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Aside from the ships and little accessories used to play is there other things that I'll need? I don't think I've seen any expansion books or something... its all cards or something with the ships right?

I mean really the starter should have what I need to start then if I want to expand I just buy the ship packs and stuff... I don't need some other books right?

You are correct. Things needed to play X-Wing are
#1. The contents of the core set.
#2. An opponent
#3. A table

You don't need any dice other than those that come with the core set. You don't need a tape measure... everything is in the core set.
I do recommend getting two core sets. It is almost necessary to have two maneuver templates and a full set of 12 dice. Other than that, enjoy.

A fun attitude...the game can be quite addictive and is really well balanced.

Okay good to know... so about expansions... no other books I guess? Just buy the model and it should come with what I need?

Exactly. Buy 2-3 starters and whatever models you get come with their own cards and counters.

Big Ships and 2-3 ship sets (Most Wanted, Imperial Aces, and Rebel Aces) come with rules pamphlets that explain anything new in that set as well as a mission or two.
I find that the missions are almost as fun as a straight-up dogfight.
Other than that, everything you need comes with the ships. FFG has done a great job keeping the game relatively balanced and everything that you need in the expansions.
Warning... this game is addictive with a great price point. With most ships at $15, it's very hard for me to leave the game store without something new in my bag.

 Anpu-adom wrote:
Big Ships and 2-3 ship sets (Most Wanted, Imperial Aces, and Rebel Aces) come with rules pamphlets that explain anything new in that set as well as a mission or two.
I find that the missions are almost as fun as a straight-up dogfight.
Other than that, everything you need comes with the ships. FFG has done a great job keeping the game relatively balanced and everything that you need in the expansions.
Warning... this game is addictive with a great price point. With most ships at $15, it's very hard for me to leave the game store without something new in my bag.

Ah cool.

I'm looking to get back into actual 'playing'...not just X-wing but tabletop games in general... and so far X-wing is looking like the most cost effective way to go about doing it given my limited budget.

It is. Every box comes with all the tokens you need for that ship, and cards with the stats.

If there are any new rules (like bombs, or the boost or cloak actions) you'll get a rules card in the box too.

You can make a 100 point squad quite happily with 3-4 small ships, depending on how liberal you are with named pilots and upgrades, and as noted the game is pretty good balance wise.

I think the most you can theoretically pack into a force is 8 ships (if they were all generic TIE Fighters) so even going for a 'swarm' won't cost you much.

Competitively, keeping an eye on the FAQ/Errata is probably an important thing to mention; this clarifies and in some cases overrules the rules as provided. They're free from the FFG site.

winterdyne wrote:
Competitively, keeping an eye on the FAQ/Errata is probably an important thing to mention; this clarifies and in some cases overrules the rules as provided. They're free from the FFG site.

Plus, it nerfs the Phantom.


This is important.

I would also suggest a map of some type.
Many companies are making 3x3 star maps.

Yep a good mat will really enhance the play. The may seem a bit pricey at first but think of how much more terrain would cost!

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:

winterdyne wrote:
Competitively, keeping an eye on the FAQ/Errata is probably an important thing to mention; this clarifies and in some cases overrules the rules as provided. They're free from the FFG site.

Plus, it nerfs the Phantom.


This is important.

Well, I'm pretty sure they reprinted the Phantom with the update on the new Cloak card, since apparently it was really bad before.

 Manchu wrote:
Yep a good mat will really enhance the play. The may seem a bit pricey at first but think of how much more terrain would cost!

Put off buying a purpose-made game mat for two years until I finally broke down and bought a Gale Force 9 space mat (the 'Frozen Planet' one, picked out by my youngest daughter simply because it was blue).

It was probably the best $40 I've spent on this game since my initial purchase in 2012.

Frozen Planet is probably my favorite X-Wing mat, that was a good choice SPJr.

 Manchu wrote:
Frozen Planet is probably my favorite X-Wing mat, that was a good choice SPJr.

