Buying X-wing miniatures as a gift which I expect will be played mainly by my family but may evolve to tournaments.
I am thinking of starting with the following:
Any suggestion re alternatives?
Alternatives I had been considering:
Slave instead of Lambda
2 Starter Sets instead instead of an X-wing, Tie Fighter and Tie Interceptor
1 x-wing and a B-wing, A-wing or Y-wing in place of the 2 x-wings.
For fun, your list is not bad. I started with the starter, them got one of each as they came out, and now that I'm trying to play more competitive, I am picking up more of them to fill needes and wants.
So I say at least one of each, for the cards and upgrades to play with, then if you are looking to play more, your gonna want to get multi of kinda each ship. A lot of builds are 2 of the same ships at least going up to 4-8 if you go swarm. Buying multi starters is not a bad idea. I got 2 of them and it's a fast way to get 3 ships. But your missing some upgrades. Maybe get a starter, then try and get one on clearance or lower priced. I got mine on clearance, and should have bought them all up, they where half price.
First off, welcome to the game.
To address the topic of what to get you off 'n flying -- I would definitely go with two Starters, if not for anything, for the extra "supplies" (tokens, movement templates, and dice [each starter comes with three Attack and Defense dice]).
Get at least one expansion (X-wing and TIE Fighter; more pilots than what's in the starter, and upgrade cards).
And get the Slave 1 (Firespray) over the Lambda Shuttle.
Again, welcome to the game. You've taken your first step into a larger world. Have fun!
I'll second, or perhaps it's third already, the suggestion to go with two starters. I'm not sure what prices you're looking at but they may cost what TWO expansions cost but it gives your three fighters and the extra set of all the other things. The odd thing after that is that you'd still want an X-Wing and a TIE Fighter expansion sets as those give you access to pilots that the starter doesn't have; of those two I'd prioritize the TIE Fighter Expansion even over getting an Interceptor as five TIEs can make up a base for many Imperial squads.
Looking at the larger ships DEFINITELY get the Slave I (Firespray) over the Lambda Shuttle when starting out. The Shuttle is mostly a support ship which would be a lot more help once you've learned how to use it; it is also hard to fly effectively. The Firespray on the other hand can be your primary offensive tool for an Imperial squad to get backed up by that force of TIE Fighters.
As great as they are I certainly would NOT get two X-Wing Expansions. You need one for the pilots (Wedge being the more important one) but if you want to fly multiple X-Wings finding them in starters is often more cost effective. While you can fly three or even four X-Wings in a squadron getting one of the other rebel fighters you mention instead of an X-Wing can also work while providing you with additional options.
If I was to start buyng now, I'd probably go with the follwoing:
2x Starters (more good ships, more chits, more dice)
1x X-Wing (for a third copy of the best ship in the game along with the best pilot for it)
2x B-Wing (great to combine two of those with any other pair of rebel ships)
1x Falcon (because, Han Solo)
2x TIE Fighter (to get the best pilot and a total of 6)
2x TIE Bomber (to go along with the firespray or with a solid TIE Fighter escort)
1x Firespray (because, Boba Fett, and so you can have a heavy laser cannon for one of the B-Wings)
The shuttle is too clunky (although it comes with some nice cards); Interceptors and A-Wings are great but you can probalby leave them for later, you'll be missing a few nice cards like Push The Limit, but those work best on Int and anyway.
Thanks guys.
The starter set is slightly overpriced for me right now as I found a good wholesaler that sells the pieces cheaper than everyone else but is out of stock of the starter set. That is why I looked at only getting one as I need to pay a bit more to get it elsewhere. That said I will be probably going with the following and building from there.
2 Starters
X-wing
Tie Fighter
Millenium Falcon
Slave 1
I agree with the others. Get a starter and one of each expansion. I think I got my starter from coolstuffinc.com along with a Slave I. After you've had a chance to use the various fighters you'll get a feel for which ones you want multiples of. I am planning to get a 2nd starter so I can get the extra dice as well as boosting the size of my fleets.
I love the Lambda shuttle. It's a great ship and can be a potent addition to your fleet. However, even as shuttle mad as I am, I agree to get the Firespray over the Lambda if you are going to choose one over the other. The Lambda needs several cards to make truly effective, one of which comes from the Slave 1. It's an advanced ship that takes a bit of experience to fly well. The Firespray, out of the box, is a highly effective craft without any upgrades and is a lot of fun to play with.
The starter set is slightly overpriced for me right now as I found a good wholesaler that sells the pieces cheaper than everyone else but is out of stock of the starter set.
Check Miniature Market for starters. Last I saw they still had some in stock at $27 each
That said I will be probably going with the following and building from there.
That looks like a great way to start.
2x starters, and one of each of the other expansions. Add more as you feel out which ships you love.