Hello all. I've been a lurker here for quite a while and have posted occasionally. I am trying to start a gaming group with some of my friends, and have been working tirelessly on a campaign. However, all the people I am trying to snag are noobs to the game. Thus, before they start the campaign I need to get them hooked on the game (I invited them over to play today). I am trying to plan a balanced team for both sides for team play. Right now money is tight (add to that by the time I got serious with the game Wave 1 was out of stock) so here's what I have so far:

2x Core Sets

1x A-wing

1x YT-1300

1x TIE Interceptor

1x TIE Bomber

1x Firespray-31

From these, I am trying to make a 100pt match that will be a fair fight. Any suggestions on how to do this would be appreciated.

My first thought would be that you could go with a modified Swarm. Then I realized you don't have Howlrunner (Tie FIghter Expansion), so that wouldn't be nearly as good.

I'd go with:

Empire

Krassis Trellix
-Heavy Laser Cannon

-Cluster Missiles

-Recon Specialist

[50]

Captain Jonus

-Squad Leader

-Seismic Charges

[26]

Academy Pilot

[12]

Academy Pilot

[12]

========================================================================================

Rebel Alliance

Lando Calrissian

-Nien Numb

-Gunner

[50]

Luke Skywalker

-R2-D2

-Draw Their Fire

[33]

Prototype Pilot

[17]

There are many other fleets that you could do, but these two shouted at me pretty hard.

You could also go with

Rebel Alliance

Tycho Celchu

-Push the Limit

-Stealth Device

[32]

Luke Skywalker

-R2-D2

-Draw Their Fire

-Shield Upgrade

[37]

Biggs Darklighter

-R2-F2

-Stealth Device

[31]

I think if you play both the YT1300 and the firespray the game will probably work out even. For best results I would probably do Krassis Trelix with the heavy laser cannon upgrade as the firespray pilot.

Other than that, I would try to make sure the TIE bomber has ordinance of some sort (obviously) and just let the players choose their own pilots and upgrades within the point limit. Trying to fiddle with a lot of fancy abilities and team setups may be too much for new players to really make use of

A setup like Firespray+3 fighters vs the Falcon and 2 fighters seems good. If you are afraid of the rebel side being too strong (or easy, since they tend to be much easier to play for new players, especially with the Falcon in play), make sure one of the rebel fighters is an A-wing rather than two x-wings.

From these, I am trying to make a 100pt match that will be a fair fight.

I think the best thing you could do, is cut that down to a 50 point list. 2 X's vs 4 Tie Fighters.

100 points can be somewhat daunting for a new player, too many options and too many ships to keep track of. Let them get a game or 3 under their belt with some fairly simple lists. Then go on to the 100 point games.

From these, I am trying to make a 100pt match that will be a fair fight.

I think the best thing you could do, is cut that down to a 50 point list. 2 X's vs 4 Tie Fighters.

100 points can be somewhat daunting for a new player, too many options and too many ships to keep track of. Let them get a game or 3 under their belt with some fairly simple lists. Then go on to the 100 point games.

A game at 50 points (I like Chewbacca + Gunner, to simplify things farther) to get the basics down is definitely a good way to break in beginners.

I always start noobs with just the core set battle: Luke vs. Night Beast and an Obsidian.

I also don't use asteroids. It gives them a chance to get use to the basic mechanics before throwing full squads at them.

From these, I am trying to make a 100pt match that will be a fair fight.

I think the best thing you could do, is cut that down to a 50 point list. 2 X's vs 4 Tie Fighters.

100 points can be somewhat daunting for a new player, too many options and too many ships to keep track of. Let them get a game or 3 under their belt with some fairly simple lists. Then go on to the 100 point games.

A game at 50 points (I like Chewbacca + Gunner, to simplify things farther) to get the basics down is definitely a good way to break in beginners.

I'd avoid a falcon/gunner combo for the first match. It's going to feel really unfair to the new imperial player

If the people have never played before, 100 points is a LOT. Even though the mechanics are fairly simple, the squad-building, unique abilities, upgrade cards, ship options, etc.will be overwhleming to a beginner. Take baby steps.

If I'm teaching 1 person, I'll run:

X-Wing (Rookie Pilot)

+ Proton Torpedoes

against

TIE Fighter (Obsidian Squadron Pilot)

TIE Fighter (Academy Pilot)

Let the learner pick which side they want. This game teaches all the basics of play (initiative, maneuvering, actions, attacks) as well as introducing secondary weapons, without overwhelming them with special circumstances or abilities.

I am teaching three people and helping a fourth. I might run a 50 point 2 X vs. 4 TIE game (each player gets a TIE, I pilot the X's). Does that sound reasonable?

Does that sound reasonable?

Unless they want to fly the Imp list, I'd give them the X's. 2 X's is a lot easier to get the hang of then 4 Ties.

My 50 point demo list is Luke, Rookie w/R2 Astromech and 4x Accademy Pilot. Gives a good feel for the larger game but keeps the amount of ships and options down.

I try to avoid a lot of upgrades and too many named pilots when I first teach someone the game. They can focus on the core mechanics to learn first. That being said, one or two named pilots is usually not too many and does add a lot of fun to the game.