Agreed, but the credit goes to Ms. SPJ, Jr. because she's the one that picked it out, I had no say in the matter!

djphranq, you only need the stuff that comes in the core set and any expansions you buy. This isn't like 40K so there are no army books, supplements, supplements to the supplements, or anything like that. The one kind of annoying thing is the way upgrade cards are spread out in the various expansions, making some really useful cards relatively rare. The worst offenders are Predator (which only comes with the TIE Defender), Engine Upgrade (which only comes with the Millennium Falcon), Autothrusters (which only comes with the StarViper), and Tactician (which only comes with the TIE Phantom). There may be other rarer cards, but these are what I could think of off the top of my head.

It should be noted that some of these cards are going to be released in future expansions (like Predator and Engine Upgrade), so at least FFG seems to understand the issue people have with getting some of them.

It's worth mentioning that the TIE and X-Wing packs come with different pilots and upgrade cards from the starter set. A couple of them are rather good so you may consider buying them as separate models.

As Alex C says, two core sets is a good plan.

Like SPJ said some upgrade cards can be a pain to get a hold of.
Here is the X-Wing wiki, you can look up the upgrade you want and most will tell you what expansion(ship) they come in.
http://xwing-miniatures.wikia.com/wiki/X-Wing_Miniatures_Wiki

There are also a number of eBay sellers who sling upgrade cards. I found this guy to be honest and reasonably priced for most stuff (some cards you might as well buy the ship/expansion though).

http://www.ebay.com/sch/henrys_outpost/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

But to just have a bit of fun all you really need is the starter box. Try it a few times, then go hog wild with ships and maps and custom laser cut tokens.

I definitely think a star map (of whatever material) is necessary after you get a few games under your belt. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, a simple piece of black felt, or even some black vinyl from a fabric shop will get the job done for just a few bucks.

I started with a piece of black vinyl, but recently acquired a HCD Miniature Battles Space Game Mat from Amazon.com and I love it. Its the same material as a F.A.T. mat (neoprene with a cloth print) but it was about $20 cheaper after free shipping.

FWIW buying two core sets is conventional wisdom (I have three myself, all bought back in 2012) but there is now an argument that if you don't want to play Imperials, one core set is sufficient and then move on to picking up whatever Rebel and/or S&V expansions you want. The basis for this point is, the X-Wing is currently not as strong as other Rebel options.

 Manchu wrote:
FWIW buying two core sets is conventional wisdom (I have three myself, all bought back in 2012) but there is now an argument that if you don't want to play Imperials, one core set is sufficient and then move on to picking up whatever Rebel and/or S&V expansions you want. The basis for this point is, the X-Wing is currently not as strong as other Rebel options.

I agree with this. I play S&V exclusively, so there wasn't much in the starter that I needed beyond dice and damage deck since the rules are online and obstacles are easy as pie to make. There are very few upgrade cards, and I ended up getting some acrylic maneuver templates anyway (as well as a pack of dice). Had eBay had damage decks available, I would probably have skipped the starter kit altogether.

My advice is to play all three factions. Not only are there upgrades for Imperial Ships in Scum Expansions and vice verses, but it can really help you understand the movement of the different ships, etc.

Since there seems to be a new Starter set coming, would anyone recommend I hold off buying the starter kit, (I plan on playing rebels) or will extra TIE going to be just as nice for, say demos and such?

I would buy one core now, and one of the updated core later when it releases.

 Nicorex wrote:
I would also suggest a map of some type.
Many companies are making 3x3 star maps.

On the flipside, since you mention being very budget conscious... a 3x3 piece of felt-cloth, and speckled on white paint can look good, and "bite" into the bases enough to keep ships from slipping. Looks fine, and can be had for under $5

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:

 Nicorex wrote:
I would also suggest a map of some type.
Many companies are making 3x3 star maps.

On the flipside, since you mention being very budget conscious... a 3x3 piece of felt-cloth, and speckled on white paint can look good, and "bite" into the bases enough to keep ships from slipping. Looks fine, and can be had for under $5

Indeed.

If you have an airbrush, you can make them even more fancy: http://blog.workbenchwarriors.com/2014/06/22/x-wing-space-mats/