A friend just got the starter for me as a present. I'm probably NEVER going to play competitive. So for fun factor, how should I proceed in my next purchases for this game so that 1. We are not overwhelmed immediately with card choice, and 2. We can maximize our thematic fun!
Just got starter, what next?
Your best bet is to get another Core set and if you want 1 (or 2 depending if you want doubles) Edge of Darkness. The force packs are nice, but you get much more bang for your buck outta another Core set and EoD. It will also let you build a large spread of decks.
Concur on this one. The Core and Edge of Darkness (EoD) will get you Yoda, Luke, Obi, Leia, Han, Lando, Chewie, Falcon, Home One, C-3P0, R2D2, Red 5, Emperor Palpatine, Vader, Tarkin, Motti, Devastator, Rancor, Jabba, Boba Fett (don't be disappointed), Bossk, Slave 1, etc.
I only play casual and have been playing for about ten months. I figured that I would chime in and say that for casual play you really, really don't need to copies of the core. Four of us have been playing with one copy of the core and Edge of Darkness for months and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I've recently added Hoth cycle sets and Balance of the Force.
Even if I do start playing competitively in the local scene I'll likely not buy another core set. The Force packs give you two sets of objectives and in a year or two there should be more than enough winning decks out there that don't even use the core set, at which point I'll be glad that I just have my one for casual play.
There are even some players who say that a Sith deck only really has four choices: which objectives go in after the obligatory 2x Web, Fall, and Counsel.
Even if you're just playing casually for fun I'd recommend a 2nd core before any other purchases. For me the game didn't really feel like Star Wars until Vader and Luke were reliably getting out onto the table. Before that it seemed whichever player got their main out won and yours might be buried in the bottom of the deck. Plus only adding a core set keeps the size of the meta more manageable while you're getting into the game. Some might argue a bigger card pool is more fun, but I think you'll have a blast with just 2x core sets
Depends exactly what feels most fun to you:
-Want to be able to build consistent decks so that you see your main cards more often and have a little less luck in the game? A 2nd copy of the core set is probably the best next buy.
-Want to get the most bang for your buck in terms of variety as well as introduce some more of the favorite main characters? Go with a copy of Edge of Darkness and enjoy adding Lando, the Falcon, Slave I, Jabba, and other such cards to your games.
-Want to introduce some other modes of play? Your choice is Balance of the Force to give you the challenge decks as well as introducing the 2v2 play option (the rules can be found online, but there are some cards included that are pretty sweet in 2v2, including Mara Jade).
Thanks for the info.
Where can I find the MP rules? I have a play group that would like to try MP with my decks before they commit their resources to personal card stock.
Games support page has the Balance of the Force rules pdf.