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Hi there,

I am brand spanking new to the X-Wing miniatures games after taking a long break from miniature games in general, and was looking for some guidance/advice.

I am really interested by the Scum in X-Wing but was wondering whether or not it would be smart starting off by playing with them, or should I stick to Imperial/Rebel as a new player?

Following on from that, as I want to get into Scum, what would people recommend I start off buying in terms of models to create some basis for lists?

Thanks so much for any help provided and hope you all are having a great day!

Will

Overall the game X-Wing is tremendously well balanced, so for the most part choose what ships you think are the coolest. As you play, you'll then start forming tactical and ship preferences.

Probably obvious, but I'd recommend picking up at least one of the two core sets. If you choose to roll as Scum, I'd pick out two to three ships to start with for that faction alongside the core set.

Also check out this site, it includes all of the point values and stats for everything currently in the game. Typical game runs at 100 points:

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/build

If you are definitely going for Scum then the Most Wanted set is a great purchase after a core set, 3 useful ships and tons of great cards. After that it depends upon what type of list you are after playing, but general rule of thumb is get what you think looks good. Although a few options are below par (Scyk and Starviper especially) they are still fun to fly but wont win you any tournaments.

It really depends what you want to get out of the game. There is a bit of crossover between the factions. For example, the Y-Wing, Z-95 Headhunter, and HWK 290 were originally Rebel ships, but they became available to Scum too in the "Most Wanted" set. So if (just for example) you had all those expansions, then you would have 6 ships total, but you could make a squad of 6 Scum, and a squad of 6 rebels out of them... I'm not suggesting that's what you should buy. I'm just trying to explain that by collecting one faction, you might inadvertently (or deliberately) collect a lot of another faction at the same time.

Starting with Scum is a really cool idea, and there is no reason why a new player couldn't dive straight into them. The only downside is that there aren't "strictly" any Scum ships in the core set, and the core set is quite good value. But if you don't want the ships, you'll have to decided how worth it it is... You can probably buy the core set and then sell the ships individually. They should easy cover the cost of the game, and you'll get to keep the dice, movement templates, asteroids and damage cards, for free (minus your time). Alternatively, you can buy dice and nicer (3rd party) acrylic templates separately, or just borrow your opponent's stuff like a true villain.

Everything else you need (like tokens and pilot cards) will be included with the ships.

The "Most Wanted" set, is probably the closest thing Scum have to a starter, but it might be designed more for players who already have ships in other factions, to bridge the gap over to Scum. If you start with "Most Wanted" and don't have any other ships, then there is a danger you might be bridging backwards into the other factions (especially rebels), which could end up being a bit of a money sink.

Maybe if you tell us what ships you like the look of, we could help more.

I hate to be that guy, but...

Wave 8 has some really awesome ships for Scum right now and if you're not too competitive you can play them with the cards they come with and still have a pretty good build. I'm talking about the Punishing One and Mist Hunter expansions featuring the Bounty Hunters Dengar, 4-LOM, and Zuckuss. The Punishing One kit comes with Paul Heavers latest card Boba Fett crew. By the way X-Wing World Champions get to design a card. Boba Fett is Pauls 3rd upgrade card now and it allows you to discard an opponents upgrade card when you score a critical hit. Pretty handy stuff. The Mist Hunter comes with a slew of great cards as well, ones that you will find very handy later on as your Scum collection grows, like Attani Mindlink, Rage and Adaptability. Also, Tractor Beam. You'll see.

Once you have those two expansions you can build a fun little two ship list that can greatly annoy any opponent and will provide you with a really solid start to your Scum collection. As for the core set... well honestly I have given away two sets of maneuver templates and damage decks now because I had bought three core sets for the TIEs, and then later on upgraded to acrylic templates. Chances are if you ask around you can probably get what you need to play for very cheap. FFG provides all the rules and updates for free on their website so unless you really want the core set, I'd skip it. You never know though, you might fall in love with the other factions too. It is a really good kit and it provides two people with enough stuff to really learn the game and have a lot of fun.

