Getting into x wing ?

[Deadlift]

Right then, I've watched the intro video on you tube and I'm looking at giving the game a go. Obviously the core starter set is a must, but what else should I be looking at ? Should I get another couple of ships (expansions), one for each faction ? And if so which 2 would you recommend to keep both sides balanced. I'm looking to have both a Rebel and Imperial list as I know my mates will only play if I supply everything.

Also any other tips ? Not list building so much but just what to get to make the beginners experience well rounded.

Cheers

Dead.

[sangrail777]

My friends are very much the same way (looking to me to supply) so here's what I did. I got 2 starter kits, it does help to have the additional dice and moving templates.
2 tie interceptors
1 tie bomber
1 xwing
1 b wing
1 a wing
That's what I started out with. Of course now I got so much more.

[Nabterayl]

I think that Sangrail's list is a good one to start with if you're literally looking to copy something. My advice for people looking to do a "starter experience" kit is this:

1. The joy of imperial fighters is that a good pilot (here meaning a combination of skilled player and high Pilot Skill) can make them dance.
2. Because a good imperial pilot can fly rings around a rebel fighter, rebel fighters work best in elements.

If you know anything about mid-20th century air combat, then you already know pretty much everything you need to know about agile fighters (imperial) vs. tough (rebel) ones. The only way for the tough fighters to win is either (i) the pilot in the agile fighter to make a mistake, or (ii) to work together. Teamwork can compensate for agility.

For this reason, my personal preference is to have no fewer than 2 of each fighter. I also think that the age-old advice to miniatures collectors in any wargame applies here too: buy what you like. I am very impressed by how well FFG has balanced everything they've put out so far. There are no bad ships.

Beyond your two starters, my advice about rebel ships would be:

1. Buy ships whose lore and/or look you like.
2. Buy them in pairs, unless you're just buying for the extra cards (e.g., even though you have two X-wings from your starters, you might want to buy an X-wing blister because the cards in it are different).
3. You don't need more than one of the non-fighter ships (the HWK-290 and the YT-1300), although there are certainly ways to use multiples of those.

Personally I don't have a preference in terms of Y-wing, B-wing, or A-wing. They're different ships for different things (upon which I'm sure we could all wax eloquent if you were interested).

For imperial ships, my advice is the same, except I would also say:

1. Get some TIE interceptors.

Seriously. The TIE/in is the epitome of imperial starfighter philosophy: tied for fastest ship in the game, the most agile ship in the game, and without the anemic cannon loadout that hampers the TIE/ln, TIE/x1, or TIE/sa. They aren't the best ship in the game (again continuing the mid-century analogy, the TIE/ln has some really good aces, even if it's an inferior design - think ME-109 vs. FW-190), but they are the most imperial. For that reason, I recommend they be included in the expanded starter set for imperial boxes.

[Deadlift]

Thank you both very much, I've got some old GW stuff on eBay atm and I'm going to use whatever I make on it to fund my purchases. I already have enough for 2 core boxes and the rest will depend on how much extra I make .
I have a feeling after watching many videos on YouTube that I'm going to really enjoy this game.

Once again thank you for the time and effort you put in your replies.

[Nabterayl]

No problem, and good luck with the purchase! If you find yourself torn between liking two different classes of ship equally, I'm sure we can talk more about the tactical strengths and weaknesses of the various classes.

[Cody Seeger]

I'm in a similar situation as Deadlift, so your help has been much appreciated!

One question i do have is why do i not see the Tie-bomber that often? or A-wing?

[Nabterayl]

Like you guys, I have mostly played with my own miniatures (though some friends are getting their own collections now), so I can only speculate from my own experience. But my guesses are these:

One of the most admirable things (to me) about this game is that its mechanics feel very Star Wars. The A-wing is, lore-wise, an interceptor. Its job is not to sweep fighters from space, but to track down big lumbering targets before they can do their jobs, and harry them into oblivion. In game terms, its two attack dice are not likely to land a lot of damage against the three agility dice of Imperial fighters, and its missiles are best used against targets with low agility. It isn't even especially likely to win a turning dogfight against a TIE fighter - although slightly more nimble, it lacks a TIE's ability to shift laterally. Until recently, A-wings haven't had a lot of their natural prey - the TIE bomber and Lambda-class shuttle only came out very recently. And using them to best effect in a dogfight requires, in my opinion, a lot of teamwork. As the rebels discovered in reality (well, "reality"), the A-wing is not a better dogfighter than the X-wing. It's a good craft, and it has its uses, but it isn't a straight upgrade the way the TIE interceptor is simply a TIE fighter, only better in every way.

In some ways the TIE bomber is similar. I haven't played with my TIE bombers yet, but as far as I can tell they really are built to carry large amounts of ordnance, and the natural prey for ordnance is tough ships with low agility - Y-wings, B-wings, YT-1300s, and HWK-190s. If you don't see a lot of those in your local scene, then I wouldn't take TIE bombers either.

[PalinMoonstride]

I'm in a similar situation as Deadlift, so your help has been much appreciated!

One question i do have is why do i not see the Tie-bomber that often? or A-wing?

The Tie bomber is a missile boat in a game where missiles are expensive points wise and not very reliable.

The A-wing is highly maneuverable but doesn't have the fire power to accomplish a whole lot. Basically they get treated as over costed Tie fighters.

Hopefully the "Epic" battles with capital ships will give them more use as I personally enjoy playing with both ships in casual games.

[spaceman91]

Right then, I've watched the intro video on you tube and I'm looking at giving the game a go. Obviously the core starter set is a must, but what else should I be looking at ? Should I get another couple of ships (expansions), one for each faction ? And if so which 2 would you recommend to keep both sides balanced. I'm looking to have both a Rebel and Imperial list as I know my mates will only play if I supply everything.

Also any other tips ? Not list building so much but just what to get to make the beginners experience well rounded.

Cheers

Dead.

If you ever want to go competitive then in would say pick up 2x tie fighters 2x tie interceptors maybe a bomber. For the rebels 2x xwing 2x b wing and maybe an a wing and a y wing. The maybes aren't used very often but are good.

[eldargal]

Buy all the things, such pretties...