Things that tend to be easier for new pilots to play:

Lower skilled pilots (as you get better having a higher pilot skill is really useful, but it is hard to capitalize on it when you ar first starting out)

YT-1300 with 360 firing arcs (I usually do Han, becasue he's so cool)

Y-Wings with ion cannos also easy to use.

TIE Swarms - they are hard to learn to play really well, but only against opponents who know how to fight them.

I actually find The Falcon vs Lot's of TIEs a fun way to introduce people to the game.

The Falcon is really good and easy to play well if you are new. I find that balances well with the YT-1300 being the natural prey for TIE swarms.

I like this becasue it shows the extreems of the game.

It would be a good idea for both opponents to play both sides so they can get a chance with both types of play.

On the other hand, giving them a pilot whose name they know right off the bat could easily help them fall in love with the game.

Luke Skywalker + R2-D2 is 32 points.
If he's up against two ships that average 16 points, that's pretty reasonable.

On the other hand, giving them a pilot whose name they know right off the bat could easily help them fall in love with the game.

Luke Skywalker + R2-D2 is 32 points.

If he's up against two ships that average 16 points, that's pretty reasonable.

This is a great way to get your friends into playing. I know I started because i can play as my favorite characters AND make squads based around them. Big fan of theme based lists here!

Ok, so here's what I came up with:

REBELS (57):

Luke+R2-D2

Rookie+Proton Torpedoes

EMPIRE (56):

Mauler Mithel

Night Beast

2x Academy

Does that seem balanced, or should I chuck one of the Imperial named for generics?

Can you do Dark Curse instead of Night Beast, to bring it to even fleet numbers?

The other option is randomising squads: http://fabpsb.free.fr/rindex.php#etiquette

I'd avoid a falcon/gunner combo for the first match. It's going to feel really unfair to the new imperial player

Which is why you take on the role of the Imperial player. Presumably if you're trying to get others to play you probably SHOULD "stack the deck" in their favor and be ready to take some lumps while getting them hooked.

Cilionelle: That site is awesome!

Also, to the op. I started my first game with just one x wing and one tie fighter (start with two of each so everybody has one). We just played to get the rules. then we played somewhere around 35 points because we only had a starter. I found it was helpful because there was not an overload of rules. We started with just movement and firing, then added actions, then in the third game put some special abilities and mods in. The first two games in this case lasted around 15 or 20 minutes each. I would recommend starting simple, then explain squad building and let everybody choose what they want to use out of what you have. Who cares if the fleets are balanced? Who cares if you miss a rule or two? Part of the fun is figuring it out.

Thanks all for the advice. I used my squad (I almost did put Dark Curse in, probably would next time[didnt read the post suggesting that until after the match, and for some reason didn't even consider him, though he is one of my favorite TIEs]) and the full rules. There were 2 people per side (each Imperial player had a named and an Academy, I flew Rookie, the other person flew Luke). Everything went really well; Rebels won, but only because of a really good first strike, with Luke at range 3 with a TL one-shotting a TIE on the first turn we were in range. The Imperials put up a good fight, but a few other bad evade roles turned the tides for them in the end. All the players had a blast and they want to play more! We have plans to play again in 3–4 weeks. Next time I am going to introduce big ships.

For a first match with large ships, I'd suggest "The Secret Plans" as posted over at The Metal Bikini. http://www.themetalbikini.com/2013/08/seans-lengthily-titled-article.html The rebels only have one ship, and, as it's Chewy, don't have to deal with critical damage.

with Luke at range 3 with a TL one-shotting a TIE on the first turn we were in range.

I bet that the person who did that became a fan of the game right then and there.

It's the little moments like that, that really make this game special to me. I remember one game where it was 2 X's vs 1 Tie Fighter left. They banked left to face the TF head on, at R1, the first one opened fire and finished it off. It felt like it came right out of a movie.

with Luke at range 3 with a TL one-shotting a TIE on the first turn we were in range.

I bet that the person who did that became a fan of the game right then and there. :)It's the little moments like that, that really make this game special to me. I remember one game where it was 2 X's vs 1 Tie Fighter left. They banked left to face the TF head on, at R1, the first one opened fire and finished it off. It felt like it came right out of a movie.

Yup he did. Also found out that one of he other players is a natural Imperial: he barrel rolls like the best of them. There were a coue times he rolled out of both of our firing arcs.

From these, I am trying to make a 100pt match that will be a fair fight.

I think the best thing you could do, is cut that down to a 50 point list. 2 X's vs 4 Tie Fighters.

100 points can be somewhat daunting for a new player, too many options and too many ships to keep track of. Let them get a game or 3 under their belt with some fairly simple lists. Then go on to the 100 point games.

Yup. That's exactly what I was going to say.

with Luke at range 3 with a TL one-shotting a TIE on the first turn we were in range.

I bet that the person who did that became a fan of the game right then and there. :)It's the little moments like that, that really make this game special to me. I remember one game where it was 2 X's vs 1 Tie Fighter left. They banked left to face the TF head on, at R1, the first one opened fire and finished it off. It felt like it came right out of a movie.

Yup he did. Also found out that one of he other players is a natural Imperial: he barrel rolls like the best of them. There were a coue times he rolled out of both of our firing arcs.

I've been teaching my nine-year old daughter to play, and she is amazingly good at using barrel rolls. I'm very impressed with her ability to decide what maneuvers will get her where she wants to go.