Most Wanted is pretty essential in that it is a great source for a lot of upgrade cards that are powerful and can be combined in a lot of different ways. If you were to buy the Punishing One, Mist Hunter, Most Wanted and some used templates and damage deck that would probably be in the ballpark of $120 (Canadian) and you would have 5 good ships with enough stuff to properly equip any new expansions as Scum ships.

Welcome! There is no problem jumping in with Scum, but most people end up buying into all three factions. You develop a favorite that (hopefully) matches well with your playing-style, but there are upgrades that you want on the other ships as well. For example, Imperial Ace players really like the card Autothrusters on their Interceptors, etc. The only place to buy Autothrusters is the StarViper expansion (or secondary markets). That type of thing.

Oh, and Fett is only Paul's second designed card (Stay On Target being his first). Doug Kinney designed Dash Rendar crew for his World's card. No word if Paul's 3rd card will be in Wave 9 or not.

Here's a quick buying guide for scum. (Best to worst)
Force Awakens starter, or the contents of such minus the ships. You need the rules, templates etc. You can get custom acrylic versions of these, but the cardboard ones in the starter are durable and cheep.
1 or 2 of the Most Wanted set. Y-Wings are the gunships of the Scum and the Headhunters are the swarm-type option. All of these ships fly better in multiples. Then get the next one too.
K-Wing (for Twin-Laser Turret) this upgrade gives the Y-Wings above much of their punch, even though it is off faction.
JumpMaster 5000 is hot right now. I think that things will settle out, so the full 3 is probably not going to still be in the meta in a few months. 2 is the most I'd buy right now. Several of the named pilots are a lot of fun and will be great in the meta.
If you like the Aggressor, buy 2. They can take a free title that allows them to share pilot abilities. Tough list to fly well, but very competative when done well. Besides, who doesn't like killer robots? They come with 2 copies of Feedback Array, which is great on Headhunters.
Firespray - Overall, a fun ship, and is filled out by some of your contents from Most Wanted
Hwk-290 - Scum Hwh's are the way to go. All of the named Pilots are fun to play since they mess with your opponents. I'd get either 1 or 2.
Hound's Tooth - This ship is just growing into its own. What you can do with three separate crew slots is yet to be really know, but this is a heck of a fun ship! Either 1 or 2.
Mist Hunter - Fun Fun Fun, but we need to wait and see where it fits competitively.
StarViper - Guri is fine and competative, but not too much else on this ship for a scum player. Get it if you really like the Black Sun.
kihraxz fighter - It isn't a bad ship, it is just out-shined. I have 2 and I don't regret them. May have a place in an alpha strike position.
Syck - Avoid unless you just love the model. There is nothing that anyone really wants in the set that isn't in other places (Flechette cannons... really?)
I think that's it.
2 Most Wanted
K-Wing
2 Aggressors
2 JumpMasters
1 Firespray
2 Hwk's
2 YV-666
1 G1-A
And a set of Templates and Rules

Hey guys!

Thank you all for the great and detailed advice, a nice welcome into the X-Wing community!

Doing some research it seems that the game is in a pretty reasonable state of balance and you can sort of play what ships you like the look of (obviously not looking to win any tournaments just yet here).

Some ships that really look cool visually and to play with IMO are the Punishing Ones (Jumpmaster 5000s), Mist Hunters (G1-As) and the Aggressors (IG-2000s)!

As a beginning base I'm thinking about going ahead and buying the Most Wanted set, a Punish One, a Mist Hunter and 2 Aggressors, what are your opinions on that? Any other recommendations or substitutes?

Also, do any of you have recommendations for websites to buy x-wing from in the UK (currently studying in USA, but about to go back to England)?

Thanks again guys!

Will

I got most of my stuff from boardgame extras, they usually have quite competitive prices, and they have an ebay account.

I have the Mist Hunter and I like it a lot. It comes with some cool options, and it's really nice to have such a big ship on a small base. The Most Wanted set comes with an extra dial and cards for the Firespray 31, so you can proxy a Firespray using one of your other large ships, but I imagine you'll probably want to pick one up at some point too.

