 3.5 Falcon expansions. I combined the GenCon model with the cards/cardboard of the wedding cake Falcon, and plan to see it off as it's a complete expansion. The wedding cake topper model is on my bookcase so despite having 4 of the things in my house, I only have 2 in my playkit.

2x HWK-290 (oddly enough, 1 less than I want but 1 more than I think I'd ever fly...)

I am interested in hearing your thoughts on this. I can't justify buying any more because I won't fly more than one.

In looking at the cards, I'm assuming you're wanting Blaster Turrets for the Y's, and maybe the Saboteurs? Nothing else looks like anything that would justify more HWK's to me...

2x HWK-290 (oddly enough, 1 less than I want but 1 more than I think I'd ever fly...)

I am interested in hearing your thoughts on this. I can't justify buying any more because I won't fly more than one.

In looking at the cards, I'm assuming you're wanting Blaster Turrets for the Y's, and maybe the Saboteurs? Nothing else looks like anything that would justify more HWK's to me...

yup, it's primarily for the blaster turret, though I did have an idea for some super charged generic YTs with HWK support making them decent. Something like: Young Han Shoots First

Outer Rim Smuggler (29)(38 points total)

-Gunner (5)

-Chewbacca (4)

Kyle Katarn (21)(28 total)

-Recon Specialist (3)

-Blaster Turret (4)

Jan Ors (25)(34 total)

-Recon Specialist (3)

-Blaster Turret (4)

-Swarm Tactics (2)

The ORS gets a focus from Kyle, +1 attack die and PS8 from Jan, and can re-roll with the gunner, making him a miniature Han Solo. Kyle and Jan both focus, leaving Kyle with 1 to shoot with and Jan 1 to shoot with and 1 to defend with.

Well after reading all the advice here and elsewhere I think my starting point is going to be an additional core set followed by both the X-Wing and Tie expansions and then after that the Y-Wing and Tie Advanced expansions. After all of that I'll be back for further consultation