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So, A friend is getting into X-Wing and I want to try it out too! It seems cool, And I already own the basic core set, But I dont know what faction I want to play.. So I was curious if people could give me some information about the strengths and weaknesses of each of the three factions? I know that Imperials have more of a swarm mentality (Or so it seems with cheep tie fighters) While Rebels seem to have slightly better but more expensive ships.. But what about Scum and Villainy..?

I love new X Wing players naively assuming they're only going to collect one faction

EDIT - Sorry that probably seemed rude. This cartoon probably explains it better...

I already know I'l likely play all factions if we continue playing.. xD But I still need one to start with! (I play Warhammer 40k and have like 5 armies.. and want.. All the others.. xD)

So, Some information about each of the three factions would be very much apreciated.

Merellin wrote:
Some information about each of the three factions would be very much appreciated.

To be honest, the more ships that get released, the more the lines between the factions blur. I honestly don't see it as a game where you play only one faction. Players turn up, agree to play one side or other. - bit like chess really.

Anyway... Generally speaking, Rebel ships are a bit more durable thanks to the shields, whereas Imperials benefit from better agility. Scum and Villainy get access illicit upgrades which can be quite powerful.

Well, all factions can be played different ways- with Imperials, four TIE Advanced's play very differently from 4 TIE Interceptors. That said, I'll try to describe them as best as I can:

Rebels: Ships tend to be tough. Rebel ships tend to have the best Shield:Hull ratio of any of the factions. Even their Swarm Ship has 2 shields. A lot of "Rebel Only" upgrades (R2-D2, C3P0, Lando) tend to be fairly defensive in nature, as do a lot of ship cards (Chewbacca, Luke, Poe). They probably have the games best Escort pilot in Biggs Darklighter. However, their maneuverability is not much to write home about. The E-wing is Fast and maneuverable, but expensive, the A-wing is fast, but undergunned, and the B-wing is slow, but maneuverable. Rebels compensate for this with a massive number of turrets, which are present on nearly half their ships as either upgrades or Primary Weapons.

Imperials: Tend to be more of a fast glass cannon. Shields are rare, and are restricted to more elite ships. However, if your Dice are hot, Imperials above-average agility will help keep you alive. Ships tend to be faster than their Rebel Equivalent, and Barrel Roll is found on pretty much all their small ships. Imperial abilities tend to focus on moving fast (Juno Eclippse, Half the TIE Interceptor Pilots) or causing Damage(Rear Admiral Chiraneu, Howlrunner, Omega Ace, the Other half of the Interceptor Pilots), rather than staying alive. Some decide to cause damage and move Fast (TIE Phantom, Vader, Soontir Fel). However, they have limited Access to Turrets or special firing arcs (Only Two Ships), and lack any reliable escort mechanic.

Scum: The Dirty Trick Faction. Most of their Ships are less points-efficient than Rebels or Imperials, and rely on Illicit Upgrades and Unhinged Astromech, as well as some useful rules interactions, to win their games. Tend to be slower, but more maneuverable than other factions (many Scum-Only ships trade Speed 3 turns for Speed 1 Turns). Tend to be tougher than Imperial Ships (Everyone has Shields) but less than Rebels (Worse Shield:Hulll ratio). Due to being the newest faction, currently have the fewest ships, and many of their ships overlap with the other two. Abilities tend to be more mixed than for Rebels or Imperials, Ranging from debuffing the enemy (Torkil Mux, Palob Godhali, Latts Razi), to pawning hits off on another friendly ship (Xixor), to defensive (Graz the Hunter, Laetin Ashera), to Offensive (Kath Scarlett, IG88B, Greedo) and more.

I think rebels or scum are the best to start with, as they have enough interchangeable units that you can play both for less expense

Thanks for all the information ^_^ I shall ponder and look at the ships!

Here's a couple good sites to look at if you haven't already found them:

http://xwing-miniatures.wikia.com/wiki/X-Wing_Miniatures_Wiki

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

Also check out FFG's Forums!

I personally started off with the starter set and the rebel and imperial aces packs. I did this so I could play with some friends that didn't have x-wing or just had the starter set. With these 3 alone you can run a 100 point list with either rebel or imperial, or play around a 90-100 point rebel vs. imperial with what you have.

Playing the 90-100 point games were somewhat forgiving since there were no large ships or turrets, and it helped me and my friends understand the importance of the movements. The imperial aces gives you PTL (push the limit) which is very important, and the tie interceptors which are quite good (but you'll want Soontir Fel). The Rebel aces gives you a solid B-wing and a A-wing with needed/useful upgrades for both. Not a bad spot to build off of, but it doesn't give you anything to work with for Scum. If you purchase this from miniature market it's under 70$ with just about all you need to play a game even if one of your friends has no ships.