Sounds like a good start!
Focus the first while on making your movements count. There are some great posts about maneuver on the FFG forums.

WillB wrote:


As a beginning base I'm thinking about going ahead and buying the Most Wanted set, a Punish One, a Mist Hunter and 2 Aggressors, what are your opinions on that? Any other recommendations or substitutes?

Seems a good start, the Scum faction is fun and has lots of neat tricks and pretty much all the ships bar the Scyk and Starviper are playable.

As for UK places to buy, the larger online stores Wayland, Dark Sphere or Element are pretty much of a muchness

Also online squad builders are quite helpful, my one of choice is http://xwing-builder.co.uk/build, its simple and neat and is handy as it shows which ships/set the upgrades come with, people are fine with proxys for casual but for tornys the real cards are needed.

Finally welcome to X-Wing, and Fly Casual

To be honest, even the Starviper isn't that bad (it's not amazing but it's better than people give it credit for); it's just that the difference between a 'generic' Starviper and a unique pilot with the Virago title is massive.

locarno24 wrote:
To be honest, even the Starviper isn't that bad (it's not amazing but it's better than people give it credit for); it's just that the difference between a 'generic' Starviper and a unique pilot with the Virago title is massive.

I agree, its only a tweak or two away from playable, personally I'd either let it have the Evade action or up its primary to 4 for true glass cannon antics

 Turnip Jedi wrote:

locarno24 wrote:
To be honest, even the Starviper isn't that bad (it's not amazing but it's better than people give it credit for); it's just that the difference between a 'generic' Starviper and a unique pilot with the Virago title is massive.

I agree, its only a tweak or two away from playable, personally I'd either let it have the Evade action or up its primary to 4 for true glass cannon antics

Yeah, it has more problems than simply being over-costed. The lack of an evade action, the lack of a sensor slot on the generics, and the low PS really gimp this ship. For a space-superiority fighter, it sure has a bewildering lack of basic options. Guri and Xizor are usable in casual play, but the generic vipers have it rough.

I'm expecting an Aces style kit for the Star Viper and Syck. I'm also expecting an Epic kit with a K-fighter included. Expect these in the next 18-24 months.

 DanielBeaver wrote:

 Turnip Jedi wrote:

locarno24 wrote:
To be honest, even the Starviper isn't that bad (it's not amazing but it's better than people give it credit for); it's just that the difference between a 'generic' Starviper and a unique pilot with the Virago title is massive.

I agree, its only a tweak or two away from playable, personally I'd either let it have the Evade action or up its primary to 4 for true glass cannon antics

Yeah, it has more problems than simply being over-costed. The lack of an evade action, the lack of a sensor slot on the generics, and the low PS really gimp this ship. For a space-superiority fighter, it sure has a bewildering lack of basic options. Guri and Xizor are usable in casual play, but the generic vipers have it rough.

I feel that Guri is just over costed, Xixors pilot ability hamstrings he starvipers one good trait (it is insanely maneuverable), and the generics just lack anything too make them good. Also, everyone needs like 2 points of PS.

WillB wrote:
Hey guys!

Thank you all for the great and detailed advice, a nice welcome into the X-Wing community!

Doing some research it seems that the game is in a pretty reasonable state of balance and you can sort of play what ships you like the look of (obviously not looking to win any tournaments just yet here).

Some ships that really look cool visually and to play with IMO are the Punishing Ones (Jumpmaster 5000s), Mist Hunters (G1-As) and the Aggressors (IG-2000s)!

As a beginning base I'm thinking about going ahead and buying the Most Wanted set, a Punish One, a Mist Hunter and 2 Aggressors, what are your opinions on that? Any other recommendations or substitutes?

Also, do any of you have recommendations for websites to buy x-wing from in the UK (currently studying in USA, but about to go back to England)?

Thanks again guys!

Will

I usually buy from chaos cards they give store credit when you buy from them just don't use PayPal that messes it up currently.

Gifts for geeks is another good one.