cooleo is a newb

By cooleo1c, in X-Wing

When the Imperial Aces comes out I'll be casually getting into this game. My question is can i get away with just owning the following:

- x2 (or x3?) Imperial Aces

- x3 Tie Interceptors

- Movement templates from Team Cov. or somewhere

- Dice App

All I care about is using interceptors

You'll need a damage deck from the core (or buy off of someone who has multiple cores). But the acrylic movement templates are typically just as expensive as a full core set anyways. Might as well just pick up a core for the dice, templates, and damage deck. If you dont' want the X or TIEs that come with it, then you can sell them on ebay for ~8 bucks each, which basically covers the cost of the core to begin with (25 bucks on amazon prime).

That said, you'll have to proxy most cards. While most EPTs you'd be using (PTL, Oppertunist) you'll have, you'll be missing things like Stealth Device and Swarm tactics. But if you're playing casually as you said, there really shouldn't be any problem proxying the cards.

Yeah, really kinda need a core set. But it's fairly cheep to get, and you could sell off the stuff you don't want.

But 2 or 3 sets of Imp Aces means 4-6 Interceptors, that plus 3 more gives you between 7 and 9 interceptors, which is more then you can ever actually use in a 100 point game.

I'd suggest that you get 2 Imp Aces sets and 1 Tie Interceptor. That would give you 5 ships and all the pilots you'll need.

Can you live without a game box?

Rulebook and FAQ are available as PDF. The only essential items I can think of which you do not get are

  1. asteroids
  2. upgrade cards
  3. damage deck

I suppose you can expect your opponent to supply asteroid tokens and actual dice. Even a damage deck for casual play.

For tournament play you require your own damage deck. So you need one game box.

Upgrade cards are the real matter. In casual games a lot of players allow the use of proxies. In tournaments you needactual cards. For Interceptors that means extra stealth devices and EPTs.

Thanks guys, so it sounds like imperial aces x2, x1 Core and x1 Interceptor.

Which ship is the stealth device with?

Which ship is the stealth device with?

Tie Phantom, which isn't out yet. That's part of Wave 4 which won't be out for a few more months yet at the soonest.

Thanks guys, so it sounds like imperial aces x2, x1 Core and x1 Interceptor.

Which ship is the stealth device with?

The firespray has a pair of them.

You may like to check this squad builder. It supplies the information which expansion includes the card.

Which ship is the stealth device with?

Tie Phantom, which isn't out yet. That's part of Wave 4 which won't be out for a few more months yet at the soonest.

Vandor is confused. Stealth Device is in the Firespray-31 (Slave 1). There are two copies included in it.

Phantom has a cloaking device. Not stealth.

Yea I'll be getting defenders and phantoms when they come out. Not really into rebel anything right now. The Moldy Crow and Falcon seem cool but it seems like everyone plays the Falcon

If you don't play in tournaments and you know other players will provide the damage cards, asteroid tokens, etc then yes you can. You will be limited to just the cards you have (or print proxies) but 2x imperial aces comes with most of the upgrades you would commonly use in interceptors anyway (which are typically few, as the base interceptor costs plenty of points already)

so yes, as a casual player, you can rely on other players to provide the essential components for casual games, but you cannot easily play tournaments without borrowing components from someone

Phantom has a cloaking device. Not stealth.

Yeah my bad... Was thinking cloaking device.

But I'm curious... Why do people insist on putting the D in the wrong spot in my screen name? CW did the same thing.

FWITW, which isn't much ;) It's Vanor - DM as in Dungeon Master, it was my handle from Neverwinter Nights when I was a DM for a campaign world. I just keep using it because often Vanor is already taken by someone who hasn't posted for 3+ years. :(

Edit: Because some might remember this...

My name actually dates back to XvT, I used to be part of a group called LSF and we played on mIRC and the MS Zone. I'd be surprised if no one here was either part or least heard of it.

Edited by VanorDM

Thanks for everything guys

Phantom has a cloaking device. Not stealth.

Yeah my bad... Was thinking cloaking device.

But I'm curious... Why do people insist on putting the D in the wrong spot in my screen name? CW did the same thing.

FWITW, which isn't much ;) It's Vanor - DM as in Dungeon Master, it was my handle from Neverwinter Nights when I was a DM for a campaign world. I just keep using it because often Vanor is already taken by someone who hasn't posted for 3+ years. :(

Yeah, I realized that after I posted, I apologize, you called me out before I could edit it to be right. For me, it's the similarity to Dutch Vander, and I'm in the star wars theme when I'm reading through the forums, so it just kinda happens.

Yeah, I realized that after I posted, I apologize...

No need to apologize, it doesn't bother me. Just thought it odd that this is the only place I've seen it done.

Playing casually, I can understand. But locking yourself into Interceptors only? That's like playing poker but deciding that you only want to use aces in the entire deck. You aren't giving yourself enough room to explore the fun that comes from a variety of ships.

I'm all for interceptor love, but you should really think- aaaand Lappenlocker beat me too it.

I'll agree with the two fellows above me and say that you should at least give the regular TIE/Ln's a try. They have fairly similar movements with the exception of the Koiogran turns and the fact that Interceptors have Boost, plus their pilots run the gamut from list fillers to amazing support ships and hunters of the weak. Backstabber is a personal favorite of mine, though you'd have to get a TIE Expansion for him and Howlrunner. :3

Core Set has all of the essential stuff required for gameplay. You can theoretically get them elsewhere, but it'l cost you more.

It has the following that you'll need:

  • Attack/Evade Dice
  • Asteroids
  • Damage Deck
  • Differentiating Tokens (i.e. little things that you put on your ship's base to let you know which Royal Guard Interceptor is which. A few come with Imperial Aces, but it is likely not enough to do your entire fleet)
  • Upgrade Cards (These are spread around all of the expansions, actually, but some are Core Exclusive).
  • Maneuver Templates
  • Range Finder

The most Interceptors you can fit in a single 100 point fleet is 5, so 2x Imperial Aces + 1x Interceptor Expansion (+ 1x Core Set) will serve you well.

Cheers, welcome to the game, and remember: Interceptors are one of the best ships in the game for finding ways to shoot at folks that can't shoot back. This is almost ALWAYS better than dealing massive damage while taking massive damage.

May the Force be with you :)