Scum is more of a 2nd faction to collect, you can either go rebel or imperial then collect scum. Scum can use (Rebel: Y-wing, HWK-290 and Imperial: Firespray) and they're all pretty good.

Trying to pick one faction is difficult. I started out with rebels and then quickly realized the imperials where also cool. So I just said screw it and started collecting each faction. Every game I try out a different faction with different ships and pilots. The game is tons of fun and is very addictive.

I think the "I'll collect X" mindset is perhaps a hangover from players who are used to a GW type set up.

Personally, I couldn't ever imagine not picking up all of the things, it isn't like there's a huge investment involved unless you're buying it all in a lump.

Azrael has the right of it. Buy something cool. Then buy something else cool. And soon, you'll have enough to play any fleet you like.

As an old TIE Fighter veteran, I set about buying one of every ship from that game- then moved on.

Just do yourself a favor: get every ship. In duplicate. Buy every expansion box (scum and both aces), skip epic ships (for now), divorce wife, sell children, sell second kidney, sell parents, sell left arm. Enjoy.

 timetowaste85 wrote:
... skip epic ships (for now)...

Hey now, lets not be passing over the awesomeness that is the TIE Advanced X-1 just yet. Since he needs multiple TIE-A's, one of them should be from the Raider Kit. Same for X-wings and the Rebel Transport.

Hmm.. I'm actualy considering getting the Imperial Aces, Rebel Aces and Most Wanted boxes.. A bit much at once but maybe one box a month.. Then I'l be able to try all three, And have stuff so I can get other people to try the game too!

Also, Turns out two friends are starting it. Unfortunately neither one lives in this town.. But it is nice as we can play the few times we do meet!

Hmm... Might get the new Force Awakens Core box too..

The Most Wanted box comes with 3 ships but its hard to make a 100 point list of scum with just those ships. However the box comes with extra dials and items for the HWK-290, and Firespray. If you get 1 of either of those ships you can do a 100 point list of scum for sure, and still use those ships for their original faction. Also every ship in the most wanted pack is also a rebel ship (but you need the rebel pilot cards, which you could just print off).

HWK-290 and Firespray are both great ships, the firespray has a unique rear firing arc and the HWK-290 is more of a support ship with some pretty cool pilot abilities.

 easypeasylemonsquezy wrote:
The Most Wanted box comes with 3 ships but its hard to make a 100 point list of scum with just those ships. However the box comes with extra dials and items for the HWK-290, and Firespray. If you get 1 of either of those ships you can do a 100 point list of scum for sure, and still use those ships for their original faction. Also every ship in the most wanted pack is also a rebel ship (but you need the rebel pilot cards, which you could just print off).

HWK-290 and Firespray are both great ships, the firespray has a unique rear firing arc and the HWK-290 is more of a support ship with some pretty cool pilot abilities.

Just a reminder that you'll need movement and range templates, dice, and a damage deck from a core set. A lot of people bought multiple cores, so it shouldn't be too hard to get some from a friend.

 Anpu-adom wrote:

 easypeasylemonsquezy wrote:
The Most Wanted box comes with 3 ships but its hard to make a 100 point list of scum with just those ships. However the box comes with extra dials and items for the HWK-290, and Firespray. If you get 1 of either of those ships you can do a 100 point list of scum for sure, and still use those ships for their original faction. Also every ship in the most wanted pack is also a rebel ship (but you need the rebel pilot cards, which you could just print off).

HWK-290 and Firespray are both great ships, the firespray has a unique rear firing arc and the HWK-290 is more of a support ship with some pretty cool pilot abilities.

Just a reminder that you'll need movement and range templates, dice, and a damage deck from a core set. A lot of people bought multiple cores, so it shouldn't be too hard to get some from a friend.

apparently trhe original trilogy damage deck is on it's way out, so it sounds like the TFA core set is the way to go for that stuff too

I actually made my own "Pirate" faction way before Scum and Villainy came out, after buying the starter, an X-Wing and TIE and a TIE Advanced, but got stumped over which faction I really wanted. I got my buddy into the game in a huge way, and he has massive Imperial and rebel fleets so I wanted something different. So I delved into my 40K converting days came up with a weird eclectic mix representing a pirate faction that scavenges from battlefields post-Endor. Also have a Lambda and a YT-1300 as large ships.

The X-Ties are counts-as Z95's, and the weird conversions in front are Twi'lek Deathseeds from the Rogue Squadron EU novels, flying as TIE Interceptors. Will likely get at least one more Y-wing, though the Scum and Villainy box is a better deal to get two more Z95's as well, even if I fly them all with Rebel